News & Info – Page 22

June 3, 2012June 3, 2012

Home made 1/2 caf

For those of you that know me you know that I head to Starbucks for my morning fix. At my usual store they know me by name and before I even get to the counter my favorite baresta is ringing in my order. It’s kinda like an ever running episode of Cheers. In any event like so many other Starbucks bound people I just can’t order a plain cup of Joe. Mind you I not rattling off a laundry list of instructions that would baffle Nasa’s main frame, its simply a 1/2 cafe with pike.

As you also know, or have read from prior posts, I camp. Starbucks are uncommon enough out here in the sticks where we live and are very uncommon as you head deeper into the woods. On one camping trip I found one about five miles from the site and would make the trek each morning. But that camp grounds was the only exception to the rule.

Enter Via. I know all you purists will stop reading at this point but for the rest of you Via is not bad considering it’s instant coffee. Clearly it’s not the real deal, but in a pinch I’ll take it any day over the dreaded Dunkin Donuts (DD’s).

Here’s what you need for making a 1/2 caf. One packet of regular and one decaf. One zip lock bag, tea spoon, mug and some boiling water. I cut the tops off the packs as its easier to shake out the coffee into the bag. Zip it up and shake, take a little more that a tea spoon and put in mug, add water, enjoy. The remained of the coffee in the bag will make another cup.

What you’ll need.

Little more than a tea spoon.

Add water and enjoy.

The best story I heard about Via was from a UPS driver. Every day in the afternoon he likes to get a cup of coffee to help make it though the rest of his shift. Trouble is that the only coffee available was DD’s. The solution he found was quite easy. He order for him and his friend except he only get himself a cup of boiling water. While no one was watching he produce a Via from his pocket and add it to the water! Problem solved and apparently you can get decent coffee at DD’s if you try hard enough.

BTW. At full price a Via cup of coffee is 92 cents and 70 cents if you buy from Amazon. Not a bad deal for a cup of Joe.

June 2, 2012June 2, 2012

Marc Cohn Concert

Jess and I went to a Marc Cohn concert in Scituate MA tonight. As always he was great. Shane Fontaine accompanied Marc and he was equally as good. It amazes me that Shane’s playing can light up a smile on Marc after all these years of playing together. But then again Shane guitars are really an extension of his arms.

Likewise Marc’s stories and comments to the crowd can ever make the nearly always serious faces Fontaine crack, grin and occasionally laugh out loud!

Marc sang a nice variety of old and a few new/different songs for him and filled in the gaps with stories. He’s a great story teller and all his songs come with some interesting back fill.

Opening for Marc was Matt and Sam Chase. There a couple of brother from the area. It was a nice set and a good warn up act for Marc.

The venue was The River Club and even for Marc it was intimate space. We were in the third row as the first two were reserved but we had clear sight of the entire stage…..well almost. I’m not sure what they put in the water on the south shore but most of them are not height challenged. So we did a little jockeying side to side to see all. Marc even made mention of the fact that it was very intimate as he could see everyone. He said something along the lines off “this place is really intimate, you better be really fu$&ing into it as I can see you!. He got a good laugh out of that one. All in all it was great show and in case you still don’t know who Marc Cohn is have you ever heard; Walking in Memphis or True Companion?. Well now you know!

After the show we chatted with the Chase brother and picked up all four of there CD’s (2 each). So my parting word are, get off your iPods and go listen to good real live music. Support the groups then buy there music or download! Then repeat the process.

Marc and Shane.

Marc

Shane

Marc

The River Club

May 29, 2012May 29, 2012

Camping – Day 4

Up at the crack of dawn to break camp, pack, spend another 75 cents on a shower and hit the road.

Morning Day 4.

Holly.

Empty camp.

Breakfast in Bob’s Diner, Manchester VT.

Smack at the works Battleboro VT. Subu on the street.

Subu on the street.

French King Bridge ending photos.

May 28, 2012May 29, 2012

Camping – Day 3

Today started by convincing GMan that taking a shower is not only be a good idea, but as necessity as folks have started to stare at him!

