Category: TRAVEL (Page 43 of 45)

Retirement is not without Hassles: Carnival #427

February 11, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

I have accomplished my goal of skiing after the retirement age of 65 (without getting hurt), having just put away my equipment after 5 days in Colorado. I had threatened to do this over the past year or so with Mt. Hood just an hour away, but could never find anyone to join me. This recent invitation to join friends at Steamboat Springs was just too good to pass up, with free lodging, friendship, and fun. Yes, it cost me a couple of reciprocal dinners, but the deluxe accommodations included the Christie Club with a ski valet, ski-in-ski-out access, Jacuzzi, heated pool, and gym. I went out every day with heated boots and returned to a soothing hot tub. Regardless, it is still a sport for “Kings” (See Post #426) when you consider all the costs to ship my skis & boots, plus buy lift & airline tickets. The question is will I do it again someday, with a standing invitation to return anytime, or will my skis gather cob webs in the garage, as they did for the last few years?

One of my skiing companions graciously described my downhill style as “careful,” as I slowly navigated my way behind them every day. They would wait patiently at the lift for me to join them, and picked me up after a few stumbles on the first day. My retired friends back in Portland are even more careful than I am, preferring to stay home where it’s safe. I prefer exercising extreme caution with the combination of age, gravity, steep inclines, and waxed boards strapped to your feet. Age and gravity alone are the primary enemy of old age, plus add alcohol, and I feel like a boastful, drunken, redneck declaring, “Hey, Watch This.” (See Post #363). My skills are a sharp contrast to the athletes performing at the Olympic Games. This provided some evening background entertainment for this re-tired-ee, as I overindulged in champagne, whiskey, edibles, and loud tunes in the “music room” of their spectacular home.

One of the highlights of this past week was the Winter Carnival activities, some dating back as long as 105 years. Horses pulled skiers down Main Street and prominent citizens rode on snow shovels. The rodeo-like atmosphere was enhanced by a “miracle snowfall” that covered the bare ground after a season of below-average accumulation. We started the day at an old-fashioned pancake breakfast, and ended with dinner at The Laundry, following an hour-long fireworks spectacular. The “Electric Cowboy” fired Roman Candles as it maneuvered down the mountain, and other skiers pulled custom sleds designed to launch explosive missiles into the night sky, making it the largest mountainside fireworks show in the world. One of the challenges that I face in planning a trip to the slopes is the fact that my wife doesn’t ski. We both hate spending time apart, so she was able to at least fly in for her weekend. This allowed us to enjoy these carnival festivities together, even though the temperatures dropped to one-below overnight.

Flight delays this morning enabled us to have a farewell breakfast at Little House Biscuits, right next to the “Big House,” the town’s jail. “The Boat” definitely has a unique small-town personality, and I’ve enjoying going there for years. Our friend’s new retirement home made it that much better this year. I will let time determine my fate in returning for another encore. In the meantime, “Happy Ski Trails to All,” as I temporarily retire my ski bag to a corner of the garage, wondering if it will be a sport that I will continue doing “carefully” into my seventies.

Retirement is not without Hassle: Last to first #425

February 8, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

I’ve given myself a new ski motto, “last down the hill and first in the hot tub.” I prefer to get to the gondola as it first opens in the morning at 9 a.m. The waiting line is short, meaning fewer people on the mountain to run into me, or visa-versa. I ski to avoid injury, trying my best to avoid congested areas, while using the expanse of the trail for a longer turning radius. To many skiers, I might be considered a “mountain hog,” as I tend to cut a wide path, so I try to leave plenty of space between me and the masses. Most of my falls are on narrow paths or cat walks where I’m forced to do quicker cuts. This is not so much a factor of age, as it is skill level, since I’ve never been a competent, confident skier. I make more turns than the average skier and cover a lot more ground, so I’ve never been one to ski late in the day. It’s when most injuries occur to those that maybe won’t admit they are tired or feel like they need to get their money’s worth. The retail price for a single daily lift ticket here at Steamboat is about $160, so there is pressure to extend your day as long as possible.

