Quarantine Adventures -- Jump Around Wisconsin

During the first or second week of this quarantine, someone on Facebook got this brilliant idea to get as many people to Jump Around in Wisconsin to show our Badger spirit and get people outside and moving. Local radio stations around the state along with an online broadcast would play "Jump Around" at 3 PM CST for people to Jump Around. There is a whole Facebook group dedicated to this movement called "Jump Around Wisconsin"

So I put on my Badger Jacket and the hubby's Badger hat and went outside to Jump Around. I set my tablet to play the song while I recorded myself jumping. That video never made the light of the day. Do you know how hard it is to record and jump at the same time...

Things I learned this first week of Jump Around
1. Jump Around is a lot longer than I remember. It's like 4 minutes. That's a long time to jump up and down when you are out of shape.
2. I was the only one on our side of the complex jumping. I felt a bit odd. I kept looking for others.
3. Even though it was tough to jump for 4 minutes, it was a lot of fun.
4. I didn't even take a picture of me in my Badger gear.

I will have to try to jump around every Saturday as long as they do it. I might have to use the live stream of it though in the future. Will you be jumping with me some Saturday afternoon?

Go Badgers!!

6649. Do a virtual 5K

I keep seeing Virtual 5Ks on Facebook sponsored by various companies with really cool medals. I want a really cool medal but to get the really cool medal it would cost me $30+ and I get no post race buffet. I kept contemplating which one to do Harry Potter? Sesame Street? Star Wars? I almost signed up for a pizza one on Pi Day because it was like $3 but we weren't planning on being back from vacation yet. 

Then I happened to see Silver Circle Sports Events offer a free 5K due to the Corona Virus. I've ran with Silver Circle when I did the Pi Run back in 2016. I figured I could walk a 5K. 

So I did. I had the same goals.. finish in under an hour and don't finish last. I worried about finishing last since most of the Silver Circle participants are hard core runners and I figured there weren't too many turtles out there. 

I ended up doing the 5K in 50:53. Not bad for walking most of it. I think the wind helped a bit. 

I even made my own Medal from Shrinky Dinks I had left. Somehow I still haven't mastered the whole shrinky dinks because it has some serious curling on the edges going on. I managed to make it look okay. 

One day I will fork out the cash to do a Virtual 5K with a really cool medal but until then I will keep doing these Virtual 5Ks as long as the weather lets me. Maybe one day I will break the 40 minute mark.. I know Pipe Dreams.

6054. Watch the moon set

When we left Dodge City, the moon was out. It was about 5 in the morning. I was able to watch the moon set as we drove. The moon went from white to a glowing red as it set. The pictures aren't the greatest but it was amazing to watch. It was also a great way to pass time since it was too early to read. I was lucky enough it was right out my window.

I would suggest during this time of quarantine, get up early and watch the moon set some morning. You may have to wait a few weeks until the next full moon or new moon though. They are the easiest watch go down.

Quarantine Adventures -- Pat McCurdy Live From His Living Room

Going to Carroll in the late '90s and early '00s, it was almost a rite of passage to no longer be a Pat Virgin and attend your first Pat McCurdy show in the Ballroom or Main Lawn on Welcome Back weekend or the Campus Center Parking Lot during Spring Fling. I danced my share of Sex and Beer and Knock Things Over during my 3.5 years.

I would occasionally see him live in Concert over the next 20 years or so. But I can't remember the last time I saw a whole show of his. After the Beer Run, we tried to stick around for it but ended up staying for a little bit.

It is hard to describe to Pat. According to Facebook, he is described as "Pop sing-along, with a proper dosage of musical diversity and just the right touch of comedy." He's big on college campuses and bars. It's almost a cult like following. You either like him and his almost raunchy style or you don't. I fall into the like him category.

When he announced he was doing a Quarantine Show from his living room live on Facebook, I figured I might as well tune in. It was the same old Pat even though Pipe Jim and gang wasn't there because we were Staying Home with Mom and Dad.

There were almost all my favorites including the ones I knew the silly dance to... Knock Things Over, Screw You, and of course Sex and Beer. There were some new ones that I've not heard. It was a great show but it's no fun dancing to Sex and Beer by yourself in your bedroom.

