I am getting a little bit off on my Sunday entry schedule, and I apologize.. I have been writing more sports tidally each week and still try to manage a post each week, but I cannot always guarantee the day of week. For instance, I want to now do a race recap on my event from Sunday, but I would like to wait until I see all pictures from the course photographers and any my friends took. So that will wait until later. But until then, I will put out a short photo memory post.

The photo below is of my dad and I during Christmastime of 2002.. While my website strongly talks about my loves of running, Disney World, my dad, and how they all tie together, there are other moments I love to cherish from when my dad was alive. This moment is one of them.

The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin, is a hotel that can simply not be compared with many other hotels in the world. The main building used to house the immigrant workers for the Kohler Company (yes, the company that makes toilets and faucets!). It was converted to a historic hotel in the early 80s and has received much praise—it is a AAA five diamond hotel! And, after Walt Disney World, it is definitely my family’s favorite getaway.

My parents first went to American Club when I was in 8th grade, and they got hooked. They first brought me in 2001, during Christmas. It was our backup trip that year, as after 9/11 occurred, my mom wasn’t sure if our airline tickets for Jamaica would be holding true by December—it was hard telling what would be flying by then at that point in time. So a trip to the American Club occurred. We went back again that Easter for a night, and then the following Christmas, in 2002. That’s when this photo was taken. In the main building off of the front foyer and library is this little nook by a fireplace with a chess set. My dad taught me how to play chess when I was a little girl and it was a game we would always play. He had a carved set from the Philippines I learned to play on, and now I am the owner of my dad’s stone chess set from the Holy Lands.

This moment of us playing chess together freezes an important memory and moment forever in my mind. I will always cherish the times our family had up in Kohler at the American Club, and this simple act of playing chess before heading off to dinner is so special.