We are skiing as a group of five, with my friends patiently waiting for me to catch up. I’m always last; last to get my equipment on, last to make it to the lift: and last to get up from lunch. We stop for food about 11:30, once again hoping to avoid the noon rush, then it’s usually about an hour to ski to the bottom. You have to be careful with what you order when you’re in a state with legalized marijuana, so you need to ask what’s in the “Pot Pie?” It was just turkey today, so I didn’t have to endure other challenges in the race for the hot tub.

Putting away the skis at about 1:15 is a full day for me, and I’m ready to hop in the hot tub. While I’m last all day, and feeling like I’m holding everyone up, I’m always the first of our group in the hot tub. I’ve just had enough of skiing by early afternoon. I’m the same way about golf and would rather play 9 holes than 18, so it’s more than just being physically tired. There is a certain sense of relief in that post-ski state of mind, grateful that nothing is broken or badly bruised – other than my ego, from always being last down the hill.

Retirement is not without Hassles: Sunny Slopes #424

February 7, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

It was a beautiful day on the ski slopes – snow frosted trees and blue sky. When I went out to run first thing this morning, my feet felt like concrete. I had to do some walking in adapting to the higher altitude, and then joined my friends and headed to the gondola. These friends have a club membership here at Steamboat, so clothing, boots, and skis are are stored mountainside. Once I put everything on, however, I could feel the extra weight of that first run of the year, and by noon I was exhausted. My thighs were burning and my toes were sore from trying to fight gravity and keep my speeds down. I fell once trying to follow a narrow pathway to a neighboring hill, and then crossed my skis and slid down again on my butt. It was not painful just embarrassing, but I felt very tentative and a little unsteady on my skis today. I also did an unintentional 360 getting off the lift when my arm caught on the chair just as we were unloading. That’s when I knew I was getting really tired. After our lunch break, I skied back down to the club and sat in the hot tub for a half-hour, showered, and went back to the house.

We’ll have dinner out tonight and enjoy some of the annual Winter Carnival activities. I am the fifth-wheel on this trip, since my wife can’t join me for a few more days. I’m also the oldest of the group, so I’m usually the last one down the hill. Tomorrow, I may have to go off on my own, so the rest of the group doesn’t have to cater to me. I look forward to two more good days of skiing.

Retirement is not without Hassles: Ski #423

February 7, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

I’ve spent a lot of on airplanes in my 66 years, but I still find it exciting to fly. What I don’t enjoy is the packing, airport commute, parking, shuttle bus, security, and waiting. I’m now more than an hour early at the gate, and can feel some of the pre-departure stress starting to melt away. After all these years, I still experience the anxiety of getting there on time. There’s just too much that can go wrong, and I’m always a bit of a mess in anticipation. I’m grumpy, impatient, intolerant, and inconvenienced until I finally have settled into my seat.

Today was no exception, since I also had ski equipment to contend with, making my travel bag dangerously close to the 50 pound limit. There was no room for error, as I carefully weighed in at one of the pre-check scales ready to transfer weight from bag to bag if necessary. I got my “exact”money’s worth as a master packer. Getting rid of all that baggage, never to be seen again until arrival, was a relief.

Cumbersome skis, heavy boots, extra clothing, and lots of preparation time are the downsides of a ski trip. Exhilaration, camaraderie, and unbuckling your boots for a cocktail are the upsides. I have a three-day ski pass to use before my wife arrives for the weekend. We both hate the fact that we’re apart, but she is not a skier. She’s coming in primarily for a friend’s 65th birthday celebration.

I should probably wear the sign, “Caution: Senior Skier” for everyone’s safety. After two years away from the slopes, I’m sure that my steadiness on skis has further deteriorated. I was never a totally confident skier, having only learned the sport in my thirties. I try to always stay on two skies, never take chances, avoid moguls, and slowly cut a path to the bottom. I’m usually the last one down, getting the side-to-side “most” out of the course. If my skiing is anything like my running, I get slower every year, so flashing warning lights might be advisable.