The best part was a few of my sisters and me texting back and forth... reliving our college days. It brought back more memories.

He said he'd keep doing these shows as long as we are quarantined so maybe you can get your Pat fix too.

Stay tuned for me Quarantine Adventures in the coming days and weeks. We all need some amusement in our lives. I can't promise to deliver but if I might be able to cure your boredom for 5 minutes.

837. Take a ballet class

I happened to see that Ballet Nova Ballet Studio in the DC was offering free online ballet classes the first week we were staying at home due to COVID-19. I always wanted to take a ballet class. I am not that graceful or rhythmic to actually be a ballerina not to mention these thunder-thighs. I figured this was my chance. As Stacy said, I would be whole lot less self conscious.

I've done the New York Ballet Workout video off and on for years... and I mean very sparingly off and on. I'd go months (years) without doing and rarely get through the whole thing due to lack of coordination. So to do it on Facebook Live could be interesting to say the least.

With the hubby home, there is limited space in our apartment for me to work out without disturbing him. So I set up in the kitchen. A bit odd but I figured it was the biggest open space we had.

I survived. It was quite difficult to follow. One ballerina would demonstrate the move to another ballerina. Then that ballerina would proceed to do with move or sequence with us along with the music. They really weren't any instructions. You really had to pay attention.

It might have been slightly easier if I didn't take the Advanced Beginning Ballet class. I figured I know the basic positions from my workout video and could handle it. Yeah not so much. It was a lot harder than the work out video.

I am glad I attempted the ballet class and didn't give up. Maybe I should have taken the over 50 class. I might have been able to handle that. Maybe I will try to find another online beginning class online to take during this pandemic. Until then I will work on my plies.

4466. Go to Silver Reef Museum in Leeds

When taking a road trip, I try to find some place of interest to stop at each day especially on days that are just driving. Knowing we didn't have much time for a stop in Utah, I looked for something the hubby would enjoy. Most of the National Parks were out because of time and budget constraints as well as the hubby isn't a National Park (the nature kind) kind of guy.

Through one of my searches, I discovered the Silver Reef, an old silver mining ghost town. It wasn't too far off the highway and it would be something the hubby would like.

Unlike most ghost towns that cater to tourists, this one wasn't commercialized for a lack of a better term. There was a small museum and then you could take a walking/driving tour to see what is left of the town. There were no gun fights at noon, no expensive mine tours, no zip-lining through the town. It was just a small museum trying to tell you their story about an era gone by.

Now, I did say it wasn't commercialized. I never said there weren't any characters in town. We parked outside the museum and the deputy sheriff knocks on our window and strikes up a conversation. Mind you, this guy thinks he's in the 1890s. It was probably one of the best welcomes I've had a while. We just happened to get lucky and pull in when the sheriff did.

The museum is housed in the original Wells, Fargo, & Co Express Station. For $3/person ($10/family), we got a docent led tour of the small museum. She explained the history of the town and various pieces in the museum. The museum is about 3 rooms with a lot of artifacts found in the area. It was very interesting. We could then peruse the museum on our own.

Also included in our town was a tour of the mine exhibit. Because the silver was found in the limestone, it was a different type of mining done. We learned how they mined the silver and then processed the ore. The mine exhibit was real interesting.

I definitely didn't want to work in those conditions. You were given 2 candles a day.. one to heat your lunch and one to see with. That's not a lot of light. You might have to be the unlucky one to hold the crowbar while another one hits with a sledgehammer.

If we wanted we could have done a walking/driving tour around the area to see the buildings that were part of the mining town. I would have loved to see more of the buildings but time constants didn't allow for it. The museum put together a nice guide to the area buildings that tells the history of each of the buildings. It would definitely be worth doing and can be done when the museum is closed.

This was definitely worth the stop. I never know what to expect when finding these hole in the wall tourists attractions but so far so good.

125. Go to Las Vegas

We were going to visit friends in Henderson. The hubby didn't really give me an idea of what our time with our friends was going to be like. I couldn't really plan this portion of our trip. I kind of drove me nuts. Heck, it wasn't even confirmed that we were going to see them until after we got to Arizona. 

