European Vacation 2016 - June 12th

Finally a great night of rest, and up to Camden Town to meet up with my cousin Aeron.  He met us at the train station, and took us to the sprawling Camden Market.  It seemed like it would never end - t-shirts, leather, jewelry, and just about everything else back to back and double packed.  Made for a very unique experience.  We spent several hours there, and thankfully very little money!

Afterwards we decided to high-tail it downtown with Aeron giving us a lightning-quick tour of the central area.  We rode a bus down to Trafalgar Square where some even was going on, then walked it over to Big Ben, and over the bridge to the London Eye.  From there we walked back across the Thames on an amazing pedestrian-only bridge.  Then we rolled into a tube station, and back to Roma's for dinner.

Roma cooked a fantastic spread for us, including Aeron and his girlfriend.  We were also joined by Toby and Jake, his brother.  Fantastic time together and loved sharing this fun with my mum's family. So crazy-blessed to have them in my life - a lasting gift from my mum :)

European Vacation 2016 - June 11th

After some spotty sleep in Jake's room (very nice view of the backyard - and a bit weird with no screens - no "mozis" you know), I wandered down for some breakfast.  This was simply an acclimation day to get us used to the time zone.  We started by joining Roma at a birthday party at her friend Penny's house just nearby.  We were woefully underdressed, but it didn't matter.  All the guests were super-nice to us and the food was fantastic.  Even chatted it up with Chris and Linda, US transplants living in London now.  Oh yeah, Sam had his first beer - a Heineken :)

From there we went back to Roma's to enjoy a street party celebrating the Queen's 90th birthday. The whole city was doing something, and meeting her neighbors was great.  We chatted it up with several of them, and can see why Roma's loves this part of London.  We also witnessed a chap passed out due to a seizure...good times ;)

After this Toby took us with him to Camden Town to watch the England match against Russia in the Euros.  Very big tournament, and this would be Sam's first experience in a bar/pub with sports fans. We arrived at a place called Lock 17, and made it just in time for the game.  We found seats and watched a scoreless first half, then England scored in the second - and the place went bonkers.  Toby spilled his pint everywhere and mass-hugging ensured.  It remained 1-nill until the very last minute of injury time when Russia equalized.  Very disappointing since England hasn't won an opening round in ages.

Even so, Sam and I milled around a bit more, then headed off for a late dinner in the neighborhood.  Settled on a Chipolte-type eatery.  Then we caught the train back to West Finchley, and came across the street party - still going at midnight!  By this time however there had been complaints about the noise, and the police arrived shortly after we did.  Then the representatives from the Council.  The party was only down to a dozen folks by then but they were still ticked that so much attention was placed on them.  Roma laughed thinking what we have done in a short 24-hours.

We finally made it back to the house, and I had a nice chat with Roma before retiring.

European Vacation 2016 - June 9th and 10th

Another great adventure with my son Sam begins again - this time overseas.  Going to hit several destinations by plane and train...our most extensive yet.  First however, we have to get there... 

Might as well blend in these two dates since that's what the time difference did anyhows.  LONG day of travel started with my sister and Jerry picking us up and driving us to O'Hare.  In typical me fashion I forgot something and had to drive back.  We finally got on the road and arrived at the airport - with five hours to kill.  Lovely.

The first flight took us to Stockholm on SAS, and then a connecting flight to London.  It was cheaper this way, but really taxing on the body - well at least mine (started the trip with a bit of a bad back). Our time in Stockholm was interesting.  Had to have security check for just us since we were the only ones from the flight going to London.  This grumpy Swede did the honors, and was quite through about it.  

Once past him we waited a bit more, then boarded the packed plane and waited some more, then flew out to only circle London waiting to land.  Get the theme?  Finally did, and caught a subway - or tube ride to my relative Roma's borough of West Finchley.  That took another hour plus.  When we finally arrived I tried to buy a sim card to contact her, to no avail.  Finally just used a cell phone from a shop owner nearby and then Roma's son Toby came by to whisk us away.

We finally arrived at Roma's at about 8pm London time, a good 20 plus hours after we left Crown Point.  Had a great dinner with her and meet with her friend Alison.  Afterwords settled in for the night with spotty sleep - at least the bed and view from the bedroom was nice :) 

Transitions...

Life sure can come at you fast, and certainly has for me.  As much as I was glowing just a few months ago about my new fiance, I write this post single once again, and if that wasn't enough - without my mother either.

