It was our Summer Saturday routine:
• Zoe to gymnastic
• Zack to his skateboarding clinic
• Both kids to swim lessong
But Cherie also went to a special, final bell choir practice. Then we went to the Zainos for a barbecue and swimming. OK, I went up after Cherie and the kids just for the barbecue. I stayed behind to try and figure out what demons haunt my primary home computer. No luck.
Sigh
I've created a new gallery of some of my best or favorite images for you to look at. Click on the thumbs above if you want to preview a couple of them here (yeah, I'm playing with Ajax and the Prototype JavaScript framework). Then proceed to the gallery and enjoy.
They finally did it: Param and Srivani finally got married. I've never seen Param so happy in the many years I've known him - and with good reason. Srivani is a gem and they are so joyful together. A big celebration with family in India will take place in December, but they had a wedding this week in San Francisco to assure no immigration or travel issues in December. Srivani's mom and their good friends Stephen and Solani threw a wonderful reception dinner last night at Voignierre and it was sublime.
Congratulations, you two. I know I look forward to your grand adventure together. Now, can Cherie and I talk the kids to spending Christmas in India...?
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We started travel midday on Tuesday, arriving in Philadelphia that night. We got up bright and early the next morning to drive out to Wyomissing, PA (near Reading) to visit Cherie's Aunt Elaine. Elaine is the youngest of the four Ackerly girls (Cherie's mom, Merle, being the third of four) and retired to Wyomissing about ten years ago after a career in New York City, working for Manufacturer's Hanover Trust. We had a lovely visit with Aunt Elaine, who I'd never met and - more importantly - had never met the kids. Unfortunately, we completely spaced and took no pictures! Doh!
Before leaving the Reading area, we hit up the local Whole Foods to stock up on things like almond milk, gluten-free bread and other food stuffs friendly to Zack's dietary needs as well as some snacks for the road. We were amazed to discover
the same Driscoll Farms organic strawberries grown in Watsonville that we reguarly eat cost half as much in Pennsylvania! Yeah, we have to travel 2500 miles to eat food grown 30 miles from us at half the price. Can you say "demand price elasticity"? I knew you could... We then hightailed it back across Pennsylvania and New Jersey toward New York City. Supposedly, this is a two and a half to three hour trip...and it was, until the last ten miles from roughly Newark (oh yeah, its still as beautiful as you all remember) where the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel took us two hours. You think San Francisco Bay Area (or even Los Angeles) traffic is bad? This was the reverse commute into the City. 
Eventually, we made it through and sped uptown to our tiny hotel on 71st, just off of Central Park West. Once ensconsed in our spacious 10 ft. square space, we ventured out and found a lovely neighborhood Italian restaurant - Il Bello Giaradano - that was kid friendly, high end food and reasonabley priced. We'd hoped to get in early enough to take the kids to the Empire State Building but it was too late and we were all pooped.
So Thursday was really our only New York City Day. After breakie, we headed ten blocks north to the Natural History Museum. Not surprisingly, Zack and Zoe were busy looking for all the things they expected to see from the movie A Night at the Museum most of which didn't exist. But we were all duly impressed by the dinosaurs, the amazing mineral collection, the full sized blue whale hanging from the ceiling!
Then we hit the D train uptown for the Bronx: 161st Station/Yankee Stadium. Cherie scored us tickets for $5 a piece the day Yankee's tickets went on sale. Sure they were the top tier, but they were right on top of first base and - as you can see - in a stadium built that vertical, you're right on top of the action. We had a great view and a great time. Somehow Zack, the only Yankee fan in the family, manage to seduce Zoe away from her Red Socks fandom (she became a fan when the Giants traded J.T. Snow to Boston) over to the dark side. It could have something to do with the fact that her parents put up a constant protest about having a Yankee fan in the house. It was a fantastic game - we arrived late, showing up in teh top of the second where the White Sox had already exacted some revenge from the previous day's drubbing by the Yankees by jumping to and 8-0 lead. But the boys in pinstripes quickly grabbed back six runs in the bottom of the second and had tied the game up by the bottome of the third. The Yankees would go on to win, but we hightailed it out of there before the end of the game, needing to get back across the Hudson River to head north to Cooperstown, New York.
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We got in to our motel on Lake Otsego, just outside Cooperstown, late last night and crawled into bed. We woke up to a real East Coast thunder and lighting show. Sure, we get those on occassion in California but their infrequent enough that neither of my kids have a memory of one. Of course, the kids sleep right through it waking up five minutes after its ended (sure, we try to wake 'em).
Cooperstown is a really cool little town - a village in the New England venacular- and would well be worth visiting even without the Baseball Hall of Fame. We found a frightfully cute little diner for breakfast (got the local's recommendation) and then headed down Main Street to the Hall.
The Baseball Hall of Fame is one really cool museum. I don't think you need to be a basebal fan to really enjoy it, though it is heaven if you are. Cooperstown is full of families with kids in the summer, not only visiting the Hall of Fame, but also participating in the numerous baseball camps held in Cooperstown in the summer. The kids go to camp, the families grab a cabin or motel on the Lake - its lovely. Of course, you see fans sporting the colors all over the place. Not just Major League teams but Minor Leagues, Pony and Little League teams. 
