alexandriacardinals

January 1

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

[In the annals of cruising with the Super, this will long be known as the day of the sunrise . . . and of the sunset . . . ]

[It was also New Year’s Day, the Super’s 73rd birthday . . . ]

[And here comes the sunrise . . . ]

[As the first tender heads to shore . . . ]

[Here comes the sunrise . . . ]

[May we have total silence please?]

[No discussion necessary . . . ]

[But there’s Cabo (we’re on a first name basis) . . . ]

[We’re on a tender now . . . ]

[All hail the Viking Sun . . . ]

[And the cloud formation looks like a blue mountain . . . ]

[How much do you think Viking would pay to use this as a promotional photo?]

[Touristas galore . . . ]

[The blue mountain is still there and  lookin’ good . . . ]

[Looks like another ship beat us to the “A list” parking spot . . . ]

[Yes, a major vacation destination . . . ]

[Looks like it’s going to be a nice day . . . ]

[A Viking Sun tender already at the dock . . . ]

[And here we are – our friends Jack and Joanne took this photo from an adjoining tender (obviously) . . . ]

[On shore, a ready supply of Ambien, pain killers, and Viagra & Cialis?]

[This wasn’t our coach . . . ]

[But this is Libby . . . ]

[The Pink Kitty was just a drive by . . . ]

[Our energetic, enthusiastic guide (whose name escapes me) leads us on a 30-minute bus ride up the coast to San Jose del Cabo . . . ]

[And these are the views along the way.  Yes, it’s arid here . . . ]

[As previously noted, this is a vacation destination with lots of upscale new construction underway . . . ]

[San Jose del Cabo is a little slower paced with more original culture stuff . . . ]

[We’re still in the holiday season, of course . . . ]

[Felix Navidad!]

[MIssion de San Jose . . . ]

[There goes the Super, but a service was in session . . . ]

[From the church overlooking the square . . . ]

[A commercial street . . . ]

[An artsy shop . . . ]

[No interpretation necessary . . . ]

[Looking back up the street toward the square . . . ]

[Again, no interpretation necessary . . . ]

[A really neat little hotel . . . ]

[We could stay here with the little outdoor court and pool . . . ]

[It’s an artsy place . . . ]

[In fact, here’s a gallery . . . ]

[And here’s a hotel on the square (being renovated) . . . ]

[Named after my mother . . . ]

[And Feliz Navidad from the Super . . . ]

[Heading back to Cabo San Lucas, which is at the very tip of the Baja California peninsula.  San Jose del Cabo is just north on the eastern side of the peninsula . . . ]

[I must have liked this structure . . . ]

[An indigenous eatery . . . ]

[Newer and upscale – there are several golf courses, hotels and condos, with several under construction, between the two locations . . . ]

[Back in Cabo, the port and the tourist attractions . . . ]

[A known quantity . . . ]

[The Super got a cool beverage . . . ]

[And a shot in the sun . . . ]

[People watching with chow . . . ]

[The boat friends who took this were from Kansas City . . . ]

[Already forgotten their names . . . ]

[Where we noshed – I’d give it an indifferent review . . . ]

[The tenders are lined up . . . ]

[But we’re taking an apres-dining walk around the harbor . . . ]

[Kinda busy . . . ]

[Water fowl . . . ]

[Water fish . . . ]

[A barber pole . . . ]

[The big fish, again . . . ]

[Water boards . . . ]

[I forgot the import of the display . . . ]

[We are obviously tendering back to the ship . . .

[I was glad – it was a hot, sunny day and I was pooped . . . ]

[As we begin approaching the aforementioned sunset . . . ]

[Parasailing between the rocks . . . ]

[Too cool!]

[We’re on board ship, and here comes another one of our tenders . . . ]

[They unloaded, and then hauled it up for storage right under our room . . . ]

[Approaching the highlights of the sunset . . . ]

[The tenders keep coming . . . ]

[Here we go!]

[Such a day!]

[Ending with the Super’s birthday party . . . ]

[In a one-table private room . . . ]

[Thanks to Joanne and Jack for the arrangements . . . ]

I get pretty much all the exercise I need walking down airport concourses carrying bags.  ~  Guy Clark

Up Next:  Close to the end of the cruise . . .

