The game that never happened on the weekend that wasn't...

I'm having another one of those weekends...the kind where all I do is work :( So, the highlight of the weekend was supposed to be the Whitecaps game on Saturday night BUT the rain just did not let up and it was finally cancelled without the Whitecaps even taking the field!) I've been there before when the game has started and then got delayed by rain or cancelled by rain after at least some play but this time, Oh, no, not even one pitch, not one high fly to center, grounder to third, foul ball, no stolen bases~nada, nyet, zero, zilch! Still, it was an interesting scene in some ways...we got there early and so we were able to have a little table under the eves. We got beer, hot dogs, hamburgs, peanuts. We stood around and visited and people watched. Pretty soon, everyone was scrunched up under the eves. I bet the vendors made a killing. Nothing to do but eat, drink ,and be as merry as possible. The kids had all gotten these funny little super hero capes as a promotional gift. Personally, I wanted one but you had to be 14 or under to get one and I guess I just wasn't convincing enough. Some of the adults were making skirts out of their kids' capes and dancing around. It was an interesting sight. The thing that finally caught and held our attention for a good portion of the evening was the people who were attempting to eat a Fifth Third Burger. As I understand it, the Fifth Third Burger is five 1/3 pound beef patties(to make it 5/3rds of a pound~get it??~because 5/3rd is the name of the ballpark...built by 5/3rd bank.Cleaver, huh? Then, in addition to the meat there's nacho cheese, chili, salsa, crushed tortilla chips, tomato and lettuce, served on an 8" sesame seed bun. This gigantic gut bomb has 5,000 calories, 300 grams of fat, and bunches of carbs! The other name for it is "heart attack on a bun".I have not verified the following information but someone told me the Fifth Third Burger costs $20. There's some sort of time limit, but if you eat one in one sitting, you get a free one or a Tshirt or something like that. There were two teenage boys making the attempt as well as one guy, we're guessing, about 40ish, who was attempting to eat two of them! Although he was an attractive fellow, the fact that he could eat that much of anything in one sitting made us girls a little nervous...hmmm.Anyway, I guess he was successful at doing that in May and decided to try it again. By the time the game was cancelled, at least one of the teenagers had made it. The older guy had finished one but was still working on the other. I'll get more of the complete low-down on the Fifth Third Burger next time~besides all this entertainment~we get to come back to another game for free because of the rain. So, either during playoffs or next May for sure, we get to do this all again! See, there is a silver-lining! Here's a few photos of our rain-drenched outing:

Grand Lady Riverboat Cruise

There's a bit of a nautical theme to my posts lately...last weekend canoeing and this weekend I joined the SBD gang for a very pleasant afternoon picnic cruise down the Grand River. We saw many families of turtles along the way perched on branches in the river, lots of beatiful woods and colorful vegetation, along with an assortment of birds. Very picturesque. We discovered an extensive bike path that stretched thoughout the wooded area. A plan for a bike adventure in the near future is taking shape! Meanwhile, here are a few photos of our time aboard The Grand Lady:

Adventures in Canoeing

Lana, Jayne, and the SBD bunch hit the Pere Marquette today. We had a canoe convoy that took us 15-20 miles downriver...some of us got off at the 15 mile landing but a number of the teams went the entire 20 mile length. The weather was perfect. The river was busy. We stopped for a nice lunch on the bank at noon. Shortly thereafter, Jayne and Lana ran amuck, tipped over, got stuck, got unstuck, ran amuck, rinse and repeat!Then Lana went solo with her unflattering disembarkment move out of the canoe~very comical:)))Unfortunately, during these times, we were otherwise occupied and sorry, no photos!Just glad we had the camera safely in a ziplock bag, securely in the mesh bag, which was tied to the handhold of the canoe or we wouldn't even have the pix we did get. You'll have to use your imagination...Very fun. Jayne and I are still speaking after all of this and, as a matter of fact, plan to go again next year as a team. This is true friendship if you can canoe together, tip it twice, and still consider the relationship solvent. Well, we were up the river without a paddle and lived to tell~next adventure, please!

Whitecaps Fun

The Victory Point bunch took in the Whitecaps game today at 5/3rd Ballpark in Grand Rapids. My pictures didn't turn out too great this time so I'm afraid this adorable photo of me and my "date" Kim DeGlopper is the only one I find suitable to post. The Whitecaps basically annihilated the Cedar Rapids Kernels~they were pretty corny! The Caps won 10-4. Adam Wilk played his first game in the Midwest League giving up only 2hits, shutout for 6 innings, and managed to get 7 strikeouts. Not bad! It was a great night at bat for the Caps. Ben Guez had 5 hits, and out of the nine starters, eight of them had hits as well. The game unravelled a bit in the ninth inning when the Kernels came alive to get 4 runs in before being put to bed once and for all by the Whitecaps. Love that Dizzy Bat Race, the Cow Tipping, and the Eyeball Race! Great atmosphere~perfect weather~lots of fun!

Ribfest ala Dan

Dan Wedge opened his home once again for what has become an annual event, the ribfest. The Life Connections group from CWC and misc. friends, family, and neighbors came to enjoy Dan's famous ribs, conversation, yard games and a campfire. Wish I could have stayed longer but it was a delightful evening anyway. Thanks so much Dan for being such a gracious host! Already planning on next year...