I know a lot of you couldn't roll yourselves out of bed and make the short trip down to the Silver Creek Swimming Pool around Noon today, so I thought I'd share a little of the action with you.
And no, you won't see me or my wife splashing around in the clip. Are you kidding? Water temp was 52 degrees I am told, and we are pretty much not that adventurous, or crazy. But lots of folks jumped in and I only saw a few cheaters get out before they made it the full length of the pool.
UPDATE: You'll want to see the pictures on Flickr.
You could not have asked for a more beautiful morning with perfect, slightly cool weather, for getting out and doing a little bit of volunteer work. My wife and I grabbed a few garden tools and headed just down the street to Timberwilde Elementary where we joined several members of the GNW A-Team along with teachers and students from the school for a little bit of yard work.
The outdoor classroom was actually created several years ago as part of a project for a local GNW Eagle Scout. It is located just in the southeast part of the school in a greenbelt. With trails outlined in rock and covered in crushed decayed granite, the teachers can take their classes outdoors to see the various plants, xeriscaping and different garden areas.
In the center, large boulders have been brought in to create a classroom set-up. It really is a great idea and just needed a little TLC to keep it up.
With assistance from NISD, new landscaping material was brought in to refresh the trails, but they still needed the manual labor to spread the material, weed-eat the over grown weeds and mow some of the heavier grass.
With teams of students and adults pitching in, the entire area was covered with people working to get the classroom ready for use by the school.
Some students created little tasty bagels for birds, covered in peanut-butter and topped with birdseed. When the classroom isn't in use, I'm sure the little birds and squirrels in the area will appreciate the area too.
The Great Northwest A-Team participates in events like this in an effort to show our support for local schools like Timberwilde, Knowlton, Connally and Zachry. The schools make an effort to teach students about the value of volunteering in the community, and by having A-Team members support them, it demonstrates to the students that volunteerism is a great way to have fun and give back to the community, even when you are an adult. If you'd like to learn more about the A-Team, send me a note and I'll put you in touch with the right folks.
I was driving by the marquee in our neighborhood today and noticed that they had a reminder up about the big Casino Night coming up tomorrow (Saturday) night. On the sign it said the event started at 8PM.
Of course we stopped into the Lodge to ask about it. The little poster I have says the shindig starts at 7PM. Sure enough, they changed the marquee, so in case you got the wrong info, 7PM is correct.
My wife and I had a great time during the last Casino Night, and this time, the theme is "Wild West". I'm gonna put on some boots, jeans, maybe a vest, who knows? Hell, I might Boot, Scoot, and/or Boogie, even if this isn't a place where you would actually dance.
This is an adults only event and it is not a BYOB situation like the recent Luau, but they will have a cash bar available (or I'm going home). Anyway, just wanted to let you know of the correct time and we hope to see ya there.
Once again my wife and I along with several of our neighbors decided to brave the scorching summer sun and join in the annual Great Northwest Independence Day Parade. The parade which starts at Zachry Middle School and follows Timber Path to the Lodge of the Great Northwest is a fun way to get out and celebrate the 4th.
This year, the Grand Marshal was District 6 Councilman Ray Lopez, seen here riding in the Corvette of Robert Rodkey. In addition to Robert's 'vette, there were 8 or 9 other Corvette's from the local owners club.
Members of the San Antonio Fire Department were quite a hit with youngsters along the parade route. And of course, members of the San Antonio Police Department were out in force to direct traffic and make sure the parade travelled smoothly down the road.
The parade had numerous groups from the local Northwest Vikings youth football team to the Boy Scouts.
And then of course, there was out motley crew of characters. With Ol' Betsy pulling a trailer, and several of us manning electric scooters, our theme was Timber Five-O. Okay, I know some explanation is in order. 
Bear with me on this. Our zip code is 78250 (or The Five Oh for short). Next, you think back to the old Hawaii Five-O TV show, and the fact that most of the streets in our neighborhood start with the word "Timber", and the next thing you know, we are in Hawaiian shirts, palm trees and we are Timber Five-O. I know, it really is a stretch, but we had fun anyway.
And in spite of the record 103 degree temperature, many people found enough shade needed to keep cool and lined the parade route and enjoyed the spectacle of it all.
And for those who couldn't witness it in person... video taken by my son who is home for the weekend. Enjoy!
My wife and I made the short trip down to the Lodge of the Great Northwest for the big Casino Night Gala - and it was a great event which I'll write about tomorrow. But I wanted to pass along a special greeting to one of our Blog readers, Stephanie, whose parents quickly located Eva and I and obtained the required pictures - the proof that we were in attendance.
A great time was had by all!
In spite of an exceptionally festive and enjoyable New Year's Eve celebration last night, we were up this morning at a reasonable hour and headed down to the Lodge of the Great Northwest and the Silver Creek pool to witness the spectacle that is the Annual Polar Bear Swim.
I recognized quite a few swimmers from previous years, clearly people who are not afraid of the near freezing (okay, 52 degree) water. I may have made boastful suggestions that I too would participate in the event during the New Years Eve celebration, but as the noon hour approached, the temperature at 55 degrees had a sobering effect on my decision process. In other words, as my wife might say, I chickened out again.
But to those folks participating and to their proud families and neighbors lining the pool, it was another reason why living in this community is so enjoyable.
Master of Ceremonies, Jose Morlett prepared the swimmers with instructions while getting the spectators in the crowd into the mood for some splishing and splashing.
Meanwhile, members of the local media stood by with cameras rolling and microphones poised to interview the chilly swimmers.
