Danny's Birthday Weekend

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What a weekend sports fans. What a way to celebrate. We started off the weekend with a Lions game in Detroit. A great game, ended with an interception and (Spartan) Drew Stanton's game winning drive. We left Ford field, and went right across the street to the Tigers game. Though the game didn't end with a win, we had quite the expirence. our seats were 9 rows behind home plate. They were so close we were on SportsCenter this morning! You could clearly see us on the highlights of the game! One of the best parts of the seats was the Tiger Den. A great place to get a drink, a few apps, and a great view of the game. We ended up the night at HockeyTown Cafe. What a day. People give Detroit a bad rap; but it is getting better. 5-10 years ago there was no opportunity to spend all day downtown. Spending the day downtown yesterday was not only a possibility, but better than we could have imagined.

The party didn't end on Saturday. Today we went to MeadowBrook for the wine and food festival. Wineries from near and far com into town for sampling, and great deals on bottle of great wine. The great part about these wine festivals is you can do 2-4 hours of a normal wine tasting trip in 1-2 because there is no driving between vineyards. Needless to say, Dan and Annie needed a nap after this trip.

All in all, we couldn't have asked for a better weekend. great weather, great activities, great people to celebrate with. We wish every weekend could be this fun (though our livers don't wish this upon us).

















The birthday Kids.

Duckbutter Draft weekend

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This weekend is the 8th Annual Fantasy Football Draft. This was the most challeging year to coordinate since around half the teams could not make it onsite (stupid wedding season). However, we overcame. This year highlighted a cyber draft board, web cameras, and confrence calling lines. A great addition to the draft.

After the draft we headed to The Himmelspach's "just beacuase party," then ended up the night at Chase's new house.

Great seafood restaurant

In Coasta Mesa (outside LA) is Scotts Seafood. Great place for dinner! LA is a great city (to visit).

Jud and Katie's wedding

Jud and Katie are getting married today! Since the wedding is in Tawas, we rented a lake house. No better way to start a wedding celebration than a day on the watter.

Hobee's Honeymoon Vacation

Written by: Hobee
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Just like the newly-weds, I had a vacation of my own! Boy did I need it. As some of you know, I had quite the exciting wedding. Though I was there for the proposal, I was not invited to the wedding. Not happy about that, Layla and I tried to crash the party. We broke out of the groomsmen house a few times and tried to get on the party bus; but Charlie kept throwing us back in. So after they left we broke out of the house! Our escape was not successful though. Layla got picked up by the Crystal Mountain Police, and I ended up spending the afternoon on the porch of Aunt Donna's cottage. On a positive note, I did make a new friend. This Uncle Chuck guy just might be the 7th person I get along with. I’m becoming quite the social butterfly.

Anyway, after all that excitement I needed a vacation. Annie and Danny gave me just what I needed - a 10 day "cruise" and on the USS "Casa de Alessandro." It was quite the good time. During the day we had excursions to exotic places called "the Polyann trail" and "Tim Horton's." During these excursions we visited with the locals, and tried the local cuisine. While this Tim guy makes a mean dish called a“Tim-bit,” I wouldn't recommend eating at the Polyann trail.

Night time entertainment was fantastic! Some of the best shows included: Partying on the top deck - singing and guitar playing (I'm quite the singer too you know) - and comedy hour with the Spags.

With the excursions and night time entertainment came much R& R time. I got daily love, pets, and attention by my favorite person - Vanessa. And was able to sleep all night on the bed with my Grandparents (something I am not allowed to do at home). My favorite place is on an abandoned pillow. I even got to sleep on John's head a few times!

Last but not least was the food! The USS "Casa De Alessandro" is known for their fine doggy dishes - but this vacation set new records. I didn't eat one kibble of the food Dan packed for me. Chef John gave me daily treats, scraps, and this new kind of dog food called "wet food." It is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. It’s like they took my favorite foods (Goose Poop, crumbs, and crackers) and combined it into a super substance. I ate so much; I might weigh 11 pounds now!

We got back late yesterday afternoon. Dan slept 10 hours last night. Annie 11. I'm going on 19 hours and am still not ready to get off the beanbag.

What a great vacation!

Corfu, Greece

Written by: Dan and Annie
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We arrived to the port of Corfu Greece at 1:00. This allowed us to sleep in; which was much needed since this is our third straight day of tours. We opted out of excursions and instead decided to explore on our own (the tours didn’t seem to offer much). We found the city to be ok, but nothing special. Some basic shopping, trinkets, etc…. It reminded us of the Southern US states.

We stopped for a great lunch at an authentic Greek restaurant called Restaurant Bellissimo. We sat outside and had shrimp saganiki (not the flaming cheese we thought it was, but good none the less); and authentic Gyros (spelled on the menu “Giros”). They were great. All the fixings were served on a plate separate from the accompanied homemade bread – fresh out of the oven.
We finished lunch and a walk around the city for a little shopping. We next headed to the old fort on the edge of the coast. Greece’s western and most northern spot. The Greeks in Corfu haven’t figured out this tour quite yet. There were no signs explaining what we were looking at, the history, or where to go next. Also, many parts of the fort were blocked off, with no explanation of why.
The highlight came after we discovered the portal to the secret beach. It was literally a whole in the wall of a tunnel. It took us outside the back walls of the fort to a staircase to the sea. Once we arrived we found the most beautiful beach along the side of the fort. We spend the rest of our time cooling off in the clear, crisp waters of the Ionian Sea. Our second swim in the Mediterranean Sea this week! Another special excursion we will never forget.

We spent the final day of our trip at sea. We haven’t left our stateroom much today. The day has been spent on our balcony, in bed, or watching movies. We desperately needed a day of rest after three long, hot days of touring Turkey and Greece.
We are sad our honeymoon is over, but we are looking forward to heading home and sharing our pictures and stories with all of you. We also miss Hobee, a lot.
This has been a special trip we will never forget.

Santorini, Greece

Written by: Annie Hoban
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The third cruise port was Santorini, Greece - Home to wine, olive oil and pirates. We took a tour into the village of Pyrogos, where we learned all about the history of pirates on the island, how the pirates battled with rocks and how these rocks are now incorporated in the architecture of all the streets and homes throughout the village. After touring the local homes and people of Pyrogos we went to a beautiful restaurant where we sampled the local food and wine.
Our tour ended in the city of Fira, which sits along the edge of a cliff with a view of caldera of the volcano (still active). We did a little shopping, drank some milkshakes as we looked over the cliffs and then braved the Greek form of transportation to a local winery where we sampled more wine and sat in the clouds overlooking the volcano. It was quite a day!
To end it all, we took a cable car back down the cliffs to ferry back to the cruise ship. While waiting in line for the cable car we met a nice woman, Sue, from Texas. Sue and Dan quickly bonded on the cable when he announced that he’s terrified of cable cars. Dan grabbed Sue’s hand, closed his eyes and held on tight for the whole ride down the cliff. It was a Kodak moment!