Category Archives: Games

Adventures I Had in 2025

January
  • Went to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia
  • Started training for tech team (“The Nest”) at Northbridge Church
  • Southport Beach / Lake Michigan
  • Escape Room 1 — Time Travel conquered!
  • Escape Room 2 — Jewel Heist conquered with seconds to spare!
  • Played Giant Chess (and won!)
  • Asbury University visit, Wilmore, Kentucky – recruiting fair & chapel
February
  • Love For L’Allemand trivia night
  • Moody Bible Institute recruiting fair
  • Celebrated granddaughter’s 6th birthday
  • Cirque de Soleil
  • Family visit to South Carolina
  • Swimming in Sister’s “domed” pool while 50ish outside
March
  • CCCA (Christian Camp & Conference Association) Wisconsin conference at Camp Forest Springs
  • Ocho Rios, Jamaica
  • Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
  • Cozumel, Mexico
  • Fisher-boy statue on my front porch
April
  • Participated in Lesley’s Poetry Challenge
  • RFK (Royal Family Kids Camp) Fundraiser
  • Reached level 10,000 in Royal Kingdom
  • Kenosha Lakefront & weird tide shifts
  • Started “Dinner with Strangers” – lots of new restaurants
May
  • Got my library card 🙂
  • Windpoint Lighthouse in Racine, Wisconsin
  • Picked up 5 different international staff at the airport
  • First day of Summer Staff orientation — My first summer at Wonderland officially begins!
  • Family came to visit
  • Southport Park – took the granddaughters to Lake Michigan for the first time – they learned to skip rocks
  • Escape Room in Waukesha
  • Visit from Aunt Betty
  • “Dinner with Strangers” – lots of new restaurants
June
  • Fisher-boy statue ends up in landscaping and I love it
  • Sister in town
  • Trip to Madison area for Marabeth’s graduation party
  • Illinois State Beach Park
  • My 54th birthday! Celebrated and loved on by staff. 🙂
  • Visit from Jennifer G from my Clinton days
  • New restaurant: Frank’s Diner – Kenosha, Wisconsin
July
  • Visit from Alicia, Troy, & family – celebrated July 4
  • Pet a pig on neighbor’s farm
  • Bobrowitz Spectacular Sculpture – Colgate, Wisconsin
  • Holy Hill
  • Ice Age Trail – Loew Lake Segment
August (which is when I actually started tracking the adventures, so the volume of things listed picks up now)
  • Worked Snack Shop for the first time
  • Visit from Aunt Betty + Jayleen & kids – got lost in the woods
  • Bought a guitar
  • Visit from Mom & Mom-day in Gurnee
  • 3 Generations Girls Day
  • Good seats for Wicked – Marcus Theatre, Milwaukee
  • Bought my Wisconsin State Parks pass
  • Visited Richard Bong Recreation Area State Park
  • Visit from Lee & Wendy
  • Summer Staff Game Night
  • New Game: Steam Up: A Feast of Dim Sum
  • Pokemon Day with camp staff & friends
September
  • New restaurant: Hanson’s Ice Cream – Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
  • New restaurant: Los Compadres – Burlington, Wisconsin – so far my favorite Mexican restaurant I’ve found in Wisconsin
  • Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin – Grumpy Troll Pub
  • Madison weekend with Katie
  • Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese (drool!)
  • Medieval Times
  • Boat-driving lesson
  • Kenosha Scavenger Hunt
  • Googly eyes on my golf cart
  • Helped make bacon-wrapped water chestnuts
  • Tried gochujang sauce for the first time
  • New restaurant: Archives bar & grill – Burlington, Wisconsin – book themed diner!
  • Lake Michigan road trip
  • V&S half-time band performance
  • Ate pasties from Gram’s Pasties, Escanaba, Michigan
  • Upper Peninsula / Mackinac Bridge
  • Wendi’s Sunset Lavender – Traverse City, Michigan
  • Rosy Dunes sand dunes, beach, and forest hike
October
  • New restaurant: Brew & Ole’s – Burlington, Wisconsin
  • CCCA Directors Advance – Camp Timber-lee
  • Babysat granddaughters for their parents 10th Anniversary weekend
  • Thompson Farm with the girls — all the fall fun
  • Raspberry Picking for the first time
  • Walked to dinner in Miami
  • Bahamas – Banana Beach & Half Moon Cay
  • 3 Card Poker tournament for the first time
  • Ridiculously delicious beet salad
November
  • New restaurant: Las Vegas Diner – Antioch, Illinois
  • “Salem Hills Thrills & Chills” Halloween show
  • Rock & Roll Bingo – Love For L’Allemand Fundraiser
  • Prep for Friendsgiving
  • FriendsgivingMas weekend
  • Personal Thanksgiving getaway
  • Trip to QC for friend’s engagement party
December
  • Visit from Rick D
  • Totchos and bacon-jam toast at 75th Street Inn
  • Scherrer Cares check presentation
  • Ate squid for the first time
  • National CCCA Conference in New Orleans
  • Shrimp & grits in the French Quarter
  • Beniegts (still recovering from the sugar high)
  • Riverboat dinner cruise
  • Tristan Crist Magic Show – Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
  • Road the float for Silver Lake Light Parade
  • Visit to Village of Salem Lakes planning board
  • Fun new suitcase with a starry sky design
  • South Carolina for Christmas
  • New Game: Dicetown
  • Tiny Tacos from Jack in the Box
  • Water aerobics with mom & sister
  • Christmas Eve service – CrossRoads Baptist Church
  • Upgraded to First Class for flight home on Christmas day
  • Worked Climbing Wall for the first time

