The Great White North

T: And here you have it: the current front-runner for cover picture on the 2010 Ontario Fish & Game Regulations Guide. I don't think anything speaks more clearly to the beauty and wonderment of the Canadian outdoors than a 6'4" Polack with a cowboy hat drinking whiskey from a 64oz plastic mug. With a nod to the good people who crafted the Old Milwaukee ad campaigns of the early 80's...it just doesn't get any better than this.

So now that it's been two full days since my return from Eagle Lake, Ontario I thought it would be a good time to get back in touch with our infant blog. Corrine has been carrying the team over the past two weeks, but I am officially back in action. Well rested, and ready to share some pictures of the recent fishing trip. There may be some additional pictures coming at a later date as all the participants work to coordinate the sharing of our various photo libraries. We might also have to wait for the fish story telling (referred to as "lying" in some parts) to die down a bit as well. But fret not, you will only receive the God's honest truth from me...at least this time....

While the weather was something short of cooperative, I am pleased to report that a good time was had by all. We caught a ton of fish, had shore lunch every day (with the exception of the final day when we were rained out), and even have a new walleye champion to boast. My uncle Joel took top honors (and the traveling trophy) this year with a 29" beauty. Special thanks to John "Miss Congeniality" Mitchell for putting on a strong second place performance at 28.5". And while I don't believe this guy placed in the top five, I'm sure he has caught more fish than any of us in his lifetime. (You might have to look closely, but this bald eagle was maybe 20 yards away at most when I snapped the picture)

For my part, I did ok. My two largest fish were 26.5" and 26" respectively, and I caught my fair amount of lunch as well. Regardless of the final standings, it is always an absolute blast to drop off the map for a week and spend some quality time in nature. I have been making the trip to Eagle Lake every year save one for the past 15 years or so, and yet I always find myself blown away by the beauty of it all. The eagles, the high rock walls, and the wildlife (although we did not see any moose this year).

I even had the pleasure of seeing BOTH sides of a rainbow for the first time in my life, as it stretch a couple of hundred yards across a channel that is very near the lodge that where we stay. So absolutely, postively no complaints on this end.

It is very good to be home, but there is a small part of me that is already looking forward to the trip next year...which leaves me roughly 50 weeks to regale the boys with promises of taking the trophy back to its rightful home above my mantle. At which point I will need to buy a house and construct a mantle.

Florida Wildlife

The spider who made this web is friends with the other one million spiders who weave our yard into enough webs to catch Tom when he mows the yard.



There is a rumor about the abundance cockroaches in NY. I saw exactly 3 in all 5 years that I lived in the city. I have seen more than that in the 2 months that I have lived in FL. One, as mentioned before, tried to attack me from, yes, inside the dishwasher. (I slammed the door back shut and ran it on extra heat. After the cycle, removed the carcass, reloaded soap and ran for a third time on extra scrub and heat. Ewwwwwww.)



I have also been introduced to:

The Gecko.

I am absolutely sure that they out number the people in Florida.

There are also these really creepy black worms that look like an innocent piece of black string on the floor until you step on one and they come alive and wriggle around like a snake!! So far, I have stepped on three. They freak me out more than the cockroaches. For. Real.

Then you have your usual ant infestation, misquotes, and some kind of mysterious bug that the Floridians call the "No-see-ums" Because you really don't see anything but suddenly your feet and ankles look like a pock outbreak and itch to holy hell.

I have also been warned that, "With all those citrus trees in your back yard you should really watch for citrus rats." and "Gators can be anywhere you know, they can hide in a bush or under your car."

Under my car?? Really?? Is this really something that I need to be aware each morning as I leave for work? Crap.

Suddenly the crazy singing lady on the subway does not seem that bad.

First Day Follow Up...

(My new school)

The woman who knew Dad, her name is Meg, said she called her sisters and told them that she ran into Father Gernes' daughter. They were SO pleased they just squealed and then reminisced about that old town priest...

