I'm sorry I haven't posted anything recently. I've been doing some home improvement jobs and honestly don't think anybody cares about those pictures besides the homeowner.
The annual Super Bowl morning ice fish celebration this Sunday should have something to share, ice permitting.
Hey, ho, the Detroit Mayor's got to go!!
Trail Head
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
Foggy Mountain Breakdown
On a foggy, misty, slushy, and mild afternoon, Doke and I took off to fish 
Pontiac Lake on Sunday. Not that I’ve ever been there, but it was like London out there with visuals limited to about twenty yards. It was a pretty wild scene when a plane would be heard in the distance from Pontiac Airport and ride right over you but you couldn’t see it. You weren’t sure if it was going to come out of the fog and land on you.
This was my first opportunity to see Doke’s new fishing gadget, the Aqua-Vu. I must say, I need to get me one of these. It basically is a small television with about fifty yards of wire connected to a camera that looks like a fish. You lower the fish/camera down and boom, you see
what is lurking near your lure and whatever else is showing up. The view is incredibly clear. He had quite the setup in his shanty with the Aqua-Vu next to his portable television with the football game on. Besides us two, there were three other people out that we could see. With the fog, there could have been a hundred others out and we wouldn’t have known. It was a surreal scene visually. I caught a couple of small perch and that was it for production for the day. It was good to get out, however.
Pontiac Lake on Sunday. Not that I’ve ever been there, but it was like London out there with visuals limited to about twenty yards. It was a pretty wild scene when a plane would be heard in the distance from Pontiac Airport and ride right over you but you couldn’t see it. You weren’t sure if it was going to come out of the fog and land on you.This was my first opportunity to see Doke’s new fishing gadget, the Aqua-Vu. I must say, I need to get me one of these. It basically is a small television with about fifty yards of wire connected to a camera that looks like a fish. You lower the fish/camera down and boom, you see
what is lurking near your lure and whatever else is showing up. The view is incredibly clear. He had quite the setup in his shanty with the Aqua-Vu next to his portable television with the football game on. Besides us two, there were three other people out that we could see. With the fog, there could have been a hundred others out and we wouldn’t have known. It was a surreal scene visually. I caught a couple of small perch and that was it for production for the day. It was good to get out, however.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Cheese Country - Happy New Year? Not so fast.
It was off to Wisconsin last week to take part in the Damrow Festival, 
a collection of Amy’s family and one Michigander, me. The actual location was Bailey’s Harbor and Egg Harbor within Door County, Wisconsin, north of Green Bay. The area, to say the least, is an outdoor enthusiast paradise. There are many parks, rivers, and lakes to choose from in addition to some beautiful forests. I took the train into Milwaukee on December 27th and met up with Amy. While heading up north, I couldn’t visit Wisconsin without hitting one of their Supper Clubs. We stopped at a place north of Manitowoc called Machut’s Supper Club. My chicken dinner was outstanding! I love the whole Supper Club concept and I wish Michigan had more of them. You get your orders in at the lounge area, have a few cocktails and mingle. They call you a bit later for your seats and boom, your meal is there. From there we headed up to her dad’s “Cabinette” in the woods at Egg Harbor. It is a cabin but a manufactured one so someone was driving behind this wide load on the freeway at one time. The place resides in a complex called Heritage Lake. I would classify it as a manufactured home/trailer park in the woods. Each 
house is surrounded by mature trees and a majority of the homes are manufactured with a few trailers mixed in. The nice part about it is you can call ahead and advise the management that you are arriving and they will plow your drive and turn your heat on before you get there. It was VIP treatment all the way. The clubhouse has a pool and hot tub so that was another bonus for Saturday morning’s activities. We took our cross country skis out to Peninsula State Park just north of Egg Harbor and hit some beautifully groomed trails in the woods. No deer to report but I did come upon six or seven turkeys. With the size of the park, the camping facilities, Green 
Bay (the lake), and the many trails, I would have to guess this place really packs them in during the summer. After skiing, we got a bite to eat at the Shipwrecked Brewery in Egg Harbor. It was a pretty cool place with good beer; but if you go, avoid the burgers. Amy had one and about three hours later was down for the count for the night. The Michigan State bowl game was on television so I had my football fix while she rested. She rebounded well on Saturday morning so all was not lost.
We met up with Amy’s family at a rented house in Bailey’s Harbor Saturday afternoon/evening.
There were twelve of us total so I got to meet the entire posse and their siblings in one swoop. They were all good people. The house was great with quite a bit of space in addition to woods in the back yard with a location far enough from the main roads and neighbors to enjoy some serenity. Each family had cooking duty designated each day and the meals were outstanding, even for a picky eater like myself.
