12/30/2008
This is likely the last update for 2008. It was a busy year and I thank God for our many blessings. My sister, her family, and my mom left warm and sunny Florida to spend 10 days with us in Illinois to celebrate Christmas. They experienced the backside of an ice storm, sub zero temps (several days of -20 with wind chill), and a couple of days in the mid forties with howling wind. When they arrived the ground was covered in snow and ice coated everything (especially our street) and when they left the snow and ice was completely gone. They got to experience the entire Illinois Winter in 10 days. Unfortunately the snow we had was covered in ice and didn't lend itself to building snowmen or sledding and with the sub zero temps, we were forced to stay in doors for several days. Thank God for the PS3 and Blockbuster video. With the ice storm, our satellite dish (which is on the roof) was covered in ice for three days, so no TV but our power stayed on so we were otherwise comfortable.
This past Saturday the temp jumped up to 50, it rained all day, and high winds (up to 100mph on the outskirts of town) knocked the power out. I ended up running out and buying a generator for peace of mind. Although I have two sump pumps (one with battery back up), I can't afford another insurance claim so I bit the bullet and dropped $800 on a 5500 Watt Portable Generator. Eventually I'll put in a transfer switch so I can power my furnace fan and a handful of circuits but for now, I can run the sump pump and a few appliances via extension cords. On a brighter note, today Kim and I refinanced our home. We had a great rate (30 year fixed @ 5.7%) but we were able to drop a point and shave many years off our mortgage (20 year fixed @ 4.7%). With making two payments per month we could have our home paid off in less than 15 years. Just in time for me to retire and head back to Florida!
The kids are on hiatus from sports and other activities so there's not much to report there. Kyle works at Toys R Us and as you can imagine he's been working a lot of hours during his Christmas break. Jacob and Jessica are having fun playing and spending time with family and friends. Aside from Kim's cold, we're all healthy and enjoying some quality time at home on the last slow week of the year.
11/30/2008
It's been a great Thanksgiving! Kim's sister, Julie and her husband Ryan flew in last Monday and spent the week with us. We enjoyed many movies, a bunch of gaming on the PS3, a hockey game on Thanksgiving night, and a ton of football on TV (Roll Tide / Go Gators!). Perhaps I'll elaborate more in the coming days but we had a great week and already miss them. The weather was very nice while they were here, it was in the 40's and Sunny. The night they left it started snowing and turned gloomy. My mom, sister, and sister's family will be coming up for Christmas and we're looking forward to it. Bring the sunshine with you please!
11/15/2008
It's been one weird week. To start it off, Monday night Kyle parked his car in front of a friends house and it was hit by a drunk driver. Not only was the dude very drunk, he was speeding and crashed into the back of the car without applying brakes. Kyle's car was smashed into the car parked in front of him and the force of the impacts squirted his car into the front yard of the house. To top it off the drunk didn't have insurance. I thought the car was totaled but State Farm decided to repair versus replace. The entire rear end and a good portion of the front will be replaced for nearly $15,000. So Kyle has a 2008 Honda Civic Ex that will be rebuilt. Yeah it sucks, especially since I have to pay the deductible...
Then Thursday night during the typical pre-winter high winds and miserable cold, my antenna and small dish (for local channels) were blown off the roof. My large HD dish didn't budge but I lost local channels OTA and via Satellite. However, DirecTV came out today while we were in Springfield and re-installed everything. I was able to watch the end of the Gators destroy the Cocks (sorry Spurrier)!
If that were not enough, today Kyle's BHS Raiders lost to Sacred Heart in the Quarterfinals for Division 6A Football. Kim, Jacob, and I made the trip to Springfield, IL and watched in the 37 degree, 15 mph winds. It was very cold and gloomy and Sacred Heart pretty much dominated on offense. Although our defense played very well, their offense was nearly unstoppable. Their QB stayed in the shotgun and they had more plays than most colleges. They ran, threw, and scrambled to a 32 - 12 victory. However, BHS has plenty to be happy about, they are the Big 12 Champs and had a fantastic season. Thank you Raiders (coaches, players, and Seniors)!
We're now watching the Tide attempting to loose to the Bulldogs (MSU). What the heck!!! We need Bama to remain #1 until we beat them! It's only halftime but I'm about ready to switch to the PS3 and play some COD World at War...
