Thursday Flight to Chicago:
- I found this web site helpful with tips on resting while flying.
- Stayed up all night Wednesday/Thursday packing, checking airport web site, doing laundry, making a check-list of things to take. This helped. Left for the airport at 02:30.
- As my shuttle bus passed Sacramento International Airport's Terminal B, we noticed the alarm flashing. The shuttle driver passed another bus, and used his loudspeaker to say, "Hey dumbass, you have passengers waiting." He said that he had gotten caught on camera saying something like that in the past. I remarked that he still had his job and he laughed. As I disembarked, he said, "Enjoy your wait."
- United check-in desk opens at 04:15, so I rested.
- Slept lightly on the flight to Chicago. Enjoyed wearing sunglasses. Had a dream where I was in a room with my friend Lanna, and I had a bag full of rock candy. She said that they were made out of diamonds, so I took one and put it in my mouth. I began inflacting and buzzing out-of-control around the room as if they were a narcotic, then woke up. Wild. I remember the flight attendant on the service to Chicago had a beautiful blond-braid.
- Flew on a Boeing 757 200-passenger (752) airplane
- FAA delayed the flight to Appleton due to flow control. Spent 30 minutes on the tarmac head-to-tail with other flights. Slept lightly.
- Flew on a Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) airplane
- Met my brothers at the airport. Overheard a man sharing his enjoyment of his trip to northern Massachusetts. As we queued in my brother's vehicle to leave the parking lot, we let the same man into the line. He rolled down his window, thanked him, and said, "You'd never see that happen in Massachusetts."
- Met my mother, grandmother, and uncle Dave at my brother Adam's home in Neenah. They expressed surprise and happiness seeing me as my brother requested I make my trip a secret.
- Met aunt Debbie that evening when she returned from shopping. They departed for Madison to pick up my cousin Tessa and her two children, Jace and Tia.
- My two brothers, mom, and grandma attempted to eat at Griddle's Family Restaurant, and finding it closed, opted for Gulliver's Bar and Grill in Neenah. Had a portobella mushroom burger and for the first time in years had fried cheese curds. Yum.
- Slept on the couch at my brother Bryan's home in Oshkosh.
- Bryan showed me recordings of Discovery Channel's HD Sunrise Earth on his high def television. Peaceful.
- Mandy's friends Joe and Angie arrived from Toronto, then her mother, father, brother, sister Allie, and grandparents. Mandy wore a green dress, bryan wore a cream-colored shirt, khaki-colored pants, and a light green tie which I helped tie.
- Met Dave, Debbie, Tessa, her children Jace and Tia, Dan and Diane, and Mandy's aunt and uncle at the courthouse.
- I enjoyed the wedding service. Simple, informal, with family members in attendance.
- The wedding party handed out bubble soap and bubble wands which I entertained Tessa's children with. Fun.
- Mandy's grandmother is full of energy, so is her mother, and so is she. I enjoyed noticing the maternal lineage. Mandy's grandmother is a native member of the Bad River Tribe, I think.
- After pictures, we commuted to the Roxy Supper Club for lunch. Ordered the vegetable stir-fry on a bed of spaghetti noodles. I enjoyed the vegetables. Noticed Jace and Tia did not enjoy their food, so shared the noodles with them. Jace held the noodle in the air then straightened it with his fingers before swallowing it. Tia seemed more interested in working out the mechanics of grasping the noodles with her fingers and bringing them to her mouth, in the process dumping the noodles onto the table.
- Jace then proceeded to demonstrate that he was a wildcat by crawling around the table, scrunching up his face and growling at people.
- Went to my brother Adam's apartment in Appleton, then shopped at several clothing stores for my brother Adam and my cousins Tessa and Lynsi. They told me to "ride the curb" of the round-about, but I chose not to. Met up with Bryan and Mandy and others at his apartment, then drove to Oshkosh.
- Stopped for a break in Montello, home of the Montello Granite Park and Waterfalls, which provided granite for Grant's Tomb. Who knew? We also drove by the cottonwood that Montellans claim is the largest tree in Wisconsin, but apparently is a disputed claim.
