Warren Miller File: Hard to believe – SKI SEASON IS HERE!!!!

I have no idea where the year went, but a sure sign of winter and the coming ski season arrived on November 1st in Chicago. Twenty Sitzmark members and friends made their way into the city for the annual viewing of Warren Miller’s latest film, “Children of Winter Never Grow Old”. This was Warren’s 59th film.

The plan was to have dinner and be in line by 7pm so we could get decent seats this year. We were to meet at 5ish, which would give us plenty of time to eat. I didn’t count on Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinders having an hour wait at that time. After a short scramble to determine another restaurant, we ended up where we ate last year, Stanley’s Kitchen. Tracy Miller was closest at the time and secured us tables. Unlike last year, we had a leisurely dinner. No long wait for food and great table talk. We were in line by 6:45pm at Park West. We were about fourth in line.

When the doors opened at 7, we were ready. In we charged and commandeered 5 plus booths in the dead middle. It was great. A few freebies were thrown but none came our way. We were not successful at intermission either. Better luck next year.

HD – what a difference! The pictures were crisper. You could practically see the individual snowflakes. Great music this year from groups like Radiohead and Foo Fighters. Incredible scenery. In Iceland, 3 guys traveled on the fjords to sites that they then climbed and skied down back towards the boat (FYI – on the boat for 14 days and only skied 2 days). Not much room on that boat either. Yet they seemed to have had a great time. Johnny Moseley narrated and revisited Japan where he won his gold. Only this time he got to ski more than just the racecourse. It was girls gone wild in Crested Butte when 3 of Warren’s top female skiers tore up the mountain.

In this year’s film, actor Jason Biggs, of American Pie fame, appeared with a band called Yukon Cornelius. This band plays at night and skies all day. They showed what Vermont had to offer for skiing and entertainment. Jason played a mean cowbell.

After the movie, we ventured across the street to Gamekeepers to reminisce about the movie. Dawn found a lost member named Mike. Actually, he was just a guy who had gone to the movie on his own. We welcomed him to our little group. We even helped him celebrate his birthday at midnight. After that it was time to head home. It was a good night spent with some good friends eager for the ski season to start.

Till next year.
Jeanne
 

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Nippersink Canoe Outing

Well, if canoeing a stream in Northern Illinois came to mind then you would be in good company. For 7 of your club members did just that on Saturday. the 4th of October.

The day started a bit on the cool side as ground frost could be seen in open fields and lawns from the banks of Lake Michigan to the Richmond area. But as there wasn't a cloud in the sky the warmth of the sun quickly erased any thoughts that this might be a crazy undertaking. We started from a point just north of Wonder Lake on the Nippersink Creek as it meanders its way through the Glacial Park in northern McHenry County. Everyone made it into their canoes without tipping and we were on our way for what turned into a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon.

Having hiked this park in the past I was not aware that this stream traversed the entire length of the park for almost 6 miles. Most of the route had us surrounded by prairie grasses that were populated with a wide variety of waterfowl. There were geese, herons, egrets, sand hill cranes, fishing birds and even an eagle. But the route also included stands of oak and as the trip got into the last couple of miles there were many trees in the water that made for some skillful maneuvering.

For Carol and myself, we were content with going with the flow and taking in the peaceful surroundings. The others in the group were more energetic and were always stopping to see if we were going to turn up. Frankly, I think because I had all the snacks and extra beer that is why they kept waiting for us.

There was some excitement to be had along the way though. About an hour into the float we encountered the first of 4 sets of rapids. Though all of us in canoes made it through without much effort Tom, who was in a kayak, had difficulty getting around two large rocks and ended in the drink. Needless to say, the water was slightly less than "refreshing". There was some minor scraping along the bottom of the stream in spots, but no one had to get out and push. We all found a way to make it through. Dan even came up with an idea to save even energy. He managed to tie his and Marlo's canoe to Dawn and Amber's. I heard Amber say later "it did seem to be more work paddling during that stretch". Way to go, Dan.

The trip lasted 3-1/2 hours and no one complained of
sore muscles. With all the good vibes I heard then and
since then was that they were all happy that they made
the trek out. Maybe if you get the time the next time
we try this you'll want to try this wonderful little stream
less than an hour away.

Your outing leader, Rick Olson

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Cubs vs Brewers - 2008

Annual Trek to Miller Park Yields a Win for the Cubbies

At the end of September, Sitzmark and family traveled up to Milwaukee for the annual Cub/Brewer game. This was the last regular season series for the Cubs. Cubs had already clinched the division but the game was an important one for Brewers in their wild card game chase. There were 72 of us this year to cheer on the Cubbies in Miller Park.

The day started with Lilly pitching one of his best games. The day ended with a Cub victory over the Brewers. The score was 7 to 3. Good enough score in my mind.

We arrived with plenty of time to tailgate (the construction was finally done!!). The overwhelming majority of us parked together, which made the food celebration quite the display. We had brats, Italian sausages, special Alabama sausage links (thank you Quallie!!), salads, chips and dips and desserts. Sue Peterson made some decadent brownies and Tracy Miller brought some very good peanut butter rice krispie chocolate cookies.

On the way in was a sight not commonly seen, anywhere. A Cub fan brought an anit-hex figure to the park in hopes of ensuring a win. Murphy, the goat, dressed in his finest sweater was on hand to cheer the fans entering the park. Lori and Murphy had a brief encounter.

Let’s not forget the 7th inning sausage race won by the Itailian (this I paid attention to). Overall sausage winner for the season was the hot dog with 23 wins.

It did get a little stuffy in the closed roof stadium (thanks to the tv cameras). Since it was such a beautiful day, we took our time departing when the game ended. All food and beverages made a reappearance for a snack before we all headed home. Once traffic died down a little, we all slowly packed up our cars to start our drive home. It was a great day.

