StringGrrl sees the World

River Rouge: Dearborn & Fairlane Estate

2026-09-02T09:03:53.002-07:00

Waterfall at Fairlane

Detroit Institute of Arts Inside|Out installation at Melvindale Community Center Parking near launch

Among pleasant surprises when we arrived at the Melvindale John K. Keesey fieldhouse and launch into the Rouge River and paddle upstream to the Fairlane Estate was this replica from their collection "Bank of the Oise at Auvers", by Vincent van Gogh. Several times a year they place these artworks in communities that support the DIA. The Inside|Out program https://dia.org/insideout places the works each spring and summer for the last 17 years.

Enroute one crosses under Interstate Highways, Freeways, railways, and Michigan Ave

Upstream of Michigan Ave and Railway the riverbank transistions to a more natural environment

Fairlane Estate

The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village are just beyond Eagle Lane, not really navigable to enter

Unfortunately the River does collect waste

Passing under bridges

Rail bridge in the distance as passing under Michigan Ave with the shopping cart that we removed

Daniel Boone National Forest: Paragon dispersed camping sites

2026-08-10T11:54:22.930-07:00

Rocky Shoreline along the Licking River

StringGrrl 5.0 & 4.3

On occasion, when work needs me someplace other than home or local office a road trio is necessary. Generally, any distance i can drive in 5 hours is just as convenient to drive to as it is to fly. Flying requires following someone else's timetable, getting to the airport, getting from airport to customer site, dealing with "airport people" (who are the worst), and is generally a soul-sucking endevor. Driving is my preference with driving early or late enough that camping on the way just makes sense. A visit to Toyota in KY opened up the opportunity for some dispersed camping in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

phone photography fails to capture just how magic the sky actually appeared

Pulling into the riverside dispersed campsite by headlamp is pretty awesome

After dropping of critical and delicate equipment with my host at Toyota, I drove about an hour east from Georgetown to Morehead Kentucky, where I could enter the forest and find easy to access "dispersed camping" in the national forest. Dispersed camping is often free or very inexpensive, with no reservation system and first-come-first-served style of campsite claim. Be the first person there and you have a site.

Home for 2 nights before heading to Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Georgetown KY

One of my favorite beers from MI came down with me for the trip

There is a hammock (free standing) underneath that highly necessary rainfly

A nice dry place to rest for 2 evenings

The end of the line

another dead-end

Paddling supplies picked up in Cinncinati on the way down from MI

my traditional canoe coffee brewing

Blissfest 2026! Back again

2026-07-13T08:24:21.000-07:00

Shady Stage 3

My first Blissfest experience was in the late 1900's on my way back from Michigan Tech, downstate. That was the 13th or 14th annual festival back then. This year marks the 44th Blissfest -- 2020 & 2021 were paused for global pandemic.

Taste of Bliss - Beer and Wine tasting

Stonehound Brewing shared a

Local Winery who kept dumping their rinse water over StringGrrrl's head before paying us in wine

Stage 1 viewed from a shady spot

Early morning calm on Mishigaami (Lake Michigan)

Brewed Fresh just for us

Brought a few beers up north from GPW

Hiding out in the shade

Deployed for second year in the same spot between stages 1, 2, and 3

Disc Golf Camp, new favorite spot, let's see if i can grab it next year

Last beer before wildcat camping on the shores of Lake Michigan and Sturgeon Bay Dunes

Theo Katzmann or Galactic, I forget which night was which.

Edit: not until a week or two after returning home, did I and many others learn that Saturday night (or early Sunday morning) a fellow "Bliss-ter" was assaulted, slashed, and left for dead in the back 40 camping area. At the time I update this post he is apparently recovering in a hospital and attacker(s) is unknown. Scary and disappointing that we were "blissfully" unaware throughout the festival grounds.

Canoes then Brews in Rhode Island & Massachucetts

2026-05-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

Central Falls, Rhode Island

StringGrrrl's siblings live in Rhode Island, presumably to maximize distance from the 'rents in Michigan. Just outside of Providence we found Central Falls and the Blackstone river, providing a nice morning paddle with the opportunity to visit some local breweries.

Below Central Falls, no idea how to access the water here

Graffitti artists have some game around here :-)

A quiet spot to pause and brew coffee

Just below the reservoir dam, riffles and current halted attainment

Many old industrial sites pepper the riverbank

Blackstone River Greenway

Alternate Continuum (Barrel Aged Saison) & Greenway (NE IPA session)

Mordax (NE IPA) & Coarse Woody Debris (Saison)

Oops! I accidentally brought some home

On the anniversary of nearly dying

2026-01-29T10:52:00.000-08:00

How it started, a beautiful day of skiing

I've been unpacking some significant trauma or maybe it is post-trauma response, whatever. Suffice to say 3 years ago this week I came within centimeters of deadly injury. Since then it's been pain, questioning of my willingness to survive, fears of living in constant debt and pain, and instead of a "new lease on life" which many assume that surviving accidents should have brought me, I have a healthy fear of "surviving" in today's fraught world. Don't panic, it's not a cry for help or indication of a crisis, but certainly a recognition that there are many ways we can go and long suffering ends will not be my favored way.

That's us at the top

After a full day without incident on the skis

I am fortunate to have friends who cared enough to visit me

Luckily travel insurance paid everything, so survival wasn't a curse. If it had not?

