"But still I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy...

...I am trying to break your heart." By showing you all of the photos of our mid-January-escape-from-Minnesota-go-to-an-all-inclusive-resort-for-a-music-festival trip!

I hadn't been telling people about our planned trip to Mexico for a couple of reasons.

1. The trip was to an all-inclusive Hard Rock Resort. We try to do trips where we actually see the place we are visiting rather than isolating ourselves with a bunch of Americans. Plus: the Hard Rock?
2. Fyre Festival. Need I say more? 
3. I don't like to announce when my house might be vacant.

Well, the Hard Rock was really nice. Really great. The resort itself was pretty, the food was great, and we didn't have to worry about getting sick from the food or water. The people who work there are super nice and hard-working, and, while we were very isolated, we did leave the premises to do a short tour of some Mayan ruins. With a bunch of Americans. But we'll go back; we'll see real parts of Mexico.

I thought beforehand, "I can trust Wilco, right? They're good, down-to-earth guys." (What's the phrase for when you delusionally feel like you have a bona fide relationship with celebrities?) The company that Wilco partnered with did an amazing job of making sure that we all felt pampered and like we were attending summer camp for adults. The planning was excellent. I would go to other things they organize.

And, we've been home for a little over a week, so here we go...

We left in the aftermath of a snowstorm, and were delayed because only half of the MSP runways were open and some serious de-icing had to occur before we could take off.

You aren't supposed to take photos in the customs line,
I read after taking this photo. I liked that the area
to fill out forms was called the "filling station."
Fill 'er up.

On the bus, on the way from the airport to the hotel,
I couldn't resist comparing the weather we left
to the weather we were encountering.

The bus ride was kind of like the bus to the
start of the MS150 bike ride! Someone
handed me a beer to kick off the weekend,
and I drank it.

I don't think it is less environmentally
friendly for the Hard Rock to give you
a wrist band that works as a key compared
to the credit card-sized keys that people surely
lose in the ocean and the pool.
I confess it was sad to cut off the
Wilco Sky Blue Sky festival wrist band
when I got home.

After taking the event shuttle from the airport (they had our flight info, so they were waiting for us) to the hotel, we checked into the hotel and into the event, and stood on one of the two balconies for our room, in short-sleeved shirts - peering at the ocean in the distance.

We had a great dinner at one of the resort restaurants, and then headed over for the first two shows of the weekend: Courtney Barnett and Wilco. We skipped the after-show events so that we could rest up for the remainder of the trip. The next morning, I did an aqua spin class - - a spinning class, in a pool, overlooking the ocean. And then I swam in the ocean. Life is rough, my friends.

We had breakfast, and then went to go read on a resort beach. The beaches were pretty crowded, so we made the unintentionally fantastic decision to sit in a little shaded hut that happened to be a bar, overlooking the ocean and overlooking the swimming beach where Calexico would be playing later in the day. We were able to read, drink some yummy beverages, eat some snacks, and hear the music perfectly! In comfortable chairs and without having to worry about sunscreen.

Waiting for Calexico, who were great.
We sat here every day, actually.

At night, we went and saw Sharon Van Etten and Wilco. We skipped the late-night, post-show activities again. There were a bunch of activities we skipped during the day, too, like making musical instruments, learning about rhythm, and competing in guacamole-making and lip syncing contests.

The next morning, I ran around the grounds, halfway on and halfway off the running trail. (It wasn't well marked.) I jumped in the ocean in my running clothes like a very unfit version of Brandi Chastain and swam for a little bit. We had breakfast, snagged some seats in the shady hut bar, caught the Jeff Tweedy solo set, and left early to make sure that we got to the mezcal tasting event with two of the Wilco band members.

The mariachi band kicked things off. You'll note
that the guy singing has red smartphone in
his breast pocket. For some reason, this made me laugh.

Nels Cline comparing the mezcal he was drinking
to music. I'd love to have him come to a party.
Although I'd have to make sure to invite really
smart people. He's on a different level.

John Stirrat, the nice guy you'd imagine, trying
to engage the audience.

I'm in the official event photos, holding my final
sample of mezcal after I embarrassingly said publicly,
into a microphone, that the previous sample
was "pedestrian." Oh, what a snob!

