Off to Michigan

Cameron and Cora spent the past three days in Michigan traveling to various cities throughout the state.  I enjoyed listening to them talk about their trip on their way back to Fishers this afternoon.  While the two of them were there they were able to eat at several of our favorite restaurants including New Holland Brewing Company and Founders Brewery.  They also went wine tasting in Traverse City and hiked an impossible dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes.  I thought that it was awesome that Cora ordered a drink named The Hemingway while I was reading about the famed author’s boyhood summers in the same area.  While in Michigan, they even visited the Grand Rapids high school that Cora’s mom graduated from in the 1990s.  Overall, their trip sounded like the perfect end to a challenging semester and I was very happy to hear that they had a lot of fun and felt that they could officially put their junior year behind them.  

Jerry West and the ABA

During the past few years, I have come to realize that I really don’t care that much about watching the NBA.  Maybe, I never really did, but I definitely followed it more years ago, especially when Cal lived at home. Doug still watches it during the playoff season, but even the that doesn’t interest me.  It is probably because the season is long, there are too many games and I don’t know very many players anymore.  I still listen when Cal, Doug or Cameron tell me about a big game or series, but that’s about all of my involvement anymore.

Because of my lack of interest, I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed two documentaries that we watched recently.  The first was on the American Basketball Association.  I was old enough to remember that there was an ABA league that rivaled the NBA and many of its players, but I couldn’t say if I watched them play in the ABA or NBA as the leagues merged in 1976 when I was only eight.  It was very interesting, however, especially on how the league was run, how it dissolved and what happened to the players and coaches after it ended.

The second documentary was about Jerry West.  I definitely knew very little about him except that his silhouette was used for the NBA logo and that he was involved with the Lakers.  His life story inside and outside of basketball was very fascinating and I liked it just as much as the one on the ABA.  

Basketball was a huge part of my life when I was younger.  It was fun to remember why. Although I do  not revere the sport as much as I did when I was in college, I definitely enjoyed the walk down memory lane.  Even so, I probably still won’t watch the playoffs much.  I’ll let Doug, Cal or Cameron keep me up-to-date and hope that the boys’ bets hit.  

Special Gifts

I never expect gifts on Mother's Day, but I do appreciate how awesome my children are at giving them.  This year was no exception.  The bouquet of tulips from Cal arrived last Wednesday and brightened our kitchen right away.  Meg surprised me with a wonderful homemade present.  She had taken an applique from my wedding dress and made it into a jewelry tray for my dresser.  It was extremely thoughtful and something that I will be able to use daily.  Brett's gift arrived today and I made sure to have it cued up on the record player when Doug got home from work as we had both noticed the latest Peanuts vinyl at the Charles Schultz Museum and really enjoyed listening to it last night.  Cameron purchased my gift while vacationing in Traverse City this week.  I can't wait to open it when I see him Memorial Day weekend.  As much as I have absolutely loved all of the Mother's Day gifts over the years, the best part about the holiday is and always will be being called Mom by the Heinisch four.  That is one gift that I will never grow tired of hearing. 

Mother's Day at the Boardwalk

Doug and I decided to celebrate Mother’s Day by staying at the Boardwalk Inn on their club level. The Boardwalk had become like a second home to us since we had been there so many times over the years with our children. We couldn't believe that we had not been there since our last entire family vacation at Disney World in 2020.  Planning the trip brought back a lot of awesome memories for both Doug and I. Staying there would also be an easy way for Meg to celebrate Mother's Day with us as she wouldn’t have to travel out to Ocala by herself.

Doug and I decided to arrive early this morning so we could enjoy breakfast in the club lounge. Dad got his usual salmon, cream cheese and bagel while I had a fabulous meal with eggs and fruit. We walked over to Epcot after breakfast and did something that we rarely do, went on multiple rides. Soarin' as always was our favorite, but Doug really appreciated Spaceship Earth this time as he was ready for a nap after such a big meal. We had just enough time to grab a drink from England before heading back to the Boardwalk to meet Meg.

Lunch at the club level was really just snacks, so once we rested and enjoyed a few things, we went out to the boardwalk for Meg to get a big pretzel. We then took the boat over to Hollywood Studios. Doug was sure that this would be the time that he beat us at Toy Story Mania, but as always, Meg and I destroyed him. It was really hot walking back and we were glad to take a break and rest in the room before going to dinner. The food tonight was fantastic, and Meg really appreciated that they had her favorite chicken tenders. The drinks at the Boardwalk weren’t quite as good as they were at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but we enjoyed them just the same. The desserts were delicious and we enjoyed hearing the fireworks from our balcony. Overall, it was a wonderful Mother’s Day, and I was really glad that we got to spend it together with Meg at the Boardwalk Inn.

Florida Pint Day

Last week, I saw a post from Hiatus Brewing Company stating that they would be closing indefinitely due to an operations issue.  I was absolutely shocked when I read it and immediately called Doug at work to let him know.  I decided that I wasn't going to be the one to tell Phil and instead let Doug break the news to him as the brewery had become their favorite place to meet for a drink and to catch up on their week.  It was not only convenient being just a little over a mile from our home, but it also had the best craft beer that I had ever tasted.  I didn't always meet the brothers there but had been there enough that the bartender didn't even ask me what I wanted anymore.  To say that we were all disappointed was an understatement.

Thankfully, the brewery didn't stay closed for long and within a few days was back up and running again.  We never found out what the issue was but were glad to see that they had already scheduled an event for "Florida Pint Day" complete with a collector's glass.  I wasn't able to go but Doug and Phil put it on their calendar for last night, and I was very happy to add the new glass to our collection.  Now we had a manatee for me from last year and an alligator for Doug this year.  It was a nice way to end the week and to celebrate Hiatus' "reopening." 

An End to Cameron's Junior Year

Cameron's junior year officially ended this past Monday at 9 p.m. with his last final.  He was very glad to be done early but would have preferred not to have all three of his finals on the same day.  This year had definitely been the most challenging of the three.  Between a tough semester of iCore in the fall, the commitments of being a director of SAB, the time involved as an unpaid intern for the IU athletic marketing department and his position as a TA, Cameron was completely burned out.  He needed a break and I was glad to hear that he was taking time off these next few weeks before his internship started at Owens Corning.

To start Cameron went to see Grandma and Grandpa in Syracuse for a few days.  He was able to take them to Chubbies, play Buck Euchre and finally get a haircut.  In Bloomington, Cameron hung out with Cora and also spent a day on Lake Monroe saying goodbye to his senior friends in SAB. This weekend he had plans to celebrate Cora's brothers' graduation and pack for their trip to Traverse City.  He had been planning it since this winter and was very excited about that.  I was glad to hear that he was already feeling a lot more relaxed after his few days off from school.  I know it will take some time, but soon he will completely be rejuvenized and ready to tackle his new position in Toledo.

Harry Potter on Vacation

Doug spent quite a bit of his television viewing time during Covid watching and rewatching the Harry Potter movies.  Meg and Cameron would find him asleep many times in his chair with one of the eight movies playing in the background.  It definitely became a joke in the family as it did seem that Doug had watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at least a hundred times by the end of the pandemic.

While Doug and I were in California, a Harry Potter marathon seemed to be on every night of our trip.  Doug would turn on one of the wizarding movies just before he fell asleep and there would be another one on when we woke up.  I must have texted our family group chat to let them know because both Cal and Cameron sent texts from their respective vacations recently with these pictures asking Doug if he had ever seen these movies and thought he might be interested.  I got a kick out of that and was glad that Doug could laugh at it too.