Bus Rider

I am fortunate in that the Renaissance Center and General Motors have a bus service available for employees. With my house roughly 30 miles from downtown, it saves immensely on gas and wear/tear on my truck not to mention the relax time during the ride. At $75/month, it is quite a deal. It also is key that I have a boss that will allow me to work from 7-4 each day. If a conference call or meeting from hell is dragging on too long, “sorry, I have to catch my bus.” It has saved me a few times.

For those that are wondering if I’m actually riding the “short” bus, I’ve attached a few pictures of the bus and my driver, Nosh, who I believe has only been in the U.S. for a short time. He may have a thick Russian accent but damn can he haul some ass during rush hour weaving in and out of traffic. My only gripe at him is that he waits for every last person to arrive in the morning (patience isn’t one of my strengths). When that clock strikes 6:25 a.m., it’s time for the bus to go! I know things can happen for someone to be late but when you are consistently late, I have a problem with you. I give dirty looks to the chronic stragglers and sometimes will look at my watch while they walk by. One time last year I even printed out the schedule with a note attached to it saying something to the effect of “I know you don’t mean to be late every day but it’s not fair to the roughly 60 other people on the bus who have to wait for you.” It worked and a few others on the bus told me thanks.

The bus makes stops at Milford Rd, Schoolcraft College (my stop), and Telegraph/I-96. The same people ride each day so you get to know all of their habits. The front of the bus is a pack of ladies who jibber jab the entire ride. The back of the bus are the sleepers. I’m usually somewhere in the middle with my radio headset going, blocking out the world (sounds about right, eh?). We have one lady who will change seats three or four times when she first gets on the bus. There are two ladies who must have knitted enough items to clothe a small country. There is one guy who stares at his lap top the entire ride, another who ties fly fishing lures, and a few who absolutely must lean their chairs back into my legs even though they are only five feet all. All in all though, the whole experience is not too bad.

"I Do" Club - New Member

I’m sorry I’m late reporting this but I wanted to give kudos to a fellow Seadog who got married this fall. Dave McVeigh has joined the “I do” club with his new wife, Mardy. Mardy McVeigh, that has a nice ring to it. I can hear the sports announcers now, “Mardy McVeigh for two!!!” Or the Price Is Right announcer, “Mardy McVeigh, come on down!!!”

With Dave joining the “I do” club, let’s see who that leaves in our group who haven’t made the jump….hmmm….oh yeah…..ME!!!!! I’m not sure if I can leave my post as president of the GDI club but stranger things have happened.

Congrats Mardy and Dave!

21st Annual Merrill Hall Christmas Party

Last Saturday was the 21st annual Merrill Hall Christmas gathering at Lucy and Mike Weaver’s home in Portage. The concept started in 1986 with a couple of dorm rooms scraping their returnables and whatever was left from their cafeteria job paychecks and exchanging gifts to each other. As I was living in the ever so spacious Western Island apartments (insert sarcasm) in 1986 and bolted for Michigan State the following year, I didn’t have the privilege of seeing this spectacle during its inception. I’ve been told there were some outstanding gifts in the early years. There was everything from a pack of Swisher Sweet cigars to some Hendrix material. Everybody was kind of poor but definitely merry I’ve been told.

Amy and I checked into our hotel around five on Saturday with intentions of grabbing a bite to eat locally before heading over to Lucy and Mike’s place. I spoke to Jim M. earlier and told him that he and his un-tethered group of husbands (posse of five – scary) were more than welcome to join us. Jim advised they were on the fence in either getting something to eat or heading over to the party. With that, Amy and I headed out for a bite. After heading further north than I expected before seeing a place worth hitting, we ended up at Shakespeare’s Pub and Restaurant in Kalamazoo. We weren’t sure if we would have to listen to some Shakespeare reading before eating but after seeing the many televisions with sports on, that thought quickly vanished. While eating, my phone rang with a call from the un-tethered group of husbands advising that nobody brought directions to the Weaver’s and needed help. Five people and not one had directions or a phone number at the Weaver’s??? Sad. It’s amazing these guys were able to dress themselves. The crazy part of the whole thing is they were just driving by the place we were eating when they called. Come on over! After a good meal, our two car caravan headed to the gathering.