11/8/2008
Kyle's BHS Raiders won their second playoff game today against their inter city rivals NCHS Ironmen 27 - 10. It was a great game albeit very cold. It was in the 20's with the wind chill but it didn't keep Kyle from making several good hits. We're two games closer to the Division 6A State Championship. We'll be on the road next Saturday against Sacred Heart in Springfield, IL. Hopefully it will be warmer next week...
11/3/2008
Kyle's BHS Raiders won their first playoff game in their hunt for another Division 6A State Championship. They beat Mt. Vernon 27-13 on Saturday afternoon. The Raiders have home field advantage next week against their intercity rivals, Normal Community HS.
Jacob's season is over and he received his annual football trophy. If they recognized individual players, Jake surely would have received something for his great work as Running Back and Free Safety. Jacob continues Oboe lessons and starts the 2008-9 Chess Season through Washington School. Jessica will wrap up the Cougar Cheer season this coming Saturday at their banquet. I'm not sure when Volleyball season begins but she's signed up.
Kim continues to teach CCD at St. Mary's Church on Wednesday nights as well as countless other volunteer activities. I continue to kick butt and take names at the office and spend my weekends working landscaping with Kyle. We're getting all the rich folk's estates ready for Winter (ie. draining fountains, cutting back annuals, removing perennials, storing pots, etc...). All is well albeit very busy..
10/28/2008
This past Friday night was Kyle's last "Regular Season" varsity game. I drove down to Decatur, IL to watch his BHS Raiders finish their season 9 and 1 (in the cold and rain). They are the Big 12 (Division 6A) Conference Champs and begin the playoffs this Saturday for the State Championship. Kyle had a very productive year on the kick off team and as Free Safety. Kyle even played one game as a wide receiver. This past Saturday was Jacob's last game for the McLean County Cougars. His Cougars finished the season 5-2-1. Jacob had a fantastic year as a Free Safety and Running Back. Jake made countless touchdowns and tackles. Jessica is still an active Girl Scout and completed the 2008-9 Cheerleading Season for the Cougars. We'll be signing her up for Volleyball in the coming weeks. Kyle and Tori celebrated their 6-month anniversary on Saturday. We reluctantly let them go to Chicago for the day. Kyle took Tori shopping on Michigan Avenue, Dinner at Ed Debevic's, and a fun house on Navy Pier. Kim and I spent this past Saturday night at my friends annual Halloween Costume Party. We went as McCain and Palin and had a blast. All I care to reveal about that night is I will never, ever drink Yager bombs again! I'm not sure what happened on Sunday, I'm just glad it's over ;-))...
10/20/2008
What a busy week! My company (State Farm Insurance) sponsored Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach, FL and my buddy Doug and I rode our bikes down to participate in the event. We had a booth set up on Main Street at Chopper's World and a tractor-trailer at the International Speedway. In a nutshell we were raising awareness for our products and services to fellow bikers. We gave away official Biketoberfest t-shirts, bandanna's, and registered folks in a free drawing for a Custom Harley Davidson 883 Sportster, a Leather Jacket, and a $100 Gift Card.
As for the ride, we had a blast. We departed Bloomington, IL on 10/14 at 7 AM and rode for approximately 13 hours straight following mostly two lane roads and highways. We intentionally headed towards the Smoky Mountains and by 7 PM made it to Knoxville, TN and decided to press on. By the time we hit US 129 it was dark, so we ran the Tail of The Dragon in the dark and after already spending way too much time in the saddle. By the time we hit Deal's Gap, we were fried. Unfortunately it was pushing 9 PM, the Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort was closed, and there was no cellular coverage for Verizon or AT&T. However, just before we started to sleep on the ground next to our bikes, we found a phone on the wall with and Emergency Number listed. We called and within 15 minutes a guy showed up to give us a key to a room. OUTSTANDING!!! We covered 1200 miles in two days and approximately 24 hours of solid motorcycle riding. On the way home, we went a different route but rode mostly 2 lane highway's up to Macon, then Interstate through Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Nashville. We spent the night in a hotel just North of Nashville then finished the ride on day two through Kentucky, Indiana (albeit very brief), and Illinois. In two days we covered 1039 miles and about 20 hours of solid riding. Yeah our butts are SORE! In all we rode approximately 2,389 miles in 7 days. I didn't have the camera with me this trip but I did take a few images with the iPhone.
