alexandriacardinals

Of the regular season, May 19

So, we interrupt our regularly scheduled cruise reports to bring you at no additional expense, Senior Night

[We had terrific teams in all sports this spring. But thanks to the two worst weather months in recorded history I have so far only made it to one and a half softball games. OK, there were some scheduling conflicts and trips involved with that too.  On the morning of this game against the Willmar Cardinals, we actually had a SUNrise.  They have been few far between this spring.  Once again digital could not capture the incredible orange sky.]

[The house is for sale, BTW.  Are you looking for 151′ of lakeshore on the Chain?]

[I arrived at the ballpark and shot the school as the back drop to the JV field.]

[The game.  Shortstop Emma Ziegler led off – she had always batted 2nd in previous games covering the team.  Zig’s a switch-hitter – if she’s batting lefty, she’ll likely try to bunt for a hit . . . ]

[As she does here.]

[Batting 2nd is 2nd baseman Allison O’Kane.  She has been moved back to her old position after catching in at least the 1st game I covered.]

[Batting 3rd and hitting about .600 is 1st baseman Ellie Ronning.]

[I should point out here that Zig was out on a one-hopper to the pitcher; Allison singled (and stole 2nd as you see her here); and Ellie grounded out here.]

[Centerfielder Calley Richardson batting 4th singled; then with 2 outs 3rd baseman McKenzie Revering (14 below) lined the first pitch into leftcenter for a double, driving in two runs . . . ]

[On 2nd after her double.]

[This appears to be leftfielder Sydney Christenson (2) with a grounder to short.]

[And there’s a clear view of the number “2.”]

[And somehow we’re back to Allison again.  The only reason I may have missed a few batters is because my hands were frozen to the camera.  Did I mention fans at the game were wearing parkas and were wrapped in blankets?  I think it was warmer in February?]

[And back to Ms. Ronning who looked at a couple of pitches she didn’t particularly care for before she lined a single to right.]

[Then Calley, who I missed on the first go round.]

[She had 3 hits so this must have been one of them taking it the other way.]

[Then pitcher Kendra Hardy dodged a couple of inside pitches.]

[Then took a swat at one more to her liking.]

[Back to Zig, who I believe grounded  single up the middle here.]

[Rounding 3rd and heading for home is a brown-eyed handsome girl . . . ]

[OK, I’ve used that before – but it’s a great lyric from a great song, John Fogarty’s Centerfield.]

[Allison gets good “metal” on one.]

[One of my better sports shots if I do say so myself.  But it’s luck.  At least 1/3 of my softball photos are out of focus as result of having to shoot through chain link.  So here’s Ellie, in full extension, and the guys standing next to me (including Rev’s dad) said it’s out of here (she has hit 2 grand slams in one game earlier) . . . ]

[1st base coach Mitch Loch thought the same, but the wind knocked it down so Ellie had to settle for a mere double and probably a couple more RBI’s.]

[Then Calley drove her in.]

[Next was Rev, and since the game was 3 days ago I don’t recall what she did here?]

[Then Kendra hit and almost identical shot as Ellie’s to left field for a double.]

[Then finishing with Sydney . . . ]

[I left then to meet the Super at AAAA – always something going on, eh?  The final score was 12 – 2.  Our Cardinals are seeded 2nd in the sections and host Little Falls on Thursday.]

If softball was any easier, they’d call it baseball. ~  Jennie Finch (below)

Up Next:  Likely Canada

May 4

Montreal

[*  I have been to Canada many times, but this would be my first time in the Land Up Over east of Toronto.  In all those times, including this one, I have never heard a Canadian utter “eh.”  Thus, it will be retired from subsequent postings.  This trip would also be my first time, on the ground, in the Atlantic Time Zone, featuring PEI, Sydney, and Halifax.]

[I’m jumping the gun a bit here as we would not board the Holland America cruise ship Veendam for a couple more days as we intrepid travelers, The Biddies and I, wanted some quality time on our own in this city of first impression.]

[This is Old Montreal where we would spend two nights in an Airbnb loft.]

[But first, we had to get there.  Leaving MSP with the City of Minneapolis in the background.  Little did we know at the time this would be our last glimpse of sunshine for a while.]

[Why this shot?  Because no matter where you go, there you are . . . ]

[Except when uttered by Spicey.  ]

[Taxiing by Fort Snelling, Minnesota’s only defense against a hostile world.]

[And we’re airborne (not to be confused with the dietary supplement of the same name).]

