Charley and Jackson

Chocolate syrup diving

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 00:16:00 +0000

Another weekend,

another dive meet.

This one was in La Crosse . . .

. . . and there was chocolate syrup.

(Actually just water, in a syrup bottle)

This was kind of a conference meet.

3-meter dives were great.

Charley placed third.

1-meter was pretty good.

He placed sixth.

It's dive time

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 01:09:26 +0000

It's the time

of year again.

Dive season

is in full . . .

. . . pike . . .

. . . tuck . . .

. . . twist . . .

. . . dive.

It's gonna be a great year.

Hummingbirds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 14:12:00 +0000

There's a garden . . .

. . . on the migratory path . . .

. . . of hummingbirds.

A friend told Beki about it

just a few weeks ago.

It's really amazing.

We've seen dozens of hummingbirds there.

It's amazing . . .

. . . and beautiful . . .

. . . even without the hummingbirds.

Oh yeah, and there are monarchs too.

Fair-going

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 13:31:00 +0000

We picked a good.

At least we picked a day

that a lot of other people picked too.

Jackson ate . . .

. . . and ate . . .

. . . but he couldn't eat the bread.

It was a pretty nice day . . .

. . . it got a little hot in the afternoon,

and we missed our fair-going family.

Chicago scenes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 12:54:00 +0000

Shedd Aquarium.

Yes they had fish, too.

Skyscrapers at night.

Coffee shop.

The Ramova Theater.

The reason we were there.

The Midwest Film Festival.

Inside the Ramova.

And a spider friend

outside our door.

Coffee crooner

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:45:00 +0000

An afternoon of coffee,

And Charley's friend Gideon.

Who goes there . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:42:00 +0000

. . . in my swamp!

Movie making

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:40:26 +0000

Jackson and Allie helped

make a short film this summer.

There was much goofiness . . .

. . . and some work too,

around a vacant 1800s farmhouse.

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 01:37:00 +0000

A collection of images . . .

. . . from Lake Superior . . .

. . . and Madeline Island.

Madeline Island.

Lake Superior.

Kayaking the caves

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 01:33:33 +0000

What an incredible experience,

kayaking through the sea caves.

It was another foggy morning . . .

. . . but that didn't stop us

from going on an adventure.

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

is absolutely incredible.

The kayaking wasn't all that difficult

and the red sandstone cliffs are beautiful.

There are many arches and tunnels and caves . . .

. . . and we got to paddle into into . . .

. . . and through . . .

. . . many of them.

It was simply beautiful

even with the fog.

We've kayaked twice

on Lake Superior,

both times were foggy.

It's pretty amazing

no matter what the weather.

A beach and a boardwalk

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:43:39 +0000

On our first full day,

after the rain stopped,

we toured the island . . .

. . . including a stop at

Big Bay State Park.

It was kind of a creep, foggy day.

There was loads of pollen in the lake.

None of that stopped us

from skipping stones.

Adjacent to the beach is a boardwalk.

The boardwalk runs along a natural berm

that separates the beach from a lagoon.

It was pretty cool to see

two different ecosystems

side-by-side.

We followed the boardwalk

all the way to the end . . .

. . . then walk backed

along the shore.

The fogged kept

rolling in and out of the bay.

And look at the yellow-ish,

pollen-saturated water.

Walking on sand

is not easy.

It was quite a beautiful experience,

in it's own, kinda-creepy, way.

Making it to Madeline

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 02:33:45 +0000

We took a little trip

to Madeline Island.

After lots of driving,

we got to ride ferry.

This is the house we stayed it.

It has an amazing view.

The house itself

was kind of pretty

to look at as well.

And it had a second house as well.

That's where Charley slept.

And Dad, as usual,

slept in his hammock.

Yay Derrick

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:42:00 +0000

A LOT of hard work.

Derrick made it happen.

He graduated from

South St. Paul High School.

It's a well-deserved moment . . .

. . . for a young man who

overcame many obstacles.

Day 2 Iceland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 01:43:00 +0000

Our last day in Iceland

started with breakfast

at this cool-looking bakery.

Then a nice drive to a national park.

Þingvellir National Park.

Where we did some snorkeling . . .

. . . in the glacial waters of a fissure . . .

. . . between two tectonic plates.

It was cold

and very cool.

Day 1 Iceland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:31:00 +0000

This was a big day.
The golden circle tour.

The first stop was a crater lake.

We walked all the way around it,

admiring the dark turquoise water.

Numerous areas of Iceland on built on geothermal hotspots.

It's these hotspots that help power the country

and allow them to grow much of their produce in greenhouses.

They also support the country's

extensive swimming pools

or lagoons.

This Secret Lagoon is one of them.

They pump in COLD water to keep it safe to swim in,

otherwise it would be too hot.

After a swim in the lagoon,

we stopped by an active area of geysers.

You can see the broken rock
that came from the geyser's force.

The only drawback was
the sulfur smell from the steam.

There was a short hike
to the top of high hill
(not a mountain) . . .

. . . but you can see mountains

and other sites from the top.

Then it was on to a waterfall.

It's a glacial waterfall

and unlike anything we've seen.