While I was riding cross country, I missed a couple football games and homecoming. I was there in spirit and here are a couple galleries of the festivities:
(The next few are under construction, I've been riding all day and need some sleep) Kyle's Football Jacob's Football Jessica's Cheer
9/27/2008
Kyle's BHS Raiders won against Mattoon on Friday night 55 to 27. Kyle sprained his ankle in practice and the trainers made him sit the game out. Too bad because he would have had fun against Mattoon. Jacob's Cougars tied Peoria Mantle on Saturday 0-0. PM was the toughest team we faced this season and it was a defensive battle. Jessica did a great job cheering for the Cougars. After the game we ran home, showered, changed and headed to Stanford, IL for my buddy Dan's wedding: http://weddinginseptember.com/ We all had a great time and Congrats to Dan and Elena!!!
9/25/2008
Nearly another week has passed and things are definitely getting back to normal. Last Saturday we watched Jacob score another touch down against Pekin. He's a tough running back and has scored at least one touchdown the last three games. Jake's Cougars won their third game in a row with a 26 - 0 victory against Pekin. On Sunday, Kyle and I ran down to Champaign, IL and picked up a new sump pump. This time I opted for a Wayne WSS20 Sump Pump which features a 1/3 HP primary sump pump with electronic switch and a battery back up, high flow sump pump with float switch in one apparatus. I added a heavy duty marine battery to run the back-up pump. On Monday, I ran over to Menards and replaced my Simer sump pump under the lifetime warranty. So I also have a 3/4 HP sump pump pre-plumbed and ready to drop in the hole should the first two fail. I think we're covered with regards to the sump pit... We're still working through the claim process but the carpet is down and the furniture is on order. Thankfully State Farm has been very helpful but I would have preferred this not happen at all ;-))...
9/19/2008
Not sure where to start but this week can't end soon enough. This past Sunday we left for church at 8:30 AM. It had been raining for three days straight however I wasn't worried because I replaced our sump pump with a high end Simer 3988 3/4 HP sump pump less than a year ago. After church we had donuts and coffee in the parish hall followed by family portraits in Normal. We arrived home around 11:30 AM and found at least an inch of water in our basement. I went down and shook the drain pipe and the sump pump started up again and quickly started to drain the water. I have no idea what went wrong but I'm pretty pissed off about it. As luck would have it I added a sump rider to my homeowners policy a few months ago so we're covered. Kim, Kyle, and I spent the next 9 to 10 hours cleaning up the mess. Thankfully Kim had most of our "stuff" either in plastic storage bins or on shelves and off the floor. The other half the basement was covered in carpet which Kyle and I had to remove. We must have moved furniture in the basement four times. By the 11 PM Sunday night the basement was dry and everything cleaned up. By Tuesday morning I had guys here putting down new pad and carpet. Once again Kyle and I had to move furniture back in place.
If dealing with the flooded basement wasn't enough, I received a call on Monday around 10 AM reminding me I was supposed to report for Jury Duty 2 hours earlier. However, they understood my situation and allowed me to report at 1 PM. I ended up getting selected for the jury of a reckless driving / DUI case. So I spent the evenings working on the basement and two days in court... Jury Duty is very unusual here. Even if you're selected for a jury and complete a case, you still have to call in every day and possibly serve on additional cases. I was able to return to work on Wednesday but had to report back to Court on Thursday. After being released from Jury Duty, I came down with a cold. So here I sit on a Friday night feeling like crap. I had to miss Kyle's (away) football game in Champaign, IL. I didn't feel well enough to attend so I stayed home with the kids and Kim went down with some neighbors. I hear they won 24 to 7. Congrats Kyle and the BHS Raiders! Kyle's team is now 2 & 1 and Jacob's team is 2 & 0. We head to Pekin, IL for Jake's game tomorrow...
9/6/2008
It was a great weekend for football in the Nolan household. Kyle's varsity team, the BHS Raiders beat their rivals, the NCHS Iron Men on ISU's field Friday night at the Bloomington / Normal Intercity Tournament. It was a defensive battle but very exciting and we WON!!! Kyle's team is now 1-1 and we hope to see him in the game next week... Jacob's McLean County Cougars played their first game of the season this afternoon in Morton, IL. They beat Morton 27 - 6. Jacob had at least 75 yards rushing and one touchdown on Offense and on Defense Jacob made several critical tackles that prevented touchdowns for Morton. Jacob had a GREAT GAME!!! We're watching the Gator's at the moment and although we're ahead, I sure hoped for a blow out against the Hurricanes... Come on Gators GET UP AND GO!!!
