Another Statehouse Report Card

Delegate Steven DeBoy could be the poster child for a legislator who is able to balance economic and environmental interests in Annapolis. In yet another report card released today on statehouse legislators, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters gave the Elkridge Dem a 100% rating. In the MBRG report card issued last week, DeBoy received a 60% making him the highest scoring of fellow HoCo Dems in that pro business barometer.

Guy Guzzone, Frank Turner and Shane Pendergrass also received 100% scores from the MLCV.

This time around it was the HoCo Repubs who got the bad grades. Senator Allan Kittleman and Delegate Gail Bates both got a 0% score from the environmental group. Perhaps Allan's defense of Eastern Shore chicken farmers didn’t sit that well with the greenies. Warren Miller fared just a little better with a 14% score.

Overall the HoCo Dems earned good grades as friends of the earth. Senator Ed Kasemeyer received 80%, while Jim Robey got a 60%. Delegate Jimmy Malone got a 91% and Liz Bobo, 82%.

Live! But Not Real Lively

Last Friday night we headed over to Arundel Mills to check out the new Maryland Live! casino. We were curious to see what the states newest and largest slots parlor looked like inside.

It was dark, though that is fairly typical for a gaming establishment. Casino operators like to separate their guests from the world outside so windows are as rare as clocks. It hardly matters. The views from this casino in a parking garage wouldn't be that great anyway.

If you’ve ever been to Las Vegas or Atlantic City, the sounds you hear upon entering the casino are very familiar, a cacophony of bells and chimes from the sea of slot machines and other electronic table games.

What really struck me though were the patrons. There were a large percentage of older, overweight people plopped down in front of slot machines. The atmosphere may have sounded lively but most of the people we saw were anything but. The absence of dealers and pit bosses further contributes to the indolent atmosphere. This is a place where the machines are much livelier than the humans.

In an article by John Wagner in The Washington Post, Milton Peterson, the developer of National Harbor in Prince Georges County, referred to Maryland Live! as a “slots barn.”

I think that’s a little unfair. What Maryland Live! lacks in exterior design, it makes up for inside. It’s not the nicest casino I’ve ever been in but it’s hardly a barn.

Peterson’s derisive comment about “slots barns” should be taken in context. If the guv is successful in expanding gambling in the state, National Harbor “would partner with MGM to build an $800 million facility with a hotel, nightclub, spa and other upscale amenities.”

That’s about $300 million more than the Cordish Company claims they spent on Maryland Live!

We considered having dinner at one of the two restaurants in the casino, Bobby Flays and the Cheesecake Factory. Bobby Flays is open to the casino and all the attendant slot noise so we ruled that out. The Cheesecake Factory was packed with a long wait just like every other Cheesecake Factory I’ve ever visited.

We ended up going to the DuClaw Brewing Company with their great selection of beers instead. It may not have been that much more lively but at least we didn’t have to wait an hour or talk over a chorus of slot machines in the background.

...and the EuForia ale was so good, I had another.

Sunsets and Salmon

Last nights sunset was a real beauty. We first grasped its magnificence as we exited Route 100 at Long Gate around 8:25 PM last night. Mama Wordbones immediately began suggesting places to pull over and take a picture. She was thinking of you.

“You should take a picture for your blog,” she suggested.

I love it when she thinks of To2C. I wouldn’t exactly call her a regular reader. She’s sort of blog neutral.

She was right about the sunset though. It was picture perfect. I decided to head for high ground, Glen Mar Church on New Cut Road.

And speaking of salmon…

I’m not a fan. I enjoy an occasional piece of salmon sushi but otherwise I find the fish unappealing. This is not good. Salmon is good for you. I always try to balance the bad stuff I put into my body with some good stuff. Salmon is good stuff. I feel a need to like it.

That’s why I was intrigued by the salmon on a plank.

One of my joys at Wegmans is the seafood section. As someone whose cooking skills are limited, I appreciate the pre packaged cook and serve offerings of tuna, tilapia, and salmon to name a few. The salmon on a plank caught my eye. For eight bucks I had to give it a try.

It was excellent.

I soaked my plank, coated the fish with spices provided and dropped it on the grill. In about ten minutes it was ready. When I do this again I’ll apply the spices a little more liberally. I was way too conservative with the dry rub. They give you more than enough and it's exquisite.

There’s hope for me and salmon yet.

