What do you make of this?

On the way home from a truly delightful "Bailey Christmas" in Eatonia yesterday, we came across a rather bizarre and unexpected sight. About ten km. south of Unity, we saw what we first thought was an Eagle on Hwy. 21. Upon closer inspection, it was a turkey vulture! On the road was the subject of his attention, a newly deceased jackrabbit. A couple of magpies were trying to share in the bonanza as well.

This was a juvenile turkey vulture, and like his kin all over the world, was evidently unaware that his continued presence in a hostile environment may have less than desirable consequences for his health. Nevertheless, he did seem delighted with his lagomorphaic discovery.

We troubled him no further, but I couldn't help but ponder whether there was a prophetic message in such an unusual encounter. After all, this is Saskatchewan in mid-winter (-18C), and this fellow is far from his normal roosting spot at this time of year. Perhaps a reader of this blog might offer an opinion or insight?

What a Show!

Some of you may have heard reports of the meteor sighting over the prairies last night. I'm pleased to report that, not only did it miss us, but we had a great view of the whole show!

We were driving westward on 44th Street, just opposite the Lloydmall at 5:26 p.m. when the whole sky lit up. There was still a bit of twilight to the west, but this flash changed the sky to a grey-white, mostly white. Our first thought was that an electric transformer had shorted out directly overhead. Thoughts of recent stock market behaviours, and the Eskimo's last game against the 'Riders also danced through my head. Looking south over the Lloydmall, I saw the last second or so of the meteor as it descended, breaking into three or four pieces just before it winked out. It was a yellow in color, kind of like the end of a fireworks shot. We've seen lots of meteorites in the skies but nothing remotely comparable to this. It was like the night launch of the space shuttle!

Apparently people in Medicine Hat, Calgary, Vulcan, Edmonton, Cold Lake, Beauval, The Pas, Brandon, and Saskatoon (to name a few) also observed it. It looked like the thing may have landed a few kilometers away, but apparently it is very difficult to judge distances of meteors as there is no way of knowing how bright or big these things are at the time. People figure that it probably landed somewhere near the Sask-Alta border, south of Lloydminster, but north of Alsask. I figure, maybe Vulcan.

What Would Bambi's Mother Say?

Bambi's mother would say "Winter has come to the meadow"

With the first snowfall of the season worthy of getting out the snow shovel, we awoke this morning to the sweet, sweet sound of the neighbour's snow blower moving up and down the sidewalk of the whole block. Now that's when one really appreciates the good neighbours we have here. Thank you Ernie!

Actually, this image is for Doug and Lenore to enjoy. I'll be putting out the bird feeder tomorrow Doug.

Oktoberfest in Lloydminster

Last nite mein frau and I enjoyed Lloydminster's Oktoberfest for the first time.
Here are a few of the delightful new friends we met last nite. Everyone seemed so friendly and happy, we decided we must go back again next year!

Although not quite as famous as the Munich Oktoberfest, I thought you might like to knows some of the essential facts concerning the two celebrations.

First Oktoberfest celebration .... 1810 in Munich (1992 in Lloydminster)
Length of Festival .... 16-17 days (5 1/2 hours)
Record attendance .... 7.1 million (458)
Record beer consumption .... 6.7 million litres (9.5 kegs)
Record # of chickens consumed .... 807,710 (0)
Record # of bratwurst consumed .... 721,468 (480)
Number of oxen consumed .... 104 (0)
Number of times cancelled .... 24 (NEVER!!)

Finally, a useful phrase should you ever find yourself amongst the crowd pictured above - "Hol mir ein Bier, bitte!" (get me a beer, please!).

Secrets of the Crooked Bush

A few months ago, Mom showed us an article on the famous "crooked bush" of Hafford. Since we were passing nearby on our recent trip to P.A. we decided to give it a look. You follow a gravel road 16 km. north of Hwy 40, near Speers and then 2.5 km. east. Keep a keen eye out as it is not well marked.

After a couple of diversions, we finally come upon the "crooked bush". This poplar bluff is perhaps 75 meters long by 50 meters wide, right beside the grid road and with another small road circling it. And it is exactly as advertised. Poplar trees of all ages twist and bend along all sorts of angles and shapes. They are a bit smaller than normal poplar trees, some perhaps 25 feet tall, but normal in every other way except for the way their trunks meander from the normal. Other trees not 50 meters away look completely normal. Young poplars on the edge of the bluff also exhibit the twisting growth of the larger ones, but no other ones that we saw that day were anything but normal.

