#52 Boston - Are we in Italy? June 1 2006

Greetings from Atlanta, Georgia! I just landed here a short while ago, and while waiting for my hotel room to become available, I thought I bother you a little bit. I have quite a weekend to report and boast about, and despite the enticing title, my adventure did not take place in Europe.

Franconia, New Hampshire, is where we ended up, we being Steph and I. After a somewhat wild and crazy car ride our dynamic duo had joined Rick and Phoebe up in the White Mountains, and we had serious plans for hiking.Serious with a capital S. Balance sheet for the weekend: five 4000-footers, one mountain of lesser height, and (for me only) six miles of running. Needless to say come Monday morning, my whole body consisted of lead, and it would have taken major earthmoving equipment or an industrial-size crane to lift me from the couch, but you know what, I had fun!

First a little bit about the obsession with climbing all these mountains - there are 48 4000-footers in New Hampshire, and it has been the goal of many to become members of the 4000-Footer Club of the AMC (http://www.amc4000footer.org/) - formed in 1957 to get hikers interested in some less well-known sections of the Whites. In order to become a member you must climb on foot to and from the summit of each of the 48 peaks, in winter you can use snow shoes, I believe. With this past weekend I am to 12, not too shabby.....

This major peak-bagging adventure started off on Friday morning with a trip to the Hancocks, North and South, two distinct mountains right off the Kancamagus (pronounced "kanga mangas) Scenic Byway, a 26.5-mile stretch of roadway and one of the most picturesque rides in the White Mountains. Of all the hiking we did this weekend, this first day was probably the most difficult, as the mileage was the longest, and the elevation gain all happened in the last 3/4 of a mile. I guess the fact that the guide book called it "unrelentingly steep" should have been a warning. Stupidly enough I was wearing my winter hiking pants that day (bad bad idea) and was sweating like a hog all the way up the mountain. The views were spectacular (http://hikethewhites.com/hancock.html) and so was our mood. My altitude-craziness continued and Rick and Steph are now convinced that I do indeed need a hearing aid (in addition to having my head examined). When Stephanie posed the question of the day "Are we middle-aged?", I heard "Are we in Italy?" which honestly is the question I would prefer to answer. At some point I threatened to throw my hiking poles over the edge, and Steph asked if I had mumbled about cliffs in Rome - so you can see that I was not alone in my confused state of mind. No wonder no one wants to go hiking with us any more, we seemed like genuine nutcases out there..... ("There's that toad again, Steph! Quick!)

Stephanie, the good girl, fit right in and joined our quest to identify anything horticultural and we came up with an impressive list that included Trillium, Bluets, Hobblebush, Tamarack, and also some cool animals like the Blue Azure butterfly and a grouse (which Phoebe appreciated very much).


Upon returning home the real fun started, since a certain someone had forgotten some very essential pieces of clothing of the undergarment variety, and the group spent Friday night going to Wal-Mart and browse the delicates section. Boston Friends, see what you are missing?

Saturday was a power day for me, my marathon training plan required that I run 6 miles that day, so around 7 AM, I lugged my tired self downstairs to the treadmill and started going at it. Steph and Rick meanwhile lazied around having a leisurely breakfast while I slaved away during 2 1/2 episodes of Dharma and Greg. The minute I was done I was handed a banana and a dry English muffin, and chased out of the house and up the mountain. This time our exploits took us to Crawford Notch, and Mt Tom (http://hikethewhites.com/tom.html) and Mt Field (http://hikethewhites.com/field.html), two more 4000-footers, which even on a clear day don't provide much of a vista as their summits are very wooded, but that day it was fog city all the way. It actually made the woods look mysterious in a "Lord of the Rings" kinda way, which we enjoyed very much. And just for the heck of it, we did add Mt Avalon (3442), which on this day provided the only good view and made it even more worthwhile. This effort deserved some definite rewards and the three of us headed straight for the Seafood and Dairy Place in Franconia, where I learned all about waffle bowls and the 5 million calories contained in them.

Highlights of the Day:
We saw a Red Fox on the top of Mount Field!!
I tried to burn the house down with an English Muffin and also exploded some egg whites, both in the microwave, so I am now no longer allowed near major appliances in Rick's place.
A strange story told by a fellow hiker and librarian, something about librarians covered in bubbles (don't ask)
We almost lost Rick on the top of Mt Tom when we ran into an almost-all female contingent of the AMC 40+ group, but managed to hold onto him, promising a home-cooked meal and grapes......

