Everything is going fine here in Alexandria, Sam and Cheney have joined me from Tennessee, I spent last weekend going there and picking them up. My eternal thanks to Ben P. for patiently watching them while I was deployed and moving down here. Sam and Cheney have taken up residence on the back deck and are making sure there are no cats, possums or raccoons. They haven't figured out how to operate the hot tub yet, which is a good thing.
The snow, all three feet of it, has started to melt way, which is great. I have also figured out the bus/metro commute technique, I think it is all about karma, I keep positive thoughts going while I am running late or struggling with the schedule. This past week there have been a couple of times that I have got to the bus station a little bit late only to be pleasantly surprised by a bus running either early or late, which I didn't mind at all. On Friday, I was the only one on the bus in the morning and the driver got a little lonely, and he just started chatting away. I usually have my mp3 player going on some podcast or music, but I chatted with him. He rides motorcycles with his son, has two motorcycles, all of his riding buddies have stored their bikes at his house for the winter. One of his bikes was a street bike, the other is a road cruiser. Normally, more folks get on the bus and chat him up, but I was the only one, so we ended up talking.
Ok, the next section may be a bit graphic and R-ish rated, so, please consult your parents if you can read it. It does involve rather disturbing nudity.
There is a gym at the Pentagon, the Pentagon Officer's Athletic Club - the POAC. It is kind of an institution in the Pentagon and has been around for years. It is not your normal military gym, most of the gyms that I have been around have been full of a younger sort of crowd, the POAC is definitely not. I am not bothered by that, I am actually impressed that folks much older than me are still working out and trying hard. There are a couple of folks that I would rather not see though: Tan Man and the Zombie. The locker room in the POAC is very, ummm, ahhhh, liberal?? Bottom line, although there are a lot of older gentlemen working out, which is cool, there are also a lot of older men that stopped working out a while ago, but still come to the gym to use the sauna and walk around naked. Nothing like waking up in the morning, making the journey to the gym, washing your hands only to be shocked by a very naked older, kind of overweight man brushing his teeth at the sink next to you buck naked.
Tan Man: Tan Man is one of the main violators of what I would consider decency in the gym. Tan Man is in his 60s, I think. He takes a great deal of joy in walking around naked, which would be normal, but he is fully tanned, and fully shaved. Very disturbing. I am not the only one that has noticed the Tan Man - - my partner in crime MAJ K, noticed him as well. We were both heading back to the office and he had a disturbed look on his face, I asked him what was up and he started talking about Tan Man, who was standing at the next sink, brushing his teeth. I confessed to MAJ K that I had also been shocked by Tan Man, so we both laugh about it now.
The Zombie: The Zombie is also a POAC locker room violator. His locker is in the same row as mine, so I see him every morning. The Zombie comes staggering in, within seconds, he is naked, he reaches into his locker and dumps all of his toiletries onto the floor, bends over (very disturbing) and picks them up. After that, he staggers off to where ever Zombies go to get woke up and become productive.
My biggest fear is that I will be briefing some high ranking muckety-muck and Tan Man or the Zombie will be standing there. Yikes.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Who makes the coffee at the Pentagon?
I do.
Yup, me, Special Forces, one of the few Green Berets, Airborne, Ranger, Combat Diver, chest full of medals, a Lieutenant Colonel with 22 years in the Army, 2 invasions, 3 occupations, trained Armies all over Africa, I make coffee in the Pentagon.
But, there is a reason why. If you want something done right, do it yourself. This morning, the coffee collective I had joined was out of coffee grounds. Tragedy. I wanted real coffee. Someone had made a pot of coffee with some namby pamby, chocolate something or other, gift box, left-over coffee and it was clearly inferior. Not only was it bad coffee, but it was poorly made: Weak, watery, not nearly enough grounds for the pot. My rule, if you use less than a heaping tablespoon for each cup, and then a little more, step aside and let me make it.
Here are the rules of the coffee collective:
1. Put some dang money in the money can if you want some coffee. Folks do this, so it is pretty cool.
2. When one of the two coffee pots runs out, make another pot. Get some water, get a new filter, get some new grounds and make a pot. Don't be lazy, and don't you dare put the coffee pot back in the maker with less than a cup in it, that is wrong.
3. Don't be a coffee vulture: Someone that recognizes a coffee pot is empty and does nothing about it, circling around the snackroom, waiting for someone else to make a new pot. Then swooping in.
