This is the first state to radically depart from the design of the U.S. Capitol and build a 400-foot tower. Built out of Indiana limestone, it is the second-tallest state capitol (only because Louisiana’s governor insisted theirs be taller).
They paid for the building as it was going up. Nebraska was not permitted to go into debt for the building of the Capitol, so much of the artwork had to be added later. The building cost just under $10 million when it was built in 1922-1932. If it were destroyed and needed to be rebuilt as it stands, it would cost into the billions.
The influences of Spain, France, and USA are noted in the artwork, representing some of the nations that made Nebraska great.
When we entered this state capitol, it felt a little weird at first. Like a catacomb. There was no grand entrance or visitor’s desk to greet us. We couldn’t see the dome, which we thought was strange as well. We didn’t realize we had entered through a back door.
We finally found the main entrance. It felt a bit overwhelming at first, as there are many mosaics on the ground and paintings in the main hallways; a tour guide noticed our confusion and asked if she could show us around. She had just finished with a group tour and had some time (I think she was feeling a little bored), so she gave us our own personal tour!
The Nebraska Capitol is one of the most unique buildings we have seen to date. We are still trying to decide whether we like the architectural decisions, which combines Egyptian style with Nebraskan landscape and history.
Fun Fact. Nebraska is the only unicameral state, meaning they don’t have a separate House and Senate. They haven’t always been that way. The bicameral, two-group system was based on British Parliament (House of Commons and House of Lords), which Senator George Norris believed should no longer apply to us. He believed the two-group allowed for too much blame, whereas one body would have to take full responsibility for decisions made. He proposed a new form of government, and Nebraska voted to move to a unicameral, one legislative chamber, in 1937. They meet in the old House of Representatives chamber pictured here. Notice the gold leaf painted on walnut wood, representing Spain (lions), France (flour de lis), and U.S. history (eagles).
I also found it interesting that a couple of young students created a ten-minute documentary on the history of Nebraska unicameral system, which is featured in their state website.
Brief video looking down on the floor of the rotunda. The tour guide explained this to us, but I can’t recall the detail. Wikipedia comes in handy at times. The Capitol has a number of these spectacular mosaics on the floor of the halls and rotunda.
“The Procession of Life continues in the Rotunda’s floor…At the Rotunda’s center, four tondi mosaics representing the Genius of Water, the Genius of Fire, the Genius of Air, and the Genius of Earth surround a larger tondo mosaic of Earth as the Life-giver.” (Wikipedia)
Surrounding each Genius are the animals found in Nebraska during archeological digs, or known to have lived in the water, air, earth, or died by fire.
Earth, as the life-giver (Mother Nature)Genius of Fire. Zoom in to see the tiny tiles in the mosaic.
Supreme Court. The very large tapestries on the Supreme Court walls are over 100 years old. Unfortunately they are faded by the Nebraska sun.
8,000 pieces of wood are used in the ceiling of this room, designed for acoustical purposes. Seven seats of justice are in front of a hidden door, where they enter and leave to their secret chambers.
Our tour guide walked us to the antique elevator, which took us up 14 floors to the four observation decks with views of the city. She stamped or passport and encouraged us to browse on our own from there.
The dome on top is octagonal shaped, and has large murals dedicated to various service personnel.
According to Wikipedia, “The capitol and its grounds are a frequent site of political demonstrations, rallies, and news conferences.” We walked by this group and it appeared they were rallying around feeding the hungry. View from the observation deck..
Our tour couldn’t be complete without a nod to The Lincoln Monument, built in 1912. This predates the current statehouse. The commission for the State Capitol stated, “Solutions should consider this monument and suggest for it a proper part in the ensemble, preferably but not imperatively on the building site proper.” Architects had to incorporate the Monument into their design proposals to be accepted.
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. was built a few years later (1914-1922).
It is also interesting to note, in 1976 the National Park Service designated the capitol a National Historic Landmark, and in 1997, the Park Service extended the designation to include the capitol grounds. We should have gotten a stamp in our NPS passport (darn).
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
We toured two State Capitols so close together, I was going to combine them into one blog. We have done so much these past weeks; it’s getting hard to keep it all straight! But then it was getting too long, so you’ll see my Nebraska blog soon.
September 16, 2024 – Cheyenne Wyoming.
This capitol building recently went through a four-year restoration and renovation project, and was closed during that period of time. It reopened to the public in July 2019.
The tour desk lady stamped our passport and gave us some information to get us started, but they only offer a self-guided tour from thereon. There is a video, which we didn’t take time to watch; it probably would have helped us to uncover some of the finer details. They also have a cell phone tour, where you can click on the QR Code at each location to learn more. We were a bit pressed for time, so we walked the floors, talked to a few staffers, looked at the architecture, took some pictures, and read some of the plaques. We did find a few interesting facts that peaked our curiosity, and you will find those in this blog.
This room has two titles on the double entry doors. There was some debate over saving this room, but there is a lot of history here.
Beautiful furniture and fresh flowers on all floors.
The domes in the buildings that have one always catch my eye. In this case there are four bronze statues on the four corners of the third floor worthy of attention. They were added during the restoration project, but were made to look like they have been here since the beginning.
Hope. Sound on to hear Tim reading the description of Hope. On the third floor of the Wyoming State Capitol.Courage. Sound on to hear Tim read the description of Courage. On the third floor of the Wyoming State Capitol.Justice. Sound on to hear Tim read the description of Justice. On the third floor of the Wyoming State Capitol. Truth. Sound on to hear Tim read the description of Truth. On the third floor of the Wyoming State Capitol.
