Phoenix Milk Meeting 2024

Kris and I went to the NBD/NMPF/UDIA Joint Annual meeting in Phoenix. Isn't that a catchy name? It stands for the National Dairy and Promotion and Research Board / National Milk Producers Federation /  United Dairy Industry Association.

We go every year, as it's a meeting for about 500 people - dairy farmers and the people who work with us from across the country. Plus, Kris is on our milk co-op's board of directors, the United Dairy Industry of Michigan board, and he's also the treasurer of UDIA.

We flew direct from Detroit to Phoenix on Delta, and we stayed at the downtown Sheraton. We walked to Snooze, a great and cheery breakfast place. We ubered to the trailhead of Piestewa Peak, and we chose the most difficult and steepest path to the top - the Summit Trail, which was a double black diamond. It had great views, it was fun, and we paused near the top to watch the Detroit Lions win. Great hike all around! There are a variety of hikes available from there.

We took an uber to Huss Brewing Co, but it was in a strip mall and lacked personality. Our friend suggested Don Woods Say When, which is a rooftop place, and we liked that place a lot.

We went back to the hotel and met up with our friends - all dairy farmers.

"Are we having supper?" Doug asked.

"Who says supper anymore?" Aaron said.

Dairy farmers, that's who!

We walked to The Kettle Black, which happily accommodated our group of 10, and I had a great steak salad.

Day two

I asked the front desk person where I should run, and she gave me a map of murals. I ran around and saw lots of murals! Very fun and nice to have destinations. One of my favorites was of a very cheerful Roosevelt on a shiny building. I also ran around the ASU campus, which was decorated with colorful banners crisscrossing like we were in Mexico.

I ate a burrito at Matt's Big Breakfast, and the waitresses were so nice I thought we could be friends.

After working, Kris, Aaron, and I walked to Willy's Taco Joint, which was fair. I went to the pool on the 4th floor (it was hot!), and to a story garden across from our hotel. I wanted to walk to a gas station to buy a pop, and even a block away from ASU, there is a very large homeless population in Phoenix. I don't remember that from last time I was here. Lots of people passed out.

We took a bus with UDIM to Richardson's Restaurant, where I had a delicious burger and salad. We talked to our friends and agreed to be in a pickleball video soon! Chocolate milk is a sponsor, and I just started playing pickleball. Match made in heaven.

Day three

I ran to a rose garden that showed up on my map. Most of the roses were dead due to the time of year, but they did have a pomegranate shrub right there! I've never seen one, so that made me happy.

Kris was reelected as treasurer, and we headed to the meeting. We heard from a lot of interesting people, including the CEO of Domino's, the unfortunately-named Russell Weiner.

We went to the cheese reception, which has mountains of award-winning cheese.

Afterward, we went with a different group to Mancuso's, where I had the filet and tiramisu. My caloric intake at this meeting is insane.

Day four

I wanted to run to a new place, but my GPS was having a hard time, and I eventually was just happy to make it back to the hotel.

We went to two really interesting sessions.  'How we grow: Nutrition & Product Innovation Drive Demand' - Kris is on this committee and it's all about how marketing people and scientists come up with new dairy products. Loved it. We also had Yobark (yogurt snack food), Churro chillers (a Mexican shake), and cottage cheese ice cream!

We then went to 'What happened to TV ads? Promoting dairy in the digital age,' which was very interactive and we won cool items, like a backpack and gamer headset. Also, marketing people put it on, so that's always fun.

Then....a real trip highlight. We rode our first driverless car! 

These cars were everywhere in Phoenix, all the time. I downloaded the Waymo app, and it was like any rideshare app.

It pulled up and I unlocked it and opened the trunk by the app.

We loaded our stuff in, shut the doors, put on our seatbelts, and ... we were off!

It wasn't scary. The car behaved the way it was supposed to, and we traveled merrily from our hotel to the airport. It took about 20 minutes, and the car didn't speed at all. It cost a little less than an uber. It was super cool. Is this the first time of many? 

I marveled at how smart people are to invent new things. New food, driverless cars, it's all exciting and so impressive. 

Then, back home - to cars with drivers and normal eating habits.

