Painless Painting Fun

I saw that Menasha library was doing a paint night in conjunction with Rooster Dreams. It was free. Rooster Dreams does paint parties and makes it really easy to create a masterpiece with stencils, step by step instructions, and even pointers. I felt I could totally handle this kind of painting and it probably be better than my Bob Ross Painting.

When I got to the library, I was pleasantly surprised to see that we literally had to paint a pre-drawn canvas. At each station was a drawing of flowers and a palate of colors. Kristine gave us a few pointers such as what side of the canvas to make sure your paint and water were and basically told us to have fun.

It was refreshing to actually be able to paint a picture without worrying about how it's going to turn out since Kristine took out 80% of my problem... creating the image. I just had to paint. I could mix colors and blend colors to my heart's content since the image was already there. I really only had one regret on the first flower. I didn't like the colors I chose thus not really liking the way it turned out. I reminded me too much of a taco

When we were done, Kristine sent us home with instructions to outline the flowers with black Sharpie to make them pop. And pop they did.

I have to say this probably the best painting I've done since my middle school Coca-Cola can. I would do this again either at the library or at Rooster Dreams again. I can totally handle painting between the lines.

119. Go to Hermann, MO

When we had to replan our route back home, I told the hubby I wanted to stop in Hermann, MO on the way home from Jefferson City. He agreed... mainly because he liked the name.

Hermann is a small town about an hour from Jefferson City or 90 minutes from St. Louis along the Missouri River. It was settled by Germans which is probably why it was on the bucket list to begin with. It is also in the heart of Missouri wine country.

When we got to Hermann it was pouring rain and it was too early to do anything. Besides based on the forecast, we wanted to get back to Wisconsin before the weather turned nasty. I'm surprised we even detoured to Hermann.

Even though we didn't actually get out of the car, we did a mini self-driving tour of the downtown area. The Deutschheim State Historic Site would have been our first stop if the weather was going to cooperate. It provides a view into German-American history and how the Germans settled this area. There are buildings from the 1840s and 1850s, you could stroll through.

Another interesting building I would have loved to visit was the Hermann Fire Company Museum. It is currently part museum and part visitor center. We would have had to contact the fire chief to actually view the museum but peeking in the large windows would have been fine by me.

On top of the hill as we headed out of town was the Gasconade County Courthouse. It sat majestically on top of the hill overlooking the town.

I'd love to come back when we actually have time, explore the buildings, hit a few wineries, and a slept in a tree house. It's a quaint little town that if you are ever in the area, I would suggest checking it out. Hopefully you'll be able to explore some of the historical sites.

3399. Go to the Petroglyph National Monument

When I planned our trip home from spring training, I had us stopping at four National Parks. However when we started having car problems and decided a trip home through southern Colorado wasn't the best idea, we could only stop at one. I really wanted to see the Petroglyph National Monument near Alburqueque as petroglyphs fascinated me.

Petroglyph National Monument is actually spread across four different parks within 20 miles of the Visitor Center. The only thing at the visitor center is information, a few interesting displays, and a chance to stamp your National Park Passport. They also have maps on how to get to the other sites.

We opted for Boca Negra Canyon. It is the closest to the visitor center and offered several short trails to see petroglyphs. The hubby was a bit concerned when we drove into the park and saw the first trail. I advised him to keep driving. We parked in a small parking lot and headed to the trails.

As soon as we got out the car, we saw petroglyphs. We opted for one trail and wandered for a bit. It was very windy so climbing higher was not really an option. The hubby was freaking out every time I wanted to go higher. There were stairs and marked paths for me to climb so I could get picture. You can tell he's not a hiker.

Even though we probably spent 15-20 minutes at Boca Canyon and saw quite a few petroglpyphs. You could spend an hour exploring all the paths and seeing up to 100 petroglyphs. Other sites have more strenuous trails that take longer but you also get to see more petroglphs.

Yes, I would have loved to spend more time climbing and exploring but between a tight time table and the wind it was just not possible. Maybe one day. However, if you're in the area, I would check out Petroglyph National Monument and see the ancient drawings on the rocks.

1203. Stand on the Corner in Winslow, AZ

I am not an Eagles fan. I am also not a big music listener in general. However, that didn't mean I didn't want to stand on the corner in Winslow, Arizona. When the hubby said he didn't want to see the crater because it cost too much, I said I wanted to stop in Winslow to stand on the corner. He just rolled his eyes.