Till next year. Game choices are April 11th or May 9th.
Jeanne
 

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2008 Sitzmark Golf Outing

by Sue Peterson

I don’t think the people of Gurnee knew what was about to hit them on this perfect Saturday afternoon the first week of September. 22 raucous golfers descended on Heather Ridge Golf Course, signed in, acquired their goody bags and “warmed up” for a fine day of golf.

After the round, golfers enjoyed fresh salads made by Jeanne Leone, “beverages,” grilled sandwiches, chips, brownies, and cookies.

Of course it was difficult to get everyone’s attention for the “awards ceremony” conducted by the always lovely Jimmy Glody. Join me in congratulating the following for participating in the outing and also for their achievements!

Team 1 teed off at 1:00pm including Susan Peterson (outing organizer), her step-dad Phil Pagnotta and Jimmy Glody. Being Team 1 proved to be good luck as this group scored a winning round of 34!

Team 2 consisted of Alan & Alouise Gredell, Dawn Ahlgren, and Bob Stieg. This team not only had fun but scored a respectable 37!

Team 3 Super-jocks Laurie Wohlfeil, Gina DeJoseph, Maxine Shenin, and Bruce Kirschgesner scored in the middle of the pack at 39!

Team 4 who tied Team 3 with 39 included Rich Blattner who was lucky enough to be paired with the wonderful ladies Patty Waldeck and Pat Reome!

Team 5 Michelle Smrt, Bo Harper, Karen Westlake, and Tom Justus, whose main interest was having fun and taunting other teams (ask Karen), took home the last place prize for their whopping 42 round!

Team 6 Jeanne Leone (outing organizer), Maureen Geisler, Keith Schneiring, and Ted Siebeck, gave Team 1 a run for their money with an awesome score of 36!

Included in the round of golf were several contests scattered throughout the course.

The following are winners of these individual contests.
Shortest Drive
Susan Peterson /Rich Blattner
Closest to the Pin
Maxine Sheinin /Bruce Kirschgesner
Longest Drive
Susan Peterson /Tom Justus
Longest Putt
Maureen Geisler /Tie: Keith Schneiring & Ted Siebeck
 

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2008 Tubing Little Wolf River

By Missy Karen

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away……60 some people descended upon the shores of the Little Wolf River for a weekend of merry making and tubing. The wine, beer and tequila flowed while the grills were laden with BBQ meats. The weather proved perfect, except for the small storm that came through Saturday night. The camp was made up of several compounds: Camera-Sedlacko/Winnie & Richard/The Palmers/Camp Ahlgren/Camp Gredell. The remaining persons formed small bands of roving campers who pillaged their way from camp to camp looking for food and booze. Guess what? We found it.

The Ahlgren camp was on the river early Saturday for the 4 hour trip. They were not to be seen again until 1:45 that afternoon……a little sunburned, and no beer in their coolers….yes, it was a good trip. The rest of us took the 2 hour tour and after we made it through the unbelievably long line to the bus, we waded into the mighty Wolf River, parked ourselves in our tubes, cracked open a beverage and waited for the rest of camp Sitzmark to get to the river. It was a beautiful day, so much so, that many of us took a second trip and some of the kids, a third trip.
Saturday night was filled with much laughter, a birthday celebration (Jessica, #15), numerous games of “baggo”, a little rain, a lot of tequila (Al), and only being told 4 times to be “quiet” (Dawn). Oh yes, about the rain. While the storm did not last long, it did create some flooding and yes, there were some losses….the Sedlacko family tent did not survive, nor did a tent and dining fly from Camp Ahlgren. Sedlacko’s spent the night in the New London “no tell, motel” and had a great time from what we hear.

Sunday came early and with it the inevitable packing, a few cocktails, long goodbyes, a few more cocktails, and a promise to come back next year.

My thanks to everyone who attended and made it another memorable Tubing Trip.

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2008 Annual Ski Club Banquet

On April 19th we held the annual banquet that honored those members who have given their time to bring all those activities that were enjoyed over the last year. Forty-two people were on hand of which 25 were members and 17 were friends and guests. Our banquet was again held at Cubby Bear North in Lincolnshire. Dawn provided the video show that had great shots from many of the ski trips and our other activities. Betty provided a video from the Marquette Ski Trip that gave us some insight into the fun that Marcia had on the trip, as she was the recipient of one of the Special Awards given later in the evening. Dave Barboro provided some "special" entertainment. We enjoyed wonderful appetizers and a buffet dinner that made for a well-fed group.

This year gift certificates from Market Square were handed out to those members who led the many activities from the past year:

• Rick Olson($45): Vice-President, Party With The Puppies fundraiser, Bike and Cross-Country Ski day outings, Bear's game, Starved Rock camping trip and Door County Ski Trip

• Lori Kushar($30): Promotions/Publicity, CMSC Cubs game, Germanfest, Chicago Oktoberfest and Breckinridge Ski Trip co-leader
  Dawn Ahlgren($25): Skimeister, Club Photographer, 4th of July Boat Outing, Golf Outing and Holiday Party hostess

• Al & Alouise Gredell($25): Golf Outing, Bear's game, Marquette Ski Trip and Wolves game party hosts

• Karen Westlake($25): Tubing Trip, Oktoberfest and Bear's game
  Kevin Butchin($20):

• President, Butchin Bash and 49th Birthday Party

• Jeanne Leone($20): Ravinia Birthday Bash, Warren Miller dinner/movie and Breckinridge Ski Trip co-leader

