alexandriacardinals

“We live in Minnesota because we love it, because we embrace the change of seasons, and not everyone can do that,” Swarthout said. “By us doing this every year, we’re proving to the rest that we’re tough by doing something that they choose not to. It’s an accomplishment — not becoming a complete basket case.”  (From a Kim Ode column in the StarTribune, March 6.)

As we were yet again pummeled by another weekend storm, we were also reminded of the vicissitudes of winter.  I have no idea what “vicissitudes” means.  I just wanted to use it in a sentence.  But we were reminded – radio, TV, newspaper? – that last year at this time we had had (the dreaded double “hads”) three 60-degree days, and on March 17, we hit 80!  Last year the golf course opened on March 22, meaning the driving range had been open at least a week earlier than that (the dreaded “than that”).  This year on March 17, it looks like we’ll be lucky to break freezing.  At least we have St. Paddy’s Day with Skilly & Duff at the AAAA that day!

As noted in the previous story on the girls’ basketball section finals, the supervisor and I barely made it home before the storm Friday night.  Then we spent another weekend gazing out from within at the wonders nature had wrought.  No where to go – everything was closed.  The boys’ scheduled Saturday night basketball games were all postponed until tonight.  We ventured out onto the garage slab late Saturday afternoon to begin the latest dig out.  A wet, heavy snow piled on top of glaze ice.  This morning, like a draught horse, I dragged the garbage and recycling cans down the length of the driveway, in the dark, through waist deep snow (well, it would have been had I fallen), uphill bothways, with a large walking stick to fend off the bears.  Then I went to the ‘Y’ for the usual morning constitutional with the Fat Boys Walking Club.  My first attempt at “landing” in the ‘Y’ parking lot failed – one foot out the car door alit upon a surface so slippery that the other foot out the door would have rendered me into a lifeless mass of arms and legs akimbo.  I drove (i.e., crept) around the parking warning other arriving exercisers to be afraid, be very afraid!

But the season has its virtues.  The drive home, in bright sunlight, once again delivered a winter wonderland.  I recovered the garbage cans, grabbed a camera, and ice-walked a bit around the neighborhood.

[The Northside shovel piles are starting to approach the altitudes reached two years ago.]

[“Dangerous” Dan’s and beautiful Lake Darling]

[I’m thinking about harvesting these bad boys and holding a jousting contest.  They’re both over 8-feet long!]

[The meter reader best be very careful!]

[The hard slog with the cans!]

[Bad angle – I was trying to provide perspective on the size of snowplow pile along our escape route to the rest of the world.]

[Here it is sans perspective.]

[Darling Heights Place, i.e. the road to nowhere.]

[Evergreens have been bearing a burden.]

[Snow country.]

[I decided it best to turn back to home – I was ice-walking (feet wide apart, sliding feet) along the road.]

[‘Dangerous” Dan’s fishing boat.  We don’t use them in the winter.]

[Back to the front door – it’s back there somewhere.]

[Winter has its hazards.  We do not know if this Canada goose succumbed to the weather – or whether it was old or sick or injured.  Ruthie noticed it out on the lake yesterday afternoon – as it was still there this morning, was assumed it had ceased functioning as a living organism.  You can see in the snow where it had made obvious unsuccessful efforts to get airborne, and then just continued walking to its “final” destination.]

[We have since noticed, however, that it is no longer there?  There are no foot prints of a land-based predator out there – and we have to believe the bird would be too heavy for a fly away by an eagle?  So, it’s a mystery.]

To the fan base eagerly anticipating the East coast trip pictures . . . well, first a nap.

p.s.  The supervisor did our taxes over the weekend.  She hadn’t done them in over 12 years, so she just wanted to take a crack at it again (I guess it had always been designated as my job?).  And since we were homebound, why not?  You will all be delighted to hear that the Obert family is doing our part to keep our federal and state governments solvent!

p.p.s.  Because we were there at the time, we thought it’d be fun to listen to Dave and Bob’s broadcast of the girls’ basketball game.  The re-broadcast lasted until there was about 2 minutes left in the game – and then it cut off??  I sent the guys an e-mail wondering if someone got too excited at the time and hit the wrong button?

