A Week of Reflections: Travel Tales, Sporting Highlights, and More

This week will be one of those rambling posts about nothing... or a lot, depending on how you look at it.

To start, we have a few camping trips booked for the year. I'm excited to get out and camp again and hoping to do more than we did last year. If my memory is right, we only camped twice last year. It was one of our lowest times camping since we started in 2021. We have a new spot booked for our first trip this year. More on where we are headed after we go camping. For the first trip, we are not planning to take Oliver as it could still be chilly in the evenings, but for the second trip, we plan to take him with us.

After traveling consecutively for four months, I'm not planning to fly anywhere anytime soon. I will be traveling to Pittsburg, KS in mid-May, but no flights anywhere. I traveled twice for two different conferences (Chicago and Orlando) for work and then twice with Carrie (Austin and Miami) for fun. I must admit that I enjoy flying. I look forward to the whole process, from getting up early to connecting flights. I have some flight watches going to track flights to different places in case a good deal pops up for Carrie and me to make a quick trip to another city.

Changing over to sports, my Royals started off doing well and then stumbled for a few weeks, going on a losing streak. We are back in Kansas City and playing well against the Astros. We are back to .500 at 14-14, which is good. It did not look good a few weeks ago when we could not get a run to save our lives. Hoping this trend continues and having fun doing so against the Astros.

Two weeks ago was, of course, the Masters. Wow! What a fun final day that was, and I'm happy for Rory McIlroy to finally win this one after coming so close for so many years. Yes, I enjoy watching golf, although I no longer play. I like to tune in to watch, and this was a Masters final day not to miss. Back and forth the whole day. It was a lot of fun!

Looking at my reading for the year, I am six books in so far for the reading challenge. I set 20 books as my target to complete for the year, so I am 6 out of 20. Doing pretty good so far, and it helped to finally finish two books while I was traveling for vacations and conferences. I do need to pick up the pace a bit on my current book as I am back to only reading a few pages, sometimes a few sentences, before I go to sleep. I need to bring my book down to the family room and read again while watching shows or sports. I am feeling good about my progress so far and hoping to hit the twenty-book target by the end of the year.

Our little Oliver will turn 14 this summer. He is still getting around great and often running around in our family room or backyard. We have noticed in the past two months that his hearing is going. He can still hear, but selective hearing seems to be happening. We also know that his hearing is leaving as he usually does not hear us come home and we have to touch him to awaken him from his slumber. He can still hear high-pitched noises like pots banging but is struggling with hearing our voices. He went to the vet last week for a spa day along with shots, a checkup, etc., and I shared with them that his hearing was degrading. Of course, the vet was not concerned as he is going to be 14 this summer, and it is common for dogs to lose their hearing. Still, it is sad to see Oliver losing his hearing just like it was when he had most of his teeth removed years ago.

That is all for this rambling post on a Sunday morning. Have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week. I will talk to you again next week.

Happy Easter 2025!

Happy Easter, everyone! 🌷

The forecast today in Topeka is rain all day long, but that won't dampen our spirits. We're headed to Lawrence to spend the day with my mom. Unfortunately, my sister Jen had to change her plans due to the weather and won't be coming up from Wichita. We'll miss seeing Jen and Kent this Easter.

Despite the rain, I'm looking forward to Munchers Bakery donuts on Easter morning, Bloody Marys, and other delicious treats. It's been a while since the family has all been at Mom's, so it promises to be a wonderful day. Spending Easter 2025 in Lawrence is something I'm truly excited about.

I hope you all have a fantastic Easter. Stay safe and enjoy the day. Keep an eye out for those little bunnies bouncing around delivering eggs! 🐰🥚

 May your Easter be filled with joy, love, and the promise of new beginnings.

A Weekend of Coffee, Hammocks, and Celebrations: Our Fun-Filled Adventures

Coffee and Breakfast

What a great weekend! Saturday morning found Carrie and me at Circle Coffee for a late breakfast and coffee. I had not been to Circle Coffee in a few months, so it was good to be back. We sat on the patio to enjoy the beautiful morning. After coffee, we headed to the hardware store to get some things. We needed to repair the hammock so that we could get it working and ready for the spring weather. We also needed to pick up some items to hang pictures in my office at work. It was a productive morning for us, which was good.

Carrie helped hang pictures in my office that I moved into back in December. I had not had a chance to hang any pictures and wanted Carrie to help with the process. I also took the opportunity of a Saturday in the office to clean out two boxes that I had not cleaned out since moving into my new office. It looks much better now.

After finishing up the hanging of pictures and putting things away at my office, we headed home. Carrie and Oliver spent some time in the hammock after we got it hung up and working properly. Oliver gets so excited when either one of us heads out to the hammock.