First up Kenna broke it off with me in April after visiting Arizona.  She decided that it would be best for her to live there, and thus move from me, her friends and her church here in the region.  Yes, that's a lot to give up, and although she made the decision practically overnight with me, it did take her a week or so to settle down and have peace with it.  Things moved quickly and she got a job and moved out in mid-June.  

About a month later, my mother finally succumbed to her long struggle with kidney failure and died on May 26th.  Although very weak for many years, she had made it through a few close calls, and both Karen and I didn't expect her to leave us so suddenly.  She was admitted to the hospital to fix a port in her arm for dialysis, which didn't take, and thus made her weaker.  When they tried again, she didn't wake up out of sedation - her heart simply gave up.

The night before Karen and I were able to visit her for a while, and I knew the end was near.  She lying in bed, with an oxygen mask on.  She looked, for lack of a better word, pathetic.  In fact, she couldn't even breathe room air without her oxygen levels sinking.  I left with a heavy heart and cried, knowing the end was near.  The next morning, it was true.

In the midst of these traumatic events I traveled to Portland, OR for a conference, and escaped with my son to Winnipeg to watch the women's World Cup.  Both of these excursions were very helpful in getting me past the pain and shock for both events.  I'm thankful for their timing.

As for where I am now - that's in the Lord's hands.  Right at this moment I just don't have the bandwidth to date again, and quite frankly, I need to get alone to process all of this stuff and rebuild my life.  It does me no good jumping back into a relationship at a time where I am vulnerable and not at my best.  I do desire to marry - and I pray the Lord will provide me a good mate one day.  At least I have a better sense of who I need in my life, and to pull the trigger quicker on those who aren't going to work out.

The last month or so with Kenna since my mum died was difficult.  She wasn't very kind towards me, and this threw me off.  We did make peace however before she left, and now in hindsight, it's a good thing we never made it to the altar.  Ever since I slipped that ring on her finger things between us went downhill.  Eventually she yearned to be in Arizona, and was asking how I felt to move out there one day.  I didn't shut out the possibility, but certainly didn't think much of it either (move to the desert...um, no).  That in the end pushed her away, and far better to realize this now than when married.  In short, I was spared.

Of course there were other matters as well.  If it were just Arizona, I think she would have stayed with me if her love was strong enough.  It wasn't.  Now, I need to figure out want I must do to land a lady for the long-term.  First I need time to heal and enjoy being on my own - I never have had that opportunity.  I've bounced from one lady to another, and this takes its toll.

I have heard from far too many people that "when you least expect it, she will walk into your life." It's now time to trust in this...and in what the Lord has in store for me.

My Beautiful Reward :)

I write this post on Christmas Day, 2014 - a most eventful year.  As I entered the year, I knew something special was probably on the horizon since 14 IS my favorite number, and has popped up throughout my life.  This did turn out to be true on one important and frustrating point - my love life.

Since my ex-wife left me in July of 2004, I have been on nothing short of a dating odyssey.  Thanks to the internet, it's quite easy to find someone to date - the trick in my case was was to keep them around longer than half-a-year.  I had several girlfriends in this time, and a very few I seriously thought would be "the one."  God certainly had other plans, and made sure I was prepared when the right lady did come along.

My first date with Kenna Hassellof took place on December 20, 2013.  We met at Theo's in Highland, had a great dinner, then visited Beer Geeks for a nightcap.  We hugged, parted ways, and really didn't connect again until after the New Year's.  Always a tricky thing to start dating around Christmas. Shortly after as 2014 begun, we began dating regularly, and by the end of January, if not earlier, we were an item.

The year rolled along very well.  Had a great Valentine's Day/birthday celebration in Chicago for her, dressed up for a couple of nice events, including the wedding of my cousin Colleen in April.  Then I joined Omni fitness with her, and started my first vegetable garden at my house.  We took part in Bike the Drive, and then began taking biking trips throughout the summer and fall to various locations.

Along with our burgeoning social schedule, Kenna was working to help launch a new Faith Church location in Schererville.  She already belonged to the Hammond one, and transitioned over when the opportunity arose over the summer.  I slowly kicked in, and eventually left my long-time church Bethel in Crown Point, and joined Kenna on the transitional leadership team.  It has been a fantastic time getting to know the people who call this church their home, and most especially Pastor Brett Dood who has also become a good friend.

During the first part of the year, I had the fortune of getting to know Kenna's dad, Don.  We got together on many occasions, which was easy at first since they lived together.  Eventually Don moved out to his own apartment in Merrillville where he was doing well on his own for the first time since his wife died a few years back.  Sadly in July, Don died in his apartment, and Kenna found him a few days later.  I was honored to help Kenna plan for the memorial service a month later, and looking back am very blessed to have known Don for the short time I had.

