alexandriacardinals

November 17

[On this morning, Jami and Lucky us to take up full time residence at “the Harn.”  I had to soothe the Super by reminding her they would only be two hours north of us.]

[ . . . so she loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly . . . Harn?]

[THE HARN OR BUST!]

[Later the same day . . . ]

[The Boys of ’65 got together for out monthly lunch and “I forgot all about that!” session – at the O-Town Tavern in Osakis.]

November 18

. . . the day the Earth stood still!

[Yup, the day before we had been in spring jackets in the continuing mild autumn.  So this 10 inches landed directly on top of as yet unfrozen ground.]

[Beautiful, but still a shock to our yet unwinterfied senses.]

November 19

. . . the aftermath.

[It was a very wet snow and its weight turned evergreen trees into folded umbrellas.  Many limbs were lost throughout the area.  We were lucky the branches we still supple (not frozen) or we could have lost a lot more.]

[Nevertheless, we did trundle forth that evening.]

[The Cheese Bots were at SAWA . . . ]

[Both guitar players are from Mpls and they said it was a tough drive after they got to Freeport.]

[Hi!  Don David!]

November 20

FOOTLOOSE!!

[As we posted on FB:  Jeanne and Ken Howell were sitting in front of us. At intermission, Ken just turned around and said, “Wow!” Pretty much sums it up for me. Kudos to everybody involved in this big time production! The kids never cease to amaze me . . . their singing and dancing are always beyond expectations, but this time even their acting really stood out. Word must have gotten out . . . this afternoon’s matinee appeared to be a near sell out in the 1,000 seat auditorium. Oh, and we must give a shout out to Josie Nelson, who we’ve followed since her “early” years and has been oft featured in my blog, for her eye popping performance as Ariel.]

For those of you who cannot be with family this Thanksgiving, please resist the urge to brag.  ~  Andy Borowitz

Up Next:  Thanksgiving.

May 7

~ THE LAST DAY

It’s over!  It’s done!  This is it!  It only took 6 months to blog a 3-week trip.  I guess I’m just slowing down my old age.  Hope you enjoyed the show?

[We left the hotel with Pam and Tom early in the morning just to say good-bye.  They were staying a bit longer, and at this time taking the train out to see tulips.  A bit later the Super and I would be taking a taxi to the airport.]

[Good-bye!]

[The long Minnesota good-bye!]

[There’s their metro stop.]

[Yeah, good-bye already!]

[The metro map from our station.]

[I have no idea where they were going . . . but I think they did, and that’s what’s important.]

[Pam’s parting shot.  Good-bye!]

[The Super and I went for a little neighborhood walk and saw a duck.  He didn’t speak English.]

[We walked the canal path to the first crossover and then came back.  Pretty exciting!]

[Back to the station just in time to see Tom and Pam board.  Good-bye!]

[And before you know it, we were airborne.]

[I’m not sure where we’re over here . . . but I can tell it’s land.]

[We seem to be getting higher . . . and no, we did not buy any marijuana.]

[Ahhh, the mighty Mississippi and Home Sweet Home.]

Parting Shots

[And thanks be again to our travel agent!]

[We will feature here Pam’s overall trip photos, because on several of the occasions . . . I’m on the subject side of the camera!  Ha!  This will be a quick synopsis (OK, maybe not so quick) beginning with Budapest, our first dinner on the town.]

[Then the day trip to Szentendre.]

[We never met a wine cave that we didn’t like.]

[When lost, follow the tracks!]

[Then heading back to Budapest – with a sunburn!]

[And a couple of days just roaming around “B” town.  May the art by with you.]

[My lost watch was left right there, to my left, on the bench . . . ]

[And just to the right of the Super.]

[OMG, Kim Kardashian!!]

[We’ve been framed!]

[Stairway to heavenly.]

[Eye on the prize . . . ]

[Creeping down the alleyway.]

[General milling around.]

[“Budapest” . . . so our pursuit was successful!]

[Came disguised as American tourists.]

[On the boat, down the river . . . ]

[Here’s lookin’ at you, kids!]

[The professor and I share in the Medicare health plan doctrine that an older person should never pass up an opportunity to be goofy.]

[Feed me!]

[Appears to be Vienna but don’t hold me to it.  It was a long time ago.]

[Always remove your camera over the top of your head . . . although occasionally I come close to losing an ear.]

[Outside was too cold . . . we moved in.]

[Oh, you silly boys!]

