The News From Basswood Bend

76 Golf World

2012-01-16T18:05:00.000-05:00

This morning I promised myself that I would try to catch up on my blog a little bit. So I spent the entire morning uploading pictures and updating the blog. OK, I'm a little slow, I admit, but I'm also still struggling with the new blogspot format. Anyway, I got quite a bit done.

After lunch, we picked up Chip and Dylan (Laurie's at work) and we all went to Golf World to play miniature golf. It's a family joke that Dylan used to call it immature golf, so sometimes we all call it that. We had a great time - it's really a lot of fun. We kept having to let people play through because there were 4 of us and we took longer. It can't be that we were just slow!

I played 18 holes with them, but begged off for the second round on a different course. I had my phone for games and iced tea for sipping so I enjoyed myself anyway. Chip and Dick each claim that they got a hole in one on the second course - Dylan didn't deny it, so it must be true!

A good time was had by all:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 83 years old today had he lived. We sincerely enjoyed the holiday memorializing him.

DuPuis

2012-01-15T19:32:00.000-05:00

DuPuis Management Area

23500 SW Kanner Highway
Canal Point , FL 33438
561-924-5310

DuPuis is a 21,875 acre multi-use natural area interspersed with numerous ponds, wet prairies, cypress domes, pine flatwoods, and remnant Everglades marsh. The area provides miles of hiking and horseback trails, an equestrian center, graded vehicle roads, backpack and group campsites, and seasonal hunting. There is no fee for camping in DuPuis, which is on a first-come, first-served basis. There also is a group camping site off the DuPuis Grade.
Wildlife: Several bald eagles nest here. Herons, egrets, wood storks, and white ibis hunt for food in the marshes close to the road during the wet season. Look for white-tailed deer, wild hogs and turkeys around dawn and dusk.

Laurie and Dylan, Dick and I went on the DuPuis Auto Tour this afternoon. It's a wonderful, varied, huge area which contains many different types of eco-systems. We didn't see any wildlife at all, doggone it - except for a couple of birds. But it was the perfect day for a drive, and we were fascinated with the variety of vegetation - many types of trees and shrubs. My favorite is the beautiful dahoon holly. It was a total standout in a sometimes bland landscape!

Dick discovered that there were caches in the park, and with our three teams we couldn't miss! Dylan is now a member by himself and his caching name is Zoroan. We found two caches - my favorite was the Shell Lake cache at the fishing pier. I've never seen such elaborate wasp structures as these mud dauber "buildings". We all searched and searched - and it was quite a thrill when Laurie found it!

Found it 01/15/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Swamp Monster
Riding with the sharkie crew on the Dupuis road tour and a close cache popped up. A short walk and a quick find.signed the log, took a tea bag and left a fire truck. TFTC

Sharkie Crew searching for the swamp monster:

Found it 01/15/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Shell Lake Visit LogWe were out for a ride with sharkiecrew and zoroan this afternoon. Their goal was to share and show this beautiful park to us. We enjoyed the road tour, came to the finish and resolved to find the cache at the end. Four pairs of eyes searched low as well as high with out success. We poked and prodded numerous mud dauber nests without finding either insect or cache. The Basswoods had reached the end of their rope when Mrs. Sharkie said, "Here it is"Thanks to Gator Man for the cache and to Mrs Sharkie for the find.

What a pleasant afternoon we had!

For dinner we went to Lola's Seafood Eatery - it's a great little place - emphasis on the little - with great food.

Boat Show and Gates, Gates and More Gates!

2012-01-14T19:36:00.000-05:00

The Boat Show is in full swing today! Lots and lots of people are there - many have to walk three blocks from the parking area. There are some shuttles, though - buses, bicycle rickshaws, golf carts - but most people are just hoofing it. Admission is $10 per person - they must be making a bundle! Dick took the opportunity to walk on the Roosevelt Bridge and take pictures of the festivities.

Even though the show is right outside out front door, it's really not a problem. They have it all very well organized and they've anticipated anything that could go worng. We haven't had any problems with extra people in the area, or with parking at the condo - it's very well patrolled.

In the afternoon we went back out west to finish the Citrus Gate Series. We almost succeeded! After we recover from gate aversion, we'll probably go back out there and find the rest of them.

DNF 01/14/2012 You couldn't find [Traditional Cache] Citrus Gate Series #7
I think we got tired of rubbing gates this afternoon.

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Citrus Gate Series #6
Another nice hide. TFTC

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Citrus Gate Series #5
The baggie was ripped so we replaced it. TFTC

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Citrus Gate Series #4
LOL This is the hide we've been looking for. Signed log and left a jack. TFTS
(It was a wire down a pipe.)

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Citrus Gate Series #3A
The No Parking signs made us a little nervous but what are you going to do? Signed log, TFTC

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Almond Joy
The boat show and all its traffic is in our back yard so we decided we needed a break and a ride in the country. We came out here to seek a few caches. This is a very nice change of pace from running our hands up and down and all over fence gates. Very creative hide. We signed the log and left Jack Squat. TFTC
(It was in a coconut!)

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Citrus Gate Series #3
Wow! A huge cache! Took away some trash and left our card and a punch ball. TFTC

DNF 01/14/2012 You couldn't find [Traditional Cache] Citrus Drinks
Don't know why we thought we'd be able to find it when so many others could not.

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Citrus Gate Series #2
Very tricky. TFTC

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Citrus Gate Series #1 - South End
We'd had enough boat show traffic so we came over to grab a few caches. TFTC

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Lost and Found
Well, I did it again. Why take the time to find the best route to the cache when you can just bushwack? Of course we don't have the wonderful saw palmetto in Michigan. Signed the log, it's a bit damp but still functional, took some roadside trash and left our pathtag, some skin, and a bit of blood. TFTC
(Quite a bit of blood, actually!)

Found it 01/14/2012 You found [Traditional Cache] Caitlin can see you!!!
We're thinking that Caitlin goes to the nearby school. Since we came by on a Saturday, she probably didn't see us today but we left her a prize if she visits her cache soon. The log is full so we placed a new one. Signed log and left the perfect coin for this cache.
(It was a magnetic key holder coin and it went into a magnetic key holder. Sometimes life is just fun.)

After all of this caching we were feeling a little scuzzy (and bloody) so we went back to the condo to freshen up a bit. We picked up Chinese Take Away at Pei Wei and took 5 dinners over to Chip and Laurie's. Pei Wei has Dylan's absolutely favorite food so we knew it would be a winner. Watched a little football and then came home.

Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park

2012-01-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

This park used to be called Riverbend Park. Laurie's family has used it many time for biking, canoeing and kayaking. The other day when we drove down to Ft. Lauderdale, Laurie noticed the name change, and wondered what that was all about. Today we went back down there to check it out. It was especially nice because all five of us went. There's a nice new road, and several caches. It was a great drive and we enjoyed the whole day immensely. It turns out that the name was changed to Battlefield Park because it was the site of two battles in January of 1838 during the Seminole War.

Loxahatchee River Battlefield ParkENTRANCE: 9060 Indiantown Road, Jupiter, Florida 33478CLASS: historical/regionalACREAGE: 64 acresHOURS: seven days a week (including holidays); sunrise - sunsetLOCATION OF Second Seminole War Battles Powell's Battle - January 15, 1838 Jesup's Battle - January 24, 1838 Loxahatchee National Wild and Scenic River

Buddha's Tree
Found it 01/10/2012

A visit to the park with the sharkies today. We parked and "bushwacked" to the cache. Although, in Florida, can you call it a bushwack when you don't get your hat knocked off, your legs ripped by saw palmetto's, and your socks covered with various burrs and other hitchhikers? When we arrived at GZ, (with proper reverence I assure you) as a northerner, I had to have explained to me the propensity of the Florida version of the ficus to assassinate the tree which provides it shelter as a child. At home in Michigan, the fig is much better behaved. (Of course it doesn't live as long). Since we didn't really expect to do any caching today, (and when we do, down here, ammo cans are a rarity) we didn't have our stash bag with us. Signed log, left nothing and took only oranges,(That's another thing we don't gather up north) and hopefully, not a dose of poison ivy. Thanks for one of our favorite Florida caches.

Cachers Box
Found it 01/09/2012
We came down today with the sharkie crew to check out the improvements which have been made since our last visit a couple of years ago. We are impressed and vow to return for at least another canoeing expedition. We weren't thinking about caching when we left home but the smart phone said it was here so the dumb guy tagged along and found it. Thanks for the excuse to get out of the car and enjoy the sunshine. BTW, there is a neat osprey nest just above GZ. He yelled at us but when we refused to leave, he did because he didn't want his picture on Facebook.

Since we were near Jupiter, we went to lunch at this great place that Laurie had heard about but had never been to. It's called Guanabanas, and it's an open-air, tiki/chikee kind of a place with great service and very good food. We felt very "Florida" having lunch there :) It's the kind of a place you want to go back to. I think that next Christmas we should plan for the whole family to come here! It is really special and different.

Old Photo

2012-01-10T20:35:00.000-05:00

My nephew Dan posted this picture on Facebook. It's my brother Jim and me at a reunion a couple of years ago. I really like this photo - I hadn't seen it before!

Caching and Christmas and NFL

2012-01-07T21:21:00.002-05:00

01/07/2012 You found Trash In - Cache Out
Mrs Sharkie spotted it first. I took the message to heart and grabbed an empty Publix bag from the car before we walked the trail. By the time we got back it was full. TFTC

01/07/2012 You couldn't find Busch Street Series-Get Me Out if Here!
We read fuzbill's log also but it didn't help us today.

01/07/2012 You found Busch Street Series-Unearthed!

I think it was zoroan who spotted this one first. We had a fun walk in an area which was new to all of us. TFTC

01/07/2012 You found Busch Street Series-End of the Berm

Sharkie Crew and Zoroan shared a morning adventure with us. We found a few and got skunked by a couple. This one was large enough to leave some swag. Left a mermaid and our card, signed the log and replaced as found. Thanks for bringing us out here today.

01/07/2012 You found Busch Street Series-To the left of Center!

This exemplifies the concept of "hidden in plain view". Three pairs of eyes drawing a blank until Mrs. Sharkie spotted it. She waited while we continued searching. Then Zoroan spotted it. I was ready to surrender when - there it was. TFTC

01/07/2012 You found Busch Street Series-It's Right There!

This one was spotted first by Zoroan. Sharkie signed for us and I took some trash, wound up with a bag full by the end of our hike. Left Jack Squat. TFTC

01/07/2012 You couldn't find Busch Street Series-Right off the Trail! Enjoyed the walk this morning even if we came up empty twice.

01/07/2012 You found Busch Street Series-Leftovers!

Nothing better than erasing a DNF, especially when it's such a unique hide. (I'm already planning to copy it.) Came back today with reinforcements but didn't need them. It does help to carefully read the description and past logs. Retrieved cache, gave it to Sharkie to sign and then replaced as found. Thanks for the fun.

From: Geocaching
Date: Sat, Jan 7, 2012 at 6:35 PM
Subject: [GEO] John&Jelene contacting basswoodbend from Geocaching.com

To: basswoodbend@gmail.com

Hi Basswood!

So glad to hear you all had a nice day out caching today! What a glorious day it's been, huh! I'm so sorry you missed the one on the Busch Street Series, we'll go check on it Monday!

You all are GOOD cachers, especially with "Left of Center'" that's a tricky one! WELL DONE my friend!!!

I hope you two will be joining us this year at Cacheapalooza 6 on January 21st, we'd love to have you join in the fun!!!

Happy New Year and thank you so much for the really cute logs, you two made us smile tonight!

Thanks for that!

Warmest Regards,Jelene!
******
A nice morning of caching, as noted above.

A great lunch at Panera Bread, then off to Laurie's to help put away Christmas. I loved wrapping the beautiful ornaments in tissue - some of them have many good memories.

It's ironic that we're putting away the Christmas things and at the same time today is Christmas Day in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Chip got lasered in the cockpit at 6000 feet at the Raleigh airport tonight. He had to deal with a bunch of questions and fill out forms, etc., procedures which don't exactly encourage reportage. All is well, no harm done.

Came home to watch the Lions - right now the score is Lions 14, Saints 10 at half time. It's a minor miracle. The final score was Saints, too much - Lions, not enough. 45 - 28

Bad Medicine

2012-01-07T08:28:00.000-05:00

I broke my vow never to take the Indomethacin for gout because it's a powerful nsaid, and I can't tolerate that because it causes internal bleeding which I am prone to. At 2:30 in the morning it seemed like such a good idea - I took it and woke up 5 hours later. I'm going to keep taking it until the symptoms are totally gone because I don't want the gout to linger the way it did in my foot for three weeks after Thanksgiving. There may be a price to pay, but the relief and being able to move my arm may be worth it.

Happy New Year?

2012-01-06T08:27:00.000-05:00

Heck of a way to start 2012. Major gout attack - right elbow. I didn't know that was possible, until I googled it (with my left hand). Very painful and impossible to move - no real range of motion. Phooey. I object.

Sugar Bowl Champs !!

2012-01-04T00:52:00.001-05:00

Jan. 4, 2012

Site: New Orleans, La. (Mercedes-Benz Superdome)
Event: 78th Annual Allstate Sugar Bowl
Score: #13 Michigan 23, #17 Virginia Tech 20 (OT)
Records: U-M (11-2), Virginia Tech (11-3)
Attendance: 64,512
Next U-M Game: Season Complete

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Junior/sophomore Brendan Gibbons (West Palm Beach, Fla./Cardinal Newman) kicked a 37-yard field goal in the first overtime session to give the University of Michigan football team (No. 13 AP/No. 12 USA Today Coaches) a 23-20 win over Virginia Tech (No. 17 AP/No. 11 USA Today) on Tuesday (Jan. 3) in the 78th annual Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Junior Hemingway was named MVP. It was a fun, exciting game, with a little bit of everything - turnovers, penalties, even some hipper-dipper. I loved it. Tom was texting from China! It was fun to find out that the CEO of Allstate is an alumnus - who knew? (It was the Allstate Sugar Bowl)

Loggerhead Marinelife Center of Juno Beach

2011-12-30T20:09:00.000-05:00

Started the day at Oracle Lab for 2nd blood test. That took about a minute and a half. Then we went to Winn Dixie to pick up some things. Laurie never goes there - she prefers Publix. I thought Winn Dixie was just as good - but that's just based on one visit.

