14 done ... 38 to go...

What: #53 Go Fowling

When: May 9th
Where: Hamtramck
Why: Late last December, as I was looking for new things to add to this year's list, a fortuitous article was published, catching the eye of a few of my friends that know I'm always on the lookout for local adventures. This adventure was dubbed "Fowling"...a combination of football and bowling, pronounced "foe-ling" and taking up residence in a warehouse in Hamtramck, a 15-minute drive from my place in Detroit. Honestly, I wasn't sure this was going to be my scene, but I was willing to give it a try; at most I'd be out $10 and a half-gallon of gas.

The open courts for $10 unlimited play!

Wow, I underestimated how contagiously fun this game can be!! At first, I think everyone entering the gates is a little apprehensive, but an hour or so passed and I was hooked. I was working up a sweat, aiming my heart out, perfecting my form, and even mentoring new players as they arrived on the scene. The games got so intense, I'm actually still a little sore!

The five of us rotated in and out of the game, getting challenged by onlookers, one of whom even got a BONK on his first ever throw. Trust me, that was a HUGE deal.

If you are out in the Detroit area at all this summer, you should check this place out. In fact, you might even make it into the documentary they are filming about it!

Forty-four done ... 8 to go...

What: #28 Play at the batting cages

When: December 7th
Where: Macomb Batting Cages
Why: Growing up, I played soccer, but never little league. I remember watching my brother play tee-ball, and definitely had baseball mitts and balls that we tossed around playing catch in the yard, but I don't recall many times, if ever, that I actually hit a baseball with a bat. In fact, the most memories I have of my time on a baseball diamond involve playing kickball as a kid at recess, watching olde timey baseball as an adult, or wandering the field as a fan at Comerica Park.

So, my friend also has this on her list of things to do this year, which made me feel better about it being a legitimately cool thing to do! Sometimes, it seems that I'm the only person doing these new things and dragging everyone along with me, but this one was helping us both! After a fun morning at the Urban Craft Fair, we switched it up to do something more physical and headed north of Detroit to a batting cage that we found was indoor, thus still open during the winter time. 

It wasn't what I expected at all...just a big open warehouse with nets dividing the batting lanes (are they called lanes?). We were escorted into the equipment room to choose bats, batting gloves, and helmets...none of which I had any idea of how to do. After choosing based on fashion more than function (not a great plan), I strutted out to the plate. The two pitching machines we had were for slow pitch softball and fast pitch baseball. I started off with slow pitch and could barely hit anything. Luckily, my friends were all giving me good pointers for my form (elbows up, feet aligned to the bag, and follow through the swing), and by the next round, I was improved enough to hit the fast balls.
 
 The fast balls seemed terrifying to me, whizzing at me and ready to send painful vibrations down my hands and into my arms anytime I made contact with the ball. How to professionals do this day after day? I guess the millions they make allows them to afford fancy ice packs for their sore hands. Still, I am in awe of batters staring down a 100-mile-per-hour fast ball when I was skittish around a 60 mph pitch!

Often, I determine if I'll do something again from the list, and this is one that I think I'd do a few more times. It was fun with friends, and fun to improve, so I'd like to keep it up and maybe play for fun one of these summers!

51 down ... one to go...

What: #43 Take a picture every hour of the day for one day

When: December 31st
Where: Southeastern Michigan
Why: I enjoy photography, and usually I do most of my camera-wielding on official vacations or during my travels to interesting locales. I miss out on documenting the day-to-day events of life, and so this forced me to do so. Without further ado...

...from 12:01am until 3:01, I was in bed, watching the snow fall in the darkness of the city night...

 ...from 4:01 until 7:01, I continued watching the snow outside in the sparkling lights...

 ...from 8:01-11:01, I finally got up and admired the apartment's details, from the artwork to the hallway...

 ...from 12:01pm-3:01, I had an orange and then headed out to make sushi at the Elliott's lovely home ...

 ...from 4:01-7:01, I relaxed in my city apartment, then went to the historic Trinity Lutheran church...

  ...from 8:01-11:59, I celebrated New Year's Eve in Northville with my good friends!