4. When there is no coffee left in the cupboard, get some money out of the can, go down to the drug store in the Pentagon mall (yes, there is a mall in the Pentagon, along with a Starbucks, 2 Dunkin Donuts, a McDonald's, a mini-Best Buy (really), various other shops, a laundry facility, a couple of food courts and a no-kidding, sit down restaurant) and buy some more coffee. It is a CVS Pharmacy, so take your discount card with you, the coffee might be on sale. I saved 5 bucks this morning.
5. Don't use the weak-ass leftover coffee that someone brought in because they didn't want to keep it around their house. If it was good coffee, they would have kept it at home.
This morning, it was my turn to go buy the coffee, so I bit the bullet and took the walk to the CVS and bought the coffee. I regularly make a pot , and really like to drink it with my oatmeal in the morning. Two cups, with honey, that's it, nothing past 0930.
Life at the Pentagon
I kind of like it. Dad was a little worried, he thought I would have to work hard (which he thinks I don't particularly care for, dunno why), but I am in a good group of folks, doing good work that will lead to success in Afghanistan (just like there was success in Iraq) and I have a pretty good boss, a Navy Captain, but that is OK. Although we do come in kind of early (at the desk around 0720ish), he doesn't mind if I sneak off around lunch to get a second workout in, and if I really need a day or afternoon off, he is all for it. Because we are both Metro Travellers, we try to leave about 5:15/5:30 unless something comes up, which happens, we are at war you know.
The Metro
I now ride the bus and Metro to work. I am not sure how many folks out there do this, but the first few weeks were VERY stressful. I felt like a 3d grader everytime I got on the bus: Is this the right bus, where do I get off, is that my street, is that my neighborhood, did I remember my Metro card, did I bring my lunch? I have pretty much figured out the schedule now, know which buses to ride and have figured out which of the Metro stations to use (Franconia/Springfield in the morning and Van Dorn in the afternoon). Unlike the myths, there are some really nice folks that are more than happy to help you figure out the buses and timetables.
One of the bus drivers was particularly helpful, although he was laughing at me. I got on his bus, and almost immediately realized I was on the wrong bus. Once the bus emptied out, I started chatting with him; he said he knew immediately that I was on the wrong bus, he knew the look. "Normally, when someone looks at their map, the schedule, their watch, then gets a pissed off look on their face, they are on the wrong bus, when I saw you do that, I got a chuckle." He of course had to keep going on his route, so I was stuck on the bus, but he gave me a pretty good tour and explained the different routes and what would work best for me. I of course thanked him for the tour, and told him that if he ever saw me getting on his bus again, he should tell me to get off.
Funny thing, the next day, he was subbing on a route, the one I wanted. I got on the bus, looked up and he was laughing again. Before I paid, I asked him if this was the right bus, he told me of course. He even told me not to worry, he remembered my stop. Which was a good thing, because I had forgot where I was supposed to get off for that route.
5 FEB 2010: Roger Stabauch's Birthday, wow, the man is 68. Interesting Fact that only me and mom know: I shook Roger Stabauch's hand when I was 6 or 7, along with Tom Landry's. When I was young, mom was trying her best to find me a sport that I would like, other than football. She signed me up for tumbling (I wasn't that good), wrestling (I didn't care much for it) and soccer (1 for 3 is pretty good mom). At one of the practices in my shortlived wrestling career, Roger Stabauch was making a publicity visit to my wrestling practice and we all shook his hand. I had no idea who he was until later than night when mom told me it was number 12. I immediately knew who it was then. Fan for life. I met Tom Landry later at a Cub Scout meeting, I think.
Super Bowl Pick: I really want the Saints to win, they are fun to watch, but I think the Colts will win. But, I will stick with the Saints to win.
Yup, me, Special Forces, one of the few Green Berets, Airborne, Ranger, Combat Diver, chest full of medals, a Lieutenant Colonel with 22 years in the Army, 2 invasions, 3 occupations, trained Armies all over Africa, I make coffee in the Pentagon.
But, there is a reason why. If you want something done right, do it yourself. This morning, the coffee collective I had joined was out of coffee grounds. Tragedy. I wanted real coffee. Someone had made a pot of coffee with some namby pamby, chocolate something or other, gift box, left-over coffee and it was clearly inferior. Not only was it bad coffee, but it was poorly made: Weak, watery, not nearly enough grounds for the pot. My rule, if you use less than a heaping tablespoon for each cup, and then a little more, step aside and let me make it.