Amy and I headed out to Whitefish Dunes State Park on Sunday morning for some more cross country skiing (more on the skis later). The park is situated off of Lake Michigan. With the four or so inches of snow the area received on Friday evening, the trails were groomed and in great condition. Right off the trail is a quarter mile or so walk up to a point cal
led Old Baldy. From there you can see Lake Michigan on one side and Green Bay on the other. It was worth the hike up there.
Amy’s niece and nephew put on a Christmas play for the group Sunday before dinner. It was quite a 20 minute or so performance. There is no way I could have remembered so many lines when I was in 1st and 3rd grade. Those are two talented kids, and quite well mannered. After dinner, it was gift exchange/stocking stuffer time. Everybody bought something for each stocking. I am assuming Amy at one time or another advised the family that I eat peanut butter and jelly for lunch every day. I got four jars of organic peanut butter and five jars of jelly, locally produced. No complaints here though. They will be put to good use. All in all, it was a great time spent with some good people.
a collection of Amy’s family and one Michigander, me. The actual location was Bailey’s Harbor and Egg Harbor within Door County, Wisconsin, north of Green Bay. The area, to say the least, is an outdoor enthusiast paradise. There are many parks, rivers, and lakes to choose from in addition to some beautiful forests. I took the train into Milwaukee on December 27th and met up with Amy. While heading up north, I couldn’t visit Wisconsin without hitting one of their Supper Clubs. We stopped at a place north of Manitowoc called Machut’s Supper Club. My chicken dinner was outstanding! I love the whole Supper Club concept and I wish Michigan had more of them. You get your orders in at the lounge area, have a few cocktails and mingle. They call you a bit later for your seats and boom, your meal is there. From there we headed up to her dad’s “Cabinette” in the woods at Egg Harbor. It is a cabin but a manufactured one so someone was driving behind this wide load on the freeway at one time. The place resides in a complex called Heritage Lake. I would classify it as a manufactured home/trailer park in the woods. Each 
house is surrounded by mature trees and a majority of the homes are manufactured with a few trailers mixed in. The nice part about it is you can call ahead and advise the management that you are arriving and they will plow your drive and turn your heat on before you get there. It was VIP treatment all the way. The clubhouse has a pool and hot tub so that was another bonus for Saturday morning’s activities. We took our cross country skis out to Peninsula State Park just north of Egg Harbor and hit some beautifully groomed trails in the woods. No deer to report but I did come upon six or seven turkeys. With the size of the park, the camping facilities, Green 
Bay (the lake), and the many trails, I would have to guess this place really packs them in during the summer. After skiing, we got a bite to eat at the Shipwrecked Brewery in Egg Harbor. It was a pretty cool place with good beer; but if you go, avoid the burgers. Amy had one and about three hours later was down for the count for the night. The Michigan State bowl game was on television so I had my football fix while she rested. She rebounded well on Saturday morning so all was not lost.We met up with Amy’s family at a rented house in Bailey’s Harbor Saturday afternoon/evening.
There were twelve of us total so I got to meet the entire posse and their siblings in one swoop. They were all good people. The house was great with quite a bit of space in addition to woods in the back yard with a location far enough from the main roads and neighbors to enjoy some serenity. Each family had cooking duty designated each day and the meals were outstanding, even for a picky eater like myself.Amy and I headed out to Whitefish Dunes State Park on Sunday morning for some more cross country skiing (more on the skis later). The park is situated off of Lake Michigan. With the four or so inches of snow the area received on Friday evening, the trails were groomed and in great condition. Right off the trail is a quarter mile or so walk up to a point cal
led Old Baldy. From there you can see Lake Michigan on one side and Green Bay on the other. It was worth the hike up there.Amy’s niece and nephew put on a Christmas play for the group Sunday before dinner. It was quite a 20 minute or so performance. There is no way I could have remembered so many lines when I was in 1st and 3rd grade. Those are two talented kids, and quite well mannered. After dinner, it was gift exchange/stocking stuffer time. Everybody bought something for each stocking. I am assuming Amy at one time or another advised the family that I eat peanut butter and jelly for lunch every day. I got four jars of organic peanut butter and five jars of jelly, locally produced. No complaints here though. They will be put to good use. All in all, it was a great time spent with some good people.
