Lights of the Lakes in Waukesha

Linden Heights, Waukesha

1:40 pm – Culver’s Waukesha. Today’s Lights of the Lakes show is off to a bad start. I left home around 11:45 am, to give myself plenty of time to get to LindenGrove Waukesha, plus a little extra in case of unexpected delays. I got there around 12:40, in plenty of time. I first went into the Assisted Living side of the complex, and was told my show was going to be in the other, larger building. I went there and the receptionist could find no record of my show on her schedule. After calling, she found out the show wasn’t going to happen until 3:30 pm; not 2:00 as I had it recorded on my sheet. I vaguely remember the time change, but I didn’t record it. The error gave me plenty of time to go to lunch, so I headed for a restaurant, and ended up at Culver’s for my usual fish sandwich.

I returned to LindenGrove around 2:15 and found out that my show would be in the Chapel on the second floor of the Linden Heights Assisted Living building. My contact, Stephany Stancil, turned out to be a friendly and helpful host. She helped me get my equipment up to the room, move chairs, and she got me everthing I needed. The show started at 3:30 and I had an audience of 20 seniors for this program. They were more lively than some of my past senior audiences, and seemed to really get into and enjoy the show. I got many compliments afterward.

Jill Ore, a woman I met on Facebook, also attended the program. Jill is a light- house enthusiast and fan on my Lights of the Lakes Facebook page. She saw a post I put there stating that I was going to be doing a show in Waukesha, and asked about it. A few texts later, she was hooked. She works at a hospital, and got some time off to come to the show. She showed up in her scrubs and thoroughly enjoyed the program, telling me it was “awesome” afterwards.

Getting back from Milwaukee’s western suburbs is a hassle any time, but during the afternoon rush hour it was especially bad. After leaving Linden Heights around 5:15, I got onto I-94 eastbound, I had planned to get off at Barker Road, but found out there’s no exit for that road. If I wanted to get to Barker Road, I would have had to get off on the US-18 exit and turn at Goerke’s Corners. Things you learn too late in life! I exited I-94 at Moreland Road and chanced taking it north. It’s a route I use a lot to get to Brookfield, but it was closed earlier this summer for construction. Thankfully, it was open today and I was able to get to Pilgrim Road. Eventually, I got to an area that I knew and traffic finally started flowing smoothly. I made it home around 6:30 pm.