Get A Clue

Oh that hair...a lifelong struggle

It was reported recently that the game of Clue finally made the National Toy Hall of Fame. The game was joined by Wiffle Ball and none other than paper airplanes.

Clue has a special place in my heart. Sure, I played the game with friends throughout my childhood. But the game also had a key role in a vacation my sis Betsy and I took with my parents when I was around 14 years old (making Bets about 9).

Thinking back, our family didn't take many trips together. There were the lake trips - mostly on our way to collect our sisters from Camp Lake Hubert in Minnesota. We visited our cousins in Okoboji too. During two memorable summers, we traveled by car to sunny Saint Petersburg, Florida. Mom was at the wheel, Susi was co-pilot. Dad flew in later.

Mom and Dad made sure that the Bullock girls had summer fun, sending us to camp - first Bar-L-Ranch in Guthrie Center, then Camp Foster and other camps in Minnesota and Colorado. I traveled to Camp Cheley near Estes Park with my pal Sally.

Mom and Dad did not travel that much. I get it - he lived out of a suitcase all week long, thanks to his career as a women's clothing rep. Okay, he was a panty man for Lorraine Lingerie. Mom and Dad did take some trips with friends, leaving us behind to "rough it" with super sitter Lulabelle Herbert.

I'm not sure why Mom and Dad decided to take Bets and me along on the trip to Biloxi. I also remember visiting our grandparents and think it was the same trip - but could be making that part up. Their plan was to golf, leaving us to swim. One problem - it was cold!

Planning ahead (Mom), they took us to a toy store and we each got to buy something to keep us busy. I chose Clue! So poor Betsy was at my mercy in the golf course clubhouse as we played Clue while Mom and Dad knocked a little white ball around. I'm sure I dominated my little sis in the game. No, not really. Betsy always had a knack for being lucky/good at games.

We also went to a Sea World in Biloxi and later traveled to New Orleans where my big memory was my first pair of Adidas - Robert Haillets. So very cool! Betsy remembers the fancy restaurant we ate at where the men's restroom had urinals with crushed ice. I'm not sure why she got to see that...

I love my Clue memory with Mom and Dad. Congrats to the honor of being selected for the Hall of Fame, Clue. You were already in mine.

Top Ten Vaca Things

Bolder sprinkling

1. Hanging with my sisters. (and other loved ones) I grew up with these girls, but hell...I didn't appreciate them all that much back then. We had the same parents, but did we really? Susi was born when our parents were 21 years old! I heard a couple good Pat Bullock stories last week (see below, under photos). I sure appreciate 'em now! Funny, smart, great mothers, hard workers. Good genes...
2. Cannon Beach - the place is a true gem. The zoning rules must be strict  - there are no big box stores or restaurants. All the buildings are quaint.
3. The beach - it's not over-crowded and is dog friendly. Haystack - the big rock is so awesome. Fred and Joe (names my nephew David gave the smaller rocks) are cool too. And by cool I mean really cool - it doesn't often reach 70 degrees. Bundle up.
4. Mo's - the restaurant/diner right on the beach. Voted by our group as the place with the best clam chowder.
5. S'mores. The original kind. While the new larger marshmallows are a good idea in theory - we decided they are hard to cook clear through. Some things are better left alone. Sitting around a campfire with the fam on the beach - nothing better!
6. Leisure time - vacation with nothing planned. Nada, zero, zip. We did a few things - ice cream at Tillamook, shopping in town. Paul golfed twice. We relaxed a lot. Thanks to Betso for organizing most of the meals.
7. Customer service - kudos to all the workers in Cannon Beach. Nearly everyone who served us was very nice and helpful. Big tips were their reward.
8. My cousin Leslie and her husband Bob - for taking time out of their schedules to get together with us. Through the years Leslie - the matriarch of cousins on my mom's side - has always been good about staying in touch. We were able to visit them at their beautiful Astoria condo last Friday.
9. Another place to lovingly sprinkle Boldie's cremains. So far he's in New England - land of his birth, Moab - where he had fun times with his buddies, and Atlantic - another town he loved. There may be other spots I've missed.



Cindy foos her smore...Paul and Paul cook theirs just right



Leslie & Bob's Astoria loft

10. Portland - a funky town that I like spending a bit of time in. Lots of interesting things to see.

do you think our mouths look alike?

Awaiting lunch at the Driftwood in CB - love the flowers everywhere

One of the sunny days on the beach



 

Pat B. stories - just so you know why I turned out this way...when Cindy was in college she went skiing with her friend Debbie who drove an old Studebaker. It sounded like a wild trip that involved an accident - luckily Cindy's skis survived...and the car was drivable. Unfortunately on the way home the car was dying a slow death. In Lincoln, Nebraska Cindy called Mom. The script. "Hi, it's Cindy. Debbie and I are in Lincoln and her car is dead. Can you come get us?" Mom: "Hell No! Take the bus."

