We’re now a week away from Thailand. I got a note from my cousin who teaches there about a dinner reservation he’d like to make for all of us in Phuket. Also, our new luggage arrived at the house, so we can start to pack. We both got up a couple hours early this morning so my wife could head to the State Capitol as part of her board role with the American Heart Association. She didn’t sleep well last night, worried about cash flow related to caring for her mother and the details of planning both of her daughter’s upcoming weddings. The time change two days ago certainly didn’t help either of us, as well. We’ll both be ready for some catch-up sleep tonight, and hopefully the upcoming vacation break will help relieve some of her challenges.

I caught up on Curse of Oak Island after my morning run in the darkness – Day 3,727 of “The Streak.” The treasure-hunting brothers still haven’t found anything “significant,” but continue to dump buckets of money into the project. They seem to discover just enough to keep them going, just like I keep running. I’ll be in suspense regarding any progress while we’re in Thailand. The only TV I’ll watch there are live broadcasts of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. A few weeks ago, I was confident that my Indiana Hoosiers would not be part of it this year, especially after losing 12 out of 13 BIG Ten Conference games. However, after winning four straight games, they now have an opportunity to knock-off Ohio State tomorrow in the conference tournament and perhaps next face Michigan State for the third time this year. They’ve surprisingly had the Spartan’s number this year, so somewhere in Thailand I might be trying to catch them on satellite TV or the Internet. Every game I.U. plays now is an unexpected bonus and could be their last.

My friend from Indianapolis is headed to town in a few days as part of his involvement with Mecum Auction. We’ll get together for lunch, as we do every year at this time. He was also an account of mine in the radio business before my retirement. We were both part of an effort many years ago to initiate the Indy Jazz Fest. One of the unexpected benefits was a trip to the New Orleans Jazz Fest that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this April. Unfortunately, the Indianapolis version only lasted two years, but has been revived as a not-for-profit educational outreach program. It was quite an experience to travel to New Orleans twenty years ago, but I could never tolerate the crowds again.

The 1000 Places To See Before You Die calendar took to many to several more personally unexplored areas this week. Vietnam, Uganda, Portugal, New Zealand, and Ireland were featured. The single place that I could claim was Burgundy, France, home of Dijon Mustard. Next week starts with Stowe Vermont, another of my personal conquests. I’ve also traveled to French Polynesia and London, while Thailand ironically pops up while we’re visiting there, plus Natchez, Mississippi has been a brief stopover on one of our trips to Louisiana. I’ll return to the pages of the calendar once we get back.