Monday we joined our friend Kimball and his merry band of European hikers up mountain number 5, Mount Moosilauke, 4802 ft (http://hikethewhites.com/moosilauke.html) - its name stems from the Native American word for "bald place". The Appalachian Trail passes right across the mountain and it was a most gorgeous day with stunning views all around, and some excitement over a glider that kept circling the mountain. A botanical highlight was provided by the Purple Trillium, also known as the Stinking Benjamin, and the day was topped off with a visit to the Conehead Ice Cream shop in North Woodstock, which has fantastic flavors such as "deer tracks" and "peanut butter Iditarod".

No hike is complete (at least when Steph and I are around) without a good amount of sarcasm and judgmental behavior and boy did we have fun. Of course, being the experienced hikers we are, we made fun of everyone, in particular what we call "the sneaker people" , but you have to forgive us for that, because WE ARE INSANE. Mountain Madness! Fuel to our fire was added by the Northern New Hampshire radio station, WHOM, which unfortunately features a show by and with John Tesh (of all people) called "Intelligence for Life" or as Steph called it "Trivia for Morons". She started feeling quite homicidal after listening to his disgustingly shameless self promotion. Well, we learned that "humming clears your sinuses, that it is good to be germophobic and that putting up family photos next to your computer reduces stress". No comment. Really.

Monday, due to my complete exhaustion ande utter loss of motivation, we laid low, with only a brief visit to the Sugar Hill Sampler (http://www.sugarhillsampler.com/) and the Robert Frost Museum (http://www.frostplace.org/), a most wonderful outing, where you can walk through the woods, read poetry and collect ticks on your legs.

All in all, I had a fabulous time - Rick, Steph and I were great hiking companions, similar pace, and same wicked sense of humor. At times I laughed so hard, my stomach hurt and I had to stop hiking. That is happiness for me!!

So, I have to go check in, run a few miles on the treadmill and then head to a meeting - I hope this email finds you well. Go out and hike, laugh and whatever else makes you happy.

Love ya.

Pet:)

#51 Boston - Weeding, Hammering and Lawn Mowing

Greetings Fellow Earthlings! Ella, the spaceship has landed on the foreign planet of Franconia, NH far far away from the galaxy of Boston. Stephanie and I headed out in my little blue space pod as soon as we could manage, and Thursday right before a long weekend seemed as good a time as any. Steph has finally calmed down after experiencing some bouts of overexcitement from the mere sight of trees. And the sun, of course, she says, "don't forget the sun!" The car ride up here was spent playing "Life Stories of Fellow Travelers" - featuring Gregg, the burly Saturn Driver, with his white trash girlfriend Kimberley (he lives in a basement at his parents' house, watching WWF and boxing matches on his big screen TV surrounded by his collection of Budweiser mirrors). Other celebrities from the road included Chuck, the peace-loving, hard-riding, pot-smoking New Hampshire mountain hermit (a very kind man, as his neighbors have said) and the love of his life, his 20-year old Labrador retriever, Daisy Babe, and of course Lin, the regional manager for SconicCare electric tooth brushes, who due to a recent episode of major dental care burnout has now joined a cult and listens to enlightening tapes of Guru Rajadan while driving her hybrid car to NH, hoping to find herself in nature yet looking stylish while doing so.

Currently Rick is sitting on the sofa buried in maps trying to figure out how many 4000-footers we could possibly do this weekend - the number seven was mentioned, which means I could take the rest of the year off and really do nothing (my goal was to do at least 10). I'll keep you posted. The next update might come from a beach in Mexico or my couch. Anything can happen, the year is young.

But before I dive too much into this weekend, let's see what happened last week - for once I spend my time in and around Boston (more or less). My hiking buddies all left town, and so it was up to me to make the magic happen. Saturday morning, armed with a good dose of motivation, I headed for a little hike with my friends from the Appalachian Mountain Club, the AMC (http://www.outdoors.org/). The destination was Breakheart Reservation in Saugus (about 11 miles north of the hub), a 640 -acre parcel of forest and hiking trails, with some nice rocky hills and a couple of lakes thrown in (the Silver and Pearce Lakes) (http://www.saugus.net/Photos/images/bheart_first_lake.jpg). A most pleasurable hike, with some old familiar faces, and maybe too little time to stop and check out the botany. Our trip leader seemed a bit in a rush, and ended up slipping into a creek first thing, which delighted the group to no end.

