Fall 2013 Trip to Kansas City - The Journey West

This is my third trip to Kansas City this year.  Normally I try to make it after Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the lights on the Country Club Plaza but this year Marilyn and I will be spending some time with our cousins Andy and Lois Sciolaro on a tour of the prairie.  They live just outside Wichita Kansas and it seemed a better chance for good weather now rather than early December.  As often happens, Marilyn is flying in on Friday and then the two of us will drive back together, visiting friends and family along the way.

I left early Sunday morning and made good progress even through some heavy downpours and strong winds between Buffalo and Erie.  This confirmed my decision to make this trip now rather than early December when those heavy downpours would have been WHITE!  Originally I had thought about stopping in Morgantown to visit Brendan and company for a day.  It is not exactly on the way but it does break the drive into two doable segments.  As it turned out, they were not going to be home that weekend but rather at a soccer tournament in Dayton Ohio where Braden and Brock were playing.  I thought perhaps we might pass each other on I-70 and thus there was a possibility of lunch together in Columbus.  As it turned out, however, both of them were playing in championship games with Braden's starting at 1:45 just as I would be passing by about 15 north on I-70.  As a result I took a two hour break and got to see them and see Braden's team win their championship game.  Click here to see some photos of her game.

I got back on the road and was able to listen to the Kansas City Chiefs game against Houston on ESPN radio.  I got to my stopping point in Terre Haute in time to watch the fourth quarter and see them win a close one to become, as it turned out, the only undefeated NFL team at the end of week seven.  I watched most of the Denver game and look forward to four weeks from now when the Chiefs go to Denver for their first of two games.

I left Terre Haute early the next morning and with the time change and good weather got to Kansas City before noon.  Mom looks wonderful and, as always, it was great to see her and get settled in.  That evening we had dinner with Anola who was leaving the next day for a three week trip to Hong Kong and the a tour of China.  Anola and Peter's son Gerry and his wife Kara live there due to Gerry's job as an editor with the New York Times International Edition, formerly the International Herald Tribune.

As soon as I arrived, Mom told me that she had lost her purse but eventually found in her apartment.  I was quite surprised at her answer when i asked her where it had been found.  "The dish washer," she said calmly.  Since Mom has, to my knowledge, never used her dishwasher...fortunately in this case, I asked her how it how come to be there.  She had no idea but since she uses it to store other items, it must have just hopped in by herself when she wasn't looking.

Trip to Charlotte - Fourth and Final Day

Sunday was a busy day.  Marcie had to work and left for the hospital around 7:30.  She got caught up in some involved cases and didn't get through before I had to leave.  The night before, Liam and Marcie went to some friends for dinner and a bonfire, something of a tradition.  I was given an out and so stayed home, rested after that busy day and got to bed early.

As soon as Aidan was up and after Liam ran out to Dick's to get a place kicking tee and a couple of regulation footballs, the three of us went up to the middle school field so Aidan could practice his kicking.  I took a lot of pictures so Liam could coach him.  Here are two sequences that I put into video format.  The first part is a field goal attempt and the second an extra point.

We had to hustle home and collect Marin to get her to her soccer match, about 45 minutes north of home but close to the airport where I had to catch 3:50 flight back home.  We also had Eibhlin and her little friend along.  I was glad I got to see her play while I was here.  She had a match on Saturday but I was in Pinehurst watching Liam play football.

Another fast Pickett on the soccer field!

Her team and Marin played a great game in what could only be described as a hot, summer day.  The temp was 90 degrees.  They played an undefeated team to a 2-2 tie.  Marin played center back and made a number of fine plays.  She played every minute of the match!

You can see more photos of Marin playing soccer in the Charlotte Soccer Album in Google+ Photos.  Make sure you navigate toward the last part of the album to see her.

Liam got me to the airport right on time and my flights were all on time or a little early.  I got home a little before 9:00 just after Marilyn pulled in from her day in Buffalo.  Good to be home.  We relaxed with some popcorn and watched the season opener of "the Good Wife," one of our favorite shows.