Canada 2024

A group of 16 of us planned a trip to Canada to go on a long hike. Amy, Andrea, Chris, Gage, Moriah, Kate, Kris, Betsy, Riley, Suzie, Jared, James, Venus, Szanadue, Chip, and I went.  

Friday

This was the fifth time Kris and I had been to Niagara Falls, and you know what? It never gets old. It is impressive each and every time. We drove, and the line over the border was only four cars long. Each car took some time, and when we got up there, we found out why. We had the chattiest, friendliest border guard who really wanted us to enjoy Canada and spend time in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Canadians, living up to their friendly reputation.

We met our friends near the Hornblower, which is the Canadian version of Maid of the Mist, which is a boat ride that takes you right up to the falls. Right as we arrived, we all watched my brother Gage on zoom be promoted to captain. I unmuted and the cheers were deafening. He later said he couldn't hear us, but the people surrounding us sure did!

They have ticket kiosks right outside the boat, and they leave every 15 minutes, so you don't have to worry about booking ahead of time. 

Before we got on the boat they handed us red ponchos. We didn't realize the importance until later.

We hurried on the boat and went to the top front. The ride was so pretty - rainbows, the sky. Niagara Falls is made up of three falls - American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the most famous Horseshoe Falls. As we approached Horseshoe Falls, it got pretty windy and wet.

How windy and wet? It was like we were going into a hurricane. It was like someone was just spraying you full on in the face with a hose. It was like being in the washing machine.

I hid behind Kris as we laughed and laughed. It was hard to take pictures and videos because then your phone would be soaked. Andrea assured us it was just because of the wind, because she had been on it before and it was NOT like that.

We loved it, it was fun, and as we got off, people were literally wringing out their clothes. I dried my jeans under the dryer in the bathroom. Definitely a must do, if only for the laughs. Venus purchased the photo they took of us, and it was really nice.

Szanadue suggested we walk toward the top of the falls. She saw at a shop that they sold flags, so she told James he should get one, like a guide. He immediately bought it and we used it as a beacon the rest of the trip! (I mean, 16 people? You need a flag.)

We walked to the top of the falls, which was super impressive. Then we went to eat at the Secret Garden, which really does have beautiful grounds - fountains, flowers, views.

We walked downtown Niagara Falls which really caters to tourists - haunted houses, upside down buildings, go-karts, wax museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not, Rainforest Café - everything to attract and entertain people. 

We walked around and checked things out, and then Szanadue said she'd always wanted to ride the roller coaster on top of the Frankenstein building. She and Chip were going, and since Kris and I love roller coasters, we joined in. It was such a treat - like being in a safe car crash! We were jerked, slammed, and pushed around, sliding all over the cars and laughing. The guy asked if we wanted to do it again, and we did! I was done after two times, happy I still had my phone in my pocket. Ha!

We stayed in an Airbnb within walking distance of the falls, but the Butlers and Davises stayed at the Days Inn. This was also within walking distance of our house, so we met them at the hotel, swam in the pool, and watched the fireworks over the falls they have every day at 10:00 p.m. from summer to Oct 15!

Gage took an uber from Buffalo to the Rainbow Bridge, so he walked into Canada and we met him. (You can't uber or rent a car over the border.) We walked back to our house on Kitchener Street and went to sleep. 

Saturday

The plan was for four cars to park at our end point, and one car to bring the drivers back. The drivers did not have an easy time finding a place to park. Kris told me, "It's a really nice town, so there's nowhere." They would have paid, but the paid parking didn't start even until 10, and it was really expensive. Eventually they found public parking at Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club.

We took a picture at the falls and headed off on our 16 mile hike from Niagara Falls to Niagara-on-the-Lake. The walk was easy and the leaves were beautiful. It was along the water most of the way, and the color of the water was great, too. We went through urban areas and rural ones. We saw a whirlpool, a barrel that went over the falls, a ride that went across the water - the Whirlpool Aero Car. We took our time, we took pictures, we naturally moved between people and talked to everyone. It was incredibly enjoyable. The weather was perfect - you could wear a tank top or a sweatshirt and be comfortable. Actually, we had sweatshirts made for the trip. The front said Butler Brews, which is our friends' garage, and the back said Internationally Known with a little maple leaf, which is for Canada and Pitbull lyrics. Also, Venus and Szanadue are from Canada!

