Bridgit and I went on a wonderful trip to Penland, NC to visit Betsy. We had a wonderful time.

Pictures are available here.Monday March 28th
We left Bridgit's house at 8:00am and headed to NC. We got stuck in a traffic south of Lexington, KY and it took two hours and fifteen minutes to go thirteen miles. It rained most of the way down. We called in Knoxville for a room at the Chinquapin Inn. Bridgit had fun driving the curvy mountain roads at night in the rain with a canoe on top of the car. We eventually found the Inn because on of the owners was standing at the road looking for us. We got our room and then went to find Betsy. We eventually found her studio and she was in it.

Tuesday March 29th
We got up and met Betsy at school for breakfast. Then she took us on a tour of the place. Penland is pretty cool. It's like art camp for adults. Bridgit and I then went to the Energy Xchange where they use the gas from an old landfill to power a ceramic kiln, glass furnace, Tilapia farm, and greenhouse. It is really cool.

Then Bridgit and I went out to Lake James and went canoeing. It was about 75 degrees and sunny, not what we are used to in Michigan in March. Then we drove back and stopped at a National Park Mineral Museum on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There we found out about Linville Falls and went back, picked up Betsy, then took here to the falls. We got a lot of pictures of the falls and then went to dinner at a local seafood place before going to Wall-Mart to pick up pictures. We got back just as slides were starting for the Studio Supervisors and they were great, as well as amusing.

Wednesday March 30th
We had breakfast at our Bed and Breakfast and then ran around a bit taking pictures before leaving. It was good to see Betsy. We then headed to Asheville for a little bit. In Asheville we saw some cool art at another NPS museum, the Folk Art Museum. From there we went downtown and wandered the little stores. Then we headed north towards Lexington, KY to stay at the Romonds.

Thursday March 31st
We left Lexington and headed home in the morning. Bridgit had to work at St. Andrews and I dropped her off on the way into town.

Its after Easter Vigil, so its Easter now. I am sitting here with a vodka tonic. Tomorrow there is a ton of stuff to do and on Monday Bridgit and I are going to North Carolina to visit Betsy at Penland.

These links has been floating around the office:
What you can get away with when signing a reciept?
Do you actually have to pay tolls?

As usual it was a busy as all get out weekend. We got bashed in soccer on friday 9-1. The team was way better and more experienced then we were. Saturday I had lunch with my sister and Bridgit, then Bridgit and I went to see the CAPjr show that Bridgit did costumes for.

Today it is supposed to get to almost 40 degrees. That means that its Chaco season once again.

Today we went canoeing with Anna. She is leaving tomorrow and moving to Washington. We replaced the wood on her canoe and today was it's first trip out.

My weekend vacation to the U.P. was great.

I set my alarm but forgot to turn it on so Bridgit and I didn't get up until 7 am instead of the planned 5am. We were on the road at about 7:40 am. Once in the U.P we missed the exit for M-2 and went about a half hour out of our way. We stopped for a lunch/bathroom/gas break in Naubinway and I got a couple of Pasties. We got to Marquette about 3pm and met Dan, Betsy, Rich and Sue at the Public Library which is across from their hotel. The ladies went to a bridal shop in town and us guys went to an outdoor store so I could add to my XC wax collection and then went back to the hotels' hot tub. When the ladies got back we got bundled up to go see the UP 200 dogsled race. Man it was something to see those dogs go. We watched them come down the hill towards the lake and then make a 90-degree turn at the bottom. After the race we had dinner at Upfront, which is an amazing restaurant /club.

We all went out to breakfast at a little restaurant in town and then headed to Houghton to see Dan and Bridgit's Uncle Fran and Aunt Joanne to go skiing. We ended up all XC skiing at the Michigan Tech Ski Trails. None of us had ever been on trails like it. In the L.P. we are used to only small amounts of snow, but in Houghton they have gotten 207 inches (17.25 feet) and it has been a light year. The trails are wide, hilly and groomed. They are nice, but my wide backcountry skis are not designed for the type of trails there. After skiing we went to Fran and Joanne's and had some food then headed into town to look at the ice sculptures from Winterfest. There Dan and I were mesmerized by the awesome sport of BroomBall, which is like Hockey but without skates and brooms and a ball instead of sticks and a puck. It is a sport which celebrates clumsiness.

Bridgit and I got up and went to church at St. Peters Cathedral in Marquette and then went to pick up stuff for breakfast. We went back to Ben's apartment and made eggs, bacon, and biscuits. After breakfast we packed up and then drove around town. We all helped Ben on his movie for class which involved a car turning on its left signal and then turning right. After the movie was shot we started the long trip home. It snowed all the way from Marquette to Dexter. The L.P. had a winter storm warning and the roads got worse as we got closed to home. Flint ended up getting almost a foot of snow. There were tons of accidents, most of which involved snowmobile trailers. People just don't know how to drive in bad weather. We averaged about 50mph all the way home and it took us 10 hours instead of the 7 hours it took to get there.

Bridgit and I are taking a long weekend and going up to visit Ben VV in Marquette. Hopefully there will be enough snow for both kinds of skiing and maybe even some snowshoeing. We are meeting Dan, Betst, and the VV's up there.

Now that I am getting married I now have a wedding web page. There isn't much up because I have only been engaged for two weeks, and there is very little done in the way of firm plans. You can go to BridgitandTom.com to see the page, or you can just go to tomcook.net/wedding. They both go to the same place. I am using a cool PHP JavaScript replacement thingy for the nav bar images. Also there are some issues with CSS and IE on Windows. Firefox is the best option, but others will work. I had to sacrafice some of my vision to get it to look right on IE, but I have to design to the lowest common denominator.

As of this past Saturday I am engaged.

read more for the FAQFAQ

Q: Who are you engaged to?
A:I am engaged to Bridgit Rutz, whom I have been dating for over a year.

Q: Is a wedding date set?
A: For some reason this is the first question that everyone asks. There is a tentative plan for December 2005. Most likely between Christmas and New Years. With Bridgit being a teacher we have summer or winter vacations as good options.

Q: How did it happen?
A: Bridgit and I went skiing and I “fell” and asked her to come over and give me a hand. I pulled the ring out and asked her to marry me. Then I pulled a bottle of Muscato 'd Asti out of my backpack which we drank sitting on a log in the woods.

Q: Was/Is there a ring?
A: Yes, an antique ring. Yellow gold band, with a white gold setting. One garnet with four diamonds.

Q: How can I contact you to send congratulations/money/free stuff?
A: I have a tentative wedding email set up wedding at tomcook.net

Q: What can I do to help?
A: You should email us so that we can assign you any duties you are fit for?

Q: Have any injuries taken place as a result of your engagement?
A: Actually, yes. Bridgit's parents are in BC skiing and we sent flowers telling them. Upon reading the news Barb, Bridgit's mother, threw her arms in the air, hitting John in the face and drawing blood.

Q: Will there be a wedding webpage?
A: As the time comes and more information becomes available a webpage will be put in place.

Q: Did she say yes?
Q: Do you think I would put this on my website if she said no?