West coast dining...

Our family just returned from one of those once in a lifetime family vacations across the country from Ohio to California.  The kids are all the perfect age and I'm not sure when and if we'll ever do it again.  Because of this I'm also not sure if we'll ever get another chance to enjoy two of the best meals we ate all trip.  We experienced some nice sit-down dinners, but at the end of our vacation I think we all agreed that the food we'll remember most were the burger and fries we had at In-N-Out Burger in Palm Desert and the frozen yogurt treat we ate at Tutti Frutti in Santa Monica.  The menu at In-N-Out is as follows: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double-Double, and French Fries.  That's it, not real complicated.  They stick to what they do best and I'll take it over McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's anyday.  Tutti Frutti was as fun as it gets for my ice cream loving family.  Grab your own bowl, fill it as high as you want with any choices of frozen yogurt flavors, and then dump all the delicious toppings on it you want.  You just pay for how heavy you make it.  Genius.  The sad part is neither of these fine establishments has a location in Ohio or anywhere close.  Maybe that's why we'll always remember it.

The best in track and field...

There's no arguing that 2011 was the best ever for area athletes in high school track and field.  There may be some arguing over the best high school girls track performers from the last five years.  Here are Fish Report's Top 10 from 2007-2011 and their accomplishments:

#10 Megan Fullenkamp - Ft. Loramie (2009)
2009 - 4 X 400 2nd, 4 X 200 6th, High Jump 9th
2008 - 4 X 400 5th
2007 - High Jump 6th
Note: Ran her relays with classmate Ally Puthoff who was our #12 pick.

#9 Maria Dahlinghaus - Minster (2011)

2011 - 4 X 400 1st, 800 5th, 4 X 800 6th

2010 - 4 X 800 5th, 4 X 400 8th

2008 - 4 X 800 4th

Note: Ran the 4 X 800 with 2010 alum Jessica Albers who was our #11 pick.

#8 Christine Borchers - Versailles (2009)

2009 - Shot 1st, Discus 5th

2008 - Shot 2nd, Discus 4th

2007 - Shot 9th, Discus 12th

Note: Got that elusive title in the shot after three years trying.

#7 Janel Olberding - Ft. Loramie (2011)
2011 - 4 X 400 2nd, 4 X 800 2nd, 800 10th
2010 - 4 X 200 3rd
2009 - 400 2nd, 4 X 400 2nd, 200 8th
Note: Qualified in six different events over her career.

#6 Ashley DeMange - Versailles (2011)

2011 - 4 X 200 2nd, 4 X 100 3rd, 200 8th

2010 - 4 X 200 2nd, 4 X 100 4th, 200 8th, Pole Vault 8th

2009 - 4 X 100 3rd

Note: The only girl on our list to compete and place in four events in one year.

#5 Katie Borchers - Russia (2011)
2011 - 800 1st, 4 X 400 7th
2010 - 800 7th
2009 - 800 6th
2008 - 1600 11th, 4 X 800 12th
Note: The only girl on our list to qualify all four years.

#4 Laura Gehret - Anna (2009)
2009 - High Jump1st
2008 - High Jump 1st, Long Jump 7th
2007 - High Jump 10th
Note: One of only three girls on our list to defend her state title.

#3 Mary Prakel - Versailles (2009)
2009 - 4 X 800 1st, 3200 3rd, 1600 4th
2008 - 3200 1st, 4 X 800 2nd, 1600 4th
2007 - 4 X 800 2nd, 1600 4th, 800 13th
Note: The only girl on our list to run three events for three consecutive years.

#2 Gretchen Walter - Lehman (2011)

2011 - 100 1st, 400 1st, 200 2nd 

2010 - 400 1st, 100 2nd, 200 2nd

2009 - 100 3rd, 200 3rd

Note: The only girl on our list to win two titles in the same year.

#1 Tammy Berger - Versailles (2012)
2011 - 3200 1st, 1600 2nd, 4 X 800 7th
2010 - 3200 1st, 4 X 800 2nd, 1600 3rd
2009 - 4 X 800 1st, 3200 2nd, 1600 3rd
Note: The only girl on our list to win titles three years in a row (and she's a junior).

Thanks for the memories Shaq...

I was sad to hear the retirement announcement of Shaquille O'Neal this week.  Not that it wasn't time or that I didn't expect it, but in my opinion he will be missed as truly one of the 'good guys' in the NBA.  I'm six months older than Shaq and I remember being amazed by him when I was in college and he was playing at LSU.  As a matter of fact, I thought he was so good I picked the Tigers to make the NCAA Final Four all three years he played (of course they always lost in the first or second round!).  Shaq went on to the NBA and just seemed unstoppable for so many years.  I imagine it's similar to the way Kareem and Wilt looked to their generation.  More than his dominance though, outside of the game he was a larger-than-life, fun guy and never seemed to take things too seriously...and that's what appealed to me.  The NBA will live on with superstars like LeBron, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose, but none of them are as enjoyable to watch as Shaq.  So thanks for the memories #34 and thanks for making basketball fun for the last 20 years.