Napa

I enjoyed a lovely trip with a group of my Deloitte friends to Napa - my first time there - for my friend Michelle's 29th (well, maybe it was 40th. . .) birthday.  Although it took nearly a day to travel there after flying 4+ hours and driving 2 more, it was a beautiful and relaxing destination.  And I loved traveling with a group of friends who are frequent business travelers.  We didn't have to wait in any lines, and everyone knew how much Starbucks and wine were going to be consumed! We were a very compatible group!

 

We had two full days in Napa before traveling back home on Sunday.   Friday was our all-day Platypus Wine Tour.   I highly recommend this outfit to anyone touring Napa.  They picked us up at our hotel and drove us (in the stretch limo version of a shuttle bus) to four wineries they had selected.  Picking from the hundreds of wineries would be a daunting task, and they did a great job finding a group that represented the variety throughout the valley.   Our four were Silenus, Tudal, Tedeschi and Twomey.  We had a lovely lunch at Tudal and a cheese/cracker tray on the bus.   We were 6 of the 12 participants on our tour, but since we were all staying at the hotel, we did run into the three couples throughout the rest of the weekend.  It was a fun group!  

Saturday was lunch at Oxbow Market and then a little touring on our own.  Laura and I wanted to go to Cakebread, so we took the rest along there.  We didn't have a reservation so we had to wait an hour, which we did across the street at the huge Robert Mondavi compound.

 

Cub Scout Campout

The Cub Scout campout was postponed one week due to rainy weather, so I got to join the guys since I was in town on the new date.   I'm pretty sure it would have been a better night in my own bed, but it was a lot of fun.  Though COLD - very cold - overnight.

 

I was shocked in the fall of 2015 when John and William started accumulating supplies for their first campout.   Everyday when I came home more of the REI store had been delivered!   So, while camping is not as rustic as I might expect, it is outdoor tent camping.   

 

William first helped me unload the car of our supplies, and then was put to work with his buddy Nathan to get firewood (from the Forest Preserve wood pile ;-)) for the camp.   They are pretending to be exhausted! 

 

The boys joined the Scout leader in starting the fire.  Well, it was the Webelos job to do it, but the little guys watched and learned.  Then they enjoyed some games in the field while the parents started getting food setup.   This parent was expecting muddy conditions and wore rain boots.   I was definitely the fashion trendsetter!

The three of us snuggled into our tent for the night.  I was happy to be in the warmer middle!  And I was thrilled that my friend, who left camp to sleep at home, brought me Starbucks when she returned in the morning!

 

 

 

 

KSU Theta Reunion

I was so excited to go back to Manhattan for my 20th pledge class reunion.  We had dinner and drinks in Aggieville, hanging out at the totally redone K-State Union, lunch and house tours at the Theta house, touring the new College of Business, and more Aggieville!  It was a fantastic time to catch up with friends.  Amazingly, some of these ladies I have not seen in 15+ years.  But it was just like old times.

  

I love all of these old composite pictures!

 

 

Rush!  It was so fun seeing our matching outfits for the various themes.

 Date party or fraternity mixer. . .loved those dresses!

 The house had some neat updates - but also looked a lot the same!  The upstairs rooms were rehabbed recently and turned into sleeping dorms/study rooms.  When I lived there the basement rooms were like that but the upstairs rooms were not. 

   

  1996 Pledge Class

 1995 Pledge Class

 

I was so excited to get to fly nonstop from O'Hare to Manhattan.  But I had to laugh when I arrived at the airport 90 minutes before my flight and the only person in the building was the American guy running the ticket desk.  The gate was locked to get to the ticketing gates.  It was a different experience than I usually see!