From there I was off to the lovely Northshore seaside community of Nahant - its name is actually a Native American word meaning "Almost an Island" (see enclosed picture). It is a lovely little spot, a rocky peninsula looking out into Massachusetts Bay. I think folks there might be a little off kilter, I just read that apparently every New Year's a whole pile of crackpots heads down to the beach and dives into the icy waters of the Bay. As much as I like winter, the thought would just not occur to me. Especially on New Year's Day, when us normal people have a hangover to nurse, right? Anyway, I went there to see Stephanie and go for a lovely walk out to the Harbor - we just needed to inhale every little morsel of sunshine we could get that day. It has not been raining that much anymore, which is a good thing. It's late May for crying out loud and about a week-and-a-half ago it snowed on Mt Washington (check it out: http://www.mountwashington.org). Just a couple of days ago it was 15 degrees up there and the observatory was completely snowed in. It has warmed up a bit (actually 83 today in Franconia), which makes us hope that maybe summer will come after all.

Next Stop Charlestown, for a smooth cup of tea and half a box of chocolates at Elaine's house, and that did it - time to call it a busy day. Sunday was awaiting and with it, manual labor!! I had volunteered though Boston Cares to help out at Community Boating (http://www.community-boating.org/), a wonderful nonprofit that teaches sailing, located right along the Charles River. After mowing the entire lawn in front of the main building, it was time to head out to the docks and hammer - apparently the nails decide to pop up after Boston's frigid winter temperatures and our exciting task was to pound them back into the dock. Fun!! Well, it was a wee bit tedious, but the team was rewarded with hot dogs fresh off the grill afterward, and a sail on the Charles which I sadly had to decline. It was a tad too choppy for my sea-unworthy self, better stay put and not get green in the face.

Well, now I was on a roll and headed home for some serious weeding. The walkway on the side of my palace was quite overgrown, and also featured some unsightly piles of dead leaves, trash that people decided to throw over the fence, and a defunct kitchen sink. Well, you should see it now, it sparkles! Dead leaves - gone, weeds -gone, kitchen sink - gone. It is a beauty and ready for some planters and a comfy chair right next to the BBQ. Good plan.

In other good news, this is week 1 of Petra's marathon training - I have signed up for the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon in Toronto on September 24th - my first full marathon, and this week was the start of training. Monday -rest, Tuesday 3 miles, Wednesday - 3 Miles, Thursday -3 miles, Friday - rest, Saturday - 6 miles and Sunday Cross Training. I am scared and excited at the same time, but have the support of two running groups and even some of my couch-loving friends. Stay tuned for updates from the road. (http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/)

That is all I have to say for this week, next Thursday or so I will be hailing from the city of Atlanta, Georgia, where I will be attending ASCO, the annual conference of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, me and 30,000 of my closest oncologist colleagues. A zoo as usual, but also a good place to network.

It is getting seriously close to midnight and it is time to hit the hay my friends. Enjoy the long weekend, get out there and seek the sun!

pet:)

#50 Boston - Stuck in a Basement

I was honestly convinced last Saturday that I would have nothing to write to you. Nothing. It had been raining steadily for a week or two, or God knows how long, and it showed no sign of letting up. My plan for the weekly write-up was to send you guys a summary of the three dozen movies I was going to watch, while the grim skies settled comfortably over Boston and kept everyone indoors. Hah! That was not how things panned out.

Saturday was indeed a day for the movies, a little shopping, a comfy visit from Elaine, that kinda stuff. Come Sunday morning I was stir-crazy as can be, Cambridge Cabin Fever had consumed my sorry little self and so, in an act of sheer desperation I decided to pull myself off the couch and head for the Museum of Fine Arts. As you might have guessed by now, Mother Nature had other plans. After chatting with my friend Rick and learning about a leak in his basement, and a worried phone call from Camille, who is the owner of the upstairs part of the house, I casually decided that I mayyyybe should check things out in the basement. I can't believe how naive I was - it would have never occurred to me to even check down there!! What was I thinking ? And guess what, a nice little lake had formed in our cellar, which threw me into an immediate fit of panic, I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, and had no idea what I should do next. I was staring at this big mess, and it was mine to clean up. How fun is that!

