We are in the 13th inning of the second to last day of the season for the Mariners. It is not raining, and not too cold, although the marine layer has descended.
The As are winning by two runs, courtesy of a home run.
Now is the Mariners last chance to come back.
Do we want a 14th inning?
Remember when you listened to your grandparents or parents complain about their health and ailments? We should have listened a little closer – it was probably more about their healthcare provider and working the insurance maze/scams etc. I have officially become old this past half year.
Having a kidney stone out of state has made the jumping thru hoops to get payment ten-fold difficult. Doctors tell you they’re going to do something, and just don’t.
Is it the gray hair?
Is it just elder abuse and all the fun they get from that?
Are they just trying to find the worst HOLD music of all time?
Trying to not cover procedures or just making the process so drawn out that you forget must be the motive. Maybe my heart will rupture with stress while on hold and it’ll all be over.
Where’s the fun in that?
[This is a guest post. Or rather a guest rant.]
Baseball season is drawing to a close. At least here in Seattle. And because the only thing Seattle can do is spoil another teams playoff dreams, we have tickets to all of the games ( nobody else wants them ).
I don’t know whether I have been to a full home stand all year. It is work.in addition to work.
That said, the weather has been remarkably nice for many days in a row. High in the 60s, lower by the end of the game – requiring a warm jacket. Unless you are Carl of course. And the others attending the game tend to be interested in baseball rather than just making the scene. The guys have been hauling in the balls during batting practice, and making friends giving their prizes away.
Morning comes early.
And the moon has been bright enough to wake me up every night this week.
I am taking off Friday to celebrate fan appreciation day. And of course there is now a chance of rain.
Saturday we will be joined by friends from out of town for the final weekend, and Carl just pointed out that the Mariners game on Sunday is followed by a Sounders game that evening.
Perhaps I should have taken Monday off instead.
This is the Silver Foxes. Their season ended last Sunday with a double-header. They finished second in their division.
I am sitting on the couch, watching bits and pieces of movies. The end of my day and the weekend.
Yesterday Carl had a game. We were disappointed to miss the Mariners honoring Jamie Moyer, pitcher extraordinaire, but we were fine with missing the Mariners dissolving in the 11th inning, losing 11-3. Today several people told Carl they saw him on the big screen yesterday. It took us a few times to figure out they were showing a bit of an interview from a few days earlier, since he was not even at the stadium.
Today we did make the game, and sat in the K section for Felix.
And the Mariners won. Even with Rodney pitching the 8th inning. (And for those not familiar with all things baseball, Rodney is our cross to bear. No lead is safe when he is on the mound.)
Carl felt so good he suggested we walk home. This was after walking to the game as well. And sitting in the sun for nine innings.
The morning started with a short walk of about a mile for breakfast. We met Dan (nephew out of LA) and his friends Michael and Valerie (out of St. Louis) at the Portage Bay Cafe, home of steel cut oats and eggs benedict. Good food and stories.
Yes, pictures of food.
Then back on the road, or sidewalk, for the 5-1/2 miles to reach the stadium. We were entertained by counting bikes participating in the Obliteride fund raising ride. We saw almost 150 riders on the 10 mile route.
I was really not sure about the wisdom of the walk home. I had not taken a long walk for well over a month. Starting with a loonng version …. Well we did survive.
As I said earlier, I am sitting on the couch.
Bonus for today: picking up a new used baseball mitt for Carl to replace the one that blew out again yesterday. We were browsing in the Play it Again Sports store. I pointed out a Wilson A2000 model. Apparently it is a reasonably good glove, with the right price. I only mentioned it because it reminded me of the Nimbus 3000 of Harry Potter game.
That’s the new mitt.
And now it’s time to stand up.
We spent the last four days sleeping in a hotel. It was a good hotel. Close to the center of our activities, relatively roomy, and wi-fi enabled. There was a game room with foosball that provided a few moments of fun, frequently at my expense. And then there was the continental breakfast. Best I have experienced in quite a while. Between the breakfast and all of the other eateries we came up with a new scorecard. The Bacon Scale. There was bacon everywhere and in everything. Burgers, eggs, salads, and of course solo.
It really should be the Bacon and Sausage Scale, as we tried many different types of sausage to go with the bacon.