Mom on the boardwalk

A community group has built a short boardwalk to minimize damage from the curious. There is a sign with a brief history, stating that it is one of the "54 wonders of Canada" as selected by the CBC program 'Morningside". Here is a link to some much better photographs, taken on a cloudy day: http://www.pbase.com/sjvucko/crooked

Evidently, cattle avoid the place, even without a fence around it, and some people have reported dizziness and light-headedness while walking amongst the trees.

Many theories abound as to what would cause such a prominent distortion in such tiny confines. They include radioactive soil, a genetic cause, a former landing spot of a UFO, a lightning strike that changed the soil chemistry, and others. The truth, however, is even more fantastic.

Apparently a UFO was observed hovering over the area. Since that time, men have reported problems with, how shall I put this, ..... the Man Downstairs, ... the old bush-whacker,.... that one-eyed trouser snake, .... Dr. Wang,.... Uncle Throbby,.... the bald avenger. I'm sure you get the idea. Of great significance however, is that these problems occur not with the men that visit the crooked bush, but with their siblings! Isn't that amazing?

So, Lenore and Colleen, if your man is experiencing any signs of "E.D.", you should get in touch with me as the cure was posted on a sign there as well. I'll be happy to pass along that information. Just send me an email briefly describing the problem and circumstances and I'll get you fixed up right smartly.

A Visit to Birch Hills

Yesterday Roni, Grandma Clara and I drove from N.B. to Birch Hills, via Crooked Bush, Blaine Lake and Prince Albert (more on Crooked Bush at another time). We visited Aunt Caroline, one of the world's nicest people. She received us in the Sr. Citizens Home at Birch Hills, and treated us to tea and a cookie, and a wonderful visit. She recently celebrated her 90th birthday and is looking great. Here's a photo of us in the dining/visiting room in Birch Hills.

Its "Name That Tune" Time!

One of the great things about traveling is the opportunity to experience different cultures and participate in local customs. Faithful readers of this blog will recall my experiences with little old ladies in Mississippi, our adventures with alligators, my dancing with snakes at Sanibel Island, and our revelry on Bourbon Street, among others. Here are a couple of our recent activities for you to name that may challenge your skills.

Photo Number 1. If you look carefully, you can just barely make out Ray and Roni on the left side, about three rows back. What is the occasion?

Photo Number 2. Not many people can make me feel small. Who is Ray's new found friend? Hint - he was born in Kinshasa.

Louisiana to Lloydminster

Natchez was delightful. Lots of antebellum mansions to view and a magnificent view of the Mississippi from the elevated eastern bank, all in a small-town atmosphere. For those literary types, Natchez boasts an excellent fiction author - Greg Isles. I've read a couple of his novels and am on my third. Contemporary mysteries, mostly set in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Across the wide Mississippi we go and northward through Louisiana cotton country and into the rich soils of southern and eastern Arkansas. We tried to look up Bill and Hillary in Little Rock but it seems they are elsewhere occupied. We carried on nevertheless, through the Ozarks and into Missouri. Somewhat surprisingly, we ended up in Branson, Missouri. Surprisingly, I say, because it seems everyone else on the planet has heard of Branson except us. Think Las Vegas for country folk, and without the casinos. There's a four mile long "strip" loaded with concert halls featuring all the country music stars you hoped you'd forgotten about years ago! Apparently this is where they all end up. So we take in a show, and guess what - it was fun!

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Center

A scene from "A Country Jamboree"

Carrying on northward and westward, we pass Kansas City, Nebraska, Sioux City, and Iowa ending up headed west across South Dakota. Wonderful grasslands and big skies. We even pass Laura Ingalls Wilder's hometown (remember "Little House on the Prairie")? We visit the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D. see four presidents at Mt. Rushmore, and end up in Deadwood, S.D. Deadwood - think Las Vegas in the mountains with gunfights on the street each day...... and sometimes snowstorms overnight.

An overnight snowstorm in Deadwood

We make it back into Montana and finally cross the border into Canada. For no apparent reason other than only 2 guys on duty (out of the six booths) we waited 90 minutes to cross. Reunited with our daughter, cat, brother's family, friends, and the Bailey NHL Hockey Pool trophy, things feel good. Even the two-day blizzard fails to dampen our spirits as we make quick stops in Innisfail and Edmonton.

The QE2 Highway welcomes us home.