• Guy & Arleen Lothian($20): Treasurer, Newsletter and Steamboat Trip Leaders

• Rich Blattner($10): Secretary

• Carol Janssen($10): Membership

• Mike & Laura Shklair($10): Pigroast hosts

• Judy Lewis($10): Halloween Party hostess

• Cindy Collins & Bill Westlake($10): Octoberfest and football game

• Marta Hoelter($10): Wolves game

• Maxine Sheninin($10): Website and Newsletter

• Laurie Wohlfeil($10): Treasurer

Special Award recipients:
Lori Kushar: Log Award, AGAIN!
Dan Harkin: Stud
Marsha Hestad: Wild & Crazy Partier
Mark & Chris Camera: Frazzeled Parents Award

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Skiing/Snowshoeing in Door County

Known more for great vistas and snow conditions, one might wonder "Where can I going skiing in Door County?" Well there are no downhill resorts north of Sturgeon Bay, but cross country skiing and snowshoeing are very popular. With that, that is just what 8 from Sitzmark did on the weekend of March 7th-9th. Our trip first led us to Sister Bay, near the northern tip of Door County, where we made our stay at the Church Hill Inn. This is an English-style bed and breakfast inn located on a hill above the town.

First to arrive was Bonnie, Pat and myself. We settled in quickly and opened the first of what would be a many bottles of wine before the end of the weekend. Soon Dawn showed up, then Laurie, Michelle and Janal. As we were to find out, there were only 3 other couples sharing this 37-room B & B. The managers showed us where everything was and said "Enjoy" before leaving us for the evening. We preceded to gather around one of the many fireplaces that had some very comfortable couches and with plenty of snacks and wine relaxing was not a difficult task. As the evening wore on hunger for some "real" food led us into town where we enjoyed a great fish fry of walleye and whitefish. Though known for fish boils, which happen only during warmer months, the fish frys are nothing to sneeze at. We were all stuffed as we slowly made our way back to the inn. Late in the evening our final participant, Greg, made it in.

Saturday morning was sunny and the air quite crisp. As the temperature was 8 degrees, but was to reach 18 by mid-afternoon, we decided to enjoy the buffet-style breakfast as long as possible. Then came the task of dressing for the day. As we all know, layers are important. Especially with this type of activity it is easy to warm up quickly and one should be ready for all types of weather swings. Once we were ready we were off to the rental shop. Located about 100 feet from the inn we checked out the gear we needed and were soon on our way to our destination, Newport State Park. Designated as a Wilderness Area, Newport S.P. is located on the northeastern tip of Door County. Boasting over 30 miles of trails, many were groomed for cross country skiing. There were 2 miles for snowshoeing though and that was what Laurie, Michelle, Janal, Bonnie and Pat decided to try. Dawn, Greg and myself took to the tracked ski trails. A light snow was falling as we started out, but soon the sky cleared and while it was a bit breezy in the open once in the forest all was quiet and serene. The trails are fairly level though there were some minor hills that were very appreciated as we made our way back to the meeting area. The snowshoers remarked of beautiful scenery, but said the terrain was not as easy to traverse as they would have thought or liked. Everyone was delighted with the experience though and looked forward to doing it again real soon. Once back at the inn it was hot showers and then relaxing by the fireplace. Some headed to town for a little lunch and shopping. That evening we had dinner at a very nice restaurant in town (that was part of our lodging fee). Though we had to wait longer than expected for our meal(1 1/2 hrs) the management apologized and gave us a nice break on the bill. From there we went to the liveliest place in town, the bowling alley. Ye, ha. Stuffed from our meal and having enjoyed a few cocktails there we eventually braved the cold and made it back to the inn where more wine awaited us.

Sunday morning was a copy of the day before though breakfast was different and inviting. As we prepared to depart some were getting ready to try the trails at Peninsula State Park. Dawn had left early in the morning and Bonnie, Pat and myself opted for a casual ride back to Illinois. Though a stop in Algoma for ice cream and checking out wines at the Von Steil Winery broke up the long drive home. It was a great weekend and plans are in the works for another X-C trip in 2009.

Your trip leader,
Rick Olson
 

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Cubs - Summer Tradition

We kicked off spring with a summer tradition. Well, if you can call 30 degrees with snow flurries spring. Sitzmark and family traveled up to Milwaukee for the annual Cub/Brewer game. There 38 of us this year to cheer on the Cubbies in Miller Park. The day ended well with a Cub victory over the Brewers. The score was 6 to 3. Could this victory be a sign of the things to come this season? Only time (and over 140 games to go) will tell. Three of the runs came in the 6th inning. For Lori K, an exciting day for her and Zambrano.

With the weather forecast in mind and an earlier than normal game time (12:05pm), tailgating was moved to after the game. We arrived at a variety of times due to construction, detours and traffic. For those of us who stayed the course of Rt. 94 versus Rt. 894, we arrived in plenty of time to see the beginning of the game. Just remember Jeanne is always (almost) right. Luckily, everyone still ended up pretty close to each other in the assigned parking lot. After the game, everyone headed for the cars and our true reason for attending the game (except for Lori K.), tailgating. Cars and trucks were maneuvered to create wind blockage. Grills were started plus one for a fire. Thank you to Laurie for the use of the grill and wood (freshly chopped by Laurie early in the am). Lots of food and fresh home-brewed beer was sampled and consumed. With the occasion visit to the fire for warmth, we all stayed for a while.

Let’s not forget the 7th inning sausage race won by the Polish, I think. I can’t remember but I know the Italian was second. Just so you all know, the Italian sausage is the current season winner with 4 wins as of this past Saturday. There was a new competitor this year, the Chorizo. Chorizo is a deserving addition to the Racing Sausages, and will surely prove to be a worthy competitor for the veteran racers for years to come. I am sure several of the club members will be purchasing a replica of the newest competitor to keep their collection complete.