Heck, we even saw a pair of teams of men ranging from 30 to 77 who played "fantasy baseball" associated with the Baltimore Orieles.
Inside the Hall, we enjoyed seeing exhibits for Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson, Lou Gherig - Zoe particularly liked the Babe Ruth room. Zack and I had fun in the Negro Leagues Exhibit while Cherie loved the exhibits about the old stadiums and the Girls Professional Baseball League. Naturally, the Museum Shop was a de rigeur stop.
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Today's drive from western New York state to Vermont was gorgeous. Little towns like Van Hornesville, Starkville, and Mowhawk look like they came right out of a model shop - the perfect image of late 18th and early 19th century life in New England. We drove through the Adirondacks into the southwestern corner of Vermont and headed north to Lake Hortonia, near Sudbury (in the western portion of Vermont, near Ticonderoga, NY). It was a beautiful drive that took us through rolling hills, farms, Adirondack Park and Saratoga Springs.
When we arrived at Cousin Cheryl's house - Getaway Hill - on Lake Hortonia, this is the view that greeted us. To quote my friend Peter, this does not suck. Cheryl lives in nearby Orwell, VT and grew up spending her summers on Lake Hortonia. She'd thoughtfully prepared the house to greet us: fresh cut flowers, some ripe tomatoes and cucumbers from her garden, a six-pack of local beer and a chilled bottle of wine! Zack and ZClick on pictures to see an enlarged version and slideshow
Today's drive from western New York state to Vermont was gorgeous. Little towns like Van Hornesville, Starkville, and Mowhawk look like they came right out of a model shop - the perfect image of late 18th and early 19th century life in New England. We drove through the Adirondacks into the southwestern corner of Vermont and headed north to Lake Hortonia, near Sudbury (in the western portion of Vermont, near Ticonderoga, NY). It was a beautiful drive that took us through rolling hills, farms, Adirondack Park and Saratoga Springs.
When we arrived at Cousin Cheryl's house - Getaway Hill - on Lake Hortonia, this is the view that greeted us. To quote my friend Peter, this does not suck. Cheryl lives in nearby Orwell, VT and grew up spending her summers on Lake Hortonia. She'd thoughtfully prepared the house to greet us: fresh cut flowers, some ripe tomatoes and cucumbers from her garden, a six-pack of local beer and a chilled bottle of wine! Zack and Zoe were thrilled to find a basement playroom well stocked with toys (albeit for much younger kids, but they didn't care!).
After getting all our things settled at Getaway Hill, we headed over to Cousin Connie's farm, about a mile away. The dairy farm was originally owned by Connie's husband's grandfather, known to Cherie's family as Uncle Horton. Uncle Horton wassn't actually related but took good care of Cherie's mother and her sisters when they were young and visiting the lake each summer. The farm is really a dairy farm but Connie's passion is horses and she has about fourteen of them. She runs a 4-H program for second and third grade kids and her "old horses home" seems to work well for the horses, the kids and Connie who clearly loves the creatures. Frankly, I've never seen happier, more content equines in my life.
Connie was kind enough to take the kids each out for a trot around the farm grounds. As you can see, the kids were miserable and hated it. Connie is an absolute gem - a salt of the earth lady who has and infectious love of horses and a practical view of life. She's a Vermonter, through and through. We're looking forward to heading off to the Addison County Fair on Friday to see Connie run the Draught Horse Competition!
Tomorrow will be our first full day in Vermont. We'll head a mile up the road to Sudbury and go to services at the Congregational Church there. Its a small, two hundred year old church in classic New England style. Its a special place for Cherie's family - her grandparents were married there in 1915 and her cousin Cheryl is a staunch Congregant - well, ok, at least in the summer when its open. Many things aren't open during the Winter in Vermont because it is so darned cold (twenty below often, with Lake Hortonia freezing over with ice two the three feet thick). The joke about Vermont is that they have nine months of winter and three months of lousy sledding!oe were thrilled to find a basement playroom well stocked with toys (albeit for much younger kids, but they didn't care!).
After getting all our things settled at Getaway Hill, we headed over to Cousin Connie's farm, about a mile away. The dairy farm was originally owned by Connie's grandfather, known to Cherie's family as Uncle Horton, who isn't actually related but took good care of Cherie's mother and her sisters when they were young and visiting the lake each summer. The farm is really a dairy farm but Connie's passion is horses and she has about fourteen of them. She runs a 4-H program for second and third grade kids and her "old horses home" seems to work well for the horses, the kids and Connie who clearly loves the creatures. Frankly, I've never seen happier, more content equines in my life.
Connie was kind enough to take the kids each out for a trot around the farm grounds. As you can see, the kids were miserable and hated it. Connie is an absolute gem - a salt of the earth lady who has and infectious love of horses and a practical view of life. She's a Vermonter, through and through. We're looking forward to heading off to the Addison County Fair on Friday to see Connie run the Draught Horse Competition!
Tomorrow will be our first full day in Vermont. We'll head a mile up the road to Sudbury and go to services at the Congregational Church there. Its a small, two hundred year old church in classic New England style. Its a special place for Cherie's family - her grandparents were married there in 1915 and her cousin Cheryl is a staunch Congregant - well, ok, at least in the summer when its open. Many things aren't open during the Winter in Vermont because it is so darned cold (twenty below often, with Lake Hortonia freezing over with ice two the three feet thick). The joke about Vermont is that they have nine months of winter and three months of lousy sledding!