The party was a great time. It was a nice blend of former Chippewa’s and a circle of friends from that group. The food choices consisted of Al’s pulled pork sandwiches, some pigs in a blanket, chicken wings, a cheese ball, and assorted deserts. Good stuff! As it appears to be an ongoing tradition with these parties, the garage became the ideal gathering place. Before the gift exchange, word spread on Eric’s need to wear a cape for some reason (Captain Beam?). Lucy was able to pull a cape out and off Eric went in gathering the group and spreading good cheer.

After the gift exchange, a band of Mike (on guitar), Jim (on bongos), and others belted out the verses to many songs, however, the group fell a bit short in actually completing an entire song. After “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer,” it was all downhill. One song everyone did join in was a birthday sing-a-long for Mark C. The big 41! Congrats Mark.

I don’t think there was any donkey-ness unless I was the one making an ass out of myself. As it becomes more difficult these days to gather the entire group, it is great that at least one day a year we ALL can get together with the entire posse and giggle about the past, appreciate the present, and look forward to the future. Happy Holidays!

40! Life Keeps Moving

Well, it happened. I tried to stop time but November 15th came and went and with that, I became a 40 year old. A fun celebration it was. It started on November 14th with a nice evening in Lansing spent with Amy. She gave me a nice little care package for my birthday filled with organic treats (with a few beers mixed in for good measure). For those of you who haven’t met Amy, she is very earth conscious, which I think is a great thing. If we all had her passion for the earth, I don’t think we would have half the environmental problems we have today. She puts Al Gore to shame.

Jim M. was gracious enough to be my designated driver on my birthday Thursday. Al and Greg also came along for the festivities. We did a nice little bar tour hitting the Grand River locations from Wixon to New Hudson and back towards Novi. One thing I did find out that night was I just can’t do the hardcore partying like I used to (not sure if I ever could). I started strong but faded pretty quickly as we moved towards the latter part of the evening when the twenty-somethings were just getting going. The night was supposed to be a surprise but I messed it up because I was planning on heading north on my day. Sorry about that Jim. It worked out for the best though.

With my melon thumping pretty well, I ventured north on Friday morning up towards Rob’s place in Irons. He was heading up later that day so I took the scenic route up north of Gaylord, over to Boyne City, East Jordan and up along gargantuan Lake Charlevoix. I even caught a few glimpses of some snow in the area. A beautiful joy ride it was.

With it being the start of deer hunting season, the state land around Rob’s place was filled with orange-headed humans. Rob wasn’t too happy in that the area he usually hunts had others crowding him. Needless to say, the big buck wasn’t to be on this opening weekend for Rob. I did, however, witness something at Rob’s place that is more elusive than a twelve point buck, a bald eagle, or Dave McVeigh having a full tank of gas (Hi Dave).
I had heard rumors that it existed but never thought it would come to fruition. I was in such awe that I had to take a picture of it. Rob had a television on at his place!!!! Wow!

On a side note, I’m sorry I haven’t had more frequent updates on this site recently. I have to get out there!

Bye for now.

Trail Head

Halloween Review

Have the kids of today lost the thrill of Halloween or is my neighborhood just an isolated case? I must have had 10 to 20 kids last night that came looking for candy without a costume. Some said they were dressed as students and others didn’t say anything and just held out their bags. Sad. “Last time on the circuit, eh fellas?,” was usually what I greeted them with. Rather than risk having my house vandalized at a later date, they each got one Dum-Dums sucker. I must say, however, I was in that boat at one time. At least I made a half ass attempt at a costume though. Al C. and I went out and he was “Basketball Jones” and I believe I put on a plaster mask that I made in art class when I was in seventh grade. Al caught a bit of grief from a select few neighbors because all he had was a basketball. We got our candy fix so all was well at the end of the evening.

There was a good portion of holiday spirit out there, however. One 10 or 11 year old kid came up with a big red horseshoe thing around his neck with some baby chickadees at each end of the horseshoe. “Who are you?,” I asked. “I’m a chick magnet!!,” he replied with confidence. Another thumbs up goes out to the youngster that was dressed up as a whoopee cushion. I would have to guess that his mom had more involvement in the costume than he but it was still pretty cool. Besides those two, there were Harry Potters, WWE wrestlers, cowboys/cowgirls, angels, princesses, supermen/superwomen, spidermen/spiderwomen, and one Jeff Gordon NASCAR driver.

Bye for now.

