I think this is going to be the second and last part of my “Complaining about the Internet” series. I just need to get this one out there.
Have you ever heard of Twitter? If so, you’ll know what I am talking about here. If not, I’ll explain what it is to you. Basically, Twitter is a website that allows you to post very short updates on the happenings of your life. It can go something like this…”I have my hand stuck in the toilet.” You can post as many updates as you would like all day long if you want to. People who follow your Twitter feed can stay updated on how many times you get your hand stuck in the toilet during the day. It’s marvelous.
I hope I am describing the service correctly; I have never actually used it.
Just because I haven’t used Twitter, doesn’t mean I can’t complain about it. Please, let me know if the following is annoying to you too.
The other day, I was watching the news or something like it. Maybe it was one of those news shows, I’m not sure. There was a fascinating story on about how a few surgeons were operating on someone and another doctor was Twittering the goings on of the operation. I didn’t think too much of it at the moment. Then, later that day, I started thinking more about it. I asked myself, “Self, why was a doctor Twittering about an operation as it was in progress?” I began having strange thoughts and my mind started to wander. I must confess, I got annoyed for a while. I finally calmed down and tried to look at the plus side of the whole thing.
Let’s look at the “goods” of Twittering during an operation:
1. Comfort – a family can sit around a computer or a mobile phone reading “Tweets” about their loved one’s operation.
2. Informed – The world can get a first hand look at what goes on during an operation.
3. Progress – The doctors and hospital can glow in the limelight of their cutting-edge technology.
4. Contact – Everyone can be proud of themselves that we no longer need to have any amount of human contact.
Today, I watched the White House press conference for a few minutes. I got to the part where the Press Secretary said, “I find it humorous how many press releases have gone out and how much Twitter activity has gone on about…” I had to stop watching. Are you serious?
Okay, I love technology just as much as the next guy, but at what point do we implant “Borg-like” cybernetic enhancements on the sides of our heads and call it a day?
I thought it was great when email arrived on the scene. What a time saver. Then, when I could read the news online, I was thrilled. When I could finally keep up with friends and families through their blogs, I just loved it. When people started broadcasting every heartbeat that occurs inside their chest cavities, I thought the line was crossed.
I tend to think that this modern computer age is a “tool” to assist us in our “real lives.” Did you read that? A “tool” to “assist” us in our “real lives.” I might be over-quoting here, but I believe we are headed towards a place that is quite the opposite of what I just said. It’s going to be like, “Oh man, I have to go out in the sunshine today? Can’t I just twist the knob on the side of my skull and relay all my thoughts to everyone who belongs to the collective? Well, if I must go outside, I am going to need some sunglasses.”
Exercise? Family time? Conversation? Hiking? Looking someone in the eyes? I don’t think so folks…I’ll just go to YouTube and watch a video of someone else exercising, email my family about what I did today, use Skype to have a face-to-face conversation, get a treadmill and call it a hike and email someone a picture of me. I think that about covers it.
As I am finishing up this post and re-reading it, I am seeing a theme among this post and my prior one about Facebook. It appears that I get most agitated at the constant updating of our lives. With my blog, I write every so often to give you folks some information about me. I do it with thought and care. I plan it, write it and then proof read it. I don’t do it randomly and I certainly don’t do it 30 times a day.
Let’s go back to the Tweet, “I have my hand stuck in the toilet.” I think many of us might ask, “Who cares?” Seriously, “W-h-o c-a-r-e-s?”
To think, I thought I was alone. This guy sums it up nicely.
I can officially call it winter now that it’s the 22nd. It feels like just a few weeks ago that I had sweat dripping off my face from working outside. Now, sweat is just a distant memory.
When I woke up this morning, I noticed a blue sky peeking through the little half circle window above the closed shades in the bedroom. I was pretty happy because every time it’s sunny during these “dark” months, you pretty much have to take advantage of it. Being trapped inside a house during a very snowy weekend can get on your nerves. Not that it isn’t beautiful outside, it’s just that seeing the same walls over and over again can take its toll.