Cool Walk

The only way to enjoy the outdoors during a heat wave is either by staying up late or getting out early. This morning I opted for the latter as I set out at 7:30 on a four mile trek from my house to Main Street Ellicott City and back.

As I wound my way past the Worthington Dog Park, the mercury had already climbed past the mid seventies but there was also a light breeze. Soon, I was in the shaded confines of New Cut Road and it was just like any other summer day, warm but not oppressive. Although there isn’t a sidewalk or much of shoulder on New Cut, at this time of morning I saw just as many cyclists as I did cars.

I passed a couple of runners too.

Before long I reached the outskirts of the historic district and worked my way down to the Bean Hollow coffee shop for a quick coffee and perusal of the morning paper. The heat wave made the front page, above the fold.

Before heading back home, I stopped and snapped of picture of an artist painting a picture as part of this years Paint It! Ellicott City!

For the return trip I headed up College Avenue, a decidedly steeper route than New Cut. The developers of a housing development called Autumn River are installing a new traffic circle on College near Sheppard Pratt. The work has been stalled as they wait for BGE to move the old poles that are now in the relocated road. I imagine that this work is a little low on the utilities priority list right now.

By the time I turned back into my neighborhood, the temp has climbed to the mid eighties and I was ready to reenter a climate controlled world. For me anyway, the best part of the day was over.

In This Months Business Monthly

When I sat down to write this month’s column for The Business Monthly, the prospects for a second special session of the General Assembly as early as next week to ram through new gambling legislation looked pretty good. That may no long be the case. According to this report by John Wagner in The Washington Post, the guv has decided “that is not a realistic timeframe and wants to spend some more time seeing where House members stand, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue.”

The delay is being at least partially attributed to last Friday’s stormus interuptus. As of this morning at least 30,000 homes in Maryland are still without power.

That is not to say the guvs attempts to expand gambling in the state are over. He just needs a little more time to twist some arms. According to this story by Annie Linskey in The Sun, Governor O’Malley “intends to announce Friday that he will continue trying to hammer out a deal to expand Maryland's gambling program, according to an official close to the governor.”

It’s only a matter of time. Just like four years ago, voters are being told that expanding gambling will help our schools, stave off tax future increases, and cure the common cold. 

In other words, it’s appears to be only a matter of when, not if.

You can read this month’s column here.

Failing Grades for HoCo Dems

Although it is probably not a report card that they care all that much about, our HoCo statehouse Dems didn’t fare that well in the annual Roll Call report card from Maryland Business for Responsive Government (MBRG). The annual rankings call attention to legislators “attitudes toward business, jobs, economic growth, and investment in the state…”

As I wrote in this post two years ago, MBRG ranks the elected officials based on their votes on business legislation, including committee votes.

“In order to compare a legislator’s score with his or her colleagues, both Senate and House members have been ranked by percentiles. The percentile represents where a legislator’s 2012 MBRG % rating ranks in relation to other legislators’ ratings.”

Delegate Frank Turner scored the lowest, earning a 0% for 2012, followed by Guy Guzzone with a 1%. Delegates Jimmy Malone and Liz Bobo were both ranked at 14% while Shane Pendergrass  got 46%.

The most biz friendly HoCo Dem in the General Assembly was Steven DeBoy at 60%. Senator Ed Kasemeyer scored 50% and Senator Jim Robey, 34%. For Jim this was actually a huge improvement over 2010 when he was given a 2% score.

The Dems seem to heading in the wrong direction on making Maryland more business friendly.

The Repubs fared much better in the Roll Call scoring. Senator Allan Kittleman received 76% and Delegates Warren Miller and Gail Bates each got a 72%.

Since I began paying attention, these numbers rarely fluctuate all that dramatically. As long as Maryland remains a one party state, there is probably little chance of change in the Old Line State's business climate.

Early Birds

I like going down to the Town Center lakefront before the festivities get started on July 4^th. The Columbia Association allows folks to start claiming a spot for the fireworks at 8:00 AM and by 1:30 PM the area has become a colorful mosaic of blankets and tarps.

Late arrivals discovered that finding an opening amidst this sea of blankets required all the concentration of a game of scrabble.

While most people stake out a spot with plans to return later others, like Brittany and Isaac Saunders Sr, make a day out of it with their family. Isaac told me they set up camp at noon today, even though the action didn’t get started until three. “We live just down the street from here,” he told me.

Brittany said they’ve come back to this same spot for a couple years now.

