Hey Musky

A shout out today to musky slayer Al who caught this 19+-pounder at an undisclosed location (fisherman never tells) up north  this past Friday morning. My only words seeing that on my line would be "holy f**k!" and I'm sure Al said something similar but probably handled the fish recovery into the boat better than I would have. Heck, my wimpy eight-pound line would have snapped the minute that beast went running. I would be remiss if I didn't give some kudos to Al's net guy Doke who I'm sure had to have a major assist in bringing Marty the Musky into the boat. Nice work fellas.

Trail Head

Pedaling Brighton...not this course...are you serious?

Yes, I did pedal Brighton tonight but the recreation area, not Mt. Brighton (shown above). While the ski hill ride looks inviting, the last time I pedaled down one, the picture below happened; yes, those front forks are bent and yes, that chin skin is dangling. Good times.

Trail Head

No-Mo - Half Inch Away From Victory...Not Enough

on the leader board - no order - 51.50 and 51.25 took it

Yep, I should have stretched some fish  tails a bit more yesterday as I took third place of the bass division in the annual No-Mo fishing tournament; lost by a half an inch. First and second place received prizes; bummer. As Ricky Bobby says though, it you're not first, you're last. Some nice parting gifts would have been cool though; ha. No, there will be no bitterness in this post as I had one of my better outings in some time and beat roughly 60 other anglers. A good omen for the upcoming Mother Cup next month.

My lake of choice for the tournament (any public water is eligible) this year was Lake Orion. I consulted with the local fishing expert, Doke, who regularly tackles the lake. My game plan was actually to try and get a pike, a sloppy carp or sheepshead along with a big bass to try and take the mixed division (three ways to win: best three of the mix, best three bass or biggest overall). In the first hour, I had my big bass as the pink wacky worm brought in a 20 inch, four pound largemouth. Good morning to me as the heart was pounding pretty good at that point. Who needs coffee? I gave it the college try for the pike and sloppy carp or sheepshead but the bass were the only ones taking so...bass division it was. I was almost going to rely on a rock bass for my third but thankfully brought in a 15 inch largemouth late in the morning to get what I thought was a pretty good trio; a total of 51 inches. I recall previous year's winners being in the fifties so as Lloyd Christmas says in Dumb & Dumber, "So you're telling me there's a chance... YEAH!"

The check-in for the tournament was at Kensington. You write down what you had and they put your name on the main board if your totals are top five. The names are not in any particular order but if you are listed, you have a chance of getting called to have your pictures verified (everyone has the same ruler with the blue bracelet as the marker). If you got called, it meant you were at least top two. It was not to be for me as 51.50 and 51.25 took the top two. If I only could have stretched those tails just a bit more!

I'd like to thank my friends for this fortuitous day on the water as the little things they do (or yell) while fishing in the past seemed to rub off on me today. Everything from working the lake "points" to not "horsing" the fish (that's where the yelling comes in). Thanks dogs.

Trail Head

got this fat-bellied largemouth in the first hour

skunk hat award for this guy - as in, "skunked" on the water today

Milford Trail - deer sighting - woop

Bambi was lounging in the hills tonight on the Milford Trail, along with her eight or nine other siblings that hang in the area. Some ferocious species on the bicycle tour; ha.

Trail Head

I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City, here I come...

location where the negro leagues were formed - beautiful mural

Fats Domino said it and on my way to Kansas City I went this weekend to see some Tigers-Royals and find what happens when Cinco-de-mayo becomes Dos-de-mayo but we'll get to that in a minute. 

I flew in Friday morning, got the bonus early check-in at the hotel and settled in for what Kansas City is supposedly famous for, barbecue; and they did not disappoint. It wasn't even noon yet when I walked into the Jack Stack Barbecue and the place was jam packed. Surprise, surprise, I got the chicken. The local beverage is Boulevard Brewing and a good ale it was. After a great meal and a few soda pops, I was ready for some Tiger baseball!!!

After paying a whopping buck fifty, the Metro route 47 bus dropped me off in front of the football/baseball complex about eight miles east of downtown. I'm not a big fan of the stadiums being away from the city but what a beautiful complex. I bought a ticket but didn't sit the entire night as the park had so much around it; and some great people watching. The outfield has a patio area similar to Detroit with the statues (Frank White, George Brett, Dick Howser and the Kauffman's for Kansas City). While Comerica has the dedications to the great teams/players throughout the concourse, Kansas City created their own Hall of Fame which I thought was well done. Beyond center field, they had a whiffle ball field for the youngsters along with the fast pitch and batting cages. There was no way my old arm was going to try and throw but.....I did get in the batting cage. It wasn't pretty. The Tigers lost but I met some good people who didn't rip on the Fidrych jersey too bad. How can you rip on Mark Fidrych?

Saturday came and it was tourist mode for me. The first stop for the day was the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Some great history and perspective. While in there, a retiree-volunteer at the museum told me about a beautiful mural on the YMCA building where the league was formed a few blocks away from there; just off the main road. As the top picture in this entry and the one a bit further down illustrates, it was well done. 

The tourist mode from there ventured over to the college basketball hall of fame. I loved it. They had the exhibits giving the legends their proper due but it was a basketball love festival. So many interactive exhibits; you could even get in a pick up game if you wanted. I didn't (court was seriously packed) but I did kick some rear in the free throw shooting area.

This is where the story kicks into Dos-de-mayo. I was ready for lunch and a couple I had met earlier told me about the Power and Light District, which pretty much happened to be a block or so west of the basketball exhibit. Into Johnny's Tavern I walked (this is about 1 PM) and the residents of Buzztown were present; all of them. Yes, rather than wait for Cinco-do-mayo and have a hangover on Wednesday at work, get it out of the way now; makes sense. It was quite a celebration as I quickly found out the back of Johnny's led out to a courtyard where multiple bars/restaurants joined into one mass celebration with live music. There was a bar crawl for cancer going on as well with groups dressing like it was Halloween (some noted below). A merry group of people it was.

Tour mode ended for the day at the WWI Museum, just a few blocks from my hotel. I'm not a big museum fan but it was one of the better ones I have seen. 

A thumbs up to Kansas City. Good people. Kind of reminds me of a bit larger version of Grand Rapids.

Trail Head

stumbled upon Dos-de-mayo

never would have seen this off the beaten path if it weren't for an elderly guy telling me about it

Frank White shrine 

center field fountains were pretty cool in person

George Brett shrine

hanging with Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top

Union Station

college basketball hall of fame 

college basketball hall of fame- no I did not lace them up

college basketball hall of fame

Izzo and MSU getting some love at the NCAA hoops hall

bar crawl for cancer group - keep on keeping ladies

bar crawl for cancer - group dressed as various faiths; getting hammered

cool old buildings - Grand Rapids feel to the city

solid player; good fighter

Detroit Northwestern's finest

WWI Memorial

WWI Memorial - not a museum guy but pretty cool

had to take this picture this morning on the way to the bus