The last of us departed around 5pm. We weren’t the last in the parking lot but pretty close. The cold finally got the best of us despite our ski attire. Let us all hope that next year’s game is a little later in the year. Till next year. Jeanne
 

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Crested Butte

This trip promised to be a challenge from the get-go! The group was scheduled to leave O’Hare at 8 a.m. on Saturday. We had a connection in Dallas, then off to Gunnison. Our flight was cancelled. The airline wanted us to wait until 3 p.m. to leave; since bad weather was on the way to Chicago, the group scrambled for alternative means.

Half of the group was able to catch a morning flight to Denver with American, and then connect to Gunnison from there. Our GOOD FRIEND Tom upgraded all but two (Tammy and Armando) of us to first class! He convinced the steward to serve them drinks!

The other half of the group took a late morning flight to Montrose. From there they rented a van for the drive to Gunnison (driven by Greg, our ‘professional driver’), then caught the shuttle to C.B.
Regardless of the flight we were on, everyone bit Greg was missing some, or all, of their luggage. After skiing on Monday, we were still missing 18 pieces of luggage. Those last straggling pieces finally arrived at midnight! Unfortunately, everything in them was wet!

Unbelievably, not one person complained about the situation! They just dealt with it. Thank You All!

Apparently, C.B. has to deal with people missing their luggage all the time. They actually have racks of ski clothes available for anyone to ‘borrow’ in this situation.

Other than the rocky start, here are some trip highlights:

• On Sunday afternoon, Keith, Tom and I decided to go into town since we didn’t have skis, jackets, boots, etc. We didn’t quite know how the bus system works (or, as we found, doesn’t work), so we just started walking downhill in hopes of finding a bus stop. There wasn’t one. A town bus came by. We tried flagging him down. He motioned us back up-hill. (We found out later that you can’t catch a bus to town unless you are at the main base of the mountain.) We weren’t about to walk back up the mountain, so when a little mini-pickup truck came by Tom and I stuck out our thumbs. We got a ride!! Tom had to ride in the truck bed, but hey, Keith and I were warm!

• This is the only ski trip I have ever been on that has ‘provided’ us with fresh powder every day. 21” of snow fell over the course of the week. The sun finally came out around 4:30 on Friday afternoon.

• Our resort contact, Ryan, took some of the group on a complimentary Extreme tour on Monday afternoon. Guy, Henry, Stosh, Greg, Gregory, Richard, Doughboy (?)…….enjoyed that.

• One of our new members, Bruce, who is also part of what I call ‘The Madison Contingent’, worked at C.B. several years ago. Rather than taking the mountain provided tour, we convinced Bruce to give us a personal mountain tour. Other than the fact that we wanted our first run to be blue (the powder was pretty deep)….and we missed the blue and did a black…he did a great job!! I spent quite a bit of time laughing at (and with) Kathy. She would take off down the run really fast…and then have some pretty spectacular falls!

• Another new member, Phil, decided not to wait at the airport on Saturday after hearing that our flight was cancelled. When he returned for the 3:00 flight, it was cancelled as well. He was rebooked for Sunday. Cancelled. Phil finally made it to C.B. on Monday night.

• Greg (Doughboy) and Joanne, chefs from Denver, provided a group of us with dinner one night. It was Fabulous! They are what I call the ‘Denver Contingent’.

• Quote of the week: ‘Clean underwear is overrated’. Kathy Bahman

• Tree Skiing Part I: Armando followed me through the trees and did great until the very end. He did a face plant into a bush! Henry had to flatten the bush, and then use Armando’s skis to kind of ‘spin’ him out of there. Good thing Henry wears a helmet these days. His head was bonked pretty hard by Armando’s skis.

• Tree Skiing Part II: Phil followed me through the trees. He fell in just about the same spot Armando did. Unfortunately, we were below him and couldn’t see what was going on. Stosh was about ¾ of the way climbing up the run below Phil to check on him when Phil’s very snow-covered head appeared. He was OK.

• Keith had a spectacular fall outside of the Paradise lodge. We had all just finished lunch and were waiting for everyone to get together before taking off. There is a drop-off from where we were standing to a chair lift below, cordoned off by a rope. Keith was talking away; all of a sudden he started sliding backwards. He fell about 10 feet – into a bush! – all you could see was his goggles! I yelled to him to hold that pose and got several pictures. Everyone up above (our group) laughed hysterically. None of us actually made any effort to save Keith (hmmmm). Three guys working the chair lift performed the rescue. We were still laughing!

• Club Dinner: Arlene drew a great depiction of Keith’s fall on the paper tablecloth. That drawing has been signed and saved for posterity.

• Après Club Dinner: At Kathy’s suggestion, some of us built a human pyramid on the dance floor. You’ll have to see the pictures!

• Gary brought Humphreys out on Friday night. Need I say more?

• Guy and Arlene had quite the taxi experience…guy letting air out of tires; cab driver chasing him; guy throwing stones through a store window; getting a ride back from people from Ohio who were actually staying in town. (The lowercase ‘guy’ is not ‘Our Guy’; it’s just a guy.)

• Ice Bar Photo Opportunity: We did it! Everyone was there except Judy (she is a non-skier). Quite an accomplishment. The pictures are great!

• Pictures: Gregory took some fabulous ‘professional’ photos over the course of the week. I heard he even had an attachment for his ski pole that allowed him to take group ‘lift’ shots!

• Tammy re-enacted Maxine’s Sun Valley ‘Stairs Toboggan Slide’. Unfortunately, Tammy’s slide was:
  a.) Not on a toboggan
  b.) Not intentional (are the bruises gone yet?)

