45th Anniversary (Part III) ...

Traverse City offers quite a spectrum of things to do and see and we managed to take in quite a few of them.  One particular evening, a Friday, we went to town and had dinner.  We had eaten in a microbrewery one evening so we decided to splurge and go to the expensive restaurant on the corner.  Well, other than being highly overpriced, the food wasn't all that great.  I've never been impressed with a big plate which has a tablespoon-sized portion of something called a main dish.  And the little squiggles of this and that on the top to dress up an obvious lack of portion size really left me wishing I were back at the microbrewery.  Even though the food wasn't cooked very well there, it was a much larger portion size (not BIG, just bigger).

When I ordered something I had never heard of before, I knew I was in trouble.  So much for trying to be spontaneous.  When it finally came to the table, I thought it was styrofoam  packaging and maybe the entree was inside, kinda like a fortune cookie or a lobster tail, and I had to break it open to see the meal.  Wrong!  Check this out and you tell me.

Needless to say, it went back to the kitchen just as you see it here.  And for that my arteries gave me a standing ovation.

So, after deciding to pass on most of the "dinner" we went over to the waterfront to walk around and look at the big sail boats anchored there.  There were quite a few there as part of a group who started in Maryland somewhere and were sailing through the Great Lakes and then down the Mississippi and back up the inter-coastal waterway to their home port.  That would be a tremendous adventure for a summer cruise.  A couple we met said these usually take up most of the summer because they not only sail the lakes but explore towns and ports-of-call along the way.  They went on to tell us that most of the "crews" were pretty seasoned sailors, but they pointed out one boat, a new one with beautiful wood and a very tall mast, that was manned by a man and his wife who had just bought the boat and had never been sailing or really on the water before.  I can't imagine how dangerous this was.

We really enjoyed walking around the piers.  Sure is a lot of money sitting out there -- a whole other world.

It is really peaceful out there listening to the bells on the boats as they rock back and forth, and the waves slapping against the hulls and the piers.  It was a calm night and we could have stayed much longer, but the yacht club security guards were eying us -- it was after midnight and it was time to turn in.

 
The next day, we drove up the coast and headed for Petoskey.  We spent a few days there in a really nice hotel on our 40th anniversary and decided to go back there for dinner and to walk around the town and the waterfront.  A lot of the grounds around the hotel were pretty much the same and really gave us a nice afternoon, enjoying the breeze and sitting in the shade.

 







One thing I did notice and really liked was that as we drove around, we noticed lots of little communities had memorials to military personnel who had served in the various wars and conflicts in our country's history.  Petoskey was no exception.  They had a very nice little memorial in a park right in the center of town.

This was a very nice tribute to the service members who hailed from Petoskey and this particular county.

I knew we would run the risk of going back to a place we had been before, a place where we had a really good time, and not having such a good time on the return visit.  But that was not the case.  Pam and I both enjoyed our return visit, the meal we had at the hotel was super, the waiters were very nice, and maybe 45 years from now, we'll go back!!

God gave us memories that we might have roses in December.  (J.M. Barrie)

Hooah

45th Anniversary (Part IV) ...

One of the little known facts I heard while visiting Traverse City was that Michigan has the most number of lighthouses of any state in the Union.  I would have guessed maybe Maine or Florida, but then again I would have been wrong.  So, armed with this knowledge, off we went, driving up the coast, expecting to run into a lighthouse every few miles or so.  That makes two times in one day that I was wrong.  It took a while to drive the winding roads to even get near the coast, let alone get back into the woods or marshes to actually see one.  But it was pretty enjoyable none the less.

Before we got to our first lighthouse, however, we came across an interesting little village called "Fishtown" which looked just like you would expect it to look, commercial fishermen, fish on ice, unique looking fishing boats, some shanty-looking type houses, a real nice restaurant, and lots of tourists.

They even had some artisans who were carving things and selling their wares in small shops.  I'm not sure what their specialty was, but they sure made some interesting weathervanes.

Following this stopover, we were off to the first of the lighthouses we had planned to visit (unfortunately this was also the only one we got to -- ran out of days.). 

We found out from the locals that this is a pretty famous lighthouse as it marked the entrance to the Grand Traverse Bay for ships in the old days.  Once they passed this one, they were pretty much out of the rough waters and into the safety of the Bay.  Located on the grounds were two other interesting things, a "Fog House" (below) and an interesting flower box (right).  It seems a Coast Guardsman or lighthouse attendant must have had a lot of time on his hands.

When we got back to the hotel that night, we sat out by a beachfire, its light flickering, its sparks flying away on their short-lived journeys.  And I thought to myself, I wonder if some small creature or a weary fisherman still out working his sport might mistake our campfire for a lighthouse of sorts.

It is said that light gives freely of itself, filling all available space.  It does not expect anything in return; nor does it ask whether you are friend or foe.  It simply gives of itself and is not thereby diminished.  

