Just so you all know that I didn't spend the entire day in full outrage mode, we had a lovely day here at Nutwood. It was beautiful weather, and after Ken mowed the lawn, I tried my hand at pomegranate martoonis. They were very tasty, but potent, so we only had one each.
We had time for a movie, and watched "Night at the Museum," which Ken recently ordered. It was much better than I thought it would be! Kind of silly, of course (it's a Ben Stiller movie, after all), but still fun. I'm a sucker for anything that has to do with museums or history, and I loved how it stressed the importance of learning from history. I also loved seeing Dick Van Dyke, one of my favorites from the 60's.
We're heading off to bed soon, because we want to get an early start tomorrow. I'll be out of commission for a few days, because we aren't taking either of the laptops; this trip is all business, baby. Get there Saturday evening, load the truck Sunday, head back Monday, unload the truck on Tuesday. Bada bing, bada boom. Wish us luck and pleasant travels, and catch ya in a few days!
Whew, sorry about the late entry, but after getting home this morning, I spent some time getting caught up on reading blogs, then we had a family get-together this afternoon. This evening, we've both been catching up on more blog reading, and I just got my pictures edited. I thought about a little nap, but I think I've caught my second wind. I have a feeling I'm going to sleep like a baby rock tonight, though!
Dinner at Tippecanoe Place went wonderfully, and we got very positive feedback from the conference attendees. My Ahi Tuna was cooked perfectly, nice and pink in the middle, and with a delicious smoky flavor. Ken's Beef Tenderloin was also delicious and very tender, with a sherry sauce. The wines were good, although the white was a little sweet, but everyone really raved about the desserts: a Chocolate Decadence cake (very intense chocolate), deep dish pecan pie, and an apricot tart that had such a good flavor. I will be writing to Katie and telling her what a wonderful job they did, and what a great impression of South Bend they gave to the out-of-towners!
I'll put some random pictures in here of Tippecanoe Place, just so you can see the beautiful woodwork that is throughout the place, and make additional comments if warranted. The room where we ate, above, is the original dining room. Tippecanoe Place remains one of my favorite places in town, for its history as well as its beauty. It was built in 1889 by Clement Studebaker, one of the five brothers who started the Studebaker company (which began as a blacksmith shop). The mansion is 26,000 square feet (2,400 square meters). It is a U.S. National Historic Landmark, and on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Its name probably comes from the campaign slogan of President William Henry Harrison: "Tippecanoe and Tyler too!"
I love the big staircase! Look at that beautiful wood!
Clement Studebaker died at the age of 70 in his South Bend home. He died in Tippecanoe Place! I wonder if he haunts the place? It's been a very successful restaurant for many years now, and I'm sure there's usually so much activity that Clement's specter would go unnoticed. But if someone were working late at night, after everyone else had gone home, and the mansion settled into silence...who knows what they might see? Or hear...what if the old elevator were to begin running when no one had started it? Oooo, scary!
Left to right, the ballroom, the lobby, and a lounge in the women’s bathroom, apparently in case a lady feels faint and needs to recline for a moment!
After dinner, a group of us headed down the street to Club Lasalle, the cigar bar. It was Martooni time, and I had a Limelight (okay, I had two), which has Citron vodka and Midori Liqueur. Mmm, tasty--and a lovely shade of almost fluorescent green! I also indulged in a small, mild cigar. Since you don't inhale a cigar, I felt okay about having one, and it's a very rare occurrence, anyway. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and have no desire to take up smoking again! A very nice bunch of people, and quite interesting. Several people from Canada, including one from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan! A guy who is on the board with Ken in the local chapter, and who is originally from Mexico City. A guy originally from Jamaica, and wouldn't it be cool to have an accent that made you sound almost as if you were singing when you spoke? I love a Jamaican accent. A guy from Chicago who was sort of a typical tough Chicago guy, and really nice and funny. A guy from Bloomington, Illinois who I talked to about Route 66, since Bloomington is right on the Route. Just really enjoyable and fun people, and I think they all had a nice time.
I felt quite proud to be from South Bend, as I think everyone we dealt with did a very good job. It's always interesting to see your town through the eyes of someone from different places, and it was nice to know a little Studebaker history as we looked at the rooms in the mansion. Oh, and as we were walking from the restaurant to the bar, the fireworks at the minor league baseball stadium began! Ken told everyone that he'd ordered the fireworks up just for them. Ha!
