Author Archives: tomobert63

Unknown's avatar

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. *********************************************************************************** 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! **********************************************************************************

Lands Down Under (Day 18)

January 28 Cruising the Bay of Plenty [Gorgeous weather for an all-day cruise on the way to Auckland.  Actually, it should be called the White Island cruise.  We hung around here pretty much all day, which was great, doing 360’s … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Lands Down Under (Day 17(II))

January 27 Rotorua [Continuing the same day . . . ] [Finally, the Maori experience . . . ] [Whakarewarewa, The Living Maori Village] [And it’s thermal, to boot!] [Acknowledging famous women guides:  During the mid-19th century tourists began visiting … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Lands Down Under (Day 17)

January 27 Tauranga (Rotorua) [“Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island.  It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century and by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

PLAY BALL!!

April 11 [The national pastime arrived at the AAHS softball complex on Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately for fans looking for a parking spot, so did a middle school track meet, a freshman baseball game, and a boys tennis match.  I ended … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment