Long weekend in Denver

The weekend before the Silver Lake trip, Meredith and I traveled to Denver for the 60th wedding anniversary of her "birth" grandparents. Meredith was adopted as an infant, and now she has two families, the family she grew up with (which we refer to as her family), and her birth family, who she has now been in touch with for over a decade. At any rate, the trip was a blast. We arrived to record heat, somewhere in the 105 range. We picked up a car and drove straight to our hotel, which was in the southern suburbs, and we went to dinner with what seemed like a thousand of Meredith's other birth family members. The next day was an outdoor barbecue with even more birth family members. We played Frisbee golf, swam, ate burgers, drank beer and had an all-around jolly good time. The next day we all went to Mass together, where we were seated together. The couple was acknowledged. Following the Mass, we went to a local hotel for a wonderful reception that lasted all afternoon. There was live music, dancing, toasts and a great deal of more fun to be had. Here are some pics of what turned out to be a wonderful event: Here's a pic of Meredith, her birth mom Susan, and birth brothers Matt, Keith and Craig, and Kirk (who is Susan's husband). Once the festivities were concluded, I had friends of my own to visit. I went to law school at the University of Denver, and so every time I get out that way I try to check in with my law school buddies. The first stop was to a block party in the city, where I met Kevin, a close friend from law school. That's Kevin on the left. Kevin is general counsel for the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, where uses his legal talents to effectuate compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. He also works to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities. After the block party, in which Kevin's significant other was a musician, and which also involved dancing and live music, we went out to eat with Kevin and his family who, serendipitously, were in town. We ate at the Wynkoop Brewery (warning - the website plays music), which has been one of my local favorites since living there in the mid 90s. The next day, we went up in the mountains, specifically to the top of Mt. Evans, which boasts the highest paved road in North America. It's one of those narrow, windy roads with no guard rails that allow you to look over the edge as you're driving, down a few thousand feet. If you click on the mountain pictures, you can then zoom them for more detail. Boy, do I just LOVE the mountains! Here's a composite shot from one of the stops above the timberline: And here's a composite shot from the very top. From the top of this fourteener, you can see for miles and miles, even on cloudy days. What was interesting is that even though it was in the 90s down in Denver, it was in the 50s up on the mountain. While we there, we had to abandon our first attempt at the summit due to rain, hail, thunder and lightning. Only after it all cleared could we try a second time. We snapped a picture of the marker certifying that the peak was indeed more than 14,000 feet high: For the die-hards that keep track, and for those who compete to reach the top of more fourteeners more quickly than anyone else, there's even a registry in a plastic canister wired to a rock so one can prove they were there. We didn't really feel a need to sign . . . We finished off the day with dinner with friends Bill and Karen, and their delightful daughters Eliana and Margalit. If you will recall, Bill is one of my favorite Vegas companions (second only to Meredith) and definitely the best food critic I know, having guest blogged here in the past. Alas, we had to return the next day. Until next time . . .

