Special visitors from the south

Happy Monday!
I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was long, and filled with quality time with some of my favorite people!

My folks were here visiting from Arizona!
I don't have anything exciting to report and what we did - we just had a nice time hanging out. I had been trying to convince Mom & Dad to visit us for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but they politely declined. Gee ... I wonder why they aren't interested in coming to Iowa in November and December? My mom was cold all day Sunday if that's a clue. I guess it does make more sense for us to travel that direction during the winter, don't you agree?

I hope all of you enjoyed the beautiful weather and some time doing what you enjoy, with the people you enjoy.

Have a great week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

A long weekend

Happy Monday!
As usual, I am performing a juggling act, and today it hasn't been a very successful one! That's why I'm late updating the blog. I'm sure some of you can relate.
One reason I'm up to my eyeballs is a long weekend spent out of town. Not just out of town, but out of the country! Michael and I made our first trip to Canada, spending a few days in Toronto.

We stayed in what's called the "entertainment district" where we had a great view of Canada's Wonder of the World - the CN Tower. It's the World's Tallest Building and very year about 2 million people visit it.

The CN Tower was built in 1976 by Canadian National. As is the case with most huge buildings, this one was constructed to show the strength of local industry.


We did a ton of walking each day, sticking relatively close to our hotel. That wasn't a problem because there is a ton of stuff in a roughly eight block radius. The entertainment district showcases a lot of historic buildings, mixed with new construction and there are countless shops and restaurants and bars to visit.

We are coffee junkies. "Second Cup" is Canada's "Starbucks." You spot these all over the place in the city and we made several trips. I mention this because it seemed to me that most of the locals were hanging out here, while most tourists (like us) could be found at Starbucks. And speaking of global economy and the reach of some franchises, one day a Japanese family asked us how to find the nearest McDonald's. There may be some American influences to our north, but we quickly realized that a lot of folks do not like us. As soon as we opened our mouths, some people would actually turn up their noses and sneer a bit while saying, "Oh, you are Americans..." We witnessed several small fights between Canadians and Americans and Europeans and Americans and it was a little unnerving. One guy kept screaming, "Go home, ya *$!@# Yankees!" I spent a lot of time smiling, trying to convince folks that we're really quite nice.See ... look how friendly we are! This is actually a "self portrait" taken after we realized that the camera had only left the confines of my purse once.

And here is Michael, relaxing at one of the many nightspots we hit. Many of the restaurants and bars in downtown Toronto have rooftop patios, which was a lovely surprise. The weather was unseasonably warm and we sat outside every night. Sigh. This was a nice getaway, and we didn't have a single travel headache. Amazing!

It's always nice to come home, especially on the first official day of fall and with wonderful weather on the way.

Enjoy!

EEK

Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

He's here! A disappointing movie.

Hello and Happy Monday!
It is a happy day, and that's because we have happy news to report.
For months we've been talking about "Megan's baby" or "Baby Salois" and now we can finally introduce to you Nathan Joseph!
Congratulations to Megan and her husband Chris.
We can't wait to meet Nathan!

We had a very low key weekend, which was a nice change of pace. Both Michael and I were interested in seeing the new movie "Righteous Kill" with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The previews made it look like a decent thriller, and with these two in leading roles, how could you go wrong .... right?

WRONG! This movie was terrible! It was predictable and boring and the acting from both superstars was disappointing at best. On top off wasting money going to the theater to watch something that I wouldn't even want to spend $4 on at Blockbuster, I also ate so much popcorn I ended up feeling sick. Ugh.

When we got home we decided to watch a GREAT movie - the first (and until now, the only) to feature De Niro and Pacino together. Michael and I have watched "Heat" countless times and I keep expecting to get bored with it, but I never do. My advice - rent this flick and skip the new one.

Have a great week!

EEK

Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Brrrrrr! A bit about last week and a baby shower!

Happy Monday!
Is anyone else cold? Given last year's brutal winter I know it makes me seem like a huge crybaby to whine about highs in the fifties but I don't care!!! It's September! It's still officially summer! It should be sunny and warm during the day and just a bit brisk at night! It should be perfect right now! Ed Wilson is consoling me by telling me things will warm up throughout the week. Whew. Tantrum over (for now).

I should have posted the following photos last week, but in my typical fashion I got distracted by other things and never got around to it. So, here we go ...

I got to hang out with Amanda Krenz and Emily Price last Tuesday when we flew to Louisiana with the Iowa National Guard. The invite came in Monday night and we all jumped at the chance to go. By the end of last week hundreds of Iowa Guard troops were on the ground helping with Gustav recovery efforts. It was a nice surprise to see these two ladies, although I don't think any of us expected to spend as much time waiting at the Des Moines airport as we did (six hours)! Emily and I had fun making people in HyVee do double-takes when they saw us getting lunch together.

Here is photojournalist Travis Jungling hard at work. It was hot out when we boarded the cargo plane. It was Africa hot inside the plane. We were all sweating bullets and I thought Travis was going to pass out. I was secretly thinking, "I'm so glad I just got my CPR re-certified." Luckily, I didn't need it. Seriously though, whenever I'm out on stories I always introduce the photographer by saying he does all the hard work. It's true. These guys bust their tails in some rough conditions and tv doesn't happen without them. It was a crazy day. Thanks, Trav.

And we finally got around to having a Channel 13 baby shower for Megan Salois! I was starting to get a little nervous that we wouldn't get to September 6th before the little guy made his appearance, but he is still hangin' out and Megan is a trooper.

You may not be able to tell what is on the front of this onesie. Jeriann had these made. They have the Channel 13 logo and read, "Watch Channel 13 News." I love it.

I think Megan's mom is telling a funny(embarrassing)story about Megan. We had a lot of laughs.

Awwwwwwwww! Teeny, tiny clothes and socks. So sweet.

More of the gang

Some of the loot
I should have taken a better picture of this quilt. Megan's mother made it and it's a Wizard of Oz theme. I love the tornado reference. Perfect for a meteorologist.

That's it for now! As always, thanks for reading and watching. Don't forget to check out the blogs being posted by our insane sports guys - RVTV is on the road headed for Iowa City!

Have a fantastic week!
EEK

Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Gustav

Happy Labor Day!

Like many of you, I'm working instead of enjoying a three day weekend. But I'm not complaining. Some people didn't get a weekend at all ... like Sonya. We were sitting at a local restaurant Saturday with a friend we worked with at Channel 5 when Sonya's cell phone rang. It was our boss, telling her she was going to be leaving for New Orleans later that day. We were disappointed our reunion lunch was cut short, but glad she would be covering this story. Some of you may remember that Sonya was in New Orleans shortly after Katrina hit, and returned for the one year anniversary. Last Friday marked the three year anniversary of that storm, and it made our hair stand on end to watch Gustav swirling off the coast, with forecasters predicting its path and strength. I can't imagine what it must be like for people who lived through Katrina and returned to rebuild. Sonya will be bringing us reports about the effects of Gustav and what the storm means to people who were still recovering from Katrina, in addition to sharing the stories of Iowans who are in Louisiana to help. More than 245 members of the Iowa Army National Guard are deployed to southern states, and Bobbie Bishop with the Central Iowa Chapter of the American Red Cross says at least 40 Iowa volunteers on are the ground as well. Keep them, and the people of the southeaster part of our country in your thoughts this week.

EEK