Eric and Vinny Nap

I just couldn't resist putting up the happy napping couple.

Anyway, we just got back from our Alaska Inner Passage cruise, so I will have photos of that online soon.

I did finally post my Canada pictures (Montreal and Toronto), so check them out. I was there for work, and Eric came to visit me. We went for a Toronto Blue Jays game and walked around town.

Weekend in the Country

Last weekend we went to visit my parents down at their place near Brookeville Resevoir in southeast Indiana. Vinny of course went with us and just loved his time out of the city. We basically put his 25 foot leash on him and let him roam around at will. To Vince this was a little slice of heaven especially when he discovered that the neighbors had a puppy to play with!

I've helped Vince compile a photo essay of his weekend:

I got to hang out on the deck and run around the yard and all I had to do was pull the blue rope with no owner attached!

I got to Visit Purdue on Friday when we were driving for a loooooong time.

I let Eric's Dad know that you don't nap if your ears are within licking distance of a puppy

I Waited patiently at home while my owners went to a baseball game (OK, so maybe not so patiently, I chewed through the mesh cover on my travel bed and had a little prison break so to speak.)

And though they left me alone to go to the ballgame, I did get this cool hat!

With all the heat and excitement I finally decided it was time to find a cool breeze to nap in; I gotta see about getting one of these vents installed in my bed at home!

What Kind of Drunk Are You?

So Vinny wound up hurting his leg somehow and he needs to rest in order to heal. The doctor suggested we dose him with 50 mg of Benadryl in order to keep him calm and encourage him to nap.

We have been following doctors orders and consequently Vince has kind of been acting like he's a little drunk! He's been a little uncoordinated and tends to lounge around on his back with his legs splayed out. (See our posts from March, you'll get the idea.) Mostly though Vince has been dopey sweet with us proving that Vince is a lovey drunk!

Two days to go and Vince will be off the DL and will be ready to get back in the game!

Junior Police Dog

I forgot to post last week that Vinny became a junior police dog. When we were out for our walk last Friday we saw a "police incident" after leaving the dog park and Vinny got involved!

As we left the dog park we saw an unmarked cop car turn left in front of us, then reverse course and rush up the street. Turns out that the two cops saw two young kids attempting to break into a house!

The cops got out of their car and told the kids to freeze. One stopped immediately but the other one started to walk away at a trot. The cop told him not to move as he started moving towards him but the kid of course started to run.

At this point all the screeching of tires, doors slamming, and cops yelling set Vinny off and he started barking. Well, the kid that was starting to run must have thought that the barking was from a k-9 unit because he paused running just long enough for the cop to grab him by the collar. Excellent work Vincent! (I don't expect a commendation from the Mayor any time soon.)

Yes Emily, There is A Santa Claus

This is proof for my friend Emily that there is a Santa Claus and he delivered a Police Reunion Tour!

Emily turned me on to the Police while we were attending Center Grove Middle School in Greenwood, IN in 1986 and they quickly made my list of bands I wanted to see live in concert. Problem was, they broke up in 1984 and vowed to never record or tour again.

As most of you know they have been touring the country this year and we were lucky enough to attend last night at Wrigley with our friends Anna and Grady.

I thought the show was great for what it was - a tour de force of the classics that made them great. The reviews have been luke warm because the "music snob" reviewers want to compare the shows to when they saw The Police in 1980 at some 3,000 seat club. You're never going to get that experience again so be happy that they're touring at all!

I've been so lucky in the last two years to see three bands/performers that I never thought I would get to see; we saw Prince two summers ago (best funk band I have EVER heard), The Who last October, and now The Police!

We closed out the night by staying until closing time at our favorite dive bar Parrot's. You know a night has gone well when you're being told that you have five minutes to get out of what can only be described as a last resort bar!

European Travels

As previously promised here is a small summary of our trip to Europe. Paula was in Poland for business and we both had to be in Switzerland for a Geberit event in St. Moritz. We decided to meet up in Poland before heading down to Switzerland.

We began in Warsaw; a city best described as Cleveland without baseball. Old Town in Warsaw was completely destroyed and rebuilt after WWII. The Town square was designated as a World Heritage site by the UN in recognition of the efforts of the Polish people in rebuilding the area to it’s pre-war appearance. There is also a great museum that steps through the history of the Warsaw Uprising.

We took a day trip to Krakow, which has to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The architecture was incredible and the people were great. Krakow was described to me by one of my coworkers (he is first generation Polish immigrant) as the spiritual and cultural capitol of Poland.

Warsaw and Krakow photos including Paula's work photos: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2090203202

After Warsaw we were able to spend 3 days in St. Moritz, Switzerland as guests of my company. We had a three day management conference that our spouses were asked to attend. While Paula spent most of her time relaxing or being indoctrinated in “Living Geberit,” I was in management meetings where the course of the company was discussed.

We had some great events in the evening including a trip to the top of a 10,000 ft mountain! We spend the day Friday hiking in the alps, a truly amazing experience.

Following the Swiss excursion we spent two days traveling through the Alscace region of France. We visited the Maginot line which was the defensive structures that France built after WWI to prevent another German invasion. (Whoops, guess they should have built it all the way up to the North Sea huh?) We also made a run up into Belgium (via Germany and Luxemborg) to visit Bastogne before returning to Basel, Switzerland. For those of you keeping score at home that’s 5 countries in 1 day!

France and Belgium pictures:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2090199485

Happy Birthday Eric!

A fun night out with friends at Las Tablas, a tasty Columbian steakhouse. Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate.