alexandriacardinals

September 29

If it’s Homecoming, it’s fall . . . here are some examples.

[And The Biddies return to Camp Brosius, like swallows to Capistrano, for end of season clean-up, once again leaving this correspondent to fend for himself.]

[So I took solace in dining with high school classmates at Interlachen, where at my table, under the glass top, I discover a photo of my family from 1956?  I also discovered that Cindy Cupcake (CC), the restaurant greeter, is no more.  RIP, CC!]

September 30

[The day dawned foggy . .  ]

[I missed the day-before-the-game Hall of Fame luncheon for the first time – it was sold out!  But I made the annual evening performance of Jeans and Jewels, the fundraiser for School District 206 at Broadway Ballroom.  I again was shut out in all the prize categories – I assume it was because I don’t fit in my jeans anymore and jewelry has never been my thing.  That confluence of events conspired to make me have to relinquish my school district VIP parking permit?]

[So, I went to SAWA where I had indicated a desire to at least make a cameo appearance for Components.]

October 1

~ The parade

[Homecoming day also began in fog, and thus did the parade.  But not to worry.  We have a local ordnance that requires the weather to be beautiful for Homecoming.  I picked up classmate Brad with every intention of walking the parade as I always have.  Brad cannot walk for distance, so I planted him in front of Cowing Robards with the idea I would join the parade when it got to us.  No other class of ’65ers were ever sighted so I decided to just remain in the one spot for photo ops.]

[First around the corner were our Grand Marshals beginning with Kathryn LeBrasseur.]

[The school did call us to see if the Super’s VW convertible was available to ferry the dignitaries in the parade.  I had to explain that The Biddies had already used it to escape to eastern Wisconsin.  Fortunately, they did find appropriate vehicular conveyances.]

[Up next was my senior year high school principal, his first year as such.  He has been known to identify himself as “Wayne Elton, I survived the class of ’65.”]

[Then Tom Flaig, followed by his dad . . . ]

[Bill]

[I believe Barb and Bill are already using this as their FB profile photo.]

[Then the Homecoming Royalty, beginning with the king and queen.  I believe it likely you have seen Josie on these pages before.]

[The senior court]

[Micah, our starting halfback, was not riding but was on the street distributing candy.  We hoped he wasn’t wearing himself out before the game?]

[Frosh, sophs, and junior court]

[If you’re going to have a football game, you need a football team.]

[Not to mention a band!]

[The Super’s favorite cheer!]

[“Grease!”]

[Class of ’68]

[Let’s play hockey!]

[A big hit every year!]

[A “play” on words.]

[Woodland Elementary]

[Class of ’85]

[Mom’s old neighbor, Doc Arnesen.]

[Another “play” on words.]

[Class of ’71]

[This parade has passed me by!]

[But here come dancers.]

[Why, yes, that is King Louie.]

[Volleyball]

[Thus endth the parade.]

[Please gather all the candy off Broadway before leaving the scene.  Thank you very much!]

[Class of ’65 having evaded capture so far, decided to hit Dunn Bros. before sneaking into the game!]

The reason women don’t play football is because eleven of them would never wear the same outfit in public. ~Phyllis Diller

Up Next:  The game!

May 1

~ Wertheim

[Wertheim Castle . . . right off the bat!  (And the blog has finally made it to May!)]

[Followed by Wertheim port.]

[Well, guten tag!]

[Gives you the idea that we were in the basement.  Our window was right on the water line and when I opened our curtain that morning . . . A Peeping Swan!]

[Our guide, an American.  She married a German fellow and has lived in Germany ever since – long enough to have two teenage daughters, who sound very American in their desire to escape the boredom of their “small” town (it is just a little bigger than the greater Alexandria metropolitan area).]

[Beautiful setting]

[So, it appears schwans are a big deal around here.]

[I forgot . . . something about the windows and their placement.]

[Here’s the tourists . . . ]

[Walking down the middle of streets again.]

[And this is a wall . . . ]

[A really neat place to rent . . . and airbnb?]

[Cherry blossoms?]

[Old Town center . . . ]

[With its own “leaning tower”  – Spitzer Tower.]

[See?  Leaning slightly to the right.]

[As with many places along these rivers, floods are just a way of life.  Here our guide shows us photos of the last one from just a few years ago (I even remembered it).]

[Helen and the tree.]

[The Super, Helen, and the tree.]

[The Super and Helen supersede the tree.]

[The Supervisor’s take on the neighborhood, i.e, her photos.]

[Violeta . . . ]

[And the tree.]

[A really fake professional in action . . . ]

[The final 3 from the Super, downtown . . . ]

[Back to me, i.e., my photos.  More high water marks from floods over the centuries.]

[And back to window shopping.]

[Loved their restaurant row – hard to choose!]

[Now THIS is window shopping!]

