alexandriacardinals

March 8

Following in the fine tradition of the previous two weeks, where both the girls and boys hockey teams punched their tickets to the state tournament, the girls basketball team decided to join that caravan down I-94 with a section title . . . 

[So inspired were we by the possibilities, that I actually deigned to drive all the way to the University of Minnesota, Morris, from which I then had to drive home, at night, in winter.  Give it a try sometime when you’re over 70!]   ]

[This is the neutral court site for the section championship game between the Cardinals and the Otters.  I believe I was here once before for a “Prairie Home Companion” program?]

[Yes, dear, Brad and I safely made it.]

[Cards warm up . . . ]

[And warm up some more . . . ]

[Under the supervision of “The Leader of the Pack.”  Sheree Saxton is responsible for you all receiving the Cardinal Connection, a/k/a, a catalog of all the weekly things going on at or concerning AAHS . . . ]

[Oh no, is that Kim Kardashian again?]

[And if you do this, it could be a misdemeanor . . . ]

[Card student fans warm up . . . ]

[Under the direction of Sheree . . . ]

[Game time approaches, the stands are almost full . . . ]

[Heading for the final pre-game meeting . . . ]

[Introductions:  Ella (11), Kaye (3), Emma (25), Courtney (31), and McKenzie (35) . . . ]

[And the final warm-up . . . ]

[Cards take the floor . . . ]

[Where are the Otters?]

[Here’s a little something you don’t see everyday – a double opening jump ball. McKenzie went up first, that tap lead to a tie-up, and then another jump ball with Ella. We got that tap.]

[Kaye drew a foul, likely on a foray to the basket . . . ]

[Ella runs back on defense . . . ]

[I acknowledge memory lapses, but this is the first game I can remember where Kohler just had the team play a hard man-to-man defense the entire game.  No pressing, no trapping, no zoning, just in your face individual defense . . . ]

[Kohler counsels our wild cards.  McKenzie and Courtney will always play the box, Kaye will always play point guard, but Emma and Ella are more generalists . . . ]

[They’re both 5’11, can play high or low, and are defensive specialists with their length.  In this game, Fergus is a shooting team, so nobody could ever be left uncovered.  Emma followed the Fergus star, the coach’s daughter Katelyn Strand, wherever she went, because if she had a hint of clearance she’d launch a quick ‘3’ . . . ]

[Our goal on offense is to get the ball inside – here with McKenzie . . . ]

[Emma was fighting through pics all game to keep on eye on Ms. Strand, No. 11 . . . ]

[Our defense leads to such as traveling infractions . . . ]

[Emily Jones (43) on the line.  A big factor in the game was the free throw proficiency of our “bigs” –  Courtney, McKenzie, and Jonesie . . . ]

[Did someone say defense?]

[In the 2nd half, Courtney at the line.  Our offense even more emphasized getting the ball inside – to score and/or get fouled.  I think Courtney made all her free throws . . . ]

[McKenzie too.  Nevertheless, the Otters held a slight lead most of the way – they just never seemed to miss any 3-pointers . . . ]

[And then Kaye made her move.  When she steals a pass, she beats LeBron James down the floor for lay-ups . . . ]

[And she got a little more agressive on offense . . . ]

[And another steal and score . . . ]

[The Emma on Strand saga continued throughout the game . . . ]

[OK, here are the options?]

[Pizza or burgers after the game?]

[I think (don’t hold me to it) this was the winning assist as Kaye launches a pass to Ella cutting in from the right side for a lay-up . . . (Editor’s note:  I have been advised that Emma launched the final pass to Ella!  Thank goodness for “editors”!)]

[This was the time left after Ella’s basket.  Then Mia McGrane got a steal to end the Otters’ last chance.  So, after three games against each other this season, one point separated the two teams.  The Otters won by 2 at our place; we won by two at their place.  And they are totally different teams – the Otters are all about the 3-point shot; the Cards are all about discombobulation.]

[While low scoring, it was a very intense, entertaining defensive game for we fans . . . ]

[You’ll recall last year’s team went to state, then graduated all five starters and 11 seniors, but now we’re back to state with a whole new cast of characters!  Great job by the team and coaching staff . . . ]

[We did good!]