I also told her that I had talked to dad and he remembered her family very well and was sorry to hear her dad had passed away. This news touched her so much she nearly cried. Seriously.

She then told me that me and my boyfriend were now a part of the adopt-a-Minnesotan program and we were welcome at her home to have dinner with her and her husband anytime. She gave me her info and told me to call with any questions about the area...did I need the name of a good dentist?

Two other Minnesotans also work at my school and were eager to connect with other MN's. One was from Anoka but had been living in FL for nearly 30 years, she is the gym teacher at my school and offered to help out in my classroom on the first day. So, we love her.

The other one was an older lady who said that her uncle used to own the A&W stand in Winona-- Dad? Sonia? You might remember such a place? I think it is where dad used to buy the root beer which he would then spike with booze bought over the border (in Wisconsin).

I was also invited to a "ladies night" happy hour in a few weeks, and made friends with another teacher who lives in St. Petersburg (the school is in Tampa) so all in all it was probably worth it to be a little late! No pretenses here. hee hee

My frist day of school...

First faculty meeting of the year. All 55 staff members present. Meeting started in the library at 8:00 sharp. I am sure that the head of the school spoke, and I am sure that all of the new faculty were introduced, but I can't be 100% sure because I arrived at 8:30. Niiiiiice. That's the way I like to start the year.

As soon as I found a seat and tried to conceal how much I was sweating, the head of school asked me to stand and say a little bit about myself. Which was fine actually, since everyone was already staring. I explained that I got off on the wrong exit (there were a few "thank goodness" from the crowd-- I guess they were a little worried about me).

Then I gave a brief into, something like: I am Corrine Gernes, and I am originally from Minnesota yeah, you betcha (a few laughs from the crowd), but I've been in New York...blah blah blah.

So after the meeting one of the teachers came up and said that she thought that she knew some of my family. She explained that she was also from Minnesota and she asked, "Do you know Norbert Gernes?"

After explaining that he's my dad she stopped the head of school to tell him what a small world it is, "Her dad was the Catholic priest in my town when I was growing up!"

Um, I was going to wait for more than a day to break that story at my new Episcopal school, but that's cool.

The rest of the day included a flood in the first grade bathroom, the 'low air pressure' light going on in my new car, and a cockroach jumping out of the dishwasher and scaring the crap out of me.
Good Monday. Solid.

Baseball

Tom has a friend who has these tickets, and they are pretty sweet. Of course we are surrounded by season ticket holders who are not thrilled when we are more interested in the snacks than we are the game. Apparently Florida is actually football crazy and never really cares about the Rays, so stay tuned when football season starts. Go Gators?

After a few beers stadium nachos are amazing!!!

So was the burger...and it is a turkey burger! I swear. Tom still does not believe it.

We are cute and all...

But everyone loves our friends Howard and Jen.

Thank You Milwaukee..

...for introducing us to the heaven that is the bacon bloody mary.

It makes every brunch a happy brunch.

And a special shout out to the Milwaukee Gerni for this authentic glassware --

it always reminds us where the bacon bloody mary came from.

Sand Dollars

V: On our previously mentioned boating adventure in the gulf, we stopped for a while at a sand bar. It was really beautiful, shallow enough for us to touch, and home to about a million sand dollars.

The native Floridians had a great idea: they suggested that we collect a bunch and then when our families were here for Thanksgiving the kids could decorate the dollars and we could use them to decorate our Christmas tree!

So with their help we collected a ton of these little guys, took them home and per florida directions bleached them and put them out in the sun to dry. Here they are chillin in the hammock. See how excited we are for family to visit? We already have crafts planned!!

Kitchen Plagues

V: The following are excerpts from dinner preparation the other night:

V: "Babe, there's a fire in the oven."

T: "Hon, can you come here? There is a flood under the sink."

Later we did go lay in the hammock and counted about 8 little frogs jumping around the back door it just make you start to wonder...