New Year’s Eve

December 31

[This was Rita’s 75th birthday, the day before the Super’s.  We were hoping for a big birthday double header . . . ]

[By now you should have gotten the hint that it was another beautiful sunrise . . . ]

[It’s a holiday, so the ship was in full PAR-TAY mode . . . ]

[Party central for the afternoon was the Main Pool and Wintergarden . . . ]

[Shooting from Wintergarden out to the Main Pool . . . ]

[Sometimes there are just too many choices . . . ]

[Maybe I saw it out there?]

[The Super’s probably looking for ice . . . ]

[Oh my!!!!!!]

[Oh my!!!!!!]

[Let’s go to class to find out what this New Year’s celebration thing is all about . . . ]

[You may have seen Dr. Lori on TV?  She was a hoot . . . ]

[Joined by Heather for a toast . . . ]

[And so on with the show . . . ]

[Nothing for “commando”?]

[Checking the Atrium before dinner . . . ]

[A toast to the Trio . . . ]

[Happy New Year!!]

[And now for fine dining in Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant . . . ]

[The Viking Bar in the Atrium.  That’s Ibe May on the right.  We had never seen nor met her before this photo.  We advised her she was in the photo – she said she photo-bombed us, identified herself in the photo, and requested to be Facebook friends.  We still hear from her in that mode because she continued on the world cruise – she’s still on the ship, somewhere past India now, eventually ending in London.  I can’t imagine still being on the ship, now three months since we disembarked!  I mean, don’t you eventually run out of underwear?  (Side note, and it’s true:  When I stood up here, my pants fell down.)]

You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.  ~  Yogi Berra

Up Next:  Still cruising . . .

At Sea

December 29

And now three days at sea as we begin the long trek to our final two destinations:  Cabo San Lucas and Los Angeles.

[These are actually welcome days from the hustle and bustle of daily port visits . . . ]

[Hard to beat a hot dog by the pool . . . ]

[With a pro basketball game on TV – from Turkey . . . ]

[Then on to fine dining . . . ]

[Dinner?  Already?  It appears this was our first time at the “special” The Chef’s Table restaurant.  Reservations and pearl necklaces required . . . ]

[Something tasty . . . ]

[Something funny . . . ]

[A different wine for every course . . . ]

[The wines are stacking up – I was having trouble keeping up . . . ]

[Then up to the Explorers’ Lounge for a little late evening entertainment with . . . ]

[Yup, you guessed it!]

December 30

[Day 2 at sea – we’re here because this fellow’s T-shirt read “Follow me I know where the wine is” . . . ]

[A much calmer day . . . ]

[How about a class?]

I much prefer travelling in non-British ships.  There’s none of that nonsense about women and children first.  ~  Somerset Maugham

Up Next:  The next place the ship stops . . .

April 1

Lest you haven’t been keeping score, this is the 1,000th posting on this blog!  By a show of hands, how many of you have seen all of them?  Really?  OK, let’s go back to the beginning, from the “about” column . . . 

“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.

So let the celebration begin!!!

The first blog posting was on January 2, 2011.  I have averaged a post every three days since then – more often than George Will, but not quite at the Tweeter-in-Chief’s pace.  Now all I have to do is reduce seven years of blogging into a single comprehensive celebrative post.  Good luck with that.  In fact, here are the responses I got back regarding that possibility  . . . 

From Jami . . .

From Kathy . . . 

From Jo . . . 

From Cliff and Bonnie . . . 

From Cameron . . . 

And it all started when . . . 

Accordingly, it was seen fit that I receive an award – well, a piece of paper – for maintaining the longest running blog on the SW shore of beautiful Lake Darling . . .

I received a congratulatory handshake from Robert Reich . . . 

The Super also got an award for putting up with all this . . . 

Even Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar checked in . . . 

And Bill Clinton . . . 

Jo expressed herself on the top of my head . . . 

Scarlett brought champagne . . . 

I brought champagne . . . 

LT gave thumbs up . . .

(Her 1,000 career point . . . )

Willie’s bewildered . . . 

And Barb expressed her concerns . . .

The Cub Reporter’s Blog Reports

On family, it’s been good . . . 

Jami and Danny moved in for a couple years while they prepared The Harn for habitation . .

Grandson Tom graduated from high school . . . 

Then from Purdue with Celia . . . 

Then moved to Colorado to begin their careers . . . 