Better that we don't dwell on that.

Hospital Coffee and Yogurt

Austrian Hospital food was surprisingly OK

Recooperating in Landeck-Zams Austria was beautiful

Among the generous folks as I recovered, one family took me to the mountain as they skied

The view from behind the Hotel I stayed at as my pneumothorax cleared

Non-alcoholic German Beer is pretty good

What sticks with me, and many folks can't understand if they are not neurodivergent, is just how awful it was being stuck in my head as the thoughts raced around about how I would pay for a 20 minute helicopter ambulance ride, 19 days in hospital osteopathic trauma and surgerical recovery ward, and 2 weeks in hotel waiting for lungs to not be a collapse risk to fly home. Sure, I can look back a feel OK with surviving and not having the bills. But I spent almost a week in hospital wishing I had died on the mountain because I only forsaw bankruptcy and pain in my future. Those thoughts never really go away and are a frequent Autistic-ADHD rumination topic.

Kyushu izakaya with Keysight (ESI) team in Shinjuku

2025-12-11T05:33:00.000-08:00

Kyushu Netchuya, Shinjuku in the Nomura Building

The team in Shinjuku Tokyo, in Japanese custom, very hospitably invited StringGrrl out for an Authentic Kyushu izakaya experience. We walked from the office to a nearby shopping area to visit the restaurants in the lower levels (Why can't we have such nice things in the USA?).

Izakaya are casual Japanese pubs or taverns that serve drinks and a variety of small plates, similar to experiences with Tapas in Spain, the work teams will leave the office for a drink and meal of several tastes before embarking on sometimes long commutes home. Kyushu Island is home to Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Oita, Saga, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa prefectures. It is the 3rd largest of the Japanese Islands and is the southernmost of the larger Japanese "mainland".

Credited with being the "Birthplace of Ramen", where Tonkotsu Ramen was innovated as a novel new dish using Chinese Noodles in a Creamy Pork Bone broth. Hakata Gyoza, Aso Beef, Hita Yakisoba, Sara Udon Crispy Noodles, and many others will show up in Google or AI searches for Kyushu Cuisine. We made our way through several dishes.

Kyushu Gyoza, Crispy in the Cast Iron pan

Torikawa, Chicken Skin Yakitori

Why people insist on discarding chicken skin is a mystery

Cod Roe, Miso Marinated Cream Cheese, and Pickled Daikon

Miyazaki Chicken Nanban

Shashimi

Basashi (yes, it is Horse meat)

Texturally, Horse is not my favorite meat. But it tastes great, it just chews and chews and chews. Maybe the thinner delivery of it, or maybe the other cut? Anyway, it seems taboo to American mindset, but on Kyushu and now wherever you can find their foood it is a delicacy and really just another animal we eat.

Nagaski Champon, very similar to the chinese ancestor Lo Mein

Basashi (Horse Meat)

Japanese Chicken Goro-yaki

Chicken Thighs

Fall Beerfest | Michigan Brewers Guild 2025

2025-10-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

StringGrrl met these fine folks visiting from Out of Town

Kuhnhenn Creme Brule Java Stout

The tents just outside Shed5

ByGeorge | Hot Nutz! Coconut Habenero Porter

StringGrrl makes some freinds outside Shed5

SomeBuddies from Someday

Jammy Mist from Mothfire Brewing of Ann Arbor

Members of the Brewcrew from Griffin Claw

Double Chocolate Porter from Kickstand

Great day among the the Mi Brewers Guild tribe

Oatmeal Cookie Stout | Dragons Milk & New Holland

Mike and Mike SomeBuddies

Brewery Tour by Canoe: Boardman Lake, Traverse City, MI

2025-08-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

Boardman Lake is smack-dab downtown in Traverse City, MI. Easily accessible from the lake are three, maybe even four breweries. Local kayak liveries have scheduled tours to kayak and bike to several local breweries and taprooms. So on this August Sunday, StringGrrl and I decided that we should make the tour ourselves.

Coffee first! It would be irresponsible to embark on day drinking un-caffeinated

Boardman Lake Trail Bridge and entry to the River

There is a free public launch in Hull Park, just behind the Traverse Area Public Library. Parking adequate for up to 5 cars and up to 5 trucks with trailers, right near the launch and more parking elsewhere in the park made for an easy launch that morning. We paddled our way into the river first to have a coffee while drifting through town. Ideally, one should be able to portage the canoe past the dam and connect directly into Grand Traverse Bay, but construction near the dam made that portage just inconvenient enough that StringGrrl and I did not bother.

A pint at Rare Bird

To visit Rare Bird, you can tie your canoe or kayak to the docks behind the condominiums between Cass and Eighth Streets, that is the boardwalk you will see between the 2 road overpasses you will come to while on the Boardman River and before you reach the dam. From there it is a simple walk up the steps through the parking areas for the condos and over to Rare Bird Brewing.

Canoe tied to the Boardman Lake Trail Scenic Pier and Kayak Launch

The overlook from Boardman Lake Trail

After a brief few drinks at Rare Bird, we returned to our canoe and paddled southwest from the Boardman River to the western banks of the Boardman Lake and found a conveniently placed pier and launch to tie-up to and leave the boat to visit Right Brain Brewing.