OK, the title is a giveaway – we lost, 55 – 54!   😦   The usual scoreboard photo was not available because every shot I took of it, the numbers were washed out?  If the team seems happy to be runners-up, well, it was the circumstances.  Oh, there were tears at the end, particularly among the seniors.  But they played great as the overwhelming underdogs.

They played Fergus Falls for the section 8AAA title on Friday night at St. John’s University.  The Otters have been undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state all year.  The Cards had already lost to them twice this season, both times by double digits.  We had concerns – OK, about the game, but mostly about the weather.  As usual at tournament time there are always such issues.  The forecast that night was for freezing rain followed by accumulating snow over the weekend.  Nevertheless, as fearless Super Fans we forged ahead.  And, as usual too, we got there an hour too early because we had the wrong start time – just that much more time to stress my aged booty on hard basketball bleachers!

We interrupt this reverie for the latest weather issues:  The game ended about 9:45 and we dashed to the parking lot.  So far, so good.  I-94 was clear so we were able to travel at listed speed (well, maybe slightly above).  Just as we hit the Alex exit about 10:30, the sleet/freezing rain began.  We breathed a sigh a relief as we eased the rest of the way home.  In the morning, everything was covered with ice and icicles.  And the big, gloppy snow began – on and off at first, by afternoon coming down apace.  The supervisor and I grabbed our shovels and went out to tackle the slab – 5″ of heart attack snow on top of sheer ice.  What could be more fun?  I wore shorts – it was above freezing – and then went up to clear the decks, troweling off the wet and heavies.  The boys’ basketball section semifinal v. Fergus at Moorhead was postponed that night.  This morning, more shoveling – and I believe we are expecting more accumulations today with the next week projected as below normal temperatures.  This is the time of year we usually escape for a while, but this year our escape was to Boston . . . in January.

Meanwhile, back at the basketball arena.

[Not that it was in the plan, but our early arrival “allowed” us to see most of the section 8AAAA title game between St. Michael-Albertville (the winner) v. Elk River.  I just missed getting the photo of all the parents on the court taking team pictures.]

[As the 1st game fans filed out, I tried for an over the top photo of the Alex students and band filing in.]

[Like the “Abby Road” cover photo, is there a hidden message to the fact that Kohler is the only coach not facing the court?]

[You know, we’re not that far from St. Cloud.  What’s the hot restaurant here now?]

[Abetting “The Voices” in their 15 minutes of fame.]

[I was not going to use this photo until I saw the gentleman standing on the far right.  That is your quiz for the day?  😉 ]

[Super Fan favorite Shelby Iverson in the middle of the student section.  I’m sure there are some of her hockey teammates in there somewhere.]

[Things are looking up – some of them recognize the cap brim faces the front.]

[The pep band once again making sure conversation with your neighbor would be difficult. 😉 ]

[The Cards warmed up on the far end from where we were located in our front row seats.]

[Kalli underneath]

[Appears to be Ms. Kohler in the gap.]

[Macy on the outskirts.  She and Kendall probably had as much varsity playing time in this section final as any game this year.]

[As our one “big” against the Otter giants, I’m not sure if Kalli ever came out of the game?]

[Cardinal Super Fans Ruth and Bud Anderson had the foresight to sit on the side with seat backs.  That also put them in the midst of Otter nation!]

[Nevertheless, they appear to be having a good time with . . .]

[A little pre-game repartee.  Because Fergus has lost about one game in 2 years, the entire town follows them to every game.  Despite apprehensions from certain Cardinal fans, Alex had a good turnout as well.  Made for raucous good fun!]

[So, do you guys like tilapia?]

[I heard it’s taco-of-the-day at Anton’s?]