8/25/2008
Click this link for the ICBMC Lake of the Ozarks Photo Gallery
The ride down was approximately 380 miles with some light
rain and high humidity. Dave drove his truck down separately with his
bike and a lot of the guys luggage aboard. Aaron, Mike, Brian, and I met
on the Westside of Bloomington around 8AM and raced down to Delavan, IL to pick
up
On Saturday Dave plotted a 229 mile ride through some of the most challenging roads in the Midwest. We're talking twisties, elevation changes, and blind curves at a very high rates of speed. My sphincter just tightened up thinking about it. I'm pretty sure everyone's butt was sore by the end of this ride and to top it off, Dave pushed his bike so hard, he blew the engine. We started around 9AM, had lunch at Sonic (another tradition), and finished riding around 3 PM. Then back to the lake for some floating and drinking. We had grilled chicken and sides for supper.
On Sunday Dave made a huge breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, hash browns, etc.). After stuffing ourselves, we rode over to the Lake of the Ozarks Harley Davidson Dealership to pick up a rental bike for Dave. Dave got a great rate on a 2009 Fat Bob and then led us on a 338 mile ride that was more challenging than the day before. Without going into a lot of details, the rental bike had a hands free security key fob which had to be in close proximity of the bike to start it. Some time in the middle of the ride it fell off Dave's bike, leaving him and UJ stranded on the side of the road while the rest of us back tracked to find it. Long story short, we found the fob and meanwhile Dave and UJ got the bike started. We rode some more, then headed back to the lake to float and drink. Aaron, UJ, Brian, and Dave took the boat out to tube, while Mike and I floated by the dock guarding the cooler ;-). We had steak and sides for dinner!
On Monday morning
we cleaned house, returned the rental bike, loaded up and headed out. Prior to leaving the Ozarks,
Uncle John presented each of us with a personalized Guardian Bell.
I've wanted one for some time but you can't buy one for yourself, it has to be
given to you for it to bring good luck. I very much appreciate the gift
UJ! Thank you very much! Our next stop was the Central
Dairy in Jefferson City, MO for some good ice cream (they don't call us the
Ice Cream Bikers Motorcycle Club for nothing!). Aaron led us home and although my GPS said we rode 392 miles,
it sure seemed shorter coming home than going down. We stopped off for a
late lunch at O'Griff's Irish Pub in Quincy, IL. I made it home
around 6 PM.. Next year we're going to drag Leather Boy and
8/17/2008
Keep checking back, Kim will be coming home tomorrow night from her annual Mom's Gone Wild vacation in Florida. This year only Becki, Traci, and Kim made the trip, Cricket and Deana couldn't get away. I'm sure they were sorely missed. I'll get the pics and the scoop posted soon. While the women were enjoying their much deserved vacation on the beach, I took Jake and Jess camping. Kyle started three a days for BHS last week and was too busy to join us. Jacob, Jessica, and I drove down to Kickapoo State Park. Kim took the digital with her, so I bought a disposable water proof camera and thanks to Walgreens 1-hour developing our gallery can be found here: Kickapoo State Park 2008
Day 1 we arrived around 1 PM on Friday, set up camp, bought firewood, bait, and supplies, then settled in on the dock to fish. Jessica was the angler of the day. Not only was she baiting her own hooks, she also caught the only fish that day. Her first catch was a pan sized Bluegill and later in the evening she caught two catfish. Jake did a great job baiting hooks and tried very hard but I think our hooks were too big for the Bluegills. For dinner, we cooked brats over a camp fire, followed by smores for desert.
Day 2 started early, I woke the kids up at 7 AM and took them to Kickapoo Landing for breakfast. We had to check in at the dock by 8:45 AM to depart for our canoe trip. The kind folks at Kickapoo Landing drove us out to a launch site on the Salt Fork River and dropped us off. The kids and I spent the next four hours leisurely paddling 8 miles down the river. The river was very low in spots but we only had to get out and drag the canoe once.. They came out and picked us up at 1 PM and brought us back to the State Park. We ate a late lunch, picked up more supplies, then headed back to camp to fish some more. This time, I caught four Bluegills, Jacob caught four Bluegills, and Jessica caught one more Bluegill (the smaller hooks did the trick). Later we headed back to the Landing for a catfish dinner, then back to camp to fish after night fall. The moon was full both nights and you could literally see the very large channel catfish swimming down the river. We tried for a couple hours but never caught one. We then headed to the shower house and took a much needed shower. With such a full day of fun in the sun and being so clean, we headed back to the tent and probably had the best night sleep in recent memory. It got down to the 50's overnight but we were snug as bugs in a rug in our tent and sleeping bags.
