On a beautiful weekend, Al, Greg, Mike, and I ventured up to Mt. Pleasa
nt to tackle the mighty rapids of the Chippewa River. Al, Greg, and I rode up together on Friday night and met up with Mike at the Bird Bar & Grill later that evening. Greg tried to go with his professional fisherman alias but got called out when someone asked for his card. I would think that was the last thing he'd get asked but oh well. We ventured into some old hangouts but found out most are now much different or just under new names. We went into Tom's Foolery which is now called Rubbles. The place hadn't changed much. It still is a great place to see some live music in that the band is right on the crowd. We also ventured over to Sir Richard's Pub that I didn't even 
recognize when we walked up to it. It used to be small and cozy; it is now part pub and part night club with a giant area opened up on the north side of the building for dancing. Friday must not be a big night for them because the night club side was a ghost town. The evening wouldn't have been complete without a trip to the Wayside, however, they wanted $4 cover at 1:30 in the morning. As the Miller High Life commercial says, "$4 cover at 1:30 in the morning, y'all must be crazy!" That isn't living the high life. Another bar is now right behind the Wayside, O'Kelly's, which is a nice sports bar with many large televisions. We had our fill there, had a late night/early morning snack at the Little Chef and called it a night.
nt to tackle the mighty rapids of the Chippewa River. Al, Greg, and I rode up together on Friday night and met up with Mike at the Bird Bar & Grill later that evening. Greg tried to go with his professional fisherman alias but got called out when someone asked for his card. I would think that was the last thing he'd get asked but oh well. We ventured into some old hangouts but found out most are now much different or just under new names. We went into Tom's Foolery which is now called Rubbles. The place hadn't changed much. It still is a great place to see some live music in that the band is right on the crowd. We also ventured over to Sir Richard's Pub that I didn't even 
recognize when we walked up to it. It used to be small and cozy; it is now part pub and part night club with a giant area opened up on the north side of the building for dancing. Friday must not be a big night for them because the night club side was a ghost town. The evening wouldn't have been complete without a trip to the Wayside, however, they wanted $4 cover at 1:30 in the morning. As the Miller High Life commercial says, "$4 cover at 1:30 in the morning, y'all must be crazy!" That isn't living the high life. Another bar is now right behind the Wayside, O'Kelly's, which is a nice sports bar with many large televisions. We had our fill there, had a late night/early morning snack at the Little Chef and called it a night.Saturday morning came quickly but it was all good. Around noon, we hit the Chippewa River Outfitters, just west of campus, for our float down the Chippewa. 
You couldn't ask for a better day to be out and silly. While there were a few "wo, wo, wo's!!!" to report when the rocks made an appearance on the river, there were no spills to report I am happy to say. Al was ready to take Greg down with him but Greg would have none of that and they got through a minor hiccup without a problem. Mike and I went through a few tree branches but we persevered through it all. Al was king daddy on the fishing circuit. He hit well over double digits with a mix of small mouth and rock bass. Nothing of much size but fun altogether. Our three hour tour turned closer to four plus hours but we didn't care. Everything was great.
You couldn't ask for a better day to be out and silly. While there were a few "wo, wo, wo's!!!" to report when the rocks made an appearance on the river, there were no spills to report I am happy to say. Al was ready to take Greg down with him but Greg would have none of that and they got through a minor hiccup without a problem. Mike and I went through a few tree branches but we persevered through it all. Al was king daddy on the fishing circuit. He hit well over double digits with a mix of small mouth and rock bass. Nothing of much size but fun altogether. Our three hour tour turned closer to four plus hours but we didn't care. Everything was great.
With a lack of food in our bellies, we headed to Mountain Town Station Brewing Co. & Steakhouse for dinner. A great meal it was in addition to watching U-M lose (again). We ventured back to O'Kellys to watch the Tiger game. I had all intentions of whooping it up some more but with the big meal, I was fighting nap time in the bar, which is sad. I fought through until the end of the Tiger game but unfortunately had to call it a night at that time and walk back to the hotel. With the three tenors snoring beside me, there wasn't too much sleep to be found that night. Not a problem though.
The weekend was complete with opening game festivites at the Ochs' residence. The inflatable Lion was soaring proudly. Yes, the Raiders blow but as we chanted a couple years ago at the Lions-Browns game in Cleveland, "we suck less!"
All in all, it was a great weekend. It's too bad others couldn't have joined us but I guess we'll try to gather a posse again in the near future.
Trail Head
