Kelly's Grand Adventure

OK, so I spent last weekend on the other side of the Mississippi River!
It all began with a dramatic medical emergency. Chuck was on a business trip in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He became dreadfully ill, and was hospitalized with vertigo. This was Big Vertigo. Vertigo that would fell a mastodon. By Thursday, last they were ready to release him, but he was so far from home! I jumped on a plane Thursday afternoon, and was in Milwaukee by the end of the day.
The whirlwind that was! I had to find care for the kids, the dog, get my work covered, and pack. It was very exciting and spontaneous. I am deeply grateful to those of you who helped me pull this off.


Anyway....He was dreadfully ill, and walked like a drunken sailor, so the doctor wouldn't let him drive. You can see the wisdom in that, of course. I got to be Florence Nightingale. I got to drive about fetching food and prescriptions in a rental car in a strange city.
The place he was staying is a large pink building. Pink makes me happy. It is an Irish bed and breakfast, with a lovely pub downstairs. And it was St. Patty's day weekend. Have you ever seen a mob of Irishmen on St. Patty's day? Now, I have. They take this day very seriously. The Pub opened at 6 am. Like, In The Morning, a.m. Nice people don't drink before noon, Mother told me so. However, these folks wore green, played very loud music and drank Guinness all day long. It is impossible to sleep in an Irish boarding house during a St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Chuck's condition improved each day. By Sunday, I got him outside for a walk by Lake Michigan. The nature of his illness was an inner ear infection, and so the prospect of flying was a daunting one. I did manage to get him on a plane Monday, and we arrived back in the Wild west without incident.
I had so many bloggable things that happened to me as I went along. How am I going to tell you about all of them?
There was the missed flight at the beginning.
There was the fascinating person I met on the plane whom I spoke with for three hours! His name is Benjamin, and he look's a bit like Patsy's husband. He is from Miami, and very talkative. Quite engaging. We met him again on the return flight, which was fun.
There was the family I met on another of the plane rides who offered me help in this strange new city. They were also from Boise, and yet they were frequent visitors to the Midwest.
There was the car I sideswiped in the confusing tangle of downtown Milwaukee. They really have very narrow streets there and everyone seems to think it's a good idea to park on the side of the road. Very foolhardy in my humble opinion.
There was the architecture which I fell totally in love with. Boise, Idaho is a relatively new city, and there are no buildings older than the past century. Milwaukee has huge cathedrals and brick mansions with gargoyles and stuff.
There were the restaurants I got to go to. These are people who Know Food. I could grow quite large if I could afford to eat out often there.
I need to figure out how to post some pictures here for your enjoyment....
Anyway, I am very sorry to have neglected you again!