Gone Fishin'

This past Memorial Day weekend was spent 'up north' in Alexandria at the annual fishing trip. I could be wrong, but I believe this is the 11th year I've attended. The participants change every year as some people have other plans, but it's usually the same group of friends +/- a few extras.

This year marked the start of what could be a new tradition: Wine Tasting & Tour. Unlike the winerys the wife and I visited in the pacific northwest, the local establishment allowed you to sample approximately 20 variations free of charge and then showed you how wine is made. Obviously, the hope is to get you to buy a bottle or two (which I gladly did) and everyone is "happy."

Most of my friends have little ones which provided some additional entertainment. From making Smores and wearing them, catching 'fishes' and comparing who caught what, and random games in the lawn like "Pickle in the Middle" with a frisbee about 3' in diameter.

Otherwise, we drank more than usual (but not too much, as we're "too old"), played games, told jokes, laughed at funny things, etc. And no, I didn't catch a single fish - but that's okay. I still had fun anyway.

Attack of the 25-lb Salted Nut Roll

Part of the Lawn Bowling event last night involved a raffle drawing. This is no ordinary raffle, as there are several big-ticket items for those lucky enough to win them. A 37" LCD TV, DisneyWorld passes, airline tickets and gift certificates to fancy restaurants in the metro area were all up for grabs.

I always partake in the raffle as it's a good way to earn money for a good cause - and I might get something cool out of it too. This year, I threw three tickets in the hat for a 25-lb Pearson's Salted Nut Roll...and won! Here's a pic of it sitting in front of two employees:



It's enormous! We still haven't figured out how to cut it, either. I also won two round-trip airline tickets, which made my night (and $$$ spent on raffle tickets) quite rewarding.

Lawn Bowling

Tonight is our company's fundraising event for the March of Dimes: IT Lawn Bowling. It's always a lot of fun, but Mother Nature tends to spoil things by throwing rain at us - which means we can't bowl. 2005 - Rained Out Completely; 2006 - Rain Delayed...twice; 2007 - ???

There's a tornado warning out right now for the NW burbs, and a Severe Thunderstorm warning for us here in Minneapolis. The outlook doesn't look promising, but hopefully it will rain now and then stop - allowing the wind to dry off the grass and let us play after 7:30pm.

*crosses fingers*

Update: It poured for about 30 minutes later in the afternoon, soaking the green and cancelling the bowling part of the event. Oh well, better luck next year!

Random Observations

The weekend brought me to the following conclusions:

1) People don't know how to properly park in Dubuque, IA. (hint: it's with the traffic)
2) If a road is closed you can probably find a way around it...maybe.
3) There is absolutely nothing on local TV on Sunday at 7am worth watching.
4) Big celebrations don't necessarily mean a lot of square footage or thousands of attendees.
5) You should have more than 10 cars if you decide to have a car show and charge admission.
6) When the signs say "Left Lane Closed Ahead" don't wait until the lane ends to move over...id10ts!
7) My parents dog really isn't as smart as he lets on (and that's not much).
8) Cell phone coverage is getting better in the sticks.
9) My dad is old enough to start collecting Social Security?!?!
10) Wifey's little red Jetta really likes cruising at 80 mph.

That's all for now.