Books and Boats (of the cardboard variety)

Alright I have once again been absent from my computer, but it's not my fault! It is summertime on Long Island and I was lost in the world of Game of Thrones, which had entirely engulfed my life (I am on book two). If you have not yet joined the Games of Thrones following, I strongly encourage you to, especially if you are a bit of a Science Fiction nerd, as I am. And when I say Sci-Fi nerd let me clarify--Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, etc.--I have watched and read them all (except Lord of the Rings, that is number one on my Winter reading list). I love science fiction! I love books in general, but give me a book where I have a whole other world to fall into and I can be lost for days, as you have seen. 

Well luckily for my blogging a few things have come up which require me to turn on the computer and so hopefully I will stay focused for a week or so. But while I am on the topic of books, I have recently rediscovered goodreads and if you have an account, feel free to follow my reviews or add me. I am currently looking for my next book and would appreciate suggestions!

Last weeks highlights:

1. My sister went to prom, and looked very nice in a vintage dress.
2. My sister graduated high school, and as always she couldn't let me get off with grumbling in the bleachers--I received quite the sunburn and will not be forgetting that day anytime soon!
3. My jury duty case was settled and dismissed.
4. I finished the first Game of Thrones book.
5. And probably the oddest of them all, I attended Riverheads' 3rd Annual Cardboard Boat Race!

Now while proms and graduations are exciting, what I know we both agree will make for better reading is the cardboard race. A few of the winery guys have gotten together the last two years to compete in a cardboard boat race down the Peconic. While last year I only heard stories, this year I was in attendance, however unfortunately was not able to see the race itself as graduation was conveniently scheduled for the same time. Let me paint the scene:

The Crew

The "Bottom of the Barrel"

Stepping out of our cars you would never know that a race was getting ready to start just down the street. The streets are quiet, calm, and deserted, however once Main Street is crossed the sidewalk comes to life and their is cardboard of every shape and color, people of all ages in costume, music, BBQs, carnival food stands, shouting, and more going on than a single person could absorb. Waking down the waterfront close to 200 boats of all shapes, sizes, and themes, manned and built from those ages 7 to 90 overflow from the sidewalk onto the dock, sidewalk, and grass. Tents are set up tailgate style with the smells of barbecues and beer coming from all directions. Wandering through the mess of boats I come face to face with Mr. Spock in front of the Starship Enterprise, "Just Keep Swimming" with the cast of Finding Nemo, meet the Swamp People, and so many more before finally reaching last years reining champions, defenders of the first prizes, and a bunch of friendly faces aboard their Viking style long ship "Bottom of the Barrel." Manned by nine 30 something year old men, they were quite a force to be reckoned with and once again beat out the competition. While this year I made it to the pre-race, hopefully next year I will manage to see the cardboard hit water!

Trapped by the Yogis!

I know I have been MIA these last few days, but with my sisters’ prom and graduation approaching as well as both sets of grandparents visiting finding time to sit down at the computer has been difficult. Hopefully after reading the following funny story you will forgive me . . .

Rachel and I were sipping iced coffees this afternoon when I happened to pick up a yoga pamphlet. And this particular pamphlet happened to be for a yoga studio in town. Now this yoga studio happened to be the one that a teacher from our High School teaches as, who just so happened to be one of Rachel's favorite teachers. Given all of this Rachel started telling me about how great the classes are and it just so happened that they were having a Summer Solstice Celebration of sorts tonight so we changed into shorts and tank tops (as it was disgustingly hot out today, much too warm for June), collected our towels, and made our way over to the studio.

Upon arriving we encountered several women in flowing tie-dyed clothing and sports bras, all who were carrying drums and pilling into cars. So we got back behind the wheel and followed the parade of drums down to the beach and into a private driveway. After squeezing my car into the only reasonable parking spot open we gathered our towels and made our way (through some random persons backyard) down to the beach, spread our towels, and waited for the sun salutations to begin. An hour later, we found ourselves still waiting. Rachel was supposed to go with her mom to the airport, so after waiting a complete hour we decide to give up and start to leave. Well, when we reach the driveway we quickly realize that any chance of leaving is impossible, given the obnoxious parking of a certain jeep. The yogis had trapped us there! So back to the beach we went, and 21 sun salutations (which felt like 50), quite a bit of hula hooping, and another hour later we found ourselves once again climbing into the car in an attempt to leave. However, apparently none of our fellow yoga doers know how to park, so I was forced to drive over a curb, possibly killing a bush or two in order to make it back to the road. 

Now, being the highly stressed person that I am, yoga would appear to be a very good outlet to relieve some of the excess stress that I seem to attract. While the sun salutations were very enjoyable and I do feel quite refreshed, if this is how every yoga session is going to go I think I will save myself the additional stress and skip yoga all together! I will have to give it one more try, but I hope my next yoga session is a little more structured and a little less of a stressor and more of a stress reliever. 

