Oconomowoc-Some Photos from the Trip/Blog Changes part #2

Not sure what is up with blogger, but after some tooling and trying, I think I can now add some photos from the post earlier today{scroll down to read and view that}.

Before I get into some of the photos from the weekend....I will add to what I mentioned this morning.

I will be making some changes to the blog as the days ahead move on...some will be ASAP, others will take awhile longer before I get them done, and will no doubt require some toying around with...

The basics of the blog will remain. It will continue to be a diary of my days and a look back at the past. I also plan on more photos, and more links and comments about politics, sports, and world in general, both locally and on a national level....my opinions may continue to piss off a few{or many}, but they will continue to be my opinions, and as such, will be the ones that matter as far as this blog goes.

Photos from the weekend: Todd's Grill in downtown Oconomowoc with little parking these days on the main drag, most restaurants and stores have parking strictly in the back. Patricia, Anissa, and Bill{Pat's Dad} wait for Bev to park the car before we entered the back entrance of Todd's, for our Friday Fish Fry. Lac La Belle from the city park.....the Presbyterian Church mirrors itself on Fowler Lake. The City of Oconomowoc sits across from Fowler Lake. The Condo that Bill and Bev is part of this 2 building complex that sets along the walk/bike path, in the wetland area next Silver Lake. And the Mars Cheese Castle and some of the goodies we selected on our way back to Ohio. Mars is located on exit 142{I think} on I-94 near the twin Lake Michigan cities of Kenosha and Racine in extreme southeast Wisconsin.

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin/Blog Changes

Back from Oconomowoc_____

We rolled back into Celina yesterday afternoon about 4:30pm from Patricia's hometown of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin....I first visited Oconomowoc in 1975, a full year and a half before we were married....I tagged along to meet her father Bill and step-mother Bev, and attend her younger sister Sue's wedding, which Patricia was a bridesmaid. I have been back at least once{usually twice, at least back in the early days} for the past 35 years.

Oconomowoc, when I first visited, was a town of about 9000, about the size of Celina, and like Celina, surrounded by water....the big difference was the Wisconsin town was close to large Milwaukee(about 30 miles west on I-94), and instead of one large mud hole, like Grand Lake, Oconomowoc was surrounded by several deep clear lakes, including Lac LaBelle, Lake Fowler, and Silver Lake. Patricia's parents lived between Delafield and Oconomowoc on Lake Nashoda.

In the years since my first visit, I have noted changes, and most not for the better. The suburban low lifes from Milwaukee and Chicago have infiltrated the Lakes and town...while leaving their crime ridden suburbs, they have brought their own brand of strip malls and yuppie shops to the revamped downtown and outlying areas next to I-94....In the name of progress, Oconomowoc and nearby Delafield have become sometime else other than what they were, thus eroding the quite and charm of the villages.

Of course this is my own personal opinion, I hate this type of progress. I have seen what happened to my childhood home of Venice, Florida, in the name of progress...not good, and Celina would like to join the Oconomowocs and Venices, by making Grand Lake something it's not. This is what happens when real estate speculators and politicians have egos and ask the citizens to pay for those egos, with taxpayer funds.

Fish Frys on Friday___

One thing I have always loved about Wisconsin is there Friday Night Fish Frys....now we are talking all you can eat, and more of the best seafoods. When Patricia and I lived near Wausau, Wisconsin, back in the late 70s{before the kids came along} we frequented a place north of Wausau called Bullocks...all you could care to consume in seafood and side dishes for $4.95 a person...we would usually drop $15 or $20 at the bar then head for the dining room each Friday. It was a treat....we also tried other eateries around the area, but Bullocks stood out head above the rest, at least in our minds.

So on Friday, a few hours after arriving at Bill and Bev's Condo{they moved out of the country setting a few years ago}, we headed uptown to Tony's, a place we had not eaten at yet, and had our Friday Fish Fry. Starting out the weekend when I left Celina, I had dropped a full 18 pound in 2 months and my weight had settled in at 190.5 pounds on my basement scale...I knew the weekend, with the fish, beer, the early Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner, and Sunday meal, would be a challenge...I survived, weighing in this morning at 192, I gained only about a pound and a half/the bloop pressure was also in pretty good range, standing at 135/75 with a 65 resting pulse rate.