First thing was to call my friend Rick, who told me to unplug the appliances down there pronto, which I managed to do, not though before accidentally hanging up the phone, making the poor guy believe that I really did electrocute myself and now he would have to call 911. I was ok though, and in general pretty lucky, as I had put all my stored belongings down there on wooden palettes and nothing got damaged. Phew!

Now that leaves us still with tons of water - right? After conferring briefly with Camille, I was chosen to be the designated Home Depot shopper and pick up a sump pump. Yeah right. Did I honestly think that there was any pump for purchase anywhere in the state of Massachusetts after two solid weeks of rain? The place was an absolute zoo! A nuthouse! First I joined a cluster of desperate housewives and househusbands who stood in utter disbelief in Isle 10 staring at a sign that said "WE ARE OUT OF PUMPS". The more determined among us headed for the customer service desk, where we were told that if we could manage to drive to Leominster, about 40 miles northwest of Boston, we might be able to snag one, but only maybe. No guarantees. Sheeesh! Not giving up, I grabbed one of the orange-clad Home Depot boys and headed for Isle 8 where the fights for the shop vacs was already in full swing, and only after threatening to tackle a 6 ft 5 guy, who wanted to run off with at least two of them, I ended up the proud new owner of said gadget.

A short while later, back at the ranch, Camille and I embarked on the post-disaster cleanup. You should have been there, really - we could have used your help. 7 hours of bloody bone-breaking labor and the darn water kept creeping back in. Camille was working the shop vac, I had the very ingenious idea to shovel up water with a dust pan and hoist it with record speed into a garbage can. Once I had the technique down, there was no stopping me, my friends! Who needs a sump pump! At about 7 PM that night, I was unable to move in any coordinated fashion, felt like a 200-year old woman, so I headed upstairs, slapped a Ben Gay patch on my back, grabbed yet another beer, and sunk into my sofa and stayed there for the rest of the evening. Most of the water was gone, and we were promised by the weather forecasters that the worst of the deluge was over. They were right, and come Tuesday morning my basement showed signs of dryness and it has stayed so since. With a little dehumidifier action we should get this all straightened out in no time! Aaah, the joys of being a homeowner.....

I got off easy though, some of the communities north of Boston were pummeled with rain, I am enclosing a couple of pictures that I loaded off the net - the town of Peabody had three feet of water and people were seen rowing down Main Street in boats. A lot of damage was sustained - it was the worst flooding in 70 years, and the financial repercussions are expected to amount to tens of millions of dollars in Massachusetts alone.

So, after all this excitement the week went by in a jiffy - quality time with friends, some nice classes at the gym (functional training - don't do it, it hurts!), and a quickie trip to Livingston, New Jersey, a little spot about 30 minutes away from New York. I don't know much about Livingston, and did not learn anything while I was there either - thanks to a 2-hour delay on the incoming flight the trip was pretty much one big blur. Arrive at the hotel, have dinner, go to bed, get up early, have a database training all day, dinner again, get up at 5 AM (today), head back to Newark airport, fly to Boston and head straight for work. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Well, the weekend is here, I am planning to join my friends at the AMC for a hike tomorrow and for Sunday I opted for some volunteer work. We were promised that the weather would be improving steadily and for the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, which will be spent with hiking in New Hampshire, sunshine is on the agenda.

My friends, stay dry and enjoy the spring!

Until next time.

Petra

#49 Boston - Postholing - May 12, 2006

Well, by now you have seen the pictures from Franconia - hard to believe it is May and we are still zipping around in the snow, eh? Sooo, to quickly explain the headline - "Postholing" which answer.com says is a "roughening of the trail from places where boots have fallen through" - that is exactly what we did this past weekend up in Franconia, NH. We either tumbled into the holes that were there already (most of them the size of a small country) or in many cases created some new ones. Frequently sinking in almost hip-deep in snow did slow us down just a wee bit, and a planned 4 - 1/2 hour hike turned into close to 7 hours. Am I complaining? Noooo! It was fun!