I'm pretty "Takin' It Easy" put Winslow on the map and they have profited from it. On the corner is a sign, a red pick up truck, and a mural all with nods to Takin' It Easy. There's also a park bunch across the street where you can sit and relax. A guy was singing along with Takin' It Easy that was playing from somewhere.

It's about 10 minutes off the highway. Sipp Shoppe, an old school soda fountain with a modern breakfast menu, is on the corner across the street to take care of you thirst needs. We both had a phosphate soda. There's also malts, cream sodas, and ice cream sodas along with crepes and breakfast sandwiches.

It was once a bank so you can still see the old vault.

Even if you are not a Eagles Fan (or even a music listener), this is one of those things you just gotta do. The hubby even got into it and wanted his picture taken standing on the corner.

2019 Baseball Stadium Tour -- Camelback Ranch

Our final stadium we visited this spring training was Camelback Ranch in Phoenix. It is the home of the Dodger and White Sox Spring Training. It seems the White Sox mainly play day games out there and most of the Dodger games are night games.

Camelback Ranch is easy to go to. It's almost in Glendale. Parking is free and it offers free WiFi and actually tells you how to get into it. The other parks may offer free WiFi but none provided the magical password to get in.

Camelback Ranch is really geared towards the Dodgers. It looks like Dodger Stadium with it's yellow seats. Along the left field fence is all the retired Dodger numbers. Along the right field fence is all the retired Sox Numbers. It's a great park to walk around in.

Since Camelback Ranch is the home of the Dodgers, there are of course Dodger Dogs. Of course we had to have our first Dodger Dog. Honestly, it's not all that impressive. It like any other hot dog except it's a foot long. There isn't much seating outside of the actual seating bowl to enjoy your food.

Our seats were down in autograph ally, down in the left field corner. They were smart when they built Camelback ranch. They left standing room in the first two rows to accommodate all the autograph hounds. The usher was very nice and told us to let him know if the autograph hounds were in our way. Honestly, there were not until the teenie bopper girls showed up trying to get autographs during the game. They were rude and pushy. The families beforehand were great. The one family from Montana thanked us for letting try to get autographs.

I can tell you the Indians and the Dodgers played. There was pitching and hitting. Some runs were scored. That's about it. After awhile they all start blending together.

Both teams had to walk by us to go to the clubhouses. Some of them were friendly.. others were just plain rude and ignored the fans.

We definitely want to go back to Camelback Ranch. Honestly there haven't any parks we wouldn't go back to during spring training so far. All of them are great. I'm looking forward to see which spring training parks we hit next year.

AP US Mini Golf Tour 2019: Phoenix, AZ

Casey's Sports World

I picked up a Groupon for mini golf for Casey's. Reviews weren't bad on Groupon. They weren't on TripAdvisor. We stopped Sunday night after dinner.

What a dump!!! There were people using the batting cages but no one golfing. The lighting was very poor on the mini golf course. It was very worn and needed a good paint job. 

However, it was an old school course so there were some challenges. 

We got to hole 9 of 18 and couldn't figure out where our ball was to come out. It was like it was going to disappear into the barn never to be seen again. After about 5 minutes, we discovered that our ball came out at the bottom of the little hill. We teed off and continued on our way.

I had a horrible night golfing. I don't know if the clunky club or the course. The hubby slaughtered me. I did better on the back 9. 

I never felt completely unsafe but it was kind of creepy. I'm glad the hubby was there with me. We still have 2 batting cage tokens to use there. 

The hubby 1  Me 0 

Castles N Coasters

Driving to Maryvale for baseball today, the hubby was like do they (meaning castles n' coasters which we were driving by) have mini golf. I was like yes. We detoured to Castles N Coasters to play some mini golf. There were just opening for the day.

Castles n Coasters is a theme park with water rides, roller coasters, arcade games, and four mini golf courses. We saw it last year and decided it was crawling with too many people for our liking. However, at 10 AM all the teeny boppers are still in school and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

After debating which of the four courses we wanted to do, we struck out to tackle course 3. It was a challenging course with many obstacles and old school challenges. The courses are interwoven so you need to follow the color of your course. It had several courses where how you hit your ball and which tube it went down determined where your next shot would be.

