Paul and Maris' visit to Colorado

In May 2011, Paul and Maris drove from Milwaukee to visit us.
During their visit with us, we introduced them to our surroundings as well as our newest hobby...geocaching.

On one of the first days they were here, we took them for a drive north and Wwest of Fort Collins on a road that runs along the Poudre River and through the canyon.  No matter what time of the year we head out in this direction there always seem to be new sites to see.  On this trip, we noticed that the river was beginning to swell.  Rafters were enjoying the exciting ride.

Our goal for the day was to head about 20 miles west to pick up 3 new caches that had been placed in the canyon along the road.  The first one had us (not Renee) climbing down the steep slope in search of the elusive cache.  We never did find this one and actually have been back since with no luck as well.  Giving up on that one for the moment, we headed back east to pick up the remaining 2 and have our lunch.  Success!  Both were found in record breaking time.  We had our lunch along the river and headed back to town.  Along the way, we were all treated to a small grouping of Big Horn Sheep that had progressed down from the mountains to feed on the new grasses.  Great photos.

Dash to Milwaukee

On Sat. November 6, 2010 we left Fort Collins and headed to Milwaukee for a quick trip for a couple of dental appointments. Ride to Milwaukee was uneventful and the first night of the trip was spent in Des Moines, Iowa. En route we stopped for a couple of geocaches (only those that were close to the highway) to break up the trip. On Sunday we continued our trip and arrived in West Allis to pick up some of our prints that had been in a show at Walkers Point Center for the Arts. From there we headed to Wauwatosa to stop for a cup of coffee with friends, Paul & Maris. During our brief time with them we learned of a dietary plan that they were following that is meant to reverse diabetes. Food for thought.
We arrived at Sue & Tony's house in St. Francis where they had graciously told us we could spend the nite. Had dinner at St. Francis Brewery and then headed home to watch the Packers.

The following morning we were up early and left for our dental appointments on the North West side of Milwaukee.

Drove back to Fort Collins and arrived home on Nov. 9th, 2010.

On Nov. 8th Heidi had her surgery in Denver so we went to visit with her on the 10th before we would have to leave home again. This time to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Cleaning out our storage unit.

On Friday morning, we went to the storage unit to pick up the art work and display units that we intended to use at the Milwaukee Artist Marketplace on Saturday. It was again raining and had been raining through most of the night. We discussed the pros and cons of setting up our tent and art work at the lakefront if this weather was going to continue. We decided that it really would not be wise to set up everything and then be caught in a downpour. This happened to us in June when we were at a show in West Allis and some of our inventory was spoiled. We did not want that to happen again, so we opted out of the show. It was a disappointment, but probably the wiser thing to do.

We did several errands during the day and then headed back to the Fried home. Paul & Maris had plans for the evening that were canceled because of the poor weather so they chose to come along with us for a fish fry with some of the Skiba's on the south side in St. Francis.

Flight to MKE

On Thursday morning, we finished loading our pictures onto our website for our representative to review, we finished packing and then waited a bit for the shuttle to arrive.
By 10:30 the shuttle was here for us. Door to Door service - not bad! Certainly a lot easier than having us drive to DIA, pay to park and then pick up the car when we return home. Thanks Doug for the tip!

Ride to the airport went relatively well except for the lack of AC on the bus. Very hot and stuffy!
Arrived at the airport at about 1:45PM. Plenty of time to catch our flight to MKE. After checking in and grabbing a bite to eat we walked to the area where our plane would take off only to find that it was going to be delayed another hour. Apparently the plane that we were going to board was coming in from an area where the weather was a bit dicey. We boarded at about 4 only to be told that the weather in MKE was not good and we may have to divert to Minneapolis. In order to be safe, the pilot had the plane filled to the max in case we did have to go to Minneapolis.

Several planes were in line waiting for takeoff. Others had been delayed as well. During our wait time we were treated to a delightful lightning show. Beginning of the flight was a bit bumpy, but as we made it above the clouds all settled down. That is until we neared MKE. We were told by the pilot that he was going to try once to land and if that was not possible we would head north to the Twin Cities.

The clouds that we went through were phenomenal! They were huge! This part of the flight was beautiful, wondrous and a tad frightening all at the same time. I love looking at the various cloud formations and to be right in the middle of them was stunning. By the way, I only lost one fingernail during this time!

As we landed, we noticed that both sides of the runway were covered in water. It was like landing in a lake. We were told later that the airport had actually been closed down a bit before we landed because of tornado warnings. Landing was relatively smooth and we all gave the pilots a big round of applause!

