Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

There are no active advisories, alerts, and/or statements in effect for today. To be redundant, that in itself is unusual. I could mention that we do have a high pollen count, but that would just scare allergy sufferers. Oops, I did.

We have a current temperature of 68° as we drop to our overnight low of 62°, before rebounding to today's high of 75° under mostly-sunny skies. Once again, "What's not to like?" The sun will rise today @ 6:33 a.m. and set tonight @ 9:08 p.m.


Since I mentioned the lack of alerts/advisories/warnings, I should also mention that we traveled to the shores of the "Big Lake" to see what we could see and photograph yesterday. What we saw at Grand Haven State Park and the next door Grand Haven City Beach, was people swimming in what were wavy conditions, with some people flying kites on the beaches. Of course, there were a few people holding, but not riding, wave boards too.



I took some pix which I'll share now in no particular order. However, we didn't leave the car.

Looked like an airplane, but it was a kite.

As I said, holding wave boards, but not riding.

The water and the waves were encroaching on the beach volleyball nets.

People were just enjoying the relatively uncrowded conditions following the morning rain.

The stormy conditions that prevailed in the morning, caused the cancellation of the annual "Parade of Ships" that normally showcases the arrival of the USCG ships into GH. All of the local radio/TV stations broadcast the cancellation, so the usual crowds were not in town.

However, as we drove, I took some pix of the ships as we passed. The large ship was a cutter, while the other was an ocean-going tugboat.

Cutter

Same.

A long range view of the cutter.

USCG Bay-class, ice-breaking tugboat #102,

Our sojourn next took us to Spring Lake, where I took some pix of the current high-water and algae-covered Grand River in Mill Point Park. FYI, Spring Lake had a lumbering past, with many saw mills that cut the lumber for the rebuilding of Chicago after the great fire of 1871!. The parking lot and boat launching ramps in Mill Point Park were partially underwater and the water near the shore was algae-covered.

While not appealing to tourists, for pictures, I loved the park.

Has the shoreline been "Slimed?"

The slime goes out quite a distance.

Some people braved the water-covered roads, we turned around in spite of having a Jeep™.

Baseball news yesterday was all positive for the teams that played,

The 56 - 49, tied for 1st place in the NL Central Cubs were off yesterday before traveling to St. Louis to meet the also 56 - 49 Cardinals @ 8:15 p.m. EDT as Yu Darvish takes the mound. The winner gets to claim 1st place for at least one night. The Cubs, like most contending major-league teams, are hoping to add to their bullpen staff along with a solid hitter.

My beloved, 59 - 48 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox were also off yesterday before welcoming the 2nd place Tampa Bay Rays to Fenway Park tonight @ 7:30 p.m. as David Price, 7 - 4, goes for the Sox. who hope to add a relief pitcher before the trade deadline Wednesday night at midnight..
.

The rebuilding, 31 - 71, 5th place in the AL Central Tigers, did play, and Jordan Zimmerman got his first win of the 2019 season, as the Tigers toppled the 55 - 53, 3rd place in the AL West Angels, 7 - 2. Tonight's game in Anaheim features Drew Verhagen, 1 - 1, @ 10:07 p.m.


The 35 - 70, 7th place in the MWL East West Michigan WhiteCaps also were victorious last night, as they defeated the 64 - 39, 2nd place Great Lakes Loons, 9 - 1. The Caps travel to South Bend, IN to meet the South Bend Cubs tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

I have only one plan for today, and that is to go to my final appointment for my knees at the orthopedist after a lunch at the hospital salad bar.

Mary is still hard at work on my kitchen apron. I have to remind her that she needs to visit the Needlesmith around the corner for a better needle threader.

Oh, by the by, I have been listening to the Eagles channel on Pandora™ while I blog. I'll include the current song, One of These Nights, as a closing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESc2Tq2HzhQ

Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:30 a.m. in "The City."

There are still two active advisories, alerts, and/or statements in effect for today through Tuesday.

First, the Beach Hazard Statement has been  updated to be in effect from 6:00 a.m. today until 1:00 a.m. Tuesday. Strong rip-currents, and other oddities will pose a threat to swimmers of all skill levels. Once again, pay attention to those Red Flags!