Saturday night, Carrie wanted to go to Free State in Lawrence, so we headed there around five for dinner. We had not been to Free State in a long time, so it was good to have dinner and some delicious Free State beer. Carrie picked Free State for her birthday celebration. Good pick! We enjoyed a few Cyclist beers and a wonderful meal. We picked up Erin and Greg on our way to Lawrence and met Joan and Eddie there for dinner. After dinner, Erin, Greg, Carrie, and I went out in Lawrence and had a good time. It was busy in Lawrence. We finished the evening at John Brown Underground, which Carrie and I had been to previously, but Erin and Greg had not. Fun spot with interesting drinks.

A good Sunday so far with me riding this morning on Peloton, and after the bike ride, I mowed the lawn for the first time this year. It was good because I was able to talk to the neighbors to the east and south of us, as we had not seen each other in a few months with all the cold and nasty weather. It was good to be able to catch up with both.

Oliver in his Bed

I leave you with a photo of Oliver in our backyard that Carrie took earlier this week when I was on my way back to Topeka after being out of town. He loves his bed and he loves hanging out in the backyard, especially if Carrie or I can be out there with him. If we go inside, he wants inside and then wants to go right back out to the backyard. It is a vicious cycle of in and out with him and our backyard.

Have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week.

Exploring Miami and Sailing the Seas: Our Unforgettable Virgin Voyages Adventure

Arrival in Miami

View from Plane

Carrie and I went on our first Virgin Voyages cruise back in 2023, and we liked it so much that we signed up for a second cruise while we were still on the ship. We went on our second cruise from March 28 through April 2. It was another wonderful time, and we're already thinking about our next cruise on Virgin. We started this trip by spending two days in Miami before departing. We really like Miami and wanted to spend time there before leaving on our trip.

Hotel Pool View for Afternoon

We flew down early on the morning of Wednesday, March 26. We had a low-key first day, spending the day at the hotel pool, which was amazing, and then had a casual meal for dinner before making our way back to the hotel. We ate at some good spots this day, including Las Olas Cafe, which serves Latin-style food. It was so good that we went back again the next day to get coffee.

Exploring Miami Beach The next day found us in Miami Beach for breakfast at Cortado Cafe and Coffee House, where we ate breakfast, read, and I did some brief work. It's a popular spot for breakfast or coffee. We enjoyed our time on the corner watching people, and the food was great!

We were close to an Apple Store, as Carrie needed to stop by for an issue she was having with her Apple Pencil. After the Apple Store, we walked along the shops before deciding to grab a quick bite and drink at Oh! Mexico, where we had an appetizer and drinks. Actually, we had one appetizer and three drinks. It was an expensive bill for just an app and drinks, but it was good. It's a good spot to sit on the patio and people-watch while we snacked and drank.

Dining in Miami

Las Olas Cafe We ate at some good spots this day, including Las Olas Cafe, which serves Latin-style food. It was so good that we went back again the next day to get coffee.

Cortado Cafe and Coffee House The next day found us in Miami Beach for breakfast at Cortado Cafe and Coffee House, where we ate breakfast, read, and I did some brief work. It's a popular spot for breakfast or coffee. We enjoyed our time on the corner watching people, and the food was great!

Oh! Mexico After the Apple Store, we walked along the shops before deciding to grab a quick bite and drink at Oh! Mexico, where we had an appetizer and drinks. Actually, we had one appetizer and three drinks. It was an expensive bill for just an app and drinks, but it was good. It's a good spot to sit on the patio and people-watch while we snacked and drank.

Stone Crab from Stiltsville

Stiltsville Fish Bar Thursday night, we made reservations at a spot I selected called Stiltsville Fish Bar. We were drawn to this location due to their menu. I was interested in trying stone crab, which I had never had before and had never heard of until we were checking places to eat in Miami Beach. Stone crab is special to the Florida area, and it was good. We only had one as they are expensive, but it was worth the visit. We looked through other places to eat but decided on Stiltsville Fish Bar because of other items on their menu. Excellent!

Other items we had from Stiltsville Fish Bar...

Crab Cake from Stiltsville Fish Bar

 

Fish for Dinner From Stiltsville

Crab Cakes from Stiltsville

Key Lime Pie from Stiltsville

 

Following dinner, we headed to a nearby brewery where we could have some drinks while I watched the Washburn Ichabods on ESPN+ in the Final Four of the NCAA D2 basketball tournament. It was a good spot to watch the game on my phone while having some good drinks. Unfortunately, the Ichabods ran into a good team that went on to win the NCAA D2 championship.

