Jan 15, 2017

We woke up after a few hours of questionable quality sleep in the car at the rest stop and watched the sunrise from the parking lot. It was a nice view over the mountains even if it wasn't the most colorful sky. We ate some tofu scramble that I made last night before leaving which ended up being a great idea. Good start to the morning.

We drove about two more hours until we got to Watkins Glen. We found our way onto the Falls Trail and were immediately blown away by the icicles everywhere along the walls.

The trails were really icy so we strapped on the microspikes and the yaktrax that Becca got which seemed to work incredibly well. It got her up and down these steps.

This view was my favorite place in the warm weather and I didn't know Rainbow Falls could look any more insane. We stood here and wandered around under the frozen falls on the path for a long time just existing in awe. Everything was so beautiful there. Even better was that no one else was around.

We went into the town of Montour Falls to check out the couple of falls that are weirdly right in the middle of town behind some houses. Not a bad view for these people. It was a nice little break for a snack and then we left.

We went to see Taughannock Falls next. We saw them from above and then found our way to the trail along the river to get here. The viewing platform at the end of the trail was so icy, and getting down to the edge of the water where these crazy frozen branches were was really tricky. It was definitely worth it for the shots I got.

We decided to stop at Ithaca Brewing for a couple of flights before turning in for the night. They had some great beers including a chardonnay barrel-aged, a great double IPA, and a raspberry berliner. It was a good choice stopping here. We stopped to get Ethiopian food at a place called Hawi. We got takeout because they charge a stupid fee to share a plate. We grabbed coffee at Gimme! and headed to the hotel.

What should have been simple was annoying as we checked into our room and then ended up having to change to another building because the wifi didn't work at all and Becca needed it for her online class. The woman at the front desk didn't make things easier since she was an asshole and she didn't know what she was talking about. We eventually got situated and I ate the takeout and played with my new MacBook a little before getting into bed before 8pm.

Dec 13, 2016

I woke up earlier than I expected to coming off a couple of nights without a lot of sleep. I went to pick up Becca and got on the road to New York. We started off by stopping at Terri to pick up a chickpea melt and meatball sandwich along with the butterfinger milkshake that I haven't had in a long time. Definitely a good choice. We spent a while trying to find parking near the Brooklyn Bridge and sat there eating before walking out across the bridge. Becca had never done it and it was a gorgeous day. Lots of people on the walkway, but not the worst I've seen. It was a perfect day to walk around.

We planned on going to Torst, but we happened upon a little brewpub around the corner that caught our eye. I half expected it to be a bit boring, but it was such a great place! The bartender was super friendly, jovial, and energetic. There was '90s music on the radio, she was dancing, and, to my surprise, the beer was fantastic! They have an IPA that's amazing, a decent sour, and probably one of the best English bitters I've ever tried. Well done, Keg & Lantern Brewery. Thanks for giving us great beer and a place to sing Britney Spears and Savage Garden. As it turned out, Torst didn't have anything on the menu that seemed enticing for once so I'm glad we found it.

It was probably good that we didn't have more beer anyway because we had a pretty long rush-hour drive across the Queensboro Bridge to the west side of Manhattan. We stopped at Vinnie's Pizza first for dinner carbs that made us both a little sleepy. Still worth it. I got to the meeting place in Hell's Kitchen quite early so I could get all my gear set up and prepare my questions for the interview. Once I was satisfied we sat in the car while I played Battleship and crosswords on my phone until Lucinda arrived.

I met Lucinda at La Bergamote, a French cafe, where she had gotten me a coffee. She was amazingly sweet and we had a great little chat to get to know each other before we started filming. It was a perfect way to break the ice and calm the nerves on both sides. I want to integrate that into future interviews. Once that was out of the way we headed off to the secret location where we climbed 10 flights of stairs and set up the cameras in the stairwell because we needed the lighting. It was a little awkward, but I think we made it work.