I first skied at the Lake Geneva Playboy Club in a brown corduroy suit, with no lessons or support. The college friends I went with were all expert skiers and quickly abandoned me to the Bunny Slopes- maybe it was my outfit! I put the skis on that they loaned me, pointed them downhill, and unable to stop promptly crashed into the lift-line at the bottom. Embarrassed, I took the skis off and waited in the lounge, too young to even legally order a drink.

It wouldn’t be until 12 years later that I finally took a lesson and tried again. My fearless young son learned to ski along with me, and had much quicker success than I did. I painfully discovered that it wasn’t like water skiing. It required you to lean forward not back, and I slowly began to gain control and to use my edges to navigate. I’ve now skied in Colorado, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Vermont, Utah, Idaho, Montana, West Virginia, Oregon, and British Columbia.

Despite my experience, my body doesn’t always cooperate. Running keeps me in shape, but age has taken a toll on my legs. High altitude and seldom used thigh muscles keep me breathless and humble. Crowded slopes make me nervous and un-groomed trails seem treacherous. However, it’s still fun to do, and I’m thankful I still can. Years ago, it seemed like there were more Senior Citizen discounts that I vowed to take advantage of some day. Well, that day has come and there were no Silver Skier discounts that I could find.

Old Sport Sports: Final Four Memories #400

January 20, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

I continue to ease my frustrations with Indiana University basketball by dwelling on the past. I was at an antique show yesterday with a friend and bought a NCAA Final Four lapel pin collection for $20. There were ten pins from the cities that hosted the event between the years1977 and 1986. I recall being at three of these championships, and had I bought a pin at each site I would have spent at least $50, so ownership seemed worth it. There was only one Indiana championship in that 10 year period, and that took place in Philadelphia in 1981, with Isiah Thomas, Randy Wittman, Ted Kitchel, Landon Turner, Steve Risley, Ray Tolbert, Glen Grunwald, and of course Coach Bobby Knight. They lost 9 games that year, but the team seemed to come together late in the season. Thomas and Tolbert were both first round NBA draft choices, while Grunwald and Risley were drafted in later rounds, Wittman, Steve Bouchie, Tony Brown, Jim Thomas, and Landon Turner were drafted in subsequent years, but Turner was permanently paralyzed in an automobile accident that left him confined to a wheelchair, suddenly ending any hopes for an NBA future. The disappointing thing about my pin set is that Indiana won the National Championship the year before and the year after this collection was issued, so I will need to find pins for at least those two years, and some of the other years that I attended.

I went to my first Final Four in nearby Indianapolis back in 1980 at Market Square Arena when Purdue finished third and Louisville cut down the nets. The next year in Philadelphia was IU’s championship, and then the following year I traveled to New Orleans to watch North Carolina and freshman Michael Jordan beat Georgetown and Patrick Ewing. It was the only NCAA championship game to feature three of the NBA 50 Greatest Players (Jordan, Ewing, and James Worthy). The silly third place game had finally ended the year before, otherwise I would have seen Houston’s “Phi Slamma Jamma” play defending champion Louisville. It was indeed a Final Four for the ages! I returned to New Orleans in 1987 to watch IU’s Keith Smart hit “The Shot.” It unfortunately was the fifth and final championship for my Hoosiers in now over 30 years. I then had to watch Duke win it in Indianapolis at the Hoosier Dome in 1991 and again in 1992 in Minneapolis. That frustrating game was IU’s only loss in the opener of a Final Four, as they had won the tournament every time in their five previous appearances. In all honesty, we gave away our prime CBS tickets to the finale and got out of Dodge. It was Blue Devil and Coach K history that I didn’t want to see!

Indianapolis hosted in 2000, as Michigan State won over Florida, after North Carolina and Wisconsin were ousted. A good friend was a Spartan grad and hosted a celebration party where I overdid it on tequila shots. The TV station I worked for had a suite, so I was also involved in entertaining clients. The most memorable thing was that the hypochondriac wife of my boss was desperately trying to get a hold of him, and actually had them contact him through the scoreboard. I remember his name was flashed on the screen along with a message to call home.

