Good afternoon GH. It is fast closing on 2:00 PM in "The City" and the current temperature is 62 degrees. The skies are cloudy all day. Oops, there's that lyric slip again. Actually, the skies are cloudy and the chance of showers is at 60%. Sugar the Weather Dog is away at camp and we have to pick her up between 4:00 and 6:00 PM today. Our next chance of precipitation is Wednesday and Thursday. No T-storms today, so Sugar will be fine.

Speaking of Sugar, we saw a picture of two beautiful Corgi boys at a restaurant/bar in Muskegon while we were there to see the Michigan Irish Music Festival. More on that in a bit. The bartender is a Corgi enthusiast and she had such great stories about her boys. Sugar is still the cutest dog on the planet, but these guys are a close second.

Before we got to the restaurant, we stopped in the Muskegon Heritage Museum. What a great place! They had two bicycles that were made in Grand Haven in the early part of the 20th century and a working Brunswick bowling pin setter to go with an exhibit about the paper mill in Muskegon that ended its run in 2009.

Perhaps the most interesting exhibit for me was the Corliss Stationary Steam Engine and the accompanying machinery that was being powered by it. The young man who was mostly responsible for its care and operation was named Adam. Both he and John, a former employee of the paper mill and one of the museum docents, spoke lovingly of the machines and industries that were part and parcel to Muskegon in its industrial hey day. I never knew that so many things were made in Muskegon. Today, Muskegon is attempting a come-back, but it is tough when so much of what made the city what it was has been lost to "progress" and off-shore competition. I'll let Mary tell you more in her blog to accompany the pictures that she took. I am sure that she will also include some pictures of the music fest too.

Speaking of the music fest, we saw multiple bands and performers. We heard Nolan Ladewski of Kennedy's Kitchen sing, play the tin whistle and the flute with Kennedy's Kitchen and sit in with other artists. What a talent. We were also thrilled by a young Irish performer, Damian Dempsey whose music was a treat. I was especially impressed by Scythian, a group of young performers who have been making a living playing Celtic, world, Gypsy, and Klezmer music infused with a touch of punk-rock for over 10 years. They are as energetic a group as I have seen in a long time. Burning Bridget Cleary was great too. It was great to have hotel room to return to after a long day of festing. In short, we had a great time in Muskegon.

In sports, the boys in blue lost a close one to the Pirates 1 - 2. The Tigers offense was asleep yesterday as they fell to the Royals, 0 - 1. My beloved Red Sox moved to 32 games over 500 with a 5 - 1 win over the Yankees, whom they now lead by 11.5 games.

In college football, the Wolverines of Michigan were nearly upended by the Akron Zips, pulling out a 28 - 24 win with a last second stop. In contrast, the Spartans of MSU sailed past the Youngstown State Penguins 55 - 17. Today, I'll once again save time by not watching much if any pro football. Ciao.