He finally gave in and yet again I got great value out of some quarters. This time I treated myself and went for a 75 cent shower. In any event the GMan actually said he felt better after. Hmmm, why am I not surprised, three days of hanging in the woods and sitting in front of camp fires my guess is he lost weight while showering because of all the dirt he washed off!

We broke tradition and headed to civilization for breakfast. I figured since we were clean why not have breakfast out. Now Pountney VT is small but wouldn’t you know it they got a swanky shiny new Dunkin Donuts/gas station/convenient store. I can’t remember the last time I had coffee from one, but desperate times call for desperate measures. How bad can it be I though to myself as I ordered a tall….I mean small….cream and sugar she asked….hmmm, cream I said….well as usual it’s did not disappoint me….it’s was bad. A friend once said that Dunkin Donut coffee is sustainable….why you might ask? Well, it’s because they only ues one coffee bean per pot. The rest is dish water and food coloring! For the purpose of washing down my egg cheese bagel it worked.

The rest of the morning was spend hanging out at the beach. B and AMan left around one as AMan has homework due in Wednesday.

Morning Day 3. My mountain man look is coming in just fine.

Coffee…..I mean dirt anyone!

GMan and the swamp thing.

Fish anyone. No we didn’t catch it, more like found it on the beach.

GMan sizes up the fish.

Pardon me, do you know where a lad can get a decent cup of Joe around here?

Lost shoes.

The only gig in town serving anything on Memorial Day. The Stationon Depot Street (I think). The building was the original train station in the town. At this point it not clear where the track were. I wonder when it stopped running?

In any event it’s now a bakery and sandwich place. The bread was wonderfully and so was everything else.

After lunch we went exploring up a stream that lets out into Lake St. Catherine. We followed it for forty five minutes or so then turned back. I played with the AutoStitch app and below are some of the results. It was fun wading through the water and out LL Bean kayak boots really paid off. The water was very cold but our feet were nice and warn.

GMan wanted to go kayaking when we returned to camp. After yesterdays impromptu swim I was happy he wanted to go back out. He led the way and set the pace. It was very quite on the lake so no big waves other annoying wave runner noise. We paddles around for a bit and then I suggested try to stand up in our kayaks near the beach. It didn’t take long before we both fell out! We practiced self rescue while I failed at miserably. GMan on the other hand had no issue climbing back in his boat and padding away. After a few more shots we packed up and headed back to camp.

GMan on the lake.

Low light GMan.

The boys.

Low light Subu.

Low light us.

May 27, 2012June 1, 2012

Camping Day – 2

Say happy birthday to me! I’m not going to say exactly how old but let’s just say I’m fast approaching a 1/2 century!

Birthday cards from L and L. Thank you for the gift inside! It wasn’t the pop tart and apple, but that would be a neat trick.

Early morning view out our lean-to.

AMan gets the morning fire going.

Morning day 2.

B watching over the cooking activities.

AMan whipping up the batter.

GMan on coffee water patrol.

How to cure a fix in the woods. Simply empty content and add boiling water.

Where would we be without our iPhones. Its a sad state of affairs. However, I have not and will not check my email on this trip.

Yum, birthday pan cakes. Thanks to AMan for cooking.

The boys manning the grill. GMan did a fine job on the bacon.

Today activities were kayaking, kayaking and more kayaking. We packed up and headed to the beach. The intention was to make it all the way to the end of the Little Lake. Going was easy as the lake was smooth as glass. After a bit GMan and myself moved ahead of B and AMan. By the time we got to the public boar landing B was towing AMan. We took a short break and headed out again looking for a sandy beach to put in and have lunch. Unfortunately all the sandy beaches were private property or Di it would seem. I paddled ahead of GMan and could not find anything. At this point I even wanted to get out and stretch my legs! We spotted a possible landing and paddled over. As we got closer we could see a man cutting grass. I paddle along side and ask if he owned the land and if we could put in. He replied with, absolutely it’s public land, help yourself! Great we said and out we got. We were so happy we even helped the guy move the picnic tables back into the shade.