Here are the rules of the coffee collective:
1. Put some dang money in the money can if you want some coffee. Folks do this, so it is pretty cool.
2. When one of the two coffee pots runs out, make another pot. Get some water, get a new filter, get some new grounds and make a pot. Don't be lazy, and don't you dare put the coffee pot back in the maker with less than a cup in it, that is wrong.
3. Don't be a coffee vulture: Someone that recognizes a coffee pot is empty and does nothing about it, circling around the snackroom, waiting for someone else to make a new pot. Then swooping in.
4. When there is no coffee left in the cupboard, get some money out of the can, go down to the drug store in the Pentagon mall (yes, there is a mall in the Pentagon, along with a Starbucks, 2 Dunkin Donuts, a McDonald's, a mini-Best Buy (really), various other shops, a laundry facility, a couple of food courts and a no-kidding, sit down restaurant) and buy some more coffee. It is a CVS Pharmacy, so take your discount card with you, the coffee might be on sale. I saved 5 bucks this morning.
5. Don't use the weak-ass leftover coffee that someone brought in because they didn't want to keep it around their house. If it was good coffee, they would have kept it at home.
This morning, it was my turn to go buy the coffee, so I bit the bullet and took the walk to the CVS and bought the coffee. I regularly make a pot , and really like to drink it with my oatmeal in the morning. Two cups, with honey, that's it, nothing past 0930.
Life at the Pentagon
I kind of like it. Dad was a little worried, he thought I would have to work hard (which he thinks I don't particularly care for, dunno why), but I am in a good group of folks, doing good work that will lead to success in Afghanistan (just like there was success in Iraq) and I have a pretty good boss, a Navy Captain, but that is OK. Although we do come in kind of early (at the desk around 0720ish), he doesn't mind if I sneak off around lunch to get a second workout in, and if I really need a day or afternoon off, he is all for it. Because we are both Metro Travellers, we try to leave about 5:15/5:30 unless something comes up, which happens, we are at war you know.
The Metro
I now ride the bus and Metro to work. I am not sure how many folks out there do this, but the first few weeks were VERY stressful. I felt like a 3d grader everytime I got on the bus: Is this the right bus, where do I get off, is that my street, is that my neighborhood, did I remember my Metro card, did I bring my lunch? I have pretty much figured out the schedule now, know which buses to ride and have figured out which of the Metro stations to use (Franconia/Springfield in the morning and Van Dorn in the afternoon). Unlike the myths, there are some really nice folks that are more than happy to help you figure out the buses and timetables.
One of the bus drivers was particularly helpful, although he was laughing at me. I got on his bus, and almost immediately realized I was on the wrong bus. Once the bus emptied out, I started chatting with him; he said he knew immediately that I was on the wrong bus, he knew the look. "Normally, when someone looks at their map, the schedule, their watch, then gets a pissed off look on their face, they are on the wrong bus, when I saw you do that, I got a chuckle." He of course had to keep going on his route, so I was stuck on the bus, but he gave me a pretty good tour and explained the different routes and what would work best for me. I of course thanked him for the tour, and told him that if he ever saw me getting on his bus again, he should tell me to get off.
Funny thing, the next day, he was subbing on a route, the one I wanted. I got on the bus, looked up and he was laughing again. Before I paid, I asked him if this was the right bus, he told me of course. He even told me not to worry, he remembered my stop. Which was a good thing, because I had forgot where I was supposed to get off for that route.
5 FEB 2010: Roger Stabauch's Birthday, wow, the man is 68. Interesting Fact that only me and mom know: I shook Roger Stabauch's hand when I was 6 or 7, along with Tom Landry's. When I was young, mom was trying her best to find me a sport that I would like, other than football. She signed me up for tumbling (I wasn't that good), wrestling (I didn't care much for it) and soccer (1 for 3 is pretty good mom). At one of the practices in my shortlived wrestling career, Roger Stabauch was making a publicity visit to my wrestling practice and we all shook his hand. I had no idea who he was until later than night when mom told me it was number 12. I immediately knew who it was then. Fan for life. I met Tom Landry later at a Cub Scout meeting, I think.