There are many more memorable moments that others on the trip can tell you. Unfortunately, I wasn’t around for everything, so I can’t recount them. Show up for the banquet, you’ll be able to hear them first hand.

This trip was so much fun! The reason it was so much fun is that we had such a great group of people. I would like to thank everyone who went on the C.B. trip for joining us and making it memorable!

Dawn

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FASHION SHOW and APPAREL SALE Special Meeting Night

Thanks to everyone that came out to our 2nd Special Meeting of 2006 on December 6th. Attendance was great and there was one brand new attendee along some other recent members. In years past, Sitzmark always had Jim Jake do a fashion show and apparel sale at our Newcomers meetings. We decided to give him his own Special night to hold this event. It was getting harder every year to squeeze in his show with all the other stuff we had to do during Newcomers night. So, last year we started the new tradition of the Fashion Show / Special meeting night. This year we had a better turn out and had some new members get into the modeling of the latest ski and board jackets that Jim brought. Along with the latest jackets, he brought many cool hats and an assortment of mens/ladies snow pants. Marsha Hestad and Rich Blattner bought new jackets for themselves. Hard to believe that Ski Mistress Dawn resisted buying yet another coat for her already huge winter wardrobe. Jim's already low prices were even lower just for that night. If you missed it....oh well. Make sure to come next year. You can still stop by the Ski & Sports Chalet in Kenosha to get awesome deals on Spyder, Couloir and other name brand clothes before it's too late. Thanks to Jim Jake and everyone that attended on December 6th.

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Sitzmark does the Vine

Bar Hop or should we change it to Bar Stop? Friday, November 17th, Sitzmark Ski Clubbers made its monthly stop at The Vine, Martini and Wine Bar in downtown Grayslake (www.thevineofgrayslake.com ). This establishment, which is smoke free, has been open for about 2 months now. I have not seen a turnout at a bar outing in some time like this. Sitzmark came through with about 25 members in attendance. The atmosphere of The Vine was very warm, ok there was a fire place by our location but still, if it was snowing outside, you would of thought you were in a ski resort out west. The food, Tapas style, was excellent. Many people indulged in various tasty menu items. The entertainment, live music every Friday, was just right. The drinks, what can I say, I'm a beer drinker but the wine was flowing by the bottle, just ask Dawn A. and Judy R.. Also, plenty of mixed drinks were consumed. An unexpected treat was the free, yes free, shots of Cognac and other liquors in shot glasses. By the way, they let us keep the shot glasses. So, if we had a system of grading the places we go to, I would have to give it a 2 of 2 ski poles up. Final note, I would like to thank Martha, our server for taking great care of us. We'll be back.

Kevin Butchin

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Warren Miller's "Off the Grid"

This past Friday, October 27th marked the 57th film from Warren Miller titled "Off the Grid".  Attending from Sitzmark were Kevin Butchin, Charlotte Bader, Frank Czajka, Barb Mueller, Tracy & Harris Miller, Rick Olson, Todd, Marta and their two sons, Bob and myself.  Most of us were meeting up about 6:30 at Ranali & Ryan restaurant but Friday night traffic and the infamous parking in the Lincoln Park area had some of us arriving later.  After we ate dinner, which took forever to get, we hustled over to the Park West to meet up with Barb, Tracy & Harris who got in line earlier.  Doors opened at 9ish and we flooded inside like cattle to claim a few comfy booths.  Frank Czajka  never ordered a ticket ahead of time (surprise) but got lucky getting in because a few unclaimed tickets became available for the sold out 9:30 show.

This year, the Park West only had one big screen as opposed to the three they usually have had in years past.  The sound was loud and the music pulse pounding.  The movie opened up with amazing skiers and boarders making the extreme look effortless.

A few crash & burn clips but not nearly the amount a WM film has had.  One big thing missing were the hilarious chairlift fiascoes.  I know I was bummed about that.  There was a very interesting location visited, Kashmir, India and a little known resort called Kicking Horse, B.C., Canada.  A favorite film location for WM has been Alaska and Off the Grid featured some absolutely stunning shots of Cordova with handicapped skiers doing things most of us can't do with 2 legs! All I can say is WOW!  There was a special guest from the movie, named Jaime Pierre, that signed autographs on posters of his amazing, yet insane stunt, of skiing off a 250 foot high cliff into the snow! A world record! Crazy!

After the film was over we were all pumped up to go skiing right then and there. Warren's films always do that to you.  No one from our group won anything in the raffle this year but we all got our blood pumping, ready to fly out west and try to ski like one of the stars in the movie.  Yea right......maybe in our dreams.  If you missed out attending this year, make sure you don't miss out next year.

Thanks to Jeanne Leone for putting this annual outing together. It was fun. We missed you this year Jeanne!

...your "sub" trip leader,
Lori Kushar

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Fall Hike at Starved Rock

What a gorgeous day we had on Saturday, October 14th. The sky was a bright blue, the air was cool & crisp and our small group of hikers arrived at historic Starved Rock State park safely. Starved Rock is located in Utica, IL. , just a short 2 hour drive for most of us. For those that have never been there, please make time to go. This park has been around since the 1930s and has a magnificent stone & log lodge with hotel rooms, huge dining area, pool, a great hall accented by a massive stone fireplace with a large buffalo head and log cabins in the surrounding woods for guests.
In our group were Rick, Karen, Bill, Cindy, Bako the lovable canine, my boyfriend Bob and myself. We got started hiking about 12:30 I think. We made our way along the trail closest to the Illinois River towards the beautiful canyons and scenic bluffs.

At every canyon we stopped to take pictures and do some exploring into the hidden caves and side trails. The trees were full of vibrant colors and looked so intense with the sun shining through them.