Second, a Small Craft Advisory that warns of 30 knot winds and three to six foot wave heights and which requires instruments and well trained seamen is in effect until Tuesday too. Neither of those is surprising, as the forecast calls for a 60% to 70% chance for scattered T-storms through this evening after the sun rises @ 6:32 a.m. and before it sets @ 9:10 p.m. We have a current temperature of 72° as we drop to our overnight low of 65°, before rebounding to today's high of 75°.

One oddity in the information from the NWS, is that along the western shores of Lake Michigan, between Winthrop Harbor, IL and Chicago, Winthrop Harbor is about half way between Milwaukee and Chicago, a phenomenon called upwelling was observed. A buoy recorded a water temperature drop of 20° in 24 hours, similar to what happened along the shores of the "Big Lake" on its eastern side near South Haven, MI. Upwelling occurs when strong winds push push warmer surface water away from shore, allowing colder water to come in.

But enough about weather oddities.

Baseball news has its own set of oddities. The West Michigan WhiteCaps found another way to lose, much like their Major League™ counterparts, the Tigers, as the Caps were pounded by the Great Lakes Loons yesterday for a final score of 3 - 10. Still grimly holding on to 7th place in the MWL East, the Caps once again play the Loons @ 7:05 p.m. tonight.

The 56 - 49, 1st place Cubs, who are tied with the Cardinals for the lead in the NL Central, salvaged a win over 2nd place Brewers yesterday, 11 - 4. The Cubs Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs yesterday, one a grand slam and the other a three-run dinger to power the Cubs to their win. Starting pitcher, Jose Quintana was not happy about being pulled when he surrendered several runs to the Brewers before the game was official, allowing relief pitcher Brad Brach to get the win.

Speaking of oddities, the fans and the players were scared by a flyover of military jets in the 8th inning yesterday. The Brewers management was not expecting a flyover, so when that happened, the sonic boom and the nose frightened almost everyone in Miller Park. The Cubs are off until Tuesday's game in St. Louis, against the Cardinals @ 8:15 p.m. EDT, when Yu Darvish tries to even his record @ 4 -4.

The 5th place, 30 - 71 Tigers, found yet another way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in extra innings to the nearly as woeful Mariners, 2 - 3. The Tigers move on to Anaheim, CA tonight to face the Angels @ 10:07 EDT.

My beloved, 59 - 48, 3rd place in the AL East Red Sox, fell to the Bronx Bombers yesterday, 6 - 9. Starting and losing pitcher, Chris Sale, 5 - 10, couldn't get the Yankees out as the Sox didn't get the sweep of the weekend series. The Sox are off until Tuesday when they welcome the 2nd place Rays to Fenway for a 7:10 p.m. game. A good side note, retired Red Sox player, David "Big Papi" Ortiz, is out of the hospital in Boston and is recovering at home from that gunshot wound he received in his native Dominican Republic in June.

As is often the case, I was awake when the sun rose yesterday and so I decided to wait until the annual Cruise-in Car Show opened @ 7:30 a.m. I walked downtown with my camera and took a lot of pix.

I liked that the street was mostly free of pedestrian traffic at that early hour.

Of course, there is always that one guy who takes the phrase, "Cruise-in" way too seriously and thus he arrived after 8:00 a.m.

While an impressive piece of automotive craftsmanship, the late arrival forced walking people to get out of his way.

Otherwise, the show was a nice mix of old and new, custom and stock, cars and trucks.

As I entered the show, there was this pair, me and mini me I guess.

 

Nice work.

Not to be outdone, "Rat Rods" caught my eye too.

A tow truck?

A nice peice of work, but a Harley Davidson motorcycle engine transplanted into a sports car?

What would a car show of new cars and trucks be without music from the 50s and 60s? As Adam has often said, "Can't they at least get into the later 20th century?"

Nowadays, all shows have to have their Jeeps™ for the show to be complete.

Including this one, as shown below.

 Once I returned home, we and the fur-children had breakfast and then we humans set off to the Flea on 7th market. 40 vendors, but we didn't buy anything.

Parking lots on both sides of 7th were jammed with eager customers.

Let's talk abut cement mixers?

