My Little Snow Bunny...

Last year, Abby decided to join Sam and me on the weekly school trip to the nearby ski slope. It's really more of a bump then a slope but it's close and the kids were beginners. This year, Sam decided to pack it in and stay home where it's plenty warm. Abby has chosen to forge ahead and become a world class snowboarder. She's been a hard worker and loves going down the hill.

Abby has come a long way from last year and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching her succeed. She hasn't let falling down deter her from achieving her goal. She is AWESOME!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Finally!

The lights went up late this year for various reasons. The neighbors were all becoming very concerned but I continued to assure them that the night would come when the blinding spectacle that is the front of our house would make it's emergence. To make everyone even happier, this year I used a latter to hang the lights instead of my traditional method of walking around the roof and hanging off the edges of the gutters. It also helped that the weather warmed up a bit on Saturday and the temperatures sored way up into the 40˚s (sarcasm).

We also spent a portion of the weekend putting up our tree and hanging the decorations. Opening the storage boxes full of our hibernating ornaments is like greeting old friends. Many of the bauble have special memories for all of us such as the start of our relationship, our wedding, births and family vacations. The kids have just as much fun rediscover the little trinkets as they do opening their gifts...almost, but not quite.


We had one change to our Christmas tradition. This year we have abandoned our "White Lights Only" tree and for the first time ever, added color lights. This made Sam and Hannah very happy, Abby... not so much. She was a good sport though and learned that the holidays are not only about exchanging gifts but also about the spirit of compromise.

In the end, the kids did a super job of decorating our tree. Now the room smells heavenly with the mixture of Pine and wood stove.

Let the Holidays Begin!

Salmon River..AKA..Sam-in-river.

Click on images for larger view.

In one of my more recent posts, I spoke about the incredible day of fishing I experienced on the Salmon River when a massive rush of salmon entered the river on the very day that I happened to be fishing. It was an amazing experience I'll never forget. On this trip, we didn't hook up a single fish and yet, it too will be a trip that I never forget.

A new tradition was started this past weekend. For the first time ever, Sam joined me for a fishing trip to the Salmon River. We were joined by my brother Ray and his son (my nephew) Colin. Note on Colin, if you want to know anything...ANYTHING...about sports, just ask Colin. He's a live version of ESPN news. We left for the river early Saturday morning and by late afternoon, we had purchased our licenses' and extra tackle, grabbed lunch, checked into our motel and found our way down to the river for some steelhead trout fishing.

For background information; The Salmon River has a run of salmon that come into the river beginning in September and they continue to run up the river through most of October. By November the salmon have stopped running and started spawning. It's at this time that the steelhead make their way into the river to feed on the salmon eggs that are floating down the river. These are the fish we are trying to catch.

This was Sam's first fishing trip to a river and it was also his first time in waders. When we first approached the river, he watched me go walking right into the water and the look on his face indicated that he didn't understand that the waders would keep him warm and dry. He asked if it was OK to walk in the water wearing his waders and when I told him sure, it was as if I had told him he could go ahead and eat an entire quart of ice cream, right out of the box. He loved the fact that he could walk through the water without getting wet. The harsh reality came when he found out that you have to be careful when you're walking through the water because you cannot always see the submerged objects that might trip you up...like a log. Sam got pretty soaked but fortunately we had already been fishing for a while and it was almost time to leave anyway. I cannot recall where I heard it first, it might have been Sam or Ray or Colin but none the less, it was after this incident that we decided the river should be renamed The-Sam-in-River.

One thing that I enjoy most about these trips is the conversations that Ray and I have. At one point Ray mentioned that it was too bad that we weren't catching any fish. It made me think about what these trip truly mean to me and although catching fish is fun, I told Ray that it was also fun being there with people I care about, getting outdoors and breathing fresh air, going to the run down places for breakfast and lunch, eating at some of the nicer places for dinner, and creating memorable experiences that will last a life time. I'm so glad that Sam is a part of that experience now.

I'm looking forward to the day when Abby and Hannah can join us up there as well. I also hope that maybe next year, David and his son Brian will come along too.

We weren't catching fish but we were having a blast.


Ray and Colin on a very cold Sunday morning.

To see more images from the trip click here.

In addition, a short video clip can be seen here.

Halloween 2007...

Is it Halloween already? Didn't we just celebrate the 4th of July? Thanksgiving and Christmas will undoubtedly be upon us before long. Maybe it's part of getting old but it just seems like the space between each holiday is getting shorter and shorter. It's as if someone is secretly throwing away a week here, a week there, without my knowledge. Ugh.