Fall is a popular time of year for tourists and we saw many of the Asian persuasion in particular that day. Also enjoying this season were the many dogs people had brought with them. Bako got to meet (sniff) quite a few 4-legged friends along the way. I think he was particularly interested in the Sheltie twins we kept passing by! Every males fantasy isn't it?? Dog or man. Anyway, after about the first few miles we decided to start back towards the lodge.

We arrived back at the lodge at about 3:00, which was perfect. Reason being that there was an Oktoberfest beer and buffet feast going on that weekend and was just about to start. We sat at tables outside on the stone verandah overlooking the river and trying to decide which of the many special brews to order first. For $10 you got a very nice souvenir mug with ten drink tickets. For one ticket you got a rather large "taste" of beer or for four tickets you could have your mug filled. I mostly did tasting until finding a favorite then filling my mug with that one. Mmmmbeer!

The first to leave were Karen, Bill, Cindy & Bako at about 4ish. Bob and I left to go eat dinner in Utica at a great Irish Pub and restaurant called Duffys about 5ish. Rick stayed and enjoyed the German style buffet then came by Duffys to say "good-bye" to Bob and me. Rick had set up camp nearby on Friday night and was camping again that Sat. and leaving on Sunday.

We all had a wonderful time and hope to do it again next year. I just hope we will be as lucky with the weather again......

your fearless leader, Lori Kushar

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Octoberfest Pub Crawl

It was a dark and stormy night on Saturday, Sept.30th. Well, not too stormy, just sprinkly really. Our merry band of beer lovers made the long journey through masses of traffic to arrive safely at our first libation stop, RESI's. Your fearless leader arrived late (about 7ish) with her mate but so did a few others. The Cubs had their last game of the season that night and a few members were there to see them win. Guy and Arleen left Wrigley after the 13th inning when rain halted the game. Missy Karen, Charlotte Bader and Jim were first to start the evening around 5pm, which was when the night was supposed to start. We had a nice size group of about 15 by 7:30 which filled the quaint beer garden. A few drops of rain had us under the patio umbrellas briefly while some felt warmer inside. We drank and/or sampled a vast array of beers while waiting to venture to Lachetts for dinner. Well, about an hour later when I called Lachetts again to see about our reservation progress, we decided to just stay put to have dinner instead of waiting any longer. I could not only hear my stomach growling but most others as well. Beer eventually needs to have something soak it up or else you get "problems"...and you all know what I mean! "wink". Dinner was tasty and was inhaled by all. Burp! We paid our bills and left to go to Lachetts just down the street. They were STILL busy when we got there but we managed to squeeze ourselves at a table and along the bar to order some more brews and a couple coffees. Everyone was having a good time laughing and joking. Guy and Arleen always seem to have a knack for inciting uncontrollable giggling and snorting. After Lachetts, almost the whole group decided to get home. Myself, Bob and a couple of our friends walked down to O'Donovans (I know it's Irish but we were too tired to walk to the Bavarian Haus) to have one more. Bob and I only had water at this point since we had a longer drive home than our two friends. O'Donovans had a fun guitar duet band playing so we stayed for a few songs then left for home.

It was a fun time except for the unholy traffic going down but once at Resi's friendly beer garden with great friends, all was WUNDERBAR!

.......Lori Kushar

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Cub Game - July 2006

This past July, Sitzmark and family traveled up to Milwaukee for the annual Cub/Brewer game. There 75 of us this year to cheer on the Cubbies in Miller Park. The day ended well with a Cub victory over the Brewers. The score was 3 to 1. Good enough score in my mind.

We arrived with plenty of time to tailgate (and no speeding tickets!!). Though not all parked together, we were close enough to travel between groups and sample the goods. We had brats, Italian sausages, special Alabama sausage links (thank you Quallie), salads, chips and dips and desserts. Tracy Franas brought an incredible bruschetta and stuffed grilled jalapeños. Tracy Miller (formerly Wilson) brought some very good peanut butter chocolate cookies. Marta Hoelter and family came fully prepared with Cubbie paint. We soon had a lot of red and blue faces and hair to help cheer on the Cubbies.

Let’s not forget the 7th inning sausage race won by the Polish (just so you all know, the Italian sausage is the current season winner with 24 wins as of Saturday). I mean why else go up there if not for that. Most of us stayed for the whole game. Others left early to resume our tailgate party. It did get a little stuffy in the closed roof stadium. Once traffic died down a little, we all slowly made our way back to our cars to start our drive home (and a hell of a long detour).

Till next year. Jeanne

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Annual Banquet - April 2006

Hard to believe another year has come to a close. Well, with my tardiness in articles, the year closed a while ago and another ski season is about to start. As is the past, we celebrated the closing of the season with a party (how like us Sitzmarkers!).

This year, despite last minute changes in locations, thirty of us gathered to reminiscence about our good times. It was a great party. Robin at Cubby North was a great help in our hour of need.

Dawn graciously prepared a wonderful slide show of the year’s events. We even successfully go it to appear on the big screen TV in the room. Dawn had lots of pictures from a variety of trips, including the trip the President’s gavel got to take. How many gavels can say they have been to Aspen. As usual there were shots that some of us would have preferred not to be included. But what fun is it if you don’t include the unflattering shots.

We had a nice buffet of appetizers and dinner. There were plenty of leftovers that we picked at for the rest of the evening. The Italian beef was good as usual. No one went hungry.

A few awards were presented. Aloise Gredell took home a few trip essentials, at least for her: a bottle of Beano and a bottle of antacids. Too bad she forgot them on the camping trip. We had two winners for the log award this year. Joan Vaughn and Lori Kushar took home those honors. Guy Lothian was awarded a new collection of jokes. This should allow him to continue to be our entertainer on future bus rides. Missy Karen was not to be left out. For her safety, she is now the proud owner of a safety backpack. Karen should wear this at all times to protect her from falls, especially off picnic tables while eating dinner. Arlene Lothian received a similar award. It seems, especially at New Years, she has a hard time standing up. Knee and elbow pads should help protect her. Last, but not least, Barb Mueller received a special award for her antics throughout the year. Her award was replacements items she lost during a couple of trips. I let your imagination take over from there.

