Miami Sunshine

Gavin and I just returned from our trip to Miami. It was great to escape the colder temperatures and absorb some vitamin D. Gavin was a little confused when I put swim trunks and a t-shirt on him. He kept pulling the sleeves down and asked about his hat and mittens! Once he got outside, he adapted very quickly to beach life.

It appears that Laura and Mike have quickly fallen in love with their new home. Miami is a fun city with lots to do and see. Gavin loved the birds, alligators, and other tropical inhabitants. Here are a few pictures from our trip.
Gavin hanging out at South Beach- loved to throw rocks and shells into the ocean, along with the random handful of sand at his mama. It was hard to explain that sand is not like snow- no sand-ball fights, please!
We took a trip to Gator Park in the Everglades, which included an airboat ride. The park turned out to be a bit of a hokey tourist trap, but Gavin really enjoyed it.
We visited Jungle Island, a tropical zoo. Gavin set himself up for this pose to say "cheese!"
This was definitely the highlight of Gavin's trip: posing with "monkey on the head!" He still talks about this several times during the day. This print cost me a small fortune, but I had to have it. Some memories are just a little more expensive than others, right?
He enjoyed walking on the beach with his aunt Laura. The ocean water is absolutely beautiful.

As you can tell, I'm advancing quickly to the "big mama" stage of pregnancy. Had to beat men off with a stick down at South Beach- what, with maternity swimwear being so damn sexy!

So now we're back in Albany and it feels great to be home. The weather has been in the 60s the past few days. It's time to clean up the yard and get ready for planting. We pulled out the barbecue and patio chairs yesterday. Hibernation is over.

A new season is upon us...

I woke up this morning feeling more energized than I have in weeks. The sun is out and while it's only 36 degrees outside, the forecast has us pushing 50 today. The snow has almost melted and it really does feel spring-like.

Last March I was struggling with what seemed like a never-ending winter. Fortunately, we have taken advantage of the outdoors this year and I have thoroughly enjoyed the colder months. Still, I am incredibly ready for warm weather, gardening, playing cards out on the porch, and most importantly, getting this child out of my belly! Pregnancy has not been such a joy this time around but the weeks are passing. Soon enough, I'll be sipping pinot gris out on the back patio, admiring my two kids and watching Adam grill up something delicious on the BBQ. Hey, affirmations are supposed to be effective, right? That seems like a scenario I can realize easily enough!

Gavin and I are lucky to get a jump-start on spring and are heading to Miami on Monday to visit my sister and her husband. I'm sure this has something to do with my new-found giddiness. Laura and Mike moved to Miami just a little over a month ago and after seeing their ocean photos, I quickly booked flights! My little sidekick is a well-traveled two year old and I'm sure he'll have as much fun running in the waves as I will!

We'll return on the 16th, with the official start of Spring less than a week away. I'll chat with you then- after all, there are garden plans to be made!

Gavin and Mommy play in the snow

We finally got hit with a storm here in Albany. We woke up to at least 8 inches of snow and by the time Gavin and I headed out to play it seemed deeper than that! It's a very wet snow, much like what we'd get in the northwest. It's actually not very cold here- mid 30s. I thought it would be nice for Gavin to practice walking in his snowshoes in preparation for this weekend's hike. He was a little frustrated but he seemed to get the hang of it. Here is a little video of his efforts and some photos of the rest of our playtime.

When we got done with our snowshoe lesson, Gavin played in the backyard with the dogs. We then decided to build a snowman.
Gavin loved his Frosty and gave him a big hug... then, he picked his head up and threw it. Oh well... nice moment while it lasted!

Advocating for State Parks (My soap-box post)

I am sorry that I did not post anything last week. Instead of blogging, I have been busy writing letters to my NY State legislators. It came to my attention last week that NY is closing or reducing services at somewhere between 40-64 state parks and 15 historic sites to solve part of our budget crisis. It's my understanding that this is happening all over the country, including Washington State and California. I find this incredibly upsetting- in fact, I'm pissed as hell about it!

I am not one to get politically active- sure, I have my own opinions and participate in elections but I never feel the urge to protest or write letters. Well, this issue has me pretty fired up. Gavin and I will be attending our first political protest on March 3rd to try and help save Thacher Park, one of the parks on the chopping block. Thacher is the park that I've written several posts about- it's an absolutely beautiful park that has been the setting for many of our weekend hikes this year.

From what I have been researching, closing these parks will save NY State about $6.3 million- our budget deficit is $8.3 BILLION. I understand that cuts need to be made in hard economic times but I think this is the worst place to be looking for money savings. I can bet you that even when the economy turns around, the budget is never going to be at such a surplus that the parks will be reopened. The amount of administrative bureaucracy is mind-boggling. You know the saying, how many people does it take to screw in a light-bulb? Well, how many politicians does it take to accomplish absolutely nothing? We pay over twice as much in tax dollars living in NY State as we did in Washington. Our property taxes alone, are double what we paid for our Seattle home. We now pay a state income tax. We also pay sales tax comparable to Seattle's. We pay tolls to take the thruways and turnpikes. What are they doing with this money? At the very least, we should be able to enjoy the park system and historical sites that the state has to offer. Otherwise, why would people choose to live here?