50 down ... two to go...

What: #21 Learn how to roll sushi

When: December 31st
Where: My friend's kitchen

Why: In recent years, I've really come to enjoy good sushi. I've found a few good places around Ann Arbor that are pretty tasty, and recently had amazing sushi in Los Angeles. And while I really don't enjoy making much of anything in my own kitchen, I did want to figure out if I could make good sushi on my own. My friend Sara has actually done it before, and had the supplies (bamboo mat, sauces, recipe) necessary, and then found incredibly delicious ingredients that definitely made it top-notch sushi! She bought great vegetables (cucumber, carrots, avocado) and really great fish (octopus, salmon, tuna) and the best breaded shrimp. Truly, her purchases were what made the sushi so great, and her recipe for sushi rice, with the right amount of vinegar and salt. The rice cooker helped to speed up the process, and the amount we had made six good size rolls, one of which we named the Green Sea Monster roll (avo, cuke, and octopus). We also used spicy sauce, and made our own dragon sauce (better than teriyaki). It fed four of us, and was definitely worth the effort. 

The tricky part for me was rolling the sushi. I thought using my skills honed by rolling my sleeping bag into a tight roll would come in handy, but it was difficult to keep the rice filling from coming out and to keep the mat in the right position. Still, after we cut the rolls, it looked like we were professionals!

6 down ... forty-six to go...

What: #57 Cheer the Red Wings on at Joe Louis Arena

When: February 1st
Where: Downtown Detroit
Why: Detroit is known as Hockeytown. 

I think that's cool, but I never really got caught up in the excitement of hockey. I was always proud of our Stanley Cup wins (and have a picture of myself with the Stanley Cup from '97/'98 to prove my pride!), but trekking all the way down to the arena to watch a game wasn't appealing. I used to go to hockey games in college and had fun, but always felt that professional hockey was more about the fights and aggression than the skill and quality of play, so wasn't interested. Then, there was a turn of events and hockey was almost cancelled for the season, and I got a little panicked that it would be gone, so I decided I needed to support it and see what all the fuss was about; enter my Friday night adventure at my first Red Wings game! 

We decided to walk to Greektown to take the PeopleMover, which is the oddest public transit idea in the history of major cities. (On a side note, they do have an awesome slogan!)

Conjures up something else besides mass transit, right?

So, our walk to Greektown was in single-digit temps, but that just made us feel like real Detroiters that we braved the cold streets at night. Once there, we packed in to ride to "The Joe". The last time I was there was to see Barack Obama speak at a rally the summer prior to his election, so I had no idea of the level of hockey mania I was about to encounter. These fans are intense. Scary intense. I felt less comfortable in this arena of only 20,000 fans than I do in my own stadium of over 100,000 fans. These hockey fans were yelling, angry, and taking their jobs of cheering very seriously. I wasn't prepared for that, and after finally making it to my seat, I swore I wouldn't leave it again or make eye contact with anyone. 

View from my seat...nice banners!

Then, the guy next to us got trapped in his own hoodie after a hefty number of drinks, and laughing at that loosened up the mood. Next, we started to bond with the fans around us over the ridiculousness of the guy about 10 rows behind us who yelled an assortment of obnoxious criticisms constantly: "PUCK!" "CRASH THE CAGE!" "CHECK!" "YOU'RE AT HOME!!" Intensity embodied. Luckily, it seemed to work (I'm *certain* the players could hear him from his position in the top row of the arena) because in the 3rd period, the Wings went on a scoring streak and we were all on our feet cheering and high-fiving and woohooing. Then, Zetterberg (our captain) scored a hat trick, and the place went even crazier. It was so contagious, and definitely a really fun way to celebrate being in Detroit that night.

Winning made everyone happy, so waiting for the PeopleMover wasn't as miserable as normal, and even our walk back to Lafayette Park seemed less frigid. I wish I could be down at The Joe again today to watch my Wolverines play in the college tournament; but I see now the appeal of professional hockey and I'll definitely go to another Red Wings game when the opportunity arises!