Christmas at the Chalet

Good friends, booze, and lures. That pretty much sums up the 23rd annual CMU Christmas party. And the 22nd, the 21st; pretty much all of them. And that is a damn fine thing. There just aren't any a-holes in this group and the entertainment value is second to none. The amateur comedians that I hang with are quite a bunch. Good laughing (as opposed to bad laughing).

The Crouse family's new chalet had Norman Rockwell's ass getting kicked in terms of Christmas spirit. I was waiting for Jimmy Stewart to come through the front door. Very nice.

Happy 42nd to Tim V. Sweet AC-DC drinking glasses that you got for your birthday.

Ooh Wa, Chip Ooh Wah.

Trail Head

WKRP Visit

The banks of the mighty Ohio River was the scene this past weekend as four hombres who, for some crazy reason, love their football team and took the jaunt to Cincinnati to see the Lions. Win or lose, the game itself seems to be the gravy on top of all the other weekend activities.

The giddiness started Friday evening as we rolled in about 10 and tackled this very clean city. Well, after all was said and done Friday, the city tackled us. We sprinted out of the gates when we should have been jogging. The Cadillac Ranch was our first destination. I don't consider myself frugal but paying $5 cover for a place that has no band makes me frown a bit. We did get to witness some mechanical bull riding though. No, it was not me as I would have been walking out of there like Fred Sanford had I climbed aboard. The tour then moved down the street to a pretty cool pub called O'Malley's in the Alley. With the Irish theme, we sipped on some whiskey and Irish eyes were smiling.

The Irish eyes were a bit weary Saturday morning as the little train took a bit to get going. We made a nice rebound though after a hearty breakfast and a morning stroll down by the two stadiums near the river. The walk ended up at the Black Finn Saloon where we bit the dog with the hair or whatever that saying is. We were a silent bunch there for a bit trying to get our hydration back. As the college football games got kicking in, so did the train. The Heineken mini keg never lets you down.

We hailed a cab later in the afternoon for an area a few miles east of downtown called Mt. Adams. We get in the cab and the driver has a U-M winter jacket on. Of course he was asked, "so, you're a U-M fan?" The guy was adamant about not having any affiliation with the Wolverines, advising us that his old lady got a deal on the jacket and it keeps him warm. Jerry even jokingly told him he'd get an extra tip just to say he was a fan, even if he had to lie. The cabbie said no. Those Ohio-ans love their Buckeyes. He dropped us off at the City View Tavern. This place is in pretty much a house made into a bar that sits on a hill looking into the city, hence the name. We had the pool table to ourselves, no wait for a refiller, music and football. It was Xanadu.

Directionally challenged yours truly thought he got some good directions for a place to get dinner near there; however, the "it's just over this hill" turned into a longer walk than expected. My brethren needed to stretch their legs so it worked out just fine. After asking some locals, we came upon the Mt. Adams Bar & Grill. The place was beautiful with some serious wood throughout. The meal, including desert (good fudge cake), was a great capper to a great day.

The showcase event of the weekend was of course watching our beloved Lions. Our tailgating area had a bit of a Mad Max or Fred Flinstone feel to it as the local quarry opens up their lot near the stadium on game days. We were grilling surrounded by rocks, rocks, and more rocks. The Bengal fans were pretty cool. They knew we sucked and we knew we sucked so there wasn't much trash talking going on. They pretty much told us to hang in there. Well, the team has been hanging in there prior to the start of my 42 years. I'll keep hanging. The Lions actually had a glimmer of hope in the first quarter until Cincinnati starting playing for real. The stadium itself had some great views and a lot of open areas to block yourself from that river wind. My wind burned face and chapped lips are looking pretty tough right now.

The city that Pete Rose built is not too bad.

Trail Head

November Silliness

With the local college football product sucking it up Saturday afternoon, we took matters into our own hands and had the first annual vibrating football showdown. Well, it wasn't much of showdown as it was more of a Bo vs. Woody battle with nobody getting much on yards, let alone scores. We were kind of winging it as we went and think we better go 7 on 7 instead of 11 on 11 next time. Not enough field for a full team.

After giving up on our scoring efforts there, we took to the poker table as the evening shift arrived. I know you've seen his picture in the post office, and in the Unabomber footage, but I am here to tell you that person was in attendance with us Saturday night (pictured below). Rock on Unabomber.