Super Bowl Pick: I really want the Saints to win, they are fun to watch, but I think the Colts will win. But, I will stick with the Saints to win.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Haiti and Haitians
I know that most of you all have seen the devastation that has recently happened to Haiti. When I watched the news, I am at first incredibly sad that it happened to one of the poorest and hardest luck countries on the earth, and then I have flashbacks to my second big deployment and my 9 or so months in Haiti. Even then I could tell that the country had very little going for it: No roads, no economy, no phones, no police, no government, not a lot to wake up in the morning for. After those deployments I never complained about taxes, the seemingly in-effectiveness of our government or anything state related. I just thanked my lucky stars I was born in the US and not Haiti.
If you have the where-with-all and inclination, I would ask that you go to:
http://www.redcross.org/
and donate some money towards their Haitian relief effort.
Honestly, Haitians don't have much going for them: They live in a dirt poor country with no natural resources, no trees, no cool jungles or reefs to attract tourists and money, their neighboring countries hate them, their government is in-effective, their local leaders are probably crooks, if one of them somehow rises up and scratches out a living, other folks reach up to drag him down or take advantage of him.
So when something like the earthquake happens, they need all the help they can get. Most of the folks I worked with down there thought the world of the US and Americans, it saddens me greatly to see them suffer even more. Our country is so vast and rich when compared to the rest of the world that if something like the earthquake happened here, other states would pitch in (I want to say "like during Katrina . . . " but that might not be a good example), our government would dip into the magic deficit coffers and come up with some dough, and folks could just drive on over and help out. Not in Haiti. Everything is hard there, so cough up a few bucks and feel good that your donation helped out someone who really needs it.
Thanks.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Diving in Roatan
Dad, Mark, Wade and I spent the last week of 2009 and first week of 2010 diving in Roatan, Honduras. This was the third holiday time that we spent together and it was pretty good. This was also the second time that I got to use my Olympus camera underwater (my Australia trip was the first time), I was kind of ticked off because the white balance was so hard to set and didn't set everytime I thought it was, but the up close pictures using a flash were pretty good. I posted a pile of the keepers to the Picasa Web page and the link is in the normal spot - - upper right hand corner of the blog page.
The trip to Roatan was pretty un-eventful, outside of the late gate changes and crowds of people travelling over the holidays. The plane was chock full, even the middle rows, somehow Mark and Dad ended up in first class, and they made sure to update Wade and I about the food selection and service they received.
The diving was pretty standard CocoView diving: Dive site in the morning on the reef somewhere, drop off dive on Newman's wall, dive site on the reef somewhere in the afternoon, drop off on CocoView Wall somewhere. We hit all of the normal spots - - Carib Point, Mary's Place, Calvin's Crack, Mr. Bud, etc. and got to head out to the West End on the new boat (see the pictures to the right). The new boat had mixed reviews: It was very fast, so trips to the West End or other areas were very fast, but it was VERY uncomfortable in anything but calm seas and the diving additions (ladders, seats, freshwater tanks, etc.) left a lot to be desired. The old, tried and true diving boats were very comfortable in comparison.
I gotta say, the diving has been getting better and better everytime we go down there - - the Reef Conservancy is working out. Ten years ago if you saw a seahorse or a spotted drum during your week of diving, it was a GREAT week of diving. Nowadays you expect to see several of each during the week. The soft coral has improved a great deal, as has the black coral (If my white balance would have worked, there was some pretty spectacular black coral at Mary's Place, sigh).
Wade and I did about 20 dives over the week, Mark and Dad did a few less because they were working on projects. We saw all of the standard stuff: Great soft coral, tons of eels (at least one a day), 5 sea horses (yellow, pink, brown and orange), a few spotted drums, even a soapfish which dad got very excited over. I also saw some interesting arrow crabs and fireworms for the first time. All in all, it was some good diving. We checked everything off of the standard Roatan fish list, except the Whale Shark: Spotted Drum, Sea Horses, turtles (I have some pretty good video of a big old turtle, I will figure out how to post it here one of these days), eels, sting rays, and a shark.
Hmmm, turns out alls you have to do is push a button . . . White balance is way off, but you get the idea.
Oh, wait, here is another one of a smaller turtle, munching on some green stuff (it would be green if the white balance was good, honest):
One of the great additions to the house was cable TV - - we got to watch all of the bowl games we could watch, including the Huskers domination of the hapless Arizona Wildcats. Great game if you were a Husker fan, I am glad the defensive starters wanted to stay in to preserve the shut out at the end of the game, great way for them to go out and show the rest of the team how things should be done at Nebraska. For the second year in a row, I am looking forward to the next season.
