Some Warmth and Then Madison

Last week we traveled to Naples to attend a meeting for Jo that I'm graciously invited to join.  Which is quite nice since it is always a pleasure to have a little bit of sun and warm temperatures during the last of winter - especially after the massive snow fall we had recently.  Florida certainly cooperated with bright, blue skies every day and almost perfect temperatures in the high 70's.

Her meetings went well and we had some free time over the weekend to enjoy wandering around old Naples taking in an art fair, eating brunch at Jane's and walking the pier to enjoy the people fishing.  During the afternoon breaks during the week, we snuck in some time by the pool soaking up the sun mostly in the interest of refilling our Vitamin D stores, of course.  It is really nice to have that as a reason to be sitting outside on a work day - well a work day for Jo, us retired folks no longer believe in "work" days.

The evenings were filled with dinners ranging from elegant (trotted out the tuxedo and Jo was resplendent in her evening dress) to casual as one evening we enjoyed listening to three Nashville song writers after dinner sing some of their songs that became hits for various stars (including one for Carrie Underwood) and explain the process by which they developed the music and lyrics.

We came back home just to do some laundry and repack for a short visit to Madison.  Jo had a Chemistry Board meeting while I cleaned up our condo a bit (amazing how much dust can accumulate in a place that doesn't get that much use) and spent the rest of the time doing some further planning on our renovations.  We then enjoyed dinner with Kathy and John before watching the disappointing loss for our Badgers in the NCAA basketball tournament.  Saturday dawned drizzly and after a short walk we headed to the theaters to enjoy the remake of Beauty and the Beast - which we thoroughly enjoyed.  Then it was time to come home and settle a few things around here.

Hamilton Is a Must See

Jo and I headed to Chicago yesterday afternoon to join my sister to see the Hamilton musical.   I know the show has gotten a lot of press and hype, but it is really worth it.  It combines great songs and dancing, with a touch of humor and to top it all of teaches a little bit of history.  It was a very enjoyable evening starting off with dinner at Noodles and Company which was another pleasant surprise.  None of us had ever been there always thinking it was ramen noodle like dishes for college kids.  We all had their Pad Thai and it was quite tasty, not too filling just before the show, and we could convince ourselves it was somewhat healthy.  Then it was off to the show where we took the obligatory pictures that everyone attending the show seems required to take and post somewhere - in other words, standing in front of the marquee and another selfie with the stage in the background (we did see another stage selfie option which is to hold up the playbill so it is in the picture, we were struggling enough getting  the three of our heads in so the playbill stay politely out of sight).  So here is our contribution to make the world a more photographed place - and yes no matter what we seem to do we can't seem to take a good selfie (arms must be too short).

All too soon it was time to head back to the hotel for a short night of sleep before taking the early morning train so Jo could be back in the office at her usual time - quick trip, but lots of fun packed into it.

Fun over the Weekend and in the Snow

Saturday night we headed to the Bradley arena to enjoy watching the Milwaukee Bucks game.  We were joined by some of Jo's HR team and had the usual good time eating some good pizza (we really like the Bradley Center's pizzas) and watching the game.  Fortunately the home team won which is nice especially since the Bucks are trying to get into the NBA playoffs (although lately it seems that almost every team makes the playoffs).  I took the obligatory shots of the Buck's blimp just in case you missed seeing it recently.

Sunday we spent the morning working out and catching up on a few home chores that had piled up after our recent trip along with doing some planning for our next one.  We then spent some afternoon time watching the Big 10 championship to see if our Badger's play.  Our good luck from Saturday night didn't carry over and the dreaded Wolverines won.  But we still have to March Madness to look forward to although we aren't sure this year how far our team will go.  Let's hope they are in Phoenix playing in a couple of weeks.