I decided that today would be a great day to take Holly down into the woods to go for a walk. Since Holly is a Nordic dog, I figured that she would jump at the chance to bounce around in the deep snow. The plan was to hike down the hill behind the house, cross the walking trail, climb over the rock wall and continue down to the river. Maybe Holly could get a quick drink while we were there and then we would figure out a way to get back up that steep, snowy hill. That was the plan.
I went downstairs to get Holly, who was asleep on the warm basement floor. I said, “C’mon Holly…c’mon,” while slapping my hand against my leg. She kind of just lifted her head to look at me. Then, I started jumping around so she would get the message. Holly isn’t the best listener, so it takes a bit of theatrics to get her to do anything. Finally, she got up and followed me up the basement stairs and out the garage door, where I clipped her to her leash. I think she was starting to wake up, because she had a little pep in her step once we hit the driveway pavement.
To get Holly warmed up for the snow hike, I walked her up the driveway to the mailbox and back down to the edge of the woods. Once we were all set to enter the woods, I gave her a tug and jumped in myself. She followed me, but once her paws hit the snow and her body sank about a foot into it, she looked a bit discouraged. She glanced up at me with those, “No way, man” eyes. I wasn’t having that, so I started to tug on her leash a little more. We got about 50 feet into the woods and she stopped. She just stopped. Her head kept on leading back to the driveway. I stood there in utter disappointment. What had this dog turned into? Oh well, today is her birthday and she did just turn 14. I’ll give her a break.
We started heading back up the driveway and she began hopping in the snow. “Oh, so there’s all that energy,” I said. She was saving it to make sure she would make it back to that warm basement floor. She might need it to fall asleep again. Oh well. I brought her back inside and headed down into the woods myself.
Good thing I had my big boots and snow pants on. If I tried to hike around in anything else, I would have been totally covered in snow. We must have over a foot, because the white stuff was well past my shins and right below my kneecaps. It’s not fun when it hits the skin and starts to melt. Winter is all about dressing the right way. I figured that out a long time ago. Believe it or not, the second time I went skiing, I attempted to go down Mt. Snow in jeans. What an idiot. I’ll chalk that up to being an inexperienced youth.
I had my camera in my pocket and was ready to take some really beautiful shots of the New England woods after a snowstorm. I made it a bit down the hill to the treehouse. I figured I would take a few pictures of it to show you. I mentioned to Laura this morning that we should make a point of fixing it up this summer, just in case we ever wanted to sit up there and watch the woods. It’s situated in a nice little cluster of Hemlocks.
Treehouse in Hemlock trees
Treehouse in Hemlock trees
The treehouse is built very well and quite sturdy, so I don’t think we’ll have any problems maintaining it. Laura already climbed up there over the summer to peek out the window. I got about half way up and turned around. I few years ago, I would have been jumping up and down on top of the roof. What the heck happened to me?
I continued down the hill, across the hiking trail, all the way to the river. It’s really not that far, but when you are lifting your knees to your chest, trying to walk, it seems a lot further than it really is.
I made it to the river and took a few photos. This one was the best.
River leading into wetlands
The water wasn’t as active as it was a few days ago, after that huge rainfall we had. It was pretty calm today, but I’m sure we’ll see a change after the rain and warm weather that’s predicted for the next few days.
From there, I stopped to smell the figurative roses. It’s not every day I am able to stand, once again, in silence. It was really nice. There were no footprints anywhere, so I knew I was alone. I took a look around to see what I could take pictures of. It was kind of challenging, because there wasn’t a lot of substance. It’s hard to explain, but in the summer months, there are leaves, trees, flowers, animals, etc…to take pictures of. During winter, there is snow and wood. I did find a few things though…
Branch with buds
Looking into the sun
Small branch with ice on it
Tree branches in winter
Dried leaf with snow on it
Small tree in winter woods
At that point, I figured that I had enough pictures. Trust me, there were many more than what I am showing you, but so many didn’t come out the way I wanted them to. With many of them, I was experimenting with the various settings on the camera.
