Sunday, November 21, 2010

Anchors Away

It was the trip of a lifetime for Ray and Marilyn Vybiral and Gordon and Allene (Rudolph) Rondeau, when the 2 couples met up in Fairbanks, Alaska, and spent the next 2 weeks sharing a Princess cruise-tour of the 49th state. After enjoying time in Fairbanks,
the trip continued to Denali National Park, where the fortunate foursome saw the "big 5" of wildlife as well as most of Mt McKinley.
A visit to the late Susan Butcher's home allowed them to watch dog sled training and even experience a ride behind the dogs.

The final leg of the trip was the cruise thru the inside passage with numerous shore excursions, ending in Vancouver.
It was a dream come true for the 2 couples, one that I shared with them, if only vicariously. I must add I figured out how Ray funded part of this trip -- he's got one lucky wife! The most recent comment from Ray is "I already knew that --- she married me!!!".

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Guess Who Came to Branson?

What a wonderful afternoon we had! Jim and Carole (Johnson) Lehmann are in Branson for a week's vacation (it's Ozark Mountain Christmas time!), so we joined them for part of the day. After visiting for a while, we adjourned to the Branson Landing for lunch at the White River Fish House, during which we got to see the Fire and Water Show put on by the Landing. After lunch, we walked the Landing, up one side and down the other, munching on warm caramel corn part of the time. Then it was back to Jim and Carole's for some more chit-chat, before it was time for us to head home. Jim and Carole are another of those amazing couples who have celebrated 50 years of marital bliss, so needless to say, our heartiest congrats go out to them. And thank you for sharing part of your vacation with us -- we really enjoyed seeing you again, if only for a short visit.
Unfortunately, none of us was bright enough to bring a camera, so you'll just have to imagine how great we all looked (and we did!).

Monday, November 8, 2010

DGHS Becomes a Horror Flick

Found on the internet:

"Bret Easton Ellis, author of American Psycho, Less Than Zero, and The Rules of Attraction, has been tapped write a movie adaptation of Michael Hornburg's novel Downers Grove. The book is about a high school senior from the Chicago suburb Downers Grove who is paranoid about a ''curse'' at her school that causes someone in the graduating class to die in a bizarre way before the year's end."

Kind of makes you really proud, doesn't it? Anybody read the novel?

An Addendum: Both Gale Fitzgerald Kappe and Jim VanSlyke read the novel years ago. And Gale reports Second City used DG in a routine but referred to it as "Uppers Grove". Anybody else?

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Dave Flies Like a Bird

I received the following great e-mail from Dave Spero today:

"About five years back I decided after seeing the movie “The Bucket List”, to make my own “Bucket List”. Of the many things that I’ve crossed off so far, travel included, I planned and executed my dream of “Sky Diving”. I contacted Sky Dive Chicago out of Ottawa, IL. After attending “Class” to learn what I had to do, I completed two tandem jumps with an instructor performing different acrobatic rolls and flips during my descent. Finally after another class I was able to make my “Solo Jump” last August. I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, by myself, at 14,000 feet. What an awesome feeling, free falling from that height to about 5500 feet when I pulled the rip-cord and floated to earth, landing on my feet in front of family and friends! I did all of this at the tender young age of 71! Back problems have prevented me from continuing this adventure this year."

What a great experience --- I think I'm jealous, tho too chicken to even think about trying. While it's hard to tell it's Dave, the pics give you some idea of the thrill of jumping out of a plane. And keep in mind Dave has lots more pictures and a DVD of his great adventure; contact him if you're interested.
Kudos to you, Dave, and your Bucket List. Keep us posted on what else you're up to!