Great seats at Wrigley with Ty!

Three pictures tell three thousand words!

And a funny thing happened on the way to Chicago. I stopped in at Miller Park to catch up on the Brewer's haps. They were out of town, but the local radio station is kind enough to broadcast the game call in the parking lot. Brewers beat the Cards 1-0 on a Hart homer.Joining me to enjoy the game long distance was the wedding party. I bet they have season tickets! All the best to the bride and groom.So I went inside, bought a Brewer's decal and added this park to my list.

Ty tells me the they are changing the name of the Sears Tower next month, so we took this photo for you all to drink in the lore of last century along with us.

What will the next 100 years bring?

The UP

The Michigan Upper Peninsula is truly a natural wonder!
Waterfalls
Munising Fall

Upper Tequamenon FallsLake Superior vistasThis nice lady came into the visitors center while I was discussing the locks with the volunteer to turn in some keys she found in the street. Low and behold, they were mine! I must have dropped them when that guy honked at me while I was crossing the street.

Good thing, my spare set is in California!

Large shipping locks

The CSL Laurentien is at Lake Heuron level...

Then presto! At Lake Superior level!21 foot Soo LocksAnd tons of beautiful wildflowers...

Yellow violet

Jack in the pulpit

Fiddle neck fern

White ones (aka white bleeding heart, thanks Nancy)

Another Jack in the pulpit

Probable yellow wood sorrelDutchman's breeches

Ipi likes these too!

And this spring beauty

I believe this is a type of bellwort Emerging ferns

And these neat shoots - very bizarre

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Welcome to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore!

Yes, I hiked up the dune to get a close up look.

Note in the picture below of the steep slope of the sand how many more steps were required on the way up (right) compared to down (left).

Ripley didn't get to climb the dune, but he had a lot of fun in the woods. Then we walked through the upper dune trail...

And out to the steep slope and a view of Lake Michigan.
We also enjoyed some close up views...
Including this freshly unfolding fern.
That first one was a crowded ant hill... amazing!

A Break from Baseball

After 3 games in a row in Cinci, I decided to turn attention to other activities.
We played the back nine at the club. And Dave's game was a pitchers nightmare.

The domestic chores were fun.

And Dave enjoyed the smores!

We had a great time at John's place.

Then I headed North from Cincinnati into Michigan. I stopped in Holland for a night, just missed the tulip festival. But I didn't miss the tulips. They were gorgeous!

All different colors...

In full bloom...

Absolutely spectacular!

Continuing in Michigan to circumnavigate Lake Michigan. Next stop Sleepy Bear Dunes National Lake Shore.

Cooking breakfast with Dave!

Enjoying a campfire with Dave at the Tango!

Fireworks Friday in Cinci

Reds 6 Cards 4

We're a big crowd tonight to see the Reds pound the Cards 5 zip in the 4th.

The Greatest Weekend!

It doesn't get any better than this. A visit by my best friend while traveling across the country and fabulous Spring views of the Mississippi River. I picked up Sharon in KC and we drove across the Show Me state.

We stopped in Columbia to explore Stephens College where Patty Payne studied before she was Patty Payne. It was fun to roam around in the college town. The Uptown Cafe is the haps - don't miss it.

We drove and stopped. Camped and drove. Drank in the Springtime vistas of the woods and farmland. It was curious to see the early season wheat sprouting, but the cornfields awaiting.

The highlight was Paynesville. This big little town is typical of rural MO. We took a left to loop back, said howdy to Jimmy while he was working on his car and found ourselves on Main Street . The road was well groomed despite it's lack of pavement.

Yes, Paynesville is a small, Midwestern town.It was all so much fun and excitement that I wore the poor girl from So. Cal. out by the end of the day. I tucked her in for a well-earned nap in the Tango.
I am so blessed to have friends all along the way on this adventure. But to add in a visit from my special girl, I am on top of the world.

Thanks for visiting Sharon, and thanks for the top notch babysitting Patty, Bob and Susan.

A Great Baseball Experience!

Rob snags a ball!

Shirt Night!!

Rob catches a shirt!

Great Seats... AGAIN!!!

Same seats!

Once again we sat in the 3rd row behind the visitors dugout.