We also had to play the family card game, I really don't like the game that much, but managed to win one of the games and almost won a second game. I don't know why folks think it is so hard . . .
Upon my return, I found out that I would be moving to Washington DC and taking a job at the Pentagon on the Joint Staff. I wasn't surprised, I had been told it was going to happen, but I was waiting for confirmation on the job. This meant I had to leave Aberdeen and my job here, kind of sad, because the folks here are super nice and good to work with.
Couple of notes:
Fantasy Football update: Wade won the family tournament. He beat me by about 236 points, and 5 spots, he was 9th and I was 14th. I chalk this up to being deployed during the critical draft and pre-season time frame, I will do much better next year. Couple of interesting points: I have 3 top 5 finishes, he has only 2, and I have won the whole shebang once. He has finished with a higher annual average, but, so have the Houston Texans when compared to the Oakland Raiders, and of course the Texans have never won the Super Bowl.
The trip to Roatan was pretty un-eventful, outside of the late gate changes and crowds of people travelling over the holidays. The plane was chock full, even the middle rows, somehow Mark and Dad ended up in first class, and they made sure to update Wade and I about the food selection and service they received.
The diving was pretty standard CocoView diving: Dive site in the morning on the reef somewhere, drop off dive on Newman's wall, dive site on the reef somewhere in the afternoon, drop off on CocoView Wall somewhere. We hit all of the normal spots - - Carib Point, Mary's Place, Calvin's Crack, Mr. Bud, etc. and got to head out to the West End on the new boat (see the pictures to the right). The new boat had mixed reviews: It was very fast, so trips to the West End or other areas were very fast, but it was VERY uncomfortable in anything but calm seas and the diving additions (ladders, seats, freshwater tanks, etc.) left a lot to be desired. The old, tried and true diving boats were very comfortable in comparison.
I gotta say, the diving has been getting better and better everytime we go down there - - the Reef Conservancy is working out. Ten years ago if you saw a seahorse or a spotted drum during your week of diving, it was a GREAT week of diving. Nowadays you expect to see several of each during the week. The soft coral has improved a great deal, as has the black coral (If my white balance would have worked, there was some pretty spectacular black coral at Mary's Place, sigh).
Wade and I did about 20 dives over the week, Mark and Dad did a few less because they were working on projects. We saw all of the standard stuff: Great soft coral, tons of eels (at least one a day), 5 sea horses (yellow, pink, brown and orange), a few spotted drums, even a soapfish which dad got very excited over. I also saw some interesting arrow crabs and fireworms for the first time. All in all, it was some good diving. We checked everything off of the standard Roatan fish list, except the Whale Shark: Spotted Drum, Sea Horses, turtles (I have some pretty good video of a big old turtle, I will figure out how to post it here one of these days), eels, sting rays, and a shark.
Hmmm, turns out alls you have to do is push a button . . . White balance is way off, but you get the idea.
Oh, wait, here is another one of a smaller turtle, munching on some green stuff (it would be green if the white balance was good, honest):
One of the great additions to the house was cable TV - - we got to watch all of the bowl games we could watch, including the Huskers domination of the hapless Arizona Wildcats. Great game if you were a Husker fan, I am glad the defensive starters wanted to stay in to preserve the shut out at the end of the game, great way for them to go out and show the rest of the team how things should be done at Nebraska. For the second year in a row, I am looking forward to the next season.
We also had to play the family card game, I really don't like the game that much, but managed to win one of the games and almost won a second game. I don't know why folks think it is so hard . . .
Upon my return, I found out that I would be moving to Washington DC and taking a job at the Pentagon on the Joint Staff. I wasn't surprised, I had been told it was going to happen, but I was waiting for confirmation on the job. This meant I had to leave Aberdeen and my job here, kind of sad, because the folks here are super nice and good to work with.
Couple of notes:
Fantasy Football update: Wade won the family tournament. He beat me by about 236 points, and 5 spots, he was 9th and I was 14th. I chalk this up to being deployed during the critical draft and pre-season time frame, I will do much better next year. Couple of interesting points: I have 3 top 5 finishes, he has only 2, and I have won the whole shebang once. He has finished with a higher annual average, but, so have the Houston Texans when compared to the Oakland Raiders, and of course the Texans have never won the Super Bowl.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Weekend Before Crhistmas in Baltimore
OK, a few mundane weekend things . . . .
I hung out in Baltimore this past weekend, pretty nice weekend with TONS OF SNOW. 20 inches or so.