Then - the Betsy story.
Betsy attended college at Creighton University in Omaha where she studied nursing. She lived in the rough part of town - near Creighton. She had some type of clinical visit early one morning and walked out to her car - noticing that the medallion from the front of the car was laying on the ground. She thought to herself...that's weird! Not really when the whole front of her car had been sideswiped and smashed. Un-driveable. She called Mom. "What the hell do you want me to do about it?" our mother asked? Very good question mom - you aren't a auto body mechanic are you...

No helicopter parent there...I believe our mother did call someone at the university at some point to complain about the home visits Betsy had to do by herself in scary places...she knew when to make herself heard. But she wasn't about to rush in and take care of us when we were capable of taking care of ourselves.

Today's kids need more Pat Bullocks. It's hard to let your children (no matter how old they are) suffer through what life throws at them. But look how my sissies turned out!

Portland
 

Off for a few days

for a much-needed vacation. Stayed tuned for photos, stories galore and clever anecdotes! The Goldsmiths are goin to Texas! I cain't (said with southern drawl) wait to mess with Texas! San Antonio here I come.

I'm off

View at the Gulfview - this year we'll be on the 21st floor.

We're off to Marco Island for a few days. I'm leaving my beloved Dell behind. I know...cold turkey. But I'm determined to get back in touch with all things non digital. Okay you got me - I'll have my Blackberry. hehe.

But no watching TV whilst surfing NY Times, Washington Post, Facebook, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal. Yeah, I usually make the rounds - the curse of being a fast reader - I get ALL the bad news.

I am looking forward to bonding with sisters Cindo and Betso, and their adopted sister Paul. We'll power walk on the beach, read by the pool, talk about our lives, have cocktails and eat at our fave places.

Cindy's husband Brian Lefebvre (whom everyone calls Bolder or Oldie Moldie Boldie)is going through a medical issue - a serious thing that Cindy and he will need to deal with once she gets home. I'm sure we'll discuss that a lot. Betsy is a nurse by training - is married to doc Wayne and will have some valuable input.

It's definitely time for my post winter vacation. I was getting a bit sour at work, with my life in general. I need my Marco break! TTFN!

Dreaming of vacations

Betso is coming to Florida! I haven't even allowed myself to think about our annual trip to Marco Island so far this winter. But after the rough driving week of this past week, it's time.

I had a near miss with a semi on my drive to DSM Tuesday. Jeff McFee tells me semi drivers have to hit a switch to release their trailers. So the driver must have done that in order to keep control of his tractor. Whatever happened - scared the bejesus out of me! Then Friday - I was in Centerville with my EMS Audit Team, Jen (my Supe) and Jeff (a co-worker). I'd left my car in Albia, on Hwy 34 so I could drive home after our audit and tour of the Rathbun Solid Waste facilities.

We finished up in Centerville around 2:30 PM and started north - with a stop on the way. Jen had spent New Year's Eve with her whole fam at Honey Creek Resort at Lake Rathbun. It's a beautiful destination resort built by Iowa DNR right on a huge man-made lake. See the link. It's a great place for a family reunion.
http://www.honeycreekresort.com/

Her eight year old daughter left her slippers there - Jen had thoughts of retrieval. No such luck though... It's a cool place - worth a stop if you ever get the chance. About then Jeff got a call from his partner Nick - mentioning freezing rain in DSM. Paul had called earlier saying the same thing about Creston. #%*$(#

So we got on the road. When I got my car in Albia, sure enough all sorts of precip was falling - rain, sleet, snow. The pavement was wet but I couldn't tell if it was slick and really didn't want to test it. I went about 50 mph as I headed west towards Chariton - thinking to myself, "I can always give my friend Leslie Goldsmith a call!" (recall that is where alternative Leslie and Paul Goldsmith live)

But I didn't feel any slip sliding, so I kept forging ahead, listening to my book - the third one I've gotten of the trilogy - Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I'm on #2. When I got to Osceola (home of our friend and new Lt. Gov Kim Reynolds), the pavement finally dried up. Phew. I need a massage after stressful work (these EMS audits are a bitch) and driving. Plus I need a lemondrop martini or two (took care of that Friday night...)

So last week Betsy said she was looking into airfare to go to Marco while Cindy, Paul and I are there. Paul may get to drive 3 Miss Daisys around! That would be such fun. I haven't even allowed myself to think ahead about my paradise...but this week I start to! And now Bobbie has booked us on a summer vaca in San Antonio along with McKims and Higgins. Always a good time with the tailgating group! I love having stuff to look forward to.