Finally, it is back to our Lloydminster home after two months away. Nothing much has changed - I shovel the driveway the next morning. But it is good to be home!

From Alvin to Elvis

Upon arriving at Tupelo, Mississippi from Birmingham, Alabama we found that Elvis' birthplace was much better marked than Alvin's. It's a good thing too, as I'd hate to think of all those thousands of Elvis fans blindly swarming around the neighbourhood trying to find His birthplace!

The two room "shotgun" house
where Elvis was born in 1935.

It's called a "shotgun house" because the front and back doors are aligned to improve ventilation. A side benefit is that, if you-all are lucky, a shotgun blast can pass right through both doors without hitting anything. I suspect that the house where Alvin was born was an earlier model of this.

After all this genealogical research we were ready for some relaxation time so we drove the Natchez Trace. This is a 50 mph scenic road from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi. It parallels the original wagon train route (trace) between the same two settlements in the 1700's and 1800's, and is the definition of "taking the scenic route" - no trucks, no billboards, no hurry. We picked it up in Tupelo and headed south.

Overhanging branches along the Natchez Trace

We saw this "crimson clover"....
over and over......

Arriving in Natchez, a Mississippi River town in southern Mississippi, we toured a few of the antebellum (pre-civil war) homes. They've still got a lot of them there. It was good to be rich in those days. Not so good to be poor, and especially poor and black. Most of the owners of these homes had several hundred, or even several thousand slaves to tend their cotton plantations across the river in Louisiana. At one count, there were 250 millionaires in Natchez pre-war. Post war there were probably none.

Longwood Plantation House

Now I know why bus drivers have that plexiglass behind them....

After an afternoon of antebellum viewing, it was off to the Riverboat Casino, conveniently located down the hill from our hotel. We took the hotel shuttle, one of those 30 or 40 passenger buses. At one of the stops, an elegant-looking woman got on. She was, oh, in her 70's or so, alone, and dressed rather formally in a full-length black skirt and using a walking cane. She had to put her purse on the first step of the bus to make it up the three or four stairs with her cane, but managed OK after a bit of a struggle on the first step. She even politely said "hello" to a woman in front who, in actuality, was saying "hello" to someone else on her cellphone. No matter. She sat down in the first row, right behind the driver.

When we reached the casino, yours truly, being a good boy-scout, figured that if I got off first, I could offer her my assistance as she disembarked. I waited at the foot of the stairs with my hand ready. She dropped her cane,but it was thoughtfully picked up by the cellphone woman and returned to her with a smile. She seemed to be having a bit of difficulty getting to her feet. The remaining passengers waited patiently. She got a couple of inches off the seat and then dropped back down. This was followed almost immediately by horizontal projectile vomit. Not once, but twice.

I chose the discrete part of valour and went off to alert security.

Now I know why bus drivers have that plexiglass screen thing behind their seats.

(Sorry, no photo)

Following in Grandpa Al's footsteps.

For the past two days, we have been following up the available facts we have regarding Dad's childhood in Birmingham and Montgomery. I'm very pleased to say that we have found out quite a bit! I can't wait to share it with Doug, Ted, and the rest of the family.

For the time being, here are a few photos.

From the age of 9, dad lived in the Masonic Home of Alabama (an orphanage) in Montgomery, Alabama. Although the original building has been removed and a nursing home constructed, now even the nursing home has been demolished. Some of the land had been sold to a school, and some to a church, but the majority of the land is an open field, with a couple of workshops. Beside the workshops are a few of the original cornerstones of the Masonic Home of Alabama. There were a few other relevant items as well that I photographed.

Dad attended the Cloverdale High School after finishing his elementary school at the Masonic Home. We found the original Cloverdale School about a half mile west of the Masonic Home. Surprisingly, it is still in much the same condition as it would have been in the 1930's when dad attended. It is now owned by Huntington College and is used as a sports extension of the college. You can still see the "Cloverdale School" above the door, as well as in several other places.

Prior to the move to Montgomery, dad lived in Birmingham. He states on a document that he was born on "Cottage Hill Road, Cottage Hill, Jefferson County, Alabama". As I suspected, Cottage Hill has been renamed Pleasant Grove, and Cottage Hill Road is now Pleasant Grove Road. We have no address for his original home, nor could I locate one in the Pleasant Grove archives, however we can say that we drove up his street!