Indiana then lost to Maryland in the championship game of 2002 in Atlanta. I was unable to go for some reason, probably because they had lost their tournament vulnerability ten years before. Mike Davis had replaced Bobby Knight that year, and somehow got that team to the championship despite 10 regular season losses and an additional loss in the Big Ten Tournament. They got some revenge on top-ranked Duke that year by upsetting them with in the Sweet Sixteen. They then went on to beat Oklahoma and Coach Kelvin Sampson, who would replace Davis and lead the team into NCAA probation hell. Jared Jeffries, Dane Fife, and Tom Coverdale starred for the Hoosier team that earned the dubious honor of losing the school’s very first NCAA Championship game. IU had won in their previous five appearances, and have not made it back since. Kelvin Sampson was the beginning of the program’s downfall, that experienced a brief surge under Tom Crean, and is now in the hands of Archie Miller. Maybe sometime in the future it will be “Miller Time!” (See Post #35)

In 2006, Indy once again hosted the event, so I was able to attend my 8th Final Four (and 7th Championship game). Florida won the title over UCLA, and we were able to attend all the CBS celebrity events that year. I remember spending a lot of time talking with an up-and-coming unknown named Ray Romano, so the parties were much more memorable than the games. In 2010 it was wife’s Alma mater, Butler, that beat Michigan State but fell short against evil Duke. We then followed Butler to Houston, Texas in 2011, or they followed us. My wife had been transferred to Austin, so coincidentally another Final Four with Butler was within easy driving distance. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs lost again.

I’m now stuck on 10 Final Four appearances in my lifetime, and will be out of the country for this year’s games in San Antonio. Although, it might have been a good excuse to revisit some friends in Austin. As much as I hate to admit it, I hope that Purdue makes the field. After coming home from the antique show and showing off my new pin collection, I watched my inconsistent Hoosiers stumble mightily to the Michigan State Spartans, another team that has the potential to make it to San Antonio. I’m tired of losing, and miss those aspirations of making it to the Final Four, so I’m beginning to lose my hatred of the Boilermakers, and falling back on memories of working with Coach Gene Keady on his weekly televised basketball show. The TV station that I managed for several years in Lafayette, Indiana was the home of the Black & Gold, so I slowly learned to shed some of my bias towards IU’s biggest in-state rival. It’s time to decidedly leap on their bandwagon!

Purdue won the Old Oaken Bucket, what I sometimes call the Toilet Bowl, from IU in football his past season, and went on to win, in dramatic fashion, the lowly Foster Farms clash against Arizona. Back in 2001, while running WLFI-TV, I spared no expense to send a broadcast crew to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, to cover the Boilers and future Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Drew Brees. They lost to Washington, but gave me reason to include a few Boilermaker souvenirs in my sports collection. Since IU hasn’t even come close to being in a Rose Bowl since 1968, it’s been very easy to stray from any IU football allegiance. I’m growing tired of supporting losers like IU, The Colts, and Da’ Bears. I often wish I had gone to grad school, so I’d have other collegiate teams to support. I enjoy watching Butler win, except against IU, and have tried hard to root for the Oregon teams, but haven’t made that passionate connection, as yet. I felt sorry for Drew Brees this past weekend, losing a chance for his Saints to advance, due to a rookie teammate blunder. Instead it was the Minnesota Vikings who will play against the Eagles for a home Super Bowl appearance. They were once a favorite of mine because of the color purple. I once painted my Electric Football team as the Vikings, choosing them for some unknown reason over the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore (now Indianapolis) Colts. I’m jumping on their bandwagon, too. Boiler Up and Go Vikes – I’ll wear your pin!

Retirement is not without Hassles: ADORE #396

January 17, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

As I was nearing the #400 milestone on this blog, I happened to notice that I had misnumbered some of my earlier posts, so I had to go back and make adjustments. As it turned out, I had somehow skipped ahead by five, so I’m exactly on my daily posting pace since the first of the year, and not ahead as I originally thought. I number each entry, so I can provide past references to the same or similar subjects, so readers can go back to a specific post and get more information if they desire. I also use these numbers to keep myself honest in the quest to average one post a day.

