#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:)