[What?  We didn’t stop to eat?]

[The PH crest is something from the 16th century.  The Japanese appearing mark below it was something really cool, but I forgot.  Like maybe a Minnesota Twins fan lived here or maybe the builder loved wasabi.  After much searching, I can’t find anything?]

[More flood marks.]

[Love these alley ways.]

[Yes, they probably were made out of real gingerbread.]

[And there’s the castle from the first photo – the major landmark of the city.  But it was a steep climb (something about steep and uneven stairs), so we begged out.  As I recall, Pam and Tom did go up there.]

[Everybody has a clock tower.]

[In most places these were trash cans – probably so here?  But the Super loves ice cream!]

[Finally, outdoor coffee and pastry!]

[It was a little chilly, but the sun was out.]

[And then we saw this . . . ]

[But first things first – John has his outdoor coffee!]

[Then back to the Echo.  Alexandria’s-own Echo Press sponsors a “take your Echo with you” and send a photo of yourself reading it wherever you are.  We sent this one in – Editor Al wasn’t buying it!  😉  ]

[I think we ran out of time before we could take a ride on the little train.]

[Back to the river front.  All aboard!]

[And we’re on our way again . . . ]

[We’re on the Main River on our way to the Rhine River with the next stop at Koblenz.]

[Another vertical vineyard.]

[Didn’t we just eat something?]

[Well, you can still look out the window while you’re eating.]

People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.  ~ Dagobert D. Runes  (Great first named if he dropped the “Dag.”)

Up Next:  Koblenz . . . or Homecoming.

April 30 (still)

~  Wurzburg

[Back on the bus ISO our boat!]

[There you go, climateers!]

[Shhhhh, don’t tell her I put this in here.]

[How fast can you convert 20C to F?]

[What a great idea!  (I understand it has multiple exits for fast getaways.)]

[This palace has the rather unassuming appellation of the Wurzburg Residence.]

[It was heavily damaged during WWII and has been undergoing restoration ever since.  It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.  Quite the digs.]

[Franconia Fountain, in front]

[Supervisor, also in front]

[Court gardens ring the palace.]

[This was a quick, go look quick after touring the inside.  I have a suspicion the trees don’t naturally grow this way?]

[Through much research I was able to determine this is called a statue in the gardens.]

[And now from the back.  I think I forgot to tell you . . . ]

[NO PHOTOS ALLOWED INSIDE?  Why, when you can find all these on the internet which show the grand staircase and the world’s largest fresco.  Here are 6 samples . . . ]

[And now, back to my stuff.  It may be here that we tourists had options on how and when to get to the boat.  We opted to walk, through the city, hoping our guide’s directions would lead us ‘home.’]

[I was hoping “Ober” would be a close, personal relative?]

[I think we go this way?]

[It’s the Wurzburg Cathedral.]

[Aha, I think we’re getting close to the inner city . . . either that or, based on the local women’s attire, Minnetonka?]

[Appears to be a significant sculpture in a prime location, but I couldn’t find out anything about it?]

[Cathedral . . . ]

[“The Mummy,” outside the Cathedral?]

[Still walking . . . towards commerce it appears.]

[Where were Helen and John?  Outdoor cafe!]

[Definitely in a commercial area.]

[St. Kilian’s Cathedral, a saint about whom I am not familiar.]

[We are here . . . and we want to get to there?]

[Mass transportation . . . whatta concept!]

[But you better be quick jaywalking.]

[What’s that?]

[A quick jaywalk and . . . ]

[It’s this!  Brunnen am Sternplatz, or fountain in the starry space with a nymph and a faun.]

[That way?  Nope.]

[Aha, a landmark.  We were to turn right at Kohler’s (are you listening, coach?)]

[Pam said let’s go out on the bridge (left of Kohler’s) for photo ops.  That’s Old Main Bridge over the Main River with Fortress Marienberg on the hill.]

[It was a Saturday afternoon – and Wurzburg was having a PAR-TAY.]

[We were cautious not to get separated in the crowd because we were “feeling” our way to the boat.]

[Coming off the bridge, toward downtown, but we want to go left when we cross.]

[The bridge behind us, we think we’re going the right way.]

[The bridge further in the distance with a nice day for just hanging out along the river.]

[A “sign” from above?]

[Oh, bigosh and bigolly, we’re on the boat.  Must have missed shots of our arrival?]

[Water skiers, speed boats, wave riders, pontoons go left; everybody else right.]

If God had really intended men to fly, he’d make it easier to get to the airport.  ~  George Winters

Up Next: Wertheim . . . or Homecoming?