Laurie drove us to Juno Beach to see the rescued sea turtles at the Marinelife Center of Juno Beach. I never thought of sea turtles as cute beings - but these were quite cute in their own way! Each turtle had a name, and a plaque with a description of the type of injury and the treatment that it is receiving. The Center was crowded with families and kids of all ages. The Center does a great job, and admission is donation only.

Back in Palm City, Chip got home from work, and we ordered Chinese take away - very yummy. After dinner, we all watched the end of Abduction and it was time for bed.

Bye Bye Jana

2011-12-29T19:50:00.000-05:00

Our farewell to Jana breakfast was at Mulligan's in Stuart. I think that it's the best breakfast place we've been to yet in Florida. The food was yummy and the service was splendid.

Laurie drove Jana to the airport, and we stayed with Dylan for an hour or so, and then we delivered him to Peyton's house for the rest of the afternoon. When Laurie got back, they shifted to Saint Creek Drive, and Peyton came along to spend the night.

The rest of us watched the first half of the movie "Abduction" - I'd never heard of it, but it was a really fun movie with at least one spectacular explosion!

Dick and I got tired half way through the movie, so we left and planned to watch the rest of it tomorrow.

Lion Country Safari

2011-12-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

Jana has to leave tomorrow, so today she wanted to do something special that she's never done before! We chose Lion Country Safari, which is always a treat even if you have been there before.

It was the perfect day for an outing - cool, clear, sunny- perfect, as I said.
Great for picture taking, too. We drove through at a very slow pace and had terrific views of most of the big animals. Afterwards, we stopped to eat at Bru's Room Bar and Grill in Royal West Palm Beach - they do a wicked salad!

This is one of a pair of lions guarding the front gate. He reminded me of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia.

Lions are very sleepy in the daytime. The CD guide we were listening to said they sometimes sleep for 20 hours per day.

A wildebeest, or gnu. We thought he looked like a grumpy old man.

Mom and baby white rhino

Horses in striped pajamas

Zoo buddies

Gibbon

Yard ornament

Giraffe - sweet close-up

THANK YOU JANA

One lion did get up and walk around - she flopped right back down in the shade.

Gnus

THE END

Bye Bye Tom. Hello Cirque

2011-12-27T01:02:00.000-05:00

Since Tom is leaving today, it's the perfect time to have a farewell breakfast at the Galaxy Diner. It's almost a tradition.

Laurie drove Tom to the airport to fly the first leg of his trip to Melbourne, Australia. He flies first to Houston, waits 3.5 hours, then flies to LA, waits another 3.5 hours, then off to Australia - a sixteen hour flight. We will all miss him - he's such an integral part of the family.

The remaining six of us went off to Ft. Lauderdale to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts to see the Cirque Holidaze Dreams show. It was such a colorful, spectacular performance, filled with impossible physical prowess and flexibility. By the end of the show, the splits were just ho-hum! It seemed as though everyone on stage could do the splits. The two child performers were very impressive - I especially enjoyed the little girl in pink who must be double jointed in every possible joint.

Dylan and Laynie with the Cirque Toy Soldier in front the the Performing Arts Center:

Dylan and Laynie seated and ready to watch:

Grandma and Grandpa can't wait!

Steiger/Gillespie Christmas Day

2011-12-26T21:47:00.000-05:00

Dick found this water at Publix - perfect for you know who!

Laurie Jane - hostess and chef extraordinaire :)

Dylan had a stocking to explore.

His first gift was - ta da! - an iPhone!!

We were so happy that he had an iPhone that we all called him.

I'm sure that Tom is recommending some really good apps.

Host and Hostess with the Mostess !!

Brave Tom brought this all the way from China!

Chip's first moments with his new grill - Merry Christmas!

Traditional Christmas Day

2011-12-25T21:31:00.000-05:00

Chip has to work on Christmas Day, so our family is celebrating Christmas tomorrow. Chip should get here around noon tomorrow. This is the first time that we've ever not celebrated on the Very Day - but it's really not so hard. Since Dylan is now such a grown-up, it didn't bother him either.

Laurie made us a terrific turkey dinner, with such a beautiful table setting - I'm so sorry I didn't get a picture of it. The dinner was scrumptious, and we appreciated all of her hard work and hospitality!

While the turkey was cooking, we took the opportunity to do some Christmas caching near her neighborhood. Laurie wanted to show us a tricky one, but Dick walked right to it - it was a kind with which we are very familiar. She took us to three all together - it was a beautiful day, lots of fun, and the turkey bird was roasting peacefully in the oven while we were gone.

After dinner and clean-up, Dylan, Tom and Jana tried their skill at Jenga - it's as much fun to watch as to play.

As Dick Strolls Through Town

2011-12-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

This morning, Dick went walking around downtown Stuart. It's fun to see Kilwin's and Harbor Wear right next to each other - makes you feel like you're back in Traverse City.

Well.....almost:

Later on at Laurie's, Tom and Dylan had a bunch of fun playing Halo on the xBox -

I watched for almost an hour - no, really - but then my eyes felt bloodshot, so I left the playroom!

Christmas present to our family from the Hardy family :)

Cookies from Kathee:

Terrific looking U of M ornaments - Go Blue!

A Kind of Irreverent Christmas Card

2011-12-23T21:13:00.002-05:00

Kind of?

Dick's Dip/ Descendants

2011-12-22T21:04:00.002-05:00

This morning Dick drove over to Publix to do some walking and to pick up some caches in that area. He saw many of these muscovy ducks - apparently some people feed them, and they have no fear of humans. They're not the prettiest duck you'll ever see! He says that they are the only ducks in the U.S. not related to mallards. The native Americans were the first to domesticate them.

I stayed here and walked around the building, along the riverfront, and ended up at our condo's little pool with my Kindle.

Our Gate:

Fountain number 2:

When Dick got back, he joined me poolside and took a dip in the pool - he said it was warmer than the summertime Bay.

It would have been nice to spend more time around the pool, but the hedge trimmers came to trim all of the hedges, and it was so loud we retreated upstairs. We had to close the windows upstairs for some peace and quiet.

Laurie and I went to the Treasure Coast Mall to see George Clooney in Descendants - such a sad, sad movie on so many levels. It was worth seeing, but the men would have hated it. It was a five tissue movie. I especially enjoyed the Hawaiian music and the beautiful island scenery.

Even though we were full of popcorn when we got back to Palm City, we had a slice of pizza and watched an episode of Burn Notice - then it was time to come home.

Kit Gifford

2011-12-22T19:21:00.000-05:00

My best friend in high school was Freda S. Her big sister Kit put up with us very nicely. Today Kit passed away in Honolulu, which has been her home for several years. Kit and Freda's dad was a widower, and a typesetter at the T.C. Record-Eagle. When we were in Junior High together, Freda's Dad married my teacher for grades 5 and 6 at Union Street School, Evelyn Wiltse.

Rest in peace, Kit. I believe you had a good life.

Kit Gifford

Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Dec. 22, 2011
Kit Gifford, 78, of Honolulu died in Honolulu. She was born in Traverse City, Mich. She is survived by husband Bruce, daughter Janet G. Brown and sister Freda Sprietsma. No services. No flowers.

Roosevelt Bridge/Roosevelt Cafe

2011-12-21T22:17:00.000-05:00

Laurie dropped Tom off at our condo this morning. For their morning constitutional, Tom and Dick walked over the Roosevelt Bridge. It was an uneventful outing - except they did have to wait for the drawbridge on the way back.When Laurie came back, we opted to go to lunch at Splash down the way - but it was closed! So we had lunch at the Roosevelt Cafe, close to the bridge and right next door to the Park Ave. Grill. We were the only customers for most of lunch - the food was really good.After lunch, Laurie and Tom helped me upgrade my iPhone to 5 so now, if I'm on wi-fi, I can text Tom free while he's in Australia and China. Yaay!Chip cooked us hamburgers for dinner - very yummy - and then we all watched the first half of Social Network.

Sailor's Return

2011-12-20T15:20:00.000-05:00

Slept in really late this morning - maybe it was the Nyquil. I'm trying to nip a cold in the bud. Then I got up and fell asleep again in the recliner. Nyquil sure must be powerful stuff.Laurie called and we planned to meet at the Sailor's Return for lunch. I made reservations for five outside, because it's such a beautiful Florida day and it's fun to watch the boats go in and out of the marina.

When they got there, Tom said there was a chance he might have to go back to San Diego before Christmas because there's a laser problem and they need him. Holy cow - he could wind up flying across the country every day this week. We shouldn't have chosen a restaurant with the word "return" in its name!

We had a great lunch with beautiful views, and planned to meet back here at our condo afterwards. By the time they got to the condo, Tom had heard that he does NOT have to fly back to San Diego after all - whoopee!

Blog Blues

2011-12-19T21:07:00.000-05:00

I have spent most of today trying to update my blog. Blogspot has changed, and my current browsers aren't quite up to the task, especially when it comes to pictures. I downloaded Google Chrome, as blogspot recommended. Fine. That works, but it's just as clunky as the old blogspot - plus they have changed some of the features and there are no instructions as to how to make it work as well as it used to. It's all by guess and by gosh.

I think I'm doing quite well to have figured out as much as I have, but I'm still having trouble with editing and pictures. I'm hoping that it will all become apparent to me as time goes by. Maybe.

Wrestling with blogspot took up the whole morning and lunch time up until around 2 p.m. Dick was pacing like a caged animal, so we had an outing to downtown Stuart to finish up the Tour of Stuart cache that we all tried on Sunday, but got rained out. It was a fun walk along the riverfront and the information was easily available. We signed Basswood and also Sharkie Crew because they did 90% of it on Sunday.

After some errands and a couple of other caches, we went to the Park Avenue Grill for ribs - came home to put the leftover ribs in the fridge, and went to Laurie's house to see Tom and Dylan.

Laurie and Tom had been Christmas shopping down in West Palm, and Dylan had school and tennis. We had fun hanging out with them - Dylan had really good news about his mock trial project - his group won! And the teacher said that he had the best questions. He has exams for the next three days, and then he'll be on Christmas vacation.

Tom kept getting phone calls about Cymer's laser projects. Some calls were from San
Diego and some were from China - about two separate laser types. See - Cymer just can't get along without Tom!

Party Day

2011-12-18T21:09:00.000-05:00

Tom has arrived!

We got an early call to stop by with donuts, so off we went to Dunkin Donuts for an assortment, and then of to Laurie's for breakfast.

Tom has some great stories to tell about China - and I have a feeling that we'll hear more as time goes by. My favorites involved the Chinese attitudes toward Westerners, who are so rare as to be objects of great interest and are treated with unusual respect. He has a daunting schedule. He's here for Christmas, leaving for Melbourne, Australia on the 27th, and from there back to China until Jan. 18th.

Dylan's birthday party is scheduled to begin around noon. Kyle, Peyton and Toby are coming to play xbox games all afternoon. Chip and Laurie have re-arranged the living room to accomodate two TVs and two xboxes. Dylan loves his fedora hat, so Laurie has a fedora for each of the boys, including Grandpa, Chip and Tom.

Dick and I exited before the boys got there, and returned around five o'clock for sandwiches and cake. It was really entertaining to watch the boys play - they're really a lot of fun. We all wore hats - Tom let me wear one of his and Laurie wore one of Dylan's.The result was kind of a strange looking group!

Happy Birthday Dear Dylan

2011-12-17T21:53:00.000-05:00

Even though the birthday party is tomorrow, today is Dylan's real birthday. He's playing today in a tennis round robin at the Martin Downs Sports Resort, where he takes lessons. Cyrus, his instructor, is a graduate of Ferris State!

Today Dylan played with Luke, Pedro and Tasia - he performed well - made some really good serves and some great strokes for points. We can see a bunch of improvement since last year.

Dick and I had lunch at the Club - chicken quesadilla and fried green beans! It was yummy.

When we got home it was time to open presents! Such fun - it's always the best part in my opinion.

We went shopping with Laurie to the Italian Market to get some of their homemade clam chowder for Dick and Dylan. The rest of us had chicken and baked potatoes. Thanks, Laurie.

She's picking up Tom tonight at the West Palm Beach Airport around 11 p.m. Hooray for Laurie - we'll be sleep by then - we'll see Tom tomorrow:)

Flanagan's

2011-12-16T15:07:00.000-05:00

Good dinner tonight at Flanagan's. I had grilled salmon - couldn't eat it all! The jovial waitress found out that tomorrow is Dylan's birthday, and had everybody come and sing for him - he took it with a lot of poise. Then she brought him a huge free dessert, and took 10% off our bill. I think she liked Dylan.

My Dad would have been 104 years old today! Thinking of you, Dad.

The Lobster Shanty

2011-12-15T21:45:00.000-05:00

Today we drove up to Cocoa Beach to have lunch with Chris and Dennis. They chose The Lobster Shanty - and it was a great choice. It was a super lunch, and lots of fun conversation. It turns out that when Chris and her first husband were at Penn State they were quite well acquainted with Jerry Sandusky and his wife. Chris's husband was on the coaching staff as well. Chris said she spent a lot more time with Dotty than with Jerry, but that she never felt totally comfortable with him. I guess she could pick up some bad vibes back then.

We always have such fun with them, and today was no exception.

We overdid it a bit on the way home. We drove up on A1A the whole way, and it took us a bit longer than we had expected. We ended up with about an hour in the dark and in rush hour traffic. We were pretty tired when we got home.Several caches were found along the way:

At The Edge Again Visit Log We couldn't figure what was going on today. The parking lot was packed but there was no one on the beach. Where did they go? Unfortunately, there were a couple of guys sitting at a table near the cache. How do you explain the need to search the trees? Went into CITO mode and picked up trash and put it into the receptacle. The baggie was torn so we replaced it. Took nothing but the trash, left a finger puppet, signed log and replaced as found. Thanks for the fun.

