Dana Daily

We have a six hour drive home, but first, Indiana Dunes National Park! The newest park in the national park system, just included in February of this year. I wish we could have spent a full day here, but we got some sightseeing done in the limited time we did have. Incidentally, today is Junior Ranger Day. At the ranger station we received the junior ranger booklet for Seth to complete. He was able to identify animals that make this area home, and match them to their tracks. He did really well with this activity. He also put on a puppet show for us. The ranger suggested we start at the Chellberg Farm . This area was settled by Swedish immigrants in the 1800s, and this land/farm was purchased by, who else, but the Chellberg's in 1869. Seth saw cows, pigs, and chickens. We didn't linger here since you can see animals anywhere, and the home itself wasn't open for the season yet. From the farm we drove through the Century of Progress homes which were built for the 1933 C...

We had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and then hit a Walmart across the street for some New Glarus (Spotted Cow) beer. It seemed weird buying beer at 10am, but at least we weren't drinking. The 1.5 hours from Beloit to Chicago, was the shortest leg of our trip. After freezing at the Twins game two nights prior, we weren't looking forward to a repeat, but. . . The Windy City  sure lived up to its name. We might have paid $60 for parking at Wrigley Field, but it was worth it. We were a few steps from the stadium, and not blocked in. Because this was an afternoon game, meaning the sun was out, AND it wasn't raining, it didn't feel as cold. The wind just never stopped though. We made it 6 innings and then decided it was time to exit. In what turned out to be a debacle, we decided to take Seth to the bean at Millennium Park. It took us forever to get there because of traffic, and then instead of just parking on the street, we opted for a parking garage. We checked o...

We wanted to explore Minneapolis a little before heading toward home, so we asked the hotel about walking to Hell's Kitchen. It's a restaurant we first heard of on Ali Khan's Cheap Eats . As it turns out Hell's Kitchen is just a couple blocks from the Best Western, so we set out. I ordered a lemonberry ricotta pancake, but it did not measure up to ones you can buy at home at the Square Cafe. However, the bacon was out of this world. It tasted like meat, and not bacon at all. We asked the waiter about it, and he said it's delivered from a farm in northern Iowa. We ordered Seth a Minne-Sota pancake, but he wasn't impressed. Sal had a stack of pancakes and bacon as well. After breakfast we had a list of a few sites to see - the Spoon Bridge, St. Anthony Falls, and the Mississippi River National Park and Recreation Area (MRNPRA), which is actually located in St. Paul. The Spoon Bridge was a fun photo op, and there were other statues/art in the area. St. Anthon...

The Field of Dreams movie site is somewhere Sal talked about visiting even when we were still dating. It was fun to finally make it out here. I saw the movie one time, and while it was okay, the details didn't stay with me for long, nor do I get all the hype surrounding it. As a result, when we were talking about visiting, I told Sal he could take the house tour and Seth and I would just hang out outside - playing on the ball field, taking a walk around the grounds. Well, wouldn't you know, it was raining and cold when we arrived so all three of us ended up on the tour. It was interesting. Sal loved being there and seeing all of this first hand. I found some minor details interesting - like why this farm was chosen out of hundreds to be the site of this movie.  We had hotel reservations at the Best Western Plus Normandy Inn in Minneapolis, which was just over a 4 hour drive away, so we got back on the road as scheduled about 11am. We stopped at a random Subway for...

This was a long day of driving - Rossford, Ohio to Dubuque, Iowa is about a 7.5 hour drive, made longer with meals and potty breaks. Even with a two mile detour to Michigan, and a stop at Notre Dame University, we managed to arrive in time to ride the Fenelon Place Elevator , see one of only three remaining shot towers , and walk along the Mississippi Riverwalk after dinner at the Stone Cliff Winery located at the site of the now-closed Dubuque Star Brewery . Being from Pittsburgh, we know inclines. However, one look at Fenelon Place, and I nearly backed out. Going down wasn't so bad, but coming back up resulted in sweaty palms. It's steep, the steepest in the country, actually. Fortunately, it's also short, the shortest in the country. I'm not sure these pictures capture reality. We lived to tell about it, and it was pretty cool. It cost us $6 round trip. The shot tower wasn't exactly what I expected. Given it's historical significance as pretty much ...

In order to minimize the amount of vacation time required for this impromptu trip, we decided to leave Monday after work. Friday is a holiday so this only ate up 3 days, out of my 21. Sal is on Easter break until Tuesday, April 23. We got on the road around 4:15pm, which was only 15 minutes later than I had hoped. We stopped in Streetsboro, Ohio at our favorite Ruby Tuesdays, and arrived in Rossford, Ohio around 9pm. Upon check-in at the Country Inn and Suites , I was told we were given a free upgrade, which awarded us with a larger room (ie, suite). However, our room faced the interstate, and needless to say, I didn't sleep well. Semis whizzing by kept me awake until 2am. Not the greatest night in a hotel, and I blame the fact that I booked this room on Expedia, which hotels hate. No evidence that that was the reason, just my feeling. The room was nice, and we loved having the extra space. Here's a picture for posterity.

I'm a day late, actually a full year late, but I had my very first mammogram ever today. I don't know what I expected, but it was a breeze. Not exactly comfortable, but not painful either. The worst thing about it was the awful dusty rose colored gown. Washed me out completely. I even took a picture, an intentionally pathetic picture.