Trying to get with the program and hoping to achieve my goal of climbing 10 of New Hampshire's 48 4000-footers this year, it was time to step up the hiking effort and head up the bigger mountains. None of that walking around the lake crap. HIKING. Hardcore Outdoor Stuff! Yeah! So, I packed my gear as early as I could this past Friday, loaded two birds in my car (Oscar and Marge - for both of them their first visit to the granite state) and headed up to Rick's house, where we expanded the zoo by adding Phoebe, the mountain dog, stuffed everything into the van and hightailed it up to Franconia. The birds seemed unfazed by the fact that a 70-pound black lab was staring at them during the drive, and Phoebe eventually decided that they were worthy of coming along.

So, Saturday it was time for 4000-footer #1 - Mt Jackson (http://hikethewhites.com/jackson.html). Our choice for the day was to first get ourselves up to Mt Webster (named after American statesman Daniel Webster) - with 3910 ft just a tad short of making it into the big league. Located on the East side of Crawford Notch (http://hikethewhites.com/crawford.html), Webster provides spectacular views of the New Hampshire and the White Mountains. From there it is a mere 1.4 miles across to Mt. Jackson, with 4052 ft my first 4K peak for the year! Jackson, despite the fact that it is near the Presidential Range of the Whites is not named after President Andrew Jackson as one might expect, but after Charles Thomas Jackson, a state geologist of New Hampshire in the early 19th century. Again, fantastic views, in particular of a still-snow covered Mt Washington (6288 ft).

Upon returning to the house on Saturday, our friend Kimball had just arrived and was kind enough to cook dinner for all of us, as Rick and I seriously needed to de-muddify. So off I went, and in the spirit of being good to myself, grabbed a beer and immediately claimed rights to the downstairs bathtub, which is also a Jacuzzi. Well, somebody forgot to tell Petra that you do NOT, repeat NOT, add bubbles to the water. Here I was sitting in the bath tub, when I noticed that the bubbles were increasing in volume, fast and furious, and before I knew it, the stuff was flowing over the site of the tub and threatening to swallow poor Petra. I have never hopped out of a bathtub this quickly, my friends, believe me! The next 15 minutes were spent throwing cold water on the mess to get the bubbles down, interrupted by horrible fits of laughing, and the guys must have thought I have gone completely brainsick (and that after one beer).

Sunday it was time for mountain #2, Mt Cannon, basically right across the street from the house. Starting out at Lafayette Campground at Franconia Notch (http://www.franconianotch.org/), we first headed up to Lonesome Lake, then up the Kinsman Ridge Trail, which is the route we had attempted two weeks prior but decided to turn around. This time we were determined as can be and succeeded. It wasn't easy, at times we had to hoist Phoebe up a steep granite ledge or bushwhack it around an ice wall, but we did make it up to the top (4100 ft)! I have the bruises to prove it! (http://hikethewhites.com/cannon.html) Lunch on top of the Cannon tower was a bit chilly, icicles kept falling onto our head, and the wind was not too shabby either, so off we went. Down the mountain, on the ski slopes - mostly blue trails - Upper, Middle and Lower Cannon. I can now say that I actually went down a black diamond run - seemed suicidal to me to attempt skiing down a hill like that, but what do I know, I am new at this....


It became apparent on both days of hiking that apparently even a moderate amount of altitude leads to my completely losing my brains - I could not remember even the simplest of trees (Hemlocks, Petra, Hemlocks!), and was generally giddy as can be. On our way down the ski slopes of Cannon Mountain, I also lost my eyesight, and identified a black trail as "Ambulance" instead of "Avalanche". For the rest of the day, I turned into a chuckling heap of a person, and after a while Rick and Kimball just stopped paying attention to what I was doing, which was probably a good thing. No need to encourage me.

Enough tall tales from the trails. Bottom line - it was a fun weekend! I am back in Boston, where it has been raining non-stop all week, and apparently it is not going to stop any time soon. It might be time for some indoor activities -plans are being hatched as we speak....