The weather for this year's Halloween was perfect, that's three years in a row now. The mild temperatures made it so much easier to deal with the costumes. No need to have arguments with the kids about putting on jackets and gloves which always hide their well crafted outfits. Instead, the kids wore just the costumes and there were no complaints registered about it being too cold. Yeh!

It was my turn to walk around with the kids this year. It's beginning to look like this may have been the last time for that ritual. The kids are getting older and having your parents with you is so un-cool. There's a part of me that won't mind staying home yet another part of me will miss it. It just means that they are growing up. It was bound to happen but I think we did our best to enjoy it while it lasted. It's still fun handing out the candy, especially to the really little kids who are amazed over the fact that their parents are encouraging them to beg candy from strangers.

This year we had two pirates in the family and one...I'm not sure what she was. Sam and Abby were the pirates, Abby was reported to be "A doll that once belonged to Hannah that she had drawn a funny face on" so I was told. I have to admit, she was creative.


Click on images for larger view.
Sam was dressed as the Pirate Jack Sparrow yet he refused to wear eye liner.



Abby and her friend Marissa who was dressed as...another pirate.

Hannah was dressed as a pirate but she didn't manage to achieve that pirate"Intimidation" factor. She looked more like a wait person from Long John Silvers. "Table for 4 tonight?"

Happy Birthday, Mom...

This past Columbus Day weekend was spent with the entire family in Stowe, Vermont. The occasion was Mom's 70th birthday. All the kids and grandkids met at the Smugglers Notch ski resort for three and half days of fun and relaxation. We had wonderful accommodations with a spectacular view of the mountains. The fall foliage wasn't as vivid as it could have been do to recent drought conditions in the Northeast but there was some color and we appreciated what was available.

For me, the highlights of the weekend were the times when I got to see all the cousins playing together. If you asked the kids they would probably say the same or, they might say the highlight was going in the hot tub. None the less, we all have a new set of memories to add to the old ones and look forward to when we can create more in the future. The new morning ritual for Uncle Ray and the kids.


Hannah, Abby and Maddie showing off their aquatic skills.


Brian loved spending time with all his cousins...even if they were mostly girls!


Our lodge at Smugglers Notch.


Mom and Dad at the Ben & Jerry's ice cream tour.


Rock climbing at the top of Stowe Mountain Ski area.


Clouds moving down the mountain seen from our balcony.


Sunset the last night at Smugglers.

AKA-"The Day"

Earlier this week, my friend Gary asked me if I wanted to make a last minute trip to one of our favorite fishing spots, the Salmon River in Pulaski, New York. It was going to be a quick trip lasting about 36 hours of which I would spend almost 11 of it driving to and from the river. This isn't typically a good fishing time for the Salmon River but knowing that I wouldn't be available during prime time this year, I decided I would give it a shot and meet Gary up there anyway...you just never know.

I left on Wednesday morning and arrived in Pulaski around 4:30pm. Eager to get out of the car I just spent the last 5 1/2 hours in, I was on the river fishing ten minutes later. I fished until 7:00pm and saw a grand total of 3 fish. It was not looking good. By all accounts, Thursday was setting up to be a big disappointment. First of all, fish generally run up the river from Lake Ontario when the time is right. For the fish this means lots of cold water. The water level on Wednesday was as low as I have ever seen it in all the 15 or so years I've fished there and there was no indication that this would be changing anytime soon. The river level is primarily dam controlled by a power company and because of the drought they've been experiencing, the company has been hesitant to release water from an uncharacteristically low reservoir. No water release also means no "Cold" water. If you're keeping score that's Two strikes against us. There was no forecast for rain and instead of cold weather, the predictions were for unseasonably warm temperatures on Thursday, close to 80˚. That was more or less the third strike but hey, we're fisherman...and I wasn't that eager to get back in the car for another 5 1/2 hours. Gary arrived around 7:00PM and so with only about a half hour of light left, I pack it in for the day and we go to dinner to formulate our game plan for the next morning.

Up at 4:30am and arrive at Dunking Donuts a few minutes later where we meet up with our friends Doc and Anthony. They've been driving since 2:00am to get here before sunrise. When we finally walk to where we are going to fish that morning, it's still dark but we are encouraged by the half dozen or so fish we barely see in the shadows moving up the river, this is going to be good. We wait approximately 10 minutes for the first light to come up and begin to legally fish. And at that point...there's not a fish around anywhere. No fish. No Bites. Just like it's supposed to be under the conditions described above. I begin to think to myself, how long should I put up with this before I call it quits and head home? Mind you, I've only been fishing for about 20 minutes. It's not even 7:00am yet and I'm ready to hit the road!