When asked Isaac if I could take a picture of his family for To2C, he seized the opportunity to promote his photography business. He also let me know that his wife was a writer in case I needed any help with the blog. I thanked him for the offer but informed him that this was pretty much a one man operation.

Early today, there was some talk of cancelling tonight’s celebration due to concerns about the possibility of another severe storm. As I was heading back to my car I received a text from Notify Me Howard that the show will go on tonight.

Happy Independence Day

Today marks the 236^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It’s a day to celebrate American democracy. To that end I share a quote from the man often referred to as the father of our country.

“Party disputes and personal quarrels are the great business of the day, while the great and accumulated debt, ruined finances, depreciated money and want of credit were postponed from day to day, from week to week, as if our affairs wore the most promising aspect.”

Although that was written by George Washington in 1778 during the Revolutionary War, it sounds very familiar today. For those who lament that modern politics in America has denigrated into placing personal agendas over the national good, you should take heart that this is something that has plagued our democracy from the git go.

Here’s hoping everyone can toss aside politics for the day, and celebrate the fact that even after 236 years of this stuff, our country endures in spite of ourselves.

Down in the Hole

Our recent weather event has once again raised cries for burying all power lines. Even here at To2C, readers have chimed in on the issue.

It has also again highlighted the longstanding Columbia/Ellicott City divide. In some recent casual conversations I've detected a hint of  an infrastructure superiority complex among some Columbians. Columbia, of course, was a pioneer in the burying of power lines forty five years ago. As a result, Columbia in general, suffered fewer power outages than the rest of HoCo, percentage wise anyway.

That being said, there were still power outages in Columbia. The infrastructure is only as strong as its weakest point which occurs in and all around Columbia. This is also true in Ellicott City. In the newer developments, including my own neighborhood, all of the power lines are buried. The problem is that they are connected to the old parts where the wires are hung on poles, the aforementioned weak link. In Ellicott City the old parts occupy a larger geographical area than the new parts.

 Whether or not to just go ahead and bury everything everywhere has been battered around for some time now. According to this story by Mike DeBonis in The Washington Post, “In 2005, the Maryland Public Service Commission studied whether creating a statewide system of underground lines would be wise. The group concluded that building such a system would be too expensive, …”

There also seems to be a question as to whether it is even worth it.

“A 2009 report from the Edison Electric Institute, a trade association for public utilities, said data show that underground systems have “only a slightly better reliability performance” than above-ground systems.”

Then again, if you just measured the performance of underground power lines in times of storms like last Fridays, putting the power in the hole wins hands down.

“Pepco said in a 2008 report that outages involving overhead wires took 2.8 hours to repair, while the average outage involving underground equipment took 4.4 hours. But during and after storm events, the calculation changed: Above-ground equipment took an average of 8.2 hours to repair, “while there were no [underground] storm related failures for comparison.”

And then there’s that…

Three Days, No Donuts

As HoCo headed to normalcy this morning, signs of the disruptions caused by Friday nights “super derecho” storm were still evident.

The Dunkin Donuts on Montgomery Road in Ellicott City was open for coffee but had no donuts for dunkin’. The store lost power on Friday and didn’t get it back until late yesterday making it one of the storms losers.

The winners were mostly next door in Columbia. Overall Columbia appears to have fared much better than Ellicott City. Yesterday I took Mama Wordbones to visit Wegmans for the first time and it seemed as if half of HoCo was in the store. One of the employees by the sushi bar told me that the store never lost power and that they'd been "crushed" all weekend.

It was a different story on Main Street in Ellicott City. Instead of the usual summer weekend crowds the historic district was largely empty as shops closed due to lack of power. When I drove through the old mill town on Saturday morning, restaurants were scrambling to preserve their perishables. I spotted this crew moving food from Tersiguel's to a refrigerated truck while a generator droned in front of Scoop Ahh Dee Doo.

As Ian Shapira wrote in this story in The Washington Post, “Natural disasters have a natural way of doing this. They mysteriously transform some people into the haves and the people next door into have-nots.”

In this particular storm, it appears that Columbia was the haves, and EC was the have-nots.

Our Broadband Brother

Say what you will about Ken Ulman as a politician but somewhere under that public persona there resides just another smart kid who grew up here. While he works to adopt a more regional leadership image, his roots were here and always will be. His HoCo loco fans will celebrate that fact while his HoCo loco foes will apologize for it. Love him or hate him he’s still our guy.