We had to wait for our luggage for a couple of hours because of the torrential downpour and the basement of the airport having too much water in it. Our friend, Paul Fried was again waiting for us at the airport to take us to their home for the weekend. But we could not get out of the airport because it had again been shut down. We were told that we were the last plane to land before closing. Many people apparently spent the nite in the airport waiting for connections. We were very lucky! As soon as luggage was gathered we made our way out of the airport.
Before leaving, we had a chance to watch some of the news reports on TV to find that we had flown through and landed in one of the worst rain storms since 1986. 7" in less than an hour in some parts of the city. A sink hole on the east side that swallowed a car and driver. More rain than the area obviously needed.

Paul found a safe way home and we all headed to bed knowing that we would have to rise early in the morning for a trip to the Clinic for blood work!
Another exciting trip. What else would be coming our way? Wait and see.

Moving from Milwaukee for the 2nd time

Paul & Maris helping us once again with our move.
On this day, we moved the remainder of our items out of the storage unit in Milwaukee into our truck.

Arrival in Omaha

It's Wednesday. And we are in Omaha.
Began the day very early at the home of Paul and Maris Fried. We have been staying with them in Menomonee Falls since they picked us up at the airport in MKE last Thursday morning. It is so wonderful having friends that we can count on. Thanks again guys for your great hospitality, and we'll see you in one week. Again at the airport. Remember, you are always welcome at our new abode in Fort Collins.

So the day began early. We drove to the Penske Truck Rental store on Hwy 100 & North Ave. to pick up our 26' truck. Peter drove the truck and the 3 of us drove in the van to the storage unit on Hwy 100 and Layton. By 8AM the movers that we had hired showed up. Began by emptying the unit out and putting everything on the roadway to see how we could load the truck. Little things were sorted through and put into boxes. The 2 movers were lacking in experience for moving and really did not know how to make the best use out of the space that was available. So again, Peter had to go into the truck and rearrange all sorts of things in order to make room for everything. We did get everything in that we needed and only had to leave behind a propane tank for the grill with Paul & Maris. We will pick that up next time. (One week from now, believe it or not!)

We had it all packed, said our good byes and headed out on the road by 10AM. We were glad to have started early as it was going to be a very hot day.
Nothing exciting on the road for the first several hours. We stopped at a rest area and took a much needed nap about 2:30 and then hit the road again. The only stops we made were for gasoline and some chicken nuggets at McDonald's.
About 7PM we were about 90 minutes outside of Omaha where we planned on staying and a terrific storm started. Rain came down in buckets. Lightening all around. We slowed to about 35 mph with our flashers on. Some truckers were pulled over. But we made it. And just before getting to Omaha, the sun came out and we saw 2 great rainbows! Is that an omen or what?

Heading to bed. Up again at 5 tomorrow morning and then sleeping in our own bed tomorrow nite. Hurray!

Time to return to Milwaukee

Well, I guess its that time once again folks....
Must return to Milwaukee for another truck load of our belongings.
We are headed back to Milwaukee today to do an art show this weekend at the Wisconsin Lutheran College and to empty out our storage unit in Milwaukee.

Woke very early this morning at 2 AM with only about 2 hours sleep in order to catch a shuttle to Denver Airport. The night before we leave it always seems difficult to settle down and get some good sleep. Suppose it doesn't help matters much when we continue working and packing until about midnight!

Arrived at the Airport with about an hour to spare. Check in went fairly normal for us....that is I have to be wanded! Have rarely been able to get through without setting off the alarm. My magnetic personality?!

We arrived in Milwaukee at 6:30AM to find our friends, Paul and Maris waiting for us with our van that they had been storing at their home. On the way home we stopped for a bit of breakfast before going to Menomonee Falls where we promptly headed to our bed for the week and crashed! The rest of the day was just spent catching up and relaxing. In the evening we went to Bastille Days which is one of our yearly traditions. Peter ran in the 9PM 5K run! After only a bit of sleep a very intense couple of weeks and very warm temperatures, it was great to see him finish.

On Friday our friends left for their annual Fried Fest near Stevens Point. We headed to our storage unit to pick up and sort through the art work and display units that we were going to take with us to the Art Fair at the Wisconsin Lutheran College on Saturday. Long day and early to bed. Rising early on Saturday to be at the College by 6:30 for set up!

Friends helping us move in

Long time friends, Paul & Maris Fried arrived just in time to help us unload our truck of our belongings into our new home in Fort Collins.
They were just completing a 6 week camping trip that took them to BC, Washington, Oregon etc. Stopped in Colorado on their way home to Milwaukee.
So good to have great friends who are willing to help.