Even though it was challenging, I did have a much better game but the hubby did not. I beat him by 2. 

It helped that I had 2 holes in one.

We will definitely hit this course up again and try one of the other 3 courses we haven't tried yet.

The hubby 1 Me 1

Where will our mini golf tour take us next. Stay tuned.

556. See a NHL Game

One of the things I've wanted to do for a while now is going to an NHL game. When the hubby was going to his annual meeting in the Twin Cities, the Wild were never in town. Last year, the Coyotes weren't in town when we were in Phoenix. This year luck was on our side and the Phoenix Coyotes were home AND they were playing the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks were my second favorite team after the Minnesota North Stars.

Once it was decided we were going to the hockey game, I go order tickets and nearly died at the service fees they wanted to charge.. almost the price for another ticket. Stupid Ticketmaster. I tried to convince my cousin to pick up tickets for me when she was down there visiting her dad but she suggested I call for tickets instead. There were still some fees attached but there weren't quite so ridiculous.

The Phoenix Coyotes play in Glendale which is just west of Phoenix at Gila River Arena. Since we were in Scottsdale for the Brewers/Rockies game and then stopped to get some wine in Chandler, we planned on 30-45 minutes to get us to game. We left Whataburger at 5:50 for a 7:00 game. GPS said 30 minutes... 90 minutes later we finally got to the arena. That's how bad traffic was. Apparently traffic sucks at that time of the day in Phoenix.

Parking isn't too bad. The area around Gila Arena is sort of an entertainment district with shopping, restaurants, and bars. We parked in a lot near by for $10 or $15. It was totally reasonable.

We get in the arena and our seats are upstairs which is no big deal. We just want to be there. The hubby has a fear of heights so escalators are out. We took the grand tour on our elevator ride stopping on each level. We get to our seats to discover we must enter from the top (so we walk down to our seats). Uh-oh. The hubby isn't gonna make it. We spent the rest of the first period hanging out by the rail watching the action. They don't want you to get up while the puck is live anyways. During intermission we matched to get tot our seats. I really thought we'd be standing the whole game.

The game itself was very entertaining. I've been to Admiral games before so hockey wasn't anything new to me. Besides the Mighty Ducks is one of my favorite movies.  I get the whole line change. The hubby never saw live hockey before. To watch it live is some much better than watching it on TV. It moves so quick and you can see the entire ice (especially from the nose bleeds).

We were both enthralled by the game. The hubby said if Green Bay had an NHL team, we would go to games. He also said a Coyotes game needs to be on the docket for next year. I'm glad I was able to get him to see the benefits of seeing a live hockey game. It is so much better and we definitely being seeing more NHL games in our future.

2019 Baseball Stadium Tour -- Salt River Fields at Talking Stick

One of the fields the hubby wanted to go to this year was Talking Stick -- the spring training home of the Diamond Backs and the Rockies. Since the Brewers were going to be playing the Rockies at Talking Stick it made perfect sense to see the Brewers and the Rockies.

Unlike most of the other spring training parks, Talking Stick had different levels of parking. You could get up close for $20, preferred for $10, or the grassy field for $5. The regular parking was fine and it wasn't that far of a walk to get to the complex.

As we walked up to the stadium, we passed the Diamond Back batting cages. Batting practice was just beginning and we were able to watch some of the guys take batting practice (and lessons) in the cage. The batting cages were set down below the walk way so we looked down into the cages but it still very open unlike the Brewers which you could not look into at all.

Talking Stick has plenty of shady spots.. some you just have to move with the sun. We sat on a ledge in the shade before and ate our lunch. Our seats were not in the shade but if we sat farther back we would have been in the shade. I liked how some of the seats we in the shade.

Speaking of seats, our seats were right by the Brewers bullpen. We got to watch Hader and some of the other relievers warm up. It is impressive to hear the whomp of Hader's pitches hitting the glove. Sure our seats were close enough to in the autograph hounds' territory but by avoiding our seats until almost game time helped deal with the autograph seekers.

The game itself wasn't too memorable. Yelich and a couple other "big" name players made the trip across town which was cool.

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is a great place to catch a game. We would definitely go back.