Looking Back at 2017

I’m not one who gets particularly sentimental as the calendar rolls over to a new year, but I thought I’d take a look back at 2017 — a year that had a lot going on. 

As is the case with any typical year, there is some good, and some bad. There are moments of crisis handled, and moments of crisis averted. 

But there are fun moments as well. Let's look at some highlights...

The year started off as they typically do in Nebraska — cold. Cold weather means UNO Hockey season is in full swing, and since we’ve never missed a home game in the program’s history, it is kind of a big deal for us each year. 

We did discover a “game” on social media last February — "Finders Keepers" — that was sort of a crazy scavenger hunt across Omaha — where all the clues were given via Twitter (read my full blog post here). The hunt typically involved money hidden at various spots throughout the city, and hunters would race to find the loot. 

My nieces won on a number of occasions. This picture is of me, Bridget, and our nieces Lauren and Julia taking a pit stop from the race and munching on donuts (in the middle of the night) at Winchell’s in West Omaha: 

We also took some impromptu trips in 2017. We decided to drive two hours north to Sioux Falls, SD, leaving at 4 p.m. on March 7 to watch the UNO Men’s Basketball team play for a Summit League Championship (and try to earn its first berth in the NCAA tournament). The Mavs lost in the closing moments of play, but it was fun to be part of the March Madness atmosphere in the building. 

My dad ended up in the hospital in April. He’d been having severe pain in his leg. Doctors couldn’t tell if it was pain associated with a pinched nerve, or something more sinister. 

Pain killers didn’t work, and my dad’s condition worsened to the point where he was unable to walk. When the pain hit its zenith, Bridget took him to the emergency room to try and find him some relief. 

It turns out he had a couple of serious blood clots in his leg, and had to have surgery to remove the clots (followed by inpatient and then outpatient rehab). Kind of a crazy sequence of events, but at least he didn’t lose his foot or leg (which the doctor said was a real possibility due to oxygen deprivation in the limb). 

On April 14, we attended the League of Women Voters Mayoral Debate at the Omaha Press Club. Mayor Jean Stothert and Heath Mello sparred over various local issues impacting our city — and, as is the tradition with these forums at the OPC, attendees had lunch during the program. 

We welcomed our new nephew Anson on April 29. He looks like a little bug in this picture, but he has grown in the past 8 months, and is a fun little guy to spend time with. 

May 2nd saw us attending the Omaha Metro High School 7-7-7 Film Championship at the Western Heritage Museum. My niece Julia was part of a team (from the OPS Career Center) that competed in the event (read my blog on the 7-7-7 Film Championship). This picture is of Bridget with one of the Union Pacific trains on display:

On May 18, we had a chance to see and hear author Craig Johnson at The Bookworm. Johnson is the author of the terrific Longmire series of mysteries (which are the basis for the show “Longmire” that is available on Netflix). This was our third time meeting him!

We are volunteers at our neighborhood pool. I’ve written about the 61-year-old Robin Hill Pool before, and the challenges faced in keeping the aging facility running. On May 22, my nieces Emily and Lauren worked on painting the “big pool” and the “baby pool.” It was messy work (pool paint is basically oil-based rubber), but the three of us had a lot of fun talking and laughing that day, as illustrated in this picture: 

My niece Veronica graduated from 6th grade at Jefferson Elementary on May 25th. The very next day, my niece/goddaughter Lauren graduated from Central High School. 

Then things kind of fell apart, and life threw a wrench in the engine. My brother-in-law Sean was found dead in his apartment on May 30th. He died of complications related to undiagnosed diabetes. We were stunned. He was 49 — taken way too soon. 

I lost my mom in 2013, and I can’t imagine how it feels for my nieces to lose their dad at such a young age. 

But the summer wasn’t all melancholy. At the end of June we had the opportunity to brave the rising mercury and watch a couple games at the NCAA College World Series (held each year in Omaha). 

We also had the opportunity to see the fireworks display at Memorial Park on June 30 with our nieces Julia and Veronica. (Olivia was also at the event, but was with friends.) 

I saw the movie Baby Driver at Aksarben Cinema four times (read my full review).

On July 11, our friend Kathleen Lighthart invited us to their lake house near Fremont and we had a fun day hanging out with the Lightharts and our nieces and nephews. 

That same day we dressed up like cows so we could get free food at Chick-fil-A. 

We won tickets to see the local comedy/skit show “Omaha Live!” (season premiere party) at Aksarben Cinema, and won an autographed special edition poster for the show (read my full review of the event).

At the end of July, we took our nieces (and their mom Danielle) on a five-day RV trip to see the Tour of Utah. My brother-in-law Sean was an avid cycling enthusiast, and had spent his recent working years as a press officer for professional cycling teams. The trip was an opportunity for our nieces to get to see the sorts of things he did when he was on the road, and it was a chance for them to get to meet some of the people Sean knew through his profession. 