[Now this is scary!  Allegedly fugitives without proper paperwork . . . ]

[Handing out the individual hardware, numerically beginning with Kaye Paschka . . . ]

[OK, Summer Gerhardt should have been first . . . ]

[Now I’m confused (so what else is new?), here’s Kaye again . . . ]

[Mia McGrane . . . ]

[Jaya Hatlestad . . . ]

[Ella Grove, OK Ella should have been ahead of Jaya . . . ]

[Taylor Partington . . . ]

[Matie Wirtjes . . . ]

[Emily Aker . . . ]

[Emma Schmidt . . . ]

[Courtney Gould . . . ]

[Flora Kvale . . . ]

[McKenzie Duwenhoegger . . . ]

[Cathryn Bloom . . . ]

[Emily Jones . . . ]

[Mataya Hoelscher . . . ]

[Sadie Boraas . . . ]

[Larissa Lamb . . . ]

[Alayna Strand . . . ]

[Captains Courtney, Emma, and McKenzie collect the team hardware . . . ]

[The team joins in . . . ]

[The Cards drew No. 1-seeded Robbinsdale Cooper at state, Wednesday, March 14, 10:00 am, Williams Arena.  We’ll be there.]

[Angie Saurer photo as posted on Coach Kohler FB page.]

How it continues? I recently ran across this photo from the 2011 section championship game between Alex and Fergus Falls. I took it because I thought it was so cool these young girls were fans of that 2011 Cardinal state tournament team. Upon further review, I noticed these young girls went on to become last year’s state tournament team.

If you make every game a life-and-death thing, you’re going to have problems. You’ll be dead a lot.  ~  Dean Smith

Up Next:  Boys hockey . . .

December 26

The afternoon session (Puntarenas Panorama) . . . 

[Again, bypassing the beaches . . . ]

[And this is our afternoon guide, Natasha.  Yes, both guides on this day did look like movie stars . . . ]

[Are you taking my picture?]

[I’m connected to Russian trolls?]

[Some of the local residents out catching rays . . . ]

[Let me out!  I’m innocent!  But as you can see, this is merely a parking lot . . . ]

[Is the guy on the right related to our Supreme Court justice?]

[Arriving Esparza (founded by the Spanish in 1574) where local dancers in traditional costumes entertained us in the city park . . . ]

[The historic Catholic church known as the historic Catholic church . . . ]

[Natasha was an enthusiastic participant . . . ]

[The kids were all terrific.  It’s a long running tradition, the dancers all between the ages of x and y (the ages I’ve long since forgotten) . . . ]

[As I recall, the young lady on the left (in the yellow) was in her last year as she was aging out . . . ]

[Adios!]

[The “Panorama” part continues now, riding along the shore . . . ]

[Through commercial areas . . . ]

[Photo ops out the bus window . . . ]

[On the lookout for some authentic Costa Rican cuisine . . . ]

[Well, it’s the day after Christmas . . . ]

[And now, as the sun sinks slowly in the West, a/k/a, the Pacific Ocean, we just sit back and enjoy the views . . . ]

[Leaving Costa Rica now, next stop Nicaragua . . . ]

Today, in 1692, the salem witch hunt was started, what we today call “TSA screenings.”  ~ Michelle Wolf

Up Next: The cruise, continued?

December 26

A return trip to Costa Rica, the Pacific side . . . 

[And here’s a little something I recently learned at our local Senior College.  Our port of call, Punta Arenas, is on the Gulf of Nicoya.  The Nicoya Peninsula, across the Gulf from Punta Arenas, is one of five international Blue Zones.  This Central American nation isn’t that far from the U.S. geographically, but it is way ahead of us in longevity. The Caribbean nation is economically secure and has excellent health care. But other factors are at play, especially in Nicoya, an 80-mile peninsula just south of the Nicaraguan border (bluezones.com).  Blue Zones are demographic regions of the world where people commonly live active lives past the age of 100 years (Okinawa; Sardinia; Nicoya peninsula Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California).]

[Or maybe the reason for the longevity of these Costa Ricans are the beautiful sunrises?]

[Well, it works for me . . . ]

[Arriving in Punta Arenas . . . ]

[Ho-hum, another sunny day on hand . . . ]

[A beach . . . ]

[And now we’re on one of the dozens of buses here to take we tourists on various land excursions . . . ]

[Past the beach . . . ]

[No, not our final destination, but . . . ]

[A stop along the highway (literally on the shoulder) where buses have been pulling off for wildlife settings for so long . . . ]

[That the wildlife reacts to the arrival of the buses . . . ]

[Here capuchin monkeys . . . ]

[They come in anticipation of . . . food!  Just like human beings!]

[And here, for variety, a coatimundi . . . ]

[Not the least bit concerned about being among we two-legged giants . . . ]

[Do you know the way to . . . ??? ]

[We’re on the way for a walk in a rain forest.  To pass the time, “old” Costa Rican is passed around the bus . . . ]

[The signpost up ahead . . . ]

[The Twilight Zone?]