Trip to Charlotte - Day Three

Shoe flotsam

The Carolina Picketts generally do not wear shoes inside the house.  Even though Liam has built a set of shelves just to the right of this door from the garage into the house, shoes seem to collect as flotsam does after a receding tide.  By the time we got back from our day of football and soccer, this had all been cleaned up and shoes put away on the shelves.  I discovered this was due to Marcie's tripping as she tried to exit the house!

Aidan taking a free kick

My day began with Liam at Aidan's soccer match which his team won 5-0.  It has been a year since I had seen him play and he is a presence on the field as a team leader.  His play has improved and he has grown into a really good looking young man!  I won't see him till Sunday morning.  A friend of his from middle school--a young lady whom he claims is "just a friend"--invited him to join her and her family in their box seats for the South Carolina football game Saturday night.  You can see more photos in the soccer album by clicking here.

As the soccer match was ending, Liam and I took off for Pinehurst NC where Liam was playing his second football game of the week.  His team--Hammer Down--was playing the Sand Hill Patriots team which had won their last fifty games.  Hammer Down played very tough but lost 14-0.  If a

Liam's big block

couple of plays had gone the other way, they would have won; it was that close a game.  Liam had a nice pass reception.  He was exhausted after the game having played every down:  defense outside left linebacker and and offense tight end.  He plays with his head up and is always looking for a play.  This picture shows a block he made on a busted play that resulted in an additional nine yards.  You can see more photos in the updated football album by clicking here.

Trip to Charlotte Days One and Two

Liam at half-time during the boys football game.

It has been a year since I visited Liam and Marcie in Charlotte.  I picked a game-filled weekend with two football games and three soccer matches.  Liam has just taken a new job with Abbott:  Emergency Department Executive covering a region that stretches from Atlanta to Richmond.  He has been working in Clinical Affairs for the past year and this is a move back into sales.  It is a position he had been seeking for sometime.  This time, they came looking for him.  He had just gotten the written offer letter the day before I arrived.

Liam:  Hey, a little help?

Aidan set.

After an uneventful flight on Delta through Atlanta and a lunch at Bad Daddy's Burger Bar, we went to the Community House Middle School football game.  This year Aidan went out for football for the school team as did Liam who has been playing on a club team for the past two years.  They both made the team.  Liam plays middle linebacker and receiver.  Aidan is a kicker and cornerback.  Since this is Aidan's first year in football, he doesn't get a lot of playing time but he enjoys the game and is learning fast.  After two blowout victories, they went up against a tough team and lost 14-8.  Aidan got in the last series on defense and showed great courage in attacking an offensive lineman who was in the backfield for a sweep.

We went back home and watched the Buffalo Bills lose to a decimated Cleveland Browns team.  Actually when I went to bed, it looked like the Bills would cruise to a victory with the Browns quarterback out of the game.  Of course, the Bills quarterback was knocked out as well and the Browns won the battle of the back ups.

Friday saw everyone off to school and Liam with a full set of phone conference calls and meetings.  We got out for lunch and then went to two football practices:  the first for the middle school team and the second for Liam's club team, Hammer Down.  The second one didn't start till 7:00 and was under the lights.  We didn't get home till after 9:00.  A long day with a busy Saturday in the offing.

You can see an updated album of photos by clicking here.

Trip to Morgantown WV

A view of Cheat Lake from Lakeside Resort Golf Course

Brendan, Eileen and the kids moved to Morgantown WV on August 1.  I drove down to for my first visit on the last weekend in September.  Driving to see them is now a lot easier since  it is less than six hours from Rochester as opposed to the slightly more than 12 it took to drive to Aurora IL.  By the way, this Morgantown is almost exactly halfway to Charlotte.  Originally I had planned to drive to Morgantown and then on to Charlotte and back through Virginia to visit my brother Tom but that didn't work out this trip.