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Dateline: Sudbury, Vermont - Imagine if you will a picturesque little village nestled in the verdant green and rolling hills of Vermont; the white clapboard church, just celebrating its bicentennial year. The first floor is the town meeting hall, the second story is for worship and the tall steeple houses a good, old-fashioned bell you can hear for miles (and the lay minister let Zack and Zoe have the privilege of ringing it before the service).
This is one of the parts of our trip that Cherie's been most looking forward to - a visit to the church where her grandparents were married in 1915. We swelled the ranks of the congregation which had a modest attendance of 10 adults and 4 kids (including the four of us) - but we were welcomed as family. The Sudbury Church is a Congregationalist church, pretty adherent to the teachings of John Calvin, which means simple, plain and very conservative ('cuz you know, those Amish are too liberal!). I really enjoyed the service - Coming from a mainline protestant background that's a bit more "high church", the "roots" liturgy of a more orthodox American protestent tradition were a fascinating experience. 
Part worship service, part town hall meeting, part family gathering - Cherie and I enjoyed the experience immensely. At the service, we met Sarah Elizabeth, childhood friend of Cherie's mom during her summers on the lake. And Hester, the organist, who's been pumping out the hymns at Sudbury Church since God was a boy...or, at least since Cherie's grandparents got married there!
We spent the balance of our day down at the lake. As you can see, the kids had a miserable time. It was another gorgeous day with blue skies, puffy white clouds and low humidity. We're thankful for these two days of beautiful weather since the balance of the week promises to be normal New England during August: hot and humid or rainy. Tomorrow's the big day at Camp Hiawatha, the place Cherie's family has been coming for four generations on this lake, currently owned by Cherie's cousin Bill. We'll be having a small family reunion with Merle's sister Jean and husband Bill (in their late 80's), and all five of their kids...with a few assorted offspring from the youngest generation.
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Warning:The following entry may be deathly boring if you aren't family!
Today was another day for family - a reunion at Camp Hiawatha with Bill and Jean Baranard and their offspring. Jean is the oldest of the four Ackerley girls (Cherie's mom, Merle, is the second youngest - Elaine, who we visited in Pennsylvania, is the youngest) - 89 years young. 
She and her husband Bill live near Middlebury, Vermont and gathered all five of their kids at Camp Hiawatha for the afternoon. Bill Jr., the eldest and his wife Sue now have title to the long cherished family camp and they put a good spread for us and welcomed us warmly.
Bill Jr and Sue live in Vermont (near Montpelier) as does daughter Cheryl (Orwell) and son Jim (Middlebury). Daughter Brenda is living near Ashville, North Carolina and Nancy lives near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Nancy was accompanied by her husband Dave and one of their sons, Brian, who brought his girlfiend Mel. Brenda came with her daugher Brendyl, Brendyl's husband Brian and their four-month old son, Noah.
Bill Jr. is a professor of Ornithology up at Norwich University and quickly bonded with Zack, who loves animals and nature. Bill helped Zack identify eleven different kinds of birds before the two of them started attracting chipmunks to eat sunflower seeds out of their hands. Budding biologist Zack offered the observation that the little chippies have four toes on their front feet, five on the rear.
After lunch, a small subset of the gathering go for a toodle around the lake in Bill and Sue's ski boat, while the others lounge at the "Indian Council", a nice shelf on the slope where one can really enjoy the view of the lake. Down on the dock, Aunt Jean spontaneously decides its time for a dip, and the great-grandmother doffs her trousers and runs off the end of the dock and dives in (pretty admirable form on that dive for someone approaching ninety years on the planet).
In turn, Jean is joined by her daughters Brenda and Nancy who also dive in with their clothes on. I will spare them the forced public intimacy of posting the pictures on the web!
Zoe lost no time donning her sunsuit and running off the end of the dock with her noodle. She also absconded with Zack's playmate, Bill Jr. with whom she had great fun in the water.
It did take awhile to Zack to exhaust his interest in woodpeckers and chipmunks, but he eventually joined us in the lake, providing this classic image of summer.
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After a week of travel, sight-seeing, family reunions, etc., we opted to spend Tuesday as a completely "down" day. We relaxed by the lake and did little but laze in the sun, swim and read. It was hot, muggy and humid all day with a storm coming in for the night so the it really was the perfect plan for the day.
Wednesday, we decided, was our "tourist day", and we spent it toodling around mid-Vermont. I wanted to head over to Fort Ticonderoga, just a few miles away over Lake Champlain (can you say "Let's take the Ferry!"? I knew you could.) But wiser minds prevailed observing that kids who hadn't studied the Revolutionary War wouldn't find it anywhere near as interesting as their Dad. Good point. Instead, we headed north for Middlebury and the Morgan Horse Farm run by the University of Vermont. The Morgan Horse is the first American breed of horse, with the first actually born in Massachussets, but subsequently bred in Vermont. In fact, 80% of all Morgan horses today are descended from the horses at the Morgan Horse Farm in Middlebury (or so they informed us).