This church "may" be where he attended school in grades 1to 3. The church's exterior has been redone in brick in the 1970's, but it did host a one room school in the early 1900's, and was the original "Frog Pond" church. Dad states that he attended Frog Pond School from grade 1 to 3.

In other news, today we visited Tupelo, Mississippi and the home where Elvis was born.

Memories of Sanibel Island

Just off the Gulf coast of Florida, near Ft. Meyers, is the lovely low-lying key of Sanibel. Half of it is a wildlife sanctuary mostly comprised of mangroves and tidal flats - a bird and fish magnet. We took a four mile driving tour and saw lots of the expected water birds and fish species.

After this tour, and in the 29C heat, we were ready to sample one of the several gulf beaches of Sanibel. This state seems to have an unlimited supply of superb beaches. This one had the usual fine sand but with lots of finely crumbled shells mixed in. Lots of shells under the waves too, but mostly firm clean sand.

After my swim I showered off and was waiting in the sun by a picnic table to dry off a bit before changing as I had not brought along a towel. It's been about six weeks since my last haircut, so I was fluffing it out in the sun to dry a bit quicker, half bending over when I heard a rustling of nearby dry leaves. Simultaneously, out of the corner of my eye, I saw this quick movement. Out of these leaves about two meters away a snake darted out and became entangled in my legs! Suddenly I was back-pedaling like mad, giving off primitive animal-like noises, flailing my arms and kicking out my legs like a crazy man possessed! Have you ever had your heart-rate go from 70 to 150 in two seconds flat? I nearly landed on my back, but just caught my balance in time. The whole episode only lasted maybe three or four seconds, but in that time I did see that it was a small black snake, maybe a meter or so long, but only about as thick as my little finger. Judging my my reaction, it seemed to be 5 meters long and as thick as my arm! Whoa, I haven't been that startled since Milt Stegall caught his famous touchdown! Somehow I managed to kick it off my leg. Where it ended up, I have no idea. Probably in the top of one of the nearby palm trees if the enthusiasm of my kicks are any indication!

A fellow nearby was looking at me as if I was about to turn into a demon. I said "It was a black snake - are they harmless?" He said "Yes, if they are black, they are". I said "Good. It scared the hell out of me!" He said, supressing a smile, "I thought it might have been a bee after you". I said, "I don't suppose you got a video of that, did you? That would have been pretty funny". "No, sorry" he said. And I definitely sensed that he was truly sorry that he hadn't. Me too.

Anyway, along comes Roni just about then, to catch the last of the conversation. "What's this about a snake?" she says. I wasn't going to tell her about this experience as my reaction to snakes would have seemed like an afternoon nap compared to hers. But, after explaining, even she could see the humour of what just happened.

Sanibel Island - you will remain in my memory forever.

Life at the Beach

The last few days we've been exploring a few of the many beaches on the Gulf coast, near Tampa.

As you know, we enjoy our own beach at Sandy Beach, SK.

These are nothing like that.

These beaches are from 200 to 500 meters wide and run for kilometers.

We first went to Fort DeSoto Park, just south of St. Petersburg. This is located on a small "key", an offshore strip of land that usually runs parallel with the mainland shore. It is your postcard palm beach with fine white sand, gentle waves and light breezes. There is a sign claiming that this beach was rated the number one beach in the USA in 2004. Hard to argue. After enjoying a picnic lunch, we waded along the shoreline, being too chicken to swim in the cool waters. By "cool" , I mean about 69F or 70F. Most people did the same. I'm guessing that in the summer, the water temps are around 80F or higher.

Fort DeSoto beach.

Our next beach was at Treasure Island, just to the west side of St. Petersburg. this was a wide beach, around 500 meters wide. Wide enough for me to fly my kite without fear of it hitting anyone. A nice seabreeze held the kite up real well. There were also quite a number of blue wind/sun shelters that one could sit under to get away from the elements. Drinks and dinner at Sloppy Joes followed.

Kite flying on Treasure Island beach.

A sand sculpture at Treasure Island Beach

Yesterday we had lunch at Clearwater Beach, just west of, yes, Clearwater, which is just to the north of St. Petersburg. Another beautiful white sand beach that seemed to attract a lot more people. No kite-flying there! But lots of people, birds (pelicans, cormorants, gulls, terns, etc.), and boats to watch. It is spring break for a lot of students in this area, so parking spaces were hard to find.

