Moving to Motown

After 19 years of working on the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean coasts, I am about to get orders to a place with no salt water (other than that in our aquarium):  DETROIT, MI.  It will be interesting, challenging and different from everything I have done so far in my career, but I am looking forward to it.  My mother summed it up perfectly, as I could hear her in the background as I broke the news to my dad on the phone, "there's no salt water THERE!"

There will be no federal fisheries for me to enforce, but apparently there will be lots of smuggling problems between the province of Ontario and numerous locations in Michigan.

There will be no marine mammals, polar bears or sea birds to protect from the people, but there could be lots of Asian carp who have worked their way up the Mississippi River and are currently causing trouble in Lake Michigan.

There will also be the all too frequent opportunity to protect the humans from themselves and others as they get into trouble on the water and/or ice.

There will be no yummy Pacific Salmon to catch during my leisure time, but there will be plenty of places where I can explore my new fascination with fly fishing.

There will be no beautiful mountains to admire or snowboard/hike on, but there will be lots of places to snowshoe and cross country ski.

There will be no bears, tsunamis, or avalanches to worry about, and there will be Major League Baseball [and an opportunity to catch the Red Sox and Orioles when they are in town].

There will be lots of new stuff, but the best part is that the most important thing will be the same.  All the people I love best in the world will be going there with me:  Andy, Mittens, Joey, Nacho, Libre, Obi, Nori, Bertie, Pip, Ini, Meanie, Moe, Snuffy, Snails #1-3, and those scary green/red worms inside the live rock.  I am actually not that attached to the red worms, especially, but I hope that they make it safely to our new home in the midwest!

[I wonder if Joey and Mittens (pictured below lounging in the living room, one on the rug from Romania, the other on the soft cotton throw from Mexico) will like being midwestern cats??  They will certainly like being there better than the plane rides to GET there!!]