Characters in the Murder Mystery Dinner Party I Recently “Revamped” by Adding New Characters

  • Bonny Lass~ A Scottish mystery writer and best-selling novelist who has attended the wine festival while vacationing & found herself in the home overnight when the body was discovered
  • Bud Wizer~ An FBI agent assigned to investigate Barry’s disappearance. Bud is a beer drinking man with no appetite for wine. He’s determined to put a cap on this unsolved mystery.
  • Originally Barry’s bodyguard, after his disappearance Brix stayed on to protect the estate and has become Ralph’s de facto bodyguard. His gruff mannerisms can be off-putting, and nobody is sure if he even likes the new owner
  • Champ Magnum~ A private investigator hired (by whom?) to figure out what happened to Barry. Gregarious and charming, he’s been hanging around for years, but he seems to be more interested in getting to the bottom of a wine bottle than the bottom of the mystery.
  • Charlotte Donay~ An “influencer” with a taste for the expensive, both in wine and in men. Char is a flirt but she might also be a genius. She claims to have invented a new type of corkscrew that is “sharper and twistier”, however it is supposedly tied up in litigation.
  • Hedy Shablee~ The owner of the neighboring vineyard and a fierce competitor of the Underwoods. Barry’s disappearance has uncorked a new vintage of troubles for unhappy Hedy.
  • Marilyn Merlot~ Marilyn was crowned Wine Princess at the festival 5 years ago, then went on to become a Hollywood movie star. She’s returned to Napa Valley for the Wine Festival and to gloat over her success.
  • Otto Von Schnapps~ A German wine merchant. Boisterous & fun-loving Otto attends festivals around the globe, buying the best vintages for distribution in Europe. It is said Ott’s preference for red or white can be influenced by green.
  • Papa Vito~ Brought over from Italy 60 years ago by Barry’s grandfather to develop Underwood Wine Estates, Papa Vito has devoted his life to the vineyards. Now he just wants to retire and drink a little vino in the afternoon.
  • Ralph Rottingrape~ Barry’s first cousin and heir-apparent to the Underwood Estates. Long considered the black sheep of the family, Ralph took over as manager after Barry’s disappearance and has been running things his way ever since.
  • Rose’ Bordeaux~ A wine columnist with a taste for gossip, Rose’s column often features more scandal than sommeliers. She’s chatty, always digging for the next scoop of dirt.
  • Tiny Bubbles~ Barry’s fiancée at the time of his death. Perky & pretty, Tiny has an effervescent personality & razor-sharp mind. She is now married to the new winery owner, Ralph.

Plans while my sister is in town

  • Game Night
  • Shopping x 2 (or more!)
  • Pool Time
  • Family visits
  • Eagle Point Park
  • George Curtis Mansion
  • Bike riding along the Clinton riverfront
  • Music on the Avenue
  • Website collab for her new business
  • Relaxation & Reading
  • Cheering on the Phoenix Suns in playoff games

Surprising Things I’ve Accomplished This Year (specifically given that it’s been a corona-year)

  • Checked two new states (North Carolina, Mississippi) off my list
  • Missions trip to Haiti
    • Three “airports” in one day
    • Landing & taking off on a dirt runway
    • Attending/walking in a Haitian funeral processional
    • Ate goat for the first time
  • Iguanas in the wild (in Miami… they chased me away from my lunch)
  • Finished unpacking all boxes from moving end of 2019
  • Started packing up to move again
  • Attended nephew’s high school graduation
  • Vacation to San Diego
    • Lodging at the fabulous beachfront Tower23
    • Riding bicycles to Mission Beach
  • Completed “Visual Communications” course through Sophia Learning
  • Put more than 10,000 miles on my car
  • Ran three trivia nights before the world shut down
  • Read 29 books
  • Successfully began intermittent fasting (lost 8 pounds and dropped my A1C from 6.1 to 5.4!)
  • Watched multiple full series on Hulu and Amazon Prime
  • Achieved level 40 and then level 41 on Pokemon Go
  • Applied for 66 jobs
  • Got hired for exciting new position with city of Clinton, Iowa!
Image may contain: outdoor