Cherie and Zoe, who are equine enthused, were head over heels for the Morgans. Zack and I really enjoyed them, too. Like the Arabian, the Morgan is a bit smaller than other horses because they have one less vertebrae in their spine. But they are a spirited and beautiful animal and I've never met a group of horses who had sweeter dispositions than those at this farm. Of course, as horse farms go, this one is pretty much a resort (maybe I wouldn't say that in January when its twenty below in Middlebury!). Cherie and Zoe bought seven raffle tickets for a fillie born in April named Priceless. If we win, I hope Cousin Connie is excited to add a Morgan to her herd.
After concluding our tour of the horse farm, we had lunch in Middlebury, and then headed south. By the way, Middlebury College is gorgeous - lots of stunning buildings made with local granite, all looking like that came from the 18th century. We headed toward Pittsford and toured the Vermont Maple Syrup Museum. The museum is a group diaromas and models showing the history of maple syrup and sugar production in Vermont - a so called "earnest endeavor to teach the history of sugaring in Vermont". In truth, its a really an excuse to get you into their elaborate gift shop. We had fun, and Zack in particular enjoyed seeing the big evaporator (it boils out the water from 40 gallons of sap to make a single gallon of syrup). I didn't exactly hate the maple sugar candy samples.
Finally, we went on a tour of covered bridges in the area, three of which I'm showing here. We also visited a place called Wilson Castle - a crazy farce of a building erected right after the civil war. Cherie liked it, I thought it was ugly. And since its my blog, no pictures! OK, I think its time for a nap in the hammock. Hope the rat race is treating all of you well.
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Today was hot. Humid. Sticky. There's a storm coming in tomorrow, so hopefully it will cool off and get less muggy when we head up to the Addison County Field Days.
So, not too much to report....just that we slept in and lazily made our way down to the lake. We tried to take a spin in Cheryl and Wayne's boat, but couldn't get the Evenrude to start. No worries, we just plopped on the shore and the kids fished all afternoon. They caught countless crappy, bass, perch and God knows what else. Of course, they didn't bait their own hooks. Dad did. Oh yeah... they burned through a tub of Canadian night crawlers and two tubs of dillies and I chopped each worm into two or three pieces (yum - with my thumbnail, no less). They had a grand time. Cherie and I had a grand time watching them.
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The Addison County Field Days and Fair - this was a trip hilight that we had been looking forward to. In a largely agricultural state, Addison County Field Days is the biggest agricultural event in Vermont, but it is a place where you feel like you've stepped back a century in time. This is a fair as you idealize it; as you romantically imagine it when you read Charlotte's Web. Cousin Connie was honchoing the draft horse competition, which was today, so that's why we chose this particular day to visit. Thankfully, it was an ideal weather day for it, too.
Cherie loves horses; Zoe's nuts for 'em. And after our visit to UVM's Morgan Horse farm, there's a topspin on that ardor. Zoe's particularly fond of Clydesdales because they have "furry feet", just like our dog Milo. Turns out, so do Shires and Belgians - so that was enough to make watching draft horses plenty o'fun. I particularly enjoyed watching the pulling competition. Before there were tractor pulls, draft horses were competing by pulling granite blocks. How do you think all those granite blocks in the Washington Monument made their way from Vermont to Washington, D.C.? Watching one ton of horse flesh pulling seven tons of dead weight was impressive.
Deep fried dough, deep fried oreos and cotton candy were, of course, all in evidence. Zack got to hand braid a rope and the kids rode ponies. We saw the exhibits of quilts, pies, jams, cakes and all that good stuff. We visited the cows, sheep and alpacas and watched a cow milking demonstration (it IS a dairy state, after all!). With the exception of the draft horse competitions, all of this is part of our own county fair which takes place just a few blocks from our house (San Mateo is quite the grarian county, all out on the coast). But the antique tractor exhibit and antique tractor pulls are something we don't get to see at home!
Of course, the kids loved the midway. They worked up their gumption and strapped themselves in to the bungee bouncer, which they really enjoyed. And Dad bought a Buddha...because that's what he does in Vermont. When you visit our home, will you be able to pick out which of the buddhas in our home is the Vermont Buddha?
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Saturday was all about travel - driving across Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts to get to Plymouth. The kids were troopers about it (thank goodness for the GameBoy!), and we broke the trip up by having lunch in the most picturesque little Vermont town, Woodstock (hint: the Mountain Creamery may be an ice cream parlour, but it serve up a good lunch!).
We also hit Sugarbush Farm along the way, a family run farm next to Taftsville that still has a sugaring operation and sells cheese made through a local cooperative. Sugarbush is just a family farm, nothing fancy and the sugaring shed is something you can explore the 48 weeks a year its not operating! But unlike going to a commercial sugaring operation or one the ubiquitous maple syrup museum/gift shop/etc. around Vermont, this is really just a family farm selling their cheese and syrup out of the house.
Not a lot of pictures of New Hampshire - it just felt like were driving the a forest the whole way through the state. It was beautiful, but not terribly picture-worthy.
Tomorrow: Plymouth and our trip back in time to 1620 as we visit the Plimoth Plantation and the replica of the Mayflower.
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Sunday was our chance to totally play tourist and head back in time with the pilgrim experience. We're in Plymouth, Massachusetts - famed in song and story as the first settlement in America. In truth, it wasn't - not only had the disastrous Roanoke and Jamestown settlements passed a decade earlier, but the English settlers at Plymouth found native Americans reeling from a recent devastation by bubonic plague brought to the by European fisherman and fur trappers in Maine.
