Back from Wisconsin - Posted by ellen

Hi, everybody. Bob and I just returned from a 10 day trip to Madison, WI, our first time ever to that state. It is so gorgeous there, pristine and green, with lakes everywhere you turn around. People bike all over and the city is very structured for that. The University is huge, there are great arts centers, and natural beauty all around. The homes are very reasonable except in a few pricey areas where cost approaches CA levels. Outside the city it's all rolling hills and manicured farms with awesome barns. Not a spot of dirt anywhere and no smog. Big mosquitos though. People were as nice as they could be, with that cute WI accent. Lots of blonde, burly Nordic types, but some diversity. Restaurants were reasonable and very good. In all a terrific place. It will be on our short list of possible retirement destinations as long as we can camp out somewhere else for Jan. - March.

We went for Bob to participate in the Ironman. Poor athletes: it was about 50 degrees and poured rain all day. Bob decided to "bag" the run after completing the 2.1 mile swim and the 112 mile bike. He doesn't care for being cold and wet, and with 6 Ironmen under his belt, he had nothing to prove to himself. Would you believe that I was the one who got injured? I fell on a slick walkway and broke a bone in my arm (the radial neck, for you anatomy types) and probably one in my foot, as well as getting a major goose egg on my forehead. This is cramping my style a bit, but it's OK otherwise. I went 60 years before breaking my first bone, so I guess it was my turn.

More trips are coming up I think I'm liking this sabbatical a lot! Honolulu and New York City in October.