We managed to see a baseball game while out and about. Imagine that. And a Mariner win to boot. (I have no idea where that saying comes from, but it sounds right.) Felix Hernandez was good but not great. It was fun to be in a different ballpark and share some time with other fans of both teams. (And Carl got four baseballs.)
The main reason for visiting was to see Bob. The kids came too so it was a real family vacation.
three generations
Steve in his environment
And now it’s back to the grind. Coming home with no further plans over the next month it feels like summer is already passing into fall.
Please be kind. This was written on my phone on the plane.
So we have been back home, rather briefly in fact. But a few notes on interesting bits along the way.
Do you know that when you fly out of the Chippewa County International Airport you have to remove your fudge from your carry-on baggage for inspection. Like it was your computer, or C-pap machine, or shoes. Even as a TSA pre-check I had to dig through all of the stuff above the fudge in the backpack to pull it out. And yes, many, many people at this airport would be carrying fudge back home. [This is the Chippewa County Airport of, “Boarding at Gate 1,” fame.
Voting – there is an election on Tuesday, we have to vote by Friday. I have all but one figured out. I like these early preliminary races because it lets you read the statements of the less than likely to be elected. Goodspaceguy has been in several races over the years. And yes, I believe he legally changed his name.
Work has been excessively busy. A side effect of taking a few weeks off. And today I learned that there is apparently an, “Appropriate amount of crap.” Being in the sewer business, I have now been tasked with determining what that amount might be.
The Mariners can’t win consistently – still. They won two games in a row a few games ago and that was news! But that doesn’t mean they can’t put on a good show. (WAIT FOR THE END)
Camera phones – can’t ever get it quite straight.
That’s the Blue Angels if you couldn’t figure it out.
THE GRAND HOTEL
Approximately 30 years ago Carl & I spent a night in this wondrous place. Slightly to the right of the center portico, on the 2nd or 3rd floor, in the Honeymoon Suite. It was glorious.
I could try to describe this place, but I will let their sign do the basic work. (To see the hotel in action, watch the movie Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeves.
It has the longest porch in the world – and some rocking chairs to enjoy while relaxing and taking in the scenery.
We did take in the scenery. There is a small airport on the island, but almost everybody arrives by boat.
Pooh & Mark took a boat that was included with their bicycle tour – along with their bikes.
Ready to Ride
Carl & I took the slow boat named the Huron to Mackinac Island. It really did seem to just sort of putter along. Not un-enjoyable, as we were not in any particular hurry. Just slow.
On the island we continued in the slow vein, by walking. No bicycles and no horses or carriages.
[For any that do not know, this island does not use motorized vehicles. Except maybe the ambulance and fire engine.]
We met Pooh and Mark for lunch, including an appropriate beverage.
All-in-all we probably did 3 miles, including a Seattlesque hill and over 200 stairs back down to lake level.
Since we are in the recovery mode right now we decided that was probably quite enough, and quite probably more than should have been attempted. [We see the doctor again on Tuesday and will find out what level of tongue lashing we will receive.]
The boat we took on the return voyage was the Mackinac Strait II. This boat seemed much faster than the first, and included a tour guide of sorts. One of the tidbits of information provided was that their other boat (the Huron) was an ice-breaker. So perhaps this was part of the reason for the slow and steady ride over, sans ice.
We also learned a bit about the Mackinac Bridge. 5 miles of the safest freeway in America. (Longer than the Golden Gate)
[A Yugo went off once, but other than that a really good safety record.]
The towers do not hold up the road. They hold up the cables. The cables hold the road, which can move as much as 15 feet side to side within the towers. The road can also stretch and move as much as 40 feet vertically if heavily loaded. Back when the bridge was built (after I was born, but before Carl) a semi-truck weighed about 15,000 pounds. Now they weigh 80,000. This is why their speed is limited to 25 mph, and their spacing is at least 200 feet apart. A lake freighter did hit one of the towers once, and did about $20,000 damage to the bridge. Fixing the boat cost $250,000. [The bridge crosses the Straits of Mackinac, which is where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet – just so you know. In case you did not.]
Back at the cabin for dinner, tired after a full day.
Last night’s sunset (and a boat)
Today’s calm waters (and a boat).
