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Vacation: Days 4 & 5
Posted at 05:53 AM - 07/04/09 in General by Dennis
Day 4 Mission: Visit a cheese factory & Relax 7:30am - Oops, we slept in. Day 5 Mission: Head home 8:10am - On the road. This is an all time vacation record! All in all, a fun vacation. My nephew is getting big, and I really enjoyed seeing him again. Oh yeah, it was nice seeing my brother and his wife, too. Happy 4th of July to everyone! Have fun, but be safe.
8:30am - We're slowly getting up and around (I don't remember it being this difficult to recover from Six Flags).
9:30am - Off to find some real coffee and a bagel.
10:00am - At my brother's house, ready to go.
10:30am - Leaving my brother's to visit the cheese place.
11:00am - The 15min drive is actually a little longer (like 15min longer).
12:15pm - Back in Janesville, eating lunch at Famous Dave's (How famous can he be? I've never heard of him).
1:30pm - He should be famous, they brought us a massive amount of smoked/BBQ'd meat. I'm stuffed.
2:30pm - We hit the pool/hot tub for some relaxation and fun.
6:00pm - We decide that dinner will be at Red Robin (yummmm!).
7:00pm - Over to my brother's for some more visitin'.
10:00pm - Back at the hotel, we're going home in the morning. :(
8:25am - I love toll roads. Did you know that in the Chicago area there's like a bazillion toll roads?
8:36am - Did you know that all of the bazillion toll roads are under construction with signs that say the construction is funded by the stimulus package? (How does that make sense? Where is the 4.5 bazillion dollar revenue going?)
12:30pm - We stop to stretch our legs at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Tuscola, IL.
1:30pm - Grab lunch before getting back on the road
2:30pm - Driving through Central Illinois puts me to sleep, luckily there's a Starbucks in Effingham. I love caramel macchiato.
4:00pm - We arrive at my in-law's house to pick up our spoiled little dog.
5:10pm - Back on the road... again... last leg... almost there...
6:45pm - We pull into the driveway. Ahhh, home. My big old mutt-dog is happy to see me.
Vacation: Days 2 & 3 Posted at 05:59 PM - 07/02/09 in General by Dennis
Day 2 Mission: Visit the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago then drive to Janesville, WI
7:00am - Up and at 'em
8:30am - In the car and headed to Dunkin Donuts (America runs on Dunkin)
9:00am - On the road, headed downtown
9:20am - Stuck in traffic
9:30am - I hate traffic
9:40am - I really, really, really hate traffic
9:50am - Finally, we're at the museum
10:00am - The first exhibit to see is the Smart Home, at 11:00am so we have an hour to kill.
11:30am - The Smart Home was very interesting, and now we head over to the U-505 exhibit for our tour at 12:00am
12:20pm - I have waited a very long time to see that sub, and I loved it!
2:00pm - We pay our $16 parking fee and we're off to Wisconsin
2:30pm - Uugghhh! Have I mentioned that I hate traffic?
3:00pm - We arrive at the Huntley Outlet Mall. We eat A Chicago Dog, and Italian Beef and do a little shopping
6:00pm - Ahhh, the hotel. A quick Check-In and we're off to my brother's house
6:30pm - I'm gettin' hugs and luvin from my nephew
10:00pm - We're back at the hotel and headed... to... slee... zzzzzzzzzz
Day 3 Mission: Six Flags Great America!
9:00am - On the road
10:45am - We're here! I love Roller Coasters!
7:00pm - All day riding roller coasters, We're headed to Giordano's Pizza for supper
8:30pm - Well that was disappointing, the pizza was good, but the service was awful.
10:00pm - Back at the hotel, time for a dip in the hot tub to soak my aching feet
10:25pm - Bed time!
Vacation: Day 1 Posted at 07:20 AM - 06/30/09 in General by Dennis
Today's Mission: Drive the nearly 400 miles to our hotel in Chicago (Naperville), IL.
8:30am - Leave the house.
8:35am - Leave the house again (we forgot some stuff).
9:05am - Pick up breakfast (Hoeckele's Bakery)
12:30pm - Stop for gas and lunch
3:50pm - Arrive at the Country Inns & Suites, Naperville, IL.
4:05pm - Arrive at the hot tub/pool area (Ahhhhhh!)
5:30pm - Head out for dinner, we decided to go to Lou Malnati's Pizza (If you read my blog, you might recognize it as the same pizza company my wife bought my birthday meal from).
6:00pm - Arrive at the restaurant. Our GPS gave us the wrong address, but after parking and consulting the downtown maps we were able to find our way to the old converted firehouse that is Malnati's Pizzeria.
6:45pm - We're still waiting on our food, who knew that it would be so buzy on a monday night.
7:00pm - Mmmmmm, pizza! It was well worth the wait.
7:30pm - A quick trip around the riverwalk area, and we're on our way to the store to pick up water and some Bear's shirts.
9:00pm - Time to get in bed and relax with a book.
10:00pm - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Happy Father's Day! Posted at 01:01 PM - 06/21/09 in General by Dennis
9 times (Just for you Kel)
See, I'm not the only one Posted at 06:55 AM - 06/20/09 in General by Dennis
Tony Dungy and Mike Ditka ('ya might have heard of them), are not quite ready to jump on the Cutler bandwagon.
Here's what Dungy said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune: "[The Bears] took a risk [trading for Cutler]. I think they took that risk specifically with beating the Green Bay Packers in mind, I really think Chicago gave up a lot to get a quarterback who they believe is going to be the final piece of the puzzle. But I am not sure he has won enough to merit that yet."
When asked if Cutler was the best QB in the NFC North, Dungy went on to say "That remains to be seen. He is a very talented guy who can throw the ball very well. But quarterbacking is so much about leadership and so much about doing things under pressure. There is going to be a lot of pressure on him. ... We'll see about his maturity level. That's what I would question. And some of the things that happened leading to him leaving Denver ... that would concern me as a head coach. He can make all of the throws, but quarterbacking is much more than just making throws."
What did 'Da Coach have to say about the whole thing? "People ask me one question: Is he a good quarterback? Well, he has a great arm. He had great receivers up in Denver, they had an offense that threw the football a lot, so it highlighted his strengths. If he's in an offense that doesn't highlight his strengths, what's his strength going to be? It has to be leadership, like Tony said. And he has to prove that."
I couldn't agree more. To me, Jay Cutler hasn't proven himself in the type of offense that Chicago runs, and I'm not quite ready to crown him "King of 'Da Bears". Give it some time, make him prove that he is worth what we gave up to get him (and I'm not just talking about Orton.) If he wins and proves that he was worth it all, well Iron Mike said it best: "If they win with Jay Cutler and go to the Super Bowl, he will own this city," he said. "He can have my key."