After a weekend of Football and Food, we said our goodbyes yesterday morning early, and make out way down the Interstate past Milwaukee and towards Chicago. We stopped at the Mars Cheese Outlet to check into some Cheese Curds and other specialities that my buddy Bill Clem asked for. I am hooking up with Bill this Thursday in Waldo, and he asked for some "real" curds....having lived in Wisconsin a couple of decades ago, he knows the fake stuff from the real. We picked out a selection of cheese products and other items, and Anissa, Patricia, and I, headed down the Illinois Tollway towards home.

We arrived in Celina at 4pm, and before we stopped home, we headed out to the Celina Pet Center to pick up Reagan, she had been lodged at the Kennel for the weekend{with the boys no longer living at home, not much option there}...she had a trim, nobody seems to know how to trim Airedales correctly, so I should call it a butcher job, but at least she is ready for the winter without the excess baggage of hair. We headed home and were promptly ignored by a seemingly pissed off cat, who fended for herself for the 4 days....such is the life of the cat, able to survive on their own, if you leave a clean litter box in the basement and plenty of food and water.

Blogger Bummer___

Seems Blogger has changed the way it let's you write and publish these daily posts, and I can say, it sucks....not sure how it's going to look when I hit the publish button, but I'm not at all please with this. I seldom like big change anyway, but guess I'll learn to live with this, if I have to....the editing seems to have gone back to the 1998 version.

I was planning on making changes and the layout of the blog and content anyway...and you regular visitors may see them as the week progresses...if I can figure out what the Hell is going on.

back later>>>>

With the current set up I can't figure out how to drop photos where I want them...so I'll add a photo of the Oconomowoc City Hall and the sign at Lac LaBelle for now, until I can figure out just what the Hell is going on.... :(

Off for a few days

A few days of Indian Summer are set to return, and we are taking a few days off ourselves....with Basketball Officiating set to start next Tuesday the 17th, this seems like the perfect chance to get away and come home ready to roll into the long winter season.

Hopefully my legs and back will hold out for the season, and the 60 or so games I have on the seasons schedule, from Junior High to High School Varsity, will make the long winter before baseball season seem just a little shorter.

Back with stories and hopefully some good photographs from the upcoming weekend....enjoy the time I'm away, I plan on it.

Oh' Baloney @ Waldo, Ohio

Happy Veterans Day to my Fellow Veterans Past and Present.

More November like weather has returned to west central Ohio, low 50s yesterday with some sprinkles, but the sun is back out today with temps headed for 57 or so. I headed southeast the 100 miles to Columbus yesterday afternoon...the goal was to pick up car less oldest son Sam, and drag him to a local basketball rules meeting. After he crashed and totaled his car last Wednesday on the way to a meeting in Bexley, so he had some work to do to pick up his 4 required meetings. So I picked him up at the University Apartments and we headed out to grab a bite to eat, before driving on to Bellfontaine for the 7pm "Top of Ohio" Association get together.

I had a plan...it was only 3:30, so I figured to make the 20 mile ride up US 23 to Waldo, Ohio, home of my deceased ancestors and the world famous G&R Tavern and their outstanding Bologna Sandwiches. Sam, despite being a big eater{as his 6'1" 235 or so pound frame would attest} but a picky eater...so he decided not to try my favorite bar sammy...opting for baked chicken strips and fires. Myself? Well I grabbed a cold Miller Lite, and a side of deep friend mushrooms, and picked out a thick sliced G&R special Baloney Sandwich with Swiss cheese and sweet pickle to top with a shot of spicy brown mustard.