As the year rolled on, so did many more great moments.  From bike rides, to nights out, to times on the couch watching Breaking Bad, we began to bond on a very deep level.  On my birthday, Kenna planned out the entire day, which demonstrated her thoughtfulness and true love for me.  It was at this time I began planning the next step for us.

My goal has always been remarriage.  I didn't have a very good first go of it, and greatly desired another chance to make things right.  I wanted to share my love and devotion to a woman who would really appreciate it, and reciprocate these feelings as well.   As I dated, I always thought one year would be a great barometer of moving forward with someone.  Rapidly, my one year with Kenna was approaching...so the decision was clear.

I spoke with my sister first about my plans to propose to Kenna in early November.  I said I would have a few other mutual friends from church help out, and soon I put them all in touch.  They worked on ideas for the event, and all along kept quiet.  The plan was set to propose on our one-year dating anniversary of December 20th.  While they worked on the logistics, I did my part with getting the ring ready.  Thankfully I had an idea of what Kenna liked in a design, and matched that with the rock from my grandmother Renee's ring.  It made for a perfect fit, and I picked it up from my jeweler, Brad Belush, with only two days to spare.

As the day approached, so did the jitters.  The plan however laid out well, and everyone was ready to go.  On the day before, I did show off the ring to some co-workers with the expected "ooos and ahhs."  All was ready to go the day of, which involved helping first to set up the church for Sunday services.  Thankfully Kenna didn't take part, which gave me some extra time to talk to those who were helping, and to show off the ring to them.

The big night began with my picking up Kenna at 6:45pm.  I got here a dozen roses so I entered the house to get them in a vase.  We exchanged cards, then she gave me an amazing gift of a heart-shaped collage of memorable events from our first year together.  This nearly floored me - it was so well done.  We were then ready to leave for Theo's to celebrate our first year together.

When we arrived we were seated and promptly ordered the best stuff we could think of.  I had myself a juicy Kansas City strip steak, and Kenna went with the filet mignon.  We were in meat heaven! Now the plan was to drive to a gazebo on the Erie-Lackawanna Trail in downtown Highland where my sister and friends were decorating.  I would propose to Kenna in that gazebo, so I was checking my phone for any texts on their progress.  About 8pm Karen toke me they had finished decorating and were now waiting.  I didn't want to rush our meal, so about 8:30 we finished and left.

Now what I told Kenna was that we would go back to Beer Geeks like last year, and as I left Theo's she told me where it was.  Unfortunately it was the wrong direction from the gazebo, so I had to think quick and let her know that I wanted to see the Christmas lights in downtown Highland.  Thankfully Kenna agreed and we proceeded to the proposal location.

Upon arriving I noticed the gazebo with lights ringing it and told Kenna that I thought that was neat and that I'd like to visit.  Kenna agreed, so we parked and began walking to it.  I knew in the distance Karen, Jerry, Sam, Bobby, Sarah and others were watching and waiting.  When we walked in, we saw that there were candles on the bench inside, with flowers and music too.  There were also rose petals and cut-out hearts on the ground leading in.

Kenna became very curious at all of this, which at that moment I turned to her, held her hands and said the following:

"Kenna...I have had such an amazing year being with you.  I look back and think of all the great times we shared together - the many bike rides we have taken, the long walks together with Sydney, growing a garden, joining a gym with you, and having the opportunity to get to know your dad before he left us.  Of course I am most happy knowing you love Christ, and that we serve as leaders at Faith.

I have learned to know your innermost self - and I have fallen in love with that woman.  You are generous, thoughtful, intelligent, and so very sexy.  I am so blessed to have you in my life.  This year has been a turning point for me, and I truly feel my second act is now beginning.  And that said, this act would not be complete without you by my side."

At this moment, I went down to one knee with the ring box, opened it and said, "Kenna, will you marry me?"  She immediately said "I will" and I hugged her and then fit the ring on her finger.  She was quite surprised and laughing a bit.  I then signaled everyone nearby that she accepted and within seconds I see my son running up to us with a camcorder in hand.  Right after we hear all of our friends and family cheering from across the street where they were hiding.  They raced up to Kenna and hugger her.  I was shaking hands and hugging everyone as well - with both my sister and Sam crying as they did.

A few of them stayed behind to clean up the gazebo, and then we proceeded to Buffalo Wild Wings in Scherervlle (scene of our first kiss in their parking lot) for a post-proposal gathering.  We arrived and came across about a dozen more of our friends who screamed and hugged Kenna.  From there we spent the rest of the night reliving the moment over and over, and also gazing at the beautiful ring now adorning Kenna's right hand.