I wrote a multi-part blog covering the entire Utah trip last summer — here are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

I also had the chance to eat at In-N-Out Burger for the first time on that trip:

Bridget and I saw the movie “American Assassin” at Aksarben Cinema on Sept. 14. We are big fans of the late Vince Flynn — the author of the Mitch Rapp book series that the “American Assassin” movie is based upon (read my review of "American Assassin"). 

We also like to spend time with our nieces and nephews at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch each fall. I wrote a review in 2016 about Vala’s — it is a cross between a pumpkin orchard and an amusement park.

In early October, we attended the National Resume Writers Association conference in Lombard, IL. Bridget and her colleague Kimberly took the opportunity to co-present a webinar (not related to the conference) while they were together in Lombard:

Nov. 11 saw the University of Nebraska at Omaha Men’s Soccer squad win a Summit League championship. We were in attendance (with our friend Mike) at UNO’s Al F. Caniglia Field to witness history as the Mavs secured their first appearance in the NCAA tournament. 

As I alluded to at the beginning of this post, we spend a significant amount of our fall and winter months following UNO Maverick Hockey. We run a fan site called mavpuck.com, and haven’t missed a home game... ever. 

Our niece Lauren is attending St. Cloud State University in Minnesota this season — a conference rival for the Mavericks. So this season has been a bit different since she’s not sitting with us at (most) games. 

That said, Lauren has made it to a surprising number of home games, including the matchup with St. Cloud in early December. 

Suffice it to say, it was incredibly uncomfortable sitting with her while she cheered for the Huskies (we still love Lauren... for now!)

The year ended quietly. We saw “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” on Dec. 14 (read my review), watched “Die Hard” on Dec. 24 (read my musings about how it is the best Christmas movie), and watched the UNO Hockey team sweep Union College on Dec. 29 and 30. 

It will be interesting to see what 2018 has in store — we're hoping it is a fun year. 

I want to wish all of you a terrific 2018. Thank you for reading. This blog recently surpassed 14,000 page views, and the feedback I’ve received the past year has been awesome!

I'm very blessed!

Previous post: Review: Netflix Series "The Toys That Made Us" Is Worth Checking Out 

Utah Trip, Part 4 -- Stranded, Slurpees, Trolley Square, Burgers, and a Tonka Truck

I do a good job of making my life seem like it is all "sunshine and puppy dogs" -- on this blog, on my Facebook page, on Twitter...

But sometimes things don't go according to plan, tempers flare, frustration sets in, and you have to find a way to adapt. 

That's the situation we found ourselves in on the Wednesday morning of our trip to Utah. We had already enjoyed three jam-packed days of cycling races, sightseeing, food and fun, and were looking for the opportunity to enjoy another stage of the Tour of Utah. 

We had a late start on Aug. 2, and didn't roll out until around 10 a.m. local time. 

Unfortunately, the cycling action that day wasn't your typical road race. Instead, the day featured a time trial (the first one in several years at the Tour of Utah), and the entire thing took place up in the mountains, meaning access in and out was restricted. 

There were shuttles that would ferry interested spectators to either the "start" of the race, or the "finish line" of the race. The shuttles departed from a parking lot, and would wind their way up to the two different ski resorts that bookended the race. 

The way things were setup, you could either hit the start or the finish -- not both. 

Our crew deliberated what we wanted to do. We couldn't come to a consensus either way, but we settled on going to the finish line since that is where the VIP area was located. 

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the parking lot, the shuttles were done for the day. That fact disappointed all of us in the RV, and it was also disappointing to other interested folks who pulled into the lot while we were there.  

This is as close to the race as we got:

We were tired and unhappy. We had just wanted another day of being able to interact with the riders, volunteers, Axeon team staff, and fans. 

We did eventually regroup (it got ugly there for a bit), and decided to hit a mall and In-N-Out Burger (a destination my niece Veronica had requested the day before). 

First, we stopped for fuel at 7-Eleven (the nieces are too young to remember when Omaha had them, and they wanted to get Slurpees).

I was given a list by the nieces of possible malls to visit. I chose the destination at the top of the list -- Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City. 

Apparently, the mall was the site of a mass shooting in 2007 (I just discovered that little tidbit on Google).

Trolley Square Mall, in its present form, is sort of an odd mix of Crossroads Mall and Regency Court in Omaha. There are some nice vendors like Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn Kids, but the historic structure also has a lot of empty bays. 

There was a cool store called Cabin Fever Cards and Gifts that had some cool "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" items, and I picked up a few things:

(As an aside, most of the people killed in the Trolley Square shooting died in Cabin Fever. We didn't know that at the time we were there, obviously.)