Not exactly a mainstay of my Diabetes 2 Diet...but well within the range of my day allotment of carbs, fats, and calories. After eating our delights I made the obligatory drive through the Waldo Cemetery, and saluted our ancestors. My GG-Grandma Ursual Houseworth and sons are buried in one spot, while Waldo's most famous Civil War Veteran, and longest living, Maish "Frosty" Houseworth(1846-1944), is buried across the gravel drive along with his wife Maria.

Yep, the Houseworth's, from landowners, like Ursual{a descendant of one John Smith, from the Mayflower} to Outlaws, Like convicted murderer Enoch Young, and his acquitted brother-in-law and my great-great Uncle Gilman Houseworth{another wounded Civil War vet}, called Waldo home....now the village of 325 just north of Columbus on the Marion County side of the Marion-Delaware County Line, is known for some of the best Baloney in the world.

If you get there, I guess I should add, that you don't think of Bologna as in store bought, packaged, sliced thin, Baloney....the two have little in common, except the name.

That was my first trip to the home of the Ancestors since last October...but the turn around won't take that long...next Thursday November 19th, I'll be back hooking up with an old buddy, Bill Clem, who lived in Celina for a few years, but moved in the late 90s to Marion.

So, back to Waldo for some more good eats next week.....I'll take some photographs of the event.

back later>>>>

For more on Waldo, photos, and stories, you can drop by my Genealogy Blog @:

http://israelhouseworth.blogspot.com/

The Photos-a Classic G&R Bologna Sammy with sweet pickle and Swiss Cheese, you can top em' anyway you want. The graves of my Ancestors CW Vet Maish and GG-Grandmother Ursula Schribner Houseworth set in the Waldo Cemetery.... Civil War Veteran and the aquitted Gilman Houseworth, as he looked in 1880. And G & R as it looked in October 2008..more photos after next week's visit.

Dartball Begins and the Bugs of November

First off a rant....

Check out my comments section yesterday and observations made by my old friend "Cookie" ...{then do yourself a favor and stop by his site for some well deserved laughs}:

http://thecookshack.blogspot.com/

and my response...it contains our thoughts on the Politically Correct reason that 13 of our troops are dead, all in the name of Islamic Terrorists, and our national fear of offending them. It is a sad sight to see how our military has become de-bagged by the PC world. The military leaders are nothing more than gutless politicians, where the Hell are Swartzkopf and Patton when you need them....instead we get clowns like Colin "Fu**ing" Powell, and the current leader of the Army, the titless WAC himself General George Casey.....the feminizing of the Military is in full mode. As long as we continue to bow to Islam, the military is basically useless, and I would never expect my sons nor anybody's kids to join up in a toothless Military, where PC is king.

On a good news from another stinking Islamic Terrorist Muhammad, "The DC Sniper" accused of 10 shootings back in 2002, is set to assume Room Temperature by lethal injection...let's hope he gets to meet his 70 Virgin Camels about Midnight.

Opening Night Dartball____

Last night we traveled with 3 new team members to Mendon to take on the Mendon team in Dartball....Mendon has been the doormat for years in the league, seldom finishing out of or near the basement....back in the 1980s and 90s we went through a period where we defeated them 34 straight games...a couple of years ago they defeated us in the end of season tournament 2 games to 1, then settled back into us whipping them on most nights...that all changed last night. With our overflow roster, and minus Sam, one of our best throwers, a short handed Mendon team swept us out of the opening night, 3 games to none. The scores, 3-1, 5-4(on a 9th inning home run), and 2-0, starts us out at 0-3 for the first time I can remember.

With Sam away at Ohio State, the new guys getting used to the rules and board, and some of the older guys starting slowly...it was an ugly night...with a full playing roster of 12, the at bats were few and far between, the hits, even more so.....

I did alright as an individual, going 6 for 9 for a .667 batting average with 2 of our measly 5 total RBIs...next week we play at home{St. John Lutheran Church-Celina}, then go on the road for 3 straight weeks....the early part of the season could be a rough stretch.

