Yes, vacation finally did come to an end. It was time to head home and ease back into the rigors of retirement. The penultimate day began as had all the others. Beautiful morning at waterfront as we prepared for the lake swim (yeah, I jumped the gun by a day) – not to do it, but to cover it. It’s one mile across the lake, and the camp sends the pontoon with staffers as a lifeline.
[The swimmers]
[The spectators – a young college-age swimmer can be seen off the end of the dock finishing in under 15 minutes, as I recall. The rest float in at various times up to 45 – 50 minutes.]
[Heads bobbing in the distance.]
[“Are they all in yet? It’s time for breakfast!”]
[The Biddies’ respective eldest offspring prove themselves eligible to be honorary Oberts!]
We interrupt this reverie for a brief interlude. Camp features almost daily field trips to the surrounding area. The previous day featured a trip to Hennings Cheese, makers of the largest cheese wheels in the country (well, it is Wisconsin). The supervisor and I had made this trip in previous years – this time the kids went:
Meanwhile, back at camp . . .
[Guess what the last evening’s theme was? Arrgghhhhh!]
[“15 men on a deadman’s chest . . .”]
[“Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of sugar-free, caffeine-free, MSG-free some kind of pop.”]
[People always take my picture when I drop my pants?]
[Once school nurse of the year in Indiana!]
[With Beth, her eldest, computer scientist of the year in California.]
[The supervisor with her color-coordinated eye patch.]
[This is staffer Sam Bohney (yup, rhymes with “Zamboni”). He’d be a big hit here in hockey country.]
[Staff – their last night after a long summer of eight different groups of campers.]
[Jami and Danny]
[The Biddies last hurrah – our only rain of the week washed out the last night’s bonfire.]
[Our last morning – staff had already begun de-campisizing the camp.]
[Tom says good-bye to Karina and family.]
[We say good-bye to our home for the week.]
[The supervisor is not good at good-byes.]
So, until we meet again! 🙂
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About tomobert63
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more. Thus, this is “Part 2.” As the original was initially described:
10-26-07-4
“It all began in a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, California” . . . wait a minute, that was Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! Let’s see . . . oh yeah, it all began in 2003 when retirees, i.e., old people, in Alexandria, Minnesota, who had no desire to become snow birds, went looking for mid-winter entertainment here in the frozen tundra of West Central Minnesota. We discovered girls’ high school hockey, fell in love immediately, and it remains our favorite spectator sport to this day. Initially, and for several years, reports on these games were e-mailed to those who were actually snowbirds but wanted to keep abreast of things “back home.” It was ultimately decided a blog would be more efficient, and it evolved into a personal diary of many things that attracts tens of readers on occasion. It remains a source of personal mental therapy and has yet to elicit any lawsuits.
~ The Editor, May 9, 2014
p.s. The photo border around the blog is the Cardinal girls’ hockey team after just beating Breck for the state championship in 2008. It’s of the all-tournament team. The visible Breck player on the left is Milica McMillen, then an 8th-grader – she is now an All-American for the Gophers. The Roseau player in the stocking cap I believe is Mary Loken, who went on to play for UND; and the Cardinal player on the right, No. 3, is Abby Williams, the player we blame most for making us girls’ hockey fans who went on to play for Bemidji State.
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Photos contained herein are available for personal use. All you have to do is double click on any of the photos and they will become full screen size. You can then save them into your personal “My Pictures” file. They make lovely parting or hostess gifts, or holiday gifts for such as Uncle Ernie who wants to see how his grand niece is doing on the hockey team. If any are sold for personal profit, however, to, for example, the Audubon Society, National Geographic, Sven’s Home Workshop Monthly, Curling By The Numbers, or the World Wrestling Federation, I only request that you make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. You have two hours and fifteen minutes. Pencils ready? Begin!
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Yes, vacation finally did come to an end. It was time to head home and ease back into the rigors of retirement. The penultimate day began as had all the others. Beautiful morning at waterfront as we prepared for the lake swim (yeah, I jumped the gun by a day) – not to do it, but to cover it. It’s one mile across the lake, and the camp sends the pontoon with staffers as a lifeline.
alexandriacardinals 