Tragic weekend at Silver Lake

Our trip to Silver Lake (now becoming an annual tradition) was a bizarre juxtaposition of fun and tragedy, if that even makes sense. If you recall, while I was courting Meredith, we traveled there one fall, and then our families started coming out for a collective summer soujourn. This year, Karen and her boys, my parents, my sister's family, and Meredith's parents all traveled to Silver Lake for what was supposed to be a fun-filled long weekend. All was well up until the end of the first evening, when Taran accidentally grabbed the muffler on one of the go-carts, giving him serious 2nd degree burns all over his palm. Though he was a trooper through it all, I've never seen him in such pain, and quite frankly it hurt the rest of us just to watch him endure it. I guess the bright side of this is that I learned that my new phone's GPS navigation works really well, as it permitted us to search for the closest hospital, and then it guided us there after dark. Here's the injured man himself, after a couple of Vicodin and with quite the wrap over his seriously burned hand: Though he's fine now, we were all worried about him for some time. The next day, we bounced back and all had fun doing a great many things, ranging from bumper cars and miniature golf, to renting a boat for a picnic on the dunes. The picture at the very top of this post is the one from the picnic. Below are the kiddie go-carts, which Esme and Emma just loved. Unfortunately, after the picnic on the dunes, the situation deteriorated fast. Disaster struck, this time much worse than the first. After we were all done eating, we heard some screaming down the shoreline. Some of the group went over there to see what was up. Shortly thereafter a woman ran to our boat and asked us to help with the "search." Apparently, someone had gone down and had not come up. Meredith got busy diving where the young man was last seen, and I launched the boat to see if he would be easier to see from up higher. My mother called 911 on her cell. Several other boats joined the search, and several people furiously dove down to the bottom over and over in an attempt to find the guy. After about 20 minutes of searching, the Oceana County Sheriff's deputies came out and assisted. It seemed pretty clear by then that the ending was not going to be a happy one, and we left as the divers arrived. They did find him, but by then it was too late. When I got back, I realized that I had snapped a picture of where the tragedy was to take place, less than an hour before it happened: Because of the shifting of the dunes, the water drops off in a matter of feet, down to about 12-15 feet in just a few steps. Unfortunately, the water is murky and not clear, which is why nobody could find the man. He had walked into the water wearing a sweatshirt and pants, and then he lost his footing and fell into the deep water. We all felt terrible for the guy who drowned, for his family, and for his friends. Our thoughts are with them.

Rainbow over Depot Town

As I returned yesterday from a long weekend at Silver Lake with my extended family, I saw a rainbow over Depot Town. So, I stopped and took some pictures, 'cause I thought it was worth sharing. More on the vacation in coming posts.

Clean Sweep

The primary results for the Ypsilanti City Council are in. Murdock, the candidate in my ward (Ward 3), who I supported and endorsed, won easily over challenger Rod Johnson by 358 votes to 266, or 57% to 42%. Incumbent Lois Richardson, running in Ward 1, crushed both her challengers by a decisive margin. Richardson received 336 votes, with Tyrone Bridges getting 101 and Megan Turf just 94. In percentages, Richardson routed her opponents with 63% to Bridges' 19% to Turf's 17%. The big surprise was Michael Bodary's domination of multi-term incumbent, John Gawlas. Bodary garnered 508 votes to Gawlas' 373, representing a 58% to 42% win. The voters have spoken. Business as usual has been rejected. The status quo is no more.

Murdock's the man for Ward 3

I'm endorsing Pete Murdock for Ypsi City Council Ward 3. When you go to the polls tomorrow, I hope you'll join me in voting for Pete. I'm supporting Pete not just because he is a good friend and good neighbor. I'm supporting Pete because he is the candidate best suited to bring common sense back to our city government. As one of the organizers of the Stop City Income Tax campaign, Pete helped get the truth out to residents of Ypsilanti. Once our community had the facts and knew the truth, they overwhelmingly defeated the ridiculous tax. Pete has a special talent for finances, and nobody sitting on Council will be better able to ask the critical questions, look forward at the consequences of our leaders' decisions, help us explore all the options available, and include all residents and stakeholders in our community in the debate as we move forward. And, of course, as everyone knows, Pete has more experience in local government than anyone else on Council. From serving on Council and as a former Mayor, to working on public transportation and on our recycling program, Pete's knowledge and experience will serve us well. Just two years ago, Ward 3 elected another friend and neighbor of mine, Brian Robb. Brian and Pete are kindred spirits, interested in nothing less than making Ypsi the incredible, eclectic, vibrant community we all know it can be. When Brian ran, the Ypsi establishment and status quo crowd said exactly the same things about Brian that they are now saying about Pete. Back then, Brian's suporters in Ward 3 knew Brian was the right man for the job. Now, given Brian's record on Council, and his major accomplishments outside Council such as WirelessYpsi, we also know we were correct in our judgment. Pete, too, is the right man for the job. I hope you will see fit to vote tomorrow, Tuesday, August 5, and that you will proudly cast your vote for Pete Murdock.