12/15/2011 You found Six Inches Down Visit Log We hate micros! The tube hanging from the fence by the parking lot, the nano on the stop sign by Publix, the key holder slapped on the guardrail, the film can on the lamp post,
etc. However, when the owner takes you to a beautiful place, when they putforth
the extra effort to create a unique container, when the coordinates are precise and don't force you to inspect every bush, branch, stick, and vine within a 50 foot radius, we thinks it deserves a favorite. Thanks for the cache! We loved it. Signed log and replaced as found.
12/15/2011 You found A Day At The Beach #1 Visit Log The passing muggle probably is still wondering what that old geezer was doing passed out on the deck. Unusual hide. There are no trackables in the cache today. Took nothing, signed log and left with cramps.
12/15/2011 You found Welcome to...Merritt Island Two Visit Log We looked high and low, here and there, up and down, but we couldn't find the flowers. Signed log and replaced as found. TFTC
12/15/2011 You couldn't find Corn Dog Gone Bad Visit Log Hard to believe that we are the only folks to seek this one since the 7th but it is what it is. Skunked
12/15/2011 You found President Harding's Oceanfront Lot Visit Log We came up to Cocoa Beach today to have lunch with another retired history teacher and his professor wife. The other day we picked a TB out of a cache. It wants to go north visiting military installations and memorials along the way. We tried
for the AF base but struck out. Here was a cache that was large enough and had a
historical message as well. A quick and easy find, we signed the log and left the
bug and our pathtag. Thanks for providing us with a spot to drop the bug.

The Lake

2011-12-14T22:02:00.000-05:00

One of our favorite activities in Florida is to drive over to Lake Okeechobee. The scenery is beautiful, the locks, piers and scenic overlooks around the lake are fascinating, and there are always new caches to discover.This year it was just the two of us, so we mostly just did geocaching. Ate lunch at a place called The Lodge at the Lake. Our elderly waitress reminded us of Carol I., and hovered around our table. It was like having lunch with your mother.A nice day.

Found it 12/14/2011 You found [Traditional Cache] Look-Lock-Lake Visit LogOK so it's only a micro but - It brought us to a pretty spot we've never seen before, it showed some effort in disguising and placing the container, and I didn't pick up a fresh agglomeration of burrs and other clinging seeds all over my pants and sox. Signed the log and replaced as found. Thanks for showing us this place. (This is me playing with my phone while waiting for Dick to get back from the lock. He had Luck @ Look-Lock-Lake!)

This is the lock - Dick is actually in this picture somewhere retrieving the cache. iPhones are fun.

Found it 12/14/2011 You found [Traditional Cache] Team:CHETT Rocks!!! Visit LogSure would like to know the history of the rope. Signed log and replaced. TFTCFound it 12/14/2011 You found [Traditional Cache] Plowboy Heaven - Okeechobee Style Visit LogNever saw that descriptive term before. Found tube, signed log, replaced as found. TFTS

Found it 12/14/2011 You found [Traditional Cache] Welcome To Okeechobee Visit LogWe parked, we grabbed, we signed, we replaced as found and drove on.

Found it 12/14/2011 You found [Traditional Cache] "Time" to Eat Visit LogAfter reading the previous log we weren't optimistic but we were hungry so we gave it a shot. In fact we did find it right in the obvious spot, landscaping or not. Signed the log, replaced as found and went to lunch. We can recommend the breakfast bar.

Found it 12/14/2011 You found [Traditional Cache] Debbie's Diner Visit LogWe picked up a coin yesterday that wants to go to the Bonita Springs area. This is as far west that we will be going before January and so we came over today. Our first target was a DNF but this was our second choice. Dropped off the coin, maybe someone can pick it up and move it farther west. Left our card and pathtag. Thanks for placing a cache that we could find and use.

Didn 12/14/2011 You couldn't find [Traditional Cache] Country Roads Visit LogCame over today with a coin to drop off. This was our original target. Found the road but both our GPS and our iphone were bouncing all over. Checked the clue and just got more confused. Oh well, found an alternate.(We couldn't find that cache, but this is a picture of the "country road" and it's right in the middle of the town of Okeechobee!)

Mellow Caching

2011-12-13T21:35:00.000-05:00

A nice day of caching - we found a total of 8, and I even found one - wonder of wonders. Dick enjoyed finding this cache container in a cache called TV Game Show:

Are You "Sirius"?

2011-12-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

A beautiful Florida morning - our goals were some walking, some caching, and activating our new Sirius radio. This first picture is on Green River Parkway - good for both walking and caching. This is my own slow motion version of taking a walk:

Dick wanted to find a cache at Savannas State Park, so I took the opportunity of dialing Sirius to accomplish activation. Ha! I was connected to a man who had no idea how to do his job. He not only didn't speak English well, he didn't understand it well either. After an hour, he still had not completely mastered my home address. I'm not kidding! I repeated everything five times, and he never got it. Finally, after wasting an hour, I just hung up. This picture shows me in ultimate frustration mode - a new record for horrible corporate communications. We finally did achieve activation later in the day - it was very stressful.

A gopher tortoise home? Most likely.

I don't think we're in East Bay Township anymore:

Dick found three caches - Don't Fence Me In, Bike and Grab #4 and Bike and Grab #7.

Trains and Bridges

2011-12-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Here is the railroad bridge over the South Fork of the St. Lucie River. It's a drawbridge, and it stays up all of the time except when a train comes through. The trains are part of the Florida East Coast Railway system, running from Jacksonville to Miami, and right through my bedroom. Well, it sounds like it anyway.

"Florida East Coast Railway operates 351 miles of mainline track along the east coast of Florida with direct rail access to South Florida's ports and the best reliability record in the nation. FEC also serves five intermodal terminals and provides drayage services for our customers."

Dick caught this white boat going under the railroad bridge, and then again going under the traffic drawbridge:

Another shot of my favorite fountain.

Today while he was out for his morning walk Dick found three caches, and that's when he got the great pictures. The funny part was that he forgot to take a pen with him, so we drove back over there later so he could sign the logs.

Our Stuart Home

2011-12-06T14:22:00.000-05:00

The Harborage condo that we have rented is very enjoyable, convenient, and scenic. Our building is the yellow one. We're on the third floor, which is really the second floor because floor number one is the parking garage.

We are very close to three different bridges - the Roosevelt Bridge across the St. Lucie River, and two drawbridges across the South Fork. One of the drawbridges is for cars and fishermen, and the other is (gulp) a railroad drawbridge. The tracks for said railroad run right in front of our building, and the track is the main line from the north to Miami. Ye gods. In the daytime it's not a problem because we're often out and about and away from home - but overnight it can be a problem. The trains are long, long freight trains, and the horns are very, very loud. At night it sounds like we have a train going through the living room. At various times we have heard five separate trains go by at night. On a good night, we can sleep through most of them - but we usually hear at least two overnight. I usually hear the two that go by around three and three thirty a.m. It's not a deal breaker, but it's something that was not mentioned when we paid the rent.In this picture you can see the railroad bridge in front of the car bridge.

Dick was walking on the Roosevelt bridge - called me and told me to wave from the balcony. How much fun is that? Love that early morning Florida sunshine in December!

Our building has its own small pool - we haven't seen anybody in it yet, and I don't know whether it's heated or not, but it's there and it looks nice - it's well-maintained.

Our lovely Harborage building.

This great splashy sailfish fountain is out in front of our place. Stuart calls itself "The Sailfish Capital of the World". So we have gone from the Cherry Capital to the Sailfish Capital.

Today we had a chance to go see the Ocean - Oooooh - it's so beautiful and powerful! A short walk over the dune and you're there.

Florida dunes are patrolled by flocks of pelicans!
On our beach expedition we found three caches: Wild Animals, House of Refuge, and one called A Cache With No Name is Still a Good Time to Have. Don't you just love that title?

Flagler Views

2011-12-05T21:39:00.000-05:00

Early morning view from our balcony:

View from our front door:

Sailfish fountain at night:

Sharron

2011-12-03T09:02:00.006-05:00

This morning we learned of the death of our friend Sharron. She and Tony had been seatmates of ours at the Michigan Stadium for many, many years. She had thought that she was cured of cancer, but it insidiously returned, and made her life miserable at the end. She deserved better. She and Tony were inveterate Michigan fans, and it was a delight to have known them. She's gone too soon.

Sharron Ann Vescio

KALKASKA – Sharron Ann Vescio, of Fife Lake, passed away Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, at her home. She was 66.

She was born on April 18, 1945, to the late Felix and Esther (Ferguson) Laskie. She married Anthony M. Vescio on Oct. 9, 1999, in Plymouth.

In 2001, she retired from Gorno Ford in Woodhaven. Anthony and Sharron moved to Fife Lake in 2003 from Ypsilanti.

Her passions included flower gardening, interior design and decorating for the holidays. She was an avid snowmobiler and loved playing on the sandbar at Torch Lake. She loved giving her baked goods to family and friends to enjoy. She was a member of St. Mary of the Woods Catholic Church.

Surviving Mrs. Vescio is her devoted husband, Anthony; her cherished siblings, Janet (Gary) Holik of Plymouth and Phil Laskie of Willis; sisters-in-law, Pam Cittan of White Lake and Alice (George) Kontos of Southgate; her nephew, George Kontos of Southgate; her niece, Aylin (Peter) Samoray of Pleasant Ridge; and 2 great-nephews, Luc and Max Samoray.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, Dec 6, 2011, from 2 until 8 p.m. with the Rosary at 6:30 p.m. followed by a scripture service at 7 p.m. at Wolfe-O'Neill Funeral Home in Kalkaska. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, instate at 10 a.m., at St. Mary of the Woods with the Rev. Norman Dickson officiating. Burial will be at St. Mary of the Woods Cemetery.

Memorials may be given to St. Mary of the Woods, 438 County Road 612 NE, Kalkaska, MI 49646, or Munson Hospice, 1105 6th St., Traverse City, MI 49684.

Condolences can be left online at www.wolfeoneill.com.

Arrangements were made by Wolfe-O'Neill Funeral Home, our family serving yours.

Her passions included flower gardening, interior design, and decorating for the holidays. Sharron Ann Vescio

The Journal Continues

2011-11-28T21:11:00.006-05:00

Some humor from North Carolina:

More of Dick's Journal

Day 3

We started the day as we always do on the road, with a check of the motel's breakfast buffet. Finding the decaf decanter empty, I set off in search of the attendant while Nancy looked over the goodies. The room was filled with men in work clothes on the same mission. She asked one of the fellows where the plates and bowls were. No success. They did not speak English! (In the parking lot were seven trucks from the Asplundh tree trimmer company - these were the workers.) Determined that she could use sign language and mime as well as her son, she soon was pointed in the right direction.

Yesterday toward the end of the drive, we got out of the rain but overnight it caught up with us. It was a very light mist and the traffic was light so it wasn't a problem.

Nancy is becoming more adept with her phone. I'd make an observation or suggest a question as in "I wonder why - - " Out comes the phone and pretty soon an answer or comment. Two observations; 1) While the barns in Michigan are mostly red, from the middle of Ohio on, they are mainly white. We decided that in the southern climes, white barns would be cooler. I knew why our barns are red, red paint was cheaper. 2) While northern Ohio is cornfield - cornfield - cornfield - mosque, where the white barns start and proceeding south, the exits are church - adult entertainment or lingerie - church.

In Virginia we had our first experience with fog in the mountains. Visibility was severely limited. So what is the better option? Drive in the right lane and chance running up on extremely slow traffic or the left lane and chance being rear ended? We opted for the left with the plan to pull over if headlights were approaching from the rear. One note, it does not rain in the fog. We came down out of the mountains and entered North Carolina. The rain ended, the sun came out and the temp hit 75. We actually turned on the air. Tomorrow I wear shorts.

Now being an old goat, my philosophy has become to roll in the right lane a mile or two over, just keeping up with traffic. It worked for me earlier, in Ohio we went a couple of hours and only passed 2 or 3 vehicles. It wasn't working today, the limit was 65 and at 67 I couldn't keep anyone in sight. Not enjoying having the trucks breathing down our necks, we cranked it up to 72 and still had a few blow our doors off.

Nuvi started talking to us. "Severe traffic - recalculating" and then told us to keep doing what we were doing. We didn't see any severe traffic but we finally figured that she was looking for an alternative route. If she had suggested one we sure wouldn't have taken it. Talk about "Death by GPS"! After about an hour of this, we found the back up. About 15 to 20 miles of slow creep. There were periodic cop cars with flashers going in the median but not appearing to be accomplishing anything. Towards the end, we saw a cop talking to a young woman on the side whose car had been in a fender bender but I think that was the result, not the cause of the back up.

Anyway, the traffic cleared, the rain kept falling and we stopped on the outskirts of Charlotte, SC for lunch at Bubba's Barbecue. As usual I ate too much but it was sure good. There were some funny signs in the parking lot like "Don't read this under penalty of the law". I said "I'll bet there's a cache here." Out came the phone and the cache was found.

After lunch, back on the road and the traffic was even heavier. We were making the turn on the x-way in Columbia, 8 miles from the motel when the sky opened up and there was a deluge, we pulled off at the next exit and waited it out at McDonalds. There was a river flowing through the parking lot. It let up and we came on to our home for the night.

At the exit, there was a traffic light, we had to make a left. We waited more than 5 minutes and the light did not change for us. Finally, the car in front of us ran it. The semi behind pulled partially along side and shouted something indiscernible at Nancy. Well, I'm not going to get run over, to Hell with it! I ran the red light.

St Augustine tomorrow.

Southern Trip Day 2

2011-11-27T21:57:00.002-05:00

Dick's Travel Journal (continued)

Southern trip, Day 2

We spent a lot of time in the motel room looking for highlights of the
Michigan/Ohio State game. Nobody showed the TD that wasn't. A few didn't even mention it. Jim Branstatter was sure that it was was a TD and a flat out bad call. He
said that even if it wasn't a score, the spot should be inches, not on
the 1 yard line.

We got an early start. Apparently this area of Ohio is not on daylight
time. We got up and found that it was raining steadily all over the
State but TV showed that we might drive out of it in WV. Anyway, we
loaded the car and drove off.