When my fingers started getting cold, I turned around to head up the hill.
If you have never seen this hill, I’ll tell you that it’s somewhat difficult walking up when there is no snow on the ground. When there is snow, it’s all the more fun. I made it about half way back up when I stopped at the treehouse again. I saw a few low hanging Hemlock branches, so I pulled the camera back to see what I could do with them.
Close up Hemlock branches
That was fun because the Hemlock is my all-time favorite tree.
As I rounded the crest of the hill and got closer to civilization, I felt the cold air against my face. I was using a lot of energy, but not sweating in the least. I continued to walk and thought to myself how beautiful winter and snow can really be. I spend so much of my time complaining about how I can’t go outside and plant things, that I overlook much of what this time of year has to offer. Today was a great day to get outside and remind me of that.
The last picture I took was of one of the Rhodedenrums out in front. It looked to good against the blue sky, I just couldn’t help myself.
I think that’s a myth. There’s no such thing. I’m sure people go out to do a big cleanup every Autumn…you know the kind, when the kids jump in the huge piles of leaves, but it’s unrealistic to think that you don’t have to keep cleaning all season long.
I have already done two big cleanups. Each time, I blew out all the gardens, I mowed the lawn and sucked up all the leaves. I also got up all the twigs off the grass. I am betting that I have to do this at least one more time, if I want to get things really clean.
You know, I guess I can just forget about the whole thing and wait until Spring. That would be a problem because, besides having the place look bad, trying to get wet leaves up the Spring time is a much more difficult task.
All I have to say is I love you Stihl and John Deere. If I didn’t have this blower and ride-on mower with the bagger, I would be up…well, in a very annoying position. I couldn’t imagine trying to rake this entire yard and then mow it with the push mower. I suppose I could do it, but I really wouldn’t be doing too much else in life because of the time it would take.
Can a guy get grass obsessed?
Grass
I believe so.
Hey, I’m not the only one out there who cares about the grass so much. Do you know how much money people spend on lawn care every year? A whole lot, that’s how much. Those nice even green lawns don’t come cheap. The trick is to get them even and green in the first place. Keeping them that way is the easy part. When you’re just a novice like I am, the learning curve can be kind of steep. My main problem was identifying the problem. Now that I know what’s going on, I can correct it. The bad part is that it’s probably going to take until next Autumn to get things looking good. That makes for a very long Spring and Summer for a guy who sits on the front steps looking at the grass.
You really should see it though. When I am done driving around like a crazy man sucking up those leaves, the whole place looks like I just vacuumed it. It’s so cool. I get such a kick out of these toys.
Even my brother got a nice back-pack blower. He couldn’t deal with his 10 year old Craftsman hand-held, so he went out and got a big one. He told me just last night that he got done in 5 minutes what would have taken an hour with the other one, if it did the job at all. Hey, when you have a lot of leaves…
Sky at dusk
I know why people say that Autumn is their favorite time of year. It is simply spectacular. Even when many of the leaves are already off the trees, nothing beats a nice warm Autumn day.
We have been doing a lot of hiking and walking. Sometimes, I just stop in the middle of the trail and smell the air. There are only certain times of the year we can do this and I like to enjoy it. There is nothing like it.
As I was walking out on the court this morning with the tennis instructor, he asked me where I lived. I told him where I live and then informed him that I just moved here a few months ago. He asked where I had come from and why I had moved. I told him because there were no tennis clubs where I used to live. You think I’m kidding.
I suppose that was just the icing on the cake or perhaps an indication of the type of area we lived in. I think the only indoor tennis court within 30 miles was inside some old barn. This guy I used to work with told me that someone had redone a barn and put a tennis court in it. That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.
