Paddling Cedar Creek

We originally intended to relax on the beach today, but cloudy skies and a long-time interest to try paddling brought us to Cedar Creek Campground in Bayville, NJ. We started out on a "three-hour tour" in Double Trouble State Park, where we dipped in just behind a canoe expedition of three boats, one of which capsized within the first hundred yards. We were a little clumsy at first never having paddled before and found ourselves crashing into the banks and various debris or even spinning around and floating downstream backward in the strong current. It was a beautiful day as we slowly floated twelve miles downstream with the only the sound of the gentle splash of our paddles guiding us through the winding creek. We were told that the water was safe to drink since the tannins from the cedar wood, which also give it an iced-tea color, leave it nearly free of bacteria or any other beings, especially fish. But, being hikers, we are wary of drinking unfiltered water, despite it coming from such a "natural" source, instead of the grocery store, that is. Why risk giardia? Also, since everywhere we turned we saw beer cans and snack bags floating in the water or sunk at the bottom, the water didn't seem as clean as it was described. It's very sad and disgusting how people treat their parklands and natural resources. Is nothing sacred? What happened to carry in/carry out? How hard is it to not toss your can of Miller Lite or Doritos bag into the stream? Even worse, there were countless trash bags filled with a dozen or more beer cans in a number of spots, including one especially giant funeral pire looking garbage pileup at a beachy area. I usually don't buy into the Jersey myths but it was obvious that neither the state or the people who frequent this park are bothered by the merger of nature and garbage.

Good food, friends, and fun

Wound up at the Napa Valley Grille in Paramus with MA & T for an impromptu "last night in the county" celebration. H had suggested we get together for a drink at this nearby restaurant. The dining experience there is amazing. We sat at a small table for four in the bar area and munched on various and wonderful delights. Some of the regular items included a Artisan Cheese platter featuring cheeses made from cow, goat, and sheeps' milk, accompanied by a Harvest platter of tenderloin, salmon, and proscuitto. We shared a few entrees and appetizers, which included a crab cake, rock shrimp, and calamari, flank steak with cabernet sauce, and a rare-fish dish that was on the list of specials. Both the chefs here are acquainted with our friends and we were greeted and served personally by them. No place else have we enjoyed such attention, ever! We'll be sure to return there for a wine party hosted by Chef Ken in September. All of this great food was washed down with a number of Manhattans and Old Fashioneds concocted with very old Blantons single barrel, Bookers, Knob Creed, or Makers Mark.

Hey get out of my shot!

Lazy days of summer. H.A.B. or H.A.F. as the acronym goes. I was too overheated to walk to the other side of the foot path at the D.C. Mall to get a better photo of the Capitol or the Washington Monument, which was directly behind me. Weatherman said we were going to get a break but we were "in the South." We started the day at the "Sip & Bite" diner for breakfast. I had some scrapple for the first (and last) time and although it was mighty tasty I can't really identify what's inside. From there we headed to the district where A. can park free in a top secret underground garage. Hopped onto the Metro and went to visit Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The purpose of the visit was to see the gravesite of the honorable George Breeman, an ancestor of the family. Learned a whole lot about George, who is a medal of honor winner and after his heroic actions had a ship named after him the USS Breeman, which unfortunately was sold off to China in 1948. While we were walking around the cemetery, we were among other tourists, of course, including about 10,000 Boy Scouts. (The BSA is the largest youth organization in the United States. Its educational programs for boys aim to build character, participatory citizenship, and personal fitness.) May I stress fitness? All of these kids converged at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for wreath placing ceremonies. Most creepy, however, was that we were walking around a cemetery with the Boy Scout leaders on Sunday and the following day at their national Jamboree four of them were killed in a freak accident when a tent pole hit a power line.

After the day was through and we were heading for the train, we stopped at a pushcart for some dirty water dogs, hot pretzels, and water. A. had to mention that when walking around in cities it's hard to get a nutritious meal in a hurry. Maybe you had to be there, but we laughed hysterically until we couldn't breathe after H retorted, "Yeah, it's like saying to your body, 'Here's another pretzel. Do what you can.' "

Bawldamoore!