The interview itself went really well for the most part. I felt like I could improve a bit by not sticking to my pre-planned questions as much and rolling with the conversation. Lucinda told some great stories and I think we got good stuff. After that we climbed up the ladder to the roof where she has done many photo shoots to get a nice view of the city and shoot a couple last things and talk about how we mysteriously ended up following each other on Snapchat. We descended the stairs, stopping to use the sink for hand washing at an apartment party along the way, and then said goodbye. It was a really fun time. Becca and I had a good drive back home, but I was ready to pass out in bed once we got back.

Jun 29, 2013

Joanna and I got up early and snuck of the room as quietly as we could then headed to the trailhead for Bonticou Crag. It was a foggy morning, and the wide trail looked really cool as we found our way via the criss-crossing paths and open fields. There was some uphill on the way, but it was pretty mild.

The trail opened up to a large boulder field that we climbed over, through, and around. This was the fun part. There were a few areas that necessitated hand over hand climbing. It wasn't so bad, but my sneakers were slipping a bit.

We got to the top and wandered around the big open rocks with great views all around. It was a beautiful morning and there were clouds laying low in the distance.

After enjoying the view for a while and jumping around and taking photos on this outcropping, getting too close to the edge, we started back down. After finding out that there was a ridiculous parking fee at the Mohonk House trailhead, we came back to our original parking spot and got a map, beginning our hike about a mile or two earlier. We started at the same spot as our last hike, but branched off soon after that in the direction of Mohonk.

There were several steep climbs on the hiking/mountain biking path up to the Mohonk Reservation, but it was a nice trail; rocky, well-marked, and beautiful with fallen trees and stream crossings. It got a bit confusing when we got on the actual grounds because trails went everywhere, but we followed our instinct and got to where we needed to. The place is beautiful and gargantuan! Look at that monster. There's a reason we're staying in our friends' room at a hostel and not in one of these rooms.

Along the edge of the lake is where the trailhead for The Labyrinth is. It is a bit hidden, but that makes sense. We climbed through the narrow opening and began down the path, over some stairs, and through some more narrow slots we had to climb through.

Our progress quickly halted when we got behind a group of older people on some kind of team-building exercise. These were not outdoors people and they were not really into this. We slowly overtook them, one by one, very slowly, after standing still at each obstacle for minutes at a time. We finally got by them and starting crawling over and under the huge boulders, following the path that was laid out or something like it.

The tight squeezes and big rock climbs were great fun, and we thought it ended too quickly when we finished. So we went back down and did it again! This time there was almost no one there so we got to go at our own pace, up ladders, through the lemon squeezers, and over big gaps. It was a lot more fun on round two. We started to do it again as a race, but it was a little wet, so a short distance in we called it for the day and started hiking back.

After our long hike back down (that's how it always goes) we went back to New Paltz downtown and wandered through the little downtown shops and got something to eat at the health food store. After going back to the hostel for showers, we came back downtown with Chuck and Alex to go to the Gilded Otter Brewing Co. for lunch. I sampled their beers. Nothing of note, really. The root beer was good so I got one of those. We had a good lunch and then went for a walk around the nice, quiet neighborhood.

After regrouping, we went out to the Bacchus Bar for a few beers from their big bottle list and hung out there talking for a while. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was more of a chill evening and we were all kind of tired and not wanting to stay there too long. We headed back to the hostel and hung out there for the night until we were all ready for bedtimes.

Jun 27, 2013

We ended up leaving the house a little late, but that was okay. We went to Warwick DGC, where we played a fun round. It's a great course with a lot of challenging shots. We shot pretty well, even after it started to rain a little bit toward the end. After eating we went to Conscious Fork for lunch. I got this amazing bowl with kale, tofu, and veggies. It was absolutely wonderful. I would like to eat something like this every day. I had a tasty smoothie with it as well and a macaroon to go that was also fantastic. I want more!