Happy Mother's Day!

pet:)

#48 - Boston - Hot and Hilly - May 4, 2006

Everyone seemed to be fine with a 75-degree day this past Sunday in Dedham, Massachusetts - yours truly included. I pretty much have always been a strong supporter of a nice sunny day (even if I do seem obsessed with snow once in a while). For some reason though all that sunshine appeared to have had an adverse effect on my running performance at the 23rd Unabridged Edition of the James Joyce Ramble (http://www.ramble.org/). Let's just say it was not my best 10 K race ever, but I am hereby commending myself for the effort I put in anyway. I showed up, ran the race, it was hot, it was hilly and I got across the finish line, upright. Good.

The James Joyce Ramble, or "The Ramble" as it is lovingly called is quite an unusual event - during the race volunteers dressed in period costumes stand alongside the course, reading James Joyce aloud, in different languages even. For every mile there is a different book chosen, so Mile 1 features "Finnegan's Wake" whereas Mile 4 might feature "Ulysses" or "The Dubliners". Only in Massachusetts! How much fun it was! Post-race festivities included loads of beer, not enough water and all the winners received books.

The Ramble organizers tell us that the race was conceived by runner and (apparently) James Joyce fan Martin Hanley of Dedham who tried his darndest to get through "Finnegan's Wake" one cold New England winter. He found it just as hard as training for a road race, if not worse, and so came up with this slightly strange idea. On March 26, 1984 the first Ramble was held and 244 runners zipped through Dedham with literature on their mind. On this 23rd anniversary of the race, the crowd of runners numbered more than 2000.

I am not complaining about the weather - New England actually needed a nice day, weather-wise - it has been cold, rainy, and generally unpleasant - so every chance we get we soak up the sun! We are all on the verge of seasonal disorder and borderline depression if this does not change soon. I swear.

Saturday had been equally splendid, and was spent quite adequately in such exciting places as the Home Depot (getting shelves for the kitchen - thanks to my friend Rick for installing them!) and the town of Allston, where we picked up the washing machine who did not fit down the staircase and then drove it back. There is nothing more fun than driving though Boston traffic on a hot day, and then trying to jam a washer down a staircase that is too small. But hey, we had to try!

As soon as the home projects were done, I had to completely switch gears, squeeze myself into my evening gown and head to the new Boston Convention Center to attend a gala where my boss was being honored for his involvement with the Mattapan Community Health Center. The shindig was called "Rock the Boat", and it was very fortunate for me that due to increased attendance it did not take place on an actual boat. You all know my relationship with vessels that float on water. Not a good one. It was a nice occasion though to get dolled up for, all the ladies were dressed to the nines, and thanks to a nice draft in the convention center, we were all freezing to death. I for one was glad to eventually be able to get out of the gown and the high heels, and be in a nice warm cozy place.

The week went by in a jiffy, amazingly and mercifully fast, Monday night was Yoga Class taught by my friend Pauline, followed by a birthday celebration for her husband Ulandt. The two live in the Brickbottom Artists Building in Somerville (http://www.brickbottomartists.com/site/index.html), and the visit gave me a chance to check out Pauline's art work up close and personal (www.paulinelim.net). Wednesday night the running group actually decided not to run, on account of totally sucky weather and went straight to the pub, and Thursday night my creatively gifted friend Claire came for some redecorating and general maintenance of my place. I have very very nice friends, they come to my house to work. I feed them, and they help me with stuff that I am too stupid to do. I love you guys and gals.

Well, it is almost midnight, I am sitting here in Franconia, NH in bed after a strenuous day of hiking (more about that next week). While it rained a bit this afternoon, tomorrow is supposed to be one of the few nice days in the next week or so, and we will certainly take advantage of it. More tales from the trails will be told next week.

I am enclosing a picture for you that speaks for itself, and might explain why we drive the way we drive in Boston. Vroom, vroom!

Sleep tight!

pet:)

