50th Reunion Trip

This year was my turn.  Last year we attended Duane's 50th reunion in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin.  Mine was to be held at the McHenry Country Club in McHenry, Illinois.  We really liked the Milwaukee airport, so this year we flew into it again, and stayed the first night in one of our favorite places-----Lake Geneva, Wisconsin!

 

We stayed at the Mill Creek Hotel in a darling room which overlooked the lake.

 

 

Lake Geneva hasn't changed much since we both used to go there in the summers when we were teenagers.  The Riviera is still there with ice cream and candy shops, and boat tours.

 

 

I wish we would have had time to take a boat tour on one of these fabulous crafts.

 

 

We went to dinner that night at a restaurant recommended by another guest of our hotel.  He bragged about its great food and "extensive" wine list.  The food was excellent, but the wine list had two choices, one of which was Robert Mondavi, which we already know well here in California.

 

 

We had to go to all the old haunts, of course, and here I am sipping a Pina Colada at Popeye's Bar and Grill, one of the local hangouts.  (My jet lag is showing.)

 

 

The next day we walked around the cute old fashioned town where they had flowers everywhere.  I couldn't believe they also had Sago Palms!  They must store them in the winter.

 

 

Mill Creek itself was right alongside our hotel, and was so picturesque.

 

 

 

 

We didn't want to leave, and promised ourselves that the next time we visit we will stay a month.

 

 

The next leg of our journey took us to McHenry, Illinois, my home town.

 

 

I had to take a picture of my old house in Sunnyside Estates.  I lived there from 1958 to 1968.

 

 

There was a pre-reunion party that night at the local VFW.  It was wonderful hanging out with one of my dearest friends from high school, Carol Perschke.  She was on the reunion committee, and they all did such an excellent job.

 

 

Another friend who was there---Carla Dietz---is a published author who has two novels in print.  We weren't surprised at her success, after all, she was our valedictorian.

 

 

Other very good friends are Jeannie and Terry Howard.....

 

 

And, Betty Becker Pickerill.

 

 

The following day, my sister Darlene, and brother-in-law, Robert joined us.  Doesn't he look like Hulk Hogan?  We went to a cute little Mexican restaurant in Fox Lake called El Puerto.

 

 

Carol and her husband, Johnny just love El Puerto, and couldn't wait to take us all there.

 

 

(TO BE CONTINUED)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off To The Beach!

 

I love going to the beach----any beach!  One of my favorites is in Dana Point, CA.  This is a view of the Dana Point Harbor from one of the cliffs that tower above it.  But, it's beach is called Doheny.

 

 

This past weekend we decided to go to one of our favorite hotels in Dana Point----The Doubletree.  It's just a short hop across the highway to Doheny State Beach.  It was cloudy that day, but there was lots of activity on the beach.

 

 

Many people were surfing, from the very young to the very old.  The waves were perfect.

 

 

In fact, there was a surfing competition going on that day called The Legends of Surf.  These people were all over 60 and were fun to watch.  I was very jealous of one of them---a little old lady like myself who held her own with the guys.

 

 

Duane was taking it all in.

 

 

There were booths with all kinds of surfing items, and we spotted this row of surfboards from all eras.

 

 

After taking it all in, we had dinner at Harpoon Henry's, famous for their seafood, then went back to the hotel where they had a band playing at their rooftop lounge.

 

 

Although I couldn't get a very good picture of the group called "Riptide", it was great fun and great surf music.

 

 

The next morning the fog rolled in, but I took a picture anyway of the "beach" outside our hotel window.  We'll be back soon, I'm sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMANDA

 

Last night, Duane's granddaughter, Amanda, graduated from high school.  What a proud moment. 

 

 

Amanda has truly become my granddaughter as well.  She came into my life when she was four years old, and has been in my heart ever since.

 

 

She was such a sweet child, and has grown into an extraordinary young lady.

 

 

She has become a shining example for her sister Valerie and her cousin Madeline to follow.  Not only has she gotten straight A's throughout her school years, but she has unfailingly been kind, gentle, sincere, and an upstanding Christian.

 

 

She has even caught the eye of the son of her pastor at church.

 

 

But, she's not always serious, and loves even the most insignificant competition.

 

 

And, is always fun to be around.

 

 

Oh, did I mention that she is also beautiful?

 

 

So, whether she's riding off into the sunset, singing in the choir, or doing calculus, we are so happy to have Amanda in our lives.  God Bless You Sweetheart!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maddie

It's amazing to me that my granddaughter Maddie is turning 10 years old this year.  She is such a delight, and so precious to me.  The following photos will show why I love her so much.  They are not necessarily in chronological order, but they capture those instances that filled my heart with love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!!

 

 

 

 

The Backyard

 

We love our backyard.  There are many aspects to our yard.  This is a view of the pool from the "Way Back", a term we've been using to separate the regular yard from the rest of the acre of property.

 

 

In the "Way Back" are many trees such as the Arizona Tree on the right with its yellow blossoms.  Through the trees you can see our garage with the apartment on top.

 

 

Here is another view of the Arizona Tree----so named by our dear friend Marian who gave us the tree and told us it came from Arizona.  The bees, especially the big black ones just love it.  In the foreground you can see our Tulip Tree with its purple blossoms.  It was what we call a "volunteer".  Many things begin growing in our yard that we didn't plant.

 

 

A volunteer from many years ago is this fig tree.  We like most of the fruit that our trees produce,  like----lemons, limes, plums and avocados, but we have just never gotten into figs.  This is just a small sampling of the hundreds of figs we get each year.

 

 

To keep everything healthy and happy needs a lot of TLC, like hand watering.  Farmer Duane is an expert at this.

 

 

In addition to fruit, we grow vegetables in the "Way Back".  Here you can see our cucumbers and zucchini doing beautifully.  Once again, Farmer Duane has been the key factor in their success.

 

 

Many pests threaten our vegetables----squirrels, rabbits, crows, so we need to get creative.  Nothing like a watch goose for this.  This bed has not yet fully sprouted.

 

 

One tree that doesn't need much help is the lemon.  It is ever bearing and we have lemons like these all year long.  What a blessing!

 

 

Not all vegetables are grown in the "Way Back".  We don't take any chances with our tomatoes and peppers, so we grow them in pots on our patio.  As you can see, the tomatoes are doing nicely.

 

 

At the end of a long day of gardening, that pool looks mighty nice!