 The first thing you notice about Morgantown is the natural beauty especially as fall colors begin to emerge.  The next thing you notice is the HILLS and finally you realize how small the town is.  The permanent population is around 30,000 with slightly more than 30,000 students at West Virginia University.  This was a football weekend with the Mountaineers hosting the Oklahoma State Cowboys, ranked 11th in the country.  WVU recently left the Big East and joined the Big Twelve.  After an embarrassing game against Maryland the week before (37-0 loss) confidence was not high.  With a 63,000 seat stadium sold out--a great time to go to Kroger's by the way as well as safely transit West Virginia's first and only traffic circle--the Mountaineers played a spectacular game to upset the Cowboys 30-21.  Go 'eers?  I know, I would have thought 'neers too.  We enjoined the game at home on ESPN.

Eileen and Braden

When I arrived on Friday, I joined Eileen and Braden for lunch.  Braden was getting ready to attend the Preston County Buckwheat Festival at an even smaller town near Morgantown.  She was going with friends from her soccer team.  I was pleased to see how well her transition has gone with a lot of friends both at school and on her team.

They live in a very nice and new townhouse with three bedrooms on the top floor, a spacious main floor and the fourth bedroom and bath occupied by the West Virginia Pickett teenager on the ground floor.  This is located in the Cheat Lake area and is right on the tenth fairway of the resort golf course.  In fact, Brock and Brady met us with cold drinks there and happily enough observed one of my few good drives of the day.  Fortunately I was unaware of the gallery until after I hit.

After golf on Saturday, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching football on TV:  the aforementioned West Virginia game, then Notre Dame-Oklahoma, and most of the Wisconsin-Michigan game.  Sunday we sandwiched in a couple of NFL games on TV, Chiefs game on internet updates, and some of the kids' activities.

No caption needed

Wrestling is the newest Pickett sport.  Brady is in a instructional program coached by one of the WVU assistant coaches.  He is very motivated and works extremely hard especially given the fact that he is typically paired up with a boy who is in his third year of participation.  It is hard to watch him get tossed around but he comes right back and works the drills and techniques the coaches teach him.  He is also playing flag football but with a Mountaineer home game taking over the town, there was no flag football that weekend.

Braden leaves her signature pigtail after a header

Later that afternoon, Braden and Brock both had soccer matches but I could only get to one and that was Braden's.  It was great to see her play and smile a lot while she was.  She clearly enjoys being on the team, has friends, and is playing as a force in the mid-field.  The thing I noticed most of all was how she has added headers to her game, both at mid field and in front of the goal.

You can view the photo album by clicking this link.

Eileen arrived with Brock from his soccer match in Pennsylvania.  We all ate out and then returned home to finish the evening watching football.  What else!  I left early the next morning and left two days later for Charlotte.  More about that on the next blog.

Trip to Kansas City - Days Five, Six, Seven, and Eight

National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial

On Thursday we stayed with Mom for her physical therapy and speech therapy sessions.  After a quick lunch Marilyn and I headed down to the Liberty Memorial to spend the afternoon going through the excellent National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial.  That evening we dined with Mom at Grand Court and spent the evening visiting with Anola and Peter who had just returned from North Carolina. Early the next day, Marilyn flew home for a family baby shower in Buffalo the next day. 

On Saturday I began the day breakfasting with Peter and then visiting the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art to experience an exhibit of photographs by Laura McPhee entitled "River of No Return."  These are 6 ft. x 8 ft. chromogenic prints which is to say the kind of prints we are used to getting from film -- remember film?  The photographs are very engaging and intriguing; their large size adds to the impact.  I wondered about the dark room she would have used to prints these giants! 