The amount water,

the sound,

and the mist.

Unbelievable.

There are countless streams.

Some fed by glacial waters,

others fed from underground.

These underground ones

are warm to the touch

and feed all kinds of unique

algae and plant life.

After all that,
we headed back to our "hotel".

It's one of the little houses on the right . . .

With beautiful views

of the mountains and bays . . .

. . . and the ocean.

I think we'll be back.

Day 5 Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:06:00 +0000

Our last day in Amsterdam

started with finding Upstairs Pannenkoekenhuis.

There was more walking, of course.

Down a lovely alleyway . . .

. . . and across another canal.

There was a duck on a post in that canal.

Thankfully it was a lovely morning.

Eventually we made it upstairs.

There are a total of 4 tables in the entire restaurant.

It's in a typical Amsterdam house dating back to 1539

It's the smallest pancake restaurant in Europe.

With a lot of teapots in the ceiling.

Day 4 Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:40:00 +0000

Day 4 started with a train ride.

(Most days started that way).

The public transportation is awesome.

And another walk across a few canals . . .

. . . to a fantastic pancake bakery.

With a very short door.

Then, we did more walking . . .

. . . stopped for a drink on a patio . . .

. . . and swung past the memorial for Chet Baker.

Then we went through a few neighborhoods.

Past a garden store . . .

. . . and dinner on a another patio . . .

. . . and more walking

past more canals

on our way to the

Anne Frank Memorial.

It was very moving.

Day 3 Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 20:24:00 +0000

Day three was a long day

of touring the Dutch countryside.

First stop,

a tulip farm.

It was unreal.

Truly unreal.

Next a boat tour.

Thankfully not on that boat.

The countryside is beautiful

and so, so flat.

The last stop was Keukenhof.

Nearly 80 acres of beauty.

Initially we were

greeted by this guy.

He was very busy.

The place was packed.

With flowers and people.

There were a couple pockets

where you can see
the nearby tulip farms.

Not that we needed to see more flowers.

Each display was

a little different

than the previous one.

We maybe saw two-thirds of it.

Words and pictures

struggle to capture

the beauty.

After nearly 9 miles of walking,

we finally sat for a bit for dinner.

And then an evening boat ride

back to our hotel.

Day 2 Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 18:34:00 +0000

The next morning was dedicated to

sleeping in and sightseeing . . .

. . . and breakfast at a

lovely neighborhood restaurant.

Rijksmuseum was our next stop . . .

. . . we took in some Rembrandt,

along with other art.

This is not Rembrandt, it's Heineken.

In the lobby of their brewery tour.

After the tour
we spent some time
on the rooftop deck.

The views of Amsterdam

we pretty spectacular.

Even so, I think we preferred
the street and canal views.

Getting to Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 17:39:00 +0000

A first for this blog.
Adventures without
Charley and Jackson.

It was an inauspicious start

our brief layover met us with

no working station at passport control.

We made it to Amsterdam eventually.

Out first stop was Vondelpark, near our hotel.

A beautiful oasis in the middle of urban energy.

We took a lovely walk . . .

. . . on the way to dinner

at a neighborhood restaurant.

We didn't know it then,

but it would be our best meal

in a long string of excellent meals.

Exhaustion set in early.

Jetlag is real.

Bedtime was before

the sun went down.

Freshman success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:15:00 +0000

Charley's first collegiate season has ended.

Three-meter, in particular,

went very well.

At the conference meet,

Charley barely missed the finals . . .

. . . by just FOUR points.

Pretty darn good for a freshman season.

Kansas City nonsense

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 14:01:00 +0000

We took a little trip to Kansas City

and brought our nonsense with us.

We were a big hit . . .

. . . maybe not with everyone.

We all had a pretty great time making horns

and an even better time making noise with them.

Always judgemental

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 13:55:00 +0000

During winter break

we had an alumni meet.

It was family judged . . .

. . . but still a lot of fun.

to be back in the high school pool.

Toilet seat and head-swapping Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 16:11:00 +0000

Charley wins.

He bought about a dozen stuffed animals,

swapped all their heads,

and gave them as gifts.

Then there's the toilet seat.

That was from Dad.

It's a long story.

And Derrick figured out

how to wrap a gift.

Sort of.

But before all that,

we decorated cookies.

There were regular ones

and some not regular ones.

That's another long story.

Thankfully, Santa did bring us stuff.

So much candy.

It's awesome.

Back to the head-swapping.

We each chose our 5 gifts.

And it was on.

Each one . . .

. . . was weirder than the last.

Later that day,

we headed to Grandma and Bumpa's . . .

. . . for the usual nonsense.

It was great.

Christkindl Market

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 01:56:00 +0000

We took a little trip downtown

while we were back for Thanksgiving.

First, a train ride in the snow.

Then some sliding down the sidewalk,

also in the snow.

Once we got there,

it was time for some snacks.

Roasted nuts . . .

. . . french fries . . .

Mom and dad has some mulled wine . . .

. . . while Derrick made sausages

and pretzels with cheese for everyone else.

That's the main reason we went,

to visit Derrick.

Then a quiet train ride home,

at least for a stop or two.