What state holds the title for “first female governor in the United States”? Wyoming, of course. In the governor’s office behind the receptionist is a large portrait of Nellie Tayloe Ross, who was governor from 1925-1927, and remains the only female governor of Wyoming. She was also the first female to be appointed as the Director of the United States Mint. There is a statue of Her Honor in front of the historic governor’s mansion as well.
I’m so grateful I have enough energy to do the things we do. God has given me the gift of more time. Time to live. Time to minister. Time to worship Him, and see His great creation. Time to see some inspiring things made by man. I know not everyone who has cancer is so lucky, but I will continue to live life to the fullest as long as I have enough energy and breath left in my lungs.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
The title could have read, “The Grand Tetons kicked our butts,” or “We experienced peak disappointment in the Grand Tetons.” Read on for this Tale in the Tetons.
Mid-September our calendar read, “Grand Tetons National Park, Colter Bay Campground,” and this is the one stop we were both very much looking forward to. It’s our first visit to the Grand Tetons, so we booked two nights in the Colter Bay Campground, on Jackson Lake. We are collecting stamps in our National Park Journal along with several passport books. Collecting stamps takes us places we might not ordinarily think to go.
Lake Jenny Scenic Loop, Grand Teton National Park
We will get into the challenges in a minute. But first, let’s review a few fun facts about the Grand Tetons.
The Grand Teton Mountain is in a 40-mile mountain range that can be seen in its entirety from one overlook (and there are many). Each overlook provides a unique view, with a different mountain exposed more prominently than the others. We drove the scenic loop, went to the visitor center, stopped at several overlooks, saw the Snake River crawling beside the mountain range, and walked to Jackson Lake from our campsite where a beautiful view of the mountains unfolded in front of the colorful sunset. Grand Teton is the tallest of the mountains at 13,775 feet above sea level. It is more rugged and jagged than the others, although the entire mountain range is quite beautiful. Snow still stands at the top of these mountains.
The Grand Tetons is the only national park with its own airport. We saw several planes landing right beside the road where we traveled to the park. Also, one website said the Grand Tetons are the youngest mountain range in the Rocky Mountain Range, and quite possibly among the youngest in the world.
After spending one day in the Grand Tetons, we decided to take a trip to Yellowstone National Park. We had been to Yellowstone once before, but it was a very long time ago. Bryan was a young boy and our daughter was still inside my womb. She just turned 27!
Yellowstone National Park has changed a great deal since our last visit. Now it includes hotels and general stores and gas stations at nearly every village. Also, we were able to go into areas that were closed before; we were there Memorial Weekend in 1997 surrounded by snow banks. We saw Old Faithful and other geysers erupt, took in some lake and mountain views, saw the Canyon Falls and Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, had lunch by the roar of the Yellowstone River, drove the full scenic loop, and saw some bison herds. It was a very good day.
Bison herd, Yellowstone National Park
Quite a lot of animals live in the two National Parks. Pronghorn reside there, and in case you didn’t know, they are the fastest mammal on land in the western hemisphere. They can run up to 70 miles per hour. Lots of birds were also of interest. We saw some ground squirrels and chipmunks, but most of the big animals besides the bison eluded us. We missed seeing the bears and bighorn sheep, but we felt satisfied with our animal sightings. The most popular animal was the two-legged kind, riding in their steel cages and on their two-wheeled motorbikes. Needless to say, traffic was horrible and patience was tried.
But that wasn’t the worse of our tale.
Our Airstream Globetrotter (lovingly known as “Roam Home” or “Roamy” for short), has been our full-time home for the past 160+ days. We have been running her pretty hard. She has been faithful to us with minor repairs as can be expected with any house on wheels: a few loose screws, missing rivets, etc. But this time we experienced something new. In the Grand Tetons we had to boondock, also known as dry camping, meaning they have no electric, water, or sewer hook-ups. Normally we can go 4 or 5 days without needing any hook-up, so we didn’t think two nights would be a problem.
However, for some reason the batteries could not keep up. It got very cold at night, down into the 30’s, and we had to turn on the furnace. The furnace runs on propane, but it does require electricity to kick on. That was fine the first night, and we were toasty warm. But the batteries completely drained by the second night, and that meant no heat.
Airstream boon docking in the Grand Tetons Colter Bay Campground
Our spot was surrounded by trees, so our solar panels were only in full sun for a few short hours during the day. We weren’t home most of the time, as we were site-seeing and driving scenic loops in both of the National Parks, so we weren’t using any battery energy. The only thing pulling electric was our 12v refrigerator. However, it seemed the battery life was going down pretty quickly in spite of this. By the second night we had to turn off the entire system (which meant no fridge, and no heat). We bundled up and layered up, slept under two blankets, and made it through the night.
The next day we drove to Cheyenne Wyoming. It’s a long drive, and typically the batteries will charge while they are connected to the tow vehicle. Plus it was a sunny day, and the solar panels had full sun the entire way (well, except for the big storm we drove through at the end of the day). Halfway there, during our lunch stop, Tim checked the battery level and it seemed to be charging. But when we got to Cheyenne the batteries were dead, or at least very low so that they would not permit the power to stay on in the Airstream. After plugging in to shore power, the batteries were fine. From them on, we’ve had no trouble with the batteries staying charged.
