This is a composite of three pictures I took of the Fourth of July fireworks. Taken from my front porch.
All posts by Jonathan
A Lake Mendota weekend
Last night I went with some of my family to watch Rhythm & Booms from the other side of Lake Mendota (along Observatory Drive). The fireworks display was pretty good, and it was fun being outside on a beautiful evening. While listening to the radio before the show (the display is choreographed with music over the radio), we heard the announcer say it was the “largest annual event in Wisconsin.” I beg to differ.
It was another gorgeous summer day today, so I returned to Mendota, and went for a long bike ride along the lake. One of my favorite places to ride in Madison is where the bike path runs along the lake shore in the middle of the U.W. campus.
I ended up biking for most of the afternoon. I stuck to the shore as best I could, riding through where the rich people live, and made it up to the northern side of the city.
After I got home, I decided it had to be one of the best rides I’ve done this year.
Brewers and Giants slam it out
A day off for me, and a last minute idea sent Dad and I to Miller Park yesterday afternoon, where the Brewers beat the San Francisco Giants, 7 to 5. It was a fun game. Some of the highlights included:
- Bill Hall’s grand slam home run for the Brewers in the first inning. He ended the game with a career high of five runs batted in.
- After thinking the game would be a cake walk for Milwaukee, we got a little nervous when the Giants hit their own grand slam home run in the sixth inning.
- Barry Bonds being booed by the fans when he was put in as a pinch hitter (his only at-bat, he hit a double on a error by Rickie Weeks). I was disappointed he didn’t stay in the game, so we could heckle him some more.
- A great play at home plate by pitcher Brian Shouse to prevent the Giants from tying the game.
- Rickie Weeks making up for his error by hitting an RBI double.
- A revolving door of 11 pitchers playing for both teams, including a save from Milwaukee’s hot reliever, Francisco “Coco” Cordero.
- An attendance of over 35,000 people (we were very surprised at the size of the crowd).
Great River Bluffs
While I was camping last week, I took a day trip across the Mississippi River to Great River Bluffs State Park in Minnesota.
The above view of Queen’s Buff is your reward after about a mile hike through the woods. My jaw just dropped as I emerged from the forest and saw the spectacular scene.
Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge
About two miles north of where I was camping last week, was the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge.
Camping along the Mississippi
I just returned from a camping trip, where I stayed at Perrot State Park.
The park is located along the Mississippi River, about 15 miles northwest of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Reasons why I blog
ArmlessBear tagged me with the top reasons why I blog meme. So, here they are.
- I am a web geek.
Way back in the fall of 2000, I bought this domain name so I could have some web space to play around with. About a year after that I installed some blogging software because blogging was becoming popular and I wanted to try it out. Blogging and messing around with my domain has been fun for me. I cringe when I look back and read a few of my older posts, but I’m still having fun with it.
Another one rides the bus
I took the bus to work today. Parking at the college is a BIG problem (too many cars for too few spots) and parking fees are going up in the fall. While the cost increase still makes parking there very reasonable compared to what the downtown lots charge, I decided I should start commuting by bus this fall. With gas prices currently going up and up, I thought, what am I waiting for?
So I hopped on the bus this morning. The choice is really a no-brainer. I can get a free bus pass from work, I save gas money, parking fees, and wear and tear on my vehicle. It’s also the right thing to do for the planet. If I want to be as much of an environmentalist as I think I am, it’s probably about time I did that.
Tragically Hip plays Madison
When the band Tragically Hip plays in their native land of Canada, they are so popular they have to play in arena-sized venues. Here in Madison, they cannot fill a small venue like the Barrymore Theatre. At last night’s show, the theater looked to be about half full to me. More’s the pity. I’ve seen Tragically Hip several times, and from my experience, I believe the band would play their hearts out whether they were in front of 20,000 or 10. They certainly did last night.
The Hip (as their fans call them) opened last night’s concert with the first track from their latest, and very strong release, World Container. “Yer Not The Ocean,” an ode to Lake Ontario, very much in the style of The Who, was a perfect way to begin the show.
Daydreaming of a move
Yesterday I finished painting the upstairs bedrooms in my place. I had plans to do that over the winter, and here it is May already. But, late last week I got some serious motivation when I drove past a house for sale about a mile from work. The price was very reasonable, and that got me daydreaming of living within walking or biking distance of work. How great would that be?
Of course you can’t buy a new house until your current home is sold, so I headed off to the home center for some paint. Next on the to-do list, get two of the windows fixed, do some serious cleaning, and contact my real estate agent.