Category Archives: Vacation

What’s to Like About Rockford: The Chicago Rockford International Airport

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_3134blog

So I took one of my classes on a field trip last week for a behind the scenes look at the Chicago Rockford International Airport.

I’ve flown out of this airport for family vacations to Florida and an occasional trip to Vegas and I have to tell you there is no simpler way to travel. First, there’s free parking mere steps away from the terminal. Security is efficient, respectful, and dare I say, “nice”. And there’s only one baggage carousel on the way back to choose from. You’re definitely not getting lost at this airport. Did I mention the conveniently close free parking?

But during our tour I learned some fascinating history. Like the airport was once home to Camp Grant used in both WWI and WWII, the latter as a POW camp. This is the same Camp Grant that Colonel Potter refers to in several M*A*S*H* episodes.

When we came back from the field trip, one of my students who couldn’t attend, asked me if our tour guide told us about the “ghosts”?

GHOSTS?

Some say parts of the grounds are haunted. Well the writer in me had to follow up on that little tidbit and apparently over 1,000 soldiers died at Camp Grant during the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918. I guess the spirits like to mess with the guys in the firehouse. Or maybe it’s some spirited guys in the firehouse messing around. In either event, sounds like the BONES of a good story, no?

The Chicago Rockford International Airport: a historical gem in our own backyard. With free parking of course 🙂

Observations on the Beach: Electrons vs Paper

Posted on by
4

dreamstime_xs_4890290.jpg

The beach is the perfect place to read, and in June, I was able to spend two weeks of blissful sun ray soaking, sandy toe stroking, gentle surf sounding, reading time. I even broke my personal reading record: five books in two weeks. As you can imagine, it was hard to leave that perfect reading environment behind.

Each day, after diving in to a good book for a couple hours at a time, when I finally came up for air, I did some people watching on the beach. And, nosey gal that I am, I took a peak at what they were reading. Mainly, paperbacks. Yes, there were Kindles and Nooks (I saw three of one and two of the other on the first day), and a spattering of hardcover books (three throughout the week), but by and large, beachers were reading paperbacks in every genre.

I couldn’t help myself. I had to ask someone. Well, okay, a few someones that had fatefully unfolded their chairs near mine.

Rachel from Virgina, reading Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin, told me she owns a Kindle, but would never bring it to the beach because of the sand. “Even if you don’t drop it, there’ll be sand on your hands when you’re touching the screen.” She said a paperback is lower risk and just as satisfying.

Mark from N. Carolina, reading The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal, sitting next to Maggie with a Nook reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, said a paperback felt better. “The sun warms the pages. It feels good. Better than that machine she’s got there.”

Maggie, on the other hand, was all for portability. “I got too much to lug around as it is. And this thing holds an entire library.”

Finally, Carla from S. Carolina reading Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks, said, “I’ve always brought a new paperback to the beach, ever since I was a kid. I pass them around when I’m done and someone hands me off another. The condo I’m staying at has a bunch and you can tell they’ve been well read. It’s recycling.”

So there you have it. My completely non random non statistical sample of the books and book format people read on the beach. And me? I was one of the three with a hardback book. Dust jackets repel sand as well as dust.

How about you? What do you bring to the beach?

Photo © Alex Bramwell

Your Teacher Digs Spring Break Too…

Posted on by
Reply

img_2000smaller.JPG

It’s fun to see how excited students get about Spring Break. Some will take a trip some place warm (Florida was a hot spot again this year), some will sleep (I can tell cause they come back without the dark circles under their eyes), and some, will cram the first half of the semester’s homework into a marathon “catch-up” session.

My son spends the week living in his pajamas. My daughters, their Spring Break is never the same week as mine and they are too young to stay at home by themselves, hang out with their grandparents. We affectionately call it “Nana Camp”. Mornings at the playground and afternoons crafting fill their days.

And here’s the scoop–I dig Spring Break too! This year, I went to my favorite beach and the top five things I did (in order):

1) Wrote

2) Slept

3) Wrote on the Beach

4) Slept on the Beach

5) Walked on the beach, Watched other people on the beach, Read, Took long showers, Played Words with Friends,  Watched TV, Ate, Talked, Swam, Visited, Shopped, Photographed the beach, Smiled.

Yep, kids of all ages enjoy Spring Break.

Photograph by K. E. Blaski 2012