Amy was checking All Trails the whole way to make sure we stayed on course, and about four miles before the end there was a winery called Riverview Cellars. We stopped to eat and drink, thinking this would be a nice break, but they told us to go down the road to a bigger place, because they said they had a big group coming and there would be nowhere for us to sit. We said we could sit in the grass, but it was obvious they didn't want us there. No biggie! We went down the road to Iniskillin, and it was FANTASTIC! Beautiful vineyard, outdoor seating, big menu, nice people working there - it was perfect. You should go here. My favorite part of being here was that Suzie's charcuterie board turned into a catchall, and I watched her use a knife and fork to eat a Sour Patch kid. We laughed a lot here.

We tried to leave and return to the trail, but Moriah wasn't with us. Amy said she would go back for her, but then Moriah appeared and Amy was gone. Chip said he would go back for her, and we all laughed and made jokes about how we would never actually find everyone and finish the trail!

The last three miles flew by, and suddenly we were in a park with a view of the Lake Ontario beach! We could also see Toronto in the distance! 

We made a little human arch and cheered everyone as we all took turns going through it. Then we took our shoes and socks off, and we marveled at how many of us had never been in Lake Ontario before. (Many of us, including Gage, Kris, and me!!) The water felt great, and some of us walked out to a sandbar and got kind of wet. It was totally worth it.

We got into our cars and headed to Niagara Oast House Brewers for dinner. This was another nice place, with a food truck and outdoor seating. Right next to the seating, there was a vineyard, and they were about to have a wedding! The photographer of the wedding obviously wanted to be part of our group, which made us laugh a lot. After they were done with the wedding I forced everyone into the vineyard to stage our own weddings, and he came down and got a group picture with us. There were also firefighters there, jokes about the conversion rate of eating tacos, and basically we had a fantastic time.

Gage loves karaoke, so I found Maple Leaf Tavern online to go sing. Many of us went, and some left to watch the fireworks. The rest of us - Betsy, Riley, Chip, Szanadue, Gage, Andrea, Kris, and I - sang and danced for hours! We sang solos, duets, quartets! Karaoke places are always so supportive and encouraging, and we had a great time listening to the other people there and each other. 

Andrea, Kris, Betsy, and Kate performed our swan song of (I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles as the rest of us marched around the dance floor in celebration of our long walk. 

As I went to leave, a woman at a table stopped me. 

"What do your sweatshirts mean?" she asked.

I'd heard Andrea answer this question earlier today and repeated her.

"We're a kickball team," I said.

Clearly, we're more than just a kickball team, but I didn't know if she wanted to hear about how I have this group of friends, and one family has a cool garage, and sometimes we get matching shirts and go places. But that's just as true.

Traverse City - Skydiving edition

"Talking to Destinee has kind of sold me on skydiving," my friend Andrea said.

"Me too! Do you want to go the day before school starts?" I asked.

"Ask me tomorrow," Andrea said.

The next day, she texted me..."I'm IN for skydiving!"

That was on August 4, and we were skydiving on August 25. I made an appointment to sign our will and thought about it almost every day. I told a few people - but not my parents. I knew my mom especially would worry.

~

Andrea and I met at Skydive TC - Traverse City. Kris and the boys dropped me off. I told them I loved them and have a good school year if I didn't make it. Ty and Cole just laughed me off, and Max said, "Would you please stop saying that?" Andrea said she told her husband Chris but not her daughter Sam - also because she thought she'd worry.

The pilot introduced himself as Tyler. The guy jumping with me was Max. I expected the next guy to be Cole or Colton or similar, but they were Brad and Eric.

There wasn't an orientation or a formal training or making us watch a video (as I feared there would be.) Max just said, "Step into this harness." As he helped me put it on, he conversationally said that when he tapped my shoulder, that meant he was going to pull the parachute. 

"Is there anything I can do to screw this up?" I asked.

"Don't pull on the emergency chute," he said. 

"Has anyone ever done that?" I asked.

"No, but sometimes people just start freaking out and trying to grab at anything," he said.

Hmm.