Usually we fill up either first thing or the night before but we were only down an eighth of a tank and it was raining so we just drove off. Nancy loaded the address of the motel in Beckley WV into Nuvi. Apparently the Nuvi decided that it would not be a
good idea for us to drive through Columbus and so she picked a
different route for us. We discovered this when she sent us past the
Columbus exit and 3 exits later took us on a scenic tour of an
industrial area of Dayton. Stop signs, yield signs, traffic lights
left turns, right turns. traffic circles, just about everything at 35
MPH. Since it was still dark and raining we didn't see much. The most
interesting thing I saw was an old run down strip mall with The Love
Boutique at one end and the something or other Tabernacle World
Headquarters at the other. Since it was Sunday morning, both were
empty.

We were routed on US35 which is usually a divided highway but not
limited access. Although it was raining, once we got out of town,
except for the 55 mph speed limit, it was a fine drive. We made a
potty/coffee stop at a McDonalds where they had a rack of papers which
had the headline - Wolverine It's what's for dinner. It had a picture
of Brutus with a shotgun aiming at a maize and blue turkey with Hoke's
picture for its head. It's worth a giggle.

As time and the miles passed, both the rain and the traffic increased.
At the same time our gas gauge was dropping. When we got below a
quarter, I decided to stop and refuel regardless of the price.
Unfortunately, the exits were few and the gas stations were non
existent. We were down to about an eighth when the Gallipolis exit
came in view. It said there were stations there but none were visible
from the x-way. Of course I drove to the next exit. There was a
town/shopping area on the left but no discernible way to get there. In
front of us was the bridge over the Ohio River. There's got to be a town
over there. We cross the river and take the exit into Henderson, WV.
What a sad place. Not only is there no gas, there's no store. We
proceed on and ask Nuvi for help. She says most of the gas is behind
us but there is a General Store about 10 miles in the direction we are
traveling. We proceed. The road she wants us to take is up a mountain.
The low gas warning light comes on. Does AAA make road assistance
calls in West Virginia on Sunday morning? Finally, good sense
overcomes the driver. We turn around, drive back over the bridge into
Ohio, pull into a BP and pay $3.39. I put 12.976 gallons into a 13
gal. tank.

This has been a white knuckle day. We get some comfort food at the
Biscuit House and proceed to Beckley.

In the motel I called Dan. He says it was a TD.

On The Road Again

2011-11-26T21:50:00.002-05:00

Blog Break - I'm using Dick's Travel Journal

First night - Wapakoneta Ohio.

We pulled out of the drive at 9 AM. Drove with coffee/pit stops to
Williamston for lunch.

It's hunting season but we didn't see any
bambis on cars, only xmas trees. Did see a lot of deer by the side of
the road, 15 in Michigan, 4 more in Ohio. Gas ranged from $3.34 to
$2.99 here in the Buckeye State. It was $3.22 when we filled up in TC.

Traffic was not bad, setting the cruise to 75 let us lay back in the
right lane and just keep up with most traffic.

We were listening to the Michigan/Ohio State game on the road after lunch. We couldn't
find it on our new Sirius radio so we found it on an AM station out of
Detroit. On I96, when we scored, the guy driving the car in front of
us rolled down his window and shook his fist in the air.

The game was quite a series of ups and downs. Soon the station was
breaking up so we pulled into the Macland parking lot in Bluffton for
the last few minutes. It's a good thing we did because I might have
run off the road. We can't wait to see the replay of the TD that
wasn't.

The plan on this trip is to avoid Cincinnati and Atlanta so tomorrow
we drive through Columbus (Nancy suggests that I wear a different
shirt and hat) on our way to WV.

Season Tickets

2011-11-25T19:32:00.005-05:00

We have decided that we won't be buying season tickets anymore because: 1. The stadium is so different; 2. Our seats have been changed; 3. It's uncomfortabl to access the new seats; 4. Our old seatmates are scattered, 5. Our parking situation has changed; 6. My mobility makes stadium access a challenge, 7. We had trouble this fall finding an apartment to rent for 5 weeks - our regular place was all booked up and we ended up at a most unsatisfactory place.

The shorter answer is no, we aren't going to the Big Game - we sold our tickets to Justin and will cheer from T.C.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T15:12:00.004-05:00

Gobble.gobble. gobble!

We went to the Great Wolf Lodge for the Thanksgiving buffet. They do a very special buffet - one of the best we've seen. It was very extensive, and we both enjoyed it immensely. Saw Bev there.

We're leaving for Florida on Saturday, so we didn't want to do a turkey at home and have a lot of leftovers, even though we used to think that the leftovers were the best part! (Cold giblet dressing at 11:30 p.m., for instance.)

Dick wrote a little essay for the MiGO forum, and I liked it so much that I got permission to put it on my blog - he is such a good writer!

What are we thankful for in 2011? Well let’s start with our parents who experienced the Depression and taught their children the value of thrift and education. We are grateful also for the lessons we were taught by the wonderful teachers in the Traverse City Public Schools. We are grateful for the community and the time in which we grew up, where as children we were safe to explore and play as we wished as long as we got back home when the street lights came on. We are grateful to Hermie who, 60 years ago fixed us up on our first date and thus introduced us to our best friend.

We are grateful for the society in which we grew up which believed that education beyond HS should be affordable to everyone. When we were kids, the citizens of this state kept the cost of public colleges reasonable. We were able to pay for college with minimum wage summer and campus jobs. Because of a federal program, we were able to purchase a home in which to raise our family. Because of the actions and advice of our parents we were able to live frugally and invest in both our and our children's futures. Because of the success of our country through the years, we are able to enjoy a satisfying retirement.

We are grateful for our families, our children, brothers, nieces, and nephews. Grandchildren? We only have one, but if you have a spare 4 or 5 hours, we’ll explain to you why he’s the very best one there is. We are also grateful for our MiGO family. Geocaching has become a large part of our lives. It gives us an excuse and rationale for doing what have always been our favorite activities, going for a ride in the car and taking a walk in the woods. We treasure the many friends and acquaintances with whom we share this passion.

We are grateful that we live in Traverse City, one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been to, with health care second to none. It seems that every day we come across something that brings a smile to our faces and another bit of joy in our lives.

11/11/11 11:11:11

2011-11-11T21:31:00.004-05:00

Happy Veteran's Day.

When I was a kid, it was called Armistice Day because it was the day that saw cessation of hostilities between Germany and the Allies to end World War I. It was signed on 11/11/1918 at 11 a.m.

Today there was a geocaching flash mob. We met at the Veterans Memorial on 11th street. It was well attended - 30 - 35 people came. At 11 a.m. we observed 2 minutes of silence, at at 11:11 a.m. it was over. We passed out flags, and Charlie and Marty handed out red, white and blue beaded key chains. A little boy named Cooper was celebrating his 7th birthday, and one team was celebrating their 11th wedding anniversary! It was our first flash mob, and it was meaningful, successful and fun.

Afterwards most of us went over to Cuppa Joe for beverages. We sat with Tim and Susie and had a great time exchanging family news and events since we were together last. Somehow it seems that the four of us can talk forever!

The dermatologist was next on the agenda. I've had a bump on my hand that I thought was a wart, but it turned out to be a squamous cell carcinoma, the "good" kind of skin cancer - it doesn't spread. Now it has been removed, and I'm so glad I went. No wonder the Compound W didn't work!

Tim and Susie were out caching - we called them and said we were ready for lunch and met them at the Olive Garden for a super lunch and more fun than you can shake a stick at. A memorable day.

Purdue and Fritz

2011-10-29T21:46:00.005-04:00

My bum knee is keeping me on the sidelines for this game...or rather, by Snider's cozy fireside.

Dick met Todd and Fritz at the Meijer parking lot, and they drove on in to our AAA parking. Fritz wanted to see the band march in, so Todd took him all around the outside of the stadium. They saw the band march down the street, and had a chance to see the drumline up close and personal. Then the two of them entered the main gate - Gate 1 - and watched the band enter the field through the tunnel. What a lucky little boy! What a super birthday treat!

Toussaint Spearheads U-M to Homecoming Victory over Purdue

Oct. 29, 2011

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: #17 Michigan 36, Purdue 14
Records: U-M (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten), Purdue (4-4, 2-2 Big Ten)
Attendance: 112,115
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Nov. 5 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 11 a.m. CDT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior/sophomore running back Fitzgerald Toussaint (Youngstown, Ohio/Liberty) and the University of Michigan football team (No. 17 AP/No. 17 Coaches) entertained the Homecoming crowd with a 36-14 rout over the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 29) at Michigan Stadium. Toussaint set career highs for carries (20) and rushing yards (170) and matched his career high with two touchdown runs. It is the second time in Toussaint's career he has eclipsed the 100-yard threshold.

As the game went on, there was some rainfall. In the fourth quarter, with the game definitely well in hand, they were a little damp and decided to leave a bit early. Dick never leaves early, but he was thinking of my cousin the Kindergartner. They all enjoyed a great game, and it was a super experience for Fritz.

I enjoyed my time at Snider's resting my knee and watching the game in comfort and warmth.

Shore Signs

2011-10-23T21:31:00.003-04:00

Our tourists who go to the beach are well-educated if they read all of the signs. These colorful signs are interesting to read, and fun to look at.

There are many signs by our rivers, lakes and Bays. These three are at the State Park Beach on East Grand Traverse Bay:

This one is not educational, unless you want a snack at the Clinch Park Beach. I stuck it in here because I just really like the sign.

There are also informational signs about the watershed along the TART by the Bay. The Traverse area is doing a good job trying to maintain the health of our many waterways.

Dick and I support The Watershed Center every chance we get. I think we must have paid for at least one of these signs by now!

October Meet and Greet

2011-10-13T21:13:00.002-04:00

How embarrassing! After reminding everyone that this month's Meet and Greet was on a Thursday instead of Wednesday, we forgot about it our very own selves!

Our excuse is that we had a very busy day, beginning with a Doctor's appointment for Dick and followed by errands, and lunch, and getting home kind of late in the afternoon.

At six o'clock I got a text from Suzie - "Are you guys all right?" Duh! Then we remembered! We got there before 6:30, but we were in for a lot of kidding. Anyway, we had a good time, good pizza, got some good information about the iPhone (talking to google), and were glad we came.

Some posts for the evening:

DinoDuo
[Caches Found] 5116
Attended Attended
10/13/2011

Another fun meet and eat. Glad that we made it this month and we weren't the last ones to arrive. Next month's event sounds interesting, hope we can be there. btw, thanks to BWB for the 2 reminders that this event had been moved to Thursday.

basswoodbend
[Caches Found] 3101 · [Challenges Completed] 2
Attended Attended
10/13/2011

Thanks to the Dino's for the last minute reminder. Can we use age as an excuse? Message came in at 6, we made it by 6 1/2. Thanks for the reminder and thanks for the event. Now to figure out what a flash mob is.

Fall Colors

2011-10-11T14:00:00.003-04:00

The colors seem more intense this year, and longer lasting too. We have taken color tours in Leelanau County, and out on the peninsula - but River Road seems the most beautiful to us.

Here's a tree in our own backyard!

What a Treat !

2011-10-03T21:27:00.000-04:00

Little Brown Jug

2011-10-01T08:06:00.001-04:00

Gee, we had fun - Tim and Suzie went with us, and it was a perfect day for football.

mgoblue:

Smith Earns Rare Feat, U-M Blanks Minnesota to Retain Little Brown Jug

Oct. 1, 2011

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: #19 Michigan 58, Minnesota 0
Records: U-M (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten), Minnesota (1-4, 0-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 111,106
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Oct. 8 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 6 p.m. CDT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior running back Vincent Smith (Pahokee, Fla./Pahokee) had touchdowns rushing, passing and receiving in his team's first four drives as the University of Michigan football team (No. 19 AP/No. 19 USA Today Coaches) rolled past Minnesota, 58-0, on Saturday (Oct. 1) before a Michigan Stadium crowd of 111,106.

Afterwards we all went to Joe's Crab Shack, which we all love.

Then home to watch MSU amaze us against OSU - wish we could do that!

I Don't Know How She Does It

2011-09-30T21:32:00.003-04:00

Movie Day! Went to the Rave with Jan and Diane Z. The movie was very much fun - just some relaxing and entertaining fluff. Sarah Jessica Parker is beginning to show her age - I was surprised. Also, for a spokesperson for hair products, her hair was remarkably messy. In one elevator scene her hair looked silky and shiny, but just in one scene. Now I'm thinking that I might be a tad too picky! It's a cute movie and I enjoyed it.

Afterwards we went to Red Robin for dinner and had a great visit - it's always nice to reconnect with people.

Byline:Jana

2011-09-27T16:02:00.004-04:00

Our daughter Jana is an excellent writer. (She gets it from me!!!) Recently she was irritated by a interview which she heard on NPR. Not content with just expressing her viewpoint to those around her, she wrote this essay to submit to NPR. It's a marvelous essay, if I do say so myself!

By Jana Steiger, world class essayist:

On Sept. 14, I listened with gritted teeth as NPR's Melissa Block
interviewed Taylor Branch, the author of an article alleging that the
NCAA is a cartel which exploits student athletes, and that amateur
status has 'the whiff of the plantation.'

Saturday, I had a reminder of why this idea offends me so much as I
attended a football game at my alma mater the University of Michigan
-- with the largest football stadium and most numerous alumni in the
country, surely one of Branch's major cotton fields of student
exploitation.

Before kickoff, Michigan honored its other varsity teams that have
achieved division or national championships this year. I suppose
Branch would have yawned and fidgeted as swimmers and divers, gymnasts
and the softball and hockey teams ran out through the tunnel and
leaped to touch the M Club's Go Blue banner. But we in the stands
cheered for our champions, many of whom compete before scant crowds of
parents and roommates when they are lucky.

These student athletes work just as hard as those in the money-making
sports. They have pushed themselves -- without benefit of TV cameras
or record-breaking crowds -- to make it to the peak of their sport.
And their programs and coaches, facilities and uniforms, travel and
lodging and scholarships are all made possible by football profits.