We decided to jump right in with the exec instead of waiting for to formally bring him in after the news recap. It didn’t take long for him to chide me for making light of the marble attack on the speed cam van. “Thankfully no one was hurt,” he pointed out soberly countering my reckless sarcasm.

Of course he was right. Until Friday’s show I hadn’t realized that those vans were manned, more often than not according to the exec. Somebody could get hurt.

Still, I contend that the story of the fifty year old guy arrested for firing marbles at a HoCo speed van is pretty funny stuff and fair game for humor. I’m also glad no one got hurt because then it wouldn’t be funny.

As it happens sometimes, we only got to cover about half the stuff we had on our list to talk about. On the other hand we still managed to cover election cycles, the school board, the Affordable Care Act, the Downtown Partnership triumphs and travails and the statewide broadband initiative.

According to Ken the first fiber on the network has already been lit linking UMBC main campus in Catonsville with their new Training Center in Columbia Gateway. The One Maryland Inter-County Broadband Network (ICBN) may prove to be the single most important public infrastructure project in Maryland since the advent of the railroad. The bottom line is that Ken and Ira Levy, his cyber guru, made this happen. Nice job.

You can listen to the 69^th episode of “and then there’s that…” here. 

Powerless

We were among the 800,000 or so people in Maryland who lost power late Friday night as a result of a storm that appeared to catch meteorologists and power company executives by surprise.

Our power was finally restored this morning around eleven. I had just picked up two bags of free ice from Harris Teeter in Kings Contrivance when Mama Wordbones called with the news that the juice was flowing again. I was grateful. Spending another day of scorching heat trying to keep our house cool and our food from becoming spoiled was not my idea of a fun way to spend a weekend. Thankfully, our home has a finished basement which remained cool while the rest of the house baked and that’s where we ending up sleeping last night.

Now, with our power restored and the a/c cranking out cool air again, I thought I'd share a couple of observations.

Gadgets

No power means living on borrowed time for eReaders, iPads, and smartphones. My Nook held on until this morning before it died. My iPad, forced to rely on a 3G network, was only a little more useful than a paperweight. I kept my smartphone alive by greatly curtailing its use along with periodic infusions of juice from the car battery.

Fortunately, I still receive regular newspaper delivery so I didn’t need to rely on digital devices to find out what was going on in the world.

Food

Yesterday morning, as we were being warned that the outage could last for days, Mama Wordbones took on the role of refrigerator cop. Thanks to her efforts we didn’t lose any food. I think we opened the fridge a total of three times yesterday. Instead of going out for dinner last night, we ate what was most at risk for spoiling, using the gas grill for cooking and dining in the cool basement.

Community

It was thanks to Courtney Watsons Twitter feed that I learned about the free ice at Harris Teeter this morning. I also learned that CA had opened all of its pools to HoCo residents without power who needed to cool off. A wag of the Wordbones tail goes out to all that have helped their powerless neighbors cope during this emergency.

Advisory Overload

While taping our podcast today I quipped with the exec that the proposed advisory board for the new Downtown Columbia Partnership includes everybody but Santa Claus. In order to mollify criticism that the partnership board vests too much control in the hands of the Howard Hughes Corporation, the county council is considering eleven amendments to the enabling legislation that includes the addition of an eleven member advisory board. According to this story by Lindsey McPherson in Explore Howard, the advisory board “would be allowed to attend the Board of Directors meetings.”

“The amendment specifies that a representative of the advisory committee must be provided with an opportunity to comment on all matters pending before the board. It also authorizes the advisory committee to examine the partnership's books and records "at any reasonable time."

Though the advisory board members will be able to comment and examine to their hearts delight, their influence is limited to an advisory role with no voting power. In other words it’s basically window dressing meant to appease those who fear giving HHC too much say in how the partnership is run.

That fear is misplaced. Over the course of the next thirty years or so, HHC will be expending tens of millions to remake Columbia Town Center and the partnerships role is "to be the entity conducting marketing, maintenance, security, transportation and other services in downtown Columbia." It is in the companies’ best interests as the master developer to see that the project is done right.

As the largest developer of master planned communities in the United States I don’t think they really need an overloaded advisory board to accomplish the task but it looks like they're going to get one anyway.

A Bounty of Bags

People send me stuff. Most of the time it is simply tips for blog posts but every once awhile they send me actual stuff. Today I received three reusable shopping bags.