[Thus, they’ll come with popovers as big as Villard! 😉 ]

[Kohler visits with the new Otter head coach.  He just happened to come with a daughter who scored about 20 points on this night (Bailey Strand, No. 22)!]

[Kohler replies, “Well, next year we’ll see your Bailey and raise you a Macy and a Kendall!”]

[Band, again identifiable by their music makers.]

[Oh, we’re still warming up.]

[Mothers, remember what your mothers used to tell you about saxophone players?]

[Don’t forget to advise your daughters – it’s probably still true!  😉  (Hey, that trumpet player on the right looks to be a student who was held back a few years?)]

[Aaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy!!]

[Intros, I was perfectly positioned to be blocked by Sarah!  😦  It’s Amanda C.]

[Dani]

[Karly]

[Kalli]

[I somehow lost track of Jess?  Even as they walk to center court, she’s hidden (hint: behind Amanda).  Maybe our strategy was the ‘hidden Jess play”?]

[Amanda C, at 5’10” and the “3,” (i.e., the small forward, or the “2,” shooting guard) jumps center against Brianna Rasmusson, the Otters’ 6’0″ point guard (or “1”), a fellow junior, and they’ve been battling each other for years on the basketball and volleyball courts!  It was appropriately enough, a “toss up.”]

Our Cards have not matched up well with Fergus, the last two years.  They’re too big and talented – we can’t turn them over like other teams because they just pass over us.  They beat us handily twice in the regular season.  But after the Cards handled a good Thief River Falls team in the semifinals, you could tell they had confidence they could beat the Otters this time.  But the 1st half was a replay of previous games against them.  I think the team would agree we did not play well – we probably had more turnovers than shot attempts!  And when the Otters’ star player, i.e., Rasmusson, dribbled the length of the court and made a 3-pointer at the half-time buzzer, it looked bleak because it gave the Otters a 31 – 22 lead.  But then . . . 9 points wasn’t bad considering how poorly we played.

[All game long, No. 4 for the Otters rode Karly like a pony when she brought the ball up – and they never called it.  So, I have to admit to being a cranky fan when Karly one time tried to create a little space, and they called her for a foul!  The nerve of those refs!  No. 4 is listed as 5’8″ – Karly is listed as 5’5″ (maybe in heels).]

[But Karly was never to be denied.]

[After some early nervous play by both teams, I think Amanda’s free throws were the 1st points in the game.]

[So, just keep making ’em, Amanda!]

[And while Amanda keeps making them, we note that Kendall (45) is in the game already, usually coming in as a pair with Macy.  Sarah and Emily completed the mostly 9 player rotation the Cards used throughout the game.]

[Their point guard, Rasmusson (24), is 3 inches taller than any of our starters except Kalli (35), who towers over her by an inch.  That’s Jess (23) on the right.]

[Karly gets two.  You can be sure it wasn’t a “riding” foul!]

[It’s up and . . .]

[It must be halftime.  I don’t believe the supervisor brought me any goodies.]

Editor’s note:  As I’m preparing this missive, the supervisor is continually screaming at the TV.  Her beloved Hoosiers are on playing the dreaded Wolverines, who from her hollering are committing fouls on every play but aren’t being called for them!!]

[Amanda v. Rasmusson as the 2nd half begins.  The Cards had a little hop to their step!]

Within the 1st minute of the 2nd half, the Cards had closed the gap to 4 points.  And it was pretty much thus the rest of the game.  Therefore, making it a very exciting game.  I don’t think we ever had the lead, but we tied them several times.  And we played the 8th-graders lots – at one point quite late in the game, Kendall launched a good looking 3-pointer that would have given the Cards a one point lead.  The Cardinal nation would have gone nuts!  But the shot was just a tad long and bounced out.

[Amanda and Karly put on the ole squeeze play!]