In fact, a quick Google shows that Michigan currently has 765
scholarship athletes, 365 of whom are women, in 26 varsity sports. For
some, this is their ticket to an education they could otherwise never
afford; for others, it's the pride of the letter jacket and passion
both for the sport and their school that keeps them pouring everything
they have into cross country or field hockey, wrestling or rowing.
Certainly most of them never expect to be professional athletes. Even
at Michigan, which produces more pro athletes than any other school in
the country, in 2009 the number of Michigan alumni pros in the 5 major
leagues was a whopping 68 out of the thousands of student athletes who
had graduated in the previous 15 years or so.

So, if we pay student athletes, for the vast majority of them it will
be the only time in their lives they are being paid to play their
sport.

Later in Saturday's game, during a TV time out, our women's gymnastics
NCAA all-around champion Kylee Botterman bashfully stood in the end
zone as the loudspeaker resounded her achievements. 110,000 fans
stood and cheered, thrusting our fists into the air as we sang The
Victors just for her. I wonder how much Branch would pay Botterman.
Do you pay her for what she has achieved (and what dollar figure do
you put on that?), or do you say sorry Kylee, we only pay those
athletes whose sports generate millions in ticket and concession sales
and lucrative TV deals?

Even if you limit the discussion to football, I counted on the
sidelines Saturday nearly 100 suited-up players, the vast majority of
whom have no realistic NFL dreams. In fact, many of these players
never really hope to get in a game, on a team as deep and competitive
as Michigan. These guys practice just as hard as the first string
players, and suit up every game. They do it for the opportunity to
wear the maize and blue, and because what they learn on the field
about teamwork and collaboration, about discipline, and
sportsmanship, and about themselves, will serve them as much in their
future careers as what they are learning in Michigan classrooms.

In the interview, Branch dismissed this kind of thinking as
"romantic." What he doesn't understand is, the players are not there
for our benefit. They are students. They are learning, and we are
watching them learn and cheering them on. Amateur status makes this
clear -- students, you are here to learn and train and raise the bar for
yourself and your sport. Your school is here to teach and coach and
inspire you to greater levels of excellence. Those people in the
stands? They are here to support you and live vicariously through
you, because of the shared love you all have for your school. Those
people at home cussing at their TVs? Who cares. They have no place
in your education. You owe them nothing.

That relationship between the school and the athlete and the fans gets
turned on its head if the students become paid employees, which I
think is Branch's real goal. I don't believe Branch is bothered by
exploitation, I think he's fine with it as long as students get a cut
of the profits he believes it is their purpose to generate. If Branch
were really upset about exploitative athletic programs, perhaps he
would work to prevent bloodsucking parasites from lining their pockets
by turning amateur athletics into a multi-billion-dollar industry
where profits come before the needs of the sport and the students.

Branch is confusing college stadiums with box offices, where revenues
are driven by star power. In college football -- at Michigan, anyway
-- that's not what people are paying for. Sure, we like to see our
stars make great plays with fancy moves and lots of razzle dazzle. But
nothing chokes us up so much as seeing a 4th-string senior finally get
in for just one play. We cheer ourselves hoarse when this happens,
out of respect for that player's persistence and love of the game.

I guess that's because we're romantics. I think Branch could use a
healthy dose of romance.

Brunch at Weber's

2011-09-25T21:41:00.007-04:00

What a pleasant day this was. Once again the predicted rain never materialized, and we had perfect weather.

We met James, Tara and Lauren along with Leslie and Rose at Weber's at 10:30.

They do a very nice brunch, and we all filled our plates.

I haven't seen Leslie and Tara for years, and it's true that old friends are the best. We all share many, many memories from the seventies when the girls were growing up. It's such fun to remember everything. Their daughters are so enjoyable - polite and interesting. We all had a great time.

After brunch we all went to Wasem's Fruit Farm. Perfect early fall day for cider - and yes, we bought doughnuts for breakfast!

Jana' Birthday Game

2011-09-24T21:16:00.005-04:00

At first, rain was predicted, but for once they were wrong! It turned out to be the perfect football day - moderate temps and blue skies.

The traffic was horrific on the way to the stadium. This year in a kerfuffle over who will pay for what, the University and the City of Ann Arbor have changed the traffic control on game days. Before the game, incoming traffic is controlled by traffic lights only - nobody directing traffic. This results in 30-40 minute back-ups on the freeway while we're all waiting for the light to change.
It's really awful, and I hope they resolve this issue soon.

We loved the game and its outcome, but Jana especially enjoyed all of the sidelights. The band played Bullwinkle - twice - they also did the pony thing, and sang Don't Stop Believin' and Sweet Caroline. The students started the wave, and post-game, the band played the alma mater. She got a chance to participate in all of her favorites. It was a real birthday treat.

This from mgoblue:

Robinson, Michigan Rush Past San Diego State in Non-Conference Finale

Sept. 24, 2011

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan 28, San Diego State 7
Records: U-M (4-0), SDSU (3-1)
Attendance: 110,707
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Oct. 1 -- vs. Minnesota (Michigan Stadium), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior quarterback Denard Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) and the University of Michigan football team (No. 22 AP/No. 21 USA Today Coaches) rushed out to a fast start against San Diego State in a 28-7 victory Saturday (Sept. 24) at Michigan Stadium.

After the game, Alice and Kim came over to say hi - we don't sit together any more, sadly. It was fun to chat with them.

Amazingly, Carol from our gym in T.C. also came to say hi. I don't know how she found us in that stadium full of 110,000 people! We were so surprised we forgot to take a picture!

Birthday girl after the game:

Odette's Funeral

2011-09-22T23:50:00.004-04:00

A sincere and moving service. The most memorable part for me was the reading of Proverbs 31:27:
"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness." It is the perfect Bible verse to describe Odette.

The service was followed by a lovely luncheon in the church parlor. It was nice to have a chance to wind down from the emotional service and focus on Odette's life and influence by talking with friends and family.

ODETTE'S EULOGY:

Odette Steiger was born September 5th, 1929 in Jackson, Michigan to Yoel Pera and Fahima Mirza and she died September 18, 2011 in Troy, Michigan. Odette’s family were Assyrians who had fled their historically Christian community in Mosul, Persia, following persecution for their faith. After a brief time in Baghdad, the family immigrated to Michigan. Odette had an older sister, Yvette, and a younger sister, Annette. In her quiet way, Odette was the peacemaker in the family. As a young woman, Odette entered Michigan State Universitywhere she studied industrial psychology. It was there that she met Doug, and apparently she accepted his request for a date because she felt sorry for him. The two would do their homework together and Odette found Doug to be quite helpful with her math. Also, neither of them was a dancer, so they often found themselves being wallflowers together. And, as they say, the rest is history. The two were married for fifty nine years. They had three children together: Susan, David, and Roger. Doug had a job with Chrysler and the family moved several times in those early years, living in Highland Park, Royal Oak, and New Orleans, before settling in Rochester Hills in 1968.

At the age of 32, around the time of Roger’s birth, Odette was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a condition which she lived with for fifty years. Her son Roger said of her: “I never saw her run or jump or raise her arms or complain about any of that.”

Odette was a person of great faith and strong values. Her mother was Roman Catholic and her father was Presbyterian. Odette’s grandfather was actually a Presbyterian minister. So Odette grew up with an ecumenical view of things. Her parents never argued about matters of religion, and Odette grew up knowing Christ, reading the Bible, and attending church. Odette told her children that the church was her home. Sometimes you don’t like this hymn or that sermon, but it is your home. It is your family.

Odette was fundamentally a thankful person, and I believe that she was one of those people for whom suffering only brings them closer to God. She would pray with her children before bed. They said the Lord’s Prayer together, and then they would ask God to bless all the people in their life. One of the children began to add, “And God, please make mommy’s hands feel better.” Soon the other children were praying this too, and then her niewces began also to pray for this every night. Odette’s daughter Susan once asked, “Mom, what did you think when those prayers were never answered?” Odette replied, “Those prayers were answered; I was blessed.” For Odette, the cup was not half empty, and not even half full. Her cup ran over. Recently I visited Odette and afterward she spoke with Susan and said how nice it was that I spent a whole hour with her, but then she said, “Susan, I feel badly that she spent a whole hour with me; there are sick people in the church that need to be visited!”

Odette is survived by sister, Annette, her husband Doug, and three children: Susan married to John, David, and Roger married to Megan, and Odette also had five beloved grandchildren, Kristen, Molly, Jackson, Fay, and Lauren, and many nieces and nephews. Family was very important to Odette. She would always say that she did not want gifts, she just wanted to have her family with her. And the family was always centered around the children. The family joked that Odette’s interior decorating style was “pictures of grandchildren."

She lived the life that she wanted to live and it was a life of abundant happiness. She and Doug were deeply devoted to one another and had great joy in each day together. After Doug retired they were able to travel together to Europe several times, and this was the first time Odette was willing to spend money on her self. As her health declined, they toured the US together. She lived life to its fullest and she enjoyed each moment.

As I think of Odette, I think of this passage of Proverbs: “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious thanjewels. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

Odette was the ideal woman described in Scripture. The Scripture says, “She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.” Odette did many works of charity through the Meadowbrook Woman's Club and PEO. Odette was a servant in the church, always doing what needed to be done, not a person to seek her own glory or even push for her own way, but a person seeking to help wherever help was needed. She and Doug would go through the church and refill the pencils and envelopes in the pews, straightening things up. The Scripture says, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” She was a quiet person most of the time, but when she said something, people listened. If you watched closely you noticed that nobody pushed her around. Proverbs says, “She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Of Odette’s care for her family I will say only this: she served Christmas dinner every year for the entire family often over twenty five people and no one was allowed to help. She maintained that she did not want any help, she would say, “I have my lists, I do a little bit every day, and the doctor says it’s good for me.” This past Christmas she did make a big concession; due to her health, she allowed paper plates. Proverbs says, “She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.” Odette was a tiny person who could not open jars by herself. Yet we will all remember Odette as a person of colossal strength. The Scripture says, “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.” Odette was nothing if not dignified, and she had no fear of death and did not worry about the future. Looking at such a life I can only conclude, based on the Scripture, that Odette was the ideal woman of God. Where did such a gift come to all of us? From the hand of God. Odette loved God, and honored God in all she did.

The Scripture says that “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Life is fleeting; we have learned that all too well this week. Life is fleeting, but God is steadfast. Odette’s faith in God was steadfast. Her commitment to Christ was steadfast. Her daily life of honoring God through loving others was steadfast. And now God is steadfast in his love of Odette. Now Odette is basking in that love in all its fullness, and she is lifting her arms high, opening perfect hands in praise. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Rev. Marianne Grano
University Presbyterian Church
1385 S. Adams Rd.
Rochester Hills, MI 48309
Office: 248-375-0400 x 204
Cell: 313-585-1211
Reflections on life: www.the-sermonator.blogspot.com

Tom left from the church back to Metro for his flight. Laurie and Jana came back with us to Ann Arbor. Laurie is leaving tomorrow, and Jana is staying for the weekend as previously planned. In the evening we ordered pizza and had birthday cake for Dick. Today is Dick's birthday. Both Jana and Dick will have no trouble remembering their birthdays this year.

Just happy to be together no matter what:

Odette had the ability to make everyone feel special. She would concentrate on you and give you her full attention as if you were the most important person around. In reality, she was the special one. For the past forty years she lived with pain, stiffness and discomfort, and never ever complained. She put herself out at every opportunity to be helpful. She created many traditions for her family year after year. It was hard to understand how she could accomplish what she did with her limitations. Christmas dinner for more than 20 people every year! She would say, "Oh I just do a little at a time - just do a little something every day." But the cooking and serving on Christmas Day must have been a huge effort for her. She was a terrific role model, and an inspiration to everybody. We are all better for having known her.

Steiger, Odette
Steiger Odette Age 82, September 18, 2011 of Rochester Hills. Loving wife of Douglas. Dearest mother of Susan (John) Lichtenberg, David Steiger and Roger (Megan) Steiger. Proud grandmother of Kristen, Molly, Jackson, Fay, and Lauren. Also survived by her sister Annette (Bruce) Chambers. A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at the University Presbyterian Church, 1385 S. Adams Rd., Rochester Hills, MI 48309. Memorial Visitation will be from 5:00 pm until 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday at the Pixley Funeral Home, 322 W. University Dr., Rochester, MI 48307. Memorial contributions are suggested to the University Presbyterian Church - Memorial Gifts Fund.

Remembering Odette

2011-09-21T11:16:00.005-04:00

Loaded with suits and black socks, we headed back to Ann Arbor. Not such nice weather today, but traffic was light. The kids have convinced us to stay in Rochester overnight tonight, so we all have rooms reserved at the Spartan Inn. Odette would have loved it!

At the Memorial gathering this evening, we had a chance to see Odette's side of the family - Annette and Bruce along with their children Steve and Chris - Jackie, and "Baby" Annette. We have only seen them at weddings before. We all had some good memories to share.

Doug and Odette's family were all able to be welcoming and appreciative - I was very proud of them - Susan, David, and Roger were terrific hosts. Doug was a little overwhelmed at seeing all of his friends and acquaintances from so many years all in one place! We hadn't seen Kristen and Molly for ages, and it was pleasant to reconnect with them. Jackson, Fay and Lauren were just as delightful as always, and it was nice to have them there. Barb and Jim came from T.C. and Sharon and John from Lansing. It's always wonderful to have friendly faces around you in sad times.

Of course we were very glad to see our three kids arrive, and it was lovely to be together again, if only it hadn't been for such a sad reason. We had just seen the Steiger half of the family at GenFest, but it was wonderful to be able to give many hugs and messages of support. There were so many people to talk to, and the time passed quickly.

At eight o'clock, the five of us were ready for a late dinner. Roger suggested Kruse and Muer on Main Street, and we had a very nice late night dinner. It was a great suggestion. It was kind of a birthday dinner for Jana - today is her birthday.

Funeral Attire

2011-09-20T11:03:00.000-04:00

Our football game outfits just might not be quite the right thing for a funeral, so we're driving up to T.C. to get more formal attire. It's a nice day for a drive and it will be nice to be home even for one night, but we need a lot of hand-holding to get through this.

Today we found out what kind of kids we have raised. All three are flying in for Odette's memorial and funeral - Tom from San Diego, Laurie from South Florida, and Jana from D.C. We never suggested that they do this, we just provided them with the info and updates, and all of a sudden we were getting emails with flight information. It's a tribute to Odette and how much they valued her influence during their lives.

Dear Odie

2011-09-19T10:55:00.000-04:00

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we go to Briarwood at 9 a.m. Dick does the U of M Geezer Workout and I use my walker and circumnavigate the mall. During one of my rest stops, I checked my phone for messages. I heard Dave's voice telling me that his Mom had passed away the night before. This was not totally unexpected - Odette has been fighting multiple problems for several weeks now - problems involving surgery, hospital stays, nursing home, therapy, in-home help and so on. Still - we had hopes that she would recover. It had been a relief to hear that she had been able to go home. Consequently, it was still quite a shock to hear of her passing.

I went over to the Geezer workout area and signaled Dick to come talk to me, and I broke the news. We left immediately.

Family needs to be notified and updated, and so we called or texted all of the kids, and emailed Barb and Sharon, talked to Dave and Sue on the phone, and waited for the details of funeral arrangements.

47th Annual Kanitz Reunion

2011-09-18T21:51:00.005-04:00

We picked up a chocolate cake and some ham at Meijer, and headed off for the Tri-County Sportsman's League in Saline. When we arrived, the cousins were setting up extra tables because more people showed up than were expected. Last year there were 110 folks who came, and the final count this year was 147!

Cousin Jack, whose family was in charge, was just ecstatic, and so proud to have such a turn out. There was so much food that for the first time in my memory, the desserts were displaced by dinner items, and they came up with a new location for desserts. The tables were groaning!

Dick and I sat at one of the newly set up tables, and as it turned out, we sat alone for the whole deal. I kept expecting late arrivals to show up and sit with us, but it didn't happen. Joyce was scandalized that we were sitting alone, but to be honest, it was kind of nice to have a little solitude in the midst of the multitude!

I enjoyed talking to Jack, Joyce, Wayne, Dawn and others of course. It's always fun to see all of the new babies - there were many this year. One of the little boy babies is seven months old, and his daddy proudly stated that the U of M has won every football game for his son's whole life!

Wolverine Warriors

2011-09-17T21:14:00.004-04:00

Michigan played Eastern Michigan today, and we invited Heather and Justin, the Wolverine Warriors, to sit with us. It turned out to be a great day weatherwise, and they are always good company.

Eastern played way too well at first, and made our team look a little silly at times, but then the sleeping giant woke up, and our team took control of the rest of the game.

This from mgoblue:

Big Rushing Day, Stout D Carry Michigan Past EMU

Sept. 17, 2011
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan 31, Eastern Michigan 3
Records: U-M (3-0), Eastern Michigan (2-1)
Attendance: 110,343
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Sept. 24 -- vs. San Diego State (Michigan Stadium), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior quarterback Denard Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) and junior running back Vincent Smith (Pahokee, Fla./Pahokee) each eclipsed 100 yards rushing as the University of Michigan football team ran over Eastern Michigan, 31-3, on Saturday (Sept. 17) at Michigan Stadium. Robinson neared his career high in rushing attempts with 26, amassing 198 yards and a touchdown, while Smith ran the ball nine times for 118 yards.
*************

You might say that this was the perfect football day.

September Monthly S.E. MiGO Meet & Eat

2011-09-14T20:39:00.006-04:00

This event takes place over in Southfield usually at the same time as rush hour. Not wanting to fight the rush hour traffic on the freeways,we left early and took surface streets over in that direction, and cached our way to the event at Panera Bread on Southfield Road.

Laura of LightPeople

TopKat, Cyclops, Basswood Bend - doesn't get much better than that!

Crowd shot - looks like a very serious crowd!

OK, Melissa P. keeps coming up with ideas for new challenges (a new geocaching opportunity). This one was to eat a sweet treat - so of course we both complied!

It was very enjoyable - a nice day and many new and different caches to explore. Including the event, I think we logged 10 caches for the day - most of them in very nice Southfield parks.

How Much Fun Is This???

2011-09-14T06:49:00.002-04:00

The Maize and Blue faithful will appreciate this. Somebody had the great idea of dubbing a Bob Ufer broadcast over the last play of last Saturday's Notre Dame game. Fun fun fun!

Sweet 9/11 Tribute

2011-09-11T21:47:00.000-04:00

Ann Arbor Precis

2011-09-11T19:52:00.003-04:00

Dick just wrote a letter to our nieces and it's a good summary of our time in Ann Arbor so far.

Greetings from Ann Arbor. With the exception of a few minor glitches,
we are having a great time. To summarize our trip so far, here's what
we have been up to,

1) Games;
Wow! The first one, Western, started so hot that a woman up behind us
had collapsed and needed medical attention before it even started. The
heat got to Nancy and she left to find shade at the end of the first
quarter was over. She went back to the car to sit in the air
conditioning. Tom and I stayed to the end which was late in the 3rd
quarter when it was called off due to the weather.(Lightning) A
first! That has never happened before. It rained so hard that we were
drenched. The game was stopped, then restarted and then stopped again.
I told Dylan that I might have gotten wetter if I just jumped in the
pool with my clothes on but I'm not sure.

The second one, Notre Dame was the first night game and set a new
national attendance record, 114,804. Nancy decided she wasn't ready to
go back to the stadium and so I took some old coaching buddies. In the
last 1 1/2 minutes, we scored to win, they scored to win, and then we
scored with 2 seconds on the clock to win for real. What a roller
coaster! 3TD's in just over a minute! My pals said they thought I was
having a heart attack. I'm not sure what time we got home but I was so
wired that I was still up reading the early comments in the papers at
2:30 in the morning.
In the afternoon we had a chance to watch the Spartans and they are
definitely impressive. I hope they kick some more Irish butt this
week.

2)Social;
We have gone out for breakfast, lunch, dinner coffee and a tailgate
with old friends. At the teacher retiree breakfast, someone was nice
enough to point out that Nan and I were the oldest ones there. You can
sure tell that we are all getting old when the topics most discussed
are grand children and medical conditions. We did a coffee with local
geocachers. One of the most fun events was a tailgate. Some of Tom's
HS buddies claim we turned them on to tailgating when we took them to
games and tailgated 30 years ago. They bought a house near the stadium
which they rent out to students except for the basement and the back
yard on home game days. They have named it the Wolverine Den. It has
its own web page which you can google. On Saturday they had a pig
roast which we attended along with over 250 others. Steve, the guy who
started it said that 50 - 60 don't go to the game, they stay and watch
it on one of the TVs. I met a number of former students and their
kids.

3)The downside;
We are not happy with our unit. The development we stayed the past 3
years was well maintained and convenient, a 10 minute drive straight
to our stadium parking. This one is 30 - 45 in heavy Interstate
traffic. This development is poorly maintained. It's called Village
Green, Nancy says the name comes from the green mold on the outside of
all the buildings. When we moved in, the kitchen faucet leaked and
they had just placed a towel on the shelf under the sink. We thought
that the oven needed cleaning but but they say "it is just corrosion".
The kitchen contains one dishtowel, one fry pan, one sauce pan and one
other pot. Oh well, we'll just go to Meijer and pick up some stuff. It
is what it is.

All in all we are having a good time. Next to Traverse City, Ann Arbor
is our favorite town.

If all goes well. on Wednesday we are driving to Rochester to see
Odette and Doug. We were scheduled to go last Thursday but their
Medical problems wouldn't permit a visit then.

Under the Lights

2011-09-11T11:59:00.002-04:00

Robinson Finds Roundtree with Two Ticks Left, Michigan Overtakes Irish

	Roy Roundtree

Sept. 10, 2011

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan 35, Notre Dame 31
Records: U-M (2-0), Notre Dame (0-2)
Attendance: 114,804
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Sept. 17 -- vs. Eastern Michigan (Michigan Stadium), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For the third straight season, the University of Michigan football team overtook Notre Dame in the final 30 seconds, as junior quarterback Denard Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) completed a 16-yard pass to senior/junior wide receiver Roy Roundtree (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) with two seconds remaining to give the Wolverines a 35-31 comeback victory in the Under the Lights contest on Saturday (Sept. 10) inside Michigan Stadium. In front of a record crowd of 114,804 fans, the Wolverines clawed their way back into the game from a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter, tallying 28 fourth-quarter points.

Retiree's Breakfast

2011-09-07T09:08:00.006-04:00

Oh Boy, we got to go to the Bomber! It's in the rundown section of Michigan Ave. in Ypsi. The food is good, the servers are friendly and efficient, regardless of the purple hair :)

We had a great time - it really is a blast to see all of the former faculty members - some of them are getting really old. Come to think of it, I believe that Dick and I are now the oldest of the old at this point.

I especially enjoyed talking to Jan, Bill, Kay, John, Dan, Cindy, Diann and Linda. Diann and Jan and I plan to go see "Contagion" next week.

We gave Notre Dame game tickets to Dan and Bill for Saturday's game. The guys are going to the Wolverine Den for a pig roast before the game! Should be quite a time!

Phooning. Phooning?

2011-09-06T21:38:00.002-04:00

We ran into Melissa P. at Meijer, and she said, "Are you coming tonight?" Huh? Seems the South Lyon Trekkers Meet and Greet is tonight in South Lyon - we had thought it was tomorrow.

We made it over there, and I had so much fun talking to the kids who came - it was their first day of school, and I loved hearing all about it from the kids' perspectives! Daniel (1st grade) showed me his broken thumb - it's a little crooked. He said he broke his thumb in the Thumb! Then he said, "It was a day of irony."

I also enjoyed talking to andrew.r.brown and his son Jason (3rd grade) - such nice people!

Then we were told that we had to Phoon, and this is the result:

Fooning Fools (proving that you don't have to be young to be foolish.)

@ Biggby Coffee
22729 Pontiac Trail
South Lyon, MI 48178
N 42° 26.913 W 083° 39.059
This is a challenge for those geocachers who attend our twice monthly coffee shop event. To complete this challenge, have your picture taken while phooning in front of this coffee shop. (Don't know what phooning is? Check here: http://www.phoons.com/ ) The picture must be of your entire body (so we can see proper form of the phoon). Each person who claims credit must upload a picture of him or herself phooning at this location. Make sure the coffee shop is recognizable. Have fun!

Sweet Sunday

2011-09-04T21:33:00.002-04:00

Almost a whole day with Tom! Hooray!

We slept in and just foraged for breakfast. Then we took a drive around North Campus and some old haunts.

Zingerman's Roadhouse is the perfect spot for Sunday lunch, and that's where we headed. I had wonderful mac and cheese. Tom had an oyster poorboy, which I guess was not that wonderful.

Back to the apartment for rest and relaxation and conversation - holy cow - we even talked about Beth! I guess Beth and Lani's husband both work for the DNR, or DEQ or whatever it is now.

Dropped Tom at the airport in timely fashion. A nice hug and a wave, and he's gone again.

This is Football Weather?

2011-09-03T22:09:00.004-04:00

The Gimper approaching Section 37:

Sept. 3, 2011

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan 34, Western Michigan 10 (declared final with 1:27 left in third quarter due to weather)
Records: U-M (1-0), Western Michigan (0-1)
Attendance: 110,506
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Sept. 10 -- vs. Notre Dame - Under the Lights (Michigan Stadium), 8 p.m. (TV: ESPN)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior weakside linebacker Brandon Herron (Stafford, Texas/Dulles) became the first Wolverine in school history to post two defensive scores in a single contest, helping lead the University of Michigan football to a 34-10 win over Western Michigan in the 2011 season opener, which was declared final with 1:27 in the third quarter due to weather on Saturday (Sept. 3) inside Michigan Stadium. The victory is head coach Brady Hoke's first at the helm of the Michigan program.

Although the opening kickoff featured 90-degree heat and sunny skies, storms from the southwest rolled over Michigan Stadium in the second half. The game was suspended twice in the third quarter after lightning was spotted within six miles of the stadium. The first suspension resulted in only a 30-minute delay, but the bleak outlook of the second suspension forced Michigan and Western Michigan officials to call the game with 1:27 left in the third quarter and declare the Wolverines the winner. This is the first Michigan football game to end due to weather before all 60 minutes of regulation have been played.

The game with Western was quite the experience. It was amazingly hot, hot, hot followed by amazingly wet, wet, wet and windy.

The rains came (and thunder and lightning!):

The students didn't want to leave!

At least it cooled off by 10 degrees or so. Tom and Dick hung in there until the end...I left after the first quarter - just couldn't handle the heat and no shade. Wimpy wimpy wimpy. During the storm, the thermometer in the car said 84.

When we got back to the apartment there were trees and branches down everywhere. What a storm. We ordered pizza and the delivery person actually found our apt.

We had a great time with Tom - he loved the game and had a good time, weather notwithstanding. He wanted the game to continue, claiming that 8 year old girls play soccer in the snow!

Speaking of Tom, our plans have changed and we're not going to Tom's in Dec. Chip has made Captain and will be flying reserve - most likely will have to fly on Christmas Day, and will not be as able to adjust his time off for a while. We're all going to Florida again, and we figure that we'll have Christmas on whatever day he can be home.

Our First Full AA Day

2011-09-02T22:53:00.000-04:00

What a mad social whirl (for us!)

We met Dennis and Chris at Zukey Lake Tavern in Pinckney for lunch. They are leaving Sunday for two months in Australia! We always enjoy their company, and love listening to their stories. They are now the grandparents of two, a girl and a boy.

The new baby is named Tiberius James - which we thought was interesting and unusual. Later, Tom pointed out that on the TV show Star Trek, William Shatner's character is named James Tiberius Kirk. Chris' son must be a Trekkie!

Then, after a lovely lunch, we went out to dinner with Sniders and Grignons at Carrabba's in Canton. Good food, good friends, good conversation, and anticipation of picking Tom up at the airport after dinner. What a nice time!

We picked Tom up without incident, and now we're all ready for tomorrow's game!

The Village Green

2011-09-01T23:19:00.007-04:00

Here's the Village Green Apartment, our home away from home for a while:

Apartment 105

Bedroom #1

Bedroom #2

The well-stocked kitchen

The living area

Dining area

Big closet

Bessie's Ready

2011-08-27T21:00:00.003-04:00

Dick likes to set Bessie out on the riverside deck to greet kayakers. Today he equipped her in all kinds of U of M paraphernalia. I think we're excited about the approach of football season!