Vacation is over

But I'm okay...really. Because vacation week always goes really quickly - like fast forward time. And I had something to look forward to when I got home (besides the usual Odie's happy dance to see us). Amy will be here for a day - a quick trip to Iowa from her home in Colorado.

You might have noticed, I left my computer at home. Yep, a big step for me. But I was okay with it. Paul actually hinted around that he'd like to drag a laptop along - but I said no. I don't think there's wifi at the condo in Marco Island anyways.

And truthfully, I wanted to "let it go" and be computer free for a while week. (I still had my trusty Blackberry anyhow). And I was good with that little tiny screen being my laptop substitute. I could check Facebook, CycloneReport, DM Register, NY Times - all the good stuff. But no blogging.

How was my vacation? Very nice...worth waiting for - though about mid February would have been a hell of a nice time to get out of the f'in hell hole that Iowa was about then. Florida had a chilly winter this year too - for them! And it's been a very rainy spring - there is water everywhere. Regardless - it was a lot nicer than Iowa was.

What did we do? Hmmm it was pretty basic. My sis Cindy from Vail, Colorado was there - her husband Bolder (his real name is Brian - that's his nickname) doesn't do beaches well, so he stays home with the cats. Our typical day:
Up around 8ish, eat breakfast - for me, granola cereal with banana and strong coffee (Cindo insists), Paul eats English muffins, Cindy - a bizarre collection of whatever she feels like
Next - long walk on the beach after forging down 19 flights of stairs (it's really 18 flights as they don't have a floor #13 - superstitious lot). I would get a little dizzy during the stair thing. Then we'd go either north or south, for an hour or more. great workout! Plus Cindy and I talked the whole time.
After the walk, we'd take a short break - then it was down to the pool, or a bit of lunch and then down to the pool. Where we'd read, with an occassional dip. It was kinda windy, and overcast at times - I'm glad it wasn't full sun all the time or I'd be fried! As it was I got plenty of sun, plus a couple callousy blistery things from walking.
Later in the afternoon it was shower time - then I'd whip up lemondrop martinis, or Cindy and Paul would drink Chardonay and Coronas. Then we'd go to our favorite places for supper:
Little Bar - Twin Lobster Tails for Paul and Cindo - Blackened Shrimp for me, then on Thursday - C and I had Grouper Almondine and P had the shrimp
We went to the Crazy Flamingo 3 times! They have the best Peel and Eat Shrimp. Plus other stuff - last night I had a mild fish with Thai sauce. Good wings too.
Wednesday it was Porky's for ribs - and karaoke - lots of local talent - not us.
And how could I forget Joeys? Best Pizza ever? Plus yummy Caesars salad.

We did shop one afternoon when it was overcast - but that was it. Plus we went to the movie Date Night - very funny! Not too taxing. I read 4 books. Paul read 2. Hated to leave. Can't wait until next year!

Ozark lake vacation goers

That's kinda like Ozark Mountain Daredevils, right? Hmm can't even remember what they sang...

Anyways, our friends Sharon and Al invited us to stay with them along with other Cyclone faithful, Bobbie & Jeff, Don and Dee at their place down south. Osage Beach is the general location - about a 6 hour drive from C-town. It's right on the huge man-made lake, and S&H have not owned this property too long.

That's about all I know about the place, other than the fact that this group has imbibed many alcoholic bevvies there in past years. A&H have a boat and some type of pull behind thingy, so I'm going to go for a ride. Due to my unfortunate uterine removal I'm not able to swim yet, so I'm glad it's not supposed to be fiery hot.

B&J got there Tuesday, D&D arrive tonight. We're going tomorrow and coming back Sunday. Yes, can you say short and sweet. It's such a busy time for us though - with work and all, so we can't afford to take much time off.

I just baked cookies to take along. It's my fave recipe in the whole world, the Methodist Church cookbook chocolate chip pecan cookies. This recipe has been used so much through the past twenty or so years that the page the recipe is on is discolored with grease. I pretty much have it memorized, but like to get it out anyway. It includes oatmeal, rice krispies and the secret ingredient, cream of tartar. Best evah choc choc chips.

PS Sorry about the little break Monday and Tuesday! I spent a couple hours on the phone Monday night at Joan's talking to foreign techie guys trying to get the Internet to work. After all that, it seems perhaps Joan's modem got hit by lightning. It sure wasn't working anyhoo. I'm relieved that now that I'm home my friend Dell and I are bonding once again.

I spent yesterday afternoon working at the fair in the DNR trailer again. After our workforce organizer lamented in our staff meeting yesterday that last Thursday's workers (including me) were much too generous with the free shopping bags, I had to get into my Bag Nazi persona. Oh the power...