Day 3 started around 8 AM, Jessica and I woke up before Jake and decided to take a walk around the camp sites. We visited the primitive sites and the electric sites, then back to the shower house so I could take a much needed AM BM in a flushable toilet. Although the outhouses were very clean, I'd rather go in the woods if you know what I mean... We came back, started a fire and Jake and Jess played while I broke down the tent and packed up everything. We extinguished the fire and were on the road by 10 AM. After a stop at the McDonalds for breakfast we arrived home by noon. I spent the next five hours doing laundry, cleaning gear, and putting everything up. As I type this both kids are clean, fed, and sacked out in the living room with the Olympics playing on the big screen. It was a great weekend!
8/6/2008
Jacob and I spent this past weekend at Camp Ingersoll Boy Scout Camp for the annual "Webelo Weekend Camp". Jacob is a second year Webelo with Pack 33 and will likely cross over to Boy Scouts at the end of this coming school year. Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera, so I don't have any pictures but the camp was very beautiful. It covered hundreds of acres with rolling hills, trails, and lake. We arrived on Friday around 5 PM and immediately pitched our tent, unloaded our gear, and inflated the queen size air mattress. It was only 87 degrees but about 100% humidity making it feel very hot! We then headed to the pool for our BSA Swim Test. In order to use the lake, kayaks, canoes, or pool you have to receive an wrist band for passing the swim test. Jake and I both passed the test even though we had just finished eating a big dinner at McDonalds on the ride out...
The Boy Scouts ran the camp, led all the activities, and entertained the boys. I think they all did a fantastic job and definitely made the camp a memorable experience. We had a very good time. Jacob earned the following merit badges and belt loops: Outdoorsman, Readyman, Aquanaut, BB Gun Shooting, Archery, and Fishing. Our days began at 8AM and ended at 10PM and was full of activities (merit badge classes, hiking, canoeing, and fishing). Unfortunately, sometime around 4 AM on Sunday a bad thunderstorm rolled through camp. A lot of lightning, thunder, and rain but our tent kept us safe and dry. In fact, Jacob and I slept through most of it. We woke up late (around 9AM) tore down camp and headed to Cracker Barrel in Morton, IL. There were more activities planned on Sunday through noon but due to the rain / weather, we decided to cut and run. The weather was clear when we arrived back home, so we spent the rest of Sunday cleaning and drying out our gear. We had such a good time, I plan to take Jacob and Jessica camping and canoeing in a couple of weeks...
7/18/2008
First off, Happy Belated Birthday Dad! My dad turned 60 on 7/16. It's been a month of milestones, I turned 40, my son Jake turned 10, my dad turned 60, my brother turned 18, and Kim and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. What a great month! Last month my daughter turned 8 so it was special too!!
I just got home from my business trip to Memphis. Now that air travel is such a pain in the rear and being Memphis is only 500 miles from Bloomington, I opted to ride my Beemer down. It wasn't that bad going down on 7/16 but the ride home today was literally a pain in the rear. I took four Advil, drank about a 1/2 gallon of Gatorade, and considering filling the tub with ice to sit on / in. It was very hot, a lot of traffic, and my butt, wrists, legs, knees, etc, etc, etc, are very sore.
The trip was for business but I had a really good time in Memphis. I stayed at The Peabody Memphis and after the long ride I couldn't make it past the Lobby Bar. After many beers with the ducks and finally getting to my room and cleaned up, I went to the world famous Charlie Vergas' Rendezvous for dinner. It was in a basement, in an alley across the street from The Peabody. I had the 1/2 rack of ribs and 1/2 lb pork shoulder. It was fantastic!!! I then walked down to Beale Street and checked out the sites and sounds. Later I purchased an autographed copy of D'Army Bailey's book, "Mine Eyes Have Seen". It featured many pictures and chronicled the events that led up to Dr. King coming to Memphis, the famous "Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory..." speech, and his death. D'Army Bailey is a Judge in Memphis and one of the founders of The National Civil Right's Museum.