Hooah

45th Anniversary (Part V)...

This past August, Pam and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary with a trip to Traverse City, Michigan.  That place doesn't hold any particular significance in our life, it's just a beautiful part of the country and well within a relaxing day's drive.  I guess we could have gone back to wherever it was in West Virginia we went originally (Waterford Downs Racetrack), but we'll save that for another year.

We stayed at a place right on the Bay called The Cherry Tree Inn and Suites, which was fitting since Traverse City is the cherry capital of the world (according to the Chamber of Commerce).  It was a very nice place for a trip like this.  Our room faced the water and we sat out on the beach at night, listening to the water, the birds and the crickets.  Very relaxing.  People up and down the shore had beach fires so it looked and smelled very inviting.

 We drove all up the coast to see lighthouses and fishing villages and such. We also spent a day hiking/climbing up the Sleeping Bear Dunes.  For those of you who have never been there, you pull into a parking lot and look at this huge sand hill and think -- I can do that!!  It looked daunting, but not insurmountable so I put the pack on my back with some water bottles and a couple of candy bars in it (just in case we had to spend the night about half way up).  I have always been intrigued by the concept of perspective which I learned in a junior high art class.  It's amazing how small people looked the higher they got on the hill.

This was just a midway point...we were still going up.  Note the person just below my elbow.  Distance is tricky.

As the day wore on, and it got a bit hotter, we were finally within sight of the last of the hills.  But by now, it was getting on into the afternoon and there was still a lot more to see of the Sleeping Bear Park so we documented our success (such as it was) and decided to hike on down to the Jeep.  By the way, we didn't eat all the candy or drink all of the water...did better than I thought we would.

What is it they say about whatever goes up...

So now, following a short but very nice drive around the park, we came to the real dune.  What an attraction.  There is a huge sign at the observation point of the dune and it ways it all.

Being somewhat respectful of heights (other than when I was flying the plane that is), I stayed back from the edge of the dune and shot these pictures just to give you an idea of what it really looks like.

These little dots on the brown trail to the top of the picture are really people who wanted a challenge.  When they were coming back up, they were literally crawling on all fours -- it was that steep and hard to manage.

Just in case you are wondering, I did not turn the camera on an angle -- this is the actual height and drop off angle.  It's not in this picture, but at the bottom was a very large yacht which looked like a tub toy from where I was.

All in all, this was a very spectacular beginning to our trip.  Glad we had this day to spend together.  Hiking the Dunes reminded me of an old saying: If you pick 'em up, O Lord, I'll put 'em down. ("Prayer of the Tired Walker").  

I also rediscovered that when one is out walking, he has lots of time to think.  "Solvitur ambulando," St. Jerome was fond of saying. "To solve a problem, walk around."


If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk. (Raymond Inmon)

Hooah

A busy "Ham" weekend...

It was a cloudy day in Sidney for this year's Applefest parade...probably an ominous sign that this would be the last one.  It seems the Applefest has taken its place in a long line of civic events that has been discontinued due to a lack of volunteers.  While it had a good run, the event's organizers just couldn't sustain it with the handful of volunteers it had available.

But that fact was not known that Saturday morning and the parade entries lined up in larger numbers than ever before.  The parade had always been held on Sunday afternoon, at just about the time the vendors were trying to pack up and head out of town.  So the organizers cut Sunday's activities and made it a two-day event, with the parade stepping off in the morning. 

This seemed to have an influence on the number of entries, especially the Shriners.  They alone took up almost an hour just crossing the starting line with their mini-cars, motorcycles, classic cars, walkers, etc.  It seems that there were no other Shriner events this weekend so "everyone" showed up.  All in all, there were over 75 entries.

The Shelby County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (S.C.A.R.E.S) assists the parade folks by lining up the parade entrants and making sure everyone is present and ready to go when the time comes.  Ham radio guys and gals come in handy as we are able to communicate with parade officials at the marshaling center via our hand-held radios.  This is just one of the services we provide to the community in civic events and emergency situations.  This is a pretty good group with which to be associated.

Following the parade, the group headed out to Lake Loramie to set up high frequency (HF) communications in order to participate in another comms event called "The Ohio State Parks on the Air."  This is a contest of sorts where the participating clubs take their gear to a local state park, set up operations and begin making contacts with other state parks.  The goal is to get points for contacting as many parks as possible via HF, 2-meter, or Morse Code (CW).  Each mode of operations carries certain point values and non-park contacts (people just on the air) are valued in another manner.  All the data from the contacts is sent to a contact center where scores are recorded and category winners declared.

I really like participating in this event because it goes along with my old "train as you would fight" way of thinking I knew from Army days. Having to take our equipment out in the "wild" and set it up always presented new challenges we had to overcome.  Those who keep their equipment in the "ham shack" all the time never really know how or if it will work in an emergency.  Besides, if we are in the shack, we don't get any of Sherm's brats and fixin's.