After lunch we messed around with th AutoStitch app on my phone. See the results below.

GMan under way.

Me and the GMan in the background.

GMan and me!

GMan picking the perfect worm.

AMan watching on.

B hanging out.

Our boat.

B catches a rear yellowboyfish.

Pano of Little Lake – 1

Pano of Little Lake – 2

We played around with AutoStitch were we each step in and back out then moved the camera and took another photo with another person and so. Nice effect and I’m impressed how the application dealt with the scene.

Another AutoStitch where we steps in and out of the scene and stood in the same spot.

In this shot we step in, took a shot, step out and another person stepped in but moved to the left.

B under way.

Subu on main street Pountney VT

Blogging in front of the camp fire. I’m sure there is a law against this somewhere but I don’t care! The trick with blogging here in way out there VT is to upload the photos with down town while sucking up the free wifi that the town provides. Pretty cool for a small town in VT but I’m can’t help but think if someone is watching everything that everyone is uploading, downloading and browsing?

Then when you get outside the wifi zone you add the text.

So the big news of the day is GMan’s wet exit. For those of you not familiar with kayaking that when you get out of your boat while in the middle of a body of water. In other words he fell out. The boat traffic builds as the day goes on and by the end of the afternoon the wave can be quite big. Not fast, but big rollers. At one second he was looking back at me giggling as he was having fun playing with the waves, but the next second he was upside down. Thanks to his PFD he popped right to the surface and started swimming to me. Now as a father I was concerned on many levels, but I knew if he got hold of my boat we’d both be swimming, and I didn’t wand his boat floating away. I asked him to swim to his boat and I’ll come to him. Mind you he only needed to go a few feet so I knew he’d be okay. I remember reading in a kayak book how to do a wet rescue so now I was putting it into practice.

I had him swim to the end of his boat and I grabbed the front and pulled it up and out of the water and flipped it right side up. I then pull the bow of his boat up on my combing and had him shimmy up on the of his boat.

At that point some nice locals showed up and offered to help and since he was 1/2 way up I figured I’d let him continue. He was so close but lost his balance and between the wash from the locals boat and another big wave I could now stop his boat from rotating and he fell in again.

Next attempt I encouraged him to stay closer to the boat as he shimmied up. This time it work and we all gave him a big cheer. He was a little upset but none the worse and we paddled on.

I told him he was the bravest boy on the lake and I’m very proud of him. I didn’t tell him we signed him up for a week of kayak camp where I’m sure he get in some not so dry time. BTW GMan said he wanted to go kayaking again tomorrow, but not so far! Cool stuff, get right back up on that horse.

The boys made me hobo cake for my b-day. More on that later.

Hobo pie.

Evening fire.

May 26, 2012May 27, 2012

Camping – Day 1

This is our 4th annual camping trip with our good friends BB and is son AMan. Every year we go somewhere different and this time its St. Catherine State Park in Pountney VT. We were a lillte late on booking and this one had all we needed. A lake for fishing, boating, swimming and kayaking. The drive up was uneventful but nice. Compared to last weekends trip this one was slow and meandering. We came out 2 up 91 to Brattleboro and west on 30. 30 is the kind of drive we’re you just want to pack it all in and more up here.

The rangers were very friendly and helpful, but it’s Vermont and folks are just nicer up here. This trip we are staying in a lean-to. This is living it up as far as I’m concerned. Typically we pitch tents but lately I’m feeling my near 1/2 century mark and decided that a hard surface was a better choice.

Our weekend home.

On the road out.

GMan whittling away.

What’s camping without a fire.

Coffee reflections.

Morning # 1.

GMan and AMan

Main street Poultney VT.

Kayaking, fishing and hanging out at the beach. All this before lunch!

Panoramic created on AutoStitch. Lake St. Catherine VT.