Lots of catching up was done. A lot of eating and drinking was done. All had a good time I hope. Thank you to all who helped by leading a trip this past season. The trips would not have been possible without you and your hard work.

I hope to see more of you at our next banquet. Lots of laughs are sure to be had.

Jeanne
Your VP

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Breckenridge - January 2006

In place of a recap, here is a list of awards that speak for themselves. We had 18 great skiers on the Breckenridge trip and a lot of fun was had by all. These are not in any order and some were edited for content (you had to be there).

1. The "best trip leaders ever" award goes to Guy and Arlene Lothian for a great trip and outstanding talent in the fine art of herding cats!!!

2. The "bringing up the rear (most laid-back skier)" award goes to Tammy for being the last to the mountain every day. She'll be comin' 'round the mountain WHEN she comes!

3. The "international diplomatic relations" award goes to Aimee for calming the profanity spewing Brit on the chair lift.

4. The "least inhibited" award goes to Maxine for visiting neighboring condos in her long johns.

5. The "going to the dark side and coming back (goes both ways)" award goes to Stacy for switching back and forth between snowboarding and skiing.

6. The dare devil award goes to Dan for following Mike.

7. The "can't hit the side of a barn" award goes to Deb for the snowball fight through town.

8. The "best snowball fight strategy" award goes to Marius for bringing ski goggles to the 2nd round snowball fight.
   The "mathematically challenged" award goes to Iulia for concluding she only had 2 drinks (excluding the other 6)... 2 of everything she could pronounce maybe!

9. The golden-throated warbler award goes to Deb for singing on the slopes and in the shower.

10. The most considerate skier awards go to Tom, Rick, Bruce, Marius, and Arleen for personal sacrifice in order to play shepherd to the weakest of the flock.

11. The competitive joke teller award goes to Guy for being faster and funnier than the "Free Ride" bus driver.

12. The shop-o-meter award goes to Arleen fro establishing the "ooh” and "ooh -ooh" scale - a now nationally recognized standard for rating shopping interest at shop windows.

13. The best negotiator award goes to Armando for getting volume discounts on premium margaritas!

14. The Te-killa (or once burned twice learned), award goes to Tammy for knowing not to go back to Rita's.

15. The "what happens in Breckenridge, stays in Breckenridge" award goes to Iulia for obscenely posing with the snow sculptures (no pictures posted!)

16. The "why waste time turning" award goes to Marius - the Romanian Rocket!

17. The "I ate Breckenridge (and a little bit of Keystone)" award goes to Marius. Oh so THAT'S why he goes down so fast - there's a restaurant at the bottom of the mountain!

18. The hippie dippy weatherman award goes to Rick for keeping us all up on the weather...the forecast for tonight is dark with scattered light toward morning....

19. The power behind the throne award goes to Arleen for well... we all know.

20. The shortest ski day award goes to Marius for 1 run.

21. The no-style award goes to Guy for an attempted jump that ended up in a "yard sale."

22. The most improved skier award goes to Maxine for breaking the snow plow barrier.

23. The Rita margarita award goes to Stan for consuming the most and living to tell.

24. The powder-hound award goes to Henry for first tracks every day.

25. The "best cover up after a face plant" award goes to Deb on "Angel's rest" run, for saying she simply wanted to rest and make a snow angel.

26. The butt quarter king award goes to Mike for hitting the glass dead on, TWICE.

27. The tree hugger award goes to Stan for all the trees he hugged.

28. The "motor mouth magpie - couldn't get a word in edge-wise" award goes to Jaimeen.

29. The "gone boozin' award goes to Armando.

30. The frozen zipper award goes to Dan for getting his tongue stuck in his zipper!

and for putting this altogether… the most creative verse goes to DEB!

Boyne 2006

The night was rainy; as we drove around Lake Michigan, we couldn’t help but wonder if Friday the 13th was going to be unlucky in other ways! We started with wet, heavy snow by our house, which turned into rain that followed us up to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where it turned into wet, heavy flakes again, which were hypnotizing in the headlights. As we neared Cadillac, it turned into blowing snow for the remainder of the drive up to Boyne Falls, with some accumulation on the road, making it pretty adventuresome. It apparently got better the later it got, as the first folks up there had near-whiteout conditions, while we (Gredell’s and their neighbors, the Solida’s) had some trouble picking up the lines in the road, but at least we were pretty sure we were on the road!

We all made it up there, finally, and unwound with some “adult beverages” (at least for the adults). Our illustrious Ms. Prez unwound herself just a bit too much, and, having spent nearly the entire night and part of Saturday morning praying to the porcelain god, has earned herself the Famous Log Award! I think that’s the ONLY person eligible this year! But, please, correct me if I’m wrong!
And another hard-to-believe milestone was accomplished when Alouise planted a kiss firmly on Dawn’s pursed lips!!! HOO RAY!!! As many of you know, Dawn really is not happy with kissing other women on the lips, which makes it all the more fun to GROSS HER OUT.

We were joined on the trip by an Oak Park Ski Club member and her daughter, Ida and Leslie. After several unwinding beverages, Alouise could NOT remember Ida’s name. Dawn offered the marvelous memory aid of “Potato as in, ‘Ida-Ho’”; to which, Prez Laurie replied, “You is?” Our daughter, Jackie, captured several classic moments from the night on her video camera, so they might be seen at the banquet!