This deer climbed down from the hillside into the Lake for a drink and light salad

After we had beers at Right Brain, we returned to the lake with intention to paddle back and call it a day. At that time we did not know that another brewery opened not too far from the southern side of the lake. Nocturnal Bloom, had opened a few weeks before our trip there and one could potentially park a boat near the River Outfitters on the south shore of Boardman and make a short walk to the brewery, but we did not know and can't vouch for how easy that might be. The lake is very very shallow at that end of the lake and might not be navigable under all conditions.

One notable thing about this weekend in Traverse City was the air quality. Wildfires in Western Ontario and Manitoba, Canada, had dropped a fairly heavy blanket of smoky haze onto the northern parts of lower peninsula Michigan. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but still the sun was not clearly visible this afternoon. The panorama shot below highlights how half of the sky was pea soup thick with haze and the rest of the sky was smoky blue.

A flight at Rare Bird

a "Road Pop" from Right Brain as a to go back on the water

StringGrrl "has friends everywhere"

StringGrrl on her last leg, literally needed to tape her leg back on

a Right Brain Stout (might have been CEO Imperial?)

Dam Loud, no really. A Dam on Au Sable River making a Pond named Loud

2025-07-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

Sign marking Entrance to Pond, sign on island accessible floating downstream from Alcona

In the Huron National Forest, the Au Sable River runs from Grayling east to Lake Huron. On the river there are over a hundred designated campsites, many are boat-in access only. Unlike trying to camp "dispersed" which prohibits camping within 200 ft from streams, rivers, ponds, lakes or other bodies of water, the Au Sable River Campsites have been established and maintained by the US Forest Service and Parks staff. recreation.gov to reserve a site

The Au Sable River camps span 55 miles of the Au Sable River and are separated into several segments: Alcona Pond, the AuSable Semi-Primitive Non-Motorized Area, Loud Pond, Five Channels Pond, Cooke Pond, Foote Pond and the Lower Au Sable.

Loud Pond, is one of the easiest places to put in and get to campsites without long stretches of paddling or having to car spot to have a nice weekend or overnight trip. Which is why it has become my default "low hanging fruit" spot to head out of an impromptu canoe camping trip.

At the upstream end of the pond, more "islands" of reeds and an actual island

Arriving from M-65, the launch site is around 2.5 miles west up Loud Dam Road, maybe 2.5 miles west of the Five Channels Dam. There is reasonable parking there just beside the Hydro Electric Dam a few meters away from the launch site to Loud Pond or the lower section to enter Five Channels Pond.

Loud Pond, facing the Dam heading away from Campsite 21C

Campsites 21C-27C are accessible from Loud Pond, sites 29C-31C are accessed from Five Channel Dam Pond. Site 28C?? Is confusing since the maps show it well away from the water and seemingly equidistant from either pond.

Site 21C is well marked and easily spotted from the water, bank is sort and not too steep

Being a solo paddler, spotting cars and doing longer downstream paddle-through trips is just not my jam. StringGrrrl is a good companion and all, but she doesn't drive and having only one car makes any attempt to paddle through a logistics ordeal that we just don't bother with.

Lugging the excessive gear to the pad deserved a beer as reward

The pond can be quite chill most times, it's the wind up and down the river valley that can make the paddling a challenge. This last trip in late June of 2025, I have no photos of videos until I arrived at the site as the wind was pretty fierce to the point that there were whitecaps on the pond and the chop threatened to bring water over the sides of my slightly overloaded canoe. Three bundles of firewood along with my tendency to overpack had be weighed down more than usual. It shouldn't be an issue for my 14'9" Old Town Pathfinder. But riding lower in the water with wind driven chop was not comfortable.

StringGrrrl checks to see if 20C, Alcona Primitive Loop is reachable against wind & current

Experimentally, I tried to see if it was reasonable to paddle upstream from the Dam and launch to reach sites 20C and 19C. However the steady wind this day made it pretty difficult to attain far enough against the wind to feel that it would be safe to try to reserve either of those camps with the expectation attaining toward the sleeping spot. Someday I will have to arrange for the shuttle or car spotting service to be able to float through the river more completely.

Wedged between some submerged stumps to view the dunes in the distance and have a vape

Sunset brought a welcome break from the breeze pushing steadily downstream

Sign signifying the exit from Alcona Loop to the Loud Pond Campsites

Sure, now there's no wind and the water is like glass. With these conditions, might be able to make 20C

The photos never look as good as the real deal

Moonrise Kingdom, a cozy craft beer bar in Tokyo-Shinjuku

2025-04-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Craft Brewing is not what normally comes to mind when people ask about Japan. They'll ask if you like raw fish (there is more to Japanese cuisine than Sashimi or Sushi), or they'll comment about Sake (there is more than just rice wine in Japan); but if you look, you will definitely find some. Our recent trip to Tokyo, this April just after the Sakura had been swept away by rain :-( we were able to find a perfectly suitable refuge for the Craft Beer Lover.