Speaking of lunch a small mouth bass jumped out of the water and into our boat, well not really, but that’s the story we told the locals who said bass were not in season yet……hmmm

Here’s the flying bass on the pan. She no fly no more!

GMan hunts for the perfect worm.

GMan on the famous leaning tree.

After the best 50 cents I spent this weekend for a shower we ended up at Big Apple Diner for dinner. It was no ordinary diner (stainless steel can with a counter and some booths). The building may have started out as something else and turned into a restaurant, well diner, well eating hole. In any event they had beer battered perch with choice of starch. I went with the mash and gravy. We endeared up with lots of batter, but it was good. My friend BB had the same and GMan and AMan (BB’s son). Had root beer floats as they ate hot dogs off the camp fire while I was peeling the dirt of myself.

It was a good meal and better first day. More tomorrow.

May 25, 2012

Going camping

We are going camping later today. Have to work first 😦

We are going to Lake St. Catherine State Park in Poultney VT.

Click here for more info.

May 19, 2012May 21, 2012

Paddlefest wrap up

We came we saw we left. This is a great place if you’re in the market for a new boat. The area is broken up in to two sections. 1. For $20 you can paddle anything on display and you get the twenty off any boat, SUP or canoe you buy, plus the discount that varies. 2. For $5 you get into an area wher you can view and sit in boats and they have a gear area.

This is where we went and there was lots to look at. I found a several boats that will allow me or my better 1/2 and the JMan to go paddling. The gear section was like the gift shop at the exit door of a museum. Only way out was through it! They had hundreds of shoes and a other items, including paddles, PFD’s water proof gear and clothing. We didn’t buy anything these as we were told the main store was in the road out if town.

Signage gone wrong!

Beautiful wooded canoe

The boys

Cool paddles

This one needs a little work

JMan searching for treasure

May 19, 2012May 19, 2012

Paddlefest 2012 – Update

My day got off to an early start. 4am or so I rolled over at that was that. I resisted the urge to grad my phone and start blogging but I finally gave in.

It didn’t help that the folks in the room below us were running the AC all night, or perhaps it was the heat. In any event I felt like I was trying to sleep in the motor compartment of an express locomotive at full throttle. Thanks for nothing! My guess is they come for even more upstate or perhaps southern Canada and never experienced electricity before. So the AC unit was a real novelty or they couldn’t figure out how to turn it off. Yo, pull its tail out of the wall that will kill the beast. Kinda like my favorite saying ” the issue is somewhere between the keyboard and chair, remove that and all will be right in the world”. BTW they turned it off at about the same time I decided to give up trying to fall back to sleep. It’s an occasions where you want to run into there room with a fog horn or better yet one of those cow bell people rattle at bicycle races, yelling and rattling. Ya, the cow bell would be odd enough so they think I was also a deranged local and this was common practice. All the while I would have a expression that said “this is our normal wake up call”……followed up with “my bad, wrong room”, go back to sleep now!

I hope the breakfast is better than the soundproofing. More later.

It’s later. This is the view from our in the early morning. It sure is nice.

Breakfast of champions. No really, I had some fruit and a bagel prior to the belly bomb. You gota love an in that has the 2012 can-am catalog on display. We are not in Kansas any more…well actually we could be! Here’s the proof.

Here’s the stack!

May 19, 2012May 19, 2012

Paddlefest 2012

GMan and I are going to Paddlefest 2012 in Old Forge NY. Where’s that you might ask….well head west on 90 for….ever, then take a right for Utica and head up 28 for a bit. You’ll get there eventually. The drive was fairly uneventful but fun. We stopped a few times for food, gas and bio breaks….and coffee.

Rest area somewhere on 90.

We saw Amish folks hard at work ploughing a field the old fashioned way. GMan was amazed. I reminded him that they don’t have cable, phones or iPods. He seems to lose interest at that point! I bought a 6 pack of the local brew, Saranac Adirondack Larger. It’s not bad, but not that good either, but I just wanted to wet my whistle, so I guess it worked.

View from our deck.

Okay, I’m jacked. More on Paddlefest tomorrow.