Today is really the first day this year that I’m not scheduled to be somewhere other than dinner with my wife tonight. I’m totally free all day to catch up on personal matters. My wife admitted she was envious, as she left for the office this morning. I did make our reservations to visit the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam and also began to make arrangements to see some of the Johannes Vermeer paintings, such as “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” during our short visit there in March. The Mauritshuis in The Hague is home to this famous painting and about an hour from Amsterdam, about a 41 minute train ride, so it might be a bit of a stretch of our limited time in the country. From there, we will fly to Venice. It’s exciting to plan for these adventures. I’ve always felt that travel is 50% anticipating, 20% doing, and 30% reflecting, as I continue to research the areas where we hope to visit. This is what retirement is all about!

After our Netherlands layover, we’ll spend a couple of days in Venice, and then board a Viking Cruise ship to ports in Koper, Slovenia; Zadar, Croatia; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; and Corfu, Olympia, Satorini, and Athens, Greece. I have a lot of studying to do, but the ancient Olympic village is the top priority for me on this particular trip. We’ll book our on-board dining later this week. Also, we’re working on flight arrangements for a family visit to Indianapolis in late February, that will be much less eventful. By the time the first quarter of 2018 is over, I will have spent 31 nights, or one-third of my time on the road, and will undoubtedly be more than ready for a quiet day like today.

The bottom line is that we ADORE travel, as I refer to the acronym for Anticipating, DOing, and REflecting. We DID a lot of traveling in 2017, so there is much to REFLECT on from our amazing experiences together. As we look forward to future travel, there is so much to ANTICIPATE. I suppose we could use the same acronym for the experience of cooking, but my meal last night was not worthy of the word ADORE. It was the messiest meal I’ve ever prepared and there was too much clean-up involved; I didn’t slice the onions properly and they turned to mush; I let the short ribs stew too long in the slow cooker and they were a bit dry; The red wine gravy reduction that could have added some moisture and flavor to the meat had entirely too much onion flavor. I was very disappointed in my effort, however my wife was just glad to have a meal prepared, and was only modesty critical. Her anticipation was high, she tried to enjoy the very rich meal, but upon reflection decided that this recipe was probably not worth repeating. I’m glad tonight is “Date Night,” so somebody else will do the cooking for both of us to ADORE.

Retirement is not without Hassles: Ramblings #395

January 16, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

This is post #395, after 381 days of retirement, so I continue to exceed my target of one post a day. I’m surprised because I really never knew that I had this much to say. Thanks for continuing to bear with me, if you are following my ramblings. The story within the story has recently been the discovery of my birth mother and her son. I will continue to update my new family tree on Ancestry.com, as I essentially wait for feedback from my probable second family. I was frustrated most of today because my computer required a series of updates, and I was unable to access and update this blog in a timely manner. Today is “cooking day,” so I’m preparing a short ribs recipe in the slow cooker, while the dogs are getting their stink-off at the pet spa. They were noticeably a week overdue, with my trip to Florida last week, so we look forward to fresh smelling pups tonight once I pick them up. I will serve the ribs with some mashed potatoes and carrots. The recipe included the reduction of a red wine, tomato paste, and onions sauce combined with beef broth, thyme, and a bay leaf. It smells encouraging, with still a few hours of stewing yet to undergo.

My wife wanted to watch the “Handmaids Tale,” so that will continue to be our evening entertainment this week. It’s a bit strange, but has at least been a common bond for us the past few nights, along with The Bachelor. Since I was out of town part of last week, I was also able to catch up on “Knightfall,” and “Hunting Hitler,” while performing kitchen duty this afternoon. I like getting back into my daily homebody routine, but four hours in the dentist’s chair yesterday, and getting the dogs to and from their appointment has stolen some of that precious “me time.” The weather continues to be surprisingly warm and dry for this time of year in the Northwest, but rain is right around the corner. Last year in January, I had to wear crampons on my shoes to keep from falling on the ice, and get around by car only with the use of tire chains. This is more like it! I will seek snow in Steamboat in a couple of weeks, and expect some sunshine while we’re in Phoenix and Tucson. At the same time, I continue to get icy reviews from my Midwest relatives, reporting that temperatures there continue to regularly fall below zero, as was the case when we were visiting over the holidays. We have to go back at the end of February.