[In the picture center, just this side of the Mississippi River hard by the Washington Avenue Bridge is the West Bank of the University of Minnesota.  One of the two taller buildings (I can’t remember which any more) is the Social Science Tower, where I spent most of my latter student years obtaining a geography degree so I could ultimately blog about visiting lands beyond the horizon.]

[There’s where the Golden Gophers play football, TCF Bank Stadium, a/k/a, “The Bank,” and the rest of the East Bank campus.]

[And here’s where the Vikings play football, U. S. Bank Stadium.  Are you noticing a trend?  There are ominous rumors that naming rights may be sold for venerable U of M facilities, Williams Arena for basketball and Mariucci Arena for hockey – no doubt some BANKS are interested.]

[This is the city.  Minneapolis, Minnesota.  (To be read in the Jack Webb Dragnet opening monotone.)]

[And now you know why DeLaSalle high school’s nickname is the Islanders.  That is Nicollet Island.]

[Flying away from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.]

[To the really big lakes, so big they’re called Great.]

[Looks like lakes abound in Quebec Province as well as me thinks we’re approaching Montreal.]

[Nope, not here.  I’m told Montreal has four airports and our destination is Trudeau.]

[That has every appearance of being the St. Lawrence River.]

[And there’s our destination city.  The “hill” on the near right side is Mount Royal, believed to  be the source of the city’s name.]

[It has an urban population of almost 2 million with a little over 4 million in the greater metropolitan area; second in size to Toronto in Canada.]

[This was our first view of our “home” street – it was love at first sight!]

[Just peeking around the corner from our loft is the river.]

[And looking up the hill away from the river.  Did I mention I love this place?]

[Across the street from our loft.]

[Now this could have started the trip on a really sour note.  The rainy weather was predicted for the entire trip . . . and then this is where we were staying.  Reetz looks a tad forlorn as we realize we were on the 4th floor, no elevators, with 57 stairs to climb with all this luggage!  Not good for people with already several years of Medicare coverage under their belts.  Fortunately, our Algerian taxi driver from the airport sensed we had issues and schlepped a couple of bags up for us.  Whatta guy!]

[We eventually got ourselves and the luggage up to the room, which while in a great location with a nice view, was basically furnished as an early 60’s dorm room.  And The Biddies’ sleuthing soon revealed that while the place looked neat, it wasn’t very clean. Airbnb subsequently received a nasty report.  Oh, and the open window was such on arrival – it was broken and had to be pulled closed by hand.]

[But this was our view . . . ]

[As was this, and we loved the neighborhood.]

[Doing the check list . . . ]

[No chairs, other than around the table.  The TV was on a table assembled with saw horses.  The a/c didn’t work – lucky we didn’t need it.  And the beds weren’t made and the linens were still in the dryer.]

[But hey, let’s get out on the street and look for some fine dining.  It looked like we were surrounded by such.]

[Stroll the cobble stone streets, checking the menus . . . ]

[And alighted here – it was late so we had the full attention of staff still on duty.]

[Vino and social media check]

[The issues of the day were being settled.]

[Greek salad . . . uh, huh.]

[Margherita pizza!!]

[Spaghetti bolognese for Reetz . . . love it, can’t eat it, gives my shirts the measles.]

[And from the other side of the table.]

[Where we ate, customers well satisfied . . . I even got a compliment on my French (well, a couple of limited sentences).]

[On the walk back home, few people realize I was the original model in these ads and still receive trademark royalties . . . ]

[I tried to get the girls to model with the feminine attire.  They refused.]

A Canadian is ” someone who could make love in a canoe.”  ~  Pierre Berton

Up Next:  Well, it was a 12-day trip.

May 2

Because it’s been a while, the roster again . . .

[The Rocori Spartans were in warm-up drills when we arrived.  Beautiful at game time – hard to believe we had just survived the “blizzard” from the day before.]

[Cardinal captains and Coach Albers meet the Spartan contingent at home plate.  I believe they usual discuss apres game dining options.]

[The stealth photographer]

[And now the player introductions . . . ]

[Some times a player would come out when a name was called . . . ]

[Some times nobody came out?]

[The season has been replete with cancellations, postpones, and moves to neutral sites, such a Kissimmee, Florida, so I have only seen one game so far . . . ]

[Thus, I do not know all the players by face (or facial expression) . . . ]

[And though I do know many . . . ]

[It would not be fair to just introduce the ones I know . . . ]

[So you figure it out.]