I am loving these mild November days. While the mountain bike trail conditions aren't "A #1," just being out there at this time of year is a treat. The bike tour might keep rolling into Christmas if this keeps up.

Trail Head

42

In celebration of my 42nd year on earth, I went to visit another aging item, old Tiger Stadium. I was expecting to see at least a part of the structure that remained when I visited the area in August of 2008 (pictured); but it's all gone now. Looking at the empty field where a large steel mass once stood was eerie in a way. No, I'm not a stadium hugger but the ACE Hardware store that resides near where right field once stood looks naked. Side streets Cochrane and Kaline Avenue seem out of place.

After that reflection time, it was off to the Great White North (actually south from Detroit) to Kingsville, Ontario to visit some former neighbors, Tom and Colin, and enjoy a cold Canadian beverage or two. As it's usually raining or snowing and cold as hell around my birthday, I was shocked with the 60 something temperatures and blue skies on Saturday. Lake Erie was so calm and the skies clear, that Pelee Island, about 15 miles to the south, could be seen in the distance. Colin's place on the water is slowing taking shape. His latest art creation (pictured below) is a bird house made with pennies. Pretty cool.

The evening activities consisted of Al, Greg and myself making our donations to the Motor City Casino. The crap tables just weren't hitting for the locals. Way too many 9's and 4's being rolled. I don't recall too many tables whooping it up. There was, however, every shape, size, gender, race, whatever, on display. It was a people watching smorgasbord. People in sweats, people dressed to the nines, people with way too much jewelry, people who smelled, large people, small people, saucy people, ugly people, people on dates, people with too much makeup, and of course me; kind of a hybrid of them all. While the picture below probably doesn't show it well as it was from a cell phone, I did capture a plumber butt shooter at the crap table I was at. Sweet.

A trip to the D wouldn't be complete without some coneys at American Coney Island. I paid for them this morning but damn did they taste great last night. No regrets on that consumption.

Happy birthday to all my Scorpio brethren.

Trail Head

Halloween

It was the Village People (person) and the Warlock of Blue Heron in the holiday mood last night at the Gustafson Halloween gathering on a crisp, Michigan autumn evening. Dave and Wendy I think have closets full of stuff just waiting for this day; and that is a good thing. I personally went with the "Midwestern guy who enjoys beer" costume. Others were wearing the same. I think I pulled it off quite well. It was great to see some old faces. There was even a rare Joe Maples sighting earlier in the evening.

All good people in attendance.

Trail Head

Peaking

Besides Michigan State's "prevent the win" defense in the loss to Iowa Saturday night, I have no complaints whatsoever about this weekend. Nancy and her son Jaime (the "J" sounds as an "H") came down for some road construction appreciation. I got my fanny kicked in Xbox against Jaime, we all had lunch at Hooters (good times for a 13 year old, no it was not my idea) and caught a flick at the Emagine theater. To top everything off, the sun came out for a bit today and I dusted off my motorcycle (ashamed of my riding effort this year) for a leisure ride through Hines Park. With fall pretty much at peak around here, the colors were outstanding. A whole bunch of motorcycle-ers, bicycle-ers, joggers, pet walkers, hangers, and picnic-ers out there. We'll take these days when we can get them, eh?

How about Michigan and Michigan State in the Little Caesars' Bowl this year? The ugly versus the ugly. CMU is the best team in the state right now and honestly deserves a better bowl than that. There is my commentary for today (bonus).

Trail Head

Autumn Fishing

Under partly sunny skies on a crisp October Saturday afternoon, we took off to the water in hopes of catching that elusive Dunham Lake whopper. All in all, the weather wasn't too bad as the northerly winds eventually died down as we evolved into evening. I thought I had the biggest catch of the day with a nice smallmouth bass until Greg, possibly inspired by his Toledo Mud Hen glass, took honors for the evening with a 19 inch or so green fish. He was on top of his game throughout the evening with some outstanding "dancing" in Al's garage; using all artifacts within his reach to show off his prowess.

Thanks to the Crouse family for being outstanding hosts in their new digs on the north side of Dunham. A great place you have there.

Trail Head