We tried to diagnose the problem We checked the battery level manually with a multimeter, called our mechanic friend, called Battle Born (the lithium battery manufacturer), called Airstream, and ultimately decided we need to get the batteries load tested.
Our plans now include a side trip to Ohio, where we will stay at the Mothership campground, and get the batteries tested, and the rear axle replaced. In case you didn’t hear, our rear left tire was wearing faster than the others, and Dexter Axles is giving us a free new axle “as a courtesy,” with “no implied warranty attached.” We’ll also have them do some other minor warranty work while we are there.
We managed to salvage some of the food in the fridge, while the freezer stuff had to be tossed. We defrosted the refrigerator at the next stop, gave it a good cleaning, and started filling it back up. I was happy our grilled chicken was still good, as well as the salad. That was dinner the first night in Nebraska.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I often get confused as to when it’s appropriate to use “capital” versus “capitol.” They are homophones, meaning they sound the same, but they are spelled differently and cannot be used interchangeably. I have learned that it is a capital offense to throw things off the top of a capitol building, and the first word of each sentence and days of the week should start with a capital letter (unless you are writing in French or Spanish, but that’s another whole conversation). I was going to repeat the when’s and why’s of the usage of these two important words, but I’ll just refer you to this linkinstead. Webster does a much better job of explaining the differences than I would anyway. Rest assured, I have spelled State Capitols correctly; I’m not 100% sure when to capitalize it.
Minnesota State Capitol
July 27, 2024. St. Paul, Minnesota. We were in the Minneapolis area with our Airstream for about a week or two, so we got to see several local sites including a National Park and the state capitol building. (Maybe I’ll start a blog of National Parks, and Presidential Libraries, as these are also on our bucket list of things to see, and of course we have a book of stamps for those as well.)
The docent for this tour was probably our most knowledgeable yet. He has been at the capitol building for about 40 years, retired from his full-time job and took on a docent role to conduct tours because he loves it so much. He was on the board for the most recent renovation project; he definitely knows the building inside and out. He was able to answer any question thrown at him, except for how many stairs there are from bottom to top, as that depends on which staircase you use.
This building has a lot of marble, which resulted in a longer build time and twice the cost.
He did know how many steps we had to take on the spiral staircase to get to the Quadrica (63). Incidentally, the Quadrica only sits about half-way up to the very top. We could only go this far up.
Nothing like standing behind a horse’s butt (LOL). In 1995 the Quadrica was restored to its original 1906 appearance.
This is one of the few state capitols that continues to actively house all three branches of government: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The governor’s office was closed so we didn’t get to see that part, but we did visit the House and Senate wings. The viewing galleries are impressive. Our docent told us some interesting stories about their legal proceedings, which branch is more proper, and how the phrase “passing the bar” originated. I told Tim it might be interesting to sit in a state hearing in Texas sometime.
I was surprised by all the quotes on the wall referring to the sin of people, given our current political culture. But who would question a Milton quote covered in gold leaf?In the House, above the gallery, is this painting of an owl sitting on an hourglass, reminding folks to make wise use of your time. They only have one opportunity to present their case.House of Representatives, as seen from the viewing gallery.This is one of three paintings in the Supreme Court depicting the development of law. The first was when the law was given to Moses by God. This is where he told us the story of passing the bar.Senate
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the Minneapolis State Capitol. There’s much more to see, so plan a visit for yourself and start your own passport.
“I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 7:21-25a, The Apostle Paul
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Sometime last year we decided to start visiting the State Capitols in the United States. Maybe it’s a bucket list, or a replacement for the ABCs of Touring we used to do on the motorcycles. Who knows? Either way, it will keep us occupied for quite a while if we plan to see all fifty.
We self-toured our first Capitol building while we were in Wisconsin two years ago, and that piqued my interest. Honestly, Tim might have twisted my arm at the time, as the younger version of myself would not have been remotely interested. I thought they would all look alike. Boy, was I wrong!
I don’t think I appreciated architecture much growing up. Aside, I was told at a young age that I especially detested history and geography as they were my least favorite subjects as a child, primarily due to the memory work involved (When was the War of 1812 anyway? LOL). I was lucky to pass those classes, but I wish now I had paid better attention . I do think the teacher makes a difference. My school teachers pale in comparison to some of the docents guiding our Capitol tours. Kudos to the teachers who know how to make history come alive!
At any rate, we bought ourselves a State Capitol Passport and started collecting stamps. Here is a recap of the first five we have visited.
July 24, 2022 Madison, Wisconsin. We drove to Madison where we rented a motorcycle to ride on the HOG National Superior Loop Touring Rally. That trip was our first State Capitol experience. It was a Sunday. We didn’t have a lot of time for some reason that day, or maybe we just didn’t want to follow some guy around, but we didn’t take a guided tour of the building. However, we did walk through the building and up the stairs to the top where you have a beautiful view of the city. We might go back and do the guided tour on another day.
Inside the Madison Wisconsin State Capitol, under the rotunda.
On the way up to Madison, we stopped in to see Tim’s mom, who had recently been put on Hospice. We had a no-refund on the rental so we stayed a couple of days and then planned to see her again on the way back down. Unfortunately, she died on July 27th. We got the call while we were riding to International Falls. That bike trip in the Upper Peninsula (UP) was bitter-sweet for us.