Then on Monday to take advantage of our newly fallen snow we hauled out our cross country skis and got a little exercise skiing around Lake Park for a while.  It was pretty good weather except for a stiff wind on the homeward legs of the run.  It was good to stretch out some different muscles for once and the pancake dinner afterwards warmed us up on the inside quite nicely.

Is it Spring or Winter?

Just to remind us (and apparently everyone on the east coast) that winter isn't really over as yet - it decided to snow and then snow and then snow some more.  A tough reminder that it can snow into April in Wisconsin and that the warm temperatures in February don't guarantee that it is time to start planting seeds.  We got about 12 to 14 inches dumped on us between Sunday night and this morning.  And since it is closer to spring than winter it wasn't the nice, light, fluffy kind of snow.  To try and keep my back from getting completely ruined, I shoveled and used the snow blower three times yesterday, just stay ahead of it.  Hopefully, this is winter's last hurrah for this year.

Cuba - Part 3

I was mostly looking for a reason to post this picture of Jo since I think she just looks so happy and stunning.  But I figured while posting it, I might as well include a few more photos of our Cuba trip.  So enjoy.

Alma Mater - in Havana?

Imagine our surprise when we visited the University of Havana and saw an Alma Mater statue that bears a remarkable likeness to our favorite one in Champaign.  Just missing the two figures in the back and it decided to sit instead of stand.  But then it is a lot warmer in the Caribbean and sitting probably makes more sense.

Cuba - The Pearl of the South

Hotel Nacional in Havana

Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic started people-to-people travel to Cuba last year and after considering first a trip to Key West, we decided to try out Cuba instead.  The trip was appealing at least partly due to it being in the Caribbean during February when the cold and gloom of a Wisconsin winter is usually getting to us.  So two weeks ago we headed first to Miami before catching our flight to Havana.

We found that Cuba both met many of our expectations - crumbly apartments and houses, people struggling to make ends meet - and was nothing like we were expecting.  But then most travel is usually like that.  The Cuban people are very friendly, easy to talk with, and pretty honest and open about the struggles they and their country face.  We found them passionate about the arts, especially music and dance, but could use a little more passion around the sciences (of course, we might be a bit biased on that one).

Havana was fun to explore and we enjoyed our walks on the Malecon and through Central Havana.  Although we did worry a few times about having a balcony fall on us.  We learned a lot about Cuban history and Fidel's revolution.  It is always interesting to see how history is remembered from the other side.  We visited Ernest Hemingway's home outside of Havana and took in the museum to the revolution (with some choice comments on American efforts to keep it from happening).  We also got to enjoy a few rides in the 1950's classic cars that Cuba is famous for and you see all over the city ranging from rusting wrecks that you can't believe still run to impeccably maintained beauties that look like they just rolled off the assembly line.

Central Havana

After three days in Havana we headed to the south coast to board our ship for seven days of sailing around the southern part of the island.  During the cruise portion of the trip, we spent time in Trinidad, Cienfuegos, and the Isle of Youth taking in old sugar plantations, visiting schools, and seeing musical groups perform.  Each day was packed with activities in which we got to meet with the Cuban people and ask questions to help us understand their culture and lives better.  We also got the chance to do a little snorkeling.  One of the snorkel trips was in the Bay of Pigs after visiting the Bay of Pigs museum presenting the Cuban perspective on the ill fated invasion.

Two key highlights that are worth mentioning.  One morning as we were sailing we were joined by a pack of 30-40 dolphins frolicking in the bow wave of the boat.  It was spectacular to see them leaping out of the water, weaving around, and easily keeping up with our boat.  The second was Jo learning to salsa which I was recorded as a movie for posterity - unfortunately it is too big to upload to the blog.

We took over 600 pictures, so those here are just to peak your interest.  You'll have to visit us here in WI to see the full set.  We would recommend a visit to Cuba if you have the chance - it remains a bit of an enigma, but it is still set in the beautiful Caribbean with balmy temperatures during our winter and great sea breezes (at least along the coast).

Trinidad