Clearwater Beach

We took a leisurely drive northward along the coastline to Tarpon Springs - fishing village that was originally settled by Greek sponge divers. There is a little Greek village devoted to selling the tourists reminders of that era, and we were no exception. Drinks and dinner by the waterfront (literally one foot away) where we saw more birds and even a single dolphin that splashed around briefly. Lots of small fishing boats, and one huge private yacht that towered over us as it left port. Hmmmmm.

Roni and a friend at Tarpon Springs. Is this her entry
for that hottie bartender contest?

We do plan to visit a beach or two around Ft. Meyers on the way back from the Keys. Bro' Doug says they are worth seeing. Stay tuned!

Oranges, Oranges Everywhere

Central Florida is noted for its oranges. In our travels, we've seen several orange processing plants, big mesh-sided trucks full of oranges, and of course, lots of orange trees. One can't go a mile without seeing orange groves (orchards?).

The dark green trees are usually about 15 feet high, planted about 20 feet apart, some are filled with oranges, and some not, and some are even blooming with small white flowers. Yesterday we were around the Winter Haven area and into a particularly nice spot where the fragrance of the orange blossoms was just lovely. Kind of like climbing up a apple tree at blooming time, if you know what that is like.

Well, we have been looking at these oranges with some longing lately, stopping to photograph a few, wanting to appropriate some, but fearful of ending up as a cellmate of Conrad Black should we be caught "orange-handed" so to speak (Lord Conrad, by the way, seems to be settling in quite well in his medium security surroundings here in central Florida, according to media reports). We really should be neighborly and stop in to see him one of these days.

But I digress. How to sample some of these orange delights without actually buying them, and remaining free? Well, it seems our prayers were answered. We were driving through this particularly lovely orange grove with trees tight on both sides when up ahead, on the road, were about a hundred oranges. Some were squashed, some split, but most of them just lying right there at the edge of the road, wondering what had happened to them. Obviously, they had fallen off one of the open topped orange trucks when it hit a bump on the road.

Like manna from heaven.

Of course we stopped. Salvager's rights we figured. We looked around furtively just in case, dusted a few off, tossed them in the back seat, and laughed all the way home.

Roni with a tree that has both ripened oranges
and new blossoms.

The USAC Sears Auto Center 200 Hooters Procup

Believe it or not, that's where we ended up on Saturday in Lakeland, FL. At the stock car races. 200 times around the track. Hooters girls and all.

It was all Roni's idea. I just went along to keep her company.


We were there with about three or four thousand other folks. Anyone from rural North Carolina would not feel out of place. I bought a ticket on a Harley Davidson raffle. Two Buds were $5.00. Lots of us wore earplugs. No one was in a hurry for anything, except for the drivers - they were in a big hurry. About 26 of the 32 that started thr race actually got around the track 200 times. Not bad.


Yes, there were a few fender-benders but nothing serious - some scrapes along the wall, a few nose to rear bumps, a couple of 360's in the turns, a blown motor or two, stuff like that. But no fires of rollovers. Quite civilized, actually.

I did learn some new uses for duct tape. Seems the guy I was cheering for (a rookie out of Mongomery, Alabama) nearly separated his right front fender from the rest of his vehicle. No problem. Head for the pits with the fender flapping and get out the duct tape! A half-dozen strips and 13 seconds later he is back in the race!! Who knew?? And to think of all the $$ we've spent in the past few years (since Kelly got her driver's licence) and all we really needed was a few rolls of duct tape!!

Here's my guy with the right front fender all
duct-taped back on.


A closer look!

The eventual winner does his traditional tire-smoking spins in front of the grandstand, wow-ing the crowd, collects his champagne and kisses and off he goes.

And as for us - hey, it was fun!

At Disney Hollywood

The last Disney park on our tour was Disney Hollywood - as the name suggests, all things movie-related. The architecture is well-done, with streets like New York Street, Hollywood Boulevard, and San Francisco Avenue done up like their namesakes, as well as representative restaurants. There is a souvenir shop on NY street named "Youse Guys Moichandyse".

We saw a couple of stunt shows with car and motorcycle chases, shoot-em-ups and big explosions. Went on a few rides and saw a few shows.

The best show however, is "Fantasmic!" . . . rated as the best of its kind in Florida. "Combining music, lasers, fan-fountain projection, animation and a cast of over a hundred actors and dancers. Fantasmic! manages to choreograph the entire event with split second accuracy to music, fireworks and lighting. Illuminated boats, flying floats and a lake which bursts into flames are but some features of this enchanting event which plays to audiences of 10,000 per showing."