October 27, 2023. Little Rock, Arkansas. A year later we finally saw our second Capitol. I think this is when we started taking it more seriously. We stopped on our way back from a trip to the north and northeast, where we finished the Superior Lake Circle Tour and spent time in search of fall foliage, all while pulling the Airstream.
We had been through Little Rock before, and visited several of the other historic places with some friends including the “Big Dam Bridge,” the “Little Rock 9” and Central High School, but merely drove by the State Capitol. On this trip, we made a point to go inside. They told us at the front desk to be sure and visit the treasury, so we scheduled a tour of the vault.
This particular capitol has a unique experience unlike any other. We were allowed to go inside the treasury vault (after a very detailed and jaw-dropping explanation of how they built it and got it here), and hold a half million dollars. No other State Capitol allows this. As I was handing off to Tim, I dropped the stack of money and it all went crashing down to the floor of the vault. Fortunately, they have it very well packed. In my defense, a half-million dollars is heavy!
I told Tim I would have worn better clothes had I known we were going to look like millionaires in all these pictures!
December 26, 2023. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Apparently we had nothing better to do on the day after Christmas than to go to the State Capitol. Actually, our good friends in Florida invited us to come down for a few days between Christmas and New Years, and so we did. We left on Christmas Day and stayed in Baton Rouge where we could visit the capitol the next day (Capitol buildings are typically closed on Christmas Day).
The Senator wing has some stories. U.S. Senator Huey Long was shot in the hallway in 1935. By this time he was on track to become president, but he died 30 hours after the shooting. In 1970 there was an explosion in the Senate Chamber which rocked the Capitol. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in the building after that, but standing outside the top floor of the building was worth it.
The plaque inside the upper floor has some additional facts about the building. This Capitol is unique in that it is the tallest Capitol building in the United States. It was Louisiana’s first skyscraper. It was built in a mere 14 months from start (Dec 1930) to finish (Feb 1932), and cost about $5 million to complete. It employed many people during the Great Depression, and was championed by Gov. Huey P. Long who campaigned on a platform of building new roads and bridges and a new capitol.
On the top of the Capitol of Louisiana, tallest State Capitol. Yes, it was cold up there!
May 11, 2024. Austin, Texas. This should have been our very first Capitol visit, since we live in the state. But we just never seemed to be going in that direction since we decided to do this. In May, we were heading back from an Airstream Rally in Bandera, so we added it to our list of things to do. We finally made it there. We were impressed with our State’s Capitol! You have heard everything is bigger in Texas – even the State Capitol! The goddess of liberty stands on top, making this capitol taller than the U.S. Capitol. It is the largest of the Capitols in square footage, with a $75 million underground extension adding 650,000 square feet completed in 1993. It has been damaged or destroyed by fire twice in its history, with the 1983 renovation still standing today.
The grounds are also very lovely, offering a place to sit and enjoy the well manicured landscaping. I wished we had packed a picnic lunch. We saw a baby mourning dove fighting off a blue jay, and had to come to its rescue while we were there. Momma dove was cooing not too far away.
I learned several things about our Capitol, as well as intriguing aspects of the history of Texas, the six sovereign nations that have governed Texas, why we had our own president in that history, the Republic of Texas, the Alamo, Mexican history, African American history, and so much more than my brain can hold. We did have a guided tour this time, which includes the underground extension. The docent was very good. Tours of the Capitols are typically free, and you can usually just walk in and join one, although you may have to sign up for one on busy days.
Inside the Texas State Capitol from beneath the rotunda. This one deserves a video. The star in the middle is 8 feet from point to point. Another one is on the floor at the bottom, with the sovereign nations surrounding it. I hope the video works as it’s quite stunning!
July 6, 2024. Springfield, IL. Every time we go to a State Capitol, we know we must be prepared to climb a lot of stairs. Yes, they have elevators to some floors, but there is something about going up those majestic staircases that makes us feel regal. This one has 110 steps to the fourth floor gallery, not quite as many as some of the others we have climbed. Illinois has had six state capitol buildings, as the capitol city changed in its earlier years. This current one has been in Springfield since it was built in 1868. It’s designed in the shape of a Greek cross.
We got there just after the tour started. Security said it would be about an hour before the next one got started. We really didn’t want to wait, but we wanted to do the tour. We saw them upstairs so we “snuck” past security and joined them. It was a weekend and not very busy, so no one seemed to mind. The docent was a young guy and likely the only one they could get to work on a Saturday. He did know some interesting things, but he wasn’t very good at crowd control. One little Indian girl kept running back up the stairs at the end of the tour. He finally asked the parents to go get her.
Poor guy was a bit flustered after he stamped my passport with the wrong date (July 5). I could tell he was really disturbed by this, as if he had just defaced a rare, historic document. I assured him, “well that fits. We just saw fireworks last night so the date is perfect.” He smiled with relief.
The building is undergoing construction, so we couldn’t go in all the wings. What we saw was pretty cool, and definitely worth the stamp, but the real experience of the day was when we saw the Capitol from the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, and walked around his historic landmark and neighborhood. Lincoln is seen everywhere in this city.
In the center of the first floor rotunda sits a statue. Sculpted by Julia Bracken, the statue represents the welcoming of people to the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. I was kind of surprised it wasn’t a statue of Lincoln.