You would be surprised at how many dinner conversations Laura and I have about life. We are real thinkers. I probably over-analyze more than she does, but we do have some pretty worthwhile conversations. One of the topics we talk about is what we could do in the recreational arena. I mean, we probably do more walking, hiking and biking than anyone I know, but it never seems to be enough. We work out on the Bowflex, but that doesn’t seem to be enough. I work around the house cutting down trees and spreading mulch, but still not enough. We even wrestle, well, you get the picture.
This type of thing becomes very important to me when the bad weather sets in. I get the Winter blues easily and need to be constantly entertained or else people are going to hear me complain. No one wants to hear someone else complain.
I used to work at the Carmel Fitness and Racquet Club over in Carmel, NY. I worked there for about four years as the head life guard from 1993 to 1997. I loved that job because it would allow me to do all my homework for college when no one was in the pool. I credit that job for helping me graduate Westchester Community College. I also loved that job because I got free use of the gym and the indoor tennis courts. I love to play tennis and having indoor courts at my disposal year round was the best thing to happen to me. Also, to have a life guarding job year round was great too.
At the Carmel Fitness and Racquet Club, I played a LOT of tennis. You couldn’t keep me out of that place. I get bored very fast, but back then, I had something to do about it. I would hop in my car and go play tennis. If there was no one to play with, I would practice my serve or just hit against the ball machine. Those four years taught me a lot about the game and I actually got pretty good at it.
When I went to college at Binghamton University, I stopped playing. Twelve years have now gone by and I have only casually played tennis a few times, but nothing to write home about. I really miss the game.
Living where we used to live didn’t help. Since people were more into farming than tennis, I had a better chance of somehow driving a bulldozer across a field than to actually play some indoor tennis. Year after year, I got more and more sick and tired of putting up with the lack of recreational activities in the area. There is only so much of walking up and down the road someone can do. I mean, people can say, “Oh, we have this and we have that,” but really it’s the feeling you get when you are somewhere. It’s the culture.
So when I gave the tennis instructor that answer this morning, I wasn’t kidding.
Yesterday, as we were out and about, I decided to take a different way back to the house. I drove through a back road (Oak Street) in Glastonbury to hop on Hebron Avenue. As I was driving down Oak Street, I noticed a sign on my right. It said, “Glastonbury Tennis Club.” I almost fainted. I had planned on joining the tennis club up in East Hartford when the weather got a little cooler, but this was a heck of a lot closer to where we live. I drove a little further and turned around.
Glastonbury Tennis Club
We walked in the club and talked to the front desk person a little while. I eventually signed up for a membership and scheduled a lesson for this afternoon at 12:30. I thought this was just great.
This club has six nice indoor courts and four pros for lessons. I thought a few lessons would be a good idea, since I hadn’t played in such a long time. I didn’t want to jump right back into playing matches with strangers when I wasn’t sure of my abilities.
Glastonbury Tennis Club indoor courts
I had my first lesson with John, the Tennis Director. He was pretty cool and probably got a kick of how fast my face turned red from all that running around. I must say, I played rather well. I hit some great shots and was consistently “OK.” Let’s just say that I could hold my own against an intermediate player.
This tennis club has a bunch of clinics where there is a pro and about five people per court. They hold the intermediate clinics on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings. I will most likely go to all of them. I want to get back in shape before the Winter comes because I want to start playing matches. The instructor told me that in a few weeks, I should be ready for the advanced clinics.
On Monday (Labor Day), we decided to get in the car and cruise down to Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam, CT. This has been on my “to do” list for a while.
We weren’t really in the mood for a hike. We kind of just wanted to see the castle. I read good things about it and heard it was really cool. I also wanted to see if it would be a good place to launch a boat, since it sits right on the Connecticut River.
It’s a good thing we weren’t in the mood for a hike. Even though there is a trail map, this state park isn’t like the others we have been to. The castle definitely is the main attraction. There is a visitor’s center and everything. The trails lead, in a zig-zag fashion, down to the river. We walked them, but there really wasn’t an opening down there. I kind of popped out of the woods where the water began. It’s not bad in the least, just not a hiking park.
