Before going to the UPAA symposium, I visited Kristen and Chad and their adult children in Hilliard, Ohio. Being able to spend a little bit of time with them, relaxing before the stress of the UPAA symposium was absolutely perfect!
(We had great fun replicating some photos from our college days. This one above is my favorite! 1994 on the left, 2026 on the right)
Kristen sought out a variety of things that we could do as new experiences for my 50th birthday! She showed me around her home and the surrounding towns. I had Somalian food for lunch, which I’ve never had before (spicy!) (New experience #1!) Then we went to essentially a warehouse that had 30 bins full of Amazon returns. Depending on the day that you go there, any item in those bins is either $3, $7, or $10. We got there on $10 day, but had a great time fishing through everything and making jokes about the ridiculous things we found. (New experience #2!)
The next morning we went for brunch at a Dominican restaurant (New experience #3!) , and from there we went to a paint pouring project place (New experience #4!) .
The best part was just spending time with Kristen, catching up with both her and Chad, getting to know her kids a bit.
I of course made a video about our adventures!
BEAN'S BABBLETORIUM 