I’ll keep a running blog on state capitols, and share our personal unique experiences as well as some facts we learned by going there. You can only fully enjoy it by visiting in person. Maybe you can join us on one of our state capitol tours! We’d love to share that moment with you. The Capitol Passport book is a great way to keep track of our adventures! We keep ours in the glove box.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
If you’ve been following my journey, you will recall when I was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer we didn’t know how long I would have to live. We were told anything from nine months to a year, maybe a year and a half. Here I am more than seven years later. My body is stable, and I’m still going strong. Praise the Lord for His boundless mercies, protection and healing! ❤️❤️
When I started feeling better (and it became evident the doctors were wrong on their predictions), we made a commitment to live life to the fullest. You never know how long you’re going to have on La Terre (Earth), no matter what your circumstances, so why wait until retirement to enjoy the one life we have? You will read a lot of stories about our travels, books I’ve read, ministry, and fun times we have experienced because of this decision.
In addition to motorcycling, Airstreaming, driving the Mini Cooper, and playing with the grandchildren, we also watch a lot of television. We watch movies, but our go to in the evening — we like to eat dinner while watching Wheel of Fortune. We even tape all the episodes so we can go back and watch them when we are away. I’m pretty good at the puzzles. Some of my friends have been on the show (jealous!) and I would like to do that one day.
In the hallway of Studio 11, waiting to watch the taping of WOF.
Well, for Christmas, my hilarious husband gave me a very thoughtful and unique gift of attending a taping in Culver City, California. The show itself is free; you just have to sign up! Tim used points for the flight, so we just had to pay for the hotel and our food while we are there. He decided to give me a first class experience all the way, so we flew first class on points and stayed in the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, a Luxury Hotel in the Marriott collection. We had the same server each morning. She was terrific! We gave her a five-star review, and she should get a bonus. We hope so as she was so good.
Breakfast was included and boy was it delicious! Decadent. i wanted to take that little iron teapot home.
We didn’t rent a car at the airport because it cost $70 per night to park it at the hotel. We took Uber or walked everywhere we wanted to go. We did make one exception and rented a car one day to go do some site seeing, and to retrieve my purse 🤦♀️😔🙄🥴. (I left it on the plane, and fortunately a United employee found it. They had it ready for me to pick up the next day! PTL!).
Ironically, I didn’t even realize I had left it until we got all the way to the hotel and I was getting out of the Uber. “Where’s my purse?” That’s when I realized I must have left it in the plane. On my seat. We were in a hurry to get off the plane. I laid it down to put my book away, and left it there. It’s a horrible feeling when you lose your purse. On the side of caution I immediately cancelled my debit cards and put a hold on my credit cards, but I never really felt like I was in jeopardy. I believed I would get it back, and I did.
Historic Santa Monica Pier. Yummy freshly made churros!
After driving to the airport to get my purse, we took the rest of that day and drove around the area in our rental. We went to the Historic Santa Monica Pier, drove up to Griffith Observatory (didn’t park as it was too crowded), saw the famous Hollywood sign, took a ride to Airstream of Los Angeles, parked in a $3 mall garage (bought something so we could get our ticket validated and save $12), walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame (looking for Pat and Vanna), walked to the Beverly Hills sign via Rodeo Drive, had dinner at a nice restaurant in the Golden Triangle, and then walked back to our hotel. That paragraph alone could take up a whole blog! Or two.
We didn’t see Airstream on the Walk of Fame, but Wally Byam needs a star! ⭐️ 🌟 🤩
On to the Wheel!
We discovered too late before we left home that we were supposed to call and confirm our spot 5-7 days in advance. 🤦♀️ Originally we were supposed to be there for the taping on Thursday, Jan. 11th, but since we called too late to confirm, the guy transferred us to Friday Jan. 12. So it ended up being the last thing we did on this trip.
The taping is for Sweetheart’s week, so maybe that was providential ❤️❤️. The three shows we saw will be aired on Feb. 12, 13, and 14. We were sitting right in the middle of the crowd, if you look closely at the pan from the back at the very beginning of each show (if they do it). 😜 😉
We were in the studio audience, but my dream is to be on stage as a contestant someday. I told Tim we are getting good practice, as we now know how the stage looks, where the used letter board is, what they do with the contestants between tapings, and what happens when there is a glitch.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the studio, but we got some outside and in the hall during our bathroom break. We also took a few pictures of the other studios, which have names of the movies that were filmed inside there. I’ve included some scenes from our trip in this blog. What a GREAT experience. I recommend doing this if you have a favorite show.
We should have posed like Pat and Vanna (missed opportunity) 🙄🥴😂
I must admit, recovering from the glitch during the taping was pretty cool to watch, and perhaps my favorite moment. They had listed the wrong final tally for one of the couples during the third taping (to be aired on Valentine’s Day). Pat noticed the error as soon as he said it, then said, “let’s just stop so we can get this right.” He wasn’t upset. He just asked them politely.
He waited a couple of minutes, talked to the couple, then walked off the stage while the staff cued up the tape that had been rolling. All the couples stood there waiting. When they were ready for him, he went back on stage, stood between the couple exactly how they were standing before, he was cued and they started the tape rolling. Pat seemlessly started talking when the tape got to the point immediately prior to where they had messed up the first time. I doubt anyone will even notice it, and I was super impressed with how they did that. I guess that’s why they pay him the big bucks! Fun to witness the other side of Sony Pictures!
So memorable, and that was the culmination of our experience in Beverly Hills.