The Bugs of November{and October}___

Over the past decade or so, at least in this part of the country, the invasion of the Lady Bug type beetles, called Asian Lady Bugs, have increased 10 fold it seems. The docile{although they can make a lite pinch when attaching themselves to you} little creatures, are everywhere come fall, especially when the sun is shining. They can work themselves through the smallest opening in windows, screens, door jabs, etc....they love to attach themselves on fruit, in window screens, and florescent lights...a minor nuisance, but they are fun to watch, as they gather in the sunshine, and then disapear in the cloudy and cool conditions, when those return.

Off to Columbus again, to pick up Sam...we will grab a bite to eat, then head for a Basketball Meeting in Bellfontaine, Ohio....tomorrow is Veterans Day, so no classes at OSU, so he will stick around for another meeting at Van Wert, as we move towards getting our 4 meetings in before the regular season begins.

Will drive him back to the Campus on Thursday...Sam will be working a NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament Saturday at OSU on Saturday, as the Buckeye Women's team moves into tourney action with a home game or 2.

Back Later>>>>

Dartball #2 Darts, the standard Dartball Board, and The "Asian Lady" Bugs of November....

Looking back at the Weekend

I have been trying to keep away from the national news this weekend, and was busy enough to do just that....I really had no interest in the Socialist in the House passing Nanny State Pelosi's "Health Scam" Bill...which they did, thus sealing the fate of a few dozen left wing clowns....

Then of course was the News Media{including some, but not all on Fox News} making excuses for that Islamic piece of garbage who opened fire at Fort Hood on Friday. What the Hell is Pre-post tramatic Stress Disorder? Giving this Muzzie son of a Camel any kind of lable other than fuc**ng Terrorist is an insult to all who served in combat.

Call the murdering SOB what he is, news media, democrats, liberals, military leaders, Barack Obama....A MURDERING ISLAMIC TERRORIST SON OF A BITCH! Quit making excuses for the panderers of the "Religion of Peace"....it is a religion practiced by zealots and fools....deal with it!

So we have a weekend of Health Care and Islamic Terror.....that should piss off any real American who thinks with his or her brain.

Friday____and the weekend.

I headed for Columbus and brought Sam back(after he totaled his car on Wednesday, he is without wheels for the time being} for the Youth Football Jamboree on Saturday. Sam, me, and another young official supervised the 15 games played{one official on each field for 5 games}...the pay was good, the hassels and coaches and fans bitching were held to a minimum, and we had great "Indian Summer" weather to deal with. I got done and sat out back, polished off a few cigars and a few more beers, while listening to Ohio State kick the snot out of Penn State in Happy Valley, PA....the weather was way too nice to sit in the house.

Sunday was even nicer, so I skipped the beers and cigars, but sent Sam over to mom's to finish off her yard work...while I sat back with Patricia and Anissa in the back yard, soaked up the 70 degree sunshine, and listened to the Bengals hammer the Baltimore Ravens 17-7. As that ended I headed back to Columbus with Sam in tow....he will be home tomorrow and Wednesday{no Ohio State classes for Veterans Day} to catch up on Basketball Meetings he has missed....you need to get 4 in, and he has yet to make one, partly due to the car crash on his way to one in Bexley, Ohio.

So Columbus and back tomorrow, back to Columbus on Thursday to drop him off...back home, then Patricia, Anissa, and I, head to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, to stay with Patricia's folks for our early Thanksgiving this year....so the postings may be light.

One more day of "Indian Summer" today, 65 degrees, but more clouds than sun, and back to more November type weather for the remainder of the week, and the Wisconsin trip.

Back Later>>>>

Photo-Indian Summer brings a bright look for early November along the St. Marys River, north and west of Celina, near Rockford, Ohio.

Islamic Massacre at Fort Hood/Fox News Drops the Ball

WARNING:If you believe Islam is still a religion of peace, and the vast majority of Islamics in the US are great Americans and good people...you may want to discontinue reading today's post right now...if not, don't post any comments in support of these clowns, it won't last 5 seconds:

---------------

Another case of Islamic Terrorism has occurred on US Soil...and this one is on one of America's largest military bases.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,572405,00.html

And Fox News dropped the ball.....Resident Liberal Shepard Smith of Fox refused to even mention the guys name until hours after the left leaning CNN, and hard left outlets like MSNBC and ABC had already named this guy as the shooter....HE WAS A FREAKING ISLAMIC! And of course Fox News and Smith, refused to say that, until every other network had already made the point.