[Our pitcher here is sophomore Kendra Hardy (13) . . . ]

[I believe we are still experimenting with pitching by committee . . . ]

[Kendra did fine for the first several innings . . . ]

[Comin’ right atcha!]

[Senior McKenzie Revering at 3rd . . . ]

[Senior Ellie Ronning (12) at 1st . . . ]

[Leading off for the Cardinals, junior catcher Allison O’Kane (9).]

[As a good leadoff hitter, she walked.]

[Senior shortstop Emma Ziegler (4) then sacrificed Allison to 2nd.]

[Then Ms. Ronning . . . ]

[Are you sure that was a strike?]

[No, the ump was not getting ready to strike her; he was merely calling a strike

[The swing!]

[Then she struck out?  Ellie is our best hitter and I don’t recall ever seeing her strike out before.  That’s when I had an idea this Rocori team was going to be tough.  Oh, and the up was not trying to grab her, he was trying to grab a ruffed grouse that has just flown through.]

[With Allison still at 2nd, I believe junior centerfielder Calley Richardson (15) then walked . . . ]

[Then Rev lined a first pitch single to left . . . ]

[An RBI, a first bump from Coach Mitch Loch, and the Cards were up 1 – 0.]

[I believe the Rocori pitcher then struck out the next two batters.]

[And now for the rest of the story.  The Spartan pitcher, senior Megan Gavin, is a real power pitcher, and she probably averages two strike outs per inning.  The Cards didn’t put the ball in play that much.  When I got home, I looked up the conference standings – Rocori is in first place and are undefeated on the season.]

[Though in her 2nd at bat, Ellie, likely still smarting from her 1st inning strike out, laced a single to right.]

[Here Calley takes a rip at a high outside pitch.  Our 1 – 0 to nothing lead held up until the top of the 3rd, then the Spartans took a 2 – 1 lead on a two-run homer.  A couple innings later, the Card got a little sloppy fielding and the Spartans blooped in 3 or 4 seeing-eye hits, and it was a 7 – 1.]

[A photo of the “deuces wild” scoreboard – meaning a lot of 2’s on it.  Brad and I left in the bottom of the 5th.  As old people, both of us were worried about things we couldn’t find when we got to the game and wanted to check on them – Brad found his smart phone in the car, I found my back-up camera battery and 10-punch fan pass when I got home.  The final score was 11 – 2.]

Sometimes the only thing fair in life, is a ball hit between 1st and 3rd.  ~  Anonymous

Up Next:  Reporting from somewhere on the St. Lawrence River.

January 30

Auckland

[Our last full day in the Lands Down Under awoke with the promise of more beautiful weather . . . ]

[So, we decided to do what all Aucklanders and tourists do in such situations . . . ]

[Hop a ferry to Waiheke Island!]

[Still early morning and I’m already wondering if 1,000,000 SPF sunscreen is going to ward off any bleaching effects of the sun today?]

[We headed out into the harbor, wary of the annual tub boat races in progress . . . ]

[Passing the New Zealand Navy on the starboard side.]

[Boats, people, and bridge cranes]

[Auckland looks lovely in a blue background.]

[The Biddies look lovely in a blue background.]

[The Mother of All Bridge Cranes looks lovely in a blue background.]

[Yo!  Your exhaust isn’t exactly environmentally friendly!]

[Maybe that’s why the two blue tugs are after him?]

[Bert and Kathy, with Auckland incidentally in the background.]

[As I recall, the Grosses took a bus trip out this far the previous day while The Biddies and me were hiking the city.]

[One room apartment, for rent.]

[It’s an SRO ferry crowd.]

[We sneak in three photos from the Super here as we appear to be closing in on Waiheke.]

[I believe we have a sighting.]

[Yes, there appears to be a human being on the highpoint.  I believe it’s part of the island’s sculpture trail.]

[Everybody shoots!]

[And there’s Auckland way back there in the distance.]

[Yup, here’s people on the sculpture trail.]

[Auckland’s still visible off the stern.]

[Just about there, the end (or beginning) of the sculpture trail . . . ]

[And here we are . . . ]

[So, what’s the deal:  Waiheke Island is in the Hauraki Gulf.  Its ferry-terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is 21.5 km (13.4 mi) from the downtown terminal in Auckland – measured on GPS by Fullers Ferry captains.  It is the second-largest island in the gulf, after Great Barrier Island.  It is the most populated island in the gulf, with nearly 8,730 permanent residents plus another estimated 3,400 who have second or holiday homes on the island.  It is New Zealand’s most densely populated island, with 95 people/km², and the third most populated after the North and South Islands.  It is the most accessible island in the Gulf, with regular passenger and car ferry services, a Waiheke-based helicopter operator, and other air links.  In November 2015, Waiheke Island received international attention when it was rated the fifth best destination in the world to visit in 2016 by Lonely Planet and also voted the fourth best island in the world in the Conde Nast Best Islands in the World List (Wikipedia).]

