Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Seven From 14

Today's blog post is dedicated with love and appreciation to the "Love of My Life", Paula Kaye Havens. It is her birthday.

None of the things I write about today would be possible if it wasn't for her continuously encouraging and supporting me to go out and have a "new adventure."

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. I love you more and more every day; and always and forever.

One of the aspects of my life that I've always considered a blessing is the on going opportunity to go places. I'm referring to "road trips" that take me to new and exciting experiences. 

Now they don't have to be a long distance away. Some of my favorite "road trips" have been to places as close as Nashville and even Bowling Green while others have been as far away as Florida. 

Whether it's by myself, a "couples getaway" with Paula or with family and friends, I've gone on some amazing adventures over the years. That includes this year, as well. 

Now that we're into the month of July and 2014 is half over. I thought I'd take this opportunity to look briefly look back my "top 7" (half of 14) some of the memorable road trips between January and June.

I have written details about these trips in previous posts. You can look back at those through the archives list on the left side of this blog page. 

I'm going to count them down in reverse order. 

7. Nights of Improv: This first one is an adventure that actually includes 2 experiences. They were all about interacting with the "Happy Gas" improvisational comedy group from Western Kentucky University. Bowling Green. I went to one of their public shows in March. Then I attended an open improv workshop on the WKU campus in May. 

I am a big fan of improv comedy and I am glad that I finally got a chance to experiences for myself at least once.




6. Simpsons Search: On May 1st at 10AM I found myself waiting at the door of the Lego store in Nashville. It was the official release date for their Series 13 Mini-Figure release. It featured 16 characters from the long running animated TV series: The Simpsons. I collected the complete set that day. I added a second set to my cache within the next week. 


5. Meeting Lou: After 6 years of listening Lou Mongello host a podcast about Walt Disney World I got the chance to meet him in person. On Sunday May 18, I drove to Atlanta, GA to have lunch, shake hands, and talk with him. 


4. Lego Expo: On the second Saturday in March I drove to the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis to attend a Lego Expo sponsored by the adult friends of Lego group: Brick World. There were some amazing exhibits and models. 


3. Return To The Smokies: This is the most recent adventure on this list. Although it was our 6th trip to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, Tennessee area; any time I can spend time away from home with Paula is special and memorable. 

We discovered some new "favorite" places that we will return to when we go back again and some places that were a "once and done" experience. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun. 


2. Discovering "Performance Studios": Wanting to make my part in my granddaughter's 2nd birthday party true to the carnival theme I drove to Nashville to check out a costume store I found on the internet. 

"Performance Studios" turned out to be the costume store I'd always wanted to find. They had lots of stuff to buy plus a warehouse full of just about kind of costume you could ever think of. I rented a carnival barker ensemble. 

Ended up making a couple more trips to Music City to pick up and return the rental but it was well worth it. 


1. Sister Act On Stage: This was the first road trip of the year and so far it's my favorite. Not only did I get to spend a Saturday with my wife the show turned out to be very good. It's one of the best movie-to-stage adaptations we've seen. The Kentucky Center in Louisville has become one of our favorite venues for live theater.   

So there are the top 7 adventures for the first half of 2014. Over the last half of this year I anticipate that our adventures may be a little different. 

As my wife's work schedule gets even more demanding than it is now; I, hopefully, find a new job, we start putting more effort into fixing up our house and repurposing the rooms; our adventures will most likely be closer to right here at home. But that doesn't mean they won't be memorable.

Of course adventures are not what makes my life a blessed one. It's my family and friends who do that. 

Because the best thing about going out on an adventure is knowing that when it's over you have some place to go where there's someone waiting for you. Someone who loves you and the one you're crazy about.

That's You, Paula Kaye, Happy Birthday again, my darling. I Love you bunches and bunches.    











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