We had a really great dinner that night with super service, and went to check out Kamasi Washington. We skipped Dr. Dogg and.... someone else, deciding to sit on our balcony instead, enjoying a cocktail in the warm, quiet air.

The next day we went to Tulum and saw some Mayan ruins. It didn't feel right, to be at ruins without my dad and Beth - who we traveled with to Peru/Macchu Picchu in 2006 and Egypt in 2009. To make myself feel slightly consoled, I texted Beth about having fond memories of our "ruinous trips." Dan made me laugh by commenting on how we had better cell coverage in Mexico than we have in Wisconsin.

Back at the resort, we watched the Autumn Defense (John Stirrat and Pat Sansone from Wilco) from our bar hut. We ate dinner on the plaza at the yummy food stands (I accidentally kept on getting in the same line as one of Jeff Tweedy's kids and was worried that he thought I was stalking him) by the main stage and saw a fantastic show by Yo La Tengo (why haven't I seen them before?!?) and, of course, Wilco, again.

We retreated to our now-dark bar hut thing on the ocean and listened to a DJ set by Wilco keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen. I walked up to the bar and the bartender said, "mezcalita?" Sadly, but awesomely, he remembered that I'd been drinking (slowly; I was never tipsy the whole trip, which I'd say is good for an all-inclusive resort!) margaritas made with mezcal. Instead, he gave me a sample of the tequila that he thinks is the best. Dan and I took a long time sipping our straight-up alcohol by the ocean (and Dan had to drink the final sip of mine) before we felt we could go to sleep before heading back to Minnesota the next day.

This guy was my favorite bartender. Dan had
whiskey; I had some good tequila. I think
he gave me a fancy glass because I'm a lady.

All in all, a total success: great music, great food, no worries, a total vacation. We booked the trip somewhat on a whim despite reservations about the cost. It was all paid off by the time we arrived in Mexico. I remember the last time I saw my dad, in May, I was telling him, Beth, and my aunt and uncle that we'd just booked the trip and were somewhat mortified. Who knew what all would happen between May and January - losing my dad, having to put our dog to sleep, and navigating the emotional stress of another family member's illness (their story to tell, not mine; and yes, "their" is a legit singular pronoun - who knew it would come in handy in this circumstance!). The trip is a good reminder that it is good sometimes to just be spontaneous and take the plunge!

Photos of the shows we saw. Upper left quadrant = night
one: Courtney Barnett and Wilco. Upper right quadrant =
day two: Calexico, Sharon Van Etten, Wilco. Lower
left quadrant = Tweedy and Kamasi Washington
with a close up of the woman who sings with Kamasi
Washington and can rock a pantsuit like no one else.
Lower right quadrant: The Autumn Defense,
Yo La Tengo, Wilco.

In addition to seeing HUGE iguanas and cute coatis, we
saw cute little agoutis near the nature-y part
surrounding the resort's small fitness trail.

At Xmas, I took a photo of myself in a tube like
this in the snow in Wisconsin. I couldn't
resist climbing in this one, too, and demanding
that my image be captured.

Tulum

Hard to see it here, but...

This is the face in the corner.
I think it is like a Hoyle playing card.

I told Dan that it was mandatory that we take
one photo together on the trip. Who knew he'd
hide his face in the shade of a cap?

Back at the resort. This made me laugh.
Mexico has lawyers, too, I see.

Is the sign really made out of sand?
It looked like it. 

The plaza area by the main stage (and, frankly, tons
of stuff at the resort) had event signage. It was cool.

That's me, on the first night. It's hard to see.

The empty stage. I liked looking at the artwork. During
the shows, you could see stars in the sky at night.
Except the one night when it rained lightly, which
was actually kind of nice

One could grow accustomed to this.

So, we're back. I realized that I have to start thinking about stuff related to my BikeMS rides and captaining my team. Now that we're shifting to February, it seems about right. One cannot simply take aqua bike classes in a pool next to the ocean every day! 

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/GoMaggieGo

16,000 x 0.75 words

I haven't posted anything here lately because, frankly, I'm tired of hearing my own voice. Here are 16 photos from the last 4 weeks, each of which allegedly is worth 1,000 words. I'm not the best photographer, so I'm sharing them at the discounted rate of 12,000 words.

