March 5, 2010 still counting the days until Spring and sailing happens

Spending the weekend with the 4 grandchildren. Taking them to the Milwaukee Zoo tomorrow. Tomorrow is a free day so the zoo will more than likely be very crowded. The weather is supposed to be a little warmer with sunshine most of the day so it should still be fun. Maybe we will see the Polar Bear out and warming itself in the sun.

Disney Cruise on the Disney Wonder

Well the time is going by so slowly, It is very cold in Chicago this winter and we have had so much snow. I am counting the weeks until April 1 when I can put the sailboat back in the water.

We did get away from the snow and the cold for one week with my daughter's family. We went on the Disney Wonder on a 4 day cruise to Nassau. The weather was great with 80+ degrees each day. We had a great time with my two granddaughters age 11 and 7. Disney really does know how to treat their customers. Here is a picture of the cruise ship.

I would recommend this trip to anyone who has children.

First class Broadway type shows, all of the Disney characters for pictures and autographs, a crew that is so customer focused, and the food was not just for children. The food was as good as on the adults only cruise ships. Only think missing is the gambling and we are not into that so we did not care.

Columbus Ohio on an out of the ordinary Warm November day

Click on pictures to enlarge for a better view

Hoover Reservoir with dam and downstream views




Just can not keep away from the water and the great outdoors even though we had to put the sailboat into winter storage. Here are some pictures from the Hoover Reservoir in Westerville, Ohio a suburb of Columbus. We made the trip to see the Ohio State and Iowa football game. In laws from Columbus and my son went to Iowa so had mixed emotions about the game. As you can see I enjoyed my short afternoon the day before the game.

Chicago with a beautiful fall day with lots of sunshine

It is just too bad when one lives in one of the Northern states the sailing season is so short. But, typical for Chicago it does get cold in late October and the marinas have to winterize their docks. So, naturally the sailboats also have to be put away for the winter. Then it happens, those one of two days when the weather turns more like an early fall day rather than a late one. The last two weekends were like that with the temps getting up into the high 60's and even one day into the low 70's. This weekend, although not as warm as the past two will be in the low 60's. This is almost 20 degrees above the norm and would be great for sailing. Oh well, I am going to take advantage and work in the yard and maybe even put up the Christmas lights early - still will not turn them on until after Thanksgiving but, it will be easier without blowing snow.

Coupons for Dining out in Chicago or nationwide Great website

Travelzoo top 20 sent me an e-mail that directed me to a website to get certificates for restaurants in the Chicago area.

Special Offer from Restaurant.com: 80% off but is over on October 31. I paid $2.00 for a $25.00 certificate that you use just like cash. This is also offered Nationwide.

They are good for one year from date of purchase so I bought 4 certificates of $25 each. That is like getting $100 in cash for only $4 dollars.

To purchase:

Go to this website

http://www.restaurant.com/offer/travelzoo/index.asp?prti=4426&raid=2632

and enter a zip code or pick a state to find the local participating restaurants
Select the gift certificate amount (if more than one choice is available), then add it to the cart
Upon checking out, enter the discount code APE on the Shopping Cart page
After completing the transaction print out the gift certificates to take to the restaurant
Very few rules or limitations. What a great way to try out restaurants without spending a lot of money.

O'day Sailboat taken out of water due to October rainy days

It has been raining non stop for the entire month of October. We broke the record in Chicago for the most days of rain in the month of October. 19 days of rain. Needless to say the boat is out of the water and in my driveway. Will keep it there for a few weeks to work on it before I move it to the indoor storage outside of Racine.

Cold Weather appears here to stay

I have put off taking the boat out of the water just hoping for one last good day of sailing. No such luck. Temperatures have been in the high 40's with heavy air and high waves. Many days with small craft warning. Most every day cloudy and cold.

I may wait one more week hoping that Indian Summer will appear for a day or two but, the long term weather forecast does not bode well.

I did pick up the boat trailer and took it out of summer storage and currently have it outside at the marina so it will be ready to use when I decide to take the boat out of the water and move it to my indoor winter storage just outside of Racine.