Moonrise Kingdom(via their Instagram)

StringGrrl with one of the NEIPA/Hazy IPA on tap from Japanese Craft Breweries

As a treat, the owners shared an American Milk Stout from Left Hand Brewing out of Colorado

Local ExPat who gave up their stool to make room for StringGrrl and Kam

Carryout beer from Kyoto Brewing Company, Vertere

FIRST Robotics: Facial Hair Funday(s)

2025-03-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

StringGrrl has been an avid Gearheads supporter for years

Team 1189 Gearheads are sponsored by ESI Group (a part of Keysight)

StringGrrl's travel companion Kam prepares to sacrifice his beard for the team

Kam has had a standing deal with the team. Not a "bet", since betting is antithetical to the FIRST Robotics Ideals. Let's call it a Merit Based Objective, where when the team Advances in the event, they can "reconfigure" Kam's beard. It's been a deal since 2015 when Kam started to mentor the team. Since then, Facial Hair Funday has been a part of Gearheads robotics and Kam's key contribution to the spirit of the event.

Enjoy the suffering of Kam as he wears a ridiculous beard for 2 consecutive weekends.

Gearhead mentor and team members dyed Kam's beard Black & Yellow for team spirit

Phase 1: the Yellow

Phase 2: the Black

Phase 3: if the team advances from Qualifiers to playoffs they get to shave it

Phase 3: made the playoffs

Thanks Team, Kam didn't want the chin whiskers anymore

Some ribbons and elastics really complete the look

The more the team wins, the less beard Kam has

By the End of Woodhaven, they advanced far enough to cost Kam his 'stache

Macomb District Event, Gearheads advanced to playoffs, but did not get far enough to fix this situation

Naturhotel Wittelsbach

2025-03-21T19:37:00.001-07:00

Not far from Munich we've had the good fortune to find ourselves in smaller cozy little towns or villages. One of which is Aichach and it's little adjacent village Wittelsbach. There we stayed in a modern little hotel tucked up against the woods and a few fields.

Naturhotel Wittelsbach

The naturhotel has two levels and maybe 20 rooms (? Sorry if I didn't really count). All the rooms face the back side of hotel and have wide open clear views from the hotel, over the fields, and to the woods.

Balcony view, failing to capture a picture of the glorious post sunset sky.

A short walk from the hotel you'll find an old church, recently repaired and renovated, and a maintained forest trail "wanderweg".

Olrepubliken (Beer Republic)

2025-03-15T05:07:00.001-07:00

River Camping on Foote Pond, Au Sable River, MI

2024-10-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

Foote Pond, first thing in the morning attaining toward the dam

Campsite 084C, Island Camping

Dunes below site 082D (D = Driveable) not a trivial climb up

Hardly getting started

Is it much farther now?

Up top the Sand Dune

Cooke Pond, one dam upstream of Foote Pond

What a night, what a view

Bliss-ful return to Blissfest

2024-08-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

Early Access to Camp for Volunteers, makes set-up easy peasy

Back in the late 1900's I attended my first Blissfest. I was coming down from MTU where i was near completing my BS in Mechanical Engineering. My friends convinced me to stop in Bliss, MI for a multi-day music festival. And since it was end of term, i have most of my worldly possessions with me, so camping was pretty easy.

Chilling in the free standing hammock from Republic of Durable goods and a beer from Ascension

Fast forward 28 years and I returned to Blissfest for the first time in 2022. I learned that Volunteering gets you in for nearly free. And since my neurospicy brain likes music festivals, but FREE Music festivals even more, i signed up to volunteer for 2 4 hour shifts to get the 3 day festival ticket for $170, with $160 coming back after i finish my shifts.

Headliners the Wood Brothers take the stage

Blissfest Stage 1

The line up Saturday to return to Bliss

Stretching far behind, guess i should not have left after setting camp

Another Beer from Ascension

Sturgeon Bay and Bliss Beach

A rock that someone from "downriver" Detroit MI area painted and left in Mackinaw, carrying it further

Sunrise without coffee is no one's idea of a good time, so make some coffee

Geocaching: Pacific Northwest finds and a trackable on a mission

2023-08-14T11:35:00.003-07:00

Geocaching started in the Pacific Northwest, after all, so it is only fitting that StringGrrl and Kam make it a point to log a few visits while visiting Portland and Seattle areas this summer.

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, OR

Geocaching is a global treasure hunt game, played by a community of GPS equipped individuals. Object is simple, place a weather proof container (a cache) of a variety of sizes out in the world, record its GPS corrdinates and register at https://www.geocaching.com. Other registered users will be able to look up caches near their location and try to find it. Sometimes these are easy, difficulty or terrain 1.0, or very hard, difficulty or terrain 5.0, on a scale of 1-5.

Painted Rock Tributes decorating GZ

While in Oregon exploring the area before work requirements up in Seattle area, we went exploring Coastal Oregon. Visiting Cannon Beach and the famous Haystack Rock, before making our way to Tillamook (that will be another post) and its famous Cheese Factory.

Signing the Log

Lots of loot

A Tracking Bug is a registered object with a unique code associated with it, that are often placed in the geocaches. Sometimes the object is a "Collectible" which can be kept by the finder, but more often the tracking bug is meant to be grabbed from one cache and re-hidden in a different one. Travel Bugs can often have missions, StringGrrl is a travel bug that i just carry with me and never place leave behind, while other travel bugs are intended to travel from cache to cache and have its movements mapped on the website.