- Checked into the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells.
- Ate at the Moosejaw Pizza and Brewing Company. Drank half a pitcher of Nut Brown Ale, which knocked me silly considering I was starving. Ordered the vegetarian pizza which I loved (sauce was yummy). Myrina the foreign waitress forgot to bring us cardboard moose hats after the meal. Such is life.
- We walked down Broadway Street, visited the Swiss Maid Fudge Shop, Bryan got his fortune read by a mad scientist, then we went for mini-golf at Timber Falls Adventure Golf.
- Returned to the resort and relaxed. Bryan and Mandy went for an exploratory walk.
- Mom, grandma, Adam, Bryan, and Mandy left to eat breakfast at Paul Bunyan's Wisconsin Dells Restaurant while I slept. They ended up panning it.
- Checked out of our hotel room and drove to cabin two.
- Napped
- Swam at the resort's waterpark. The Wilderness Resort has a new 65,000 sq. ft. Wild Waterdome, containing a wave pool. Bryan and I rode down the Dueling Mammoths raft ride, which is entirely dark until the final drop. My favorite ride was the Hurricane in the Klondike Kavern, which I went down backwards after a 30-minute wait. We also tried the Bonanza Brook (Lazy River), the 180-foot body slide. Then we headed back to the Wild Waterdome, where we waded into the Great Wave Wavepool. I found the one-person tube works best for staying afloat.
- Ate a dinner consisting of Johnsonville Stadium Brats, hot dogs, baked beans, fresh fruits, snacks, and salads. Homemade wedding cake (white cake and white frosting) from Mandy's mother for dessert. Yum. This was the first brat I've eaten in years, and I enjoyed the taste. I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian 99.9% of the year, but I make exceptions for special meals.
- A storm flashed lightning and a bit of rain.
- Talked with Derek and Karen. Lots of humor about taboo subjects discussed, such is my family when they consume alcohol. I enjoyed it for a time, then felt embarrassment because Mandy's family was most likely hearing it, and I wanted them to feel comfortable interacting with our family.
- Bryan and Mandy toasted each other with champagne, then requested toasts from the crowd.
- I felt exhausted, watched The Day After Tomorrow with others.
- Mandy went to the Ho Chunk casino with friends. I think some others may have visited the waterpark.
- Informal breakfast of Honey Nut Cheerios. Adam reheated the brats. My uncle Jim smelled this and dashed downstairs to ensure he got one.
- Left at 09:30 to make my 13:15 flight at the Outagamie Airport (I affectionately called it the Okey-Dokey airport until I remembered the name).
- Ate a veggie burger, fries, and poppyseed muffin for lunch at the Creative Croissants cafe.
- Sat next to a man named John, who struck up a conversation with me. His looks reminded me of John Ritter. We talked about IT, and he felt comfortable enough to share that his mother had died a week before. He seemed to want empathy, and as we talked he broke down as he described his wife's win over brain cancer. He occassionally interspersed his dialogue with religious overtones at the end, like "Thank the dear Lord," and other bits like that.
- Noticable and a bit disturbing turbulance on the descent.
- The in-flight stewardess's name was Cocoa, and she was from Texas. Fun.
- Flew on a Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) airplane
- Watched the in-flight movie King Kong. Turbulance flying over the Rockies. Read about Plato's worldview.
- Flew on a Boeing 757-200 Passenger (752)
- Watched the crescent moon over the pink-orange twilight sky as I flew into Sacramento. Perfect.
- Sat next to a woman returning from India living in Elk Grove.
- Flew on an Airbus Industrie A320 (320) airplane
- Felt tired Thursday evening, Friday, and Saturday. I attribute this mostly to not sleeping Wednesday evening
- I enjoyed the dark environment sunglasses create in otherwise brightly-lit plane interiors and terminals.
- Not worth arriving at the Sacramento terminal until around 04:00.
- Had no problems with packing.
- Economy lot worked well, although the elastic in my car cover has failed to spring back
- Remember to pull car antenna out so I can listen to radio on the way home
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