The next day I spent in meetings from 7 AM until 6 PM at the Peabody. Later the host took us back to Beale Street for dinner at BB Kings Blues Club. In addition to numerous Maker's and Coke, I had the Gumbo YaYa (Smoked chicken, andouille sausage, crawfish, peppers, onions, diced tomatoes, & dark roux with white rice) as an appetizer followed by the "Carolina BBQ Salmon (Grilled Salmon filet over low country rock shrimp & andouille sausage, cream corn and topped with crispy fried tobacco onions), and for desert I had Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Chocolate Syrup. I'm in dire need of the gym after the past three days!
This morning, I woke up, checked out, and headed over to Performance Plus Motorcycles to get new tires on the Beemer. Since the Metzler Z6's only lasted 7,000 miles, I figured I could try something new. Marvin sold me the newest tires from Michelin, the Street Pilot 2 tires. I did some research prior to coming down and the tires look very promising. I just spent the last 500 miles on them but it's hard to say how they handle. I spent the last 7 hours on the Interstate and will need some twisty back roads to really test them out... The German magazine Motorrad ranked them the best of all Sport Touring tires (wet/dry traction and longevity)... I'm headed to the Ozarks next month and if I remember, I'll give you an update on their performance after some real technical driving.
7/14/2008
On 7/1/2008, Kim and I celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary. We started dating in High School and have been a couple for 22 years. On 7/11, I turned 40 years old. To celebrate both milestones we rented the Cottage on Lake Galena and Kim and I spent three days and two nights enjoying the sites and flavors of Galena, IL. For my birthday Kim suggested we take my motorcycle and it turned out to be the perfect vehicle for sightseeing and finding the best parking on Main Street. The roads between Dubuque, IA and Galena, IL are awesome on two wheels. Even the ride through the neighborhood of our cottage was very fun (lots of twisties and elevation changes). We left home at 5:15 AM on 7/11 and arrived at Gina's BMW in Iowa City at 8:30 AM. We had to go through Iowa City, IA which was more than 100 miles out of the way to get my bike serviced at Gina's BMW. I have several more rides planned this year and since Iowa City was within 2 hours of Galena, Kim allowed me to make the detour. 4 hours later we were back on the road. It took another 2 hours to get to Galena but we were on Main Street at the Desoto House for a late lunch by 2:30 PM. We were at our cottage shortly after 3 PM. Check out our photo gallery of our weekend getaway.
Kim and I enjoyed Galena so much we intend to make this an annual retreat. We HIGHLY recommend the following:
·
The Cottage
at Lake Galena from the folks at Scenic Hideaways. The property was
very clean, very well decorated, and much larger than it appears in the
pictures. It was an absolutely gorgeous property, very secluded, romantic
with a great view of the lake and sunsets. The home is in the Galena
Territories Neighborhood and within a few hundred yards of the Eagle Ridge Golf
Resort and Spa. The cottage comes with several Galena Territory
Association Home Owner passes which gets you significant discounts on boat
rentals at the harbor and other GTA amenities'. If you rent it, they
already have 7 wine openers so don't buy one in Galena. The home has a
washer and dryer so you can do laundry if need be. The folks at
· Galena Canning Company is well worth a visit and had we not been on a motorcycle we would have purchased unknown quantities of hot sauces, mustards, marinades, sauces, etc. There are samples of nearly every product available for taste testing and they're fantastic. Kim's favorite product was the Pumpkin Butter and I loved the Raspberry Habanero Honey Mustard (sweet and hot) but there were many others. Chef Ivo has daily lunch specials (i.e. sandwich, nacho's and salsa of choice for $5).
· Galena Cellars Winery - we never made it out to the vineyard but we did go to their Main Street tasting room. For $3 you can taste up to 6 wines. After identifying several good wines we ended up only buying one bottle of their Country Red. It was a red table wine with added grape juice. Very sweet. The night before we mistakenly went into the wrong store (Galena River Wine and Cheese - which is a very good store but they didn't offer local wines) and we picked up two great California wines. Later I ran out to the Eagle Ridge General Store and bought two more bottles of California wine. Unfortunately we were only in the mood for one bottle by the time we found the Galena Winery. BTW, the General Store has a sandwich shop, groceries, fuel, and many other necessities, so if you visit and forgot something (or on a motorcycle without room to pack coffee, creamer, food, beer, and wine), chances are they have it...
