Christmas in C'bus-W'loo-W'conda (Dec. 2008)
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RE PIX 1 ~ 7: This year I made the annual holiday trip to NE Indiana and environs solo -- well, solo as far as HUMAN companionship; I did bring our new pug Caity along with the idea of introducing her to as many family members as possible. (OK, OK -- yes, I did want to show her off!) I finally drove into my old hometown of Waterloo IN after a rather harrowing journey from our house in Wauconda IL on Tuesday the 23rd -- I left at 1:30 PM and arrived at brother Mark's house 7 hours later (it usually takes around 5 hrs, counting stops). The extra time was due mostly to weather; things were slow in the Chicago area, despite my leaving between rush hours. Once I got across the line into the Hoosier State, driving conditions on the I-80/94 expressway, and then the Indiana Toll Road, were not too bad in that the pavement was not totally icy -- but between the "ruts" there were ridges of slush that made lane changes quite dicey! Then, as I neared Angola, the wet surfaces turned to "black ice" -- LOTS OF FUN! (Not.) And I-69 was even worse than the Toll Road.
On Wednesday the 24th, after taking Mark to breakfast at McDonald's, I drove to Bryan OH; Brother Jim had rented a mini-van to transport himself, Carol and me, along with dogs Princess, Noelle and Caity, to their daughter Vanessa's house in Columbus. Getting out of Jim’s driveway was a bit problematic -- I had to free the van from ice via shoveling, rocking and cat litter sprinkling, with Jim manning the wheel. Roads to Columbus were mostly OK, and there was NOTHING on the roads, yards, etc., down there -- with much milder temperatures. We all stayed overnight on Christmas Eve, dining on Chinese take-out and watching (of course!) “A Christmas Story.” We had a nice ham dinner Christmas Day. Leaving in the early evening, we heading back to Bryan. Roads were fine -- we beat the freezing rain and sleet. I had parked my little Mazda Miata by Jim's house and made a "runway" to facilitate my eventual departure. Only problem was that the tires had sunk in a little -- and, on the ice that the slush had turned to, I could not get rolling; pretty much ZERO traction, even with digging and applying cat litter. I had Jim help me -- I put the car in neutral and we BOTH rocked it (his idea) and got it to a point where I could back out onto the street under internal-combustion instead of muscle power. My short trip back to Waterloo went fine, but it was VERY late before I arrived at Mark's house -- so my original plan to see Aunt Vinnie Harriet (my late mom’s sister) in Hicksville OH en route from Bryan to Waterloo had to be shelved.
The morning of the 26th I was still going to try to see Uncle George & Uncle Stanley (my late dad’s brothers) -- but George said, when I called him, that his driveway was "really bad" (it’s a long uphill climb from the road to his house), so we just chatted for awhile on the phone. I had also considered running over to Hicksville that morning, but a conversation with Jimmy re the roads in NW Ohio changed my mind -- so I just called Vinnie Harriet, too. I was VERY disappointed at not being able to see my aging aunt and uncles -- all three of whom were "on my list" -- so I left gifts for them with Mark to distribute for me.
I took Mark out for breakfast at Richard's in Auburn -- the whole parking lot was like a skating rink. The food was mostly fine, except for some Canadian bacon that I thought tasted a little funny -- and I did not feel well afterwards. Then it was back to Waterloo, where I showed Mark some dog photos, etc., on my laptop computer. I called my old friends the Seberts, whom I'd also hoped to visit, but Pam and I agreed a "rain-check" (“ice-check”?) was in order; Don was out at the farm checking on the horses.
I drove (cautiously) to Auburn at lunchtime and got a Papa John's pizza, which Mark and I ate at his house before I left for home with “Little Miss Caity Sunshine.” I made a lot better time Waterloo-Wauconda than Wauconda-Waterloo -- via wet (but not slippery) roadways, just before they froze (whew!). At this writing my days are a bit mixed up, but I heard that at some point in all this goofy weather the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago was CLOSED for the first time in history (due to ice-related crashes). Also, the entire Indiana Toll Road was completely shut down for awhile; as challenging as my driving experience had been on this trip, things could have been MUCH worse!
Well, at least I got to see Mark, Jim, Carol, Vanessa and her boyfriend Andy. And they all had the pleasure of meeting Caity. So I am glad I went -- and I am also greatly relieved to have finally arrived back home safe and sound!
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RE PIX 8 ~ 14: These were taken at our home in Wauconda on the occasion of a visit December 27-28 by my son Jon and his fiancée Becky Carroll (yes, no longer “just” his girlfriend -- he gave her a ring only days before!), along with their dogs Freddy and Kiddo. We took Jon and Becky out to a Japanese steakhouse/sushi place Saturday night, and then to breakfast at a local diner Sunday morning. I even (rustily) cranked out a few Christmas carols on my ancient family piano!
