September 2023

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View this email in your browser Greetings Friends, I hope this message finds you well.  After a break from my monthly email in August, I'm not sure how I'll be able to fit everything we did this summer into one email!  I'll touch on a few highlights. Fourth of July weekend, we were given amazing seats to watch the Brewers take on the Cubs.  It was the kids' first professional baseball game.  From watching the Brewers come back and win from being down six runs, to singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "Roll Out the Barrel" (a Brewers tradition), to enjoying ice cream out of the plastic caps - we all loved it.  Sandy especially enjoyed running into a few Bravo reality TV stars :) In late July, we made our annual trip to New York to visit with my family.  We started on Long Island, then traveled north to Upstate New York.  It was great to see family and friends that we don't get to visit often.  The kids loved seeing cousins, running around my parent's property, riding on my stepdad's tractor, eating ice cream, seeing another baseball game, and swimming every day.  I even forced the family to come polar bearing with me one morning.  Takes me back to my days as a camp counselor when I would lead a group of kids into the lake first thing in the morning.  Honestly, it's my favorite way to start the day.  And for those keeping track, I did see Phish twice while in New York. We had one other big trip planned for the summer - a Disney Cruise.  It had been five years since our last cruise.  Sarah was only 18 months old and Peter hadn't been born yet! We sailed on a four-night cruise on the Disney Wish.  The ship was brand new, only about a year old.  My in-laws also came, and it was an excellent experience for everyone. For starters, there are an incredible amount of things to do for kids (and adults).  I feel like we only scratched the surface with what our family participated in.  Each day, there are movies, crafts, games, character sightings, trivia, music, drawing classes, and performances.  Not to mention, the wonderful pools, splash pads, and slides located on the ship.  And I can't forget simply dropping kids off at the kids club (which they really enjoyed). The dining was a unique concept special to Disney.  There is the standard buffet, along with some great grab-and-go options.  But the big difference instead of having one main dining room you go to each night for dinner - there are three themed restaurants that you rotate through.  The restaurants are Arendelle (Frozen-themed), Worlds of Marvel (Superhero), and 1923 (Classic Hollywood).  Your server follows you to each restaurant to keep the continuity the same throughout.  Our server, Joseph, was top-notch.  He knew our preferences by the second night and kept us all entertained. The first port we stopped at was Nassau, Bahamas.  We decided not to get off the ship.  Sandy and I have stopped there in the past and didn't really think it was worth it.  The other port was Castaway Cay - the Disney private island.  In past cruises, the stops at the private islands are always a highlight.  And I'm happy to say that Castaway Cay lived up to my expectations.  We were able to get off the ship first thing and found excellent chairs under some palm trees.  I did the "Castaway Cay 5K Run", and then jumped right in the ocean which was a great way to cool off.  The beach was beautiful, the staff put out a nice BBQ lunch. After four nights, our family was ready to head home.  In the past people have asked me if Disney Cruises were worth their more expensive price tag.  I used to say "I think so", with some hesitation.  I can now say without a doubt that it is absolutely worth spending a little more for the exceptional experience. One last piece of travel-related news from this summer was that Sandy and I were approved for Global Entry.  This is a program where people who have been approved are able to get expedited entry at US airports when arriving on international flights.  After barely making our connection coming back from Mexico in December 2021 when waiting in a long customs line, we have wanted to apply for a while.  Global Entry includes TSA precheck, which we already have and makes a world of difference when going through security in US airports. As the summer has neared its end, more and more of you are reaching out to plan your next trip.  The most interest is around Spring Break next year.  I say this monthly, but please begin your planning early.  In the past, many school districts had staggered Spring Break weeks.  For some reason, this year, most of them are falling between March 23 and March 31.  (This is primarily for the Wisconsin crowd)  Flights and resorts will sell out.  Begin planning soon. I also know a number of you folks had wanted to plan a trip to Europe this past summer, but it didn't work out for one reason or another.  Now is a great time to plan for Europe in Summer 2024. That's it from here.  As always, I'm happy to help answer any travel-related questions you have.  Reach out anytime. Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend, Brian Contact Today See previous monthly emails here.