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What: #77 See the Tigers play at Spring Training

When: March 5th
Where: Lakeland, FL
Why: Professional sports are not really my thing. I love college football for the spirit and spectacle, and I love olde timey baseball, but I think I always felt that the sheer enjoyment of the game was lacking in pro sports. As a girl, I collected Topps baseball cards with my brother, we followed the stats of the players and watched games on summer evenings with my dad and my grandpa. The 1984 World Series...I can still name almost every player on that team, and have autographs from three or four of them. Something changed after that - most people blame the baseball strike, so maybe that was it

Then, I started following the Tigers again, attending more and more games, and fell back in love with America's past-time. The players are all familiar to me again, and the atmosphere at the ballpark is always humming with excitement. And this year, I just couldn't wait until Opening Day, so we headed to Lakeland to see Spring Training!

We arrived at breakfast in our hotel that morning to find out that the entire place was filled with Michiganders who had escaped our frigid winter for a few days to enjoy some sunshine and baseball. After a quick bite to eat - and grabbing an orange for the road - we headed to catch batting practice. It was great fun to watch the warm-ups, see the sluggers knock ball after ball out of the park, and to be that close to the action.

Brad Ausmus pitching?!?

Miggy and JD at the batting cage!

 After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed to our seats for the game. The whereabouts of these seats had remained a surprise to me...and quite a wonderful surprise - right behind the dugout!

It was so fun to see all the players up close, to watch them goofing off and to hear their banter and strategies. Oh, and to see this pair have a little conversation:

Jack White and Alan Trammell...yes please!!

Our seats were really amazing, and I took advantage of the view of a few of my favorite players at the plate!

The outcome wasn't a win, but the whole day was a blast, and it was a wonderful sneak peek at our team and a great way to get pumped for the new season! Go Tigers!!

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What: #87 Adopt an animal

When: March 3rd
Where: World Wildlife Fund website
Why: For awhile, I had this on my list to encourage me to adopt a dog or cat from my local humane society. As my lifestyle continues to make that a bit difficult - out of town too often - I chose to instead set my sights on adopting a symbolic animal. For the past few months, I've found myself gravitating to rhinos, from pictures on Instagram to articles I've read to planning an excursion to see them for myself
in Chitwan National Park. My fascination with them could be that they were the one missing animal from my safari a few years ago; at the time our guide had said he might see one way out at the edge of some trees, but even with my binoculars I wasn't convinced. 

Today was World Wildlife Day, which seemed as good a reason as any to financially support the efforts to help conserve these animals. I'll proudly display my adoption certificate on my refrigerator, along with my other recently earned accolades, like "Perfect Attendance" for Pilates and my participant numbers from my recent 5Ks!

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What: #91 Go to the Belle Isle Aquarium

When: March 1st
Where: Detroit
Why: As a very young girl, I have vague memories of going to the Belle Isle Zoo before it closed, and as the years went by, most of the other treasures of that island were similarly shuttered. It was sad; I recall stories my mom told me of her parents taking her out there on summer nights to hear bands playing, all sorts of folks gathered on the grass on this lovely jewel in the Detroit River, just enjoying the beautiful scenery around them. I longed for that to be a reality for me, and have actually started to see this come true!

Over the past decade, I've seen Belle Isle change from a nearly abandoned, littered, overgrown eyesore back to a vibrant destination worlds apart from the downtown area. Events are starting to happen there - I've recently participated in a triathlon on the island, an historical bike tour, and numerous Tour de Troit rides. A few summers ago, I first visited the Conservatory and the repaired fountain, and this weekend, I finally stepped inside the reopened aquarium.

The building has always been an incredible architectural gem by Albert Kahn, and seeing it for the first time inside was breathtaking. The ceiling tiles give you the feeling of being underwater, and the space is just perfect for families to spend their weekend afternoons strolling past the forty or so tanks filled with everything from stingrays to seahorses to jellyfish to frogs to tropical fish to a giant freshwater puffer fish named Otis.

On this visit, I was fortunate enough to meet Jennifer Boardman, one of the people responsible for getting the aquarium renovated, funded, and re-opened to the public. Meeting her was so inspirational, and helped me see the incredible impact individuals are having on this great city!

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What: #90 Ski on Peak 6 at Breckenridge

When: February 14th
Where: Breckenridge, CO

It's enormous...the tiny dots are other skiers!

Why: Last year was the first time in almost 30 years that I didn't get to the mountains to ski, and the first time in almost ten years that I hadn't gone out to the Rockies to ski. A part of me wondered if I was done skiing...it has gotten so expensive and takes a lot of equipment and I've gotten a bit more worried about my knees after a few spills on the slopes over the years. Then, my brother and a few of our friends decided to get a place on Lake Dillon over the long weekend, and I realized I still have a few years of skiing left in me as I jumped at the chance to fly back out there. One of my favorite places to ski in Summit County is Breckenridge, and one thing I missed last year was their expansion to Peak 6. Getting out to discover new terrain at an old favorite is almost as exciting as skiing at a brand new place, so this was something I was looking forward to doing. And, it didn't disappoint. The snow was great, the sun was high, the sky was blue, and the whole bowl was practically empty, giving me just the most amazing feeling of having the entire peak to myself! We did five runs down Wonderland Bowl, finishing up just as the sun was sinking below the peak and casting shadows across the terrain. The whole afternoon on that peak was so great, that when we came back to Breck a few days later, I didn't want to return to Peak 6 and ruin the perfect day we had...luckily, there are 4 other peaks to choose from, so I'll save my next runs on Peak 6 for next year!

Skiing on Valentine's Day!

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What: #88 Go to the new Blimpy Burger in A2

When: February 8th
Where: Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger
Why: When I started this quest of new things to do, one item that landed on that initial list was making a visit to a local landmark. That was three years ago, and it was just in time; not long after my visit, the community learned that the University was buying up the land to make way for another expansion, and the beloved burger joint was faced with an uncertain future. Then, about four months ago, all was right with the world when they reopened in another location, and lines started forming to see if it was what we all remembered it to be. Today, after a peaceful morning of meditating, it seemed like a good afternoon to appreciate the joy of reacquainting myself with the fare at Blimpy Burger. We arrived about ten minutes before they opened, and as we stood around the front door, admiring the familiar snow bear, we realized we had formed the front of a lengthening line. As the minutes ticked by, about 20 people were orderly gathered in a queue waiting for the doors to open. This is how it is for this much-loved local landmark.

What I hadn't factored in was the stress I'd be under as the official first person in line. There is a fairly specific process that each customer is expected to follow when placing your order, and I usually observe and carefully listen to those before me to remember the process. It's a lot like the "Soup Nazi" from Seinfeld, and I felt like Elaine. Luckily, the guys behind the counter took it easy on me, and I even got them to laugh at some of my shenanigans. The people directly behind us in line weren't quite as amused at the length of time it took me to place a correct order; I should help told them about the messages of patience and understanding I heard at my morning Buddhist service!