We only stayed an hour because we were eventually heading back to Cheyenne, and didn't want to get in too late. 

Our next stop was In-N-Out Burger -- a destination that seems "en vogue" with people whose municipalities don't have the hamburger chain. 

Did I love In-N-Out Burger?

I'm not sure. The burgers and fries were tasty. I wouldn't label it a religious experience in the lexicon of burger restaurants I've visited, but it was pretty solid for a fast food chain deal.

Bridget bought us all these souvenir t-shirts:

So there you go...our time in Utah was at an end.

One more thing...

We kept running into this truck driver on the road who had a Tonka truck strapped to the back of his flatbed trailer. I don't know why he showed up (or why he had a Tonka on the back), but he kept popping up along I-80 (and he'd wave at us every time we saw him):

And...

That's pretty much it. Not much more to tell. We did make it back to Omaha on Aug. 3. 

I had fun. It's so hard to get away from home, and I'm typically reluctant to leave work behind for any length of time.

But I needed a break from the normal routine. I realized this a few hours into the trip. My mind needed a respite from everything that has gone on the past several months in our family. 

It was nice to spend time on the road with Bridget, Emily, Lauren, Julia, Olivia, Veronica, and Danielle. I love these ladies. We've experienced a lot together over the years.

Bridget and I don't have kids of our own, and it means something to be able to spend time and experience new things with our nieces. They'll probably never know just how important it is to us. 

These fleeting moments become more ephemeral as the girls get older.

Since I don't want to end on a somber note, here is a picture of Lauren playing with magnifying glasses on the way home at a Sinclair station:

And here is a picture of a Sinclair hat that Julia and I thought was kinda cool (she ultimately got a Sinclair gas station t-shirt from a surprisingly large selection of Sinclair t-shirts they had on hand...):

Note: I want to give a special shoutout to my nieces Olivia and Emily for providing me with some of the photos that appear in this post.

Missed yesterday's post? Read it here: Utah Trip, Part 3 -- Brigham City, Snowbasin, High School Musical, and Leatherby's 

Utah Trip, Part 3 -- Brigham City, Snowbasin, High School Musical, and Leatherby's

The third day of our Utah trip was a busy one, and we set out early from Ogden for the short drive up to Brigham City -- where the second stage of the Tour of Utah was set to begin. 

We were told that the tour organizers had something special planned for our nieces, and that they wanted us to be there by 8:45 a.m. We were also told that the Axeon team would have special t-shirts to honor my brother-in-law (Sean died in May; he was the team's press officer before his death). 

The race area was quiet when we first arrived. Volunteers were setting up and putting things in place for the day's event. 

At one point Darth Vader walked by, and I had to get a picture -- he requested we do this pose:

The "TOUGH" shirt was designed by DNA Cycling. TOU for Tour of Utah;
TOUGH because the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah is considered the most difficult stage race in the country.

Vader then disappeared, and we didn't see him again. Not sure where he was headed, but I'm always happy to see folks from a galaxy far, far away. 

As we neared 9 a.m., Axeon Marketing Director Nick Shuley met up with us. He took us into the VIP area and led us over to the stage (where the cyclists would be introduced, and the announcers would give play-by-play and commentary for the race festivities). 

We were all given t-shirts by the Axeon team that honored my brother-in-law.

Here's the description of the design:
Sean's name, obviously, and the #YD logo. The microphone is because he was the press officer.
The axes are for Axeon Hagens Berman Cycling Team led by Axel Merckx.
And the 16 hashmarks (spokes/stripes) represent the 16 riders on the team.

"YD" (Why-Dee) is how you pronounce "Weide" -- Sean's last name.

Axeon team owner Axel Merckx and his daughter both sported the #YD shirts.

We had the opportunity to chat with various people involved with the Tour of Utah and the competing teams. The nieces were also asked to pose for numerous pictures. They also had the opportunity to go on stage with the Axeon team (and, according to a post I saw on Facebook, the girls made it on Fox Sports). 

The girls were also able to meet Brent Bookwalter of the BMC team. Their father had worked for BMC in the past (and had promoted Brent's "Bookwalter Binge"), and they had wanted to meet some of the members of that team -- since we'd heard so much about them over the years. 

We were also given passes that allowed us entry into the VIP areas for the rest of the race (which meant free food, drink, and swag -- always a bonus). 

The riders did a couple laps around Brigham City before heading out of town. The course concluded at Snowbasin Resort -- a ski resort located in the mountains east of Ogden. Once again, we had a front row view.

We stayed in Brigham City for a bit before heading out. We met the mayor, a guy named Tyler Vincent (who is up for re-election) and he told us some interesting pieces of information about the town (for example, I didn't know the area was known for growing peaches). He invited us to return for "Brigham City Peach Days" in September and said if we came back, we could park our RV at his collision center (and even use his shower there). 

