Bill's Trips 2019

Our final week was spent in Kansas City where thankfully the heat wave had also broken and the highs were now in the 80's rather than the 100's.  Brock plays for the Beadling Soccer Club .  Founded in 1898 it is the oldest continuously operating soccer club in the United States.  Brock joined the team last November and has played a key role in its journey to its third consecutive trip to the semi finals of the national championship.  Brendan and Eileen have been a key part of this journey since the club is located outside Pittsburgh and the Pickett family now lives in Bay Village OH, just outside Cleveland. Brock is a center midfielder on the 16U team.  Beadling qualified for the national championships by winning both the National League and the Eastern Division championships.  A total of eight teams compete in two groups of four randomly selected teams.  Two teams from each group go through to the semifinals based on their group play. All of the...

It took us a day and a half to drive from Appleton WI to Maize KS, just outside Wichita.  While the temperature was a bit higher in Maize at 104, the heat index for Kansas City, three hours north and our next stop, was 127--later it reach 129.  Levels I had never seen or experienced.  Believe me it was quite hot enough around Wichita! We were in Kansas to visit our wonderful cousins, Andy and Lois Sciolaro.  We try to visit them annually and they in turn typically visit us in the Finger Lakes annually as well.  They always have things for us to see and do in Kansas and Oklahoma.  We have learned a lot about the prairie and have come to have a deep and somewhat unanticipated love of the region.  As we review our options for this trip over dinner, we all reluctantly decided that the oppressive heat would not permit an enjoyable trip down into Oklahoma.  So we decided to stay closer to home, which is in Maize KS. Frank Lloyd Wright's Allen Ho...

Meg and Heather We spent the next three days in Appleton WI visiting our family there:  daughter Meg and her partner, Heather Hietpas, Meg's children, Harry and Bronwen, and Heather's son, Pierce.  Our welcome was as warm as the weather. We began with a visit to Meg and Heather's new house which is on Little Lake.  It is lovely and very comfortable.  Of course, the lake view is outstanding and, facing to the west, provides colorful sunsets.  After relaxing with Meg, Heather after she finished work in the upstairs office, and Harry, we went to a nearby Little League field where 11 year old Pierce was playing a game.  Just before we left, Heather learned that Pierce would be the starting pitcher.  This always ramps up parental anxiety.  His usual position is catcher.  he comes by that naturally since Heather was catcher on his high school softball team.  She has been working with him on flipping his mask off on foul popups behind the...

Mackinac Bridge, most of its five miles. We began our two week trip to the Midwest in the Straits of Mackinac, Lake Michigan to the south and Lake Huron to the north.  Crossing the straits on the Mackinac Bridge brought us to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Saint Ignace where we spent two nights at the Sunset Motel.  Sunday morning we were up early to catch the first ferry to the island that also made a side trip under that very bridge. Matched Belgian Horses The day was spectacular with temps in the seventies and rarely a cloud to be seen.  It could not have been a more perfect day to spend on the island.  No automobiles are permitted on the island.  Transportation is by carriage or bicycle.  We opted for a carriage tour to give us an overview of the island.  Fun Fact:  there are more horses--more than 500-- on Mackinac than permanent residents--fewer than 500.  Another Fun Fact:  The horses winter on the mainland because it ...