· The Atomic Toy Company - we had a great time in this store. The owner is a riot and makes shopping very fun. They had so many games and trinkets from when we were kids we probably spent an hour in this store. We bought the kids a few gifts and I picked up a Buddy Christ statue for my desk at work. It was well worth the visit.
· Galena Trolley Tours - we took the one hour tour of historic Galena. The driver was a retired High School Teacher and a fantastic tour guide. Don't skip out on the tour, it was worth every penny! We ended up going back to visit some of the sites on our motorcycle.
· Vinny Vanucchi's Italian Restaurant - although we had great meals / snacks at many establishments in Galena (Green Street Tavern, Galena Cafe, etc.) we very much enjoyed dinner at Vinny Vanucchi's. The service was great, the food was great, and the Chianti was perfect. I had the Tortellini Carbonara and Kim had the baked Manicotti, excellent...
· The Galena Convention & Visitors Bureau website was very helpful in planning our weekend. Check it out and plan your trip today...
Kim was a real champ and actually enjoyed the bike ride. Her only complaint was the wind on the Interstate but the bike was comfortable and my driving was confidence inspiring (I added that part ;-).. In total we rode approximately 570 miles over the three day weekend. Keep checking back because I have motorcycle trips planned to Memphis, TN, Lake of the Ozarks, and Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach...
6/20/2008
We're back from our annual two week family vacation in Florida. Kyle brought his friend Brian along and we had a great time visiting family. The first week we stayed at my Mom's on Ormond Beach frolicking in the ocean and riding in the boat. We spent a couple days in Orlando at Sea World and Aquatica Water Park and both were a BLAST!! Kyle and I rode the Kraken Roller Coaster several times in the front and back seats. The lines were non existent and we were able to get off and back on with minimal to no wait. The entire family rode "Journey to Atlantis" and the picture says it all!. I don't remember the names of all the slides at the water park but they were a lot of fun. We celebrated Father's Day with my dad and father-in-law. One night we went to my dad's favorite wing place, the next night we went to Harry's Seafood Bar & Grill which is a favorite of mine and my father-in-law. We stayed at my father-in-law's house in Jacksonville the second week and spent some time shopping and visiting with Bill and Aunt Charlene. We also spent some time with Julie and Ryan swimming at their family pool. Our last stop was my sister's house in Glen Saint Mary. The kids got to spend some quality time with their cousins riding 4-wheelers, dirt bikes, and swimming. Kim and I tag teamed the drive home. We left Sarah's house at 6 PM EDT and arrived at our door in Bloomington, IL at 7 AM CDT. I created a gallery of all the pictures Kim took and posted them here: Summer Vacation 2008
5/21/2008
Kyle just completed the 2008 Track Season and is taking Finals this week. Kyle works with me on the weekends doing landscaping for the Bloomington/Normal rich and not so famous. When he's not working, in school, or at a track meet he spends all his time with his girlfriend Victoria. Tori is in Kyle's Honors Lit class, is a BHS Cheerleader and involved in Competition Cheer as well. We like Tori very much. Jacob had his fourth baseball game last night and is doing fantastic. Jake is a natural... I believe Jake's team record is 3 and 1 but who's counting... Jessica finished Ice Skating and is still an active Girl Scout and participates in "Fit for Fun" at our family gym. Jessica will start gymnastics this Summer. Jessica also received her First Holy Communion a couple weeks ago. Fortunately my mom came up for the event and spent a week with us before heading out Route 66 with her friend in KC. My mom and her friend Laurel spent the past two weeks driving down Route 66 to New Mexico and back. I'll have to create an album of all the pics she sent. It looks like they had a great time! Kim is doing great, she's been busy with teaching CCD (which broke for Summer a week ago) and helping with Jake and Jessica's end of the year class parties and field trips. I've been doing fine, works been very busy at the office and on the weekend landscaping. I hit the gym three days a week and still ride one night a week with my Ice Cream Bikers Motorcycle Club (yea, we're hard core;-). I have a couple motorcycle trips planned this Summer (one with the boys & one with Kim for our 20th) and a long family vacation in FLA. I can hardly wait! Keep checking back and check out the new photo's in the gallery on 5nolans.com
4/16/2008
Well, its been a long Winter and it still doesn't feel like Spring yet. Kyle turned 16 at the end of March and is driving now. He's currently running track for BHS. Jacob started track as well for Washington and will start Pony Baseball this week. Jessica is still in Figure Skating and other fitness activities at our family gym. Kim and I are dong fine. We just put up a new trampoline for the kids and have the landscaping ready for Spring / Summer. We have a lot planned for the coming months so keep checking back...
