Cannonball Run Day 55; this day in 1990

Awoke at 11am and everyone went to Butch's Cafe for some chow and some drinks. Got back late and played cards before crashing out.

(note; again, a pathetic diary entry for what was a fantastic part of our trip, with some superb people! I mentioned Butch and his lovely wife Mary a few years back here; if you'll pardon the cliché, he was one of those larger than life characters you occasionally meet. He was tall in size, barrel chested, with a loud booming voice and it was a brave man that took him on. His 'cafe' was just that - a small-ish place with tables, a pool table and plenty of beer in the fridge. I remember one morning setting off to meet people there, I had just showered and washed my hair, and off I went. Now, Belgrade can be a very cold place - it was minus 15 while we were there - and, unbeknownst to me, the deal is that you make sure you dry your hair thoroughly before you venture outside. On my walk there that morning, I put my hands up to my hair, because I could feel it starting to freeze, and strands literally snapped off (I know, I know, you don't believe it!!), but let me tell you, I ran all the way to the cafe as fast as my legs would carry me and told everyone, gasping to catch my breath, much to their amusement.

The T-shirt below is the one Butch gave me when we were leaving Belgrade for good. Yep, it's faded and yep, the lettering is fading too. Well let me tell you, I wore this T-shirt to death! I wore it, I washed it, I wore it again, I washed it again.

And I still have it and I still wear it (only occasionally mind, it's vintage dahling!) and I think of them every time I see it.

Food, beer, recreation, lemme hear ya say yeah!

Someone drilling a hole in the ice in the middle of a frozen lake, so we can fish (!)

R-i-i-i-ight!

Me, several hours later, apparently not frozen solid, still having a good time (certainly more than I ever thought I'd have standing in the middle of a frozen pond for an entire afternoon), even though I caught precisely nothing, nada, zip, tipota, niente!