Friday night we went down to Fells Point and had supper at Brick Oven Pizza (BOP), good pizza, best pizza I have had in Baltimore to date. I think that of the three big named places for pizza in Baltimore I would have to rank them Brick Oven Pizza, Iggies and Matthews. Matthews is the crowd favorite, but I don't know why. BOP had a great crust and a good selection of toppings. Iggies had good toppings, but I was not a fan of their crust - - it was very thin. Matthews, the one that has the most press, was kind of disappointing, weird crust, plain toppings, just not that spectacular. None of them could beat the original Valentinoes, though.
After pizza, we went to a local Christmas attraction: 34th Street. Folks on the block went close to the Griswold level to decorate their houses. There were some pretty standard decorations (Pictures in the normal picture place) to some very Baltimore-unique stuff. Old Bay seasoning, crabs, National Bohemian beer cans (Natty Bo?) and some other kitschy stuff were predominant throughout the street. The highlight was an open house where a guy had some of his metal art work out. I am not a fan of eclectic art, so I was mostly in the "Hmmmm, Nice?" mode. You be the judge, and let me know what you think. Sparkplugs, really? Um, ok, if you say it is art, it is art.
I probably should have left that night, everyone was talking about how much snow was going to fall in B'more that night, I didn't believe it. Of course, we got about a foot of snow that night, and another 8 inches that day. Way too much for this Carolina loving man. I took a couple of pictures of my car under the snow, very tragic. We did some driving around on Saturday (had to find coffee, no electricity in the house or in the local 7-11, tragedy), but, quit after we realized that there were way too many crazy folks, and way too much snow. Luckily, the power went out too, so it was just a great weekend. We played a little bit of Scrabble and just hung out, basically, not that much else we could do. The power came back on about 6 pm. We ended up the night by watching the latest Harry Potter movie. Not sure what the folks were thinking when they made that movie, but it was very confusing to me. I had even read the book, and had problems following the movie, and I thought some of the actors were just going through the motions.
I came back Sunday morning, and hung out on the bay, so, good weekend.
I hung out in Baltimore this past weekend, pretty nice weekend with TONS OF SNOW. 20 inches or so.
Friday night we went down to Fells Point and had supper at Brick Oven Pizza (BOP), good pizza, best pizza I have had in Baltimore to date. I think that of the three big named places for pizza in Baltimore I would have to rank them Brick Oven Pizza, Iggies and Matthews. Matthews is the crowd favorite, but I don't know why. BOP had a great crust and a good selection of toppings. Iggies had good toppings, but I was not a fan of their crust - - it was very thin. Matthews, the one that has the most press, was kind of disappointing, weird crust, plain toppings, just not that spectacular. None of them could beat the original Valentinoes, though.
After pizza, we went to a local Christmas attraction: 34th Street. Folks on the block went close to the Griswold level to decorate their houses. There were some pretty standard decorations (Pictures in the normal picture place) to some very Baltimore-unique stuff. Old Bay seasoning, crabs, National Bohemian beer cans (Natty Bo?) and some other kitschy stuff were predominant throughout the street. The highlight was an open house where a guy had some of his metal art work out. I am not a fan of eclectic art, so I was mostly in the "Hmmmm, Nice?" mode. You be the judge, and let me know what you think. Sparkplugs, really? Um, ok, if you say it is art, it is art.
I probably should have left that night, everyone was talking about how much snow was going to fall in B'more that night, I didn't believe it. Of course, we got about a foot of snow that night, and another 8 inches that day. Way too much for this Carolina loving man. I took a couple of pictures of my car under the snow, very tragic. We did some driving around on Saturday (had to find coffee, no electricity in the house or in the local 7-11, tragedy), but, quit after we realized that there were way too many crazy folks, and way too much snow. Luckily, the power went out too, so it was just a great weekend. We played a little bit of Scrabble and just hung out, basically, not that much else we could do. The power came back on about 6 pm. We ended up the night by watching the latest Harry Potter movie. Not sure what the folks were thinking when they made that movie, but it was very confusing to me. I had even read the book, and had problems following the movie, and I thought some of the actors were just going through the motions.
I came back Sunday morning, and hung out on the bay, so, good weekend.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Why is Myron undressing in the snow?