Fox News lost a Hell of a lot of my respect, Smith never had much, he's always been an excuse maker for Islam and Islamic Terrorists...Shame on you Fox, for being so Politically Correct and so damn gutless about calling a spade a spade or in this case a Murdering Muslim and Murder Muslim.

(1) The News Media reported this scumbag Dead...he is not, nice move gang.

(2) Fox News refused to release his Islamic name until hours after the other far left media released it...nice move Fox and especially Shep Smith.

(3) This guy a psychiatrist, had a history of support for Islamic Terrorism and a hate for the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

(4) Given his attitude, just what the Hell was this guy doing in uniform

(5) Is it time to stop letting Islamics into the country, and thinking about deporting all non-citizen{if not all period}Islamics?

Just some questions to ponder....

Military Bases___Security or Lack of same!

So here we are on a large Military Base...and nobody can stop the shooter before he shoots 43 people and killing 13 of those with a couple of handguns? As a former Military Policeman{Air Force Security Police}. I can tell you that on most bases the only people carrying guns are the base police or security...and sorry to say the rules about using those weapons are strict. That is the way it was 40 years ago, and even with the war on terror, it is still that way today.

Radical Islam is the explosive powder, political correctness is the match that lights the fuse....both need to be stamped out. Is Obama to blame? Hardly, GW Bush was no stronger than Obama when confronting Islam, yes he brought war to the Middle East, but still, like his replacement, was gutless when confronting home grown Islamic Terrorism.

Obama of course when making his post shooting speech, talked about thanking his Cabinet and staff, and thanking the "Event" he was attending, rather than bringing the shooting to comments...This Guy{Obama} is one clueless asshole...he never got to the shootings until long into his "teleprompter" lead speach, what a out of touch rookie this clown is.

We will see how this all plays out....and what kind of Monkey Trial this becomes, if the guy is ever brought to trial, I suspect a plea of some sort to save his sorry ass, will be in order.

Pissed off as always...back later>>>

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my old blogging buddy Jeff, aka: Fat Hairy Bastard

http://fathairybastard.blogspot.com/

Teaches classes at Fort Hood...he was scheduled to teach last night at the base, but wasn't there when the shootings went down.

Mustaches and Car Crashes

When I returned to Celina after our weekly basketball officiating meeting in Van Wert last night, Patricia had informed me that she had called and left a message on my cell phone....which I had turned off for the meeting...that Sam had been involved in a car wreck down in Columbus, while heading for a officiating meeting in Bexley himself. She said he was OK, but his Dodge Stratus was apparently "totaled". About that time, the house phone rang, and here it was oldest son, asking the old man what he should have the wrecker do with the car? "Was it Totaled?" I asked...he proceeds to tell me he was t-boned on the passenger side, and if he had a passenger, they might not have survived. As it was, he only had a scratch, and a ticket.

As Sam told it, he was turning left onto the Interstate ramp when another drive put had her turn signal on, and as he turned, she didn't...well at least that's his story, so he got t-boned, and is facing a ticket and court date of November 13th. The family has AAA Plus, and I told him not to have the car towed the 100 miles to Celina, just to take it to the wrecker's home lot and we would deal with it later.

The main thing is, he and the other driver are OK...the next few weeks I will probably make a few trips to Columbus{starting tomorrow}, to get him to enough basketball meetings to keep his license current, and to get him home this weekend for our final football weekend for the season...we both are scheduled to do 5 games on Saturday, which should keep us busy. In the meantime, he doesn't have a big need for a car, so until Winter break, he can use the bus and shoe leather express, to get around.

Biding ado to the facial hair___for now

Since I left the Air Force, I can count on one hand the times I have been without facial hair. Whether the almost always present Mustache, a Goatee for the past decade, and the occasion winter beard...I have usually had some form of facial hair for almost all of the past 37 or 38 years.