Beth's tree. I sat here over Christmas, by myself,
in the mornings and had some nice thoughts
of my dad.

At my mom's. I feel like I slept better
than my hair might suggest.

A new taproom by where I grew up.

The stone arch bridge from the Guthrie.
The observation deck was closed.

From the Guthrie's windows along
the endless bridge.

Ah, Minnesota.

My uncle posted this photo of my grandparents.
My dad got his smiling photo head tilt from my
Grandpa, I think. My Grandpa was an amazing guy.

Thor, Kristin and Steve's cat.
Photo credit: Kristin

The nature preserve on the site of the former
swamp where we went when I was a kid.

My brother's dogs: my adventure
companions for three days in the
Northwoods.

The plaque has been installed on the memorial
bench at the nature preserve.  

The Northwoods, again. I'm liking the random order
in which the Blogger app decided to place my
photos.

We forgot to take the ashes of our dogs over the
Christmas holiday. We were going to put them by
the river (this photo and the one above).

Ginny and Arthur couldn't run
away; the snow was too deep. It was
fun to exhaust them each day.

Over the break I set up the fundraising pages for my team's BikeMS rides in 2020. I also set up my main page. This year is already starting off in an unpredictable way, so I don't have everything mapped out yet, but I'm going to funnel all of my fundraising efforts to this ride again this year: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/GoMaggieGo

I'm looking forward to pedaling my way to some new adventures this year. There's always an adventure, if you keep your eyes open.

Taller, Slimmer, Younger

My friend Jen and I have been laughing about the fact that I bought a book called, "Taller, Slimmer, Younger." What caught my eye wasn't the title, or the fact that the author apparently is a Gwyneth Paltrow Goop contributor. No, what caught my eye were the bolded words in the subtitle "foam roller" and 21 days. There are photos and instructions for something like 65-80 unique foam roller stretches and exercises.

So, I got through Day 9 and then went to Nashville for a long weekend for my birthday without my foam roller. Because of that break from the 21-day regimen, I surely am still short, definitely am not any slimmer, and am either a whole year - or at least four days - older.

Nashville. Yup.

Cons: litter and kind of dumpy, a lot of construction/new development when you're trying to get around that also is making Nashville unaffordable and contributing to the homeless problem, restaurants that use tons and tons of plastic every single day, no recycling.

Pros: maybe the new development/revitalization can help with the trash problem, the homeless people weren't scary, good food (including vegetarian and vegan options), a lot of locally-owned/non-chain restaurants including in places that looked pretty dumpy but then were cool on the inside, a variety of music options every night.

My favorite part of the trip was the first night. We had a really good dinner (with multiple-use dishes) and then went and saw a bluegrass band at the Station Inn. I think I'm going to subscribe to their streaming service. It's this little, very old hole-in-the wall place in a newly rebuilt, less interesting neighborhood.

Top: East End Nash bluegrass band
Bottom: Husb getting a beer

The next day we walked around and in the capitol on the way to the Johnny Cash museum. Later, we got Dan some BBQ and then went to the Ryman Theater and saw the Grand Ole Opry. It was fascinating. They mix up each show so there's a little something for everyone. I liked the corny old timey guys and the Old Crow Medicine Show. Note: The Ryman is worth going to when someone you like is in town.

The capitol is way bigger looking on the
other side of the hill.

These old guys were cute and festive. 

We went to an old, wood-laden fancy hotel bar afterwards. Apparently the men's restroom is a sight to behold in terms of its art deco stylings. There were older guys making sure the coast was clear and then sending their lady friends in for a look. I didn't go in, but the pictures online are interesting.

This view from our Airbnb kind of sums up how I felt when I woke up on my birthday. I was glad to have a view of the working river and watch the barges/tugs and the swing bridge moving the train tracks aside for the boats, but despite being in a different place and on a different schedule, my first thoughts when I woke up were about missing my dad and my dog and thinking about the upcoming holidays and the year ahead. It didn't help that I made the crappiest french press full of coffee and that my neck was super sore from sleeping weird.

This might look a bit better if you click on it; it is a panorama photo.

We walked all over East Nashville, though, which was a nice change of pace. I tried some sour beers at a taproom. I think I mostly ordered a flight just so I could use the TN-shaped holder to carry my mini-drinks to my table.