The Plimoth Plantation is nice recreation of the original settlement, representing both the experience of Native Americans (the Wampanoag's) and the English settlers (half of whom were "The Puritans"). There is both a Wampanoag village and an English village to visit, each populated by actors who speak to you in character. The Wampanoags are actual native Americans from the local tribes. They speak to you in character, but both about life as a native in the 17th and in the 21st while the actors portraying the Pilgrims speak to you strictly as inhabitants of the 17th century. They're good actors, who are well read on history and provide a marvelous teaching experience. When you ask them difficult questions (like kidnapping and enslavement of natives), they give great answers and politely handle all manner of ignorant, difficult and rude tourists in surprisingly deft fashion!
We met our friends Mike, Betsy and Hannah Lee at the Plantation. Cherie and Mike worked together eons ago at Oracle - back when our computers were powered by dinosaurs on treadmills - and we've all been friends for a long time now. Mike and Betsy live in Wellesley, only about a half an hour from Plymouth. Hannah is the same age as Zack and the three munchkins enjoy each other's company immensely (Mike and Hannah were just out visiting with us over the 4th of July). So, it was not only a chance to do Plymouth and learn a lot, but have a leisurely and casual day with friends.
After completing our tour of Plimoth Plantation, we had lunch in town with the Lee's and said our good-byes until the next day - they had a late afternoon engagement and we were heading out to spend the day with them on Monday as well as go to the Red Sox game together. We then headed down to the waterfront and saw the rest of the whole touristy Plymouth experience. "The Rock", monuments Massasoit - the Wampanoag sachem or chief; the sarcophagus containing the remains of many of the settlers who made the original passage on the Mayflower; and, of course, the Mayflower II, the replica of the original ship built in 1957. As impactful as Plimoth Plantation is, touring the replica ship really drives home what the Pilgrim experience was. 100 passengers force below decks in a space barely five feet in height and no bigger than a living room for sixty-seven days. Oh joy. Zack ate it up with a spoon and spent a long time listening to and querying a sailor in character who discussed the folly of the Pilgrim's adventure from the perspective of a European non-settler. Zoe particularly enjoyed the part of the exhibit where she was interrogated by Wampanoag custom officials about whether or not she intended to practice slavery or had brought bubonic plague with her.
Tomorrow is our last day in New England. We'll spend it hanging out with the Lee's and then heading into Boston for a Red Sox game at Fenway!
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Fenway Park! All of us were excited about going to the Red Sox game, but Cherie and I were particularly excited. Fenway is a magic place - a ballpark only rivaled by Wrigley Field in Chicago for ambiance, history and that aura of baseball a hundred years ago (ok, Fenway was built in 1912). Zack wasn't quite as thrilled as we were, but he was still riding high on our visit at the begining of the trip to Yankee Stadium. Zack is a rabid Yankees fan - Zoe is our resident Bean Town booster (after all, our neighbor J.T. Snow spent last season there after a brilliant career with the Giants).
Mike and Hannah joined us for the game as our Boston locals and we went early to soak it all in. We walked all around the ballpark ahead of the game, enjoying the sites and smells of Yawkey Way, getting Red Sox paraphenalia and sausages from street vendors. Even Zack agreed to don a Red Sox cap for the evening and it didn't burn his little Yankee lovin' scalp.
Part of the magic of Fenway is that, even though they've added a jumbotron and neon lights, its a park that largely feels like it did when it was built in 1912. It's a small, brick ballpark with small, fold-down wooden seats. There's barely a women's bathroom to speak of since it wasn't proper for a lady to go to a ballgame back then - of course, that makes the experience less than ideal for women today! Food choices are simple: beer, soda, dogs and peanuts. Of course, you can get a Sam Adams beer which is a major plus.
Nowhere, even Yankee Stadium, presents fans as unified, passionate and vocal about their support for the team. Everyone, I mean everyone, is wearing Red Sox hats and shirts. This is a ballpark where people still enthusiastically do the wave. AND... in the middle of the eighth inning, for reasons not as compelling as the act itself, Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline is pumped through the loudspeakers and everyone sings along. It's unique to Boston and part of the charm. Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield provided a no-hitter for seven innings and an exciting victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. We had a great time and it was a fantastic end to a wonderful trip. Tomorrow... we head for home, so this will be the last vacation blog entry.
Half Moon Bay, California - The tribe congregated at Pastorino's farm for the grand celebration of Zoe's sixth birthday. True to form, Zoe orchestrated a unique theme: A Pony Luau Party. Our little wahini wanted a wiki whacky luau with grass skirts and leighs. And what goes better with a luau than riding ponies? Well nothing, of course. Fortunately our friends and Pastorino's were only too happy to accomodate by providing the pony's, a space for the party and even arranged for a jumpy. Who knew we'd get a hayride thrown in, to boot?
Zoe and her friends had a great time riding the ponies, decorating flip flop sandals, wearing grass skirts and leighs and the general mayhem of the jumpy. Katherine made another incredible cake - a beachfront scene with palm trees and grass huts (the three boys got to eat the huts (including a gluten and dairy free hut for Zack). And each of the girls got a hula girl doll with a cupcake grass skirt. They were yummy, too.