However, the biggest reason this fires me up is the message that it sends to communities. At at time when people are becoming increasingly out-of-shape and so narrowly focused on consumerism, our government leaders should be promoting park usage and quality lifestyles. We need to move our bodies and appreciate our natural environments. I understand that we need to stimulate the economy and job creation by giving business tax credits, etc. but at a certain point we have to learn that we can't just consume our way out of our problems. We have to start focusing on the quality of our lives and make decisions that will better the entire community. Sure, I'll continue to buy my kids toys and expose them to new technology, but I also want them to get excited about spending a few hours without all that crap. Even at age 2, the look on Gavin's face when he puts on his boots and knows we're heading out to the park is priceless.

I didn't mean for this to turn into a soap-box post. Believe it or not, I actually restrained myself. I could have gone on for several more paragraphs! I didn't even go into lost tourism revenues or increasing percentages of childhood obesity- I saved those arguments for my letter writing. If this is an issue that has you concerned- I encourage you to write to your own government legislators. This truly is not an issue for hippies or hard-core environmentalists. If you don't believe me, maybe you need to take a hike (literally!)

Yet another rant about Price Chopper

Before I begin my rant, I must admit that grocery shopping with a toddler is a trying experience to say the least. I typically avoid taking Gavin with me if at all possible. I pretty much need to psyche myself up for the whole event. This evening, Gavin was in a pretty good mood so I decided to go for it.

It all started out fine. Friday evenings seem to be a pretty good time to go shopping as most people have more exciting lives than I do and are out having dinner or seeing movies. Ya know, things I used to be able to do before having a child. Oh well, who says making your weekly meal plan and grocery shopping isn't just a sweet way to spend Friday night?

Gavin and I have a new game at the store- I tell him what everything is, he repeats it and then puts the groceries in the cart. He was a trooper for the most part- until we got to the checkout line.  He had run out of patience by then and it didn't help that we got the dumbest checker on planet Earth. I had a full cart and she seemed insanely overwhelmed by it. The worst part was- no bagger. And, this is where my rant really begins.

What is it with grocery stores not bagging your groceries? What happened to the days when they not only bagged your groceries but then asked you if you needed help out? I find it appalling that I spent $218 and had to watch the checker practically throw my stuff through the scanner and watch it all back up while I swiped my Advantage card and put in my debit card. Then, I madly run to the end of the aisle and start trying to load my bags. Meanwhile, Gavin begins to go ape-shit. One would think at this point, the checker would say, "Here, let me do that." But no, Sergeant Dumbass just stares at me and then asks me to sign the receipt. She finally decides to load the last bag and says, "I hope I didn't squish your brie." Well, maybe it's not a good idea to place the gallon of milk on top of it. Seriously...

I really don't have a point to this rant. I am concerned that common sense is lacking in this country even in the simplest of situations, such as grocery stores bagging groceries. I have adapted to their needs- I bring my own bags and use their customer loyalty card. Is my expectation of good customer service unrealistic? I don't think so.

A weekend with old friends...

This past weekend we welcomed our friends Melissa and Earl Ardales for a visit. Melissa actually came in on Thursday so we could catch a Brandi Carlile concert. Earl joined us Friday afternoon, catching the last flight out of Baltimore before all remaining flights were cancelled due to tremendous snowfall. It's so odd that we've missed all these big east coast storms. Our biggest snowfall has amounted to just 7 inches. We keep getting a few inches here and there but nothing substantial.

On Friday evening, Melissa and I decided to make Beef Bourguignon. I had been wanting to make Julia Child's recipe ever since reading My Life in France. However, after reading through her recipe and comparing it to Ina Garten's, we chose to go with Ina's. Her recipe seemed more updated and required fewer steps. She also adds cognac to her stew and that just sounded incredible. Plus, Earl got to have some fun lighting the pot on fire! The stew turned out fabulous, as almost all of Ina's recipes do. We also made an apple tart using Julia's recipe. These are my favorite types of meals- simple, elegant, yet completely unpretentious.

Over dinner, the topic of how many states each of us had visited came up. Melissa had not been to Massachusetts or Vermont and Earl was missing Vermont as well. That settled it, we'd take them to both states the following day. Hey, we aim to please at Hotel deMars.