#47 Boston - There is Lawlessness Everywhere! - April 28, 2006

Beware of Tiny Ted Koppels – that is all I can say! You may now consider that I have gone off the deep end – ok, I’ll give you that. Not out of the realm of possibilities. None of these quotes though can be attributed to my ever increasing befuddled state of mind, this time I am blaming someone else. And that would be my wonderfully kinetic and spirited friend Pauline, who along with her husband Ulandt, my friend and colleague Ginna, her 2-year old son Sean (who we all fell in love with), and the dancing trio of Denise, Natasha and Jaco joined me for a hiking weekend in Franconia. Rick (host) and Phoebe (host dog) again opened their family’s spacious home up in New Hampshire to the whole horde of us and we were ready for a weekend of outdoor activities, consumption of miscellaneous alcoholic beverages and general merriment. A beer- and wine-infused Saturday evening with a kick-ass game of charades was not only educational – the challenges ranged from “no pain” (pedicure) to “what the heck? (“The Retirement of the Concorde”) and outright “you must be kidding me”. Case in point, yours truly had to act out both “The Golden Gate Bridge” and “The London Bridge”. Apparently I sucked at being a major engineering project, because all I got was “Martha Stewart” and “Fertilizing the Lawn”. Well, we can’t be good at everything, right? Main thing we had fun, and that we did.

After a late-night arrival on Friday, and armed with a solid breakfast and six million granola bars, the motley crew headed toward The Basin at Franconia Notch, a 30-foot-wide and 15-foot deep glacially formed pothole at the base of a waterfall. (http://www.planetware.com/picture/laconia/franconia-notch-basin-us-nh029.htm) This was the start of the Cascade Brook Trail, which was our attempted hike. Our immediate goal was Lonesome Lake, at 2790 feet a nice little achievement. Breathtaking waterfalls accompanied our little expedition up the backside of Mt Cannon. Rivers had to be crossed, trees bridging a seriously raging brook had to be balanced and after a most pleasant lunch at the lake, and a quick rest stop at the AMC hut (which was only slightly delayed by a child care emergency involving a diaper and duct tape) we were brave enough to tackle the final stretch up the mountain. Our efforts were countered though by treacherous terrain, snowy and seriously steep and icy paths, and after encountering a couple of hikers who recommended strongly against risking the rest of the hike, we happily made our way back down.


All in all we racked up a nice eight miles that day, and the whole gang was pleasantly exhausted. Pictures from the hike will come in a separate email tomorrow from work, so stay tuned. Some of the pictures you will see are from our friend and hiking companion Jaco LeRoux, who is phenomenally gifted photographer – YOU MUST check out his website (www.jacoleroux.com)!

Sunday in Franconia was a free-for-all day, it rained outside and the level of coziness inside the house just invited for a lazy day. Which is what most of us did, except Pauline and my sorry self – we just had to go running, up the hill, of course! Up and Up and Up! It was nice to discover the back roads of Franconia, and even get in a little trail running (a first for me, but I did like it). We got langourous for the rest of the day, and all headed down for Boston around mid-afternoon, since the weather really did not show the tiniest sign of improvement.

Not far from Rick’s house in Franconia is also the location of the Robert Frost Museum. Frost, often declared as “America’s Poet” (http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/192) lived here with his family permanently from 1915 to 1920 and also spent many a summer there. The Museum is not open yet, but this will definitely be a spot to visit during one of our future trips to the granite state. From his 1923 collection of his poems called New Hampshire, a little poetic morsel for your enjoyment:

Dust of Snow

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

What a super weekend it was, and of course I had to pay for it with the WEEK FROM HELL. Anything you could imagine going wrong did, small stuff, big stuff – let’s see shall we? Confidentiality agreements went missing, toilets were overflowing, vacation request got rejected, fire alarms were going off, infantile behavior by colleagues was followed my managerial reprimands, the wireless set-up on laptop was not working, I was buying a washing machine from a colleague that then did not fit down the staircase of my tiny little house, so I then had to return the washing machine with a rather peevish look on my face, let’s see - anything else?? I don’t know, it just went on and on and on….. I just wanted to lie in my bed, pull the sheets over my head and be done with it!

The only good thing about this week is that it ended, and it was followed by a very nice weekend, about which I will write next week in all its glorious detail, you better believe it!

It is time to go my friends, movies are awaiting – for those of you who chat with me about movies, I am happy to report that I finally did finish all 3 ½ hours of “The Seven Samurai” and have been released from Akira Kurozawa’s grip to enjoy other movies as well.

On that note, Sayonara, and Happy May Day to my friends in Germany and wherever they celebrate the International Workers Day!

Pet:)

#46 Boston - Marathon Madness - April 21, 2006

Well, wasn't that a crazy day - Monday, April 17th, Patriot's Day (a Massachusetts Holiday), also known as Marathon Day here in the hub. It is one of the nuttiest days of the year in Boston, and if you do not have any business in the center of Boston, it is best to be far far away (unless you like that kind of circus, of course). And guess who was in the midst of all this madness? Yep, yours truly.

