Today, we celebrate Michael completing his 20th complete trip around the sun, using a photo of him surrounded by Angelina and Danny from last spring as we celebrated college graduations.
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Remember When There Was A 10,000 Step Club?
My world was very different five years ago, as I was finishing up my fifth year using a Fitbit. I had just added 45 new 10,000 step days, my third best year to date, and, with upcoming trips to Boston and California already on the docket, things were looking good to add a good number more and add some new tales to this list of my Top 25 step days. Then, the corona virus happened, the world basically shut down for the next year or so, and I stopped needing to leave the house. I’ve worked from home since March of 2020, which theoretically gives me plenty of free time to go out for walks, but, in practice, leaves me homebound more often than not. I managed just three 10,000 step days for the just completed tenth year of Fitbit usage, which was a small improvement over last year but still tied for my second-worst total since I started this whole step tracking thing some fourteen odd years ago, leading to a total of 288 since I started keeping track back in 2011. With that in mind, here’s the list of my Top 25 step days, which has now stayed static for five years.
1: 4/14/2018 – 27,470 steps
My best single day total is from my April 2017 trip to New York to see Angelina. The day’s excursions included trips to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, Central Park, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Empire State Building.
2: 7/21/2018 – 27,278 steps
My July 2017 trip to Virginia, to hike up Catawba Mountain to McAfee Knob with Jeff and Val, fell just short of the top spot.
3: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps
2013’s trip to Disney World, which spent 5 years as my single day best, included excursions to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom, and yes, falling 12 steps short of 25,000 still irks me.
4: 6/3/2019 – 24,665 steps
The first full day of 2019’s summer trip to Washington DC spent most of the day at the Smithsonian Zoo.
5: 8/8/2019 – 23,866 steps
Late in the summer of 2019, I spent two weeks in San Francisco for a work trip. On my last full day, I went out after work, walking to Pier 39 and then back the other direction to Oracle Park to see the Giants take on the Phillies. My totals would have been even higher, but I was dead tired and took an Uber back to the hotel after the game.
6: 3/18/2018 – 23,780 steps
My first day in Las Vegas for the 2017 IBM Think conference, the day’s totals include gallivanting around town, including a late night trip up to Caesar’s Palace from the MGM Grand to see Absinthe.
7: 10/24/2018 – 23,362 steps
My October 2018 trip to Boston to see Angelina for our birthday gives us our next entry. While she was in class, I took tours of Fenway Park and Harvard, before meeting up with her for a late lunch and then heading to the airport for the trip home.
8: 3/22/2016 – 22,493 steps
My one-time second highest day took place during the ill-fated trip to Disney World in March of 2016. The day’s excursion started at Hollywood Studios before heading over to Epcot Center with Jeff and Val.
9: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps
Still my highest total at home in the state of Illinois, the next entry comes thanks to the 2013 BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.
10: 12/29/2018 – 20,374 steps
We wrap up the top 10 with 2018’s trip to California and the trip to Disneyland to see Danny perform with the Lincoln-Way Marching Band.
11: 8/5/2017 – 20,218 steps
The next entry came in August of 2017 on the first day of my trip to Boston with Danny and Michael. After landing in town, we traipsed to the Science Museum, a breakfast joint, our hotel, and, finally, Fenway Park.
12: 7/14/2017 – 20,208 steps
Down to #12 is my 2017 trip to Disney World, a one day journey with Angelina to celebrate her high school graduation. Continue reading →
Looking For A Groundhog
We enter the second month of 2025 with a shot of Angelina having just opened her Harry Potter Lego set during Christmas of 2023.
2024: The Year In Travel
As we ring in the new year, it’s time to take a look back at the trips out of Illinois that I took last year. Things got off to a fast start, as I traveled down to West Lafayette the first weekend of the year with Danny to see Purdue take on Illinois at Mackey Arena. Since they were still on break, Danny was able to play with the basketball band as Purdue topped their conference rival 83-78.
I returned to campus mere days later, as the Iowa women’s basketball team, featuring star attraction Caitlin Clark, invaded Mackey Arena. Danny was once again playing with the band, so I watched the game, which Iowa won easily, solo before heading back to my hotel.
Later in January, I made my final trip to Mackey Arena of the year as the Purdue women’s basketball team battled IU. While the game did not go well for the Boilers, Danny did get to spend some time with his Nana for her birthday the following day.
After a quiet February, basketball again was the reason for my next trip at the end of March. Purdue’s men’s team was in Detroit for the Sweet Sixteen. They won Friday night against Gonzaga to advance to the Elite Eight. Saturday night, we headed across to border to Windsor to have dinner at Caesar’s Palace. Danny drove up on Sunday for the return trip to Little Caesars Arena, where Purdue earned its first Final Four appearance in 44 years.
We returned to West Lafayette in late April for Danny’s last band concert. Atter lunch with him and his friends, we headed to the Elliot Hall of Music and settled in for an afternoon of music. Thankfully, his section was first, so we were able to take our leave early and head back home.
A few weeks later, we returned to Indiana for Danny’s graduation. First, we all met up at Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana for an early dinner and pictures before making the remainder of the journey to West Lafayette. After the ceremony, we were allowed time to take a picture or two before Danny went off to celebrate with his friends and we headed home.