The following morning we headed over to Williamstown, MA and then over to Mt. Greylock for some hiking. We had found a trail that followed a creek and offered some spectacular scenery. There was not much snow on the ground but there were lots of icy patches which made it somewhat precarious. We were about a quarter mile into our hike when we came across a 20 ft sheet of ice over the trail. There really wasn't a safe way to cross since we didn't have crampons or snowshoes with us. We decided to hike up the hill and try to find a crossing further up. Of course, once we headed upward, we had to find a safe way back down to the trail. It was interesting, to say the least. At almost 5 months pregnant, I felt both a little bad-ass and a little stupid. Adam was carrying Gavin in a backpack which made his trek down equally bad-ass/stupid. Alas, we all made it back down to the trail safely and continued our hike.

Beginning of our hike... The Hopper Trail, Mt. Greylock

Melissa and Earl, bundled up and ready to go!

Here is the sheet of ice we came across- as you can tell, one slip and you'd be in the creek! Below, is Earl making his way back down the hill we climbed up to avoid the ice. It involved a little squat/slide!

The second half of the hike included a steady incline which got all of our heart rates going. We've been doing a lot of hiking this winter but this was by far the most aggressive. It was nice to get a real workout but I also became very aware of just how quickly one's body changes when pregnant. I was a little tuckered out by the end! I was also very thankful that Melissa and I had the foresight to make a lasagna the night before so dinner was waiting for us in the fridge.

After our hike, we drove through Bennington, Vermont and over to Shaftbury to The Chocolate Barn. We loaded up on truffles and other goodies and then headed back home. I think we provided Melissa and Earl with a nice little tour of southern New England. Their flight home ended up being cancelled and they stayed with us through Monday evening. Fortunately, they were able to get home before the next storm. After getting hit with almost 30 inches of snow, they are expecting another 20 inches today!

Winter in Southern New England

A couple of weekends ago, we decided to journey over to the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. I had read about a few places to go hiking and play in the snow so we thought we'd go check them out. Gavin is always looking for a reason to wear his snow boots!

The Berkshires are very close to us and you can get to most of the towns within 40 to 90 minutes. I think the last time I wrote about a trip there was last winter, when we went to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge. This time we started out in Pittsfield, MA. Apparently, this used to be a very happening town- GE used to employ thousands of people there. Now, it seems like a very small town and I had commented to Adam that it seemed strange to see so many big homes and wondered where people worked. I still don't know the answer to that but whatever. This is not a blog post about the demographics of Pittsfield, MA, now is it?

Anyhow, I love driving through the Berkshires. It's very New England. There are lots of country roads that wander over hills. There are little farming communities and really cute houses. Our first stop was to Balance Rock State Park. This was not much of a hike, just a really great park to go for a winter walk. There were a few people out cross country skiing and lots of people on snowmobiles. Balance Rock is a 165-ton boulder that was left by a retreating ice sheet thousands of years ago. Over time, soil and loose rock have eroded, leaving the boulder in a balanced position. It's actually crazy to see- does not seem like physics should allow it to stay.

We spent some time wandering through the Pittsfield State Forest and then headed out for another destination. This time, we just plugged 'parks' into our GPS and were directed to Mt. Greylock. Mt. Greylock is the tallest mountain in the state of Massachusetts. It's actually where the Appalachian Trail begins, although we did not enter the park from that side. The park has over 70 miles worth of hiking trails and the mountain inspired some of the writings of Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathanial Hawthorne. I was a big American Lit fan growing up so I thought this was pretty cool. There is an "Inspiration Trail" that has stones with random quotations from some of these writers and others. I plan on finding that trail next weekend, weather permitting. We're expecting Melissa and Earl Ardales for a visit up from DC. Can't wait to show them around!

It's been a fun winter of exploring. I recently rediscovered libraries and have been checking out lots of books on the area. I am still writing my examiner.com column so this has been a good way to get ideas on where to go. By the time we move back to Seattle, I just might be a bit of an Albany Day Trips expert... who woulda thunk it?

Anyhow- here are some pics:

Gavin and me cuddled up under Balance Rock

Someone took the liberty of welcoming little Gavin before we arrived, isn't that nice?

Yes, we are that cheeseball family that pretends to push the rock over...

King of the mountain!

Adam and Gavin hiking at Mt. Greylock

We ran into Frosty, complete with pine mohawk! (Meg, this pic was for you so you can see my bump!)

Gavin was afraid of Frosty at first but then decided he wanted to say hi. For the rest of the hike back to the car he kept saying, "I touched Frosty!" Oh boy!

DBR & The Mission

I have hesitated writing about what is going on in Haiti because I think it's difficult from where I sit to have any idea just how great a tragedy this is. It's hard to know what to do when tragedies are affecting people so far away. At the same time, it's also hard to know what to do when tragedies are affecting people that live just across the street. It sometimes seems easier to close yourself off from it- pretend that it's not happening.