The trip home, however, was another story. My rental car had to be returned in Milwaukee on the 31st by noon and my train was leaving at 3:00 pm. I made the rental car return with no problem and headed to the train station with my luggage, lap top, and skis in tow. I was hungry and had to catch up a bit on some work so I asked the ticket 
desk if I could leave my skis and luggage there while I headed off for lunch prior to my train leaving. No problem and I was off. So 3:00 pm rolls around and I have everything ready to board the train. I walk past the train attendant who advises me that the skis can’t be carried on the train. They would need to be checked as luggage but it was too late to check them in at this time. I had a choice of waiting for the next train or leaving the skis. I advised the attendant that I came to Milwaukee with the skis on board and nobody at any stop, including the Milwaukee ticket counter, made any mention of it. I had a connecting train in Chicago so waiting for the next train was not an option. What to do? Me or the skis? I bought the skis used awhile back and was contemplating getting a new pair so while I was pretty mad, I left the skis and boarded the train in a bit of a huff. A few minutes later, another attendant stopped at my seat and advised the ticket desk has my skis and they will ship them to me. My guess is I have to pay for the shipping but an e-mail and a letter have already been sent to Amtrak so we’ll see how that all plays out.
The fun didn’t stop there. The train got into Chicago with no problems and I got on the connecting train headed to Ann Arbor without a hitch at 6:00 pm. The train made stops in Niles and Kalamazoo and was at the Battle Creek stop at around 10:00 pm when everything stopped. The train was dead. I don’t know anything about trains but there was no power whatsoever; only the emergency lights were on. The conductor came on and advised of the problem and said they were looking into it. Two hours later, it was determined that this train wasn’t going anywhere tonight and buses would be called to get us home. Everybody (about 100 of us) got into the station and waited for the buses that we all expected would be arriving shortly. Three hours later at 3:00 am, here come the buses.
All set, right? As everybody is leaving the station for the buses, the two drivers had a little pow wow and said the roads were too bad and that it wasn’t going to happen. The Amtrak folks then told everyone that we would be put up in a hotel for the night and would get us home tomorrow, somehow. It’s 3:30 am now; tomorrow is already here! I had my lap top and a wireless calling card so I Googled “Battle Creek cab” and hoped for the best. I got in touch with a company and was lucky enough that they had a driver willing to make the trek to Ann Arbor with the way the roads were. I-94 was pretty much a two track so kudos to Scott the driver for getting me there. It
did cost a bit but was well worth it. I got home at about 7:00 am on Monday morning. Happy New Year to me!
desk if I could leave my skis and luggage there while I headed off for lunch prior to my train leaving. No problem and I was off. So 3:00 pm rolls around and I have everything ready to board the train. I walk past the train attendant who advises me that the skis can’t be carried on the train. They would need to be checked as luggage but it was too late to check them in at this time. I had a choice of waiting for the next train or leaving the skis. I advised the attendant that I came to Milwaukee with the skis on board and nobody at any stop, including the Milwaukee ticket counter, made any mention of it. I had a connecting train in Chicago so waiting for the next train was not an option. What to do? Me or the skis? I bought the skis used awhile back and was contemplating getting a new pair so while I was pretty mad, I left the skis and boarded the train in a bit of a huff. A few minutes later, another attendant stopped at my seat and advised the ticket desk has my skis and they will ship them to me. My guess is I have to pay for the shipping but an e-mail and a letter have already been sent to Amtrak so we’ll see how that all plays out.
The fun didn’t stop there. The train got into Chicago with no problems and I got on the connecting train headed to Ann Arbor without a hitch at 6:00 pm. The train made stops in Niles and Kalamazoo and was at the Battle Creek stop at around 10:00 pm when everything stopped. The train was dead. I don’t know anything about trains but there was no power whatsoever; only the emergency lights were on. The conductor came on and advised of the problem and said they were looking into it. Two hours later, it was determined that this train wasn’t going anywhere tonight and buses would be called to get us home. Everybody (about 100 of us) got into the station and waited for the buses that we all expected would be arriving shortly. Three hours later at 3:00 am, here come the buses.
All set, right? As everybody is leaving the station for the buses, the two drivers had a little pow wow and said the roads were too bad and that it wasn’t going to happen. The Amtrak folks then told everyone that we would be put up in a hotel for the night and would get us home tomorrow, somehow. It’s 3:30 am now; tomorrow is already here! I had my lap top and a wireless calling card so I Googled “Battle Creek cab” and hoped for the best. I got in touch with a company and was lucky enough that they had a driver willing to make the trek to Ann Arbor with the way the roads were. I-94 was pretty much a two track so kudos to Scott the driver for getting me there. It
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