Pleasant pasttimes

Sigh. i do suffer during the summer months. On Friday, I played the new golf course at Washington State University for a feature story on the spread. That's me admiring one of the few drives that I didn't shank into the wheat fields that serve as the rough. Note the amazing shirt.

On Saturday, Ann and I and some friends rode the Trail of the Hiawatha, a 13-mile rail-trail that passes through numerous Rocky Mountain tunnels and over trestles near Lookout Pass on the Idaho-Montana border. Ann and the Lemckes (both in black) rode both ways. I (red shirt with beer gut) and the Johnsons (lighter clothes, goofy looking guy) rode the 13-mile downhill portion, then rode the shuttle bus back up to our waiting beers. A guy from Logan, Utah, offered us money for a beer, but Bruce gave him a free Kokanee. Dude was very grateful.

Afterward we ate buffalo burgers at the Snakepit in Enaville, an ancient and colorful restaurant where the owner gave us free huckleberry ice cream. The end of a perfect day.

Halfway to Nickfest

This morning, I followed a flatbed truck containing one of those concrete grave liners during my commute to work on I-90.

That reminded that we are nearly halfway through Nickfest, the year-long celebration leading to my 50th birthday that will climax next March 9. I got to thinking about progress on my list of tasks to complete for this momentous event. Here are the findings:

1, Hot trophy wife: check
2, Cute kids: check
3, Lose 20 pounds: Still working on that.
4, Career fulfillment: I cry with happiness each day.
5, Nickfest location: Still debating over Cancun, Vegas or my house.
6, Sports car: My Durango is looking more sporty.
7, Jimmy Buffett concert: Upcoming in late October.
8, Regular receipt of presents: A dismal failure.

Photo: Still searching for the prefect Nickfest location.

Karaoke King of Spokane, Part II

Many of you know that my wife Ann has left Mother AP after 14 years of service to launch her own business, known as Preps2Go.

Many of you may also suspect that her going-away party was another golden opportunity for the Karaoke King of Spokane to unleash a custom-written and performed tribute song.

However, enormous technical difficulties (I forgot to bring speakers) prevented this song from being properly heard at Annfest because the throngs were busy stuffing their faces with the delicious smoked and BBQ foods created by John and Brian. Also, the batteries on my digital camera were dead, preventing a recording that captured the manic energy of a live Nick performance.

Because of that, I was forced to record a version of the song in my office, with only Cameraman Carey as an audience. (If Carey were more successful with the ladies, the audience might have been bigger). The video was rushed onto youtube, and below is a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9_96mUhLdg

You have been warned.

My Little Pretty One

We were out to dinner last night and the issue of musical taste came up. Specifically, it was my lack of taste for insisting that ``My Sharona'' is the greatest pop song of all time. Can there be any serious disagreement over this? If anyone can nominate a greater song, I'd like to see it.

Farewell to the Toby Keith

Here's a recent picture of Eli and I lounging at the marina where I keep my boat. That spectacular black cowboy hat I'm wearing _ a Toby Keith _ is no more. The hat flew off my head when I was pulling a water skier during Joycefest and by the time we returned to the area it could no longer be found. Fortunately, I have a large collection of hats.

Images of Joycefest

Here are some stunning images from our vacation with Ann's family:

1, Brad Pitt

2, Young ladies lounging in the hot tub

3, waiting for dinner

4, The Next Generation

Ann on Vaca

Here's Ann looking relaxed during our week vacation at a place on Deer Lake. We had friends up with us during the first part of the week, and then more than 30 members of Ann's family for our annual Joycefest extended weekend. As usual, it was huge