Dick's a Lumberjack!

2011-08-22T23:50:00.005-04:00

And he's OK!

(I dare you to click on the title!)

This is one of the target trees!

Nice load of firewood

This will keep us warm in January, 2012!

OK now, just split it and stack it!

Here's my lumberjack after some felling!

Great Summer Day

2011-08-18T21:12:00.003-04:00

The Charlands came out to go kayaking - it's the perfect day for it! Chris spotted the trailer at Beitner, and is running to our house! It gives me a chance to enjoy Shelly and Drew! Dick is still at the Visitor Center.

Dick discovered that the J&S has a new paint job. I think that yellow jeep ragtop really sets it off!

Mr. Marshal

2011-08-17T21:59:00.001-04:00

Marsh came to see us today, and we had a lovely visit. He and Dick traded books as always. It was nice to catch up on the latest news.

His Dad has been in assisted living for a couple of years now, and so at the Canadian Lakes house it's just Marsh and his Mom. He's the primary care giver, and it's hard for him to get away for one or two days.

We had fun reminiscing about old days and old friends. One of the highlights was the golf cart tour of the property - we had a great time! He stayed for a dinner of burgers and sweet corn. A very nice day.

TCC&VB

2011-08-15T21:16:00.005-04:00

Today Dick set up and manned the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau table at the G.T. Resort for the Regional Convention of Medicare and Medicaid Employees.

When he got home, he took some time to appreciate our beautiful river!

Oatmeal? Really?

2011-08-04T19:19:00.003-04:00

Gym in the morning followed by breakfast at the new Grand Traverse Pie Co. downtown. What does one get for breakfast at the G.T. Pie Co. you may ask? Oatmeal. No kidding. They were out of the yogurt parfait.

Caching in the afternoon - you can see that we're gradually getting back to normal.

08/04/2011 You found Oh Crap Visit Log
Well the company's all gone and the weather is great so it's a perfect day to get the Jeep out of the barn and get into full "Caching Mode". We never knew about a ropes course back here. In fact the only one we ever saw was up at the hospital. This was a fairly quick find. signed log, took nothing and left our card and a #8 Hot Wheels. Thanks for showing us this trail and adding to our fun today.

08/04/2011 You found Stuck In The Middle Visit Log
Many great memories of this area. As a teen I learned to ski behind Bensley's boat, their cottage was just up the road in Crescent Shores. When we were young marrieds, we rented a cottage up the road on Mickey Lake. We got in "Caching Mode" this afternoon and got out the Jeep and took a ride. This was our first attempt at caching using our I Phone. After a fruitless search, we were about to give up when we figured out how to find the hint. BINGO!!
Took nothing but some trash that was on the ground, left a punch ball. Thanks for the memories.

08/04/2011 You found Extra Crispy Booty 2 Visit Log
This one has been sitting there for quite a while but we never seemed to be in "Caching Mode" when we drove past. Singed log and traded tags. TFTC

All Gone !

2011-07-31T00:46:00.000-04:00

Gillespies and Jana are all leaving today. Gillespies are driving from here to Florida by way of Pittsburgh. They left this morning.

Jana is flying out tonight to D.C. - it was kind of a late flight to begin with, and she was delayed in Detroit - her flight didn't leave until 10:40 p.m. - and she goes to work tomorrow!

Oh no! I think this means that they're really leaving!

Kayaking

2011-07-29T14:52:00.006-04:00

This was the last day of College for Kids - Dylan really enjoyed his class, and spent a lot of time practicing on the computer here at home.

The afternoon was perfect for a short kayak on the river - everybody loves that.

In the evening there was Friday Night Live. The theme tonight was Dancing in the Street.

Full Full Day Plus LANI

2011-07-27T20:54:00.009-04:00

Cheryl
College for kids
Omelette Shoppe
Front St.
Walk in Bay
Dylan's Candy Bar
Lani

End of An Era

2011-07-26T20:55:00.004-04:00

Dick and I did our Gym Thing this morning. Afterwards, Laurie and Dick headed out for the peninsula in the Jeep to do some geocaching. When Dylan was done with "college", he and Chip went over to Grace MacDonald Park to hit some tennis balls.

Later on in the day, Chip and Dylan decided they wanted to tube the rapids. Every year that's a big deal, and Dylan has always just loved doing it. Well, now it's kind of the end of that era. When they got back he said it was "OK" but he remembered it as being bigger, faster, and more fun. I guess he's outgrowing tubing the rapids. Heavy sigh.

Bye Tom

2011-07-25T20:58:00.009-04:00

This was the first day of Dylan's Java class at College for Kids - he seems to have enjoyed it, and is looking forward to the rest of the week.

Tom is flying away today - he packed up his bike, and we went to UPS to ship it back to California.

It's a beautiful day, so we had our "last" lunch with Tom out on the deck.

Dick, Dylan and I took him to the airport - hugs and waves and then he's gone again.

Jana, Dick and I went for a walk in the mall - I felt the need to stretch my legs! I had a good walk, and Jana got in some excellent shopping! Dick found some new sneakers - it was a good thing.

VASA

2011-07-24T21:01:00.002-04:00

Day after GenFest - just kind of a mellow time. Three of us were just kind of rusticating round here, but our four intrepid bikers (Gillespies plus Tom) went biking on the Vasa trail today - they enjoyed it very much. And we enjoyed rusticating.

GenFest 2011

2011-07-23T21:48:00.001-04:00

What a wonderful Genfest we had this year! The cottage provided by Sharon and John on Forest Lodge was just perfect for this event! Big rooms, big porches, and a great beach made it the perfect venue.

I have to say that Barb's project, The Steiger Family Cookbook, was a big hit. Everybody contributed to it, recipes old and new - such fun!

The porch turned out to be the perfect spot for chatting:

and for admiring Drew!

The living room was so comfortable and cool - a terrific place to duck into!

The beach was down a hill from the cottage, a quite a ways away, but it sure didn't bother the kids!

The porch was also the perfect place for eating!

Eating inside wasn't bad either...

The ladies of the kitchen - Barb and Sharon, Melissa and Michelle - the food was bountiful and delicious - they all did a marvelous job!

The beach was the big attraction for all of the kids - it was fun watching them attack Chris!

Can you tell that these two are on vacation?

Oh no - I think Chris is in real trouble!

And over he goes! Kids rule!

We had a fascinating discussion about PNC (Melissa) and 1105 (Jana), and we were cool the whole time.

Jackson preparing to squirt someone no doubt!

Let's go kayaking! They sent the young legs off to get the kayaks.

Peachy and beachy

Kayaking strategy meeting

Family confab

Off they go to the island

Laurie, Carla, Jackson and Dylan

Doug and descendants

Laurie got the new kayak!

Triumphal return from the island

Minute to Win It - Breakfast Puzzle - Chip and Dylan

Tom doing the Nose Dive

Dick gives it a try

Melanie and Izzy enjoying the water

Jana balancing the dice - she did it! Laurie did it too. Such talent in one family:)

Dylan playing Suck it Up

Big, big bubbles were fun, fun to watch

Carla was the adult bubble champ -

I personally think that Dylan was the Champ of the Cousins

Oops! Balancing the dice is hard!

Thank you one and all for a glorious fun-filled day. GenFest just keeps getting better and better!

Hello Jana!

2011-07-22T21:08:00.008-04:00

Yaay - Jana is coming today! Dick is at the Visitor Center, and the kids (Gillespies plus Tom) have gone biking at Boyne. My job is to meet Jana at the Airport this morning - her plane was just a little late - not bad at all.

We went to the VC to see her Dad. He was just about finished, so he offered her a ride home in the Jeep and off they went. I picked up some sandwiches to take home, and Jana got settled in.

The biking at Boyne was very hard evidently, and my guys are all worn out - well, except for Tom, who mountain bikes on real mountains. It will take a couple of days for the legs to come back!

Chip, Dylan, Tom

This is the best part of the summer - when we're all here! Yaay!

Gee Whiz It's HOT!

2011-07-20T18:11:00.011-04:00

So on the hottest day of the summer so far, we elected to go to the sand dunes. The key to a successful dune climb on a beastly hot day is to begin before it gets beastly hot. We were there before 10 a.m. It was breezy and overcast - no hot sun. It even rained for about a minute and a half.

Dick and I found a picnic table and settled in. The rest of the crew headed up the dune.

They were gone for about an hour - went all the way to the top, went to see the logs, went up and down one hill a couple of times, and then two who shall remain nameless (Tom and Dylan) rolled down to where we were.

Off to Glen Arbor to see if there was room at Art's to have lunch - there was and we did. It was noisy, crowded and fun. Oh, and the food was good, too.

There was an art fair just down the street, so after lunch we walked over to check it out. It was getting hotter every second, but the fair was in a shady area, and so we were mostly comfortable. Laurie and I bought some Petoskey stone stuff.

Glen Haven was next. Explored around the vintage fishing boat and the boat museum just for a little bit.

We drove the Pierce Stocking Trail. and the kids went down the hill at the Overlook and walked along the shore to North Bar Lake, where we picked them up - it was extremely hot by then, and the parking lot was jam packed full.

They decided not to go swimming, and opted to go to Moomer's instead. That's a great way to end the adventures on a hot, hot day.

Perfection

2011-07-19T18:13:00.005-04:00

First of all, Dick and I had a good day at the gym - always a good thing.

While we were "gyming", Laurie, Chip, Dylan and Tom went biking on the Muncie Lakes trails. Their report was that the Muncie trails are much harder than the Vasa trails.

After we were all clean and shiny, we went over to Alden for lunch at The Dockside Restaurant. Laurie had arranged to meet her Belleville High School friend Kathy, who is up here for a wedding. She lives in St. Charles, Missouri. There were 12 of us all together, and we had tables in the shade - it was a hot day - and it was very much fun to meet the rest of Kathy's family. We had a really good time.

Laurie and Kathy

Kathy's sister Jackie and husband Jim goofing around in the background.

Lue's plank is still on the dock.

Dockside's food is really so, so good!

Very few days give you the opportunity to do all of your favorite things! This was one of those days!

Back in town, Laurie, Dylan, Tom and I went to see Harry Potter. It was good, good, good. We all had different favorite parts. Some thought that the escape on the flying dragon was the best. Personally, I thought that Harry saving Draco from the fire was the absolutely best part, and I also loved the epilogue 19 years later very, very much indeed.

The Deer Whisperer

2011-07-18T19:01:00.014-04:00

The day began with breakfast at the Omelette Shoppe with Tim and Susie. It's always much fun to be with them, and today was even more enjoyable because the entire Gillespie family plus Tom were all there, too. Hope T&S can get their zipper fixed!

Back at the river, the intrepid four went kayaking. It started out just fine, but somewhere between here an the DNR site, a rainstorm blew in, and we had our first thunder kayaking adventure. The kids were all soaked, but when we went to pick them up they were doing the patented Dylan "bunny hop" dance - so they were wet but certainly not downhearted!

After everybody had cleaned up and dried off, we made a visit to Sharon and John's cottage on Forest Lodge. What a great old cottage it is! Sharon saya that the place was not clean, and full of trash such as paint cans under the piano - but by today it was very presentable! We had fun visiting, and our kids all stayed for dinner!

This deer was standing in the woods, watching our approach to the cottage. I rolled down my window and said "Hi Bambi", and she took three steps toward the car! I kept talking to her - "you're a pretty girl", etc., and every time she would step closer - it was bizarre! Finally, I guess she realized that she didn't know us after all, and went bounding off into the trees. I feel like the deer-whisperer!

First Kayaking

2011-07-17T19:06:00.010-04:00

This was the first kayaking expedition for the new blue kayak. It was loaded up in the driveway,

and unloaded at Brown Bridge Dam.

Meet and Greet

2011-07-16T19:00:00.006-04:00

Another Meet and Greet today at the Cottage Cafe. It was sparsely attended, but you can have a good time if you've a mind to!

Dick and Charlie

Our table

Sharkie Crew

4 lumbrjax

Somebody told a joke!

Afterwards, Dick and I dropped Laurie off downtown so she could do a little shopping, and we went to Dunham's to buy a kayak for Dylan. They were having a two day sale, so it worked out great.

Guess Who's Here?

2011-07-12T12:41:00.004-04:00

Flap Jack's idea of a healthy breakfast for Dylan!

They arrived around 10 p.m. - drove all the way from Mammoth Cave yesterday. Whew!

We all met today after the gym at Flap Jack for brunch, and now our summer adventures can begin!

Hoosier Valley & Arrival !

2011-07-11T19:04:00.005-04:00

We spent the day in our jeep over in Hoosier Valley and environs. We put out nine new caches which will be unpublished until after the Meet and Greet next Saturday. A couple of the caches are quite creative, and it'll be fun to see who can find them. It was fun driving around the two-tracks in the jeep - one or two times we really needed the four wheel drive. We'll have to tell people not to attempt some of these finds without 4x4.

Sometime close to 9:30 p.m., the Gillespies and the guineas arrived! Hooray for summer!

Happy Birthday Brooke

2011-07-08T21:30:00.003-04:00

Lucky Jack's was the venue for the Bowling Blast for Brooke (with pizza!). It was a great time for everyone, and now Brooke is officially nine years old. Did you ever notice how kids grow up too fast?

The pizza was yummy, the conversation was interesting, the presents were fun, but the bowling was the most fun. I think Shelly was the overall winner - she's in a bowling league all winter, so she's had lots of practice.

Autumn has really learned how to help host an event - she was very gracious - serving and offering things and clearing off the tables - I was very impressed. She's a take charge kind of girl.

Everybody signed a get well card for Odette. Hope she can feel all of the good wishes by remote control.

All in all, we had a super time.

This afternoon we had the driveway sealed - it looks really good. They patched the cracks, and did the edging all the way around - nice.

Our Florida kids are on their way to T.C. - they left this morning. Mammoth Cave is their destination for the weekend. They'll be here sometime next week. Yaay!