2/4/2008
Today is a very sad day for the Nolan family. Our little buddy Rusty whose been a loyal member of our family for 12 years succumbed to kennel cough and a congenital heart defect. Rusty contracted kennel cough while being groomed at PETCO. His heart defect prevented him from healing and after three weeks of suffering, we had him put to sleep tonight. We tried many different treatments and he just kept getting worse. We love you and will miss you, you were a great dog.
1/12/2008
Happy belated New Years! I hope everyone is healthy and enjoying the new year. We all braved the snow storm and headed to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate New Years Eve with the Monson's. Then made it home in time to fall asleep on the couch before the ball dropped. We spend our Saturday Morning's at Eastview watching Jessica's basketball games. Jessica has had only two games thus far and has improved each week. Jessica is still in Figure Skating and Girl Scouts. BTW, if you need some cookies, give us call because its that time of year and we'll ship them to you... Kyle and the rest of the BHS Football team are in weight training four days a week and he's awaiting track season. Jacob is considering getting back into basketball and currently getting ready for the Pinewood Derby for Scouts. Kim is still teaching CCD classes at St. Mary's and active in Women's Bible Study at Eastview. She continues to watch kids before and after school and busy with numerous other activities. I recently moved back to the Wireless Networks team on the Wireless LAN vertical and was named the Strategy Lead for the Wireless Networks & Cable Design team. So now I split time 50/50 between architecture and enablement. I really missed the hands-on technical work.
Speaking of hands-on technical work, our home router (D-Link DI-808HV) died last week after three years of heavy albeit highly reliable 24x7 use. I typically get between 2 to 3 years use out of the SO/HO routers before they die unexpectedly. I have a lot of machines on my home network, run VoIP, and host 5nolans.com , so I definitely get my money out of them. We're on our fourth router now and I'm so impressed with it, I had to share more info here but first I want to caution everyone about the D-Link DIR-130. I'm very satisfied with D-Link (the company and their products), however I had high hopes for D-Link's latest VPN router, the DIR-130. I ordered it direct from D-Link Shop.com (where I buy all my home network gear) and received it this past Wednesday. Out of the box, the DIR-130 was defective. I'm not certain if it was defective hardware or firmware but from what I've found on-line, there appears to be firmware issues with this new device. I was also disappointed to find QoS missing from the product. I would recommend you hold off buying this unit until D-Link posts a firmware upgrade greater than version 1.10.
Due to the problems with the DIR-130, I was able to negotiate the overnight delivery of new hardware with the very flexible "management" folks at D-Link Shop. This time I opted for the D-Link DGL-4100 and D-Link DGS-2208 and I'm VERY PLEASED with both products. We move large files (music, video, and images) between laptops, desktops, and network attached storage. We also stream media from PC's to our home entertainment center and we're absolutely addicted to playing the PS3 on-line (COD4, COD3, RFOM, MOH:Airborne, & Warhawk, etc.). Not that we had issues before but everything runs much smoother and faster now. The delays with connecting to the Playstation Network are all but gone and the lag while playing on-line is gone too. Streaming media is very fast and responsive as well. I should point out that I used to connect the PS3 via 802.11g and now connect it via full duplex 802.3ab (1Gbps). Otherwise all my other wired NICs are 802.3u (100mbps) but with the QoS mechanisms and the 16Gbps non-blocking switch architecture of the new hardware, everything appears faster. I HIGHLY recommend both products!
I still haven't found a dual band 802.11n Access Point that meets my requirements. I'm looking for a stand alone 802.11n AP that uses 40MHz channels on the 5 GHz band and simultaneously runs 802.11g on the 2.4 GHz band. I also want it to use 802.3ab for the backhaul (yeah, the Cisco 1250 fits the bill but way too expensive for the home market)... The only SO/HO device I've found that comes close is the Linksys WRT600N but it's a combo device (router/switch too) and I want a stand-alone AP... Maybe in a year or so one will come out...