A very pleasant night, although I think we're happy to have it behind us. Now we can just think about the big move in a couple of weeks. Yikes! I think I'll pull a Scarlett and say I'll think about that tomorrow!
Speaking of tomorrow..."Star Trek!" Oh boy oh boy oh boy!
We're back, and still on Vegas time, so we're working on getting tired enough to go to bed! It's after 4 AM here, but in Vegas, it would still be early, with a few hours before Snoozeville! We'll get back into the swing of things soon enough.
Sheeba was very happy to see us (although his Uncle Shane always takes excellent care of him), and seemed happy with his Vegas bling! We all got tons of coupons, and one of them was for a free medallion at Caesar's Palace, so all four of us got one! It's fairly hefty, and on a gold chain, and after Sheeba modeled for a while, we hung ours on the ceiling fan, along with our New Orleans beads. They look pretty cool hanging up there...we cracked up over the medallions, and I think Ken and Steve need to wear them with their silk shirts with the big collars, opened halfway...isn't that how you're supposed to wear a big honkin' gold medallion?!
I have lots to write about, and plenty of pictures to edit, so I'll split it all up into a few entries. For this entry, the topic is "Love." Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.
I mentioned in my entry from Vegas about how remarkable the show was. I don't know if I can put it into words, but I'll try. The Beatles and their music is obviously legendary, and although they had already split up before I got really into music, I had always had an interest in them and other 60's bands because of my big sister, Diana. She was a Beatlemaniac--still is, actually--and I remember she had all the 45's of their singles, as well as all their albums. When I was maybe 6 years old, she taught me how to do the Monkey to Beatles songs. Ha ha! So I've listened to British Invasion music since I was a little girl.
There is something special about Beatles music that you tend to forget if you don't hear it for a while. How many times have you heard the songs? Hearing them in this venue brought a whole new dimension to the music (and I believe the songs were remastered for this show). The complexity and variety of the music is amazing, whether it's something as lovely as "Here Comes the Sun" or a flat-out rocker like "Revolution." This Cirque show was all about the music. The performers were amazing, but they complemented the music rather than overshadowing it. The previous Cirque shows that we've seen have been heavy on amazing feats of gymnastics and strength. Those were present in this show as well, but I thought they did a great job in letting the music be the star of the show.
The sound system was incredible, and it was so cool to be in the front row, because we were basically at stage level. I'm including a few videos that I found on the Net (I didn't take any of these), with some of the really cool parts. "Octopus's Garden" has never been one of my favorite songs of theirs, but I loved the choreography and costumes in that one! Very creative and fun. The video with the white parachute cloth was neat to see from above, because at the show...we were under it! It billowed out over the lower level, and we all raised our arms to keep it afloat and hovering over the audience. It was fun! Videos follow at the end of the entry.
I think that's part of why I loved this show. It was just so damn much fun. The music, the groovy 60's garb, the close-to-overload visual stimuli, being able to sing along with some of the songs...it was wonderful, and I'm so glad we went and sprang for the extra $$$ for the front row! (Although it looked like a fairly small theater, and I bet there isn't a bad seat in the house.)
Ken and I got drinks to take into the show: he got A Hard Day's Night and I got a Can't Buy Me Love! Ha ha! Basically a punch-type drink made with vodka, but his had a shot of Cointreau in it, too. Very tasty to sip on during the show, and who knows? Maybe they made the pretty colors a little brighter!
Miss Ginger, we didn't stop in Revolution that evening, but we went back Wednesday night and had a drink there. I had told you that I'm not really a martini gal, but I figured what the hell? I'm a trooper, and I was willing to take a bullet for Miss G! Well, turns out that their special that night was a Blueberry Martini, and I was all over that! It was fairly sweet, and went down as easy as a Vegas Strip workin' girl! Ken had a Lemon Drop, and Kim had one that was just Sapphire gin and olives. We all tried each other's, and I have to say that I like martinis! Although I was calling them martoonis (that seemed appropriate, considering it was the Revolution Bar), which I think I must have gotten from some movie. I don't know, but it was fun to say!
Coming tomorrow later today: Meeting Marty! Stay tuned!