Initially we were going to spend 2 days with them before heading home but due to a pending snowstorm in Nebraska, we only spent one night... literally. We got to their house around 4 and were leaving the next morning. That doesn't give one much time to see Vegas.

It was decided our friends would take us to the strip considering neither of us have ever been to Vegas. 

I would say this is a good place to start. Get your feet wet and figure out what you want to do and where you want to go. 

We started our journey at the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign. Because it was dark by the time we got there, lighting was an issue to get a good picture. Finally we realized if we stood to the side, the pictures would actually turn out.

Parking at Treasure Island (on the other of the strip from the sign) was free. That's where we parked and then walked our way down the strip and back. Our tour guides made sure we saw all the sights of the strip and got plenty of pictures.

I stuck my head in a tiger's mouth in front of Mirage. 

We saw the volcano at the Mirage. This had to be one of my favorite things to see. We were so close you could feel the heat. This is a definite must do. 

We went into Caesar's Palace to see the Nude Statue. The hubby didn't want his picture taken with them.

Then our friend got his picture taken with Darth Vader.. and then asked for money for the picture. Nope wasn't getting any. If we knew about wanting money ahead of time, no pictures.

The one thing I wanted to see in Vegas was the fountains at the Belligio. So of course we saw the fountains at the Belligio. I was slightly disappointed that the water was all white. The fountain show was cool but the volcano was way cooler.

After that it was just some strolling on the strip to see the different hotels and what not. No drinks for us. 

We did go in the M&M Store. Mrs. M and I checked out the stores while the guys stayed downstairs. The hubby didn't want to go on the escalator. It was four floors of M&Ms merchandise. The second floor had all different colored (milk) M&Ms you could buy. For that price, I could get several bags at Walmart. The top of had the M&M racing car.

Somehow we ended up in the Cosmopolitian. We saw the crystal chandelier, some giant shoes, and a barbershop that serves cocktails.

We never played one slot machine. It was tempting but the hubby wasn't interested. Okay so he really wasn't into the whole Vegas thing but went along with us anyways. 

The strip wasn't that crowded because it was just the beginning of the start of the National Pandemic. Everything was still open but the buffets were closed. Some people had masks but not many. You could tell people were staying away but I enjoyed the "quietness" of the strip after dark. 

Hopefully we will be able to go back to Vegas next year and see more like Fremont Street, a show, or even Red Rock Canyon. As long as our friends live there, we will probably continue to see them on the way home from Spring Training so stay tuned for more Vegas shenanigans in future years. 

78. See the Hoover Dam

When the hubby found out one of the guys on his football crew was moving to Vegas, he figured he could stop see him on the way home from Spring Training. Once I saw that we were literally going right by the Hoover Dam, I made that a must stop.

The Hoover Dam was built during the Great Depression across the Colorado River on the border of Arizona and Nevada. Prior to 2010, you would have to drive across the Hoover Dam to get from one state to the other. Now you cross the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge to get to the other side of the river. You can not see the Hoover Dam while driving across the bridge.

Now there are several ways to see the Hoover Dam ranging from free to $30/person plus parking. We opted for the free option. A tour of the Hoover Dam and hydro-plant would have been cool but the hubby really wasn't interested.

Our first stop was the Lake Mead over look to see the lake created by the Hoover Dam.

Then it was an attempt at walking across the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge to view the Hoover Dam. I saw attempt because of the hubby's fear of heights and bridges, we didn't make it very far. We made it just far enough for me to snap a few pictures. He wouldn't let me go any further without him. So no selfies in front of the dam.

We then got back in the car and drove across the dam. This is where you get your vehicle inspected, usually a pretty easy process. Got any firearms (peering in all windows)? Nope? Okay, go ahead. I'm sure in peak season, the checkpoint could take awhile.

We parked on the Arizona side (where I was trying to get us to when we ended up off-roading). We walked a bit to take a few pictures. It's over .5 mile to the visitor center from the Arizona parking lots so we walked enough just to see the dam and headed back to the car.

Then it was back in the car to continue our journey to Vegas.

Overall it was a great stop. I would suggest taking at least self guided tour but even if you do it the free route, you get to see enough of it. It definitely worth a side trip if you are in Vegas, the Grand Canyon area, or even Phoenix.