[Oh, you silly girls!]

[Vienna was the coldest day.]

[This is all just so much fun!]

[Little were aware that this gave me x-ray vision . . . ]

[Time once again for brats, potato salad, sauerkraut und beer.  I love it!]

[Leaving the bus for a walking tour of . . . well, I remember the place if not the name at the moment.]

[Finally, an outdoor place to eat and drink . . .]

[In Bamberg.]

[Meanwhile back on the boat, no doubt discussing the relevance string theory in a world of cupcakes.]

[We’re in a lock.  But they promised to release us when we got to the top.]

[Synchronize your watches and be back here at the same time a week from Tuesday.]

[Does your dog bark German?]

[A tree hugger’s tree hugger.]

[Little did we know it was a crime to hug a tree.]

[Why yes, a burger and fries for lunch sounds great!]

[In the absence of escalators . . . ]

[Our destination induced bouts of acrophobia and claustrophobia.]

[Brats, potato salad, sauerkraut, und beer . . . ]

[The longer than we thought hike back to the boat.]

[So, three Minnesota Democrats walk in to a bar . . . well, a wine bar . . . ]

[Tom’s place of employment 46 years ago as a freshly-minted lieutenant.]

[Front rows seats on a river cruise . . . hard to beat!]

[ . . . and then the Hapsburg Empire collapsed.]

[Mustard, please.]

[All managed to escape the continent before Interpol intervened.]

[Just me and my Mae West!]

[Happy Birthday, Tom!  The Big Six Nine!]

[All hail the Master Lock!]

[Pretzels and beer!  Woo-woo!]

[Brat and kraut!  Woo-woo!]

[Until we meet again . . . ]

[Watch out for the deer in the river!]

[Amsterdam]

[So, good-bye . . . from Budapest again?]

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.  ~  Susan Heller

And always remember . . .

Up Next:  Winter sports season or . . .

May 6

~ Amsterdam

[Our last full day on the continent, we began the morning waiting for the metro to go into the city.  This was the little park across the street from our hotel . . . ]

[And this is our hotel from the metro stop.]

[We’re in town now, walking down some streets familiar from the previous day.  The Professor recognized immediately these were not the right size . . . ]

[As did the Super.]

[Photo by Pam]

[Not my fault . . . we just kept running into it.  Seemed like a deal?]

[The Super and Pam scoping out the alternative vegetation.]

[The clock tower above the open air market.]

[3 shoes = 6?  Maybe that’s the new math people have been talking about?]

[Pam shooting the city map for future reference purposes.  Lots of water around here – looks like Lake Minnetonka.]

[Speaking of diamonds, the last time we were in the Netherlands we got lost in Antwerp.]

[From Wikipedia:  Pathé Tuschinski is a movie theater commissioned in 1921. The interior and exterior are a spectacular mix of styles, as designed by Hijman Louis de Jong; Amsterdam School, Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco. The main auditorium hosts many premieres of Dutch films. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful cinemas in the world.

The building contains Asian influences while the lobby was designed in a way to offer theatergoers the feeling that they are stepping into an illusion. The Tuschinski’s main auditorium has served as both a movie theater and a live performance space since its opening. In addition to a film screen, it also contains a stage and an organ.

When it first opened, the theater contained electro-technical features, then considered revolutionary. Its unique heating and ventilation system kept the temperature even throughout the building. In 1940 a Wurlitzer- Strunk theatre organ was installed, consecutively to a Wurlitzer model 160.]

[Tom and Pam took the theater tour – they said it was well worth it.  The Super and I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather by walking the neighborhood.]

[I did stay long enough for the Free Hug!  (Photo by Pam)]

[Back on the street again, the now familiar clock tower.]

[Restaurant rows encircle the soon to be seen sculpture square.]

[And here it is . . . ]

[Featuring some guy who was famous in an artsy field.]

[Well, the Super was in a military logistics command!]

[Where we were . . . this is all just a block (or was it two) from the theater where we left Tom and Pam.]

[We were the early birds and had our choice of seating early on.  But the crowds built up fast, including tour walking groups coming from boats similar to ours.]

[Do-si-do and allemande left . . . ]

[And more restaurants . . . ]

[And the Super got me here!]

[Theater and square hopping done, we’re back on the canal boats.]

[Here’s one of the “hop on, hop off” stops.]

[Passing by the Basilica of St. Nicholas.]

[And saying good-bye to the Basilica.]