~

We quickly got onto the plane, which had only a seat for the pilot, and the rest was just a floor. We had to sit in front of the people we were jumping with, and they attached our harness to theirs. 

"Do you promise everything will be okay and we'll make it to the ground?" I asked Max.

"I promise," he said. (Before any procedure, I elicit this same promise from anesthesiologists, surgeons, dentists - you can't break a promise!)

Neither Andrea nor I realized this, but the flight was really long - 25 minutes. We talked to the guys, we looked at the gorgeous views of the blue water. You could see different shades of blue delineated, and it was just so pretty. Max pointed out different places - Marble Bay, Elk Lake, Traverse City itself. We learned that Max had jumped 4,000 times, Brad had jumped 6,000 times, and Eric was on his 40th jump.

I was really nervous.

"My heart rate is 120," I said to Andrea.

"Mine is 90 - that's the same as when I watch Sam play basketball," she said.

If I talked and kept my mind off it, I was less nervous. I mean, I knew I was going to jump out of an airplane. Of course I was nervous. 

"Why are they all wearing helmets and we're not?" I quietly asked Andrea.

"That's a good question," she said.

We contemplated this.

"Two minutes," the pilot told us.

Eric, who was jumping solo, rolled up the door and secured it with velcro. He hung his legs over the edge and was gone in one second.

Andrea and Brad scooted up and poof - gone.

Max and I scooted up, and I put my legs out the window. The wind was so incredibly strong I thought my shoes might blow off. 

We waited there a few seconds and....we fell.

My sister said that skydiving is just like floating, because you aren't passing anything and you don't feel like you're falling.

I felt exactly like I was falling.

The wind was incredible. I was concentrating very hard on what I was seeing - the ground coming toward me. I thought about where my arms were. I thought about doing it right. I thought about the sensation of falling. AND THE WIND. 

Then, I thought, he must have already pulled the parachute. There is no way you can fall this long. It seems impossible. We have been falling forever.

Then he tapped my shoulder, and BAM - as he pulled the parachute, we stopped. It felt a little like a car crash. I later had bruises in my armpits and around my legs from the harness. (I later read you go from 120 mph to 17 mph abruptly.)

I felt a real sense of relief. The parachute worked! We were totally going to make it!

He asked me if I got motion sick (which he had asked a few times) and I said no. So he asked if I wanted to fly the parachute. He handed me the two handles and showed me how we could spin in different directions, then let them up to be weightless for a second. We did that a few times. We looked at Andrea and Eric. We looked at the airstrip. It was a long float down! 

"I'm just so happy," I said. "We made it."

"Well, we haven't landed yet," he joked(?)

He maneuvered and pointed us toward the airstrip. I held my legs up, and he stepped down first and then I did. It was actually graceful!

Andrea had landed right in front of me, and we ran and hugged and jumped up and down. We did it! And it was fun and scary at the same time!

We rode the van back to where we started, and I talked to Eric the owner about his business. He used to be a teacher, and then he started a flight school and now the skydiving school. All of his employees are also in pilot training. He was a nice guy.

We got back and they showed us each the video they made of us. Max told me we were freefalling for 40 seconds! It was funny to watch myself doing it, because I had a clear view of what I'd seen from my eyes, and this wasn't it - this was me looking like I falling and studying for a test! Andrea's was fun to see, because her expression was pure joy. 

Eric offered us a t-shirt when we bought the video. I said I wasn't going to get a video, and he said we could have shirts anyway because we were nice people. Yay!

~

Andrea and I talked about it the whole three hour drive home. When we got to my house, my mom was here, and Andrea and I greeted her in our matching shirts.

"Guess what we did today!" I said.

"Did you run a race?" she said, looking at our matching shirts.

"No! We went skydiving!" I said.

"You did?!" she said, obviously surprised. "...Whose idea was that?"

"Carla's," Andrea said.

"Andrea's," I said.

~

Skydiving is very fun, and very scary, and I give Skydive TC high marks for making it fun and seem routine. I highly recommend it to other people, and I would totally go again as long as the tandem jumper promises it will be fine!

Holland and South Manitou Island

Kris' parents have started a tradition of getting a house on Lake Michigan and having our family and Kris' sisters' family come and stay. It makes 12 of us! This year we went to Holland.

