Bruce's Travels

Recently returned from an overnight getaway to Dubuque with sister, Dawn. Started with lunch at Decatur Dairy in Brodhead. Grilled  cheese sandwiches, Diet Coke, and a bag of fresh cheese curds to take on the road. Then off to Dubuque along picturesque Highway 11, over the Mississippi River into Iowa, and checked in to the Julien Hotel.  First off, down to the whirlpool/pool for a relaxing soak in the whirlpool and invigorating couple of laps in the pool. Next, a relaxing nap. Then onto dinner at the Woodfire Steakhouse inside the Diamond Jo casino. Delicious, and served by our favorite waitress, Michelle. Awesome tenderloin steak, served with asparagus spears and an iceberg wedge salad with blue cheese dressing. A delicious fudge brownie dessert with sour cherries and ice cream, which Michelle comped on, since we were celebrating our escape from the Oscar apartments. Next, we went into the casino, where I found a $10 blackjack table, and Dawn played a $5 blackjack machine....

 Just got back from an overnight outing, complete with dinner at Ishnala, gambling at Ho-Chunk, overnight at the Ho-Chunk motel, and breakfast at Paul Bunyan's in the Dells. First, dinner at Ishnala: Arrived there about 5:00. Place was packed. (Sister) Dawn and I had to wait 1.5 hours for a table. Had a couple of Old Fashioned cocktails to pass the time and sat outside on one of the decks overlooking Mirror Lake. For dinner, I had twin lobster tails, wedge salad, and baked potato. For dessert, key lime pie. Dawn had a beef filet with deep fried shrimp and au gratin potato. All delicious. Service was superb. Neither of us had been to Ishnala in years. Our dad, Howard, used to occasionally tend bar there when it was owned by the Hoffman brothers, whose photos are still up on wall just inside the entrance.  Next stop, Ho-Chunk Casino, where I played blackjack at a $10 table with live dealer. Wanted to take a break from the blackjack machine. They say the odds are the same, but I ...

 Panama Canal cruise with sis-in-law Julie ended when we docked in New Orleans. By this time, I was sicker than a dog. We had a reservation at a Hamption Inn in the French Quarter. We had arranged some activities, including a tour of the new WWII museum which was quite interesting. There was a display of artifacts from the Enola Gay bombing expedition, including Paul Tibbets' wristwatch. Actually it was only one of the wristwatches that Tibbets owned (Bulova), and I doubt it was the one he wore during the bombing run. We walked around the French Quarter, and I limped along as best I could, not wishing to burden Julie. At night, back at the hotel, I asked Julie to pick up some soup for me. The next morning, I sent Julie on her way to the airport, and I set out to find an urgent care center. There, they set me up with an albuterol inhaler to ease my breathing and did some tests, and the news came back: I had pneumonia. They gave me some prescriptions which I obtained from a Walgreens...

Jeez, 2020 started out so "normal" in many respects. Social distancing? What is that? What do you mean, no toilet paper? Doctor Fauci? Who is he, a new character on Star Trek: Picard? Anyway, back to the start of 2020. I made the move from the Janesville apartment right after the New Year to new digs in Cottage Grove (Drumlin Residences or DR for short). Lost about 200 square feet in living space, but gained heated underground parking, elevator access, and about 100 square feet between 2 storage units, one in the parking garage (8 ft by 8 ft) and another small storage locker on the 3rd floor where our apartment is. Plus, all new appliances, including full size washer/dryer in the unit. Apartments were built in 2017 and we were literally the first tenants in this particular unit. Dawn and I loaded up my Prius to the brim with wristwatch material and took it down to Tom Harris auctions in Marshalltown, Iowa, around January 6 -- overflow of stuff that would not fit into the 8x8 ...