--Bob Friend
Read MoreRE PIX 1 ~ 7: This year I made the annual holiday trip to NE Indiana and environs solo -- well, solo as far as HUMAN companionship; I did bring our new pug Caity along with the idea of introducing her to as many family members as possible. (OK, OK -- yes, I did want to show her off!) I finally drove into my old hometown of Waterloo IN after a rather harrowing journey from our house in Wauconda IL on Tuesday the 23rd -- I left at 1:30 PM and arrived at brother Mark's house 7 hours later (it usually takes around 5 hrs, counting stops). The extra time was due mostly to weather; things were slow in the Chicago area, despite my leaving between rush hours. Once I got across the line into the Hoosier State, driving conditions on the I-80/94 expressway, and then the Indiana Toll Road, were not too bad in that the pavement was not totally icy -- but between the "ruts" there were ridges of slush that made lane changes quite dicey! Then, as I neared Angola, the wet surfaces turned to "black ice" -- LOTS OF FUN! (Not.) And I-69 was even worse than the Toll Road.
On Wednesday the 24th, after taking Mark to breakfast at McDonald's, I drove to Bryan OH; Brother Jim had rented a mini-van to transport himself, Carol and me, along with dogs Princess, Noelle and Caity, to their daughter Vanessa's house in Columbus. Getting out of Jim’s driveway was a bit problematic -- I had to free the van from ice via shoveling, rocking and cat litter sprinkling, with Jim manning the wheel. Roads to Columbus were mostly OK, and there was NOTHING on the roads, yards, etc., down there -- with much milder temperatures. We all stayed overnight on Christmas Eve, dining on Chinese take-out and watching (of course!) “A Christmas Story.” We had a nice ham dinner Christmas Day. Leaving in the early evening, we heading back to Bryan. Roads were fine -- we beat the freezing rain and sleet. I had parked my little Mazda Miata by Jim's house and made a "runway" to facilitate my eventual departure. Only problem was that the tires had sunk in a little -- and, on the ice that the slush had turned to, I could not get rolling; pretty much ZERO traction, even with digging and applying cat litter. I had Jim help me -- I put the car in neutral and we BOTH rocked it (his idea) and got it to a point where I could back out onto the street under internal-combustion instead of muscle power. My short trip back to Waterloo went fine, but it was VERY late before I arrived at Mark's house -- so my original plan to see Aunt Vinnie Harriet (my late mom’s sister) in Hicksville OH en route from Bryan to Waterloo had to be shelved.
The morning of the 26th I was still going to try to see Uncle George & Uncle Stanley (my late dad’s brothers) -- but George said, when I called him, that his driveway was "really bad" (it’s a long uphill climb from the road to his house), so we just chatted for awhile on the phone. I had also considered running over to Hicksville that morning, but a conversation with Jimmy re the roads in NW Ohio changed my mind -- so I just called Vinnie Harriet, too. I was VERY disappointed at not being able to see my aging aunt and uncles -- all three of whom were "on my list" -- so I left gifts for them with Mark to distribute for me.
I took Mark out for breakfast at Richard's in Auburn -- the whole parking lot was like a skating rink. The food was mostly fine, except for some Canadian bacon that I thought tasted a little funny -- and I did not feel well afterwards. Then it was back to Waterloo, where I showed Mark some dog photos, etc., on my laptop computer. I called my old friends the Seberts, whom I'd also hoped to visit, but Pam and I agreed a "rain-check" (“ice-check”?) was in order; Don was out at the farm checking on the horses.
I drove (cautiously) to Auburn at lunchtime and got a Papa John's pizza, which Mark and I ate at his house before I left for home with “Little Miss Caity Sunshine.” I made a lot better time Waterloo-Wauconda than Wauconda-Waterloo -- via wet (but not slippery) roadways, just before they froze (whew!). At this writing my days are a bit mixed up, but I heard that at some point in all this goofy weather the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago was CLOSED for the first time in history (due to ice-related crashes). Also, the entire Indiana Toll Road was completely shut down for awhile; as challenging as my driving experience had been on this trip, things could have been MUCH worse!
Well, at least I got to see Mark, Jim, Carol, Vanessa and her boyfriend Andy. And they all had the pleasure of meeting Caity. So I am glad I went -- and I am also greatly relieved to have finally arrived back home safe and sound!
________________________________________
RE PIX 8 ~ 14: These were taken at our home in Wauconda on the occasion of a visit December 27-28 by my son Jon and his fiancée Becky Carroll (yes, no longer “just” his girlfriend -- he gave her a ring only days before!), along with their dogs Freddy and Kiddo. We took Jon and Becky out to a Japanese steakhouse/sushi place Saturday night, and then to breakfast at a local diner Sunday morning. I even (rustily) cranked out a few Christmas carols on my ancient family piano!
--Bob Friend