A trackable travelbug from Michigan, very close to StringGrrls home

It's mission? To find a lake or forestry watchtower in Washington State, where we are going next

This cache isn't large enough to house the bug

But this one was

In the correct state now, just to find a large enough cache at a lake or watchtower

Not from the same artist, but similar idea, this one found at Mackinaw City

Turnip Rock, Port Austin, MI

2023-07-24T04:52:00.004-07:00

A frequently photographed piece of lower peninsula Michigan is "Turnip Rock", named so for it's resemblance to the root vegetable. It is located at the tip of the "Thumb" of lower Michigan, about 70 miles (115km) Northeast of Bay City or 133 miles (215km) due North of Detroit.

One of the more interesting bits of Geology in the Lower Pennisula

To access the rock, you can launch from Port Austin, where I have read that the local Kayak rental place will charge you to launch your own boats if you choose not to rent. Alternatively, a little further east is Eagle Bay Public Access, which is free to use if you have Michigan State Park Recreation Pass ($13 per year added to your automobile registration).

The approach from Eagle Bay

From Eagle Bay, it is nearly 5km or 3mile paddle to the Rock. When the lake is calm it is not too bad, though if you straight line it from point-to-point you will be further offshore than is comfortable at times. It was very calm when we went leaving a 50 minute open-water paddle to Turnip Rock.

2/3 of the way there from Eagle Bay Public Access

Rocky outcrops like what we see at Turnip Rock is usually more associated with Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Lake Superior, so it is a treat to be able to paddle through something more interesting than another flat water stream in the woods.

Shady sandy beach under the rocks

The shoreline between Port Austin and Turnip Rock is elevated above the waterline, leaving very small sandy beaches under overhanging evidence of erosion. The Sandstone Bedrock "Sea Stack" has been whittled into it's shape over thousands of years of stormy lake action.

Excellent overhangs to paddle under and explore

The caves other erosion features along the shore provide plenty of diverting geology to observe and enjoy from the boat. In calm conditions one would almost want to camp and picnic on some of the beaches if not for the "owners" being very protective of their "property".

Objects in the panorama are closer than they appear

Storm is coming in, better get on shore

The 50 minute long paddle back from the rock was punctuated by distant thunder. We raced back to Eagle Bay and had almost completely stowed the boat before the sky fell and soaked us.

The rain is here, lightning, off the water just in time

Mourning the (near) loss of StringGrrl

2023-07-11T11:48:00.008-07:00

Woke up in the tent on Sunday, last day of Blissfest, to the panic inducing knowledge that StringGrrl was not in the tent, not on my campsite, nowhere to be found.

tl;dr Fortunately, someone found her and dropped her off on a sign near the camp entrance.

StringGrrl waiting for me to come back to the Camp Entrance

As some may know, this is not the "First Avatar" of StringGrrl and unlikely to be the last. StringGrrl 1.0 was the first incarnation and was made of very thin wood and was prone to broken and lost limbs.

StringGrrl 1.0 enroute to Japan summer 2008

StringGrrl 1.0 in Zurich

StringGrrl 1.2 a new outfit and less one arm

StringGrrl 2.0 (Amber is SG's travel companion) and StringGirl 1.2

The last known pics of StringGirl 1.2 and 2.0 before they ran away

I was a wreck that morning when I arrived in Dusseldorf after a flight from Zurich. It was an early morning flight too early for breakfast in the lounge and instead hit Sprungli Cafe in the terminal. Upon clearing immigration in Dusseldorf, only then did i realize that StringGrrls were not with me. A very sad day of sad pictures.

StringGrrl 3.0 recreates an image first posed by StringGrrl 1.0

Last Picture taken of StringGrrl 3.0 in Las Angeles (breakfast is bad news for StringKids)

Vikram had to console me as we found that we had let StringGrrl 3.0 leave us after breakfast in LA. Another sad day as I called the restaurant several times to see if they had found her. Alas, no love or luck to find her.

StringGrrl 4 Alpha

Admittedly, StringGirl 4.0 was created by me and no longer a gift from Clarissa and Rey. They were mostly over my habit at that moment. High Schoolers whose dad is posting images online of the doll they made me back when was not "cool".

StringGrrl 4.0 at Leo Messi's home stretch before trade away from FCB and Camp Nou

It was with great relief that StringGrrl found her way back to me despite me losing her sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning.

The last picture of StringGrrl 4.0 (almost, but fortunately not really the last one)

Happy Sunday as StringGrrl celebrates her return after being lost at Blissfest for a night

Back on the Road, this time at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Waterfront

Boston Seaport and PTC Liveworx

2023-06-02T18:41:00.001-07:00

Lil Bird, South Boston

Lord Hobo Seaport

Pork Belly Tacos from?

Lord Hobo Flight

StringGrrl makes friends wherever they go

mead at Row 34

Post-op Paddle

2023-04-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

Last season I had to finally remove the Canoe 🛶 from the Sue-Bee rackjust before Halloween after spending all summer and fall there or on the water. It was idle from November until now. One PT goal after ditching the crutches was recovering sufficient strength to lift boat from beach and place on rack and strap in. April 9, Easter Sunday I reached that personal goal and put in at Belle Isle. Now to see how long we keep them in service.

Blue Heron Lagoon let's out onto Lake St. Clair where recreational boats, powered or not, mix with commercial freighters.