I shaved it all off in the late 1970s when living in northern Wisconsin, that lasted about 2 weeks, then the "stash" was back. In late 1981, around the time Sam was born, I went clean shaven for a few weeks. Then I started growing a goatee off and mostly on back around 1998, I finally shaved that off a few years ago, when I screwed up trimming it, on a RV run to the west coast....so I went with the clean shaven look for a few weeks. Since that time I have alternated between the goatee and mustache.

When viewing a few photos of my recent Michigan trip, I noticed that along with the weight loss, my facial hair, as well as the hair on my head, was pretty well snow white...making my ego feel a little aged. So yesterday I trimmed it down to a 3 day growth, this morning, I shaved it completely off...marking 4 times since I hit my mid 20s that I have been "bare". Not a big deal, but it always seems like a milestone since I seldom go without some sort of hair on the face.

How long will I keep it off? Who knows...A week, month, forever? The last I doubt, but you never know.

Tomorrow afternoon I will travel to Columbus and Ohio State and bring back "Captain Crash", and return him Sunday....other than that, the week ahead looks pretty quite. I hope!

Photos-through the years...The top left is me this morning after "coming clean" {shave that is}, then a week or so ago with the graying goatee, 1974 from the Red Door days, the wedding in December 1976, and finally with the semi-graying goatee in 2000.

That's the Hair Business for today...

back later>>>>

More Photos from northeast Michigan

Not much going on...Election Day was yesterday...in Ohio a Casino Bill was passed, now the stinking large cities can add the corruption of Casinos to their areas. I have no problem with Casinos, I frequent them in Vegas when I go...but I realize, they are not really a bargain for the states(except perhaps Nevada) that they go into...nor the cities that build them. We also passed a bill giving a bonus to Iraq, and Gulf War Veterans, I remember I was glad to get mine as a Vietnam Vet back in the mid 70s.

On the national level, the GOP Kicked Obama's sorry ass in both Virginia and corrupt New Jersey...make no mistake about it, regardless of what the talking heads say, this was a vote by people who are sick of what the Kenyan Messiah is bringing upon the tax payers and real Americans, that pay the bills for this once great Republic.

Basketball meeting tonight....as I rest up by doing the incline mode on the treadmill(to strengthen my legs) before the toughest of officiating seasons begin.

More Michigan Photos____

Not much going on today, and the fishing in Michigan story is about played, so I'll drop a few more photos from the 4 day trip on ya!

photo descriptions-Various Photos I took at the beach overlooking Lake Huron from the Blue Horizon Court:

http://www.bluehorizonct.com/

And a shot each of Nick{the fat short guy with the Orioles baseball Jersey} and the good looking older gentleman, me, both at the foot bridge overlooking the Au Sable River west of Oscoda, Michigan.

back later>>>>

Things to do when the Fish don't bite...part #2

Yesterday, being my first full day back from the Michigan Fishing Trip, saw me get some things done around the house....then finish things off at St. Johns but hosting our Dartball practice session, with 10 in attendance, and Sam and a player or 2 more not there, we should be in good shape, numbers wise for the upcoming season. Still with a mix of old guys(oldest being 91 years young), and young guys {youngest at 8}, we are a diverse bunch...the regular season kicks off next Monday night at Mendon, with our first home game the week that follows, the night I return from Wisconsin.

The weather was nice, a partly sunny high of about 60 as I shook off the effects of rain, cigars, and Drambuie, from the trip. A heavy frost kicked in overnight, and with sun on the horizon for today, the high is going to be about 50.

More on the Fishing Trip____

As I told yesterday, fish wise things were not to be this year...plenty of fishing, but few fish. Some years you have it{last year}, others you get wacked{this time around}. But a good time

was had anyway.