After my son’s recent problems with his water heater, I was grateful that my troubles were simply a result of the pilot light blowing out. I’ve already had to replace the drain pump on the washer this year, so I don’t need any more appliance hassles. I will have to dip into my IRA again soon to cover the Marriott Vacation Club maintenance fees, Florida vacation costs, my Grandson’s birthday, Christmas gifts, airline tickets to Colorado, dryer repairs, shore excursions for our upcoming cruise, and other miscellaneous expenses. These are all much preferable ways to spend my retirement savings than household repairs. At least the Dow Jones is frighteningly at the 26,000 level, so there should be some additional money in that account that may not be there in a few months as the market adjusts. I will wait to see how much we’ll owe the IRS after my first year of retirement before making that painful withdrawal.

Life is good right now. The pleasant aroma of short ribs fills the house, and the dogs haven’t been here all day to bug me. Tomorrow is “Date Night,” and Thursday night we’ll go see our home state favorites, the Indiana Pacers battle the Portland Trailblazers. The Pacers are led by former Indiana University basketball star, Victor Oladepo, who has made quite an impact on the NBA over the past few years. Likewise, I.U. basketball has seen some improvement over the past couple weeks, with three straight BIG wins, and a reasonable chance to upset rival Michigan State this Friday. I’m also glad to see the Minnesota Vikings continue their drive to the Super Bowl. They have a reasonable chance to become the first team to play a Super Bowl game on their actual home field. They were a favorite of mine, along with the Baltimore Colts and the Chicago Bears. In fact, Minnesota defensive tackle, Alan Page #88, was an inspiration to me in running my first marathon. I figured if someone that big (6’3′ 245 pounds) could run that far, then so could I. He finished his football career with Da’ Bears, adding to the reasons of why I admired him. By the way, today was day 3306 of my running streak, dating back to December 29, 2008.

Retirement is not without Hassles: Welcome New Year #380

January 1, 2018 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

With hours of down time, sitting in my mother-in-law’s hospital room, I’ve had plenty of time to think about the coming year. Here is my list of resolutions for the upcoming year:

Build A More positive attitude – rainbows
Get Tooth fixed/New Dentist
Physical/Hearing checked/new glasses
Less Drinking 1 instead of 2
Weekly Friday Leadership Meeting lunch
Compliment my wife more
See the “Beauty in Life” – patience
Get To Run Everyday for 10th straight year
Daily pushups, crunches, and stretching
Be a better dog owner
Drink More water and less Diet Coke
Lose 10 pounds
More connections with old friends and family
Indy Car Portland weekend
No Debt Continues
Enter writing contest
Chew slowly/soft foods – protect teeth
Celebrate each day with my wife
Be a good Grandad and father starting with Disney world weekend and the birth of a third grandchild in May
Continue to Contribute to kids education fund
Limoges Box gift with poem each month
Daily blog post with monthly poem
Weekly Date Night
Weekly Movie Night
Sunrise game-Oregon State/Cubs/IU Game/Bowl and NCAA Tourney Game
Call my sister on Mondays
No car payments this year
Find volunteer work/contributions/give back
Continue Cooking on Tuesdays
Cut down on expenses
Continue laundry/vacuum/dust/mop
Expand Sports collection
Amsterdam and Venice Viking Cruise to Athens
St. Louis baseball weekend, Disney World, French Laundry dinner, Hawaii, Tucson, Indiana, NYC Broadway, Mexico, Vancouver Gardens, (90 days max away from home)
Plan Thailand trip for next year
Plan China Trip in two years
Read a book a week
Finish Ken Burns documentaries
Finish novel about Tinker
Do some drawing, sketching, painting
Learn to play the uke
Continue to learn about history
Find out more about my birth mother

Retirement is not without Hassles: Unbelievable #373

December 20, 2017 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

Normally tonight would be “Date Night,” but with family in town we will dine together at Noble Rot, even though the name itself is not very appetizing. Speaking of tasty, I successfully prepared the pan-roasted brined pork chop recipe last night for dinner and got rave reviews. However, it’s still very stressful and feels unnatural for me to be in the kitchen, so I’m glad to be going out tonight. We’ll also go see the new movie musical, “The Greatest Showman.” Hugh Jackman stars as P.T. Barnum.