[Here we are!]

[Carara National Park sits near the Costa Rican Pacific coast, in the Central Pacific Conservation Area.  Carara lies just about 30 miles (about an hour) west of San José and is home to one of the largest populations of wild Scarlet Macaws in the country.  You’ll often get a sighting as you drive on the nearby highway. The park is predominantly formed by primary rainforest, which makes it ideal for birds who nest in the dense trees (vacationcostarica.com).]

[Elderly tourists begin what for many was a longer than anticipated trek through a rather warm and humid jungle . . . ]

[A tree tumor . . . ]

[I took this shot for a reason.  Do you see it?]

[The monkeys, upset by our presence, attempted to discourage our trespass by launching debris at us from the tree tops.  Fortunately, the trees are so dense nothing seemed to get through . . . ]

[A highlght for me were the leaf-cutter ants . . . ]

[I don’t recall seeing any exotic birds (well, a pair coming up) . . . ]

[There!  See it up there?  I have no idea what they were pointing at?]

[Again, there’s something here somewhere . . . I think?]

[Just to highlight a tall tree among other growth around and attached to it.]

[The giant kapok tree . . . ]

[The common American tourist . . . ]

[They were looking at a tiny white bat – see it?]

[Another large rain forest tree . . . ]

[An example of the strangler fig (as it wraps around a host tree) . . . ]

[I recognize it’s hard to see – but there’s an agouti back there in the sunlight . . . ]

[Our guide was a good spotter of such.  Speaking of our guide . . . ]

[Finally, you get to meet our morning guide, Andrea . . . ]

[Another strangler fig . . . ]

[Now you know . . . ]

[We came to a fork in the road – and this was it . . . ]

[Strangler figs are everywhere.  And if you look just to the right of this one, you’ll see . . . ]

[The ultimate destination for our into the forest hike was to see them – a Scarlet Macaw couple in their living room.  Carara National Park is a major habitat for this endangered species . . . ]

[Located at the bridge over this torrential body of water . . . ]

[We said our good-byes to Mr. and Mrs. Macaw . . . ]

[And turned around to head back out . . . ]

[I forgot what this was, but it doesn’t look appetizing . . . ]

[Leaf-cutter ants cutting over, under, and through our path . . . ]

[Do you see it?]

[I don’t recall . . . ]

[But it wasn’t this guy, who I ran across a bit later . . . ]

[In the jungle, the mighty jungle . . .  It was a 2-hour round trip hike.  Some realized early on they weren’t going to make it, so they sat down and waited to rejoin the group on the return trip.  Since I was constantly taking photos, I was lagging behind the group which allowed me to keep an eye out for any stragglers . . . ]

[The park’s name is the native Huetar word for crocodile. Visit the park and you’ll understand why since the Tarcoles River, which forms the park’s northern boundary, is famous around the world for its giant and plentiful crocodiles. The Tarcoles River Bridge on the Coastal Highway is a favorite place for tourists to stop and view the monster-sized crocodiles below. Boat tours on the river also are very popular (enchanting-costarica.com).]

[It was a tough walk across the bridge – it was high (my acrophobia), the walk lane was very narrow, and there was continuous vehicle traffic on both sides of the road (the holiday season) . . . ]

[It was still morning, and we’re heading back to ship to catch our afternoon excursion.]

[Passing by our beach . . . ]

[And the holiday traffic . . . ]

[And to say good-bye to Andrea.  We would have another guide in the afternoon . . . ]

The only way to be sure of catching a train is to miss the one before it.  ~  G. K. Chesterton

Up Next:  Part 2

December 25, MERRY CHRISTMAS

At Sea

[Christmas Day, just floating around on the boat all day, the Super races out front in her swimsuit amid reports of whale sightings . . . ]

[It was too windy to see . . . ]

[So, let’s just have Christmas lunch by the pool . . . ]

[And then a little classical trio before dinner . . . ]

[Dinner . . . ]

[Back row seats in the theater . . . ]

[Merry Christmas to all.  Since we were on the move all day, Santa was unable to find us so I never received my well-deserved gifts.  Our photo bomber, Ibe May, still reports in as a “worlder” – now two months since we left the ship, she last reported in from Malaysia.  When asked how she’s doing, she reported, “Hey Tom it’s been incredible!”  Ha, I still can’t imagine having two more months on the ship since we left.]

A cruise ship is a floating town of lazy people.  ~ Garrison Keillor

Up Next:  Maybe basketball?