I received an email shortly after the earthquake from The Egg, our local venue for concerts and theatre. A composer and violinist, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) was holding a benefit concert to help relief efforts in Haiti. I thought it sounded interesting and convinced my friends to join me. DBR is a Haitian-American and maybe one of the most talented musicians I have ever seen in concert.

We attended the concert on Friday night. It consisted of DBR, two other violinists, a man on the viola, and a woman playing the cello. The centerpiece for the concert was "A Civil Rights Reader." DBR started writing these quartets at age 23. As he said, instrumental music can be whatever you want it to be. There are no lyrics so it allows you to feel whatever you want/need to feel. His quartets moved from anger, to funky, to folksy, and then more reflective. He took breaks to discuss Haiti and also had some friends of his call in from Haiti to describe what was going on there. It was heartbreaking to hear them describe so much death. It also didn't help that I am 4 months pregnant and insanely hormonal. I immediately began crying. I must be having a girl. This baby makes me cry all the time- Folgers commercials, Friends episodes- it's out of control. Anyhow, that little side note was not meant to minimize the emotions that I was feeling at this concert because hormones or not, many people were crying because sometimes you don't know how else to react.

I am not a religious person in that I don't identify with a specific church. I would say that I am more of a spiritual person. In times of crisis or heartache, I may seek the quiet of the outdoors, the sense of empowerment I get from going for a run, or in this case, listening to beautiful, innovative, and emotionally charged music. Sorry for a somewhat downer post, I really don't know how to put a positive spin on such a horrific situation. The music is really incredible though and I felt it was worth sharing. Here is a link to DBRs website if you're interested.

Kaaterskill Falls- Catkills, NY

We had intended on taking a big snowshoe adventure through the Catskill Mountains on Saturday. However, the weather in New York turned suddenly warm and there actually wasn't a ton of snow. After last weekend's hike in 12 degree weather, we were treated to a sunny day and a temperature near 50 degrees! It was glorious! We decided to just do some exploring and have our snowshoes on hand if they were necessary. Our friends Jeff and Toyin needed to go to Catskill to pick up a treadmill they purchased so we decided to make a day out of it.

The northern part of the Catskills is only about 45 minutes from Albany. There are a lot of beautiful hiking trails, however many of them are closed during the months of January and February because many go along cliffs and are too treacherous. We stopped off at the Greene County Visitors Center for a suggestion of where to go for some light hiking with a 2 year old. The gal suggested Kaaterskill Falls, the tallest double-tiered waterfall in New York. There is a .50 mile hike from the base of the falls up to the top, however, it was really slippery and I climbed up about five rocks before realizing it was not a good idea for Gavin or his knocked up mama! Adam climbed up a ways to get a closer look at the frozen waterfalls while Gavin and I stayed down below and had a snowball fight. We will definitely return in the spring or summer to get a look at the falls when they are flowing.

After we spent time at the bottom of the falls, we drove up to the top and took a walk to see the falls from above. It was such a beautiful day to be in New York. Here are some photos of our day- I like showing you some of the scenic gems that you may not have heard about. I really had no idea how much this state had to offer outside of NYC before we moved here. Enjoy!

Lower part of Kaaterskill Falls

Adam and Gavin, before we realized the hike was much more treacherous than it appeared.

The top of Kaaterskill Falls

Adam enjoying the view from above the falls

Gavin looking at the frozen water and enjoying the occasional handful of snow

Now this is a great way to hike!

Toyin and me

Winter Fun

It has been dang cold here the last few weeks. Although, we haven't had as much snow as we had last year. This time last year, we were strategically shoveling snow piles to enable us to get out of our driveway. We've been getting a few inches of snow here and there and it's been pretty manageable. I like getting a fresh dusting a few times a week- it makes everything look so much prettier.

We've also started to embrace our climate and take advantage of winter hiking. I wrote about Thacher Park a month or so ago. It's been our winter playground the last couple of weeks. There are waterfalls and creeks that are absolutely stunning with the ice and snow. We also invested in snowshoes so we can better manage our hikes. Gavin did really well in his- the kid is awesome! We are hoping to get a hike in every weekend. This past weekend was extremely cold, 12 degrees and I don't know how much colder with the wind chill. Even so, we powered through. Once you get going, you warm up pretty well.

Next weekend we are venturing to the Catskills with our friends Jeff and Toyin. I found some great trails to explore so that should be a lot of fun. It's nice to get out in the fresh air and get some exercise. We spend most of the week cuddled up in our house so it's great to have something to look forward to. I think we all need a little adventure in our lives! Here are a few pictures of our winter exploring so far. Enjoy!

Little squirt ready to go!

Thacher Park, January 2010

Looking at the waterfalls

Gavin loves to shake the snow off the tree branches!

Little man on his new snowshoes- again, he's just awesome!

He gets tired out pretty quickly though and makes Adam carry him!