That time of year again. The Stomp has had weather issues in the past; and this year the forecast was for possible storms on Friday and Saturday. Fortunately, they didn’t happen. But Saturday and Sunday produced heat indices in the mid-90’s!
[Friday was overcast with a bit of dewpoint. We went out early afternoon for Anthony Miltich. This was the first photo op that caught my eye . . . ]
[Then Anthony caught my eye . . . ]
[Good stuff from our old friend . . . ]
[We were there with our usual music partners, Dave and Karin Berg . . . ]
[And were subsequently joined by Dave’s brother Loren and his wife Dee . . . ]
[Dave and Karin thought they heard the pop of a wine cork from bottle of Reserve Marquette. They, the Super and me, would leave a little early to nap before going to see Dan Mahar at the Garden Bar that evening . . . ]
September 15
Saturday was just too damn hot!!
September 16
[Sunday morning on Lake H2Obert – starting to take on the look and feel of fall . . . ]
[Before the last day of Grape Stomp, we had the Anderson’s annual pot luck and stinging insect festival – this year at Smokey Timbers . . . ]
[Yes, the Alexandria Andersons! Happy Birthday, Alice! (Sorry we forgot your card in our car. It happens. All the time.)]
[I’m always amazed that potlucks always seem to have the right combinations of food products?]
[Dig in, Harvey!]
[In case we forget where this took place . . . ]
[We started eating outside, but the wasps and flies overwhelmed our food . . . ]
[Our departing walk up the hill (that’s Lake Miltona is beyond the tree line) . . . ]
[The Super heading up hill to our car . . . ]
[It was hot again, with 30 mph winds – a good day for a ride in the country with the convertible roof down . . . ]
[Pretty ride from Smokey Timbers to the winery through farmlands in or near harvest season . . . ]
[See a bit of Lake Miltona here . . . ]
[Now we’re on the homeward stretch to the winery with Lake Ida to the right . . . ]
[Mid-September, leaves they are a’changin’ . . . ]
[The sunlight sparkles off the cars parked at the Grape Stomp . . . ]
[And we’re there . . . ]
[Vendor tents amassed . . . ]
[Turning in past some grape vines . . . ]
[To field parking . . . ]
[Premature wine . . . ]
[And we were there for Josie . . . ]
[It was too windy for videos . . . ]
[She’s two weeks into her sophomore year at Concordia Moorhead . . . ]
[But it was the biggest Sunday crowd I can recall – I think Josie did pretty good with her tip jar!]
When life gives you lemons, make grape juice and let them wonder how you did it. ~ Unknown
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more. Thus, this is “Part 2.” As the original was initially described:
10-26-07-4
“It all began in a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, California” . . . wait a minute, that was Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! Let’s see . . . oh yeah, it all began in 2003 when retirees, i.e., old people, in Alexandria, Minnesota, who had no desire to become snow birds, went looking for mid-winter entertainment here in the frozen tundra of West Central Minnesota. We discovered girls’ high school hockey, fell in love immediately, and it remains our favorite spectator sport to this day. Initially, and for several years, reports on these games were e-mailed to those who were actually snowbirds but wanted to keep abreast of things “back home.” It was ultimately decided a blog would be more efficient, and it evolved into a personal diary of many things that attracts tens of readers on occasion. It remains a source of personal mental therapy and has yet to elicit any lawsuits.
~ The Editor, May 9, 2014
p.s. The photo border around the blog is the Cardinal girls’ hockey team after just beating Breck for the state championship in 2008. It’s of the all-tournament team. The visible Breck player on the left is Milica McMillen, then an 8th-grader – she is now an All-American for the Gophers. The Roseau player in the stocking cap I believe is Mary Loken, who went on to play for UND; and the Cardinal player on the right, No. 3, is Abby Williams, the player we blame most for making us girls’ hockey fans who went on to play for Bemidji State.
***********************************************************************************
Photos contained herein are available for personal use. All you have to do is double click on any of the photos and they will become full screen size. You can then save them into your personal “My Pictures” file. They make lovely parting or hostess gifts, or holiday gifts for such as Uncle Ernie who wants to see how his grand niece is doing on the hockey team. If any are sold for personal profit, however, to, for example, the Audubon Society, National Geographic, Sven’s Home Workshop Monthly, Curling By The Numbers, or the World Wrestling Federation, I only request that you make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. You have two hours and fifteen minutes. Pencils ready? Begin!
**********************************************************************************
View all posts by tomobert63
alexandriacardinals2.wordpress.com 