[“The Lady in Shades” will now be internationally-renowned as a result of this blog post.]

[The Basilica is now in the receding distance.]

[The bridge I could find nowhere in a search of “images of Amsterdam waterway bridges” – go figure?]

[Do you remember this from the previous day’s adventures?]

[Really too bad we didn’t have a nice day?]

[The classic Amsterdam canal photo?]

[Ye old lift bridge]

[National Opera and Ballet, again]

[Not something you see on the side of most homes.]

[Photographing a photographer who is photographing . . . ]

[A couple sitting on a sofa on a canal pontoon.]

[Oy, we’re back at Rembrandt Square again?]

[Never pass up a photo op.]

[Tennis, anyone?]

[Advertising, anyone?]

[Club Nasty . . . named in honor of Hillary?]

[A mural in Rembrandt Square . . . ]

[Oh, we came back to show Pam and Tom!]

[And remember those black tulips of Koblenz?]

[That looks like a river cruise tour group there now.]

[Now that’s how to advertise!]

[And this, too?]

[From Wikipedia:  Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (14 January 1798 – 4 June 1872) was a Dutch politician and statesman of liberal signature, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century.  In 1848 he virtually single-handedly drafted the revision of the Constitution of the Netherlands, giving less power to the king, and more to the States General of the Netherlands.]

[And this is his plaza.]

[The leaning lamppost of Amsterdam.]

[Say no more, say no more . . .]

[The ubiquitous bikes, the ubiquitous canal bridges, the ubiquitous tourists in the ubiquitous canal boats.]

[This was May 7th . . . was the graffiti prescient?]

[Back at the EYE Film Museum . . . ]

[And the bike parking ramp . . .]

[And a good time was being had by all . . . ]

[And appears to be part of Central Station . . . ]

[And the Sea Palace . . . yes, a lot of doubling up, but it was a beautiful day for a boat ride. ]

[A black house on a corner – a coffee shop, perchance?]

[Art]

[A boat stop]

[Now we’re coming to signs of the previous night’s Independence Day celebration (remember May 5th) . . .]

[As we go under the lift bridge . . . ]

[The “under” part of going under . . . ]

[And here’s where it all took place.  Of course, we didn’t know anything about it until we got back to the hotel the previous night.  We turned on the TV, channeled surfed, and discovered the Netherlands’ version of “A Capitol Fourth.”  A major stage production with a full orchestra, an emcee, and singers all dolled up in their “Sunday finest.”  A terrific program . . . and maybe we got the Capitol Fourth idea from them?]

[The lights and scaffolding were coming down.]

[An artsy non-focus shot?]

[More scaffolding from the previous night . . . ]

[Amstel Hotel]

[And again, a 5-star hotel and thus out of out league.]

[Catching rays]

[That’s either a bird’s nest . . . or what may happen if you flush floss through the sewer system.]

[They make a beverage of some sort.]

[No, I don’t know her.]

[More beer . . . ]

[And the Rijksmuseum, again.]

[It says it’s a gymnasium.]

[The American Cafe is in sight . . . ]

[And here it is.]

[And American Hotel . . . I guess all the same franchise.]

[Back in Dam Square.]

[Then we took a last metro ride to the end of the line we hadn’t been on yet.]

[And a windmill was sighted on downtown Amsterdam on our return trip.]

[And back downtown – there’s the Super!]

[A hotdog stand?  We did not partake.]

[Back at our hotel, this was our room.  We thought it pretty spiffy!]

[Just some sights around wild and crazy Amsterdam on our last day there. We ate our last meal at a Chinese restaurant around the corner from our hotel that featured “afhaal” service?]

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.  ~ James Michener

Up Next: The end?

This is an homage to our Cardinal football team.  A terrific season culminating in the first state tournament appearance since 2002.  The 9 – 2 final record will stand tall, with an offensive team as diverse and exciting as any you will see on the high school level. 

First, a plug for the arts . . .

November 10

[The Super’s final mow – it’s November and the grass is still green, for Pete’s sake!]

November 11

Basketball Dan and I reprised our glorious days of yesteryear when we were footloose and fancy free, i.e., single guys with disposable income!

[FB:  Old guys selfies! I mean, seriously, who has more fun? We’re at the inaugural game at NDSU’s Sheels Center last night. Dan, of course, has seen games at every Division I basketball school (347, I believe). Now he returns to check off new facilities.  This year he has two – this one last Friday night and Saturday night he soloed at the University of South Dakota’s new arena.]

