Mini Vacation.

I left for Beloit, WI for a short mini vacation early Sunday morning. Actually, I was headed up to Beloit College for Sonia Skidmore's graduation. I found it really hard to believe that she's graduating from college. It wasn't that long ago I was graduating from Drake. My oh my, time truly flies when you're having fun! Beloit College is a liberal arts college nestled in the town of Beloit, WI. The whole notion of a liberal arts education has always intrigued me because it's just so very different than a regular college/university. Looking at the graduation program, it was fascinating to see the different majors these students were graduating in.

After graduation, I drove north to Madison, WI to spend two days there with a friend, Kurt from seminary and his wife, Janet. Kurt was the first person in my pre-Theology class to leave the seminary. You can say he got the ball rolling! Not too long after he left, he met Janet and got married. A group of us from seminary went up for the wedding and over the years, Kurt, Janet and I meet up at least once a year. I figured since I was already going to be at Beloit, I should drive up and pay them a visit. We spent the evening grilling out and chatting/catching up with one another. There's so much to talk about especially when you don't see each other that often.

Kurt had Monday off and we started the day at Lazy Jane's. It's a wonderful breakfast place that caters to the "alternative" crowd. It reminded me of a quaint little coffee place a couple of blocks from where I live. One has to support the local independent places! After Lazy Jane's we walked to and around downtown Madison. Madison is such a great city to visit. It has a certain vibe to it that makes one feel at ease. We met Janet at her office as she took half the day off. We then proceeded to walk to U of Wisconsin, Madison. This university is one of the pre-eminent state universities in the country and they have a lake on its campus. We sat in the shade amongst students cramming for final and just had a great time watching the world go by. The three of us then walked on a nice path that led to a picnic spot. All in all Kurt and I probably walked roughly six miles without really planning on it. That evening we grilled out once again.

The next morning, I said goodbye to Kurt and Janet and drove to New Berlin, WI to meet up with Carmen. I've known Carmen since my time at Drake. We were all involved in the Newman Center. Carmen and Tyler are expecting their new baby on June 3rd so it was really exciting to see her. The last time I saw her was probably two years ago. Needless to say, she and Tyler are excited about the upcoming birth of their new baby. We went to a coffee place called Mrs. Sippy (get it? Mississippi!) It was so nice to just catch up with Carmen. We reminisce about the good old times at Drake. Boy, those were fun years and all of us had a blast hanging out with one another!

When Carmen and I were done, I drove back to Beloit which is on the way to DM to pick Charlene up. She and Sonia spent time together after graduation since David had to get back to Drake for a workshop. I do see Charlene a couple of times a week since we go to Mass on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but we don't really have time to chat. So, it was good to be able to chat with her on the way back to DM. So much has happened in both our lives that it was good to be caught up with all the going ons.

That's really how the weekend went. It was a short but very good vacation.