Our next stop was the Campgaw/Mighty Gaw course. They changed the names so it's all Campgaw now, but the different layouts are Green, Blue, and Black. We played the long one; Black, I think. It used to be Mighty Gaw. The course is quite short on the first few holes, but it gets very soon after when you get to the uphill shots. That one uphill shot is a pain. Through the dense woods we made it to the top and around the other side.

Once playing the back area and down the fun drop shot through the thick woods, we came back up through the high grassy, annoyingly steep shots that I always consider skipping. We saw this little guy in the grass, hiding and scared when we almost tripped over her! Our final shots down the big open ski trail always seem like they will be fun. Inevitably, they are bad shots and we end up searching forever for our discs. We never learn. After collecting all of our discs from the grasses, I took Joanna home and then headed home myself.

Feb 11, 2012

Kate and I went up to pick up Nathan then continued into New York to the Catskills and the Warner Creek Trail. It took some looking around to find the trail head and then some slow, careful walking to begin up the stream bed full of rocks covered with snow and ice.

Our slow ascent also had us wondering if we were on the right trail. I tried to stick to the knowledge that my concern usually turns out to be over nothing and we eventually came to the trail marker we were looking for and headed toward the Devil's Path.

The entire trail was like this: slightly snow-covered inches-thick ice. It was crazy slippery. We had to walk slowly and carefully and basically not pick up our feet. Every step had to be calculated. We all fell down at least once. It was slightly nerve-racking yet really fun at the same time.

After some really difficult climbs up steep hills (covered in the same amount of ice) using mostly trees and luck to get us up, we came to a mostly flat area of coniferous forest that was a welcome break and a beautiful sight with snow hanging on the branches. It seemed like we had made it farther than we really had and we started thinking we should turn around soon.

We stopped at an overlook to enjoy the brief view before we turned around to descend the same way we came up. The way down was arguably more difficult than the ascent. The ice seemed a little more treacherous as we tried to get down steep hills. The nice part was that we could just sit down and slide! Kate and Nathan really took that method as their own. It was quite amusing to see them sliding through trees and around corners.

It was a long journey back, especially once night fell and we were still a good way from our car. It suddenly became even more dangerous and slow-going than before. With a firm grip on every tree we could grasp and a triple-checked footfall before each step, we descended the icy slope and the stream bed we climbed up in the afternoon light just a few hours before. Luckily I had brought my flashlight, which helped immensely on the rocky trail.

It must have taken us an hour after dark to get back to the car. We had a few falls, but luckily no one was hurt. The best feeling every was taking off our wet clothes and shoes when we got to the car and then eating the halves of our sandwiches we left from lunch. It was much more of a challenge than I ever expected, and we all performed very well. It was trying, but it was so much fun. We dropped Nathan off at the train stop and headed down the highway back home to a comfortable bed.

Feb 4, 2012

I drove up the Turnpike in the morning to the Meadowlands Convention in Secaucus and entered the giant building to a bunch of people hanging beer signs and getting their booths ready for the International Great Beer Expo. Despite the name it looked like it was going to be pretty awesome.

I found our people and we set up our table with New Jersey Craft Beer merch and info and just waited for people to come in. They opened the gates and people flooded in and I started making the rounds sampling beers and taking tons of photos.

There was so much to try I couldn't even try everything. I got some great shots and tried some really good beers. Otter Creek had an amazing coffee porter and Innis & Gunn's new Oak Barrel Aged Scottish Stout is fantastic.

I was drinking too fast and I had to go to my car and take a short nap to recover and slow down. I came back in for session number two and paced myself better. I was definitely in and out of drunkenness throughout the day. Two sessions is a really long time. One of my favorite beers of the day was a French beer called Gavinroche. It's a red ale. After the long day, we packed up the table and carried everything out to the cars and said farewell.

I had to wait for Alex to get home from a function so I went to the river walk in Hoboken and enjoyed the fresh air and the view of the city for a while until she called me.