[Because I know there are a lot of Bison fans in this area!]

[The view from row P.]

[Some day I’ll be able to tell my grandkids I was there for the first game.  Oh yeah, I already have a grandkid, and he’s 23.]

[Go, Bison!  They won, we left a bit early to . . . ]

[Visit the Fargodome, where the lobby was littered with dozens of Christmas trees . . . ]

[And the field was littered with the remains of the state high school football games.  This was the last one, in Class AAA (the biggest), between two Bismarck schools.  A school from Bismarck won.]

[The “Great One” checking out seating lest he ever return.  He has seen games at every Division I football school, too.]

November 12

[And now for Minnesota’s state high school football tournament.  Our Cardinals, unfortunately, drew the team that has been rated No. 1 in Class AAAAA (the 2nd biggest) all year, the undefeated Elk River Elks with a average victory margin of 36 points per game.]

[Something was amiss, immediately noticed by Barb Flaig as she passed our seating area.  The Cards were shortchanged in program!]

[Our Cards, in visitor white, led by Micah Christenson (22) take the field at St. Cloud State.]

[Still tied, 4 1/2 minutes before the game started.]

[Still no score . . . ]

[We kicked off.  Elk River, as they have against everybody all year, marched down the field and scored.  They run the old T-formation offense, never pass, rely on deception (hard to tell who has the ball), and a terrific offensive line.  Anyway, here are Spencer Hockert (84) and Cody Faber (33), back after missing the last two games, back to receive the kickoff – neither were listed in the program.]

[Quintin Kluver-Longfellow (30), a linebacker, made a nice return.  He also was not listed in the program.]

[Jaran Roste (1), and in the program!, with Micah await the first Cardinal snap.]

[And a pass to the right flank.  Early on I could tell our receivers could get open – so it was just making the plays.]

[We had some near misses, some dropped passes early, and some turnovers . . . ]

[Our inability to continue drives in the 1st half led to a big problem . . . the Elks scored every time they had the ball.]

[This may have been the play where Cody caught a pass on the left sidelines and took it all the way for a TD . . . ]

[And we went for the two, an option from Jaran to Micah.]

[We had our only lead in the game.]

[The Elks scored again, and again, and had a 23 – 8 lead.  Their ease of running up the middle regularly was likely aided by the absence of our nose tackle, Dan Oberg (75), for the third straight game.  At least Dan made the program!]

[Here’s a nice kickoff return by Cody . . . ]

[Our best chance to make it a game occurred right in front of where we were sitting.  Spencer was cutting into the end zone where he was tripped.  The pass appeared to be on target but now the only upright player in the vicinity was an Elk, who intercepted.  It would have made the score 23 – 15 and possibly game on.  The Elks scored again.  We looked like we had a big play going early on our next series, but the pass was bobbled, then dropped for a fumble and the Elks scored again on a short field.  The game was essentially over. We left at the half . . . because it’s dark at night and we don’t like to drive in the dark (OK, it would have been just as dark at the end of the game, but the late start, 8:00, meant a late end.)  We listened to the game on the way home.  The Cards got their big play offense going (we could always move the ball) in the 2nd half making the final score 60 – 36 (at least more points than anyone had scored against the Elks all year).  A Big Congrats to the team again.  A really fun and exciting season.  Now let the winter sports seasons begin!]

November 13

[Three months are up . . . time for another wine pick up.]

 

[It’s a par-tay!  And tastings of 4 wines, with Thanksgiving hors d’oeuvres to be featured further down the page.]

[Ruth Hill and Tom Obert signed in on the winery’s debut, July 31, 1999.]

[Can you find us?]

[Professor Miltich was once again the entertainment.  He sang “Suzanne” for the first time as I can recall and, of course, “Hallelujah” as we bid our final farewells to Leonard Cohen.]

[Our box of three – the every three-month price for membership in the wine club.]

[And, of course, the well-practiced “Piano Man” choreography.]

[Mid-November.  Minnesota.  Bright and sunny and 60+ degree.  People were leaving early to go home to fire up the convertible.]

[Our hors d’oeuvres, mashed potato martinis with fixings and pumpkin dessert.]

[As we leave, a beautiful day in the neighborhood.]

[Swans . . . ]

[And the Super Moon!]

November 14

[Ta-ta!!]

Baseball players are smarter than football players.  How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?  ~  Jim Bouton

Up Next:  Amsterdam (I hope).