[Let’s get a closer look at that play!  😉 ]

[Rasmusson burned us with a couple of 3’s when we were in the 1-3-1.  The correction was – Betterman, go get her!]

[Karly may have been giving away 7″ (or more), but I’m sure Brianna checked under her bed that night to see if Karly was still hanging around!]

[You play defense by watching the opponent’s belt buckle.]

[Kohler signals “Indiana,” which always makes the supervisor happy.]

[High fives from Karly, standing ovation from the bench.  The game is late and the score is close!]

[Karly pressures Rasmusson.]

[My buddy, my buddy, my buddy misses you . . .]

[Jess on Strand.  Jess played hard and fouled out at the end.]

[Now Macy’s (11) on Rasmasson.]

[This was to show the time left and score.  Hmmmmm?  Well, at least the Otter fans are nervous.]

[I hope the Gophers are considering her.  She’s taller and more athletic than Sari Noga.]

[And Amanda gets ready to wrap up a great game.]

[Even old automatic missed one down the stretch – it ain’t easy, folks.]

[This may have been her two-handed tomahawk dunk.]

[Aaarrrrrggghhhhhhhhhhhh.  Dunno?]

[Isn’t this fun, ladies?]

[Good D leads to . . .]

[Cards ball!]

I did plan ahead.  If it was close at the end, go to video.  Here is the last two minutes (though they take 11 minutes, of course, with all the time-outs (or is it times-out?).)  You will note Rasmusson (24) and Strand (22) in the video – they must have had over 40 of the Otters total points.  They both hit threes and make their free throws (it seemed Strand shot about 40 in the game!), but they both felt the pressure at the end – Fergus hasn’t been in close games.  You’ll see in the video Strand missed the 1st of a key one-and-one, and Rasmusson missed two!  I think they both shot 90 percent from the line in the game leading up to those last moments.  The video:

For the Cards, you will see Sarah Bruzek drive the baseline and make a reverse lay-up, and Amanda Christianson hit one falling down just inside the 3-point line.  The Cards had a chance to win at the end – Amanda just couldn’t get the shot off.  Amanda’s big sister, Angela (star of the ’10 Cards) was on the side line at the end exhorting the team on.  LT was there with the rest of the Trumm family.  I panned to the Alex student section, where the boys’ basketball team and the girl’s hockey team are noted, and to our band.  The voice you hear behind me in the video is a true Super Fan and the father of “The Twins,” as they are simply known state-wide.  Bethany and Megan Hasz will likely be ranked Nos. 1 & 2 in the state cross-country next season as sophomores.

[The post game ceremonies . . .]

[The team captains and seniors:  Thanks again to Dani, Kalli, and Jess!]

[We’ll miss you!  And unless I miss my guess, the Cards and Otters will be doing this again next year!]

[WE’LL BE BACK!]

The Cards did themselves proud – and we’re already looking forward to next year.  This will be at least the 4th year in a row where we lose 3 senior starters, but Kohler just reloads.   🙂

[And I’ll be back for 4 more years!  🙂 ]

Did you get that, Harry?  Harry?  Well, there’s a certain segment of our society we call the troglodytes, i.e., those who think girls’ sports is an oxymoron (that would include Brother Cam, who had a daughter who was athlete, but I guess being a gymnast is OK?).  So, every once in a while we have to throw them a bone and cover boys’ sports (an oxymoron for Olivia Newton-John’s Let’s Get Physical?).

The Cards’ boy basketball team had been on a roll at the end of the season and were hosting Little Falls in the 1st round of the sections last night.  So we thought, why not – we hadn’t been to a game yet this year.  Oh, and look above – we won, though it was much closer than the final score.

[A late arriving crowd.  If Alexandrians know the game starts at 7:00, there’s no point in getting there before 6:59.  As it was, it almost sounded like a home game for the Flyers as there was a huge contingent from Little Falls bellowing in our ears all night!]