As I said in my speech to Kenna before proposing, I really feel my second act is now underway. Kenna and I are now talking about our wedding date, which may be in October of next year.  It is an amazing feeling to have found such a special woman whom I can experience life with.  I am as happy and as hopeful as I have ever been, and I am looking forward to a fantastic second half of life with an opportunity to truly finish strong!

Wicked Extreme New England Expedition 2014: The Last Days

(Okay, I realize I'm finishing this trip on CHRISTMAS DAY!  Give me a break...I was busy!  That said I'll do my best to remember...)

Tuesday, August 5th
Before we left Erie, we decided to drive through their downtown for a spell before moving on.  Not much to see, so we headed out for our next visit to the Cleveland area, and specifically to meet with my career mentor Rory Robinson of the National Park Service.  We made good time and arrived to meet Rory about at his office in the Cuyahoga National Park between Akron and Cleveland. We enjoyed a great lunch at a local restaurant, and then walked a bit of the Towpath Trail nearby. This path runs along the old Erie Canal, and in this certain location was a restored lock.  It was misting at the time so we didn't stay long, bid Rory adieu after visiting his office, and headed south to Akron.

Maybe I was just a bit giddy about LeBron James returning to the Cavs, but I really wanted to check out his hometown.  Nothing much to write about, but we did stumble across the old Rubber Bowl, which is on the ridge of a huge valley which includes an airfield, blimp barn and soapbox derby arena.  Looked even stranger.  The Rubber Bowl is the old stadium where the Akron Zips played their football games, and now it's in ruins.  Should be torn down, although it is in a great location. Shame.

From Akron we headed up to Cleveland for an unimpressive tour of the downtown.  Sam was not happy about it, and I wasn't either.  Nothing of real value for being a major downtown area - save for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...which looked vacant.  We quickly headed out of town, and rode up to our final stop in Port Huron, MI where I was to give the keynote address at a conference the next day.

Wednesday, August 6th 
Very interesting situation where I was booked to make this speech, and planned our trip right up against it.  Oops.  Meant I had to lug a set of nice clothes throughout the entire trip - moving it gingerly at every stop.  It did work out and only my shirt needed some ironing.  Anyhow the speech was great, and Sam actually caught a bit of it - while taking a jillion pictures.

After the speech we took a little tour of Port Huron under the massive bridge that connects to Canada across the river.  We then rode north a bit to a local county park so Sam could dip his toes into Lake Huron.  He dried up and we headed clear across the state back home, but stopping for a short time in Douglas, MI on the west coast.  There we made our way down to a small public beach surrounded by homes and trees.  We took some final photos, and then proceeded back to Crown Point...and with that 2,400 miles of priceless memories ;)

Wicked Extreme New England Expedition 2014: Days 7, 8, 9, & 10

Friday, August 1st
Decided to take it easy this morning with a late start, but soon enough off we went for a bit of local sightseeing.  We traveled around New Britain and visited a well-manicured park on top of hill.  In the center of the park there was a large monument dedicated to veterans of WWI, and surrounded by gardens and a fountain.  Great views of the surrounding area as well.  Sam wasn't impressed, so away we went to our next stop.

Interestingly I wanted to visit Bristol, home of ESPN, but instead opted to head to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Connecticut, along the city of New Haven.  On the way to the coast we took a nice tour of Yale University, chalking up another Ivy League school on our trip.  It was gorgeous - with historic buildings and homes everywhere you looked.  We walked through most of the campus, and then realized we were running late.

We headed to a beach in New Haven proper, but it was packed on the roads in, so we diverted a bit west to West Haven and Bradley Point Park.  This was a fantastic experience with rock outcroppings that we climbed about on, and sand bars that continuously grew due to the low tide occurring.  So much so that Sam eventually walked a sand causeway to a nearby rock island and blew his horn in triumph.  Of note was Sam finding a Samsung S4 phone stuck in the sand.

Since we were enjoying ourselves so much, we simply took our time and finally left to New Britain for the next game.  Arrived in the 6th inning, and Sam promptly leaves to the edge of the grandstand to catch a foul ball, and I notice him striking up a conversation with a family - no surprise there.  About a half hour later, with the game winding down, serendipity strikes again.  Out of nowhere this guy sits next to me and tells me, "So ESPN didn't get back to you regarding the tour, huh?"  Now at this time I'm just a bit wigged out, but he explains that he is a senior editor, for none other that ESPN the Magazine - and even goes so far as to invite us to visit his office the next day!