I won’t give away the puzzles (I probably can’t remember them all anyway 😂😂), but I will say it was fun to watch two out of three couples who went to the bonus round actually win the bonus round. That’s all I’ll say about that.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I just realized I never posted this book review, so I’ll back-date it. Tim and I were on our way to watch the Wheel of Fortune taping, so I was unable to make it to the book club meeting in January. There should be a post about that bucket list item somewhere in my blog list 🤩.
This picture was taken on chemo day. I often take books to read and an engaging discussion with my nurse ensues. Often they write down the titles, or give me suggestions from their book clubs.
We read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, an intriguing book about the concept of “parallel universes.” I recall a Seinfeld episode about this concept! The book explores many of the potential branches in the life of Nora. She is transported into that life, to live as though she had made a different decision. It provides great insight into how one’s life of regrets, decisions, and relationships, may not have turned out any better than the actual life he or she has lived.
I sent my review via the following email, as we flew out the day of the meeting.
“We are standing in line waiting for our plane to board. I hope y’all are having a good meeting! I wish I could be there for this discussion. I’m curious what others think.
I still have 50 pages left, and I’ll probably finish it on the plane [I did]. Nora just entered her “perfect life” with Ash and daughter Molly. It is a rather captivating book, so it wasn’t for lack of desire; I’ve just been busy this month.
Interesting concept of parallel universes. Certainly makes you think about those Deja vu moments in life. Also made me think about some past regrets. Choices I might have liked to change, but after seeing Nora’s life experiences with overcoming those regrets and the ensuing consequences, it makes me glad to have this life and just live with my choices. Her alternate lives did have some valuable lessons. Maybe we can learn from that as well. I’d rather remember a life that isn’t perfect than to have no memory of it at all.
Lastly, I loved the Thoreau references. Makes me want to read some more of his work.
Anyway, just a few thoughts before I get on the plane. I would rate it an 8.0.
I did finish the book, and I liked the way it ended.
Here’s what the group said.
Good Afternoon Ladies!!!! Eight of us gathered to discuss The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Our discussion varied immensely about “regrets” and different outcomes that your life can take or could have taken. Some of us had a hard time getting into the book with the countdown of Nora’s death in the first nine chapters. But once Nora goes to her different realities or “lives” the book gets very interesting. We described the book as self discovery and discussed the good and bad of her different realities. Each of us thought about how important it is to live and let go. We loved the reality of her with a family but Nora realized that she didn’t earn that life and decided she wanted to live and earn her own life. We rated the book an 8.3.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about a parallel universe, or if you have read this books what are your thoughts? Please comment below. It will prompt you to input your email address, but I promise I will never sell it. This is just to ensure you are a real person and not a robot.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I’ve never seen a bear climb a pole before. Have you? Before you get worried that we were in danger, we were watching this unfold from the viewing deck at the North American Bear Center in Ely Minnesota, one of the intentional stops we made along our motorcycle path. Somewhere in the middle of Superior National Forest is a home to some rescued black bears, and some wild ones as well. We saw a squirrel do this just a few minutes earlier, but much faster 😂😂. It’s worth the 23 seconds to watch…
I learned a lot about black bears. For example, they don’t attack humans. They might chuff and stomp and throatily moan, but they do not growl (wolf sound effects are dubbed in for the movies). And they even have a white coat in some parts, unrelated to the polar bear and, no, they are not albinos. Lots of things to read in this place. The bear in the video is Holly. She is the matriarch of the bears at the Center.
Riding to the HOG rally, Duluth MI, our last day.
For the past decade we have looked forward to a big ride every summer. Some years we have gone on more than one trip. At the end of the ride we immediately began planning our next one. Last year we rode two bikes to Colorado, Lake Michigan, and Tennessee on three separate trips.
In December we sold the bikes.
We didn’t experience any remorse when we sold the bikes. We had ridden in all 48 states on two wheels. We’ve experienced rain, heat, hail, perfect days and not-so-perfect days, break-downs and bumps in the road that nearly fling you off your seat. We’ve seen a lot of sites. After our Tennessee trip, we didn’t immediately start planning another trip like we had in the past. 🤷♀️🤷♀️
After two days of riding home in the cold rain (insert claps of thunder sounds), perhaps we were burned out. Or maybe we just felt like we had accomplished our goal. Our bucket list was complete. In all reality, we aren’t really sure why, but we decided to do something different.
We plan to travel more using our Airstream. And, we will rent a Harley in far away places, where we can’t ride to (or don’t want to take the extra days to ride to). We will likely buy one someday in the near future.
Some people might wonder what this has to do with metastatic breast cancer. After all, that’s the purpose of my blog. It’s about livingwith metastatic breast cancer. We decided a long time ago we would not let life pass us by. We will continue to live life to the fullest as long as I have breath and energy to do so. We are taking John 10:10 literally, embracing the abundant life Jesus has given us.
The Ride. When they announced the national HOG touring rally was going around Lake Superior, we signed up as soon as registration opened. It’s a follow-up to the Lake Michigan tour we went on last year. It’s fun meeting up with other HOG enthusiasts as well as some executives who keep Harley-Davidson in check. We mapped out our route, and found the nearest dealership to rent a bike. We joined Eagle Rider to save on the rental cost.