Spent Saturday in Crabtown for a long overdue visit to A's place. The photo above is from the Inner Harbor and is the "Ravens" crab. These decorated crabs are all over the city, like the cows were in New York and the guitars are in Nashville. Another one we especially liked was the "taxi crab." After a diner breakfast, a trip to Trader Joe's, and a hearty nap we headed out in the hot to walk around Maryland's Artscape Festival. The primary mission was to see a live outdoor performance by one of my favorite bands, Drive-By Truckers. If you never heard of them and like any three-guitar rock with some great lyrics, you owe it to yourself to check them out. I had a bit of a stalker moment near the tour bus and got within arms' length of the genius performers Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, but I figured at my age and gender they wouldn't be very interested in conversation so I snapped the photo and slithered away without a handshake or an autograph. It's been a pretty good summer so far for the alt-country rock scene. Over the last few weeks we were able to catch both Old 97's, at Irving Plaza, and Son Volt, at the Bowery Ballroom.

Boots off

Boots off for this weekend. Too hot to go out and we needed a rest after 15+ hiking trips in seven states, two races, beach trips, and Manhattan visits with out-of-town friends and family. We spent most of our time planning for the ultimate adventure, which will take us as far away as we've ever been and will be nothing short of amazing. For now the plans are secret, but it looks like I'll need to find a cat-sitter for Fat-Style. Speaking of adventures, see the addition of my greatest hits thumbnails at the bottom of this site. It's missing some trips (pre-digital camera days), including the Grand Canyon, Superstition Wilderness, Tucson, Saguaro National Park, Tombstome, Oatman, a ghost town, and Lake Havasu. Also missing are some long weekends in Shenandoah and the Adirondacks. Hey, I've also got to mention that I see a few repeat visitors with comments from time to time. It's nice to know the 1,000 hits are not all me editing the show. So if you stop by, say hello and share with us your own similar adventures or links!

Watch your step!

Got up early today to meet my brother in Sussex Co. for a ride to the trail head. Got started at 8:25 a.m. and finished 4:50 p.m., walking 15.3 miles on the A.T. beggining at Deckertown Turnpike just north of Mashipacong shelter and following the familiar white blazes to Route 284. We've now completed Bear Mt. Bridge to Culvers Gap (excluding the stretch from Lakes Rd to Pinwheel Vista; that's next) in our Hudson-to-Delaware section hike.

Seen on the trail:
15 orange salamanders
3 brown salmanders
2 deer
2 chipmunks
4 squirrels
9 people
5 cows
0 Zero! No BEARS!

Hike on the fourth of July

We just love these three-day weekends! H & I spent the first couple of days at Island Beach S.P. again working the 8am-6pm shift and doing nothing but blissfully watching the tide roll in until we had a nice visit from a prehistoric monster under our umbrella. Took the holiday itself to once again visit Pine Meadow Lake. After an easy three-mile hike comes a sweet spot rarely visited, unless of course it's a holiday weekend. The peace was short lived, though, as a gaggle of geese came along looking for a handout. H clanked her trekking poles to scare them off but that didn’t work so well. "Chuckwagon" (as A is now called) suggested that we drop a log or rock into the lake near them to hasten their retreat. I retorted, "Maybe I'll jump in and drown one of them and then the rest will get the message." Of course I did not commit that heinous act but I did however jump in the lake. We were only blessed with this solitude for about thirty minutes before our peace was interrupted by about a dozen middle-aged Russians who commenced yelling and carrying on in their native tongue, probably something to the effect of "I wish these American idiots would leave so we can sit on the nice rock." Then they started drinking beer and got louder. We endured the torment long enough and left with our freedom snatched, our Independence Day celebration thwarted. By the Russians. Oh, what irony. Alas, we packed up and went over and sat in a nice spot over at Lake Wanoksink. Sitting quietly lakeside reading Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire in the late afternoon sunshine was perfect. After another half hour a couple of Palisades Interstate Park Rangers passed by and asked us, "Have you people seen a naked guy running around about here?" Answer is, of course, "no," but had there been such a sighting it would make an interesting story. That naked guy could have been me--only moments earlier I had changed out of my wet bathing suit into clean dry clothes. Even behind my pine tree cover I could have been mistaken for the dreaded Harriman streaker! Dusk settled in and we moved out back to the trailhead at Sebago Beach. It took a long time to cross Seven Lakes Drive as the mass exodus picnickers left Tiorati Circle and headed back to the outer boroughs. It was rather entertaining to see the park police pull over a guy who was driving in the wrong direction at one of the traffic circles. MRANT back to work tomorrow!