Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

Well, another one has come and gone. The annual Coast Guard Fest 2018 is in the books. All reports indicate that it was a tremendous success. Local businesses reaped the benefits of a fest that has grown each year. The fireworks, that Mary and I viewed out her office window were attended by more than 150K people!

I was going to take a tour of the USCGC Escanaba Saturday while the annual parade was in progress, but somehow, the already lengthy lines at the ship deterred me. I had ridden my bicycle to the waterfront, after having maneuvered through the parade route and the crowds, but it turned out that my plan was shared by many others. Oh well, maybe next year, even though the Escanaba won't be here. However, since I was at the waterfront, I did take some close-up pix of the ship and her portmates from Canada.

She is beautiful.

Smaller, but still colorful.

I was walking to the manse after a short trip to the annual parade and took this picture of the manse and our white Coast Guard Flag in the background.

Fortunately, the Michigan State Police bomb squad wasn't needed.

The beginning of the parade.

Our own Grand Haven High School Buccaneer Marching Band.

I got to see the crew of the USCGC Escanaba near the front of the parade.

The enlisted women and men and their officers are 100 strong!

I guess the best thing about the weekend was watching my beloved, 79 - 34, 1st place in the AL East Red Sox, sweep their division rivals, the Yankees, to move to a 9 1/2 game lead over the Yankees. The Sox have the day off as they travel to meet the Blue Jays on Tuesday night @ 7:10 p.m.

The 64 - 47, 1st place in the NL Central Cubs managed to lose once again to a lesser team, the 44 - 70, 5th place in the NL West Padres, 6 - 10. If it weren't for the 2nd place Brewers loss, the Cubs would be tied with the Brewers. The Cubs are off to Kansas City to face the 34 - 77 Royals tonight @ 8:15 p.m.

The 47 - 65, 3rd place in the AL Central Tigers, well they were once again dumped by the 67 - 46, 2nd place in the AL West Oakland As, 0 - 6. The Tigers were never in the game. They move on to La La Land to face the 55 - 58 Angels tonight @ 10:07 p.m. EDT.

The MWL East 3rd place, 57 - 55 White Caps, AKA the Caps, fell to the Dayton Dragons yesterday afternoon, 3 - 5. The Dragons are in 4th place in the MWL East with a record of 51 - 60. The Caps and the Dragons play again tonight @ 7:05 p.m

We have a current temperature of 75° under cloudy/rainy skies. T-storms are a possibility throughout the day today too. I may be able to avoid watering. However, parts of the vast gardens are under the cover of the trees, so I may still have to water some.

I baked a blueberry pie yesterday and according to Mary, it is very good. I'll try some later today. I also baked some tofu snacks and some tofu for a the dinner that Mary made last evening. We decided that the recipe was only so-so, so it was consigned to the ash-heap of history.

Today, I have to call the vet to make a boarding appointment for the fur-children, since Mary and I will be at the races in Wisconsin in September. Our regular sitter is unable to stay with the fur-children at the manse, so we are going to try having the fur-children stay @ their doctor's office.

Otherwise, not much is on tap for today other than the morning walks and reading. The sun will rise later this morning @ 6:40 a.m. and set this evening@ 8:59 p.m. Ciao.