Coop, meet our ride for the week! I promise she isn’t snubbing you, she’s just sad she can’t go along for the ride. 🤪😂
We rented the gunmetal gray Road Glide Limited pictured above from Harley-Davidson of Madison (Wisconsin). That’s a wonderful dealership. They stored our car for us as well. They are super nice and helpful people there. Alissa helped us with the rental, and another worker also helped connect Tim’s phone to bluetooth.
A sales guy tried real hard to sell Tim the CVO when we came back through. Tempting!! 😁
Because we were renting, we could not take the bike into Canada. That was a bummer, as it was part of the reason we chose this rally. I suppose we could have just tried it, but Eagle Rider wouldn’t cover any costs if there was an accident. Better not to risk it. We met the rally in Marquette Michigan, then went on an adventure of our own. They headed east to circle the lake counter-clockwise. We headed west and planned to meet them in Duluth.
The weather was beautiful from Madison to Marquette. The next day we rode west. Saw another Wisconsin sign, through Duluth, and on to International Falls through the national forest. Got rained on that day, but we did make it all the way to Duluth without getting wet.
Sad News. On the way to International Falls we got a call from Tim’s brother and sister. We were on a back road and had to find a place to pull over. His mom fell asleep with a cigarette in her mouth, while hooked up to her oxygen. She burned her face and tongue pretty badly. We stayed on course as they said Hospice was taking care of her. (She was already on home Hospice and was not given long to live.) We had planned to stop by on the way back through, and they thought she would be okay in a few days.
The next day we were on our way to Grand Portage Minnesota (by the Canadian border) when we got the call that his mom had passed away. I think this was just about the time we stopped at the Bear Center. Apparently, Hospice transported her to a Hospice House where they planned to care for her a few days. They gave her some morphine, and less than an hour later she was gone. It was July 27, 2022. She was 77 years old.
We have since learned the smoke inhalation (combined with her COPD and heart problems) lead to her death. They ruled it an accident. It’s a sad and traumatic way to die. She may have lived a few weeks longer had she not had the accident, but we are comforted by the fact that she was ready to go. She has been ready for a while now.
We were also happy we got to see her and spend some time with her on the way up. We played Yahtzee, had lunch together (she ate a whole meal with dessert), and chatted on the front porch. She talked about meeting Bill in heaven soon. Our last memories of her were positive, and we felt encouraged. She was a wonderful mother-in-law, and I will miss her.
Of course, this news put a bit of a damper on our motorcycle trip. We decided to cancel the last leg and head to his mom’s house from Duluth so Tim could meet with the family regarding arrangements. Canada is a long way up there! We had to return the motorcycle, so it wasn’t exactly a straight path. It would take us three days from the time we left Grand Portage.
We met with his siblings on Ruth Ann’s porch Sunday afternoon (yesterday), and went over the memorial and burial arrangements. It’s always interesting when family gets together 🙄.
Left to Right: Rick, Deidre, Deborah, Tim
Ruth Ann wanted to be cremated, which is probably a good thing given her condition at death. The coroner held her body to do their investigation, and finally released the death certificate this morning. On our way out of town, we met with the probate office, the funeral home, went by the cemetery, and stopped by the house to pick up some paperwork. We said our final good-byes (see you in a couple of weeks) to his siblings, then we headed home. We drove straight through.
Her memorial (celebration of life) will be in two weeks. Peachtree Village in Farmington Arkansas has graciously offered their facility, and they will provide food as well. Ruth Ann worked there for a while, and they loved her. Everyone did! Her memorial will be held on Sunday, August 14 2022 at 2:00 PM. After that we will move to Lincoln Cemetery for the internment of her ashes.
You never know how someone is going to die. I was told 6-9 months when I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2016, and I’m still here. One of my breast friends was deemed cancer free and she died in an accident. Tim’s mom was told 6 months, then she died from an accident. Tim’s dad also died from unexpected, strange circumstances back in 2003. You never know. We just live this little mist called life to the fullest every day, trusting God for the outcome–whatever that may be.
What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears.
James 4:14 (CEV)
Memories. It seems a bit odd to be posting a blog about fun and sadness all at the same time. But that’s the way life is sometimes. It’s filled with ups and downs. The line from Forrest Gump is so true…Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.
If you’re my FaceBook friend, you can see a bunch of photos from our motorcycle ride. It’s hard to pick just a few, as there are so many photos and videos to choose from. Here are some of my favorite moments from our trip.
Paris…Texas that is!
We’ve decided to start visiting all the Airstream Dealers. Most of them have no inventory right now.Finally got to go there. See Tim disappearing into the cornfields?!Loved laying on the soft, northern grass beneath the large shade trees.That was a beautiful day for a ride! Welcome to the Rally. Here’s your swag.No rain to Duluth, then it hit! 😫😭 We stayed in Ranier, which is a quaint port town with an award-winning hotel just outside of International Falls. Another beautiful day for a ride! We did get spit on a few times, but missed the deluge.Six miles from Canada! We took a walk and it was much longer than we anticipated!Windy! See the flags? Enjoy the ride!!We could have gotten a challenge coin here! Totally missed it. 😫This was a beautiful stop. Two lighthouses at one location!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
This time it was Tim. He was away from me for several days, so we don’t think he caught it from me. I was no longer having symptoms.
We had our last day of worship at Parkgate Community Church on July 10th, and they gave us a nice reception to say thanks for the work we’ve done over the past nine and a half months. Tim was their Interim Pastor; I helped with worship and kiddos, as well as revising the bylaws. Their new pastor starts next week.