Sherm really cooks up a storm on these outings.  Kinda like the old chuck wagon days.

Grant and Rhonda are working contacts outside our S.C.A.R.E.S. unit.

One thing modern technology has taught us is that once you get something to work, take a picture of it so you are smarter next time.  It seems the guy who had the correct wiring diagram for the "Go Box" HF radio wasn't on site, so once we got it working, this got documented.

Events like the parade and the contests really help to pull the club together and allows the members to become more proficient on the use of their equipment.  Each member has his or her own particular tastes when it comes to a radio manufacturer, and a transmission type (HF, 2-meter, CW, etc.).  Each piece of equipment is different and operates differently.  Something as simple as changing a frequency, a tone squelch, an offset, etc. can really throw a wrench in the works if one hasn't had to make changes to a radio (even his own) in a while. Having to use club equipment at least gets us to use standard stuff every once in a while and helps to improve our ability to work in an emergency situation.


Preparation and practice don't  assure success, they assures confidence.

Hooah

Lake Loramie Fall Festival...

Many times in this blog I have said that Lake Loramie is one of the best state parks in Ohio.  Well, this was reinforced recently when the park held its Fall Festival featuring antique gas and steam-power machines, and lots of other turn of the century things for visitors to see.  Walking the grounds made me feel like I was back in my childhood as I worked around a lot of the things on display.  Growing up in Zanesville, I lived in the country and most of my friends were farm kids.  We all pitched in and helped around the farms and learned a lot about life, hard work and nature.

 

I used to drive tractors just like these shown above.  In fact, Ms. Prosser had an old John Deeere just like the one above, but not nearly as nice or clean.  And Gene, my best man at our wedding, had one just like the gray Ford.  It too was red and gray and dirty (and the tires weren't nearly that nice).

There were lots of things to see.  For instance, there were guys cutting wood sculptures with chain saws.  The eagle shown here had a "sold" sign on it with a $75 price tag.  Go figure.







And if chain sawed wood sculpture isn't your thing, there were working blacksmiths working the fires.

But probably one of the best things of the day was running into an old friend who used to teach with me in Anna.  He has completed his Masters Degree work in school administration and has taken a job in Troy.  He spends a great deal of his spring-summer-fall weekends camping at Lake Loramie with his wife.Here is a picture of his campgrounds.  Nothing like chili cooking on a wood fire with your dog lying next to it.  I asked him for a list of ingredients and he said he used "a little of this, a little of that, and whatever they happened to throw in before they left the house."  Sure smelled good.

Camping:  The art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower and flush toilet.  (Author Unknown)

Hooah

Seventh Annual Neighborhood Golf Outing...

Boy it's hard to believe that this was our seventh neighborhood golf outing, a.k.a. "Southenders vs. Northenders vs. Village People I and II vs. Featherfolk I and II vs. Eastenders."

And just in case you're wondering if this is a real golf tournament, we charge an entry fee ($2.00 per head) and have a real rules sheet.

This year, in order to make the teams more competitive, we played a "Shamble" Format which consists of each member of the foursome hitting a tee shot.  They then select the best shot of the group and each player plays his own ball from that point thru the green.  The team then posts its two best scores as the team score for that hole.  This seems to keep everyone in the game and doesn't allow for one really good player (or sandbagger) to win the whole thing for his team.

 But then again, knowing the prizes (a few golf balls), that seems like too much work.  The weather was beautiful, so everyone just enjoyed the game and had a good time.

The team scores were actually pretty good.  Results are as follows:
1.  Featherfolk I = 143
2.  Southenders =  145
3.  VillagPeople I = 150
4.  Village People II = 152
5.  Featherfolk II = 154
6.  Northenders = 158
7.  Eastenders = DNS

Pat Frilling had the closest to the pin on #3 South, and Steve Davidson (who had a hole in one on one of our earlier tournaments) had the closest to the pin on #4 North.

Although there were some who argued that the Eastenders should have "won" the trophy (it goes to the worst team for one whole year), the Northenders won it again (one more and it retires to them).

 

Even though there were some horror stories regarding individual shots and misses, "should haves" and "might haves," "gimmies" and ones that rimmed the cup, everyone had a pretty good time.  Afterwards, one of the golfers said "now let's get down to what we do best."  as the groups sat around on the patio and had a few cold ones.

Pictures:
Top-left - Doug B. had not played for the Southenders for a number of years, but played very well.  He's a natural athlete and it showed.
Top-center - Brad K. lined up a putt on the 18th hole.  Brad plays pretty well and made about 80% of his putts on the first try.
Top-bottom - Scott K. drained a long one on #18.  Good shot, Scott.
Top-right - John K. chipped up on #18 and gives his shot a good, long look. 
Bottom - The guys sitting around the patio at Shelby Oaks, enjoying a beautiful late summer afternoon (and some decent golf).

Golf gives you an insight into human nature, your own as well as your neighbor's. (Grantland Rice)


Hooah