A week later, it was time for another graduation, this time in Boston. We arrived in town on Saturday, hunkering down in a hotel just off the North End. We eventually met up with the graduate-to-be at a local favorite called The Yardhouse, where we enjoyed a traditional Massachusetts dinner. After a quick breakfast the following morning, we headed to Agganis Arena on the BU campus for the graduation ceremony. After a quick lunch, we decamped to the hotel for gifts before a nice dinner in the North End. Monday we were able to meet up with Angelina for lunch before an afternoon flight home.
With all of that out of the way, I had my first international trip since COVID in July, when I went to Amsterdam for a week to visit Val, leaving on a Tuesday afternoon and landing in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning. After a day of rest to recover from the overnight travel, I set out to visit the local sights, including the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands, before dinner out with my hosts. On Friday, I headed out to see some working windmills. The next night, we headed out to the former Heineken brewery to see the Heineken Experience. After a day of rest on Sunday, I spent Monday bumming around the museum campus before dinner and a tour of the Red Light District. The next morning, I set out to the airport for the long flight home.
My final trip of the year was a return to Boston in November to celebrate birthdays with Angelina. I arrived in town on Friday night, getting to the hotel late. Saturday, we went to see Heretic before going out to dinner. Sunday morning, I Ubered around Boston to see Angelina at various points of the Boston Half marathon. Once she finished the race, we had lunch and then I headed to the airport to return home.
Never Brought To Mind
A new year is once again upon us, and with it, we are a quarter of the way through the 21st century. We kick off 2025 with the first photo from this year’s calendar, featuring Michael wearing Angelina’s graduation gown at Fair Oaks Farms prior to Danny’s graduation.
2025 Calendar
Now that Christmas has come and gone, we can unveil the cover to this year’s calendar gift, given annually to my mom and sister, and made up of pictures I have taken throughout the year. I imagine this will be the final edition, with both Angelina and Danny out in the workforce and Michael away at school despite still being mostly homebound. As in year’s past. the calendar was produced by the good folks at Shutterfly and we will unveil each month’s photo(s) on the first day of the month throughout 2025.
This year’s cover features all three kids posing prior to Danny’s graduation dinner at Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana, with both Angelina and Danny in their respective caps and gowns.
Ballpark Tour: Braves
With the offseason well underway, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head to the suburbs of Atlanta to take a look at the latest home of the Atlanta Braves. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my one game history with Truist Park.
Stadium Name: Truist Park
Years in Service: 2017 – Present
Visits: 1
In November of 2013, the Braves announced that they would be leaving their longtime home of Turner Field for a new stadium, opening in 2017. Originally known as SunTrust Park, the stadium hosted its first regular season game on April 14, as the Braves battled the Padres. The name changed to Truist Park in 2020 following a merger between SunTrust Banks and BB&T.
I made my first and only visit to Truist Park in 2021 while driving home from a trip to Florida. The Braves were scheduled to battle the Yankees that night, so I decided to make an early stop on the drive home to take in another stadium. My hotel claimed to be within walking distance of the stadium, which it was but they forgot to mention that it was all uphill. After I managed to drag myself to the park, I headed to the upper deck, which were the only seats still available. After snagging a couple souvenir cups, I left the game a little early for the hike back to the hotel. Thankfully, that trip was all downhill.
Stadium Name: Braves Field
Years in Service: 1915 – 1952
Visits: 0 (or a handful, depending on your point of view)
From 1876 until 1952, the Braves made their home in Boston. When they moved west to Milwaukee prior to the 1953 season, the stadium was purchased by Boston University. The pavilion grandstand at the end of the right field line was retained as the seating core of a football, soccer, field hockey, and track-and-field stadium, as was the outer wall. The stadium’s ticket office was converted into the school’s police station. The rest of the stadium structure was replaced by dormitories covering the former main grandstand; and the Case Physical Education Center, which houses Walter Brown Arena, home of the synchronized skating team.
Now known as Nickerson Field, I’ve made a few visits while in Boston to visit Angelina over the years and to see her skate at Walter Brown Arena.
FB10: Week 43
An overall down week saved somewhat by one day that kept me above the 30,000-step plateau for the fourth week in a row. The week got off to an excellent start on Sunday as I ran around Boston watching Angelina finish the Boston Half marathon before flying home, leaving me 14 steps away from 9500, my second straight day over goal. A day off on Monday to recover dropped me down to 3600 steps. Returning to work on Tuesday powered a nice improvement, falling 40 steps shy of 4700. Wednesday was the low point of the week, falling down to 2900 steps. Another improvement on Thursday pushed me back up, needing just 28 additional steps to get to 4100. A slight decrease on Friday dropped me down to 3800 steps. The week puttered out on Saturday with just 3900 steps.
Total steps: 32,476
Daily average: 4639.4
FB10: Week 42
Yet another good week, as I managed to stay above the 30,000-step plateau for the third week in a row thanks to a trip out east. The week got off to a slow start on Sunday as I finished the day with 3000 steps. A week full of morning training started with 4000 steps on Monday. Tuesday was better, going up to 4700 steps. A small decrease on Wednesday left me 23 steps shy of 4500. Another slight decline on Thursday dropped me back down to 4100 steps. A flight to Boston after work on Friday pushed me up over 6600 steps. A night out to celebrate birthdays with Angelina on Saturday put me at 7900 steps, my first time finishing above goal since my trip to Amsterdam this summer.
Total steps: 34,950
Daily average: 4992.9
Quarter Century/Half Century
25 years ago, Angelina was born on my 25th birthday. Now, she turns the same age I was at her birth and, starting tomorrow, she will have been alive more than half of my life. We celebrate with a photo from last year’s Purdue/IU football game.