Happy Birthday, Princess Monkeytoes!
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Zack loves baseball and opts to play Fall Baseball rather than soccer. This is fine with us, particularly since the Fall baseball league run by Say Baseball is a much more low key affair than Spring baseball through Little League. Don't get me wrong: San Mateo Little League American is fantastic organization. It provides a well run baseball league and the kids have a fantastic time (did I mention that Zack's team won the AAA city championship this year?!), but Fall ball is a really relaxed affair with few practices, and no score keeping. It provides an opportunity for kids to play ball for the fun of it, work on their skills in the off-season, and even try out a position that they might not get a chance to play in Little League. It also means that kids from Zack's class at school can play together since they're spread across four towns, each of whose Little Leagues require their town's residence for kids to play. This year, Cherie signed up to manage the team (Whoo woo for the coach!) and yesterday was the first game.
Home field for the Demons is Trinta Field, our local Little League venue and a great park. We had a nice fair and warm morning for our 9 a.m. start against the San Carlos Tornadoes. The fields were a little wet since someone needs to let the San Mateo Parks Department know they shouldn't run the sprinklers before a 9 a.m. game! Since score isn't kept during these games, I can't relay the particulars - let's just say the nine and ten year olds on the Demons more than met their match with the eleven and twelve year olds who populated the Tornadoes. Michael Spence opened on the mound and had to weather some rough error prone play from the rest of the defense who were clearly working through "first game roughness." Wyatt Welch and Adam Janscek pitched very well, with each earning four strike outs in two innings pitched. Ted Catlin got two hits in the effort and there was a some nice plays - check out the pics! I'll try to post more through the seaon since I'm trying to get enough good shots of each kids to make them their own baseball cards again this season.
More pictures available on my Flickr page.
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Today found the Demons with another early start at Trinta Field, where the sun was low and warm on the horizon. Verun B. took the mound to start the game against the Redwood City Blue Devils (ok, we have no idea what their name was - they were from Redwood City, they were wearing blue (high end uniforms, too!). Despite assurances from the San Mateo Parks Department that there'd be an abatement on early Saturday morning sprinklers, the field was a muddy mess but the boys and coaches valiently took the field. Verun K. surprised everyone in his first start - his very first start, EVER - by fanning three of four batters at the top of their line-up! Unfortunately, the Demons' bats weren't hot this morning - the boys are getting a trip to the batting cage this week!
Despite the lack of offensive luster, both Zack and Ted (the team rabbits) found themselves on base a couple of times with Wyatt and Sam getting a couple of impressive smacks on the ball. Sam looked impressive behind the plate and at shortstop. Wyatt, Miles, and Zack each had good inning as relief pitchers. Adam and Verun B. both struggled with a rough innings and each showed tremendous poise working through their innings.
Saturday found the Demons travelling to Shelby Lane School's field in Atherton and it was a gorgeous, sunny morning. The Shelby Lane School's field has an homage to AT&T park with a "McCovey Grove" behind right field. We arrived to find the coaches from the opposing team mowing the infield lawn with their own power mowers - they proved to be a great group of families and one of the most fun teams we've had the chance to play.
Both Jaxon and Austin had missed the last two games and their return heralded the best and most cohesive play of the season. In SAY baseball, you're not supposed to keep score - but if we had, the boys would have told you this game was their first victory of the season. Jaxon opened on the mound for the demons and pitched a strong opener. It was a bit of a wild game with four Demons - Wyatt, Verun, Zack and Michael - all getting beaned. We returned the favor (unintentionally) by beaning two of their guys. Fortunately, kids and coaches alike all realized that's a hazard of play at this age.
The Demons managed to manufacture seven runs, six of them in one inning (innings automatically end when a team scores six runs in that inning). There were a good number of strikeouts earned by Jaxon, Wyatt and Adam but they had good fielding backing them up. The middle infielders (Branden and Verun in particular) did a great job, with Wyatt and Zack helping out their own efforts on the mound by fielding some outs, too. As usual Sam looked stellar behind the plate and whapped out a pair of doubles. The combo of Wyatt pitching and Sam catching is formidable as well, but Wyatt also showed why he starts as catcher in the Spring. The home team rallied late in the fifth, and their fans enthusiastically supported their drive which was halted by a drive to the mound fielded by Zack and put away by Sam.
Its that time of year: the annual Fall visit to the pumpkin patch. San Mateo is just a stone's throw away from Half Moon Bay, which is one of the prime pumpkin growing areas in the country. Naturally there are many, many farms that transform themselves into pumpkin patch destinations for families in October. They range from the big, obnoxious places like Lemo's right on the main highway into Half Moon Bay all the way down to numerous smaller farms. Nearly all of them are family run, small farms who make a good deal of their income in the month of October providing color backdrops for family pictures, lovely squash and gourds for the Thanksgiving table and a pony ride or two. Oh yeah....and gazillions of pumpkins of every variety for sale.
The visit to the pumpkin patch is something I look forward to, and this year with some particular poignancy. With Zoe being six, its the last year we'll go with the kids' school. We also missed our nearly ritual trip with our friends the Joswiaks, who live in Half Moon Bay. We usually go to their friend and neighbor Farmer John's (yep, honest to God, Farmer John) field off the coast highway. So it was with some consternation that Cherie and I became aware of the rather steady and voluminous rainfall that began at 5 a.m. this morning. By the time I drove Zack into school at 8 a.m. it was a drizzle, but not looking good. The kindergarten teacher said, "We're going, rain or shine" and it turned out to be a good plan as the rain did abait. It was a bit muddy, but kids don't melt like sugar cubes in the rain.