Trail Head

Milford Ride---Countdown to 40

There wasn’t a soul in sight Thursday evening at the Carrie Janowski Memorial Athletic Park, home of the Milford mountain bike trail. A little information on the park as I’m sure you are as curious as I was on who Carrie Janowski is and why they named a park after her. The park was originally named the Peters Road Ball Field but was changed in June 1986. The Milford Youth Athletic Association requested the name change in memory of one of their baseball players who was killed in a car accident. So now you know the rest of the story as Paul Harvey would say.

A nice evening it was. That full moon was looking pretty fierce. I either saw two deer or one deer twice. He/she was cruising pretty well after I was sniffed out. It was a very enjoyable ride. If I fell again, I was ready to torch my bike right then and there, ala San Diego style (pictured).
I met up with Rob and his boys, Jake and Curtis, at Dukes after the ride for a meal. Those Schmitt boys sure do have great manners. Do you think they got it from their father who cusses like a sailor? I think not. Kudos to Wendy for a great job (okay Rob, you have the troops in line also).

Well…..the countdown has begun. I have 21 days until I turn 40. Besides aches hanging around longer that I need, I honestly don’t feel like a person coming up on the big four oh. My brother and I had a bet going when we were younger; he said I’d be bald by now. I won but I don’t think I’ll be collecting in the near future. I’m honestly not sure how I’m going to celebrate on November 15th. I might be up north sipping out of Rob’s whiskey boot glasses. I just hope I don’t have a replay of the Mio experience about fifteen or so years ago when I showered the back of Scott Templeton’s work van with some kind of red liquor. Matt B. was giving me the Heimlich maneuver even though I didn’t need it (it did generate more red liquid, however). Another bad replay that I hope not to reproduce would be my 21st birthday while a student at MSU. Hank G. and I indulged in one too many whiskey and lemonade mixers. I was all ready for the East Lansing 21st birthday free shot tour but had my first shot at Dooley’s and it was all over after that. I made it to the bathroom but my aim was off a bit. Good times. I’m open for any suggestions.

Trail Head

Weekend Journeys

An enjoyable three day weekend it was. I wish every work week lasted four days but I guess we can’t all be pump salesmen (Hi Rob). On a breezy, VERY breezy Friday, I took the motorcycle over to Kingsville, Ontario and visited the cottage my family and I used to own (pictured). It seems like only yesterday that I was falling down the stairs there after too many soda pops (those Molson XXX sure kick you in the behind). The place hadn’t changed much and the fire pit area on the beach looks just about how I left it. I sure miss that place. I stopped in for a visit with my old neighbor, Colin, and caught up on the news in the area. I guess you could call Colin a junk collector with artistic ability. His house is filled with various trinkets that at one time may have been considered junk that he has turned into what some might call art. I told him he should charge admission for tours of the house. It has some pretty cool stuff throughout. Attached is a sunflower that he carved.

I hadn’t ridden my mountain bike much since THE FALL late last month but couldn’t let a beautiful fall day like Saturday go by without a ride in the woods. The colors were pretty close to peak at Maybury Recreation Area. It was a casual ride to say the least but I wasn’t in any hurry and the scenery was quite enjoyable.

What better way to close the weekend than an afternoon at Ford Field watching the Lions. Rather than the tailgate scene, Doke and I took in the rooftop view at Cheli’s Chili Bar for the pregame

entertainment. It’s a pretty cool setup there with some mini bleachers placed on the roof with great views of the area. To top things off, the Lions won! I’m still not a fan of the black home jerseys. I don't think Jeff Garcia can throw the ball ten yards. He was trying to be too much like Brett Favre with all the underhand throws he was attempting. Sad.

That is all for now.

Trail Head

Leelanau Peninsula-Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

With autumn in the air, it was up to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in the beautiful Leelanau Peninsula for Amy and me. While the dunes themselves are pretty cool to explore, there are quite a few day hikes away from the sand within the park. We got in late Friday and stayed at the Sylvan Inn in Glen Arbor. It is a pretty nice old place with all the antique looking stuff for those that appreciate it. It also has a spa which made for some nice rest and relaxation on Saturday morning before we ventured out on the trails.

We started out on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive which offered some beautiful views of the Glen Lakes and Lake Michigan. On one lookout area, a lady was painting a portrait of the Glen Lakes and from what I saw (see picture), she was doing a fine job. Within the scenic drive is the Cottonwood Trail which we walked. The trail runs through the sand with some nice views of the Manitou Islands and Lake Michigan.