Boarding the Virgin Voyages Cruise

Top Deck and Ready to Deport

Priority Boarding and Perks Friday morning found us headed to port to board the Virgin Voyages cruise line. Carrie and I were so excited to be on vacation and headed to our second cruise with Virgin Voyages. For this cruise, Carrie and I decided to sign up for more events than we did on the first trip. I’m glad we did, as we signed up for a painting class (more on this later), a spin class, morning meditation, and we went to both ports where we had originally thought we would remain on the ship. Again, I’m glad we signed up for more things, and for the most part, we stuck to the areas we signed up for.

The process of getting aboard was easy as we had priority boarding, which included a "Splash of Romance" that got us some Champagne along with some other perks we enjoyed. Virgin added some new options that could be ordered before leaving port, which included a bucket of beers, a bucket of Moscow Mules, and I also ordered premium WiFi so I could watch the basketball games I was hoping would take place on Saturday. The new additions of being able to have buckets of drinks waiting for us when leaving port were great!

Dining on the Ship

Pink Agave One thing I do not like about the Virgin Voyages app is that after the cruise ends, I cannot go into the app to see what we did or details about what we ordered. Everything ends except the home button on the app. However, I think I can remember the places we ate and call those out here.

Pink Agave is my favorite of the places we ate. This was our second time eating at Pink Agave, as the restaurants are similar between ships. Pink Agave has good drinks, the food is outstanding, and the wait staff is on point with recommendations, answering questions, and being attentive to our needs while we eat.

Seafood Dinner at The Wake

The Wake The Wake is another favorite on the trip. We went here twice, once for breakfast and then for dinner. It’s at the rear of the ship with large windows that look out over the ocean as we leave a wake in the water.

Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle is another good place to eat on the ship. We went here our first night and had a good meal along with drinks.

Extra Virgin Our least favorite spot on the ship, both this voyage and our first voyage in 2023, is Extra Virgin. It’s an Italian place to eat aboard, and just like our first voyage, our experience lacked at Extra Virgin. The waiter took a while to greet us, get our drinks, and seemed burdened by our questions. We had the same experience on our first voyage too with Extra Virgin, where the food was alright, but the attention to detail or being there to answer our questions was lacking.

The Galley We did eat a few times in The Galley. It’s always a spot that is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks, and we stopped by there most days while aboard. We liked to check their daily special to see what was available and found some good things to eat in The Galley.

The Pizza Place Finally, not mentioning The Pizza Place would be remiss. Another place that is open throughout the day and late into the night, we stopped by to get pizza a few times, which was very good.

Activities on the Cruise

Carrie on Left, Mine on Right

Painting & Boozy Bevvies We signed up for Painting & Boozy Bevvies, which I will admit, I was a little anxious about doing. We had a great time. Champagne was being served, and they walked us through painting with watercolors. Truthfully, I was surprised how well mine turned out, where I can actually see the sun reflecting off the water. We sat at a fun table with other sailors and had good conversation.

Spin Class The spin class I attended was a lot of fun. The class totally kicked my butt, but it was worth it and made me feel good to work out while enjoying food, drinks, and snacks throughout the day while aboard. The class was packed, and I only did one spin class, but I would sign up for classes on our next trip.

Port Stops

Selfie at Pool in Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic As I mentioned earlier, we did make it into both of the two ports where we stopped. At the Dominican Republic port, we stayed at the resort pool off the ship and had a wonderful day. We found a nice spot with some shade to spend the day and enjoy the pool. There was a lazy river too, which we did, but we ended up getting out about halfway through as it was a long experience.

Bahamas Port

Bahamas: Virgin Voyages Beach Club at Bimini The other port we stopped at was in the Bahamas at the Virgin Voyages Beach Club at Bimini. This was our second time at Bimini. This time, though, we got there early around 9 am and had a great spot in front of the beach. It was an enjoyable day spent at the beach, and again we enjoyed good drinks, delicious food, as well as reading and snoozing. Wonderful day spent at the beach.

Departure and Final Thoughts

Leaving the Ship The last day aboard the ship was Wednesday, April 2. It was a sad day as we were leaving the ship and our vacation was ending. The process to exit the ship was the easiest it has ever been on any ship. We were off the ship and headed to the airport within thirty minutes. The fun had only started, though, as our flights were changed because of weather. We ended up not getting home until Thursday, with our Wednesday night flight being canceled.

Selfie in front of Virgin Voyages Ship

Looking Forward to the Next Cruise We had a great time on our trip and thoroughly enjoy Virgin Voyages. We are not sure when we will be sailing again, but we do want to go again on Virgin Voyages.

See all photos from our trip on Flickr.

Weekend Musings: Sports, Running, and Reading

Seems like another day to post about nothing. Whatever comes to mind as I type away on this Saturday afternoon. March Madness is coming to an end, baseball has started, and golf is happening. It is a good time to be a sports fan and watching everything that is happening in the world of sports.