At the strike of noon, the first wave of swimmers were off into the cold water and on their way toward warm towels, commemorative t-shirts and cups of hot chocolate inside the lodge.
The second wave of swimmers included several brave participants from the first round. Maybe we'll have to start having winter season at the pool if this many people are such fans of the chilly temps!
Finally, Silver Creek's first resident, Miss Olivia made an impressive dip of her own, though opting for a much shorter distance. Seniority has its perks!
When all the swimmers had gotten the brisk swim out of their systems, Jose made himself available to awaiting reporters eager for details of the history of The Great Northwest and the rich traditions we enjoy.
Need to see more pictures and video of the Polar Bear Swim? Head to Flickr!
We went as a cowboy and an Indian.
Our neighbors, Gus and Ruby went as a priest and his bad habit...
DJ Frank was there and in spite of numerous people taking a chance behind the Karaoke microphone, nobody used their singing time to say anything offensive (though a few of the singers voices may have qualified as offensive).
All in all, a great job by the staff to decorate and set-up the place. Need more proof? Check out the rest of the pictures over on the Flickr Page.
The outdoor classroom was actually created several years ago as part of a project for a local GNW Eagle Scout. It is located just in the southeast part of the school in a greenbelt. With trails outlined in rock and covered in crushed decayed granite, the teachers can take their classes outdoors to see the various plants, xeriscaping and different garden areas.
In the center, large boulders have been brought in to create a classroom set-up. It really is a great idea and just needed a little TLC to keep it up.
With assistance from NISD, new landscaping material was brought in to refresh the trails, but they still needed the manual labor to spread the material, weed-eat the over grown weeds and mow some of the heavier grass.
With teams of students and adults pitching in, the entire area was covered with people working to get the classroom ready for use by the school.
Some students created little tasty bagels for birds, covered in peanut-butter and topped with birdseed. When the classroom isn't in use, I'm sure the little birds and squirrels in the area will appreciate the area too.
The Great Northwest A-Team participates in events like this in an effort to show our support for local schools like Timberwilde, Knowlton, Connally and Zachry. The schools make an effort to teach students about the value of volunteering in the community, and by having A-Team members support them, it demonstrates to the students that volunteerism is a great way to have fun and give back to the community, even when you are an adult. If you'd like to learn more about the A-Team, send me a note and I'll put you in touch with the right folks.
Of course we stopped into the Lodge to ask about it. The little poster I have says the shindig starts at 7PM. Sure enough, they changed the marquee, so in case you got the wrong info, 7PM is correct.
This year, the Grand Marshal was District 6 Councilman Ray Lopez, seen here riding in the Corvette of Robert Rodkey. In addition to Robert's 'vette, there were 8 or 9 other Corvette's from the local owners club.
Members of the San Antonio Fire Department were quite a hit with youngsters along the parade route. And of course, members of the San Antonio Police Department were out in force to direct traffic and make sure the parade travelled smoothly down the road.
The parade had numerous groups from the local Northwest Vikings youth football team to the Boy Scouts.
Bear with me on this. Our zip code is 78250 (or The Five Oh for short). Next, you think back to the old Hawaii Five-O TV show, and the fact that most of the streets in our neighborhood start with the word "Timber", and the next thing you know, we are in Hawaiian shirts, palm trees and we are Timber Five-O. I know, it really is a stretch, but we had fun anyway.
And in spite of the record 103 degree temperature, many people found enough shade needed to keep cool and lined the parade route and enjoyed the spectacle of it all.
A great time was had by all!
A few guys were busy setting up the tables for black jack and craps and roulette and they already had a row of slot machines lined up. I asked one of the workers if they planned on pumping in oxygen so it would feel like Vegas but he wasn't sure (rough crowd). He did tell me however, that if people show up early (it starts at 7pm, so I assume 6pm would be early) they would have people teaching everyone how to play each of the games. That sounds cool.
I don't expect there will be little cocktail waitress zooming around the room feeding you drinks just for sitting on the slot machine for an hour, but they will have a cash bar available, which is code for: don't bring your ice chest full of coldies and pull it around with you (like I have been known to do at the annual luau). 
The staff has been working to get the place all spiffed up for the event and based upon the number of calls they have received, it sounds like we may have a great turn-out. Hope to see you there!
I recognized quite a few swimmers from previous years, clearly people who are not afraid of the near freezing (okay, 52 degree) water. I may have made boastful suggestions that I too would participate in the event during the New Years Eve celebration, but as the noon hour approached, the temperature at 55 degrees had a sobering effect on my decision process. In other words, as my wife might say, I chickened out again.
But to those folks participating and to their proud families and neighbors lining the pool, it was another reason why living in this community is so enjoyable.
Master of Ceremonies, Jose Morlett prepared the swimmers with instructions while getting the spectators in the crowd into the mood for some splishing and splashing.
Meanwhile, members of the local media stood by with cameras rolling and microphones poised to interview the chilly swimmers.
At the strike of noon, the first wave of swimmers were off into the cold water and on their way toward warm towels, commemorative t-shirts and cups of hot chocolate inside the lodge.
The second wave of swimmers included several brave participants from the first round. Maybe we'll have to start having winter season at the pool if this many people are such fans of the chilly temps!
Finally, Silver Creek's first resident, Miss Olivia made an impressive dip of her own, though opting for a much shorter distance. Seniority has its perks!
When all the swimmers had gotten the brisk swim out of their systems, Jose made himself available to awaiting reporters eager for details of the history of The Great Northwest and the rich traditions we enjoy.
