While I was writing our recap of the Peruvian Adventure, I realized that I had not written anything about what we did in 2015. As we were still getting used to living in the Madison area and I was accumulating enough vacation days to actually go anywhere, we did not plan a large trip.
We started off experiencing our first winter in Madison. While we have lived in Wisconsin for quite a while, our time was predominately spent in the Milwaukee. It might surprise to realize that Milwaukee and Madison have slightly different climates. With Lake Michigan, Milwaukee remains more temperate, not getting quite as cold or as hot as Madison. That being sad, the active culture we found in Milwaukee only seemed to be intensified in Madison, even in the winter. People are hitting one of the handful of ski hills in the area, cross country skiing in the various parks and golf courses, and ice skating, fishing, playing hockey on the frozen lakes and ponds. We decided to try cross country skiing for the first time, and we had a blast! The only thing we would have hoped for was a little more snow to be able to try again.
One of the perks of my work travel is the ability to tack on extra time in the location I'm in or add-on a small trip using where I am as a launchpad, paying the difference in my personal travel and business travel costs. In June, I was able to visit our little niece Hattie in Sacramento. We had a blast playing over a couple days. She is growing so big and magically becoming a little person. The only thing that would have made that trip better was if Kari would have been able to join.
In August, we joined Kari's family for a week on the beach in Topsail Island. This was my first time joining Kari's family for a vacation, and we had a blast! We swam, ran on the beach, went kayaking in the ocean, and a lot of time reading. The relaxation was needed during the midst of a pretty intense few weeks of work travel.
Our Fall was a whirlwind of activity with Kari cheering on the athletes competing in Ironman Wisconsin, loads of cyclocross racing, catching a play at the American Players Theatre, and Kari's 10-year high school reunion. We also decided to have Kari join me in Seattle for a weekend getaway. While she was there, we went to the EMP Museum, the Seattle Aquarium, the Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and much more. It was an absolute blast sharing this with her!
Earlier in the year, I convinced my family to celebrate Christmas in a small cabin in Lake Tahoe. The idea was to see what Christmas was like in the mountains and be close to Chelsea, Rob, and Hattie so that we could have a large family Christmas. Other than a slight medical issue for my mom, it worked pretty well. We got to play with Hattie in the snow, and I got to go downhill skiing for the first time. I figured the best place to ski for the first time was Squaw Valley. What better place to try than the host site of the 1960 Winter Olympics?! Kari was a little terrified of being my teacher, since Rob backed out of that role last minute. Oh well. She did a great job! We managed to make it down several greens and even a blue with her tutelage.
What a year! Even though we did not go anywhere super exotic, we had a pretty incredible year. It seems that they just get better and better!
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