Quick Successions: New Mexico Edition

On Sunday, July 31 I arrived at the Castle for the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Conference. I have been going to this conference since 2008. It is held every two years on the English South Coast, Sussex County, I believe. After taking the tour of Down House and the Chartwell, the bus returned to the castle and dinner was served. I like running and so I found 1066 Road where the Norman Conquerors came marching and ran along it. I did this just about every day while I was there. A view from 1066 Road. I think it is so beautiful. My presentation was on Wednesday. On Monday and Tuesday I went to learn from other people's presentations. On Tuesday night, there was a banquet where we dressed up and played games. Here I am at the banquet. Here are other people at the banquet.  Then we ate this amazing feast. Here are all of the castle attendees. I am squeezed in next to the lady in the orange outfit. Thursday I made my way back to the airport and returned...

Every other year I got to Europe to attend an academic conference. This year I left Hannah in Pennsylvania with my sister and her family. Here is a run-down of the high points. Tuesday July 26 Hannah and I flew out to Philadelphia. We landed in the afternoon. The flight was good and my checked bag came quickly. On the way home, we stopped at McDonald's and played in the PlayPlace. We also were able to see the building where my brother-in-law worked. I had a few work phone calls to take from people and I finished writing a report. Hannah was delighted to settle into her temporary digs and play with her cousins. Waiting to be picked up outside the Philadelphia airport Wednesday July 27 My sister dropped me off at the airport for an evening flight. Before the flight, I did a conference call for work to find out the results of some studies we were doing and found some dinner. The plane was crammed full, but it left on time and landed at Heathrow in London on time. I ...

We were gone on our trip on the 4th of July, but on the 5th we had barbecue chicken and this amazing stars and stripes pie I found in some stuff my mom sent me on Pinterest.  When we returned we also had a lot of errands to run. One of them was to pay Hannah's preschool tuition for the upcoming year. So we stopped by the Arts Center to do just that and Hannah saw an interactive X-wing exhibit.  We do live in the Midwest, so this is the time of the year for big storms. Here's another poor tree. I didn't witness its demise this time. Over the weekend Hannah and I got haircuts and went shopping. Then we went out to by boss' house in Topeka for a pool party. Hannah jumped in the 5 foot deep end before I could get my shorts and t-shirt off and get in with her. Of course, she started to panic and slosh in the water. Luckily another parent already in the pool pulled her out. Still fearless, she put on a life jacket and got right back in, but I was able to keep...

We usually don't venture too far from home unless it is to see family or go to an academic conference.  But sometime last year I realized that I had been to 40 of the 50 states and so I started steering myself towards the ones I had not yet been to. I knocked three off my list last year and this year I decided that since we were going to be in the midwest for the summer and even another year, I was going to tackle an out-of-the-way pair: North and South Dakota. So I found the best hotels at the best prices on the Internet and realized that following Interstate 29, I could get to Sioux Falls, SD and Fargo, ND, and then everything Dakota-ish in between. That left out Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills, but the point was to visit the state and I was closer to those places living in Utah, but I never went anywhere during the summer because I was always teaching classes and working in the migrant summer school program. Some other time, perhaps ... but here is our trip to the east Dakota...