Canadian Adventure Completed

I tried to post everyday, but as you can see from the singular previous post about Canada, I was having too much of a good time to be spending a minute on my phone/computer blogging, so lets see how well I can recall the details . . . 

                                             Part 2:

Tuesday morning after breakfast on the porch, gazing out at the Adirondacks, we made our way to Montreal, but not without a detour or two. Being the organized people that we are, we decided to get gas before crossing the border into Canada, unfortunately for us, we have very poor luck when it comes to gas stations . . . an hour of cows, silos, and farmlands (in the wrong direction) later we found a gas station. Now being that what was intended as a 10-minute side trip took the better part of an hour, we decided to get lunch. We found a quaint little place on the road, with a number of cars, and ordered. Unfortunately for us, when we got our food, no matter how hard we tried, we could not bring ourselves to eat more than the first bite--they were completely inedible. Stomachs grumbling, with our full tank of gas, and an hour behind schedule, we set out again and made it Canada by mid-afternoon.   

Montreal was beautiful! Given our limited amount of time in the city we set out straight away to explore. Having received a recommendation for an area to go for dinner, we set out walking in a complete circle, through the entire city proper, at least 13km. We wandered through several neighborhoods, took a look at McGill University, walked through a park or two (I have never seen so many people exercising in one place before in my entire life), ate dinner at a Greek restaurant, explored the downtown, got a cocktail in Old Montreal, witnessed a protest, and walked along the waterfront. We did not take the typical tourist route, but instead saw the sites under the stars, taking in the city at night—in my opinion a much better way to do it.

                                                      Part 3:

In the morning we made pancakes at our hostel, making friends with an Australian who was traveling across Canada. We chatted on the patio over coffee before going our separate ways for the day. Rachel and I, headed north of the city to Mt. Royal Park, where we hiked for a few hours, visited a "castle," learned some history of the city, took in several breathtaking views, snacked on maple sugar candies, and had lunch at a cafe--Canadian beer and sandwiches--before getting back in the car and heading back to the old USA. 

On the way back to North Creek, we took a few side trips: 

• We went to Fort Ticonderoga
• Ate ice cream
• Sang show tunes--namely the Sound of Music
• Walked through a century old cemetery and church
• Found a waterfall
• Explored a park
• Played on a playground
• Put our feet in Lake George
• Visited Hauge
• Drove through a biker convention
• And wandered through the woods

                                         Part 4:

This morning we were up, packed, and off bright and early! With our coffee and pastry in hand we set off for Saratoga Spa State Park where we went on a few short hikes, Rachel saw her first geyser, and we bathed in a few natural springs. After which we went to see the Saratoga Race Tracks, which were unfortunately closed, but we still we able to see quite a bit from the road. Having made better time than expected we went looking for another stop to make and decided to head to New Paltz for a coffee and a look around. In our attempt to avoid NYC rush hour, we managed to hit bumper-to-bumper all the way to New Paltz. By the time we got there we were ready to go. We took at look at SUNY New Paltz campus, got a coffee in town, and explored Main Street before getting back in the car and heading home. 

After 1200 miles, 10+ cities, 4 days, 3 nights, and 2 countries we arrived back at home and have already begun planning our next road trip, get excited for the Rachel & Shelby Massachusetts road trip come August as well as (fingers crossed) European Summer 2013!

Canadian Adventure: Part 1

It has been an interesting last 24 hours to say the least! (I am writing from my phone as the Internet is being funny at the house.) After a long day at work it was off to Queens to pick up Rachel from the subway as she spent the day in the city.

Now Queens is not an area I am terribly familiar with and so to say I got lost once or twice would be a severe understatement. We spent about an hour and a half me driving around in circles cursing my phone while Rachel sat in a diner--The Stop Inn--drinking coffee and eating pie patiently awaiting me to get it together and get to the right spot to pick her up.

After I found her and we drove in circles a bit longer figuring out how to get back to the highway, we were off! We only got lost half a dozen more times. Along the way we saw about 50 deer, went on a long detour in search of gas, belted our lungs out to the radio, and had an all around hilarious drive. At 12:30 we finally made it up to North Creek. After a quick episode of Game of Thrones we passed out and Part 1 of our Canadian adventure was complete.

Part 2:

We woke up to the bright and sunny wilderness. We made a lovely breakfast of tea, toast, and apricots and sat out outside to stare at the mountains and now, having packed up again, we are off to Canada. Next stop Montreal!

Quote of the Day: "We need a giant ball of yarn or something" Rachel at 10:30pm driving down the highway.

Road tripping

Tomorrow night Rachel and I embark on a three day adventure to Montreal. Our goal:

1. Road trip 
2. Spend as little money as possible 
3. Stay in a hostel 
4. Have a great time and 
5. Participate in a little ridiculousness

There will be hiking, tons of pictures, so much wonderful food, numerous detours, and I am sure quite a few good stories. With 450 miles of road ahead of us the preparations have been made, the route selected, the playlist put together, and the participants excited. All that is left to do is pack, pull out of the driveway, and let the adventure begin!