Today was basically a lazy beach day. Almost too hot on the beach. Calm waters. Kayaks wandering by, and walks down to Doelle’s in the water. Saw 3 or 4 frogs in the creek at one end of the beach, and a dead crayfish and small fish (not a minnow) at the other end. More seagulls that just will not stop talking, and a few ravens yelling in the woods. One sounded so human that I was starting to wonder if it was one raven and a harasser. In the end I decided it was too buggy in the woods for anyone to be playing this game. Made some progress in my book and Carl continued to write postcards.
Played a new game called Paperback tonight.
It involves making words out of letter cards with points, fame points, wild cards, and took a while to get started. There are several different types of cards and set-ups, and not all types of cards are used if you play the easier version. A cross between Scrabble and Dominion. As usual my brain would lock when trying to think up words that would work with my letters. Rey and Mark were more on the tactical side of drawing and gaining points. Pooh had some words that were more wild cards than recognizable letters. Rey won. (I got second.) I am ready to play this game again. And maybe we will add in the advanced parts before the end of the summer (or next week – which is more or less the end of my summer vacation).
Tomorrow will be an early rising to get one party to the airport (2 flights a day – one at 6:30 AM), and two others (and their bikes) to St. Ignace for the start of an around the UP ride. (Upper Peninsula for any that don’t just know) Meanwhile, we will continue to laze around the beach.
Carl at the bat and on the mend.
Up to bat, leading off for the Birch Point Beach Bums …
Baseball games and a birthday.
The vacation started with a few baseball games to celebrate Carl’s (FOY 14) birthday. We ended up seeing 9-1/18th games, more or less. Depending on how you count. I am not even sure how the Toledo Mud Hens fared versus the Durham Bulls. [I could ask Rey, but he is currently in class.]
The Tiger’s game had some extremes. Some of the initially interesting, but really bad fans behind us for most of the game. Yet getting to spend time with relatives that rarely go to games, at a game. The Tigers lost, but did not drench us with rain. (That was so last year.)
The Cabin
The next day everyone headed north. Actually, a few waited a day or two, but the population between our cabin and the next blossomed from 1 to 16 in short order.
The Old Cabin housed – 10 then 12 then 10 to 8 currently, slated next to go to 5 then 7 then 4 then 3 then 2. Ok you math geeks, what is the next number? And there are wild cards that can be played at any time.
12 pushes the sleeping capacity close to the maximum, although I think there was one more cot in the shed. It also pushed the bathroom to the edge. Jane declared that only 3 were allowed to use the indoor facilities, and the rest were to go to the outhouse. I am not sure how successful her admonitions were, but the outhouse has seen more visitors this week than it has for many years. On the positive side, it was great to see everyone – the entire family of my parents + a new arrival.
Ashlan & Allen
The plus one is Allen, Ashlan’s boyfriend. Imagine meeting almost the entire extended family at once. Brave soul.
Rey’s work plus more
The next day, I think, we accompanied Rey to one of his work places. Quite the gig if you can get it.
78 Steps – the top
After touring most of Whitefish Point, and killing our fill of mosquitos, we headed over to Tahquamenon Falls. First toured the lower falls by row-boat (thank you Allen).
Lower Tahquamenon Falls
The upper falls were spectacular as always. Note the tannin in the water.
Upper Tahquamenon Falls
The weather has been generally good. Cool in the morning (40-50’s), warm in the afternoons (70s), and a really good rainstorm one day.
Oh – and did you notice that we did not see a full two games on July 1st?
CARL’s BLOG
FOR THE NEVER-ENDING WEEK: 7-1 through 7-9
(Anniversary – which I completely omitted from above. Our 30th, Pooh & Mark’s 35th)
For many years Thursday has been the worst day for commuting. I don’t know why, but you could count on extra time in the car or just stay late. Over the past six months Wednesday has started to rival Thursday. I don’t want my decision on when to leave work to become a traffic check.
But most of my traffic woes are during the evening commute. Morning drive time has a fairly direct correlation to time of departure ( as does the toll rate).
I am riding this morning so have been able to catch some jiggling sights.
Mount Rainier
The new 520 bridge under construction.
That is one of the bald eagles on the light pole. Yesterday both adults were on display, and word is they have eaglets
Lake Sammamish
Not a bad ride.
Raincharm's Weblog 