Uncle Mo got his citizenship . . . 

I had a couple of major birthdays . . . 

The Super got a new car . . . 

I got to drive Jami’s . . . 

On health, got new eyes . . . 

And ear obstructions removed . . .

So now just sit on my ass whenever I can . . .

We made our first trip ever to Worthington where Mom grew up . . . 

I flew over the “new” hole on the golf course and our home on beautiful Lake Darling . . . 

Lake Darling . . .

Home, Sweet, Home . . . 

We went to Colorado for Auntie Pearl’s 90th birthday . . . 

Above with her five sons; below with two large nephews . . . 

And we celebrated my 50th class reunion . . . 

With classmates of surprisingly the same age . . .

The boys reprise 50 years ago . . .

As noted in the intro, Cardinals . . . 

First, at Jefferson High School . . .

Then Alexandria Area High School in 2014 . . . 

And I made the first stage performance there . . . 

To an audience of one . . .

Then Jefferson was demolished . . . 

Where Jefferson used to be . . .

So, to coverage . . . 

With Abby, whose hockey team got us rolling down this course . . . 

And with hockey moms . . .

And Super Fans who would go to cross-country meets with sub-zero wind chills . . .

To follow the multiple times state champions . . . 

The last volleyball game at Jefferson . . . 

And then the first game at the new high school . . .

And “The Voice” took photos of the event during his broadcast . . . 

Going to all the state tournaments . . . 

With required dining at Cossetta’s . . . 

Homecoming parades . . .

The internationally renowned . . . 

The also renowned Noonan’s Park . . . 

The 36-straight free throws made on Mom’s birthday . . .

And yet I still shoveled and schlepped out the garbage . . . 

And, we traveled – “to far away places with strange sounding names” . . .

Prague . . . 

Somewhere on a river . . .

Somewhere on a bench . . .

Canada?  With the Super’s sister Rita, our natural traveling companion . . .

Montreal . . . 

Anne of Green Gables . . .

John A. Macdonald, the Abraham Lincoln of Canada . . . 

St. Lawrence River . . . 

“Anatomical” background feature in Canada . . .

Paris, from the top of the Arc de Triomphe . . .

Camp Brosius . . . 

Quebec (I think) . . . 

Ephesus . . .

Istanbul . . .

Mykonos . . .

Sorrento . . .

Rome . . .

Pisa . . .

Florence . . . 

Cannes (I think?) . . . 

Some place famous . . . 

Venice . . . 

It’s all 50 states, and I believe 35 countries . . . 

Occasionally, you get covered by the local paper . . .

Occasionally, there are issues . . . 

On the arts . . . 

The high school’s annual Christmas concert, of the combined choirs and orchestra . . . 

Carlos Creek Winery . . . 

Skilly & Duff, a/k/a Annie, Bruce, and Mikko . . .

Theatre L’Homme Dieu . . .

The winery . . .

Rice Park, St. Paul . . . 

The winery . . . 

Bruce . . .

AAAA, a/k/a Andria Theatre . . . 

Lisa Lynn . . . 

Paul Drinkwine . . . 

Dan Mahar . . . 

MOTU . . . 

Patchouli . . .

The Salty Dogs . . . 

Harper’s Chord . . . 

Josie Nelson . . .

BAT . . . 

Anthony and Jim Miltich . . . 

What can I say . . . 

Local coaches of note at the winery . . .

Terry Kennedy . . .

Julie and Matt Velline . . . 

Anthony . . . 

The winery . . .

The Cheese Bots . . .

Mel Lamar Trio . . .

Tucker’d Out . . .

Mikko . . . 

The Super in Lakes Area Radio Theatre . . .

SAWA, farewell . . .

On fine dining . . . 

On wunderkinds, Spencer and Sami . . . 

And Josie . . . 

On Authors, Jess Lourey . . . 

Kent Nerburn . . . 

Barb Grover . . . 

Wendy Webb . . . 

Jay Tunney . . . 

William Kent Krueger . . . 

Carl Hiaasen . . .

Anna Quindlen . . . 

Mike Troy . . .

Cathy Wurzer . . . 

And Western Minnesota newspapers . . . 

On fine stuff . . .

Granted, it’s just a diary – but . . . 

Right, Jami?

It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.  ~  Robert Benchley

Up Next:  Back to regular broadcasting . . .