Algae Bloom on Grand Lake and the 10th Annual Bar Stool Open

The heat and humidity continue and so does the increased Algae pollution on Grand Lake...and it has began in other more "pristine" lakes such as Indian Lake and Lake Loramie.  Our 13,000 acre cesspool still is the major focus locally however, as the 10th annual "Bar Stool Open" kicks off tomorrow morning at 9am.  Despite the dire warnings and claims from folks trying to make a back from sickness claims, we will go by boat rather than take the car trip around the lake and the 13 participating bars, clubs, and other watering holes.

An old friend, Bill Clem, who has lived in Marion, Ohio, for the past 13 or 14 years, since leaving Celina, will join our 4 man team, along with Nick, Sam, and me....our boat will have 2 full teams, as we kick things off from Duckfoot's Bar.  The event is a shotgun start and Duckfoot's works for us, because Nick's pontoon is docked at Bayview Lodge, which will be the 13th and last hole on our scorecards.  The weather is slated to be hot and humid(what else is new this summer?), with a 40% chance of strong thunderstorms in the late afternoon.

This will be the 5th time in the past 6 years I have participated...and depending on Patricia and my schedule for our proposed "road trip" out west next year, with the southern and eastern trip scheduled in 2012, this may be the last one for a couple of years.  Of course with the condition of Grand Lake, and the area and national economy about to go in  the crapper...who really knows what the future holds?
Hal and his fiancee, Lisa, finish up their Ormond/Daytona Beach time share vacation tomorrow, and will begin the drive back to Ohio...Lisa out caught Hal 4 fish to 1 on their Deep Sea adventure...and I'm sure the youngest son is eating some crow over that....

I pulled the Jeep out this morning, and with top down, drove from Celina towards Van Wert County where I began a series of taking some photos of old bridges, churches, and abandon old school houses...I will post those as I go over the next weeks.  Mercer Counties vintage bridges are being torn down and replaced...but some classic ones remain the the Mercer, Van Wert, and Paulding County area...and the same can be said for old school houses, churches, and cemeteries....always good for some photography opportunities.

I'll post photos and commentary from the "Bar Stool Open" Sunday or Monday.....otherwise,

I'll be back later>>>>

Photos-Bar Stool Open #10 tomorrow rain or shine....A long ago abandoned church on Tomlinson Road, on the Van Wert-Mercer County Line, and just across the state line in Indiana, sets one of the last covered bridges in the area...The Ceylon Bridge is located outside the village of Geneva it sets in the Limberlost Park.  Built for the Amish buggy riding folks in 1860, it is closed to traffic these days.