In March I had minor knee surgery to repair the torn meniscus in my right knee. That has altered some of my plans. Much of my rejuvenation comes while I am in nature hiking or biking, and both of these are somewhat limited by my knee rehab.
To recap:
January - day trip to Appleton to see the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit at their History Museum.
February - day trip to Lake Geneva's Winterfest to see the national snow carving competition and hiked a trail at Big Foot Beach State Park that they light by luminaries
March - Zion Passion Play. This was something that has been on my bucket list for a while and going there with Barb and Jon ended up enhancing the experience.
And moving forward:
April Changes -While I was still planning on the mega hike at Starved Rock State Park for April and the physical therapy sessions had gotten me physically ready....Mother Nature played her card - the flood card. Starved Rock State Park is on the Illinois River and is flooded. They had to cancel the Mega Hike for April and reschedule for June 1 and 2. So I need a new (and quick) plan for April. They called cancelled last week but I forgot to get my plans in order for something here. Had I been thinking about this challenge, I easily could have taken time this weekend for a special bike ride or movie night - both had been options I considered for last weekend but instead I did lawn work (on my nature trail) and tired myself out.
So I have today and tomorrow left for April .... well tomorrow I'm going to the Brewer's game. That sorta counts. It also sorta counts that I had a very nice 6 mile hike at Laphem Peak. This was part of my training for the Mega Hike. I could still run out to the movies tonight.
The
When I look back on April there were several outings that could have fit the bill except for a few adjustments. For example, I had a really nice day at our public museum's special pirate exhibit, but we wanted to go to a certain restaurant (McBob's) before and use a restaurant.com gift card. If McBob's had worked - then that would have been a good rejuvenating day. But it didn't - McBob's had a shuttle to the Brewer's game and they were overloaded with people eating before taking the shuttle. We had also tried AJ Bomber's - but that had over a 45 minute wait (that's another place that has been on my 'list' for a while - at least now I know where it's located!). I had wanted to see the play Catch Me If You Can at the Marcus Theater, and that didn't happen -- these are the types of things I'm hoping the challenge helps me do for myself. Another possibility was the Puzzle Museum in Kenosha - they have very limited and sporadic hours for the public (mainly only open for groups); and they were open to the public these last 2 Saturdays.
The other concern is that until this afternoon when I realized I was behind on doing the April challenge, I was planning tonight as a 'clean up' home night to close on several things that are half done. Skipping this, and having a busy week just adds more stress to me.
May challenges - this has to be revamped, with my job change and a possible trip to London, I now no longer want to burn a vacation day for this.
I was tentatively holding Sunday, May 13 and pairing it with a vacation day on Monday, May 14 for a trip to Spring Green area to see the House on the Rock and Cave of the Mounds. Both have been on my (minor) bucket list for a while. Along with them, if there is time, I can add the Frank Lloyd Wright house, Taliesin; and possibly camping at Tower Hill State Park. Solo camping has also been on my list and I do want to test out my new tent - although I may find mid May still too cool to for camping. Alternative plans are there are several movies coming out that look really good - may be time to do a personal double feature, with a hike? or a bonfire? Or maybe the day in Madison with a bike ride from the farmers marked to picnic park, another ride through the Arboretum, and possibly a tour of Camp Randall and the Kohl's Center.
June - Mega Hike was reschedule for June so I have Sat, June 1 for travel and and Sun, June 2 for the hike- this is the weekend Danny graduates from St Dom's and there may be family celebrations, so its just tentative until I hear about those plans. Barb T can no longer go with me so this is a solo adventure. I also put a tentative hold on the weekend of Jun 14 - 16. That may be a good weekend for a Door County visit, with the extra stop to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help where there was the approved apparition; or possibly a camping weekend
I still have a lot of work to keep this challenge active and meaningful. I need to focus some planning time and then to commit to it.