Friday we fished the entire day...starting out at the pier we tossed 4 lines in, and tried a combination of eggs sacks on one pole, and worms and Erie Dearie Walleye rigs on a second poll. A few Walleye bites, but nothing on the Salmon/Steelhead front. After a few hours there, we picked up and headed west along the River Road towards the Foote Dam. We met a couple of guys, who had been fishing since daybreak{this was at 10am}, and had came away with one nice Steelhead, and a Lake Trout....lots of time, for little fish. Nick and I fished in a steady rain, sometimes light, sometimes moderate, for about 3 hours...before heading back to the cabin, a 15 minute drive. Skunked Again! We had by this time, figured out this day, and with a front coming in for the evening, after the rain ended, that would stir up the river and pretty much disrupt any good fishing, we were in for a pretty tough weekend of fishing. But we had a plan to make sure the weekend and the trip went off AOK.....

We ate breakfast that morning at our favorite diner, a place called Mom's Country Kitchen, just off the bridge on route 23 in Oscoda. Plenty of daily and breakfast specials, we had eaten there on Thursday night, and were back for breakfast on Friday morning.

With the weather in flux, we decided we would be spending more time that we had planned in the cabin...so off the to store Nick went, after dropping me off at Blue Horizon Court....I popped open a beer, and fired up one of my cigars. An hour or so later, here comes Nick with about $100 worth of groceries...W-T-F? No more eating out, we would dine in comfort at the cabin for the duration.

We spent more time fishing, going back to the dam, and the pier as well...with similar luck, or lack of it, as was this year's situation. But we spent plenty of time sampling our cooking, beers, cigars, and I got out and used the new camera to take plenty of photos...Nick tried his hand at photography as well...gotta say, he sucks at that, at least with the new camera, using it for the first time.

Lucky for us we had a good TV, and great cable service, and got to watch plenty of football, the World Series, and just about any Halloween Scary Movie fare we could want....before finally packing it in Sunday morning, and heading home, arriving late in the afternoon on Sunday...fishless this time around, but we, God Willing, will be heading back to Michigan this coming spring to hunt Mushrooms, and next October for more cool weather fishing.

As far as the extra eating, smoking good cigars, Drambuie, etc....things that should have put a crimp in my Diabetes 2 Diet, things didn't change that much. 194 on my return after starting out at 193 last Thursday...and this morning the Blood Pressure reading was 125/70 with a resting pulse of 65....so what could have been a disaster, turned out to be a break even health wise.

back later>>>>photo descriptions below

Photos-The Au Sable as it wanders east towards Lake Huron at Oscoda/one of our mainstays...a double shot of Drambuie on the Rocks with a cigar{let the tips of the Cigars soak in the liquor, and taste the goodness}. The Foote Dam, about 6 miles west of Oscoda, my favorite spot to fish on the river. Double Click the Wild Turkeys along River Road...Wild Turkey's in Ohio are easily scared off, these females just moved a few feet into the brush. Me on the Au Sable Bridge...an example of Nick's shitty photograph skills, or me being dumber looking than I think. The Au Sable moving west towards the damn on Sunday Morning/Sunday morning looking out over Lake Huron from the beach at Blue Horizon Court. And finally Nick's food was better than his photography skills, one of the Saturday morning omelets that he whipped up....we ate well, but sane, the entire 3 days and evenings.

Things to do when the Fish don't bite...part #1

Got back from Oscoda, Michigan, last night....yep, a day early, but that sometimes happens when the fish aren't biting, at least not biting in the form you are accustomed to...

From the Beginning____

Nick and I took off from Celina about 9:30am Thursday. Although he temperatures were scheduled to be 'Indian Summer' like in both Ohio and Michigan with plenty of sunshine, that didn't see to want to work out. We drove up US 127 for about 250 miles before crossing over on Michigan 61 towards Standish and the Michigan "Thumb"...we then proceeded the last miles up US 23 to our destination north of Tawas City, Oscoda. We arrived about 4 O'clock and I guess we should have saw what was going to be our luck, or lack of it for the weekend at that time. We rolled into the little dump on Lake Huron called Aurora Resort to find a new management team on hand...and instead of the $25 a night for the rooms, the manager and his wife demanded $45. Well $45 for a one bedroom, 2 bed motel with a space heater seemed, at least in the off season, pretty steep, especially considering there were no other customers.