[The tall guy with his hand in the air is 6’8″ senior Logan Doyle (35), who will play for South Dakota State next year.  Gold shoes is 6’2″ junior, John Vogeler (15) – he was the quarterback on the football team and apparently didn’t start playing basketball until late January because of a football injury.  The Cardinal fortunes continually improved the more he played.]

[The band, noted for their instruments.]

[Trying to capture “The Voices” between the departing Cardinals.]

[“The Voices” entire fan club was there, sitting directly behind them.  They’re working on a youth movement.]

[Kendra Holm, El’s granddaughter and manager emeritus, darts in front of the band, still known for their instruments.]

[“A Voice” was trying to confirm a Kardashian sighting, as it had already been reported on KXRA?]

[Is she blonde?]

[Vogeler is introduced.]

[Salutes veterans, which would include me.]

[Brandon Bistodeau (5), 6’1″ junior.  5th-generation Bistodeau Cardinal athlete?]

[David Krivanek (33), 6′ junior]

[Doyle . . .]

[Here me roar?]

[Chase Kohler (43), 6’4″ junior]

[And everybody!]

Editor’s note:  I’m trying to do this while watching the first round game between Edina and Lakeville North in the boys state hockey tournament.  There seems to be a goal every 30 seconds – very distracting!

[A blurred attempt at trying to capture the opening tip.]

[Brandon shoots?]

[The Flyer in the right background.  Point guard, cocky kid.  But gotta give him some credit.  He was quick and strong, often followed his own shot and scored, and when he’d drive into the middle only to have Logan swat it into the stands or impress Spaulding on his forehead, he’d just smile like, whadya gonna do?]

[Good game for young Mr. Bistodeau with 15 points.  Like to see him get stronger, but he goes hard to the basket and scores on a lot of runners.]

[Mr. Krivanek will be back.]

[Noted Alexandrian, apparently related to players on both the boys and girls teams.  And yes, seated below her, is a relative of “A Voice.”]

[Joe Gorghuber (21), 6’3″ sophomore, gave good play off the bench.  Was a fan of his brother (?) a few years back.]

[Attempting a shot known as “The Trumm.”  The bonus coverage in this instance is the gymnastics team in the background.  😉 ]

[Vogeler on defense.  Head Coach Forrest Witt standing in the background.]

[Logan hits 2, above and below.  Good free throw touch.]

[“The Competition” is at it again.  I notice Ms. Wensman on the far right, a volleyballer in the fall.]

[The PA announcer . . .]

[Also known as the school’s choir director and mostly for being the father of player-of-the-game, Ted Dietz (51), 6’4″ senior.]

[I saw the Cardinals play early last season.  Later in the year I heard reports about a sophomore who was getting plenty of playing time because he was making 3’s from NBA distance.  It was Vogeler.  In the Cards’ previous game to this one, he made EIGHT 3’s.  In this game, I only recall three 3’s, but they were from way, way out.  He apparently has a green light if he’s in the building.]

[Logan in the lane.  He was pretty much shut down offensively.  I remember the Flyers 6’5″ center as a sophomore (now senior Spencer Lubbers (52), senior) – he’s talented and a wide body . . . and he can hit the 3.  He’s tough.  He had 12 points in the first half, but we don’t want Logan following him out to the 3-point line.]

[Here Logan made a nice shot in the lane.]

[Everything’s a blur as the ball . . . heads right at us!]

[Up . . .]

[Down . . .]

[And out!  And yes, that is the girls team on the wall in the background.  😉 ]

[Unfortunately, this appears to be the only photo of Mr. Dietz (51).  He was player-of-the-game because he took a couple of charges in the 2nd half when the game was still in doubt, played good defense and rebounded well as one of the few Cards who could match the Flyers’ size and strength.]

[The game was close until the end.  The Cards shot 25 free throws in the last 4 minutes as the Flyers fouled to catch up.  The Cards were 25 – 35 from the line for the game.]

[Don’t foul, make free throws, and do your homework!]