Round Robin 2011

2011-07-07T14:36:00.006-04:00

A quick review of what's happened since I wrote last year's Round Robin letter to the SLG's of Traverse City Central High, class of 1953:

What a treat to get the Round Robin before the summer company arrives. We’re expecting all of the kids to be here soon - some for a week, and some for a month! It’s the best part about summer in T.C.

We’ve had a fine year. We spent a month in Ann Arbor during football season, and while we were there brother Jim and I hosted the Kanitz family reunion in Saline. We had 111 cousins there - unbelievable! I think I know about six of them personally,

Geocaching is still a big part of our lives - it has been a fantastic hobby for us. The get-togethers are special - meet and greets, road rallies, and State-wide socials. We have met all kinds of people pursuing this hobby, and some of them have become really good friends.

You just can’t beat Christmas in Florida! The whole family comes, the weather is lovely, the ocean is beautiful, and the Christmas spirit prevails. What could be better?

Last February (2011) daughter Jana got a job! It’s not her favorite job, but she has a great salary and good benefits - and it’s a job, job, job - after being unemployed for 30 months! Hope springs eternal….

Northern Michigan had a very cold, very snowy and very long winter. We were so sick of snow and icicles - bad case of cabin fever. When we thought it was finally over - another major snowstorm descended, a tree fell across our driveway, and we said enough already! Spring did come as it always does, and it has been worth waiting for - lush and green with beautiful bright flowers and warm sunshine. Hallelujah! We feel so lucky to be here, far from major floods, tornadoes and wildfires.

The best trip this year was Out West - flying into Las Vegas and driving around Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. The goal is to find geocaches in every State, and after this trip the only State left is Hawaii - we thinking of doing that next Spring (2012).

After that road trip, we flew to San Diego to stay with Tom for a week. Another reason for the California trip was to attend the Bar Mitzvah of the grandson of our best friends from Belleville whom we’ve known for 40 years, That was a very joyous event - we had a great time, and it was wonderful to touch base with their whole family. Son Tom is a very good host, and we had a blast in San Diego - I highly recommend it J.

Twice so far this summer we’ve gone to Interlochen concerts - the first was A Prairie Home Companion, with Garrison Keillor. We enjoyed it more than I can say - a most enjoyable couple of hours. He had nice things to say about Interlochen, and T.C. The second one was to see The Temptations - and I was disappointed because the sound was way, way too loud - almost painful - are all concerts like that? (I don’t get out much.)

There have been great extended family times here at home with our Traverse nieces and nephews - Thanksgiving, birthdays, Easter - it’s so nice to have family close by.

Dick and I both have gray hair disease, which means that we’re not getting any younger - but we’re hanging in there and enjoying life to the max. Live the life you love and love the life you live.

Cherry Festival

2011-07-06T20:28:00.006-04:00

The tourists had the weekend and the 4th to enjoy the Festival - today we decided it might be safe to brave the crowds and try for lunch at the food court in the Open Space.

It took some logistics to get me and my walker properly dropped off and met up with, but Dick is getting really good at it, thank goodness.

There were still hoards of people, but there were some empty tables, even at lunch time. Dick got a Greek salad from the U&I and I got fish and chips from Minerva's. Yumminess. We sat with some businessmen - a contractor, a realtor, and one other. It was interesting.

It was another ideal day to be outside - the Festival people have been blessed with good weather this year. We walked around a little bit after lunch - over to the water to check out the boats, and around Gibbyville. The mini train was absolutely loaded with families - we saw one empty seat.

These posters are at the entrance to Gibbyville - no way to tell how accurate they are, but evidently people are here from all over.

The Fourth

2011-07-04T19:25:00.001-04:00

How to Avoid the Cherry Festival

2011-07-03T20:14:00.004-04:00

07/03/2011	You found End of the Road Uba	Visit Log
On a beautiful July day in northern Michigan, with the Cherry Festival in full swing, we decided to get out of town on a caching expedition. This find capped off what is for us a normal full day of caching, eight interesting finds on a nice drive with stops for lunch and beverage replenishment. On our tour, we spotted 5 other happy groups cruising along in their yellow rag top Jeeps but none as nice as ours. This cache is definitely in muggle heaven on a warm summer day, we had to wait out two sets of them but the scenery makes the wait more than bearable. Spotted the cache, scooped it up and took it back to the cachemobile to sign. Then, after the boat pulled out, the young lovers left and the next boater was backing down the ramp, quickly replaced it. Thanks for the fun.
07/03/2011	You found Williams Cache	Visit Log
We were aware of the story, we have both read Al Barnes books, but we have never visited this site before. Once more we write, "Were it not for Geocaching, we would never have known this was here." Thanks for showing it to us.
07/03/2011	You found The Old Roadbed	Visit Log
Cache was sort of out in the open. We covered it in place. Picked up quite a bit of trash, signed the log and left Jack Squat. Thanks for the smilie.
07/03/2011	You found MLT Lodi	Visit Log
We like the MLT series and we love ammo cans. Put our sticker in the log book and left our card. TFTC
07/03/2011	You found The Unwanted Headstone	Visit Log
We were out caching on a beautiful Sunday. After finding the Historical Kalkaska cache, we cached our way home. We think that the stone is probably someone who was reinterred nearer his family or home. We singed the log and placed it in a ziplock. Traded what we think is a gold nugget for some geojunk. TFTC
07/03/2011	You found North Branch of the Manistee	Visit Log
Our goal today was to find and log the Historic Caches of Kalkaska. After finding that one, we came over here. The area around the cache is heavy with poison ivy so we tread very softly and carefully and I washed my hands and legs off thoroughly after replacing the cache. The original log book and the cache contents are wet. Some one has replaced the wet log with a new one but placed it in the same unsealed zip lock. We dumped the water out of the container, removed the geojunk and dried it out as best we could, We put our sticker in the damp log and placed it in a fresh baggie. TFTC
07/03/2011	You found Historic Caches of Kalkaska County	Visit Log
Today was a fantastic day to be out and about. With the Cherry Festival in full swing and the second day of the air show, we wanted to get out of town. We had found all of the caches required for this cache and so this was today's target. Our first three we logged on a busy day in eight years ago. On July 5th, 2003 we visited GC4D3A Stop Pining at Seven Bridges, GCA060 Ghost of Prince Froggers, and GCE309 Take me out to the ball game. Later that year we found GCGJW9 The Cascades at Rugg Pond on December 9th. We learned of the importance of GC36 Geocache 612 and made it the target of our first outing of 2004, finding it on January 4th. We were the 55th to find this, the second oldest cache in the state. In reviewing the logs, we find that more than 60% of those who logged it before us have less than 250 finds. In fact, of the first 10 to log it, only one is still active. We loaded up our kayak and scored GCGPMH Torch River Paddle In on Oct. 13, 2004. Then there's GCJ287 MLT Sharon, we can't log it because we own it, or can we? Oh well, let's not revisit that discussion. We took nothing, left our card, our tag and a magnifying glass. Thanks for the cache, it brings back a ton of memories.
07/03/2011	You found Cache to Eagle #14 Scenic Trails-Bay Trails Dist	Visit Log
Our goal today was further east but we couldn't resist this one. We were absolutely wowed by the bridge! Although GZ is damp, it is far from "mucky" now. We traded one of our tags for a golfball. Congratulations to Cullen Lane for his accomplishment. A job well done!

Happy B-Day Izzy

2011-07-02T21:13:00.004-04:00

Sweet little Isabelle is two years old! Adam and Melanie hosted a party/cookout at their new home on Cherry Blossom Drive. What a great address for Traverse City!

All of Barb's kids and grandkids were there - Peter and Melissa and the girls arrived from Kalamazoo just in time for burgers. They're in town for the Cherry Festival. It's always so enjoyable to see everybody and catch up on the latest news. The best part was watching all of the kids play in the water and squirt each other! I only got wet once. It was a really hot day, so I didn't mind.

Jim H. is home recovering from surgery - we missed him - he would have loved this get-together.

We got a tour of the house (air conditioned) and a chance to talk to everybody.

Happy Birthday Izzy

This is the first day of the Cherry Festival, and they certainly planned the weather well - couldn't be nicer. We've been driving past the venue downtown and watching them set up the tents, etc. It's always a mob scene - so many people - it seems to me that there are more people this year - yesterday at the Visitor Center Dick saw 180 people in three hours.

The Birthday Girl

Dick and Shelly

In Which We Meet the New Neighbors

2011-07-01T19:04:00.003-04:00

While I was riding around in the golf cart, I noticed activity down at Barker's. Maybe these are the new owners, so I drove down to introduce myself. It was great to finally get to meet them - they've owned the place since last fall, but on their previous visits we've been out of town. Their names are Mike and Jean, and they're younger than I had pictured them,. They're here for the Fourth of July weekend, and their daughters are coming for the 4th.

Mike and Jean live and work in Uruguay, and this will be their summer home. They're both in education - I believe Jean is a teacher and Mike an administrator. I was able to answer some question such as trash removal, etc, and I was very glad to have met them.

Odette

2011-06-26T20:03:00.004-04:00

Roger's report:

Thanks to Sue's persistence making sure all the proper forms got signed, faxed, etc. Mom did move to the Bellbrook rehab center last Monday, after a 12-day hospital stay. The staff and facility there are very nice, and the location is very convenient for Dad. Mom has begun therapy and is beginning to steadily recover. She is in much less pain and is mostly bored. She appreciates hearing about what's going on in everyone's life, so feel free to send a card with a note to Spartan Court and Dad will make sure she gets it.
______________________________________

All we can do is write letters and cards - she doesn't want flowers. I hear that Odie is very popular at the Rehab Center because she tries so hard. She really wants to go home. We are really pulling for her.

A beautiful summer day - perfect in every way.

It's always fun to ride around all of the paths and trails in the golf cart, and today was the best day for it!

To top things off, we drove around the entire county in the Jeep - the Old Mission Peninsula is the most beautiful place in Michigan (in my humble opinion).

Meet and Greet

2011-06-25T21:45:00.003-04:00

The Meet and Greet for this month was at The Cottage for breakfast instead of at B.C.'s for pizza. They have a very nice room, and we had a good time - the food is good, too! We met some new people, and traded stories with old friends. Next month we'll host the Meet and Greet, and we'll have it at The Cottage, too. Dick's planning to place five new unpublished caches in Hoosier Valley so the folks who come to the M&G can find them first.

Adam and Melanie and friends came out to go kayaking - it was a beautiful day for it. They went from Brown Bridge to Beitner, a really nice, long float. Melanie tipped over, but it was OK. Lydia is coming home for the Cherry Festival and Izzy's birthday - everybody is excited.

Dick mowed the entire yard - no small feat.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T21:01:00.004-04:00

What's our favorite thing to do? Touring Leelanau, that's what! So what better way to enjoy Dad's Day.

We started out at The Other Side, a new coffee house by Scott's. It's so new that the staff hasn't exactly figured out how to perform service or clean up. But they do know how to socialize with friends. The breakfast was good - but once again we couldn't eat it all and boxed half of it up.

Driving north we came upon our old bugaboo, the cache at the Clinton F. Woolsey Memorial Airport. Couldn't find it again! Next time we will, though! Dick has since emailed the owner and we got a good clue. Can't wait to go back and check it out.

Near Northport at Peterson Park Dick found a couple that we hadn't picked up before. Despite the holiday, it wasn't crowded at all. We enjoyed driving around Northport and touring the marinas - it's a beautiful day.

It was also beautiful at Glen Haven on Lake Michigan - the historical center has built a new pedestrian deck/bridge/walkway thing - looks terrific.

Late lunch at Boone Docks in Glen Arbor - mostly because Art's was jam-packed with a line of people waiting. Boone Docks is always good. We ate indoors because it was a little too chilly to sit outside.

Dick's Father's Day logs:

06/19/2011 You found Glen Lake (EC) Visit Log
Because of its depth, Little Glen is one of the first lakes to warm up in the spring. A couple of years ago when we were in high school, there was an informal contest to see who would be the first to go swimming each spring. We would drive up here in May and give it a try. It was a different bridge with a lot less traffic when we used to jump off from it. Spent some time taking water samples and answering the required questions. Email sent.

06/19/2011 You found Crystal River (EC) Visit Log
We love to drive through Leelanau county and chose it for this years Father's Day caching tour. The rivers here, the Platte and the Crystal, meander slowly from their source to Lake Michigan. They are the only rivers we have canoed where, when the wind is in your face, you must paddle to keep from floating upstream. It was very busy today with lots of dads and their families enjoying their day. We spent some time observing the river at the portage and answering the required questions. Email sent.

06/19/2011 You found Foreign Exchange 2 Visit Log
Out on a Father's Day excursion. We found our first cache on Father's Day, 2003. Once we figured out how to approach the hide it was an easy grab. As non golfing geocachers, we think this is a perfect use for a golf course. The log book is full, we left a temporary one. Traded a Danish 2 Kroner coin for a quarter. TFTC

06/19/2011 You found 112 Steps to Rock Bottom Visit Log
Caching on Father's Day is a tradition for us since 2003 when we found our first cache. Today's excursion has been a wildlife medley. We've seen deer and fawn, fox, and here a brazen chipmunk and a pair of mergansers. We had a DNF on this one the last time we were here and we had to give it another try. I think GZ was closer to the steps today than it was the last time we tried. Signed log with our sticker, took nothing and left our pathtag and a gold nugget. Thanks for the exercise.

06/19/2011 You found Search & Sunset Visit Log
We came back up to the park today to attempt to remove some DNF's we compiled on our last trip. Went to GZ, spotted the cache, walked to where it was and - - - it wasn't there! Searched, searched and searched some more. Finally found that bugger and signed the log. Thanks for the challenge.

06/19/2011 You found Poet Tree Visit Log
Caching on Father's Day has become a tradition for us. We found our first cache on Father's Day. That was 8 years, 83 Michigan counties and 49 states ago. We stopped here today and found the pickin's in the cache to be pretty sparse. We took out some Geojunk and left a matchbook car, our Father's Day coin, Apache tears and Jack Squat.
Our poem was;
The Boy stood on the burning deck,
Eating peanuts by the peck.
A girl stood by all dressed in blue,
And said "I guess I'll have some too."
As to the trees, Cottonwood, maple and of course, cedar.
Thanks for the fun!!