Saturday, August 2nd
Now ESPN does not offer public tours - but only to friends and family - so this was a HUGE chance meeting!  The man introduces himself as JB, and talks to us about meeting him the next morning.  We were in a bit of shock, but of course agreed.  Sure enough the next day we meet for breakfast across the street from ESPN, and then he takes us in to the sprawling compound.  We see a whole bunch of satellites and buildings, including his for the magazine.  We tour his office, and a couple of others, and before we left he said he'd help Sam get in touch with some local journalists.  By now I'm about speechless at all of this, and Sam can't contain his glee either.

We wind around the grounds for a bit, visited the cafeteria in the hopes of running into a personality (didn't), and then the radio headquarters.  He couldn't give us the full tour since we need two weeks clearance for that, but we were giddy at just a hint of an opportunity to get into the mighty sports empire.  At the end JB talked to Sam about careers in sports journalism, and then back on the road.  This episode easily turned out to the highlight of our trip - and quite possibly ANY trip we've ever taken.

Drunk with glee over our weird luck, we headed to our next stop in Manchester, New Hampshire for a game involving their Fisher Cats.  On approach to the city I was impressed with the old warehouses lining the river on both sides, now converted to other uses, such as a university and major businesses.  The game itself was nice, but we headed out before the fireworks started - which turned out to be amazing as we heard leaving the park.  We found a Ben and Jerry's downtown and splurged on some great ice cream, and then settled down in our hotel nearby.


Sunday, August 3rd
Being a "lazy Sunday" we took our time leaving the hotel and made our way up to Concord, NH state capitol.  Not impressed.  First, they charged us for parking on a Sunday, and then when we did, we found out the statehouse, and about everything else, was closed.  Nice.  We immediately hit the road and into Vermont and their charming capitol of Montpelier.  This happens to be the smallest capitol in the US, and it looks it.  The statehouse is even modest, and like NH, closed.  Even so we did have a good meal at a local cafe, and then back on the road.

Driving through Vermont and even NH was a real joy as we wove through their lush green mountains.  They became more majestic as we creeped our way north to our next stop in Stowe.  This is another quaint town which is quite popular during ski season.  When we arrived at our hotel, we discovered it was more of a resort type facility, complete with its own 2-acre lake behind it.  Intrigued we decided to paddle it - first in a rowboat that almost sank, then a nearby canoe which did the trick.  We made a loop around the lake and then headed to Burlington for our next game.

Leaving the Stowe area was nice - winding through a narrow and history country road.  When we entered Burlington we immediately discovered that parking was quite scarce, but we did end up finding a space and entered the stadium for a Vermont Lake Monsters game.  Pretty good game, but I began thinking about seeing Burlington in the daytime, so we left early and checked out the lakefront and downtown.  Smitten by the immense beauty of Lake Champlain we both decided to skip our next game in Jamestown, NY and spend some quality time in the area.  Before we turned in we enjoyed a great pizza dinner at a pub along the Church St. pedestrian mall - a real treasure.

Monday, August 4th
Since our next hotel stop was back in Erie, PA - we got up early to tackle a full day.  It started right down the road at the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory for a tour.  It is quite the popular destination and even on a Monday we were part of a sizable crowd looking to walk through how they make their famous ice cream.  We bought a few knick-knacks and then headed to Camel's Hump State Park to try and score a view of the mountains.  Winding up a narrow, gravel road we finally made it to a parking lot which was about filled.  We discovered the trail to the summit - and the 3.4 mile length it would take to reach it.  No thanks.  We headed back, took in a beautiful rock-strewn creek for some photo-ops, and headed into Burlington.

We arrived back on the lakefront, and took a walk up and down their promenade.  We tried to walk to a beach in the distance, but gave up.  We walked up to Church St. again, had some lunch in an adjacent mall, and grabbed a t-shirt for Sam.  After a few more walks up and down, and upon insistence from Sam, we headed to that beach.  When we arrived we found out it cost $8 to get in, but Sam really wanted to swim, so in we went.  He changed and took an hour dip in the lake, while I watched him in the shade, enjoying the cool breezes.

From there we exited Burlington and headed south to Erie.  Problem is, there is no direct highway between these areas, so we had to connect up with several two-lane state roads - which added a lot of time to our travel.  Even so this route took us through the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, which provided us a spectacular view throughout the long journey.  At one point, interestingly enough called Crown Point, we just had to get out and admire the tremendous view.  After several more pictures of the drive (which don't do it anything close to justice), we rolled into Erie at the wee hour of 2am.