The east side of 7th

However, although we didn't buy anything, we did segue to The Bookman, where the jazz music provided by Rick and Dave was very pleasant and soothing.

Superb vocals and jazz guitar from Rick on the left, and mellow cornet from Dave.

This man can flat-out play and sing.

Dave was no slouch either.

Even this husky was soothed by their offerings.

Today looks to be less busy. The ships of the USCG are scheduled to arrive @ 1:00 p.m., but we won't be there when they arrive if the weather forecast is accurate.

I have an update about the Lynn Sherwood Waterfront Stadium. I cited its capacity in my last blog  as 2,000, but the capacity is actually 3,000.

That's enough for one day. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City."

Yes my loyal readers, some of the statements advisories, and alerts are still in effect until 1:00 a.m. Monday morning. A Small Craft Advisory that requires instruments and well trained seamen, and a  Beach Hazard Statement, during which you need to avoid going into the water with its associated rip currents. Pay attention to the Red Flags. We have already had several drownings on the "Big Lake" this season.

There was a 40% chance of scattered T-storms for Saturday evening, but the storms threatened, STWD cowered, and nothing really happened. The sun will rise here in GH today @ 6:31 a.m. and set later @ 9:11 p.m. Oh, once again the NWS in GR is predicting a 40% chance for T-storms on Monday. Our current temperature is 72° that feels like 72°. Today's high is forecast to be 80°!

Our plans to attend a concert by the tribute band, Hotel California out of Toronto, Canada last night @ 8:00 p.m., came to fruition in spite of the dire weather forecast. The crowd was large, the people enthusiastic, and a good time was had by all in attendance. I took a lot of pictures and I'll include some that best depict what we saw, if not what we heard.

What would any concert be without a resident "Dancing person?"

The concert was held in the Lynn Sherwood Waterfront Stadium, across from Dewy Hill, where Grand Haven's World Famous Musical Fountain can be seen and heard during the spring/summer/early fall months.

A view without the waters of the Musical Fountain.

The clouds occasionally parted and let the sun shine through.

Same here.

3/4 of the band.

Many people tied their boats together to enjoy the music.

Which necessitated te presence of the USCG, for whom the fest is named.

I'm betting that many pickers exclaimed, "I gotta get me one of those", a 6/12 string combination electric guitar.

The entire area was filled with people enjoying the music and the waterfront.

As was the stadium itself, which has a capacity of about 2,000!

So many memories, so many much music, such a good time. Mary recognized all the songs. She just had never realized how large the Eagles catalog was before last night.


Today, the annual Cruise-in Car Show will take place on Washington Ave. and adjacent streets between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The weather will be partly-cloudy, but there is no rain inthe forecast, so many cars are expected. I'll be there to take some pix and enjoy the show later this morning. Also later, the annual Flea on Seventh will be taking place near the manse from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Over 40 vendors will be there to sell their wares to the locals and tourists alike. Mary and I will likely attend that after I return from the car show. I'll take some pix @ the market too.


During the 10 day run of the Coast Guard Festival, there are events everyday and the carnival comes to town for the enjoyment of the young and the young at heart.


I'll mention baseball, but the results were not all that much to write home about. With the exception of the Red Sox win over the Yankees, all my teams lost. Nuff said.


I've already mentioned today's anticipated activities, so I'll just say that with the Cruise-in Car Show and the Flea on Seventh market, it should be a good day to relax and enjoy life afterwards. Ciao.

Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 4:30 a.m. in "The City."

The window A/C unit is still on, once again due to the pollen count, so I can't open a window to let in the 72° outside air.  I am comfortable, but feeling guilty. Today's high temperature will be 77°, but that's where the similarities to yesterday end. I write that because, "They're Back!" Yes my loyal readers, the various statements and alerts are back in effect until 12:00 a.m. Sunday morning. A Small Craft Advisory, you know what that means,  a Beach Hazard Statement, you also know what that entails, and a Lakeshore Flood Advisory, as the "Big Lake tries to reclaim her shoreline from human encroachment are all now ongoing.