After the scenic drive and hike, we hooked up with a ranger-led hike on the Dunes-Sleeping Bear Point Trail that the folks at the Sylvan Inn recommended. Our ranger, Peg, knew her stuff pretty well. A wealth of information we received about how the dunes have changed the area’s landscape and what effect they have on the vegetation. We were in the company of some sixty or seventy somethings so it was pretty funny when Peg would talk about heading up one hill or another and you would hear a groan from the group.

After a bite to eat at Boondocks in Glen Arbor, we headed up to the Pyramid Point Trail on the north edge of the park. There is a section of the trail called “the meadow” which runs obviously through a meadow but before coming into and leaving there, it takes you through a very thick forest. No bear sightings to report but a great trail altogether.

We called it a day and headed to our accommodations for the night, D.H. Day campground in Glen Arbor; a very rustic setting (no showers, no electricity) right on the shores of Lake Michigan/Sleeping Bear Bay. With a nice camp fire and the stars dotting the sky, you couldn’t ask for a better setting. My only error was while heading out for an early morning Mother Nature call, I accidentally let the air nozzle to the air mattress out. I came back to a dead mattress. Sorry about that Amy!

After breakfast at Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor, we took our final hike of the weekend at Alligator Hill. You couldn’t ask for a better morning with blue skies and crisp air. While the colors in some parts of the area had reached peak and were quite amazing, the majority of this forest area was still spring green. Crazy, but a great walk it was.

We took the long way home through the heart of the Leelanau Peninsula and up to the Old Mission Lighthouse. The colors were quite a view. A great weekend it was and I didn’t even watch football!

Trail Head

Magic Bus to East Lansing

In celebration of Mike Adams’ 40th birthday, it was off to East Lansing this past Saturday to see the collegiate version of the Detroit Lions, the Spartans of Michigan State (that is not a compliment by the way). Mike’s wife gave him a great present for the occasion, a bus/limo that took us to the game. My birthday is in November if anybody reading this wants to do the same for me. What a great setup it was. There were ten of us and the vehicle had ample room for everyone to sit back and enjoy their cold beverage(s). Kudos to the driver who took us pretty much anywhere we wanted to go and had to put up with a bunch of backseat drivers (“turn here…no…go back…sorry, can you turn around?”). We did a joy ride around campus and ended up at Harrison Roadhouse before the game for a few cold ones. The driver dropped us off in front of the stadium before the game and picked us up pretty much at the same spot. It was first class all the way.

The game itself was exciting (and quite hot) but the Spartans’ defense must have frequented too many house parties the night before. They definitely did not show up. Needless to say, State lost to the woeful Northwestern Wildcats. Same old Spartans I guess. As Trig Bennett once said when our high school football coaches asked us in practice what was the problem, “bad coaching.” I think the coaches gave this one away. Not to worry, however, because we had our ride waiting for us outside the stadium with a large cooler full of liquid pork chops. The pain of the loss quickly went away. A great time it was. Happy 40th Mike.

Trail Head

Northern Michigan Utopia

It was off to the northwest portion of Michigan on the motorcycles this past weekend. What a beautiful weekend it was. Bruce, Ken, Rob, and I met up in Cadillac Friday morning for a joy ride north out of the Manistee area and up around the Leelanau peninsula. I was the minority in the group as those three all rode BMW’s and I was on my Yamaha. While I kidded them that I couldn’t tell if their bikes were on or not as they didn’t sound like a motorcycle, they silenced me pretty quickly when we took off at any stop. We might have had the same cc’s but those BMW’s can sure take off like a rocket. Wow! They explained to me later on how the bikes can do what they do but my limited mechanical knowledge just had me nodding my head like I knew what they were talking about. “The cams can really do that? That is incredible.” They could have made up words (maybe they were) and it wouldn’t have mattered.

I must say M-22 up around the Leelanau peninsula is one of the more enjoyable joy rides in Michigan. Many turns, many lakes, and many beautiful sights. The fall colors weren’t quite at peak but they are getting there. We spent the night at Rob’s place in Irons, Big Whiskey, and enjoyed some brats and beer while discussing and trying to fix the issues of the world.