Airbnb

We stayed at a place right on Lakeshore Ave, which was close to a everything. We kicked off the trip by eating at Captain Sundae, because we got there before check-in time, so why not? Funny thing - we had almost no service in Holland unless we were on wi-fi. We have AT&T, so it's not some unknown carrier, but honestly - nice to disconnect.

It was a mile from the house to a little beach called Riley Beach. It was small, but the closest, had a great, steep sand dune, and we watched the sunset here each night.

Holland State Park

I suggested we go to the Holland State Park beach because I'd been there before and I like going to the pier. (Ty did tricks off, and the rest of us egged him on.) Lovely sand, fun swimming. It's a long walk from the parking lot if you're carrying/encouraging toddlers like Meghan was, but overall nice.

Kouw Beach

This was suggested by a local, and it began with a nice playground we used, then went down stairs to a nice beach. There were huge waves that day, and not many people there.

Tunnel Beach

This was my favorite! You enter through - you guessed it - a tunnel, and then it was backed by little sand dunes to run down, a Michigan favorite. This beach was a county park, so it had more trash, but still the best one we visited. (We also parked where you didn't have to pay. Always a bonus.)

Downtown

Downtown Holland is like a lot of lakeside tourist towns. Lots to see, lots to look at, and lots of places to go! As people were walking around, I ducked into Peachwave for a little ice cream, and we went to Holland Brewing Company and Big Lake Brewing, both good.

Outdoors

We hiked up Mount Pisgah and all around, which was hilly and fun. We also went running in Riley Park on the trails, and they were well maintained and you could go really far.

The best part was being with Kris' family, which was great. Nice background, Holland!

I left from there to go to...

South Manitou Island

I once came here with my class as a college freshman, but I couldn't remember it exactly.

We went to Leland to ride the ferry. We had to buy tickets online ahead of time. It was super busy and no parking was open, so I called them and the woman told me I could just drop my bags outside and park at the high school a few blocks away. No cost, no parking pass! I already liked it. We had to check in and they didn't even ask to see our tickets. $10 for a campsite and we loaded onto the ferry!

We rushed to sit in the open air on top because some of our friends get seasick. It wasn't choppy, but I'd always prefer the outside when it's nice out.

We unloaded everyone's stuff off the boat, assembly-line style, while I tried to run to the best campsite - the ones on the bluff above the water. The ranger called me back and said we had to listen to his orientation, which lasted like five minutes. Then we rushed off to get the best spot while some stayed back to register our tag. 

It didn't matter - the ones on the water had been taken by people there that morning or days before, since people stay many days. We got a great one with nice lake access, without other people around. We immediately swam, and it seemed like we were the only people on the island. You can't hear anyone, hear any traffic, or anything. It was clear water and so peaceful.

We put up our tents and left to hike. We went to the inland lake, shipwreck, and our favorite - the old growth cedars. This was many miles, so we went back and went to the shared campfire to eat our sandwiches. (They do have water and a toilet at the dock, but we went to Weather Station, which is about 1.5 miles from there.) Since there are no single campfires, another group joined us, and we laughed and talked until late, the moon shining brightly on the water.

We slept in our tents (it was so dry and warm! So different from some camping trips!) and did a run/walk of the other campgrounds, the cemetery, and the schoolhouse. In my opinion, the other campground is just as good. It's not on a bluff, but it's right on the water. I don't think you can go wrong here.

We waded in the water as we waited for the ferry, went back, and explored Fishtown on the way out. It was all of our first time there, and they had old fishing shacks that have been turned into little shops. The word for it is - charming.

I came home and read from my journal about my trip when I was 18. "Ferry was choppy and I listened to people puke" - "came home a total greaseball" - and "we were all hilarious". Fun then, fun now!

If staying overnight seems too much, you can just go for the day, which I think would also be great. The entire island is only 10 miles around, and I think you could fit it all in.

Thank you to Emmie, Suzie, Rondi, and Betsy for making the trip happen!

Oh, last but not least. I went to a gas station - the Middle Branch Country Store on 115 where I got this for $5.62.

What a vacation!