It seemed a bit of a toss-up between watching THE MARATHON (http://www.bostonmarathon.org) and possibly attending Patriot's Day activities (re-enactments of American Revolution battles etc - people running around with muskets and other such acts of silliness), but that conflict was resolved quickly on Monday morning, when my friend Ken called and offered to share with me Red Sox tickets that he had won at a raffle. You don't have to ask me twice to go to Fenway Park! Ha! So here I was - drinking beer, eating pretzels and hot dogs around 11 AM Monday morning (it was almost lunch!!) - life was certainly very good. While the weather was a bit on the chilly side, the action on the field was hot; the game against the Seattle Mariners ended up being a real nail biter, and came to a happy end for us when Mark Loretta hit a walkoff two-run homerun in the 9th inning!! How exciting was that! High-fives and hugs went around the stadium and lots of happy faces were seen on the way out.

As if it wasn't enough to be hanging out with 33,871 people (= capacity of Fenway park, the lowest in the major leagues - http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/fenway.htm), I headed for the marathon madness following the game. After a slight struggle through what can only be described as pedestrian hell, I managed to snag a pretty nice spot on the corner of Hereford and Comm Ave and was able to cheer on the Marathon runners. At this point all the people passing us were at Mile 25.5 and our shouts of "looking good" did seem a bit inappropriate, even though some of the runners looked as if they had barely broken a sweat. Both the winners (male and female) were from Kenya, but the US did make some strides this year by placing 5 of the top ten runners. Just as with every good race, there was a sizeable contingent of runners in costume including bunny suits, Wonder Woman, a Samurai warrior and of course the our friends, the jogglers (http://yourphotos.boston.com/pages/gallery.php?gallery=766). Try running 26.2 miles and juggle three balls at the same time!! Impressive! It was quite a day, all in all, and it ended with my meeting up with my wonderful friend Denise Schubert, who not only completed her first ever marathon, but also managed to raise a substantial amount of money for Parenting At a Challenging Time" (PACT) in support of MGH adult cancer patients and their families. Congratulations!!!

Compared to Monday, Easter Weekend was pretty relaxed and filled with mostly food-related activities (plus we threw in a little retail therapy - why not?). My friend Joanne had taken pity on my lonely self and after a very successful shoe-shopping adventure on Saturday afternoon we enjoyed a restful dinner at California Pizza Kitchen in Cambridge. I know, not haute cuisine, but it was actually pretty agreeable. Along with Joanne and a gaggle of her friends I continued my foodie weekend on Sunday morning with a brunch at the Diva Indian Bistro on Elm Street in Somerville (http://www.divabistro.com/) - very very yummy. And of course there was Easter Dinner at the Yancovitz mansion in Stoneham - great food (and lots of it), delightful company and spirited conversation. Needless to say I needed a crane to lift me out of the chair I was sitting in, but that was O.K.

The week has been cruising by - I had my first dinner guests this week, when Ellen and Patrick volunteered to be guinea pigs for my attempts at vegetarian cooking - and after a couple of horrific mid-week days I am ready for the weekend. I am heading up to Franconia, NH with a group of hiking buddies and boy am I ready for it!!

I am leaving you with a little trivia about New Hampshire (there will be quiz next week....) and promise to write again next week. Y'all be good.

pet:)

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New Hampshire has 4 nicknames. The first is the one by which the state is commonly known. Granite State: For its extensive granite formations and quarries Mother of Rivers: For the rivers of New England that originate in its mountains White Mountain State: For the White Mountain Range Switzerland of America: For its beautiful mountain scenery

New Hampshire became the 9th state on June 21, 1788. It was one of the original 13 colonies.

Live Free or Die. The motto comes from a statement written by the Revolutionary General John Stark, hero of the Battle of Bennington.

New Hampshire was named for Hampshire, England by Captain John Smith

New Hampshire is heavily forested with an abundance of elm, maple, beech, oak, pine, hemlock and fir trees. Mount Washington features rare alpine plants such as Greenland sandwort, Labrador tea, alpine bearberry, dwarf cinquefoil and dwarf birch, willow and balsam fir.