Eventually I decide to give it more time and move downstream about 300 yards, beyond a group of fisherman who have set up in a very popular spot. I move to a section of the river where there are no other fisherman which usually translated means...bad place to fish. Just as I approach the section of river where I'm headed, the sun finally breaks from behind a huge cover of clouds that have been there all morning. Now I'm thinking, "Great! Nothing like a gorgeous sunny day to spoil the fishing."

I could not have been more wrong.

At almost the very moment the sun broke through the clouds there was an explosion in the river 50 yards downstream from where I was fishing...and it was coming my way! A pod of no less then 200-300 salmon and lord knows what else mixed in, was pushing up the river through a very shallow section of the river. Water was flying everywhere and the noise got my heart racing. Where I was standing was the exact place where the fish would be taking a very short rest before they made their next push up the river. At this point, Gary was standing about 30 feet downriver from me. The two of us went bug-eyed and performed our fishing prowess just like two seasoned veteran fisherman as the fish made their way directly in front of us. Gary got a snag on the bottom and broke off his hook, I some how managed to tangle up my line, leader, fly and split shot into a huge knot. Both of us gasped as hundreds of salmon swam by and there was nothing we could do to stop them.

Eventually, we both got our lines figured out and fortunately for us, this pod of fish was just the scouting party. There was a battalion of fish following these first few and the action was nothing like I have ever experienced before. A constant wall of fish continued to explode up the river, over and over again for hours. Around noontime, it seemed as though the last of the big schools stopped running through. A few fish stuck around our spot and we still managed to catch fish with much ease. I say "Managed" because by this point, we have caught so many fish that our muscles are killing us. Keep in mind, these fish weight anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds and they are strong!

When we finally decided to call it a day, we each estimated landing approximately 15 to 20 fish with many more having been fought and lost. We took a handful of pictures but after a while determined...why bother, we have enough.

The fish Gods must have been smiling on us. There was no reason those fish should have been there. We all joked about how we now know what it must be like to fish at the Hatchery. In fact I've debated weather or not to even tell this story because it's just the type of story we create (lie) for our friends who couldn't make a trip. We were in essence, living the lie. I would be lucky and thankful to someday have a day of salmon fishing half as good as this one. I'm sure that those of us who were there will be talking about our experience for years to come. We will forever refer to it as "The Day" and would like to apologize in advance to everyone who will be hearing "The Story" for years to come.

Coho Salmon weighing about 10 to 12 pounds


King Salmon weighing about 18 pounds.



Beautiful Steelhead that shouldn't be in the river this time year. Just my luck on "The Day"

Summer Fun..

This past weekend was packed with fun and adventures. We started out the activities with some good old fashioned go-karts. Sam and Abby were very responsible drivers and put our minds at ease for when the inevitable question arrives..."Dad, can I borrow the car?" By the way, that's Abby zooming around the corner in the red car.


You can click on all images to enlarge

Hannah was still too short to drive her own car but showed us her mature nature as a passenger with repeated shouts "SLOW DOWN, YOU'RE GOING TOO FAST!"

After the go-karts we were all treated to the biggest "Small" ice cream cones we had ever scene. Sam couldn't finish his, that's how big it was. The other size options were Kiddie, Large and Half Gallon (no kidding).

Our next activity was a minor league baseball game courtesy of Ray and Melissa. We attended the Lowell Spinners VS the Williamsport Lug Nuts (I think that was their name-could be wrong). We had perfect weather, sunny and in the 70s. Nothing beats a Minor League Game. Baseball, Hot dogs, Popcorn, Peanuts, Soda..Does it get any better then that? It did for us. After the game we stayed for the annual "Camp Out on the Field" night. The Lowell Spinners showed two movies on the Jumbo Tron for our entertainment as well as served us a nutritious breakfast the following morning. We had a choice of Pop Tarts or glazed donuts with various toppings. We chose...... to go to the Club Diner down the street. I think we made the right call...


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We had great fun spending time with Uncle David, Brian, Uncle Ray, Aunt Melissa, Colin and Maddie.

To finish off the weekend, Kathy and I spent some time tyeing up our tomato plants which have thrived due to all the recent heat and wet weather. Then we broke out the Slip and Slide and ended our night roasting marshmallows on the portable fire pit. A fun filled weekend...the way summer weekends are meant to be.


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