[I can’t believe the band (known for their instruments) stayed for the entire game?]

[What’s taking so long?  We’re all still in the same positions?]

[I thought the Flyers, as a team, had an overall advantage in size, strength, and athleticism.  They were a team of strong, quick footballers.  It bothered the Cards all game.  They would take the ball away in tie-up situations, they would follow their shots and put in the offensive rebound, and I don’t know how many times a Cardinal would get a defensive rebound and a Flyer would simply take it away from them and lay it in!  But the Cards had the two special players, above – and they make the difference for any team in any sport.   Logan had a tough game offensively, but he still controlled the game with his defense and rebounding.  I don’t know how many shots he blocked or how many rebounds he had, but he simply skies above the masses.  Most of his rebounds are taken well above the rim.  And John seems to have unlimited range on his shot, but can dribble drive as well – he had 30 points (and made almost all his free throws).]

[Can they keep doing it?]

[Game over.  There are two Cardinal moms (not of these basketballers) who are unabashed fans of the Fat Boys Walking Club (though they would be startled to hear that) and were allegedly at this game, on the far side, and saw me taking photos.  I cannot find them?]

[Happy Birthday to Mom, who would have been 90 today.  An original example of the need for Title IX!  🙂 ]

We have been on a madcap, two-month coverage of local events – from hockey and basketball games to concerts and other music venues.  Lost in the traffic was our reporting of our mid-winter trip to the East Coast, way back in late January.  We published “Cold to Cold” on February 11.  This is report No. 2, also known as the second one.  Above, after an evening in a downtown Boston hotel, we have the supervisor proudly displaying her Kurt Vonnegut travel bag (a gift from the Indiana kids – Vonnegut was a native Hoosier) while we waited for our bus for our all-day tour of historic Beantown.  It was incredibly cold, though snowless (you may recall shortly after we returned home, Boston received about a million feet of snow).

[We’re on the bus now.  Front row seats.  The supervisor demands such.  😉  Boston is incredibly small for a major city – 2 1/2 square miles – so almost immediately we were heading “out of town” toward Cambridge, home of, among other things, Harvard and MIT.]

[On the right is Boston Common.  I know this because it’s what it says on the sign.  It’s Boston’s Central Park.]

[It’s green!  It’s January!  Boston gets 88 inches of snow per year.]

[This is Charles Street.  I know that because it’s what it says on the sign.  It’s a famous street and also the name of Boston’s famous river.]

[ . . . the rain, the park, and other things.]

[This is the original “Cheers.”  We were told people don’t go here anymore because nobody knows your name.  Well, actually it’s a spendy tourist trap.  I went in there years ago to see if Norm was still there.  You will see later a “Cheers” duplicate was built at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Marketplace.]

[As we’re heading toward Cambridge, this is a row of million dollar plus brownstones on Charles Street (or maybe it was Cambridge Street, who can remember such things?).]

[Crossing the Charles River on the Longfellow Bridge.]

[Cambridge ahead.]

[That’s MIT on the left.  To my knowledge, they don’t have a football team.]

[If you lived on the bridge, this would be your view.]

[An MIT building with columns.  Maybe the headquarters for their rowing team?]

[Closing in on Harvard.  Those are Christmas decorations over the street – unless, of course, they are there all the time.]

[If we just kept driving straight, we would run right into Widener Library on the Harvard campus.  Widener is the centerpiece of the largest university library system in the world.  In fact, when I first visited in 1956 (why, yes, that was a long time ago, but by then the dinosaurs had moved to the outer suburbs), I seem to recall Widener was the largest library in the world.]

[Harvard’s front gate.  We drove by apace, so I missed the opening.]

[The university is all along the right side.  We’re looking for a place to park.]

[We’ve parked, albeit illegally (bus driver said they do it all the time, because . . . there are NO parking places in Boston, errr, Cambridge.)  Here the supervisor heads in the main gate.  It was bone chilling cold (wind chill in the 20 below zero range).]