Bruce and Ken took off towards home on Saturday morning so Rob and I went for a short ride around the area and took in the sights of the Manistee River and the many (read: whole lotta) fishermen trying to bring home a salmon that were abundant in the river. There had to have been sixty or so people along the shoreline with lines in the water. We were up on a bluff and could see fish everywhere. I like to fish but not in that big of a crowd. It kind of ruins the serenity of the experience.

We hooked up with Greg back at Rob’s place around noon . He was up to fish the area for the next five or so days. After some unsuccessful peer pressure from them (a fine effort it was guys), I left shortly thereafter for some plans I had in Lansing that afternoon.

A great weekend it was.

Trail Head

Sometimes we fall.....again

On a beautiful evening at Pontiac Lake Recreation Area, I fell down; and hard! This fall ranks up there with the spill I had on a hill at the Porcupine Mountain Ski Area in the Upper Peninsula about 14 or so years ago (had to get a few stitches on that one). Pontiac Lake has quite a few rocks and tree roots throughout and with the recent dry spell in the area, the terrain was pretty rough. I was about halfway through the loop when one of the many rocks on the trail grabbed my front tire and threw me over the handlebars. It felt like I was sliding on pavement. It was a lung grabber to say the least. My front rim, which was recently replaced, was bent pretty well. Besides the body scrapes and the initial lack of air in my lungs, however, no hospital visits were needed. I was able to get my rim to somewhat of a condition where I could pedal my sorry behind back to the parking lot. The cuts will eventually heal and I’ll be back riding next week for some more fun!

Have a great weekend.

Trail Head

Lake Chemung

Can this weather be any better? Jim and I just couldn’t let a day like this go away without an outing on Lake Chemung in Brighton. Jim’s boat, The Red Rocket, was running like a gem. Okay, maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but Captain Jim has had some extensive experience with that motor and had it going pretty well. The fish were nibbling but only a few were brought aboard. There weren’t any keepers but it really didn’t matter; it was a great utopia feeling on this Wednesday evening.

Trail Head

Island Lake - Extra Strength Off! Needed

It was quite a turnout this past Thursday at Island Lake Recreation Area. Eric, Jim, Mark, Trig, myself, and about two million mosquitoes made it out on a beautiful, crisp, Michigan evening. The ride was enjoyable but once you stopped, the ‘skeeters were looking for blood and they got me pretty good. I read that over the Labor Day weekend, southern Michigan experienced a large hatch of small, aggressive mosquitoes (a little Mr. Science today). This type of mosquito apparently has a rapid development rate. You would think the mild weather would scare them off but these were mosquitoes on steroids. It didn’t matter if you were in the sun, the shade, in the woods, or standing in the middle of a parking lot; they found you.

Anyway, it was good catching up with everybody and hearing stories about bathroom visits gone bad (very bad), instant babies, and women not giving clear signals (why do they do that?).

That is all for now. Go MSU! My Michigan-Notre Dame prediction is a tie, 0-0. It's going to be ugly!

Trail Head

Angus - Big Fire Hydrant in the Sky

I'm sorry to report that I lost one of my friends this past weekend. My old dog Angus, who I owned and raised in his early years on earth, had a twisted bowel that took him down. Apparently it is a common and serious problem with deep-chested dogs that weigh over 70 pounds (he was closer to 100) and are between 5 and 8 years old.

I got Angus as a puppy from a breeder in Saline back in February of 2001. I was there during his growing years and boy did he grow. I gave him away a couple years ago to a great family up in Almont, Shelly and Rob Karjala. I just couldn't give the rambunctious fellow the time and running room he needed and it worked out for the best. The Karjala's had ten acres in addition to another dog, Jodi (they eventually got a third dog, Lucy). I couldn't ask for a better situation for my bro. I went and visited him last year around Christmas and he still had that grin on his face like he always did. The two pictures below are from that visit.

What a great dog he was. I remember taking him out on a canoe in Canada when he was a puppy and finding out quickly that he could in fact swim (he jumped in). He was tackling Lake Erie like it was nothing. While he tried and tried again to catch a squirrel, he never did capture the furry ones. He was a trooper in going on runs with me, posing for Christmas cards, hanging in the car, and besides throwing his 100 pounds on a high five to a three year old, the kids loved him. Heck, who couldn't love him?

Goodbye friend.

Trail Head