Sunday morning paddles with coffee is just our speed.

proof of post operative paddle, scar and ink as timestamps.

Hotel Tramserhof, Landeck, Tirol, Austria: Convalescing in Style

2023-02-19T02:54:00.004-08:00

As a result of the 15 or so broken ribs sustained in the "incident", StringGrrl and Eric had to find a place to remain nearby the hospital for 2 additional weeks, before we were deemed "Fit-to-Fly". Quick internet research yielded many hotels and Inns in the "Inns River" area. A standout was the Tramserhof Hotel which promised a wellness center with Sauna, Waterbeds, Ice cold Kneipebecke (wading pool), and rooms with Bathtubs (needed since I cannot stand up for a shower).

Jan was Elwood, to my Joliet Jake, & drove Bluesmobile to Tramserhof post release from House-of-pain

Southfacing patio provides stellar views throughout the day

Essential Supplies: Alkoholfrei Biers und Scharfsaus

Bayerische Sauerbraten, Sehr Gut

Room packages included very reasonable Single-rooms with options for Room Only, Room with Breakfast, and the Half-Board option (half-board includes breakfast and a 4-course dinner nightly).

Soaking in Bathtub is a joy, our OnlyFans and Patreon supporters can get the spicy show

Alcohol Free Beer from the DACH regions doesn't suck, far tastier than "near beer" from US days of old

Zweibelrostbraten mit Kartoffel Wedges

Man are we gonna be FAT

Views from the Nearby Woods to the Tramserhof

One can walk from Landeck Center to Tramserhof, maybe if not on Crutches

Alpine Pond with City Park nearby

Restful nap in the Sun on Dolomite at the Pond

One can hike up the hill from Zams to the Trams Area near the Hotel

The View down into Zams Landeck

MentalHealth walk from the office yield dividends

Mussels in Whitewine Tomato Garlic Sauce: Terrific main from the Half-board for one night

Verily, my cup runneth over

2023-02-16T11:41:00.001-08:00

...with gratitude for the outpouring of concern, offers to help, and positive vibes sent my way.

I can't ever claim to be speechless-if you know, you know-but will often try to change topic away from my needs, I'm deeply uncomfortable being needy. I'm deeply touched and unless you want to send me into a crying jag, let me drop my feels here instead of having to keep exposing my fragile heart from it's sarcasm and cynicism reinforced shielding.

I'll start with a few of the occupants of room 304, Krankenhaus-Zams. I was in that room for more than half of February, arriving on January 28th and only leaving February 16th. In that time there were no fewer than a dozen other patients cycled through and I'd do a shitty job of trying to single each out (and I probably shouldn't for privacy sake). We took turns comforting each other on "bad days", encouraging each other on "good days", and commiserating over our pain. In all, we had many fractured ribs, legs, and backs. We laughed painfully together, and sympathized around shared stories in broken English, German, machine translated Danish, Swedish, Romanian, and Slovakian. We put up with each other's groans, snoring, and bathroom habits, while granting each other sufficient space to heal.

I've been far from lonely during my stay in the hospital, with visitors making their way from Zürich, Aichach, Stuttgart, and Torino. Care packages from USA, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Italy found their way to me and kept my hospital stay enriched with variety.

I struggle to keep up with the messages of concern, worry, care, and positivity coming from relatives, colleagues, former colleagues, classmates, and far flung additions to my wildly distributed circle of friends. I apologize if I've failed to acknowledge each of you; you are seen. It's been very "whelming", nearly overly so.

The staff of Krankenhaus St. Vinzenz in Zams have been outstanding. Apparently, if I was to choose a place for Trauma Surgery and Sports Traumatology, this portion of Tyrol, Austria is the place to be. The surgical team, anesthesiologists, and nursing staff have been tip-top; professional, patient, and kind.

Finally, despite my earlier post's lamentations, the Insurance company underwriting the corporate travel insurance really came through. Sure there was a rough start, but once communication channels were established my entire misadventure and resulting care are being taken care of, right down to my extended convalescence in a hotel just around the corner from the hospital where I need to wait out the time required to assure that my pneumothorax and hemothorax conditions following my flail chest (I think my 15 broken ribs qualify) doesn't lead to a collapsed lung in flight 🛫.

I hope that everyone, who has extended their hopes and positive vibes for my well being and healing, recognize my gratitude for their individual contributions here. As I wrote above, it's been overwhelming and frankly surprising how many people have reached out with their thoughts and care. I'm deeply touched 🥲.

Regular programming should resume in a few weeks, so I'll apologize in advance for being "more than a little bit of a dick" soon.

Eternally grateful and hopelessly indebted, Kam.

EYWTKAMABIWRTS

2023-01-31T12:22:00.010-08:00

everything you wanted to know about my accident but I wasn't ready to share (updated 28th February. Done, gone home, Scroll to see more)

Here's the lowdown since curiosity abounds:

1) NO, I didn't have a skiing accident. I resent the implication. I owned that fucking Hill. (Family Friendly video)

2) It was a sled 🛷 . It's not an extreme sport. It's called a Rodelbahn (toboggan road) and is considered fun for the whole family. Sebastian supplied the sleds/toboggans, and after a full morning on the mountain skiing. We planned to use the few remaining hours of lift access to run the Rodelbahn. Totally reasonable.