In the next few days we’ll be traveling back to Indiana for the holidays. I’m excited this year because I finally get to see the piece of sports history that has remained a mystery to me now for several months. My collector friend strongly suggested that my wife buy it for me for Christmas, claiming that it’s “unbelievable.” That’s a strong word from a guy who owns one of the largest collections of authentic sports memorabilia, baseball cards, and autographed merchandise in the world. It will be interesting to see what he has for me. I will also visit with my cousins that I haven’t seen in over twenty years, and have dinner with my sister and her family. We’ll circle the Hoosier state, starting from O’Hare in Chicago through Rochester, down Highway 31 to Indianapolis, continue north up State Road 19 to South Bend/Mishawaka, and return to the airport five days later. It will be a whirlwind of feasts, family, and friends.

My wife’s daughters will not be making the trip back home with us. They were just there for Thanksgiving, so our dogs will get the pleasure of spending some time with her oldest. This will save us a lot of money on hiring a pet sitter, and make the pups much happier in our absence. I will have to sneak our suitcases into the closet tomorrow so as to not raise any suspicion of abandonment with our wise, old schnauzer named Tinker. If I get caught, she’ll start to worry before we even get out the door. We have another dinner at the Westgate Bourbon Bar planned with the girls, before the youngest heads back to D.C. and we get on the plane to Chicago.

I am so relieved to have finally finished the Walter Isaacson book, Leonardo Da Vinci. It was an interesting but tough read, filled with almost too much detail. It took me several weeks to get through it, but not nearly the time it took Leonardo to finish a painting, which he apparently rarely did. He led a comfortable life thanks to the patrons that supported his work, but never had a family or even a last name. He also failed to collect commissions on several projects as a result of procrastination, severe attention deficit issues and distractions due to unsatisfied curiosity; plus an incessant drive to pursue science, mathematics, engineering, and invention. He actually “lost interest” in painting, even though it was that particular skill that would become his greatest legacy. Since there are now fewer than 20 known works by Leonardo, his “laziness” and lack of production with the brush has actually made his paintings even more valuable today. In fact, just last month, his “Salvator Mundi” portrait sold at auction for a record-shattering 450.3 million dollars. Leonardo died 498 years ago at age 67 and left behind a notebook of sketches, drawings, and explanations of some of life’s greatest mysteries, not to mention the “Mona Lisa.”

Speaking of “unbelievable,” even though I’ve been to the Louvre several times, I would like to see the “Mona Lisa” again, after reading this book. There is always a huge crowd of people around the famous painting, so it’s impossible to get close enough to see any details. Also, there is much controversy about its potential restoration, especially since we’ve never seen the vivid layers of colors that Leonardo carefully applied in the seventeen years that he spent perfecting it. We only know the painting after five centuries of cracking, fading, and darkening deterioration. The fear of restoration is that it would no longer be recognizable. I guess I’m already fortunate to have seen the masterpiece in my lifetime, that will hopefully extend much longer than Leonardo’s 67 years.

I will never own a “Leonardo,” but hope to come home from Indiana with an “unbelievable” sporting masterpiece for my office. Several of my friends are just as curious as to what it is, as I am. They’ve heard me talk about it for months now, since my collector friend refused to take the risk of shipping it to me. He wanted me to pick it up, and the only hint that I have is that it is smaller than a breadbox, so I should have little trouble carrying it back on the plane with me. I’m guessing that it’s related to Indiana Hoosiers basketball or Chicago White Sox baseball history, since he also is a fan of both of those teams. He’s already given me several jerseys and other momentos through the years of our friendship from these favorites of mine. His valuable collection definitely does not include anything from Leonardo da Vinci, but it does include authentic Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner “artwork.”

