The Retiring of M-Hat V

Well it seems that I've come to the end of another era and the beginning of the next one.  It has become time to retire M-Hat V.  It doesn't seem like it is that long ago that it was a new hat waiting to be broken in.

 I knew I needed a new hat soon because I could see it faded, but what prompted me was when two people confused it for a Minnesota hat.  For the life of me, I can't figure out how they get Minnesota's colors out of this but whatever.

 M-Hat V has been on a number of adventures with me.  It has gone over to the Niagara Falls and Welland Canal.  It accompanied me on my train trip out west last year.  The hat has made the journey to the Soo a couple of times.  It saw what was supposed to be the opening of the Locks this year.  It even travelled with me over to Duluth.  It would be interesting if I could get an app called "Where's the M-Hat?" or something like that.  Fortunately, this hat doesn't get a watery grave like some of the others.

And now we are up to M-Hat VI.  Once again, I opted for the "Bo" style hat.  I like the classic look.  As of this post, she already has been to Chicago and will end up in Fort Wayne this weekend.  Who knows what travels are in store for her.

The Retiring of M-Hat IV

It was with great sadness that I retired M-Hat IV.  It will live in the closet next to M-Hat I.  If you will recall M-Hat II found its way to the bottom of the Detroit River but I didn't get pictures of the event because I was shocked of it happened.  When M-Hat III found its way to the Detroit River, I was still shocked but having the experience of M-Hat II, I was more prepared to take pictures.

I was saddened by the loss of M-Hat III because it had accompanied me on so many of my travels.  It saw my first major train trip, Gettysburg, California and stops between them.  M-Hat IV had much to live up to.

 And it did.  It saw two major train trips (Ann Arbor-Chicago-Denver-San Francisco-Los Angeles-Chicago-Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor-Chicago-Washington DC-New York-Chicago-Ann Arbor).  It has been through the tunnel of the Big House and on the field at the Big House.  It witnessed the opening of the Soo Locks last year, Engineer's Day and pretty close to the closing of the Soo Locks this year.  It heard the Roger Blough say Happy Birthday and Hello to me.  It has also been on many trips in between all of those.

 But as you can see, it is showing signs of age.  The maize of the M isn't quite as maizish anymore and the blue isn't nearly as deep.  I almost feel like it should have had the same fate as it's predecessors but I'm glad that this one will get to retire because I have so many fond memories with it.

So now I introduce M-Hat V.  May it live up to its predecessors.  As you can see, it is still the "Bo" style of Michigan Hat.  It still needs to get broken in.

The Sinking of the M Hat...Part II

So as I said in my first post of the evening, it was pretty windy. It didn't seem that bad at first but the wind kept picking up. I thought I was far enough on the shore that my hat wouldn't blow in the river. I guess I was wrong.
This time I got a shot as the hat was bobbing in the water. Unfortunately, it flipped over pretty quickly, so I couldn't get the shot of the M as it was bobbing in the water. Oh well.

It seemed close enough to the shore, that I thought I could grab it. So I put my camera down and found a stick to attempt a recovery because I figured I could wash it.

Sadly, it was just out of reach and my feet got wet as I lost my footing a little bit. So I just let it drift away.

So this is the second Michigan hat that the Detroit River has claimed from me. This one went on the train with me last year and all of my Michigan games. I will miss it but I will get another and start its journeys again.