3) The run isn't like a luge or bobsled but a trail down reasonable slopes (switchbacks adjacent to a green dot, blue square ski run) but maybe a bit narrower.

Rodelbahn at Nauders

4) I think I over-steered at the exact wrong time and was catapulted into the trees, and down a steep slope, bounced off many trees, broke a few down, scattered some stones, etc

* Update Feb 6th: With Laptop in hand I was able to collect the GoPro footage from the earlier runs and the fateful crash. Trigger warning: it is not especially graphic or anything (not Joe Theissman or anything like that, but some might be bothered. I the victim am not bothered).

video of rescue

Sebastian I hope they return your girlfriend's sled. Oddly enough, they found 2. Which did delay my rescue a bit while they searched for a second body. But it seems the other had been there a while. But maybe you can claim two sleds when you go to pick yours up.

5) looking back up that hill I couldn't see the track or even an imaginable path through the trees. I don't remember hitting my head to hard but it did snap my GoPro right off and possibly I'd be in a coma or dead except for my helmet. As Tillman and the guy who winched me back up the hills out of trees said, "you are a lucky boy, now stay warm and stay lucky". I may have been in pretty severe shock.

6) I would rather not repeat that story anytime soon. That's why I write this account now, it is traumatic to relive and recount. That's the entire accident. I get that I'm lucky to be alive, and having feeling enough to have this pain. But honestly, step on a Lego before telling me about the dangers of winter sports or questioning further. I don't owe you anything additional, really.

7) I have a fractured tibial plateau (that part of your shin bone that completes the joint at knee)

Orthopedic Trauma Association info about the fracture

* Update Feb 2, Thursday: swelling in the knee is sufficiently down such that the deputy chief of emergency sports orthopedics said I should be scheduled tomorrow or Monday

* Update Feb 4, I woke from surgery, or respawned in a similar game level at the point of post surgery.

8) I fractured several ribs, right side 4-8 and left side 2-12 (yes, that's almost all of them. I'm aware)

wiki entries about the bone numbering and identification

9) I fractured my back specifically lumbar L1-L4 (no apparent damage to spine or nervous system). I've been told I'm a lucky boy, by the guy who first spotted me in the woods and took the chance to climb down to check on me. Tillman, whoever you are, and wherever you are from in Austria, thank you. And thank your Dr. Girlfriendbof Tillmann who insisted you keep me warm, thank you.

10) I bruised my kidneys. Had visible lesions under CT and initial ultrasound. But nothing that affected function as we can find. e.g. I never pissed blood

11) the knee/tibia requires surgery. But this hospital is super busy and are trying to send me home for surgery instead. Supposed to be less than 2 weeks from initial injury for better outcomes.

Meet "Frank", my Frankensteins Monster of a leg

12) I should not fly with 15 broken ribs. Pneumothorax is a risk, they did find a small pocket between the lungs and my thoracic cavity. At elevation, if that volume expands, my lungs might collapse.

collapsed lung risk

This is the thing in movies TV when a doctor shoves a plastic pen into the chest of a person with problems breathing to relieve pressure on their lungs.

13) insurance company/companies ~~is/are/~~was a fucking nightmare to communicate with (*initially). One automated system for the home-based health plan would only try to sell me insurance, encourage me to get my flu shots, and then hang up if I asked to be connected to a human. Another, promised a call back, but I'm in Europe GMT +1 and my insurance company is in Michigan GMT -5. Business overlap is 2 hours each day.

Fortunately l, my employers have travel insurance for employees traveling abroad for work. As I'm here initially for a global Sales conference in Paris and a 3 day workshop in Dresden, I qualify. If not for that, I might still be in limbo. The travel insurance company policy is worth every cent.

* February 2, 2023 travel insurance company and hospital are talking to each other at least.

* February 4, 2023 I guess I can be a bit more charitable about the effectiveness of the insurers once one is able to establish communications.

* February 13, 2023 Travel insurance company has pledged to cover EVERYTHING. They even offered to fly a family member from my home country to stay with me for a while and help with the flight back. But as many of my dearest friends all live in Europe, many within a few hours train or drive, I did not need to pull my brothers or children away from their lives on my behalf.

14) the hospital I'm in is in Austria, my stuff is in Zürich, my "home" is in Grosse Pointe, and those willing to help are pretty much everywhere else.

the view from my hospital window, like a kick in the nuts, a beautiful kick in the nuts, but sore nonetheless.

15) Krankenhaus-Zams earns it's positive reviews for sure. I haven't had a bad interaction with anyone here. Which some readers might think is unremarkable, but after many different interactions with American institutions, it's remarkable to me. My lack of native language is patiently and kindly worked through. My bar and restaurant German fluency is a bonus. Which the staff find entertaining, or at least they haven't let me see their annoyance.

*Update Feb 5th*

16) I've had visitors. My things had been stashed in Heimo's apartment in Zürich since 14th of January. My skis, boots, etc he's warehoused for years, but this trip I knew I'd be on the road a planned 3 and 1/2 weeks. Some work, some play, which makes packing completely a pain. So, I packed my winter gear, 4 days of "business casual", 5 days of streetwear, and assumed I could do laundry in between. For Skiing and Sledding, I only packed an overnight packing cube and brought the winter overgear. Well, the one-day-in-Austria-plan is kaput. Now I might need all that stuff, plus my laptop.