Retirment is not without Hassles: Wine Weekend #362

December 10, 2017 / mikeljohnston1 / 0 Comments

It’s been a busy weekend, with no time to write. We started with the Billy Joel concert at the Moda Center and ended with The Christmas Ships light parade down the Willamette (as in Dammit) River. In between, we did the traditional dog walk/run; I went to a baseball card luncheon; We had wine-paired dinner at WillaKenzie Estates with “old” friends; We went to a “Christmas Oratorio” concert as part of services at St. Luke Lutheran Church; We had lunch at Cracker Barrel; I then watched I.U. lose the NCAA national soccer championship to Stanford, and filled any free time by reorganizing some of my sports memorabilia shelves.

My son and his wife were feeling generous this Christmas and sent me a package that my wife “mistakenly” opened. This was probably because most packages are for her, but this one was not to be opened before Christmas. Well, I guess it’s officially Christmas! They sent me a Stadium View model of Assembly Hall, the official home court of my Indiana Hoosiers. It’s now Simon Skjodt Hall due to the generous donations of the shopping center magnate’s daughter, Cynthia, and this disturbs me because it has nothing to do with basketball. If Coach Bob Knight had not been such a jerk, it probably should have been named after him and the three National Championships he delivered. Instead, we get an awkward name to pronounce thanks to her marriage to a former professional hockey player. To her credit, she’s done a lot of good with her inheritance, but unfortunately she must have failed the humility class when she attended I.U. I will not have to worry about leaving my name on anything but the son who sent me the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall replica for Christmas. After an extremely frustrating start to the basketball season, I also asked him to “send me a team to go with it.”

I did not mean to drift off into “Old Sport Shorts” territory, as I title some of my posts related to sports. This gives any reading regulars a chance to skip over articles that may not appeal to them. Every once in a while, I try to sneak in a few tid-bits about my passion for sports, but realize that many of you, including my wife, don’t share this interest. I’m quickly losing interest myself after watching the Trailblazers, Seahawks, Colts, and Indiana (basketball and soccer) lose over the past few days. It’s gotten so bad, I even went to church this morning. In all honesty, this rare appearance was to support a friend singing in the choir, not to pray for victory. The ten song set was, however, only the second best concert of the weekend when compared to Billy Joel, and his rare performance of “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.”

“A bottle of red, a bottle of white, whatever kind of mood you’re in tonight.”

Billy Joel inspired us to open more bottles of red and white in the suite for his hit-after-hit encore. The next night we continued to be in the “wine mood” for additional bottles of each, enjoying the fruits of WillaKenzie Estates coupled with a six-course meal catered by Allium. The six of us at the dinner were essentially the core of the group that traveled on the Viking retirement cruise out of Paris earlier this year. Distance and a toothache kept three of our travel companions from joining us, as food and wine brought the majority of us together once again. (See Posts #88-#91).

We did restrain ourselves and pass on the communion wine during the church service this morning. It was the first time that my wife and I had gone to church together in at least the last 10 years, so there was concern about angry, supernatural forces potentially rattling the rafters over our heads. We used to take my wife’s mother to Sunday services just after we got married, and have only set foot inside a church since for wedding ceremonies. Our own wedding took place in the Bellagio chapel, so the church was never a priority for either of us. In fact, I view sports venues like Wrigley Field and Assembly Hall with more religious significance than a church. I’ve seen miracles happen in front of my eyes!

We finished up the “weekend of wine,” standing out in the cold tonight on the banks of the Willamette River – Dammit! There were thirty or more Christmas Ships that passed by, covered in lights, blasting their horns, and playing Christmas music. The viewing party was held at the former home and studio of Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club. My wife works with the new owner, who during a remodeling project recently discovered a time capsule hidden in the walls. Chuck had left them a note and an autographed copy of the novel, among other items, knowing that someday his package would be found. We were “fighting” the wind, just as we “fought” the rain the year before, waiting for this unique annual holiday river tradition to slowly float by. And that, my friends, “wines” up another festive weekend of retirement. Who’s got a bottle of Advil?