The NWS in GR has put a 40% chance of scattered T-storms into their forecast for Saturday evening too. The sun will rise here in GH @ 6:30 a.m. and set later @ 9:12 p.m. We have plans to attend a concert of the tribute band, Hotel California tonight @ 8:00 p.m., but with the 40% chance for T-storms in the forecast, well...

Speaking of music, we had a very pleasurable evening last night @ The Bookman. They had made arrangements for a local duo, Acoustic Oasis, to play for their customers. They were very good. A 12 string guitar, a mandolin, a banjo, a ukulele, and even a clarinet, all featured in their performance along with their excellent vocals.

Since we brought our camera specifically to take some pix, I took several for posterity. I've placed them here in no particular order.

These young men, Phil Petersen on the left, and Glenn Miller to his right were, Acoustic Oasis.

Phil played 6 string guitar.

And mandolin.

 

 

 

Plus ukulele.

Glenn, played both 6 and 12 string guitars, harmonica, and clarinet in his role as lead guitarist and lead vocalist.

Yes my friends, a man named Glenn Miller can also play trombone like his namesake, the immortal Big Band leader from the 1940s, Glen Miller. However, we did not get to hear him play that instrument.

Acoustic Oasis will be followed on Sunday by a duo consisting of Rick Hicks and Dave Schock. playing smooth jazz and blues.

Earlier in the day, Mary was on an organizational kick, which gave us a large number of things to donate to our local Goodwill™ store when Mary visited the grocery store in the same plaza later in the afternoon. Everything we donated was very serviceable and people should be able to make good use of the donated items.

Before her visit to the grocery store, she made a stop at St. Anthony's Catholic Church for their annual Quilt Show. She took many pix and so I've chosen a few to represent what she saw there.

A reminder of the video game, Pac Man™?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the waters of the "Big Lake."

Here is yet another YouTube™ clip, featuring UFO Phil and his homage to the radio show,  Coast to Coast AM. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqWPCsNke24

This quilt took over one-year to complete by a home-schooled 12 year old girl. It features various themes and used a felting technique to make the individual squares pop out.

Beautiful!

 While Mary was out, I made a beest for sandwiches and also did some indoor chores. The fur-children and I were quite busy.

Later, before Mary traveled to Goodwill™ and the grocery store, I completed about 90% of my outdoor chores. I had to stop, because I was tired and Mary wanted to get going and get back before we had to go to The Bookman.

We stopped at JWs on the way home from The Bookman and as we were leaving, we spotted a young deer in a nearby parking lot, a victim of the ongoing encroachment of people in GH. I took several pix, but the one I've chosen, while seemingly blurry, shows the deer as it ran across the street in front of several cars. Sometimes you get a great photographic effect when you least expect it.

I wasn't ready, but the deer sure was!

Very quickly, in baseball news, the 55 - 48, are now in 2nd place by one full game behind the red-hot Cardinals in the NL Central, following the Cubs 2 - 3 loss to the 3rd place Brewers. The Cubs did make a trade for left-handed relief pitcher, Derek Holland. The Cubs hope to improve their offensive output tonight in Milwaukee, as Jon Lester returns from his illness and takes the ball @ 7:10 p.m. EDT.

My beloved, 58 - 47, still 3rd in the Al East, took another game in Fenway from the 1st place Yankees, 10 - 5, as Mookie Betts got three home runs. Andrew Cashner finally got his elusive 1st win. The Sox and the Yankees play again today @ 4:05 p.m., when the Sox send Eduardo Rodrigues against the Yankees, C C Sabathia.

The 30 - 69 tigers wasted a solid effort by starting pitcher Dan Norris, as they lost still another game 2 - 3, to the Mariners in Seattle. Can it get worse? We'll find out this afternoon @ 4:05p.m., when Tyler Alexander goes for the Tigers.

The West Michigan WhiteCaps were blown out yest again last night by the Lansing Lug Nuts, 1 - 9. Nuff said, the Caps and the Lug Nuts play again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

As I mentioned earlier, we are planning to go to the Lynn Sherwood Waterfront Stadium for that concert by the Eagles tribute band, Hotel California. However, that is subject to change based upon that forecast for T-storms. Otherwise, we have no specific plans for today. We are better organized, we are more in tune with our environment, and all is right with the world. Ciao.