September 21

A confluence of events led to four book signings in four days.  Well, actually I just like to use the word “confluence.”  I also happen to believe writing is one of the most important occupations on the planet . . . at least the equivalent of teaching and women’s hockey.  All stories about writers begin, as they must, at Cossetta’s.  OK, we were staying at the hotel at the other end of the block.  We drove down to the Cities on this morning to pick up the Super’s sister Rita, who was coming in from Nashville, Indiana, by Megabus.  Her arrival, at 8:30 AM, gave us lots of time to consider tourista stuff as we had planned on being in St. Paul that night anyway, to see Carl Hiaasen at MPR’s Talking Volumes at the Fitzgerald Theater.

[Photo on loan from the internet.]

[We visit this area annually, or at least when our girls’ hockey team makes the state tournament . . . yes, annually.  The urban renewal taking place across the street from Cossetta’s caught us by surprise.]

[We stayed at the Holiday Inn, kitty-corner from the XCel Center where the Minnesota Wild (and the Alexandria Cardinal girls) play hockey, and this was just a walk with The Biddies to the other end of the block to Cossetta’s.]

[We arrived before the restaurant opened for lunch . . . ]

[But we were just looking for a la carte breakfasts.]

[We thought Cossetta’s was important for Rita’s understanding of St. Paul.]

[We all behaved and settled for small quiches.]

[Why, yes, I did love Cossetta’s!]

[After breakfast, our hotel room was available.  The X was out our window.]

[And then we went up the exterior glass elevator for an overview of our immediate vicinity.]

[The gray building (construction material) in the far right background is the Science Museum of Minnesota.  That would be our next destination.]

[And here we are!]

[Reetz and a close personal friend, T Rex.]

[Showboat on the Mississippi.  Gray, rain was predicted for most of the day.]

[The Biddies and their hippie cross-country van.]

[Emerging from the IMAX movie about our national parks.  A block down the street out the window is our next destination, Rice Park.]

[Not the same “Herby’s” where the Boys of ’65 lunched last week.]

[Rice Park, downtown St. Paul]

 

[“Peanuts” and “Biddies” in Rice Park!]

[Charles Schulz, of course, is from St. Paul.]

[St. Paul Grill in the St. Paul Hotel!  Woo-woo!]

[Late lunch, early dinner.  Actually, the dining room wasn’t open yet – we dined in the bar.  Fish and chips for the ladies; chicken pot pie (‘the original’) for me.]

[Bar left; dining room right.]

[On the walk back to the hotel, Reetz meets Herbie!]

Fitzgerald Theater

[The hotel shuttled us to the Fitz.  It’s a short walk, but the storm that would drop 10 inches of rain on the northwest suburbs that evening was nigh.]

[The view from the cheap seats.  I asked if we got free champagne up here?]

[Hiaasen and Kerri Miller – can’t you tell?]

[He was a hoot.  It was a fun two hours.]

[The Bellows performed twice after a couple of Hiaasen readings from his book.  I did not know them – they were very good.]

[Thunder claps rattled the theater a couple of times.  There was a downpour going on at the end of show.  Thus, I did not mind standing in a long line for a book signing.  Reetz found a comfortable place to catch up on social media.]

[The view from the stage – we were way up there on the right.]

[Hi, Carl!  Nice to meet you!  Love your books!]

[The end of the line after I’d finished.  It had originally stretched all the way to the lobby.  Worked out great, it was just drizzling when the shuttle picked us up.]

September 22

[How can Reetz come to Alex and not go to SAWA?]

[Yes, it’s The Biddies, but in the background is my brother Cam’s twin brother.  Isn’t it?]

[Oh yeah, Annie, Erik, and Tom, a/k/a/ The Salty Dogs, were the entertainment.]

[Well, we couldn’t have a day without acknowledging writing.  So, let’s have some fun with writing memes and cartoons the rest of the way!]

September 24

[The last three author signings were at Cherry Street Books.  Well, two were and I guessed right on the third.]

[Full house in the book store – biggest crowd I’ve seen there.  I had to shoot over heads to get Jess.  Kent Krueger was just to her left, out of sight for me.]

[Probably hadn’t seen Jess for a year.  We got a chance to chat for a bit, but both authors were in demand from the assembled masses.]

[I’m just starting.  Jami read it in a couple days – said she couldn’t put it down.]

[The cartoon would suit a Jess murder-by-month mystery better.  😉  ]

[And I believe I’ve been to all his signings in Alex.]

[You can never go wrong with a Dorothy Parker quote.]

[I brought Mike’s book along in case he was going to be there.  He was!  We missed his own signing day when we were out of town.]

[Though Mike is now an Alexandrian, he wrote this book when he was living in Cairo.]

[My agent re this blog.  Oh well, just keep supporting your local independent book stores – and thanks again to Cherry Street, and Jess, Kent, and Mike.]

Don’t bother discussing sex with small children.  They rarely have anything to add.  ~  Fran Lebowitz

Up Next:  Maybe Europe?