Michael, who's my boss, took the chance to drive over, scoop Heimo up from St. Margrethen Switzerland and drive together to visit me. I've been staying with each of them independently for years, they've heard hours of anecdotes about each other, and have been collaborating with my brother Dave to get me settled in hospital. I'm so very privileged to have such a network of friends around the world.

17) *update February 10th

The insurance company doctors feel it is inadvisable for me to leave the hospital before I have my "safe to fly" determination from the doctors. Which means no fewer than 4 weeks from initial accident or 2 weeks after a clean X-ray 🩻 which I still haven't had yet. Most recent x-ray has some fluid still in thoracic cavity but no visible air pockets.

I might be able to leave the hospital ward and transition to out-patient care to get me "free-to-fly" recommendation. That might mean 2 weeks in hotel. But that would still be an improvement over holding the record for longest occupation of this room.

18) more visits

Fabri, Dani, me, StringGrrl, and Alan

don't sweat it, that's alkoholfrei Bier (near beer). Still on some painkillers and might as well ride out the month for an unintentional generator cleanse February.

19) Very high likelihood that i get discharged as soon as February 16th, and can shift from the Krankenhaus-Zams St. Vinzenz to a nearby hotel so that i no longer need to share the room and disturb the other patients with my snoring/apnea. I will still need to await the free-to-fly order and clean bill of heath at a future point.

Until I get the fit-to-fly clearance from the doctors here, I am recommended to stay near the hospital and not board a commercial jet, there is a risk that any remaining pneumothorax (air betwixt the lungs and thoracic cavity walls) will inflate like a bag of chips at high altitude and collapse my lungs. Apparently, without a doctor at ready and small surgical theater on-board I would expire while waiting for MacGyver to sharpen a used Biro to shove past my ribs in attempt to equalize the pressure.

* Update Feb 14th:

So I will stay here at a local hotel in Landeck, Tyrol, Austria. Hotel Tramserhof was even kind enough to offer me the "pensioners" rate since I am in recovery from the Hospital.

20) February 16-27th no longer in hospital, had to stay in Landeck, Austria until I'm cleared to fly. Pneumothorax was cleared and remaining fluid was sufficiently small that doctor issued "Fit to Fly" Thursday the 23rd of February.

21) insurance company booked the flight finally, from Zürich to Detroit. Zurich, Switzerland is a 3 hour drive from Landeck, Austria. So the day started on the 27th at 9:00 am to take taxi from Tramserhof to The Radisson Zürich Airport. Then picked me up at 6:30 to take a flight from Zürich to Amsterdam Schiphol airport, then continuing to Detroit.

Generally everyone has been very kind and generous with offers of help, & I'm unused to accepting kindness. Worse, there's little any of my friends, colleagues, and family can do at this point. I just need to wait.

That's been almost as upsetting for me as anything else; to be honest, it's challenging you know? I'm usually a problem solver or helper. Not the one in need. It's humbling and difficult.

Thanks for your concern. I appreciate it even when I can't process it. I am trying to learn to accept the kindness of others, it is a journey. I am grateful for all the care offered by my colleagues and friends (new and old). Regular programming of me being an insufferable know-it-all will return eventually.

We'll see about any medical costs and loss of income, as I exhaust my sick days, later. That's a tomorrow problem, today's problem is getting healthy enough to leave the hospital and then fly home. Short Term disability has been triggered and I will try to stay off the clock sufficiently to really heal. I haven't taken or even thought of taking this much time off of working since EVER.

In lieu of prayers, please offer your votes and advocacy for a more humane health care system in America (and wherever you live). I'm trying very hard to be less afraid of surviving this accident, but the fear of bankrupting myself, my family, and passing the any lingering dept onto them if I am short- or long-term disabled was my greatest anxiety.

Update Feb 5th: I am privileged that the company health plan and the additional travelers insurance seems to work. But still, health care is a human right, especially if we live in places that want to enforce full terms birth of every pregnancy.

Update Feb 14: If you would still like to uplift my spirits, consider pitching in to help my robotics team (not my team, but a team that I have supported with sweat equity, donations, time, and experience since my adult children were on the team nearly 10 years ago. They can always use additional funding to offset the costs of Designing, Engineering, Prototyping, Building, and Programming a 100 lb competitive (not destructive) robot each year.

Nauders, Tirolian, Austria

2023-01-30T04:07:00.001-08:00

Geocaching: renewal

2023-01-28T05:41:00.000-08:00

StringGrrl was in Dresden visiting colleagues from ESI Group SimulationX, and the topic of geocaching came up.

They asked if we had logged the cache outside the office entrance. We hadn't.

That reminded us that our cache hasn't had a maintenance visit since February 2020, when the plague made commuting to Zurich less likely.

So, after returning to Zürich from Sachsen, we popped over to Puls5 (spoiler) and sought to complete a maintenance visit. It was harder to find than one might think for a cache we hid ourselves. Big issue, the magnets seem to have come loose (spoiler? Sorry). Off to Jumbo DIY to source some magnets and Duck tape.

Mischief managed. New duck tape reinforced magnets to keep the cache fixed in location.