In May/June of 2008, Kim and I took a vacation - Back to Wisconsin to visit with friends and family
Day 6/28 May - continued: Arriving back in De Pere, we spent the better part of the day unpacking and washing some clothes. In the afternoon, we took a trip downtown to watch Keith's girls play softball at John Muir park. Amber, Chantelle, Leah and Kaitlyn all play softball. We had a good time relaxing at the park. I took a bunch of pictures and got to know Austin a bit better. The last time we saw him he wasn't even speaking.
After the game, we drove to Keith's place. Yvette and Keith invited us over for a cook out. Dinner was great - BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, and drinks around the pit fire later in the evening. We had a good time visiting with Keith, Yvette, and all the kids. We made it back to Ted and Sharon's by 2359. As soon as I hit the pillow, I was asleep.
Day 7/29 May: I slept from 0030-0730. Kim slept a bit longer. I think I had too much to drink last night. With a slight hangover, I helped Ted move some heavy stuff out to the curb. Sharon made us a breakfast and I recovered from the night before.
For lunch Kim and I had a rendezvous with an old friend of ours - Steve Sinclair and his wife Laura. We met for lunch at a place in downtown West De Pere. The Lazy Gecko. We opted for the buffet special, and filled our plates with conversation and comfort food. Steve looked good, and he's still into Karate! Too bad we couldn't spend more time together, but they had to get back to work.
After lunch we headed back to the Kuchta's place. We watched a couple of movies, relaxed around the house, at dinner and enjoyed the remainder of our day.
Day 8/30 May: Kim and I slept from 2300-0800. Wow! nine hours of sleep. I must be on vacation. Or am I? Just after I got up, I helped Ted move that trash away from the curb (big heavy stuff). As it turns out, we put it out on the wrong day. After Kim got up, we went to see my aunt Joan for brunch at one of our favorite places (the Golden Basket). The three of us ate for only $18.95. Kim and I pay more than that for one person in Denver. The cost of living and eating, is considerably lower here. After brunch we went back to Joan's place, and spent a couple of hours talking. It was a good visit.
After visiting with Joan, we went back to Kim's parents place. We watched another movie as the afternoon unwound. For dinner we had salmon and steak again. We sure are eating a lot of great food during our vacation. After dinner we went over to Keith and Yvette's place.
We spent the rest of the evening helping them move. Keith and Yvette were in a bind, they were being forced to move by a landlord who raised the rent by an exorbitant amount. In either case, Kim and I helped cart boxes up and down the stairs, into the garage, into a moving van. We managed to get one van full moved over to the new house before we took our leave. We didn't leave until 2300.
Day 9/31 May: Moving day. We slept from 2330-0730, and went out to eat for breakfast. Ted and Sharon treated us to breakfast at a new place. Well, new to us. The Oak Street cafe is only a block away from their house, so it didn't take long to get there. That's another difference between Aurora and De Pere. In Aurora, you have to drive a considerable distance in order to get anywhere. Everything is spread out, and the zoning keeps any commerce out of the residential areas. Here in De Pere, the city was laid out on the French long lot system. Residential and commercial businesses are fairly mixed. Everything is very close together. You could easily get around on bicycle all day long. I kind of miss that environment.
After breakfast, we went back to work (I thought I was on vacation). Helping Keith and Yvette move. Keith had one other person helping, but he skipped out after a few hours. By noon it was just the four of us. Moving Keith, Yvette and the five kids was no small chore. We were ate it all day long. We managed to stop for food a couple of times, but we kept at it until it was done. Bruised, scratched up and sore from head to toe; We didn't leave until 2300. Took a hot shower, and crashed...
Day 10/1 June: Kim and I slept from 2330-0730. I woke up stiff and sore. We spent the morning packing for our trip back to Denver. After a bit of packing, I watched a couple of movies. Tried to relax, took some pain killers. Had lunch, more Salmon!
After lunch, Kim went shopping with her mother, and I went to visit my aunt Marge. Marge and Michelle live in Grandma and Grandpa's old place in Green Bay. I had a good visit, reminiscing on old times and catching up on current events.
Kim and I got back to the house (Kim's parents) around the same time. That evening, we arranged dinner with Pat, Dale and Michelle. It's been a long time since we've seen the Konshak's and I wish we could have spent more time together. We were supposed to eat at the River St. Pier, but that was closed, so we opted for the supper club next door to it. The Black Forest is just off the highway/Velp Ave. in Green Bay / Howard. The food (except for the spinach and artichoke dip) was terrible. It seems like everything we ate was deep fried. I had some sort of 'knife and fork' burger. I paid way to much for a burger that was smothered in some sort of cheesy sauce. It was supposed to be south western style - Not! Then they screwed up our check... We haven't had much luck with restaurants during our visit. Thankfully the company was better than the food.
After our dinner we even had time to swing by Keith and Yvette's new place. We stopped in long enough to see the kids one more time. We said our goodbye's and headed back to Kim's parents place. |