I went back to her place and we talked for a while before I was ready to get to sleep. It was a great day. The people I met were really fun and I got to sample plenty of beer that I haven't had before.

Dec 27, 2011

Kate and I went up the Turnpike in the AM after the other two folks who were going to join us decided not to go. We went to Penn Station and into New York, heading for Jamba Juice immediately.

I formed a plan, but most of it was outdoors and it started to rain. I didn't have any backup ideas so we went to Strawberry Fields first and then ducked into a Starbucks to try to come up with something else to do.

We found a bar called Fontana's that only had one other patron and plenty of good beer to choose from. Kate forgot her ID so she could only try mine.

The Peak Organic IPA was amazing. The Fire Island Lighthouse Ale was also a really good beer from nearby. We stayed there for quite some time talking until we were hungry.

We made our way down the street to The Meatball Shop and had to stand, dripping, in the corner until at table opened for us. Even the few blocks' walk had us completely soaked. Dinner was amazing though. I got chicken meatballs over a plate of veggies with parmesan cream sauce. So good.

Another walk through the rain took us to Rice to Riches and we got a couple of flavors, including Eggnog. They were both great but very rich. We got the medium size, which was too much. We finished eating it on the train once we got back to Penn Station.

The drive home was long, but the day was a lot of fun despite the rainy weather. Kate didn't get to see the tree this time, but there's always next year.

Nov 5, 2011

Jimmy, Dave, and I met up and began our public transportation jamboree by driving to the train station in Woodcrest to catch the High Speed Line into Philly. The train was on a delayed schedule so I was getting worried that we wouldn't get there in time, but I recalled another bus stop we could catch by Independence Hall.

We got there with plenty of time since we didn't have to catch the subway so we hung out watching a group of monks chanting in a plea for freeing Tibet until the Megabus arrived on the corner. The ride was smooth until we got to Hoboken and hit stopped traffic to the tunnel.

Once finally inside the city we took the subway to meet Nathan and walked to a bar called the Ear Inn. It's one of the three oldest bars in the city. It's a quaint little place with a decent beer selection. We hung there and chatted for a while drinking our first beers and, when we realized wouldn't get a second anytime soon, we headed out to find other taps.

We found a bar around the corner that was a little more classy and a lot more empty. We grabbed some drinks and some food while we chatted with the bartenders and waitresses, all of whose first day or first week it was working there. We had a good time talking there.

When the time came we parted ways with Nate and made our way to the pier on Houston Street to stand in line for a while and then board our magical ferry. This was the little boat we got on, though I had no idea what to expect.

The cruise took a while to get started, but once we were on the river we sailed down the Hudson and around the Statue of Liberty, providing breathtaking views of the lower Manhattan skyline. It was amazingly beautiful. It was a little chilly out and the small deck for viewing got crowded with smokers but you could not beat the view. We sailed under the Brooklyn Bridge for another unbelievable sight and then up the East River. I want to go back just for this.

The reason we were on the boat was to see Less Than Jake perform Hello Rockview in its entirety while we cruised! We planned on drinking but the prices were a bit outrageous. I was also informed by the website that the show would be on an outer deck so we dressed in many layers to prepare. Instead we crammed into a plexiglassed-in lower room that was filled with sweaty drunks in overcoats. The show was great despite the overheating. They were on the same level with us so being tall helped see a little bit of the show where you mostly just had to enjoy the music and dance a bit.

They played a handful of extra songs at the end, seemingly at Roger's urging. Chris seemed a bit annoyed most of the show. It ended well and we had a good time. The boat docked and we found our way out and walked up Eighth Avenue to find some food. We grabbed some slices and ate them before catching the bus and riding home smoothly.

Next issue was they didn't drop off at the same bus stop so we had to get a taxi to our train and then wait to get back. It was such a long commute; next time definitely just paying for a parking garage.