We packed up our Airstream on Monday July 11th and put her in storage. We’ve been living there half-weeks while Tim was Interim pastoring in Pasadena. Everything seemed to be going well until Tim started feeling a little under the weather later that night. He tested positive for Covid the following day. I tested negative.
No RV to quarantine to this time and I really didn’t want to go to a hotel. So we set up a barrier between us and steered clear of each other until he got better. He had congestion, cough, and fatigue for about a week. Then he had fever blisters that lasted another week. No kissing! 🤪😳😂😭
We were supposed to leave on our big trip Wednesday, so we had to make some last minute cancellations. Our original plan was to stop over and see his mom in Arkansas, then drive northeast to Villanova for our research residency, head west to Wisconsin and ride a rental bike in the Lake Superior Touring Rally, then head home. That all changed.
We postponed the visit with his mom and ended up doing our residency by Zoom (three days of listening to research projects). We weren’t the only ones who were recovering from Covid, or feared being in person, or for whatever reason didn’t want to make the trip. They opened up the option to everyone, which was super kind of them. About half the cohort was on Zoom.
Tim was feeling much better by the time his quarantine had ended, just in time for us to make the second half of the trip. The bike rental was non-refundable, so we really didn’t want to cancel that one if at all possible. We drove the Mini Cooper (“Coop”) to Arkansas where we visited with his mom, then on up to Madison Wisconsin where we picked up the bike and rode to Marquette Michigan for the start of the rally. The next day we rode to Minnesota where we stayed overnight in International Falls and then on to Grand Portage. Back to Duluth to catch up with the rally. We cut the trip short when we heard about Tim’s mom passing. More on that in the next blog.
Not everyone who has cancer is as fortunate as me. My treatment is keeping the breast cancer at bay. While I still have problems with neuropathy, brain fog, and fatigue (to name a few), living with metastatic breast cancer doesn’t mean I have to sit on the couch and watch television all day. Although it is tempting at times! It is tempting to use cancer as my excuse for doing nothing. Sometimes I do rest, purposefully.
I recently joined a class “Active Living After Cancer,” as a boost to my motivation to stay active. It was really hard right after surgery, and during Covid, but now I’m ready to get back into it. I am reminded of Paul’s words in his second letter to the Corinthians; these are “light and momentary trials.” We are still living life to the fullest.
On our motorcycle trip we looked for famous landmarks, took long walks in the evenings, and ate the local cuisine. In the daytime I used my muscles to stay on the bike. (Check out my next blog for more pictures from our motorcycle trip.) We fought the rain and cold, looked for healthy food options (always followed up by an ice cream of some sort 🤪), and enjoyed hot showers after every day’s ride.
Traveling or not, we often find ourselves sitting in a Panera Bread while working on ideas for future books, professional efforts, writing children’s books, or whatever job Tim has going at the time. I’d say we are pretty active! Nope..we won’t let this darn pandemic get the best of us.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Whew! Another year is gone, and a New Year has come. 2021 seemed to fly by like a bullet train, especially after the snail’s pace with which we met 2020. We all thought it would be a better year. We had high hopes for 2021. Somehow we thought it would rush in like Superman and save the day.
Well, the pandemic stuck around and even brought some nasty variants. It did seem to have some rough patches, but as I looked back through the year I discovered 21 milestones/achievements/new experiences. Some of it is personal, and some of it we did as a team. Here is my 2021 year in review…
Read the whole Bible using a Bible Plan on YouVersion. At times I fell behind, but I managed to catch up and I DID IT!
Lost some weight–about eleven pounds this year.
Finished in the top tier on Duolingo, and completed a 602 day streak (learning French).
Walked 203 miles (that we counted).
Spent about 40+ nights in the Airstream: north Texas (Grapevine) at the AS workshop, Bridgeport, Lake Whitney, west Texas (Odessa), south Texas (Donna), and the Jetstream RV Resort at NASA, (south Houston).
Took three long trips on my motorcycle, and a fourth on the back of Tim’s. Earned my 100,000 mile patch. Rode over 10,000 miles through 23 states this year alone. We have accomplished our domestic motorcycle bucket list. Time to do some fly and rides!
Served as a CNS officer (editor).
Painted feature walls and upgraded our shower. Turned our guest room into a playroom for the grandchildren. Sold our bikes and reclaimed our garage.
Awarded a research fellowship and attended our first residency at Villanova University.
Bought a Mini Cooper, then traded and upsized to the Countryman.
Our fifth grand baby Mikayla was born! We also learned we are expecting #6! Spent a lot of precious time with the grandkids last year.
Tested positive for Covid-19, Omicron variant. Yucky stuff!
Sat in a DeLorean time machine!
Fostered and rescued a dog.
Tim started a new job, and ended his work with TXM.
Published my first children’s book. We published a second book for sermon notes as well.
Wrote a few songs.
Cooked some new meals.
Watched a Carolina Wren raise her babies.
Completed our first Escape Room.
Big SNOW in Conroe that lasted a whole week in February.
I suppose I could add one more…stayed alive. I have made it to the five year mark since my metastatic breast cancer diagnosis, a day many professionals didn’t think we would see. I’ve already blogged about that, but it is certainly a milestone!
Our theme word for 2022 is “simplify.” We have already begun looking at the calendar and making plans for the new year. I am hopeful this year will be better than the last two. However, looking back on all we have experienced in 2021, I can’t complain.
Forget what happened before…I’m making a new thing.