Then I was off to the Reading Reptile, the young person's bookstore in Brookside.  They had a big display of Anola's book and will be hosting a book signing the following Friday.  Anola and Peter had just returned from a book launch at the Historic Site of Chicamacomico Life Saving Station in Rodanthe.  Her book, Whisper Island, tells the story of a 12 year old girl in 1913 who wants to be part of the Life Saving Service...but, no girls allowed.  One reviewer said, "What a sweet, tender, amazing book! I sat down to read it and didn't get up until it was finished it was so captivating! A story told from the heart with all the passion of a young girl trying to make it in a man's world."

While I waited to get together with my sister, Mary, I revisited Loose Park and took this panorama image with my phone camera.

While I was continuing to kill time, I went by the old neighborhood and found a Forest Avenue Community Day in progress.  They had spent the morning cleaning up and were celebrating with some nice eats.  They were set up pretty much in front of the house where I grew up.  I stopped and visited.  There were a couple of families that remembered some families that had lived there such a long time ago.  The neighborhood still struggles but it was good to see such positive attitudes and energies.

That evening Anola, Peter, Mom and I went to Culver's for some burgers and shakes.  Gotta like a place that advertises "butterburgers!"

I left the next day at 5:30 AM.  I had intended to stop in Richmond Indiana but found that I was not at all tired and it was much too early to stop at 3:00.  So I kept going and eventually got home a bit after 11:00 PM after 17 hours on the road.

Trip to Kansas City July 2013 - Days Three and Four

Along Indian Creek Trail

July 16 was Mom's 101st birthday.  In contrast to last year's big celebration, this was a calm celebration.  I began the day as usual with early morning coffee with Sean who had flown in the day before with his family.  I accumulated some more stars at the local Starbuck's while I got caught up with his life, especially the developments with his very challenging job.  After that, Marilyn and I took an hour's walk along a wonderful biking hiking trail along Indian Creek near my Mom's place.  It was a cool start to a very hot day although it was much hotter in Rochester where there was a heat alert in effect!

We returned to Mom's and sat in on her physical therapy session and then went to lunch with my brother Terry, his wife Johnny along with Sean and his family.  The family members in town then gathered with Mom for dinner at Cinzetti's, a wonderful Italian restaurant.  We had our own space for a lively session with lots of laughter and way too much good food including many--too many--delicious desserts!  Two of my siblings were not in town:  Tom who had been here before we arrived and Anola who was in North Carolina for the launch of her newest novel, Whisper Island.  

The next day was spent reviewing the reports from Mom's therapists as we began the process of making decisions about her living situation.  Marilyn and I took a break and headed to the Country Club Plaza for lunch and shopping and then stopped by Loose Park to view the rose gardens.  Of course, we also stopped at the Baskins & Robbins in Brookside for some ice cream.  Hey, it was hot.

We went down for dinner with Mom at Grand Court so we could visit with her friends at the table.  Bill Binder was there along with Nadine, Barbara, and Mary.  All the men in the dining look forward to our visits so they can get a chance to see Marilyn.  Before dinner, we met Nels and his wife Jean.  They were married at Grand Court two years ago.  Nels is 94.  Their wedding was the first and so far the only one involving residents of Grand Court.  He happily explained that two Social Security checks are better than one.  I suppose that there will be more such weddings in the future.

My big learning for the day concerned my Android phone and its camera.  I had no idea of the many functions that come with the camera function:  HDR, panorama, and a number of very sophisticated editing apps -all of them free.  Marilyn had sent me a link to very informative book about these.  Click here to go to the Android Store for a free copy.  After dinner we went for a walk in the new garden at Grand Court where I used the new apps to take some photos and then edited them.  The picture to the right is an example.  The app I used easily allowed me to achieve an SLR look by defocusing the background while keeping Mom and me in sharp focus.  Nice, huh?  These apps are so impressive that I may try leaving my other cameras at home on a trip and just using my phone!

We spent the evening watching one of Mom's favorite movies, "Shall We Dance?"  She has watched this so many times that she actually wore out her original DVD and I had to get her a new one last year.

Go here to see the continually updated Picasa album of this Kansas City trip.