The girls with Brigham City's mayor.

A local ice cream vendor -- Peach City -- was handing out free samples of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, and peach), so we decided to partake: 

After loitering around downtown Brigham City for a while, we hit the road in the "Big Fat Rolling Meatball" and plotted a course for Snowbasin Resort. 

Driving up the inclines toward the ski resort tested the endurance of the RV. There were a few points that we thought the vehicle might die, but it just kept chugging along. 

Snowbasin Resort is pretty beautiful. I'm sure the ski resort looks gorgeous in the winter, with a frosting of snow covering the buildings and terrain. 

We had the opportunity to hang out in the VIP area in Snowbasin. We were able to eat lunch (the kettle chips were delicious) and watch the race on TV monitors. The setup gave us a nice view of the riders coming in. (They VIP area was directly adjacent to the finish line.)

BMC's Brent Bookwalter (who the girls had met earlier that day) won the stage:

After the second stage concluded, we left the mountain (it was much easier for the RV to go "down") and headed to the next destination on our journey, which was Salt Lake City. 

Lauren sent a text to us (from the back of the RV) requesting we make a stop at East High School. The educational institution was featured in the Disney movie "High School Musical." 

The girls recreated a dance number from the movie:

It was nearly 100 degrees at that point. The RV was tired. We were tired. It had been an action-packed day, and our road-weary group was ready for dinner. 

Since our accommodations for the evening were on Utah's light rail line, I had the idea to take the train to dinner -- since maneuvering and parking the RV in the city is difficult. 

Bridget liked the idea (she makes me ride light rail whenever we have the opportunity). I'm not sure everyone else liked the plan (completely understandable).  

We were hoping to go to the Red Iguana -- which is a local Utah eatery that focuses on Mexican food, and has a stellar reputation among foodies. It was a straight shot east on the rail line (about two miles). 

When we arrived at the Red Iguana, there was a considerable wait time to get a table. Our contingent was already on the edge, and it seemed we needed to go elsewhere for dinner -- or face a possible mutiny. 

I suggested the restaurant across the street called Leatherby's. I'd already had a tepid reaction to my idea of riding the train to dinner, so I don't know why I thought it'd be a good idea to offer up an alternative dinner spot, but I did anyway. 

It is an ice cream shop that also has a full menu of lunch and dinner options.  

The place looked rather dilapidated inside, and the atmosphere was basically dead when we entered. 

I felt bad that I had suggested it. Not only was the ambiance a bit sketchy, I was a bit leery about what the food quality might be. 

It turns out that Leatherby's wasn't so bad, and by the end of our meal everyone was laughing and having a good time. Maybe delirium had set in, or maybe something funny had been planted in the food. 

(The french dip I had was pretty mediocre, but the other meals looked alright.)

I mean, there were combination locks on both the men and women's bathroom doors. 

This gentleman with the ombré hair came in for an order, and was carrying this baby like a sack of potatoes (the little guy didn't look very comfortable):

My nieces (primarily Veronica) had fun getting prizes out of the vending machines by the entrance, including this little figurine here: 

I will say that the ice cream was good. I didn't order it myself, but the Bridget and the girls let me sample their orders, and the samples were tasty. (Bridget's dessert, "Traci's Peanut Butter Cup" was incredible, she said.) Two of the girls ordered "Play-Doh" flavor.

When we were done, we hopped back on the train and headed back for the RV park. 

Now, there is something I need to disclose about this trip I haven't yet mentioned in the previous two posts on this topic.  

Bridget and I didn't actually stay in the RV on this trip. Considering the fact that there were eight of us -- and that the RV we were able to rent on short notice was smaller than Bridge had anticipated -- the two of us stayed in hotels (near the campgrounds where Dani and the girls stayed in the RV). 

I know, I know... that kills the authenticity (for the two of us) of the RV/camping experience. Judge me if you must, but I slept really well on this trip (something that normally doesn't happen when I am on the road). 

Anyway, after we dropped our traveling companions off at the KOA campground, we headed west toward our hotel, just two stops away on the light rail line.

We missed the correct stop based on some faulty information given to us by the clerk in the hotel lobby, and ended up at the airport. 

The light rail "turns around" at the airport. 

It added a half hour to our return trip, and we were already super tired. While we were walking from the right light rail stop (finally!), we got word that the girls were swimming at the campground. We walked by this restaurant on the way to our hotel. I thought the signage was very apropos:

That pretty much sums up the day. It was a packed morning, afternoon, and evening -- and it seemed at times like the action wouldn't stop... 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog post: Utah Trip, Part 4 

And, if you haven't already, read yesterday's missive: "Utah Trip, Part 2: Logan, Pepperoni Pizza, and Salt Water."