A good time was had by all. They ran through (and ditched the parents in) the hay bale labyrinth. Ponies and the toy train were ridden. Goats, sheep and other livestock were touched. Pumpkins were selected and taken home. Life is good.
A casual reader of this blog knows by know that I'm an avid amateur photographer. Not surprisingly, I'm far more comfortable behind the lens than in front of it. Cherie and I decided it was time for a family portrait. You can see the dilemna.
Fortunately, we know a great portrait photographer. Actually, I should say we're friends with a great portrait photographer because the magic of portrait photography isn't in the lighting or posing but in the rapport between photographer and subject. So we asked Jennifer Hogan to arrange a "sitting" and boy were we happy with the results. Between the facts that Jen is a talented artist and storyteller and that she knows all of us (and we feel quite comfortable with her), we just had a great late afternoon together on the wood chip path along San Franciscito Creek. She was also using a Hasselblad H1 with a Leaf back, which made it geeky photog fun for me. Thanks, Jen. We've never looked better.
An 8 a.m. start meant the ballplayers had to be at Lakeside Field on 7:15 a.m.. Groggy coaches and ballplayers found a field in delightfully good condition (San Mateo National doesn't flood their fields on Saturday mornings!) with perfect weather. Matched against a similarly capable Hillsborough team, the Demons found a great day for play, with hot bats but some spotty defensive play.
This week saw the return of Wesley, who'd been competing the last few weeks in a Soap Box Derby (he came in third!). Wes heralded his return to the field by turning two double-plays - one of them solo! Wyatt pitched a very strong inning where he struck out two and fielded the inning's only put out, helping his cause in typical Wyatt Welch fashion. Jaxon, Miles and Michael all took turns on the mound as well. Hot bats all around with hits coming from almost all the team, including a pair of doubles from Sam and Wyatt. Miles showed his hockey goalie instincts at third where he was tested with several line drives, but none got past him. If we'd been keeping score, the game probably would have been about 13-12. Donuts were a hit after the game!
With Halloween nearly upon us, I thought it might be fun to have a little look back at some of the Halloween critters Zack and Zoe have become in years past. Teddy bears, valiant knights, unicorns, poodles, inter-galactic bounty hunters... a varitable pantheon of characters. Fun stuff.... make sure to brush after viewing - its cavity inducing stuff.
This weekend was the wedding of my cousin Richard and his fiancé Sherri. Sherri is a really cool lady and she totally completes Richard. Rich is a very down to earth, very grounded guy - pragmatic, hard-working and as about as earnest a man as you'd ever want to know. He's been working with practical applications of alternative energy, wind and solar, ever since college and has a great love of the outdoors. Sherri sets Richard a little off-balance, in a very nice way. Sherri is a very intelligent, warm person with a heart so kind her eyes twinkle. She's a book buyer for Vroman's, the quintessnetial independent bookstore in Pasadena. Together, Sherri and Richard have become known as the perfect hosts, offering up casually elegant dinners and comraderie that have become the envy of my family (which appreciates being entertained).
Cherie and I packed up the kids and headed south where we joined my sister Ginny and her daughters Kelly (18) and Jessie (15) at my parents' home. It was good to see the whole famdamily, particularly "Brother" John (Rich's brother), "Uncle" John and Jenny (Rich's uncle and aunt), and the whole retinue of my cousins and their kids. Bringing the youngest generation together always is a happy thing, particularly for the aged ancestors in the family (that would currently be my parents' generation), and this weekend held much anticipation for them. It didn't disappoint.
Saturday evening was the wedding and reception, for about a hundred guests. Typical of Sherri and Rich it was simply elegant, traditional and low-key. On Sunday morning, my parents hosted a very casual brunch for the family in their backyard which included not only the bride and groom (before they headed off to Spain on their honeymoon) but Sherri's folks as well, which was great as they're really lovely people.
One really neat surprise at the wedding at was the music. I noticed a couple of guys who looked to be in their early sixties playing amplified accousitc guitar before the ceremony - it was some lovely slack-key Hawaiian interpretations of old rock songs. Turns out it was Paul Johnson and Gil Orr, famed surf guitarists (The Surfaris and the Chantays), who play as The Duotones. At the reception, they went electric, just the two of them with no bass and drums. If you're not a fan or, or aren't familiar with the surf guitar sound of bands like The Ventures, Dick Dale and the Deltones or The Surfaris, they were the roots music for guys like the Beach Boys. This is music that really showcases the beauty of the solid body electric guitar. These guys were great, and brought things full circle for me since it was Richard who introduced me to the already bygone genre when I was about 15 via The Ventures.
It's been a busy Halloween and I apologize for not getting these posted earlier, but this evening's Trick-or-Treating festivities in San Mateo Park were quite an adventure again this year. The morning started off with the Kindergarten's presentation: twenty-two adorable urchins presenting Halloween poems and songs before parading around the school to the delight of parents and the older students alike (the middle school students were literally hanging out the library window cheering on the little ones - so cool).