Now, what was really cool was the castle. It overlooks the Connecticut River like nothing else does. I was surprised to see so many boats on the river. I mean, I guess it was Labor Day and everything, but still, it was packed with boats. I think the best part of this river is the fact that it leads down to the Long Island Sound. I am guessing that you could get from the castle to the Sound in about a half hour. That’s pretty neat, and really good if you have a boat.
The castle has tours, for a fee. We didn’t take them up on the offer this time, but I think we will do it when the weather gets a little cooler. I am thinking around Halloween. It can be spooky, I’m sure, especially because the castle has secret passage ways. I like secret passage ways because I am a secretive and sneaky person by nature.
Here are some photos of the castle and the surrounding area.
Bridge near pond at Gillette Castle State Park
Bridge at Gillette Castle State Park
Sherlock Holmes - William Gillette sign at Gillette Castle State Park
Today, we went back to Devil’s Hopyard State Park in East Haddam for what turned out to be a grueling two mile hike. It felt good, but there was a lot of sweat involved. We went uphill and downhill and everywhere in between. You should’ve seen me huffing and puffing like a fat guy at the tops of the hills. All this hiking should get me in better shape though.
We hiked the entire orange trail which brought us up to the vista, which was very nice. Then, the trail brought us down to the river again and past the Devil’s Oven. We walked back up to the bridge and past the falls to the car.
I took some more photos of various areas of the orange trail. I really have to stop taking so many pictures. Laura is starting to call me a tourist. Hey, this is the way I live. I am on my third digital camera because I like to use them so much. Also, somebody has got to like these things besides me.
As I have mentioned before, Connecticut is the place to be if you like parks, hiking, mountain biking and recreation in general. We are learning that people around here take this stuff very seriously. When driving around, it’s hard not to see people jogging, riding bikes, playing golf…whatever.
Last week, we decided to drive down to East Haddam to visit Devil’s Hopyard State Park. I looked at this park’s trail map online and it looked good. The thing that really attracted me was the waterfall. As usual, I opened up Google Earth and checked it out from above. Well, all it looked like was woods. I don’t know, after seeing the satellite view, I didn’t think it looked all that great. We went anyway. I am usually wrong about these things.
I was really wrong about this one. I have been to many state parks in my life and I have to say this one was the best so far. The water does it for me. It’s a very low-key park. There are no highways around and it’s tucked back in the woods. The waterfall is great and the river adds a lot to the hike. This park is going to be on our list for a long time. They also offer camping, which is cool.
I took a bunch of pictures and will add captions where I think they would fit.
We parked on Helon Cone Rd., right off of Hopyard Rd. This was the enterance sign to Devil's Hopyard State Park.
This was a long one. At least the air was nice and hot for us during the entire hike…oh man…
We knew which trail we wanted to hike when we arrived at Gay City State Park yesterday. We have been looking at the trail map and we (I) thought we knew exactly where to go. Sure, we started off great, but apparently, we were on the wrong trail from the get-go. I think we started off great because, well, at least we were on a trail.
By the way, Gay City State Park lies in three towns…Bolton, Hebron and Glastonbury. It’s pretty big and does the area just fine.
Ok, here is what I wanted to do – I wanted to start off at the yellow trail and go to the end. That would’ve been .8 miles. Then, at the end, I wanted to make a left onto the red trail for another 1.16 miles. I thought that would have brought us back to the road so we could walk back to the car. The problem is that we unknowingly started on the blue trail. I really don’t pay attention to those minor details sometimes.
Well, as it turns out, the blue trail went for .26 miles. It led us to the blue/red trail for another .4 miles. At this point, I said, “Hmmm…this is an awefully long trail. Mileage in the woods certainly seems to take longer than the same distance on the road.” We made a left onto the red trail and walked .91 miles and then (finally) made another left onto the yellow trail for .8 miles. About another .2 miles and we were back at the car. It took a lot out of us, being over 90 degrees and all.