From dinner on Sat night; we weren't
the first northerners to go to that restaurant.

At the end of the night we went to Nashville's First-Ave-ish music venue. We weren't into the opener or the main act, but went there for - and really enjoyed - seeing the Black Pumas, the second of the three bands. They closed with this song. The live version was super energetic and fun, as was their whole set.

Our last day we walked around by Vanderbilt, ate, visited a distillery, went in some shops, etc. This replica of the Parthenon (originally built in the late 1800s for the centennial exposition and then made into a permanent building in the early 1900s) was not yet open but it was still interesting to see.

I would go back to Nashville, but only to see a favorite musician at the Ryman. I have no regrets, even though I got off track for getting taller, slimmer, and younger.

(Oh. I took advantage of down time on Friday to get some stuff together for my team for next year's BikeMS rides, and to put together my main page for next year. Here it is if you're looking to make any year-end charitable contributions: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/GoMaggieGo.)

Trying hard to not become a sheep

“Whoever becomes a sheep is eaten by wolves.”
― Henri-Frédéric Amiel, The Private Journal of Henri Frederic Amiel

The woods by where my mom and Terry now live - the woods that I decided were mine when we started visiting my then-to-be-stepdad's cabin when I was in the third grade - are the place that I consider to be my home in my heart.

Despite this being home, and despite discovering piliated woodpeckers, coyotes, and even moose tracks in recent years, I had never seen a fox here until last Christmas. I had never seen a bear (although I had heard one) until last June. And I had never seen signs of a wolf until today.

My goal, when walking, was to not become a sheep!

For context, my boot is a size 9.5.

My eyes were more on the ground to see what else had passed this way before me (answer: smaller deer, shrews, rabbits, birds, mice, squirrels, coyotes, and foxes) and scanning to make sure I wasn't being followed, rather than taking in the full breadth of the scenery, but I still managed to see some of the beauty around me.

I was having some problems uploading videos which are cooler than the photos that follow because you can hear the wind in the trees, which is pretty much my favorite sound. You can find them here, though:

McDermott video #1

McDermott video #2

Best if you click on this.

Road headed back toward the house.
A truck had come through where I was walking, but
thankfully it was after I had stopped to go to the
bathroom right out in the open...

You can burn all my mail and disconnect my phone...

I need a change of scenery

"I need a change of scenery" is pretty much the most (only?) pick-outable lyric in The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - - my favorite song to bike to. To which to bike.

That line isn't why I like the song, nor is it the reason why Stacy kindly put it on the video she very, very kindly pulled together of my September San Francisco/wine country bike ride, despite it being quite a change of scenery. (Thank you, Stacy!)

But it fits for the video. It fits for bike riding. And it fits as an explanation of the inside of my head the past month or so.

I visited my Beth (I hate qualifying my relationship with half of my parents and siblings with the word "step"). I got to go for a chilly, pre-snow ride with my friend Matt followed by a good Korean dinner, and now I'm visiting my mom and Terry. On the horizon - a mix of family and friend gatherings for Thanksgiving and a December trip to Nashville.

I thought I'd throw in some random photos that illustrate either a change of - or a need for a change of - scenery.

I had to work in the dining room for a week
because an injured Piper needed monitoring
and she couldn't go up/down stairs. Wearing
a sweater that Beth and my dad gave me
for my birthday last year, I enjoyed
working in a room with much more
natural light than my office.

2+ weeks after her injury, and largely better,
she snuck upstairs when I was in my office,
sliding the barricade out of the way. She
also needed a change of scenery!

I was considering having cocoa
instead of tea while typing this
(it is cold here in the northwoods),
but decided to have the best of both
worlds: a handful of stale mini
marshmallows while my tea heated up.

I made a survey for my siblings to assess
our plans for exchanging Xmas gifts. I
put a picture next to each option, including
this totally bizarre image. Evidence
of a needed change of scenery?
Regardless, I love the Internet.

My sister Molly went with me to visit Beth. She
really pushed to pull out the lawnmower, which
she'd never driven before. I guess she needed
a change of scenery, too.

Not a change of scenery exactly, but a change
of perspective. Since when is a neck a butt?
When the phrases "pain in the butt" and
"pain in the neck" were created, did
they mean the same thing?