Amidst the sea of princesses, cheerleaders and storybook characters Zoe stuck out like a duck. I mean literally because, once again, she decided to be a duck. She asked Mommy to put more duck fat into the costume for her this year. Typical Zoe, she carried it off with her whacky charm. The Lower School (grades 1-4) held their parade in the afternoon, so it was back to school for more merriment to watch Zack and his friends do their own thing. There were a LOT of delightfully creative costumes. For my money, Adam wins for the best Elvis impression.
Finally, this evening we went to the Jancsek's for the now traditional dinner and trick-or-treating in San Mateo Park. That neighborhood is over the top when it comes to trick or treating. Its an affluent neighborhood where some families give out full sized candy bars, and others spend thousands of dollars really doing up their houses in all manner of spooky or Halloween themes. There are at least five you can count on every year to be very grand. And, boy, is it packed! Why are other neighborhoods mid-Peninsula empty on Halloween? Because everyone's on Costa Rica Ave. in San Mateo! Fun was had by all...way to much candy....and now Papa's got to go to bed because he's exhausted! Happy Halloween everyone.
Things heard around Hammerland these days:
Click on the photos above for a slide show - click on the left side of the picture for the PREVIOUS image, on the right side for NEXT (or use the arrow keys).
Princess Monkeytoes took another step down the "growing up" path last night when she participated in her first gymnastics competition: "Crazy Cartwheels." In truth, Crazy Cartwheels is not a really a gymnastics competition, but an opportunity for younger pre-competition gymnasts to start acclimating to the experience of a gymnastics competition.
Zoe takes gymnastics instruction at Peninsula Gymnastics which is a serious gym with competitive teams who do very well at the state and regional levels. But Zoe is just at the "Pre-Team" level at this point - meaning more serious than the "recreational" program, but she hasn't been yet descended upon by the Russians (yep, its a Russian and Ukrainian dominated faculty). And the "routines" she's doing at this point pretty much consist of a mount, dismount, salute and maybe something basic in the middle. But they're learning the form along with a lot of strength and basics skill development. Oh, did I mention that the lil' monkey really loves it?
A big shout out to Katherine for give Zoe amazing French braids in her hair. Preparing the kids for the whole competition thing, they got competitive leotards (two sizes too small by design; underwear is a no-no), and have to have their hair completely secured. How Katherine managed to get four rows of French braid AND enough in the back for a bun, is beyond me. But Zoe was quite proud of her braids, and is going to see if she can keep them all week.
The "competition" was a bit of a zoo...probably like real competitions. It was chaotic, stressful, loud. And Zoe was champ. Clearly nervous, she was focused. All the little girls were adorable and little champions. It was hard getting decent pictures, but these were the best I could produce. Enjoy.
Zoe was singing a song about Pilgrim's that her kindergarten class had learned for Thanksgiving. The following conversation ensued:
Daddy: Zoe, who were the Pilgrims?
Zoe: They were the first Europeans to come to America.
Daddy: Why did they come here?
Zoe: To practice their religion.
Daddy: Why?
Zoe: Because they were thrown in jail in England!
Daddy: What was it like when they got here?
Zoe: Awful! It was cold, no food and they had to work hard. Real hard, because the sailors didn't do anything.
Daddy: Really, what were the sailors doing while the Pilgrims worked?
Zoe: Drinking beer.
We got the tree up and decorated this week. Its generally a three to four day affair to get it up and fully decorated with a similar process on the back-end. Admittedly, a good deal of the process is the carting in and unpacking of all the other Christmas accoutrements - the nutcrackers, garlands, candles, wreaths, Christmas books, Santa hats for all the statuary - that turn our house into a very festive Christmas destination. The kids thought you might want to take a peak.
Today was a "Spirit Day" at Zack and Zoe's school. This means they can opt to dress up in something other than their uniform. Today, that meant they could dress up festively for Christmas - as an elf, a candy cane, etc. In years past, Zack has been an elf...very cute. Today, he opted for a young Kris Kringle, sans beard (planned too late to find one!). The Hefty bag's a nice touch, don't you think?
Poor little Zoe is home with the stomach flu today. Lady and the Tramp and The Jungle Book have found their way into the rotation today in a medicinal application.
Click on the photos above for a slide show - click on the left side of the picture for the PREVIOUS image, on the right side for NEXT (or use the arrow keys).
It's Zack's 10th birthday today. Its hard to believe we've had this amazing kid for ten years already - what a blast it has been. Since his birthday falls so closse to Christmas, we try to make it a distinct and seperate event with all the attention focused on the lad. He asked for steak for dinner, and got it. He was thrilled to get some books he really wanted and two fantastic Lego sets from his Uncle Peter that he'd been lusting for.
Zack we love you and thank God every day to be blessed with you. Enjoy your day!
Zack has been participating in competitive chess at his school through Know Chess!, a local instructional program throughout the Bay Area. Zack's been learning a lot and gotten very good at chess. He's risen through the ranks to the top standing at his school, as most kids who stick with it do as those above them move on to other activities. Being top ranked isn't such an acheivement, but earning your 500 point trophy is! You earn your points by playing games (3 pts for a victory, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss). Zack earned his trophy before Christmas, but just received it today.
Where are we supposed to put this thing?