Speaking of sports, the Washburn Ichabods had a great season! We had so much fun following them this year and attending the home games. I watched them play in the Final Four of the NCAA D2 tournament on Thursday night. We ran into a buzz saw of a team from Nova Southeastern University. NSU was really good and we did not get a good start to the game. It was a sad way to end the season, but what a wonderful season it was, going 30-4 for the season.

I did my first run this morning after not having run in the past year. I have been doing bike rides, but I have not been running. I enjoyed the run, but my legs are hurting this afternoon. I made the mistake of not stretching or warming up very much before the run, so my legs are a little tight. I am planning to run again tomorrow although for not as long, so we will see how I am doing tomorrow morning when I try to run again.

To continue my writing on nothing, I am trying to finish my third book of the year. I hope to finish a book this week as I will spend some time reading. I only need about three hours to finish the book, so I think I can make that happen. We will see and if I am really good, I might be able to finish two books... One at a time though.

Short update for this week, that’s all at this time. I will plan to do a longer post next week. Have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week.

The Slow and Steady Reader: My Book Progress

My reading journey has slowed a bit over the past month or two. I am still reading every night, but my reading has dwindled from multiple pages each night to just a few pages. Part of this lack of reading is due to being tired or staying up late and then trying to read. I enjoy the time I am able to spend reading, but I need to start making time to read during the day and not just keep it for when I am going to bed.

I have had The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara in my reading queue for many years. I am working to try and finish this book. It was recommended by my Uncle Michael who is a history professor at Rutgers University. Yes, it has taken me a while to read this book. I added it to my library in December 2014 and I have read a little of it each year before typically heading over to another book to read. My focus is to finish this book this year. I find it interesting and very well written. I know why Michael recommended this book. 

I am 67% through the book, and I am hoping over the next week or two I will be able to finish this one and mark it off my list. I think it will happen, so more on this in a later post.

The other book I am reading at the same time is Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder. Nightbitch is a book I added to my queue back in November 2023. I added it because it sounded interesting and was due to be released as a motion picture. Well, the motion picture was released, and I am still working to finish this book. Granted, reading two books at once and only a few pages each evening means it is going to take me a while on both instead of focusing all efforts on one book. 

This is an interesting story that caught my attention when I first saw it advertised back in 2023. A mother turning into a canine is an interesting tale of a mother who is lonely and exhausted, dealing with new things happening to herself and embracing those changes. I have not yet watched the movie, but once I am done with this book, I do plan to watch the movie.

For 2025, I set my reading goal to read 20 books. I have only read two books so far in 2025 and I am behind schedule. Last year, I had set my goal for 25 books and only read twelve last year. Way behind schedule for the past year, so I decided to drop from 25 to 20 books for 2025, but it appears it will be a struggle to get through my goal of twenty books for 2025. A long way to go, but so far I am not doing great. Again, I hope to add another book or two to my completed list in April as I finish The Killer Angels and Nightbitch.

On December 17, 2021, I started my reading journey making it a point to read each and every day. I have kept that goal reading every day. The Kindle app tracks my reading which I like and prompts me to read if I have not read anything by evening. As of the writing of this update, I have read for 1,192 days or 177 weeks in a row. There have been some close calls where the clock is about to roll over to midnight and I have not read for the day, but I am able to open Kindle and read a few pages before the new day starts.

Once I finish The Killer Angels and Nightbitch, I will go back to reading books relating to detectives or crime. Those are quick reads and I can usually get through them in a month.

If you have a book you enjoy, I would ask you to use the comments on this post to let me know the name of the book. I am always looking for books to add to my "to read" shelf.

Until next time, have a great week and I will talk to you next week.

 

Unleash Your Bracket Skills with Hoop Dreams Collective!

Yes, it is that time of year when the birds are chirping, spring training baseball is happening... oh, and it is March Madness. Are you ready? Looking for a free group to join to make your picks and show off your basketball knowledge? Or, show off your luck? Well, this is your chance.

I have been creating groups on ESPN for many years. This year, I did things a little differently. I created a public group allowing each participant to enter up to three entries. The idea is to get as many people and entries into the group as possible. In prior years, I required a password to join the group, but I decided to remove that limitation to encourage more participation.

While it is free to play on ESPN, you do need to have an account or create one. Once you are signed into your account, visit this link to join the group called Hoop Dreams Collective. No password is needed to join the group, and you can enter up to three entries. So, get started ahead of brackets going live so you are ready and join the group. Share with others and encourage them to join too.

Like past years, there are play-in games ahead of the tournament, so you need to have your picks entered by 10 am CDT on Thursday, March 20.

Have fun and enjoy the ride. This is one of the best times of the year to watch non-stop basketball, with MLB baseball about to start and golf on every weekend.