Anti-Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and all the Other Contrivances

While the gullible and sheep-like were out shopping after Thanksgiving, Heike and I went for a hike in the Morgan Territory. Much better option than battling the hoards of crazed, consumer-obsessed people. Beautiful day in nature wins out every time. I also got in a nice game of pickup hockey in the morning.


In addition, we had a nice 'widows and orphans Thanksgiving this year hosted by Cheryl and Scott Hayes.

Canoeing in Michigan

I've been returning to Michigan in the autumn for the past few years. One of the highlights of the trip is what has become an annual tradition: a short paddle with my friend George Laetz on the Huron River. We usually take a short day trip, followed by a meal at the Dexter pub.

Every year there are some surprises, particularly in terms of wildlife. We've seen a variety of deer, wild turkeys, great blue herrons, osprey, hawk, ducks, trout, pike, turtles, and many others. This year we even saw a beaver lodge, though didn't see the builders.

Photos by, and courtesy of George Laetz.

Snoopy Hockey Tournaments

Ok, it has been a really long time since I've posted, but I've decided to start doing this regularly again, so prepare for a flood of posts.

First let's start with the Snoopy Senior Hockey Tournament. I played with the Michigan 50s for the past two sessions. We took silver both times, losing the gold in overtime in 2010, and losing another close one in 2011. Already looking forward to 2012. Here are pics of the 2010 and 2011 teams.

First, the 2010 team in blue, 2011 in white.

Here is a pic of me with Snoopy.

Finally, the 2011 tourney was great time, but it was also sad because we lost one of our guys during the year. Gerry Andal died unexpectedly, and we missed him greatly during the week. He was a great guy, and a prime mover of our guitar sing-alongs around the pool and at the BBQ.