Unfortunately rain started to fall about 6:00. Fantasmic! was scheduled for 8:30, but not wanting to miss it, we went to the venue in hopes that the rain would subside.

Here is Ray, wrapped in a plastic raincoat,
Mickey Mouse popcorn in hand, waiting for
Fantasmic!, and hoping the rain
will soon stop.

It did not. But it was a warm rain. And the show went ahead anyway!! It was great.

Disney-Mania

There are so many things to do in the Orlando area. Having already seen some pretty fair aquariums and zoos, and not really interested in monster waterparks, and also not much interested in being thrown 500 feet in the air on a rope, we decided that of the many area theme parks, we would choose to visit the Disney ones. Disney has four main parks here - The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and Disney's Hollywood Studios. We bought a 7 day pass, which allows 7 visits to any of the above parks within a 14 day period - a good value if you are here for 14 days.

So far we've visited the first three, and will go to Hollywood Studios tomorrow.

All of them are a lot of fun, even without our children!!

We've met some interesting characters ..............

....... walked down Main Street to Cinderella's castle......


........had lunch with an ibis at a Mexican cantina......


......... seen several awesome 3D movies .............


........ visited Canada at Epcot...........


...... chatted with a lowland gorilla.......


....... and even participated in several parades.......

Maybe after visiting Disney - MGM Hollywood, we'll even be in the movies somewhere! Can you suggest a name for our first movie??

SST123 Endeavour Launch

Here's a few more observations on the Space Shuttle launch last night.

We viewed the launch from the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex along with several thousand other enthusiasts. This is the closest that a visitor can view a launch, and it is still six miles away from the actual launching pad. During the wait, all the exhibits at the KSCVC are open so we took in a 3D IMAX film of US and Russian launches and the creation of the International Space Station. It was great! We also strolled the rocket garden of previous booster rockets and spacecraft as well as other displays.

The Rocket Garden

As the countdown proceeded on a big outdoor screen, we could see the pre-launch steps as they led closer to the launch time of 2:28 a.m. As the last few critical sequences passed, people would expectantly applaud as it became obvious that the mission was a "go", myself among them.

Keep in mind that I was a 10 year old kid when the "space age" began. To actually see a real spaceship blast off into orbit - this was going to be incredible! It didn't disappoint.

We could see the live image on the TV screen as the massive rocket engines ignited, literally turning night into day. It was several seconds before the sound of those engines reached us. By that time, the shuttle had cleared the tree line and we could see Endeavour rising straight up at an ever increasing speed, followed by a huge vapour trail. If anything, the light from the huge tail of fire increased. There was a cloud layer at, I'm guessing, 6 - 8,000 feet that reflected the light downwards and outwards. As the shuttle passed through this cloud layer, the light intensity dropped, but it was still lighting up the clouds from above. Unfortuately, that was the last we could see of the shuttle, as the layer was pretty solid. As the light faded, so did the sound, which was more like a deep crackling booming than a constant roll.

Endeavour as it leaves the launch pad.

Passing through the cloud layer as only the vapour trail remains.

What an awesome experience! It took us three hours in mostly bumper to bumper traffic to get home, but I'd do it again in a second. Just to contemplate the complexities of such an accomplishment; to appreciate that our great grandparents could never have imagined such a feat, and to have actually witnessed it still fills me with awe and wonder.

Wow!

We just got "home" from the shuttle Endeavour night launch. The launch was exactly on time at 2:28 a.m., and we got home (roughly 60 miles from Cape Canaveral) at 5:45 a.m. Ironically, the shuttle had made two circuits of the earth by the time we got here. More details tomorrow.

Spring Training

"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."


The scene - Chain of Lakes Stadium, Winterhaven, Fla. The occasion - Grapefruit League Baseball. The combatants - the mighty Cleveland Indians and the mighty Atlanta Braves. Two fans, Ray and Roni at their first pro baseball game.

Both managers were very liberal in their substitutions, each pitcher getting three innings, regardless of his effectiveness. The remainder of the players got 4 or 5 innings in before giving way to someone else.

Well, the Indians' bats didn't get working until the 9th inning, but it was too little, too late by then. Final score: Atlanta 5, Cleveland 1.

For Ray and Roni, it was a pleasant two and a half hours in the gentle sunshine, two Buds in plastic bottles, some peanuts and Cracker Jack, and a great way to spend an afternoon.