Since we were up so late Friday, we elected to show up to Boyne Highlands late (around 11:30 for most), and we bought 4-hour lift tickets. It was sunny and in the upper 20’s, but they must have had rain after their big snow, because the snow conditions were not good; it was described by some as “popcorn”, others as “snow-cone ice”. Many folks skied on their own; Andy took his very first snowboarding lesson, and did just great; the next day, he easily skied blue runs, but was still having trouble on the blacks. Jeff Solida earned a NASTAR silver, and Alan Gredell earned a bronze. We all agreed that the layout of Boyne Highlands is not too bad.

The Saturday night pizza party was changed by Alouise to a Spaghetti dinner party instead, with lots of help cooking from Alan, Mary Ann, Laurie and Lori, and others. More adult beverages were consumed, so Alouise doesn’t remember the events of the evening too well! She recalls finishing just about a liter and a half of wine, though! Lori absolutely gets to keep the log, though! The club needs to come up with one more award to address a gaseous emissions problem that Alouise had on Saturday night, maybe just a can of Lysol spray to all of the other club members would help!

Sunday, we skied at Boyne Mountain, which is just about ½ mile from the lodge. Once again, we procrastinated enough to only ski half a day, with Lori finally making it to the hill at about noon, and, for her effort, getting a big discount on her lift ticket! Most of us spent at least part of the day skiing together, with Andy and Erik, two of the youngest, keeping up pretty well with the rest of us seasoned veterans (and hey, can you possibly tell who’s dad is Erik’s?)! Many of us skied hard, and rushed home to watch football, including a quick walk across Route 131 to Jake’s Tavern. Keith and Dawn had scoped this place out on Friday night, and they had enough seating, TV’s, and food to make any Bears fan happy. Unfortunately, the Bears didn’t cooperate! So we weren’t happy! As we all know, the game didn’t turn out as we’d hoped. But we did make some new friends at Jake’s Tavern, where we were treated nicely despite being kind of loud an obnoxious! Probably the best entertainment of the evening was Michelle P., her kids, and friend John, who all went to the water park at Boyne Mountain Resort. After the game, we walked back to the lodge, watched movies, drank (!) again, and talked until the wee hours. Thanks to Michelle and John for making the Ketel One Jello shots!

Monday morning brought another great weekend to a close. Thanks to Mary Ann and Jeff Solida for making French toast on Sunday and eggs on Monday; and to everyone else for pitching in with cleanup, dishwashing, and, lest we forget, skiing! You were a great group to be with!

Boyne Trip Host, Alan

Vail - Early Winter 2005

Fifteen Sitzmarkers ‘did’ Vail in early December. For those of you who thought the snow would not be good enough that early in the season, all I can say is ‘You Blew It’! The weather was a bit colder than usual at this time of year, but the snow was great!! Each day brought warmer daytime weather, and the snow conditions couldn’t have been better!!

Our condos really were a mere 100 yards from the Lionshead Gondola. We overlooked the Gondola area from our balconies…great view. I have never been on a Club trip during which we had such great proximity to skiing!

We held a Welcome party Thursday night so everyone would be able to get to know each other (like we didn’t bond on the bus!). Plenty of beer and wine flowed….oh yeah, we also had food (for some reason I never ate anything…talking too much?? Nah! Afterwards, several of us decided to go to the Red Lion. Somehow, we lost Keith and Kirk….but Barb and I were able to have fun with Bruce and the guys anyway! Go figure! It was a very late night!

Friday: ski, ski, ski. As I said before, it was great! Blue Sky Basin wasn’t slated to open for another week, but because of all the snow they had this year, it opened the day we got there. I, for one, was very excited about that! Apres Ski was at Garfinkles until it got too cold for the outside heaters to do any good. That night we had dinner at Billy’s (in the same building we were staying). Excellent meal! Lots of wine! Then….Back to the Red Lion! It was another very late night!

Saturday: ski, ski, ski. Another beautiful day. Apres Ski was (again) at Garfinkle’s. We sat inside this time! Dinner was at a great place…but for the life of me I can’t remember the name of it! Believe me, it was good! Then, back to Vail Village and Red Lion. Unfortunately, the Red Lion was packed! Somehow we all got split up. Keith, Kirk and I went to a really cool downstairs bar (don’t know the name, but it’s near the Red Lion). After awhile we decided to go back to our own neighborhood (which means Garfinkle’s). We got on the bus, and just before it left Barb and Pat climbed on board and joined us! Cool! And, yes, it was another very late night!

Sunday: I’m not giving out names, but 4 members of the group didn’t even ski. Two were just too hung over (huh?). The majority of those that skied didn’t make it out until noonish. However, I believe Glenn skied from lift opening to close! More Apres Ski…but we went to places other than Garfinkle’s this time.

Trip Facts:

• 8 of the 15 people on the trip were new members! (Pat, Rob, John, Dave, Glenn, Dennis, Akufo and Christina)

• 2 other people were long-time members who have not gone on a Club trip for several years. (Mel and Ed)

• Our flights were ON-TIME (United!)

• Nobody lost their luggage (United!)

• Bruce’s brother and friends (Pat, John, Dave and Rob) helped redefine the phrase ‘Party all night long!’ We did our best!
• These same 4 guys, with the help of a ‘denying’ Bruce, loved to play pranks. The worst one had to do with squirting water into our door lock….which then froze. We had to hold a lighter under the key long enough for it to melt the ice in order to unlock the (damn) door! Once inside, the temperature was hovering around 95.
• Akufo deserves a hand! She had never ever skied or snowboarded before. She joined the club just to go on this trip; she didn’t know anyone prior to the trip. She took snowboard lessons and had a great time….hope we see her more often!