So, why IS Myron getting naked? Who is Myron . . . . .We had the third hike with complete strangers brought together by the internet, it was pretty good, but VERY cold. Friday, the temp was just below 32 degrees, but there was a 30 mph wind hawking through the valley as we were hiking. It warmed up to a balmy 33 degrees on Saturday, and the wind disappeared. All in all, a good hike. We went from just north of the Pennsylvania border south to Washington Monument State Park. Some of the terrain was challenging, there were some good ups, and fierce downs, it was definitely AT hiking, there were a lot of rocks, some very pretty streams, good views of the valley and snow. Andrew (from my first MD section hike) and his climbing buddy Myron (pictured above) joined me for the hike.
We started off by shuttling cars around, so we had a car at either end of the section. This almost caused a Strategic Hiking Error (SHE) on my part: We left the parking lot on the north end, hiked about a mile when I realized that I had left the keys to my truck in Andrew's car. Luckily, I recovered and went back to the car and got the keys. That would have been really bad. After the key recovery, we hiked about 7.5 miles into MD and stayed at the Raven Rock Shelter, older shelter, but big enough for me to hang my hammock inside the shelter. Now, this would normally be poor hiker etiquette, but I waited until about 7:30 PM to hang the hammock, so there was really no chance that another hiker would come through, especially with the temperature dropping down. Who, in their right mind would be hiking on that weekend? Even in the shelter, it was kind of a cold night, I had another SHE: I left the end baffles on my hammock quilt open, so it wasn't as effective as I really needed it to be. I realized this about midnight, got up and made the correction, snug as a bug in a rug after that.
Saturday we started off about 7:45 and hiked pretty steadily throughout the day. The highlight of the day was Myron crossing our second stream of the day . . . .
Myron's Demise:
Stream crossing on the AT can be kind of iffy, especially on Saturday, cold weather + water + rocks = some icy rocks. On this stream crossing, Andrew went first, found a pretty good path, pointed out a very icy rock for the next guy to avoid and waited on dry ground. Myron made it to the second rock, but hesitated on rock #3, there was a bit of ice and he probably should have gone on to rock number 4. He hesitated slightly, which is BAD when crossing streams - - -you lose your momentum. Then, he went into a climber's pose, tried to get a third point of contact on the rocks, then went in. If it wouldn't have been 32 degrees or so, it would have been kind of funny to watch, and after it was all over, we all did get a chuckle, but, Myron took a spill off or rock #3. For the record, Andrew laughed first, I had two thoughts: 1. Damn, I bet that is cold. 2. "I wish I had a camera . . . . " (a quote from the Peony Park accountant-hag, Smokey). I couldn't get my camera out quick enough, so I went across to stream to see if I could help out. Myron quickly changed into dry clothes and we kept on hiking.
Myron's final resting place, just in front of the tree.The rest of the hike was pretty tame as far as the AT goes, some ups, some downs, and some very urban hiking areas, good hike. We ended up at the Washington Monument, which as per AT tradition was at the top of a hill. Myron was a good sport about it, and admitted he would probably hike again, but would really rather wait til it warmed up a little bit. I agree with him, I think our next hike will be Marchish.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Magic of the Internet
I am very new to the Maryland area, some things are kind of interesting to me. One of them is the magic of the internet. So far, I have found a running group, a local hiking group and a group of folks that are interested in enabling my Appalachian Trail hiking habit. All of these folks, prior to me meeting them were perfect strangers, but we did some initial introductions on the internet, and then took off on some runs and hikes. So far, no axe wielding maniacs on any hikes.
In addition to the hike on the Appalachian Trail (Harper's Ferry to South Mountain State Park in Maryland - - home of the original monument to George Washington), I hiked with a group of folks in Gunpowder Falls State Park, just outside of Baltimore. Pretty good hike, I put some pictures in the normal area to the right, about 3 hours of walking, talking, looking, picture taking, generally enjoying nature. This was the day after the first snow storm here, so there is a lot of brilliant white stuff on the ground, but it was not too cold or anything. By the time we got done it was kind of melting, but it was a good day for a hike.
In addition to the hike on the Appalachian Trail (Harper's Ferry to South Mountain State Park in Maryland - - home of the original monument to George Washington), I hiked with a group of folks in Gunpowder Falls State Park, just outside of Baltimore. Pretty good hike, I put some pictures in the normal area to the right, about 3 hours of walking, talking, looking, picture taking, generally enjoying nature. This was the day after the first snow storm here, so there is a lot of brilliant white stuff on the ground, but it was not too cold or anything. By the time we got done it was kind of melting, but it was a good day for a hike.
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