The good thing is that we saw some pretty cool stuff. I could’ve done without the fly that was flying around my head the entire time, but otherwise, it was a good walk.
Here are some photos…
This is the very beginning of the trail. I thought this was the yellow trail. Apparently not.
About half way down the blue trail, we arrived at the Blackledge River. It’s nice a shady and a great place to sit down and take a break. There is a nice bridge and a picnic table. How do you like my Summer haircut?
Back in the day, Gay City State Park was a mill town. Today, all that’s left are some foundations and cellar holes. The top photo above is a foundation that is right next to the brige that goes over the Blackledge River on the blue trail. The lower picture is a cellar hole that (I think) was along the yellow trail.
This is just a random shot of a big Oak tree. We we saw it, I thought that it was pretty straight. The photographer in me wanted to get a neat photo of it.
We haven’t seen any mountain bikers yet, but there are lots of them in these trails. Probably more mountain bikers than walkers. It can get a little lumpy though. Near the wetlands of the red trail, the trails get quite rocky.
This is the lake (swamp) that lies in between the blue trail and the yellow trail. It’s not really a clear lake and I believe it may be responsible for all the rocks and insects.
Finally, a little cooling off at the pump in the camp on the blue trail.
We were going to go back today for another hike, but it’s pretty bad outside. I mean hot. Maybe later on this afternoon or something.
I know that I have told you in the past how much Laura and I like to eat lunch at the Fife’n Drum restaurant in Kent, CT every Easter. We have been doing it now for about four years. It usually is a very good time. Well, unfortunately, yesterday was our last visit to this restaurant.
I am going to try to keep this short and sweet and not too much like a restaurant critic. Let’s just say that it seems like there is some new management and a new chef at this place.
The wait was very long during each portion of our two courseEaster lunch and the food was amateur at best. It seemed like the dish washing dude was back there cooking too. I swear it seemed like there were parts of my dishes that were from a can. To me, “warm potatoes” does not mean potato salad that tasted like it was straight from Costco. A vegetarian dish does not mean boiled vegetables. Oh well, there’s $80 down the drain. We didn’t even stay for dessert…my favorite part. We just left the money on the table and left. During the last 20 minute wait to have our plates cleared from the table, three different waiters walked by and looked at us at least seven times. We kept wondering if our waiter had gone home. Well, as it turns out, as we were leaving, Laura caught sight of this guy eating at the bar. What the hell? If you can’t tell, I am a little annoyed. To think, I still left a tip…A TIP. I didn’t have the patience to wait for any change. I swear, if we had stayed any longer, they would’ve started vacuuming the floor while people were still eating. Yes, we will have to find a new place to eat on Easter.
To simmer down, we went on our traditional hike at Bull’s Bridge. I have a few posts about our previous hikes. It’s a really neat place.
Since we have been down the same trail so many times, I thought it would be a good idea to check out the top part of the trails. Laura might have been a little disappointed because she wanted to go on a real hike. I will have to make it up to her. We took lots of pictures and video. I will upload the video today and post it here.
This is a photo of the front of the Fife’n Drum restaurant in Kent, CT. I don’t even know why I am showing this. Perhaps someone from the restaurant will read this post and mail me a refund check.
This is the monument in Kent, CT.
These are two shots of Bull’s Bridge itself. We got lucky with very good weather.
These are all shots of the river. The water was rushing very fast, due to all the rain we have been getting. We didn’t see any kayakers like we have in previous years. Maybe the water was going too fast. I sure wouldn’t get in there.
I am trying to upload all my old videos and this is it. Thank freaking goodness. Now, I can erase this from my todo list. One of these days, I am going to get rid of that list altogether.
One summer long ago, Laura and I decided to visit the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz. You know, it’s part of the ridge. Anyway, I took some video in the back part, near the lake. That’s the best part anyway. That’s the part everyone comes to see. One of these days, we are going to paddle around in one of those canoes.