Last Sunday in this post, I made a light hearted jab at Joan Lancos for disqualifying me from receiving a yellow Columbia Villages bag because I wasn't a resident of Columbia. Today she sent me two along with a note apologizing for the slight and hoping that “this incident won’t prevent you from saying nice things about us in the future.”

I should note here that Joan and I both share a fond appreciation for sarcasm.

I also got a Baggu from Mickey Gomez, the Executive Director of the Volunteer Center of Howard County. I suppose Mickey read about the yellow bag incident and decided to send me one of her bags, a nice little fold up number.

Thank you, Mickey and Joan. You both get a wag of the Wordbones tail for the smiles I got when I opened my mail today.

This Could Get Interesting…And Expensive

The news today that Allan Kittleman was cranking up his political machinery for a run at county exec in 2014 came as a welcome surprise. It has long been known that he was interested in the job and now he’s become the first of the top three, or four, to lay the gauntlet down, sort of. According to this story by Lindsey McPherson in Explore Howard, the state senator told guests at a breakfast fundraiser that “we are putting an organization together to anticipate we will be moving for county executive in 2014.”

The news was greeted with reserve by his rivals. Courtney Watson told Lindsey that “it's too early to discuss a race still more than two years away.”

Okay, right. If you don’t know that Courtney plans to run for county executive in 2014 then you aren’t paying very close attention. Next to school board member Brian Meshkin’s business troubles on the West Coast, it’s the worst kept secret in HoCo.

Guy Guzzone, on the other hand, at least admitted that he’s working on the makings of a run for the top HoCo job. "I am putting together the necessary pieces to make sure that option is open to me," he said.”

I think “putting together the necessary pieces” means the same thing as “putting an organization together” in HoCo loco politico speak.

Allan has the most to gain by getting out early in this race. Despite the inherent disadvantage of being a Repub in a predominately Dem county, he is either the third out of three or the fourth out of four in fundraising as near as I can tell.

The top dog with dollars is Guy. For some reason many of the candidates 2012 Annual Campaign Reports are not yet available online so I used 2011 numbers when comparing the campaign war chests of the top three, or four. In 2011 Guy reported having $100,274 in cash on hand. Courtney had $31,785 and Alan had $20,188. Interestingly, Calvin Ball had $40,847. I know it sounds crazy but if Courtney and Guy decide to duke it out in a Dem primary, Calvin could justify jumping into that fight too.

Despite Professor Cools detached demeanor towards further political ambitions, his bank account makes him a playa.

The bottom line is that all four of these front runners are good candidates for the job. We are fortunate for that but it will also make decisions of who to support all the more gut wrenching…and expensive.

During this season of non declared campaigning, at least three of the four will be ramping up the fundraising breakfasts, lunches, cocktail receptions, and family picnics. Tickets will run from twenty some bucks to a couple hundred some bucks and many us will attend events for each of them, not necessarily because we plan to eventually vote for them but simply because we know them and like them.

So while this is getting interesting it is also going to get expensive for some of us anyway, especially when you consider that our county exec is running for governor. (Tell me you knew about that, right?)

Such is the price we pay for a healthy HoCo loco democracy.

Before Mini There Was Morris

Before there was the Fiat 500, the Smart Car and the Mini, there was the VW Beetle, the Citroen 2CV, and the Morris Minor 1000. I spotted this 1969 Morris at the Old Mill Bakery Café just outside Ellicott City last Sunday.

Much like the Ford pickup I wrote about in this post, what I liked about this car was that it is not a showpiece driven only on Sundays and other special occasions. Judging from its condition, this car appears to still be in regular service and in fairly good shape considering.

The Morris was built by BMC, better known for producing the MGB and the MG Midget. According to this report on Epinions, “cars built by BMC shared a large number of parts so availability of them is still an easy and economical affair.”

“Finding and nurturing a Morris Minor 1000 through 21st century life could be a rewarding and enjoyable experience. Still viable on today’s roads, more economical to operate than some new economy cars, and easily restored, a Morris Minor 1000 might be the best answer to a new Mini or Smart Car purchase.”

You just have to get used to driving on the right.

What He Said

Though some folks may look down their noses at loco bloggers as nothing more than nattering nabobs, at least one of us backs his words with a call for direct action.