So we turned them down, and headed north on 23 towards the Oscoda city limits...after back tracking a bit, Nick pulled the Saturn into an again group of cabins with a sign that said...Blue Horizon Court "Spend a Night, Not a Fortune". We pulled the car into the parking area where 2 guys about our age with tossing the Corn Hole Bags into the game slots out back...I jumped out and was greeted by Jerry, and 101st Airborne Vietnam Vet, from Kentucky, who was staying for the winter in one of the single room cottages, and the owner manager, Bob Laliberte....I told Bob about our luck or lack of it with Aurora, and he said, he could beat the price, but would set us up in one of his 2 bedroom cabins with complete kitchen, cable TV and it's own heading system{no space heater required}...and we could have it for $50 a night...hummm, not much doubt there, The Aurora for $45 or Blue Horizon for $50 with twice the space and much nicer in general. It was a no-brainer. So I plunked down $100 for the first 2 nights, and we were ready to move in, unpack, and go fishing.

http://www.bluehorizonct.com/

At the mouth of the Au Sable River, where it meets Lake Huron, there is a large Marina with a bait, tackle shop with gun store called the Bunyan Town Tackle and Marina with the "Lock, Stock, and Barrel" gun store. We had purchased our fishing license with lifetime DNR Sportscard{required to purchase an out of state license}....we stopped in and picked up our license and talked with the owners.

As luck would have it, as we were walking out, I noticed a pickup truck with a Vietnam Flag as the front license, with a K-9 Dog Logo and SPS{Security Police Squadron} on it...the driver was just getting ready to leave when I tapped on his window...a fellow Air Force Cop from the Vietnam War I had discovered...we talked for about 10 minutes and invited Bob to our Mini Reunion in March in Dayton, and also invited him to join the Vietnam Security Police Association. He had heard of the VSPS, but was not yet a member. He promised to take a look at the web site:

http://vspa.com/

as we said our good-byes and he drove away....

The Fishing___sort of____

The reports we got were as expected...the Salmon run was finishing up and most had moved out into the lake...Steelheads were moving in, but large numbers had not been taken. Seems most folks were having better luck at the Marina, where the river met Lake Huron, and they were catching mostly Walleye there. Nick and I were old Walleye fisherman from as far back as the early 1980s when we would take the 22 footer out into Lake Erie and usually take our limit a time or 2 per day....we were really not looking to take Walleye, but we would see how things went.

One thing that was going on was the coming front and rain...1 to 2 inches of the wet stuff were expected, and it was going to start Thursday night. So we decided to grab supplies, including a bottle of Drambuie and Chili fixin's and at least eat well, if we were going to struggle catching what we wanted. So we grabbed some Bratwurst, Chili Beans, with ground beef, and the other ingredients that go with it, Romain Lettuce, and other fixin's for the salad....and tossed in a case of Miller Lite...we had a supply of 20 or so Cigars in a variety of hand rolled shapes and sizes, and some Folgers Coffee....

We were ready to try our luck at fishing...if that did not go as well as last year{when we brought home over 50 pounds of Salmon Fillets}, we were still going to eat well, drink well, and have plenty of good Cigars to sample.

back later with part 2

Photos-

A few photos of the first days at Oscoda...more, along with the continued story over the next couple of blog posts....Top Left...a Morning Sunrise off the beach at the Blue Horizon as it comes over Lake Huron. (2) The Blue Horizon office looking out over the Lake (3) Our 2 bedroom cabin (4) Nick and me with Cigars and Drambuie on Thursday night (5, 6, 7} Some of the home cooked fare...Chili, Fresh Salad, and smoked Bratwurst with cheese filling (8) Rainy Friday Morning at the Pier as the Au Sable flows into Lake Huron (9) Cigars and Coffee were the constants for after breakfast...Cigars and Drambuie and Beers were the constants after the fishing was done in the evenings.