[Across Quincy Street, a church and statue long since forgotten.]

[Can’t remember in the vertical either.  If you search the internet for statues in and around Harvard, all I could find was the statue of John Harvard, upcoming!]

[Inside the hallowed ground of Harvard Yard.]

[And here is the supervisor heading toward the John Harvard statue.  Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the country, established in 1636, a mere two years before I was born.]

[Mr. Harvard went out and found himself an NCAA tournament men’s basketball team this year.]

[Upon closer inspection, same guy.  We have very much in common – his first name is my middle name!  And when I was at the ‘U,’ I bought all my goodies at Harvard Market!  😉 ]

[If you rub his left shoe, you supposedly increase your IQ by 10 points.  Didn’t work for me?  I fact, I was ticketed for malingering.]

[Views around the Yard.]

[I believe still in the Harvard Yard area, but who knows.]

[See above.]

[See above, also.  Being Harvard, the residents were bright enough to realize cannons are most effective when pointed outward.]

[Radcliffe, a women’s college, before it became part of Harvard.  I believe now it is a church.]

[Turning onto Brattle Street where we were told the elites of the elite reside.]

[One of the average size homes on the street.  You know, you’re not really considered rich until your servants have servants.]

[And historical sites . . .]

[The Longfellow house.  Norma Longfellow was many times club champion at the Alexandria Golf Club.]

[The bus driver’s favorite.]

[Some place of historical significance.  All I can remember was the fellow passenger was from Chicago.  But we were on the way to . . .]

[Lexington, where the Minutemen apparently had something to do with the commencement of the Revolutionary War.  When a young America told they Brits they were overcharging for the cable rights to Monty Python’s Flying Circus all heck broke loose.  This is Munroe Tavern, a famous meeting place for the Minutemen, where it was reported the meetings actually lasted several minutes.]

[Entering Lexington.  It’s no problem unless you’re wearing a “redcoat.”  (Little historical humor there.)]

[The visitor center . . .]

[Where this monster tree stands guard.  I wasted about an hour trying to find it on the internet.  I seem to recall the bus driver said it was some type of beech or birch tree?]

[Buckman Tavern, whose import will be noted a few photos hence.]

[THE Minuteman, on Lexington Common.]

[Meanwhile, across the street at the aforementioned Buckman Tavern . . .]

[Back shot toward town.]

[Recall that these photos may be supersized by double clicking on them – thus making them readable!  😉 ]

[On the road to Concord, the Minuteman Trail.]

[Supersize it!]

[Where we were reading the two monuments above.  Just pull off on the roadside.]

[Along the Battle Road Trail between Lexington and Concord.  A rest stop for Minutemen on the move.]

[A major ambush site for the Minutemen.  Before the construction of the road from which I am taking this photo, this was apparently the easiest place for the Redcoats to cross this “raging river” – so the Minutemen just waited for them here.]

[By the ambush site on the way into Concord.]

[Some famous person’s house . . . I guess?  Kim Kardashian’s?]

[The Wayside, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s home.]

[Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House]

[See?]

[Cemetery]

[Would have liked to eat here!  😉 ]

[“The bullet hole house.”]

[See?  Apparently this guy liked to take pot shots at the Redcoats from inside his house.  Someone finally fired back.]

[The Old Manse – will be explained soon!]

[The supervisor is walking to the North Bridge.  Uffda (the kind word for it), it was cold!  Somehow cold seems even colder in the absence of snow?]

[The Old Manse is in the background.]

[The North Bridge.]

[The supervisor on the North Bridge.  We were in danger of losing extremities to frost bite.]

[The Old Manse explained.]

[See?]

[The huddled masses returning to the warmth of the bus.]

[And with some flunky tourist.]

Thus concludes “Boston, Part I.”  We will return to Beantown and present the rest of the story in the next . . . well, story.  We apologize for the delay – and for any inconveniences this may have created for you.