For the third time in less than two years, Tom Coale, the author of HoCo Rising, has harnessed his blog energy to rally support for the HoCo loco homeless. Last year, thanks to a fundraising campaign he spearheaded on his blog, over $3,000 was raised for Grassroots enabling the loco charity to establish a sober house in the county.

Now he’s at it again. Yesterday Tom began a new campaign to raise $2,300 for Living in Recovery in order that they may open a second sober house.

I have often said that it is the readers who make loco blogging so rewarding and Tom’s efforts shown just how rewarding that can be. The loco blog readers have shown that they are not just interested in reading and commenting on loco stuff, they are also committed to fixing stuff. As he wrote in this post, the loco blog reader is “not satisfied to watch public need and chat about it with removed fascination.  We do things.” 

Indeed.

If you haven’t done so already, you can learn more and help make a difference here.

“Like Eating a Fat Angel”

Last night I took Peanut to the relatively new “Scoop Ahh Dee Doo" ice cream stand in Ellicott City. Earlier last week I sampled their frozen confections for the first time and was blown away by a flavor called Honey Graham. It was just like graham crackers only ice cream, if that makes any sense.

Peanut decided to try one of her favorite flavors, strawberry. After only a few bites she declared that it was the best strawberry ice cream she’d ever had. “It’s like eating a fat angel,” she said.

I’m not sure exactly where that expression came from but I took it to be high praise.

I was tempted to try the Berger Cookie flavor but the Honey Graham so good the first time I decided to get it again.

The ice cream comes from the Taharka Brothers Homemade Ice Cream Company in Baltimore. The company and its founders were the subject of this story by Dick Gordon on American Public Media. It’s worth a listen and makes the delicious ice cream all the more enticing.

The setting is pretty terrific too. Peanut and I took our ice cream over to a bench by the river and soaked in the summer evening while listening to the water cascading over the rocks just below us. It was just like eating a fat angel.

We’re heading down there again tonight. I've been thinking about that Berger Cookie flavor all day.

Birthday Town

It is somewhat unfortunate that Columbia’s forty fifth birthday celebration had to fall on the weekend after LakeFest. The temptation to unfavorably compare the two events is almost too great.

It would also be unfair.

Columbia’s birthday party is more hyper loco than the regionally marketed LakeFest. This was bought home to me almost as soon as I arrived. Passing by the Columbia Villages booth, Joan Lancos started to hand me a Columbia Villages reusable shopping bag but then pulled back explaining “You don’t live in Columbia do you?”

I’m a Columbia expat. No yellow shopping bag for me.

Despite the shopping bag stiff I lingered for awhile talking loco politico stuff with Joan long enough to eventually elicit an audible sigh from Peanut. We moved on, without a yellow shopping bag.

Passing in front of Clyde’s I showed Peanut the brick I bought her. I don’t think it made that great of an impression with her. Perhaps she’ll grow more comfortable with the whole brick thing over time. 

As we were inspecting the decorated umbrellas lined up along the dock, a couple came by with a young golden retriever, named Dakota. The owner (I believe her name was Claire) asked me if I was a blogger. I pleaded guilty and she proceeded to tell me that she is a regular reader. “I’m a lurker though,” she said, “not a commenter.”

I immediately liked her. The fact that she and husband had a sweet golden retriever only made it better.  I thanked her for recognizing me and being a reader. That is one the best parts of hyper loco blogging for me, random encounters with HoCo locos that I otherwise may have never met.

After taking our aforementioned paddle boat ride, we headed up to the main stage area when a Tae Kwon Do demonstration was about to take place. “This is something that really interests me,” Peanut informs me.

Who knew?

As we settled in to watch I noticed a young couple had found themselves a private perch to watch the show. I wondered how long it would be before someone told them to get down. It was approximately fifteen minutes. Still, for the moment they were getting away with it, it made a perfect summer picture.

As we left, I grabbed one of the available Sharpies and penned my birthday greetings to Columbia on the birthday cake replica set up for this purpose. I may no longer qualify for a free yellow shopping bag but I still love my old hometown all the same. Happy 45th!

The Boats Are Back

Yesterday, as Peanut and I were checking out the Columbia birthday festivities, I noticed a familiar site had returned to the Town Center lakefront…paddle boats.

As it turns out, yesterday was opening day for the new paddle boat concessionaire, Capital River Cruises. After a brief chat with boat attendants Mick and Ryan, we decided to take one out for a spin.

It was a nice day for getting back out on Lake Kittamaqundi again.