[Tourists begin swarming the island . . . ]

[Now we’re on a bus tour.  This is one of several beaches on the island, I believe Oneroa, which has a Little Oneroa Beach to the east separated by a cliff.  That seclusion apparently makes it an unofficial a clothing-optional beach – Little Palm Beach is officially a clothing-optional beach (they did not take us there).  For some reason that information always seems to catch my ear?]

[A small bay on the opposite side from the above beach.]

[Whoa, it appears we have discovered a winery.  We’ll be back!]

[But first we continued on to what I believe is the island’s biggest beach, Onetangi.]

[Two boats, four gulls, and a bikini]

[And we’ll be back to the beach, but next we went back to the aforementioned winery, which just happens to share a bus stop with the Museum of Waiheke.]

[The winery had priority – plus we were looking for some eats.]

[The Super took the next four shots of our assault up the hill.]

[And now I’m back – this is Tantalus Estate.]

[The crop . . . ]

[And in the facility, which did indeed have fine dining.  We were early enough to get a table for eight – luckily because they said they were totally booked for lunch.]

[Outdoor dining inside – it was perfect!]

[Brought back fond remembrances of SAWA’s wine lovers platter . . . ]

[And three thumbs up for their Pinot Gris!]

[After lunch at the winery, back to Onetangi Beach.  There go The Biddies.  I don’t do beaches – I’m allergic to sand in my shoes.]

[The Biddies are at water’s edge.]

[This north-facing beach is over a mile long.]

[The Biddies hand signal their return to the sanity of pavement.]

[Here’s our hop on – hop off bus, a driving force in the tourism industry.]

[We’re off the bus now as we hoped to walk in along the sculpture trail . . . ]

[More wine crop . . . ]

[Arrghhhh, but somehow we missed it?  Waiheke has become internationally known for the biennial Headland: Sculpture on the Gulf, an “outdoor sculpture exhibition set on a spectacular coastal walkway on Waiheke Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.”  It takes place towards the end of January until approximately mid February every other year. It was listed by the New York Times as no. 35 in its list of 46 must see places and events for 2013.  The sculpture walk attracts thousands of visitors to Waiheke, for example, more than 30,000 people walked the sculpture walk in 2013  (Wikipedia).  We looked for the trail, misread a sign obviously, and walked back to port along vinyards and assorted other natural habitat.]

[We’ve spotted our ultimate destination . . . ]

[So, this is what we actually walked.]

[Back to the port beach area.]

[Where there was an open-air art exhibit . . . ]

[Art, with models]

[Reetz takes it all in . . . ]

[Trying hard to walk and take pictures at the same time.]

[The Super got the next two as we pulled away from the island.]

[There’s that sculpture trail.  We were too far inland.]

[Arriving back in Auckland.  We had a discussion with the women in the photo, locals, on the way back.  They asked where we were from.  We said the U.S., Minnesota.  They knew of Minnesota as a place that was cold.  They asked what cities were there.  We said Minneapolis and St. Paul.  They had heard of them.   After a few minutes pause, I asked them how long it took them to learn how to drive on the wrong side of the road?]

[Yeah, really was too bad we didn’t have a nice day?]

[Walking through the local plaza mall on our way back to the hotel . . . ]

January 31

[The morning of our last day . . . ]

[We had time to go out for breakfast and spend our last couple hours in the “neighborhood.”]

[For some reason this place was of some interest for them?  And they certainly spent a lot of time in there while I sat outside and people watched.]

[This was a small plaza about halfway between the port and our hotel.  It was right outside Tiffany & Co.  When The Biddies came out, we ate a carryout breakfast on the plaza while the Super shot these photos of our entertainment – eventually stripped down to his diaper by his parents so he could run around in the fountains that went off randomly.]

[We began winging our way back to the Northern Hemisphere . . .  ]

February 1

[If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair . . . and regained the day we lost on the way over.]

[Yup, goin’ home.]

If it would not look too much like showing off, I would tell the reader where New Zealand is.  ~  Mark Twain 1897

Coming Soon:  Montreal to Boston, by boat!