Fun and Games Dept

Earl and I have settled in for the night in the lovely city of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. This is Earl’s old stomping ground, having spent a couple of years here in the mid 1990s. While I’ve driven through Wilkes-Barre on countless occasions, I believe this is the first time I’ve spent the night here.

Today was an enjoyable, yet relatively uneventful day at a family picnic down in Earl’s hometown. We haven’t seen most of the family since Christmas, so it was a good chance to catch up on family news, share some laughs and giggle a little bit.

We had originally intended on driving home tonight, but we were sidetracked by grumbling stomachs and a wonderful diner in a now forgotten small town in the Poconos. Nothing gets you through the Poconos like a chicken gyro and a piece of cheesecake.

Earl and I are en route to a family picnic in his hometown near Philadelphia. We decided to take the scenic route by following the Delaware River through southern New York. Fellow roadgeek Nathan Perry has a better description of the drive than I could ever write up, so feel free to visit his site and take a peek.

Earl decided he’d had enough in the Jeep when we got outside of New York, so I jumped off the Thruway and headed into New Jersey, stopping at the first suggestion of a hotel. So tonight, we’re in Mahwah, New Jersey.

I’m not a fan of New Jersey, so I don’t know if there’s much more to say about Mahwah. Maybe daylight will help.

J.P. at Southwick Beach State Park.

Originally uploaded by bluemarvel.

There’s little more that can make me happier in the summer than a weekend at Southwick Beach State Park. The weather was picture perfect with a nice breeze blowing off the lake and the daytime temperature around 70. The water was actually warmer than the air, which made swimming that much more fun.

Earl and I hiked down through adjacent Lakeview yesterday, walking about four miles along the beach before turning around and heading back to the state park. It was the furthest I had ever been down the beach from Southwicks and the walk was very relaxing. There were a few sunbathers scattered here and there but for the most part it was Earl and I and Mother Nature. We decided to take advantage of the desolation and go swimming without bathing suits. 38 years old, a native of the area and it was my first time skinny-dipping in Lake Ontario! Whoo hoo!

Last night we watched the sun go down over the lake and then settled in front of a blazing campfire. I made my traditional batch of popcorn over the hot coals of the fire and it came out pretty good. At least it didn’t resemble a piece of charcoal when I dumped it out onto the plates.

This morning we were up around 8:30 a.m. and off the site by 10:00. NYS wants you off the site by 11:00, we figured we’d give them an hour. We’re now settled back home for the afternoon, catching up on chores and getting ready to tackle the work week.

Earl and I have set up camp for the weekend at my favorite state park in New York State, Southwick Beach State Park. “Southwicks”, as the locals refer to it, is located on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, about 20 miles south of Watertown. It’s one of the few state parks in Upstate New York to have real, all-sand beaches, complete with sand dunes and dune grass. It’s one of only a handful of places in the eastern United States where you can get a real sunset over the water, just as if you were watching over the Pacific. Looking out on Lake Ontario (and probably the other Great Lakes) is like looking out onto the ocean. It’s kind of cool.

Southwicks has a camping area right on the beach. Unfortunately, because these sites are so popular, you can’t book them through the traditional NYS State Park reservation system. Instead, you must participate in a lottery at the beginning of the year and hope that your lucky number comes up so you can get the coveted “Supersite”, one of the very few sites on the beach that have a tree.

We’re not on the beach this trip but instead we are situated in “D” area, back in a beautiful wooded area on a corner site, another coveted site among the pop-up and RV crowd.

To the south of Southwicks along the beach is the Lakeview Wildlife Management area, which is run by the New York State Department of Conservation. The presence of the area means there’s no development at all for quite a few miles along the lake, affording beach lovers with miles and miles of nothing more than water, dunes and sand. In the more remote section of this beachfront is an informal nude beach, which has a little bit of a gay thing going on. It find it a little humorous that I grew up not too far from here and had no idea of the existence of this out of the way expression of personal freedom, perhaps I would have furthered my transition to adulthood a little sooner than college.

Earl and I are have just returned from cleaning ourselves up and getting ready for the day’s activities. We have a nice little lunch planned and then a considerable hike mapped out along the beach and the dunes. We’ve stocked up on sunblock, hats and towels and are anxious to enjoy this little piece of “ocean” that’s only missing the salt.

J.P. at the Skychiefs Game.

Originally uploaded by bluemarvel.

Earl and I went to Syracuse to see the Skychiefs play at MacArthur Stadium P & C Stadium Alliance Bank Stadium tonight.

Now, I have to say that I’m not the biggest baseball fan in the world. It’s fun to go to a game or two during the summer, but I don’t get rabid over the Yankees or crazy about the White Sox or anything like that. I wasn’t very good at baseball or softball as a kid; perhaps I’m still traumatized by the whole ordeal. Nevertheless, being a spectator can be fun under the right circumstances.

Tonight’s weather was perfect for the game with a crystal blue sky and temperatures in the mid 70s.

We had free tickets courtesy of work with our seats up in the 300s, in the general admission area called the SkyDeck. To our left was an older couple. Apparently they had a few too many hot dogs as Earl barked out “Has she really eaten four hot dogs?” I didn’t want to say anything, but her first had ketchup, the second had mustard, the third had relish and the fourth had cheese.

But who’s counting.

It seems like there was more action in the stands than on the field. People were constantly moving. Hardly anyone was sitting as people mingled up and down the aisles, barkers barked out “cotton candy” and “programs” and several people paid more attention to the lone seagull flying over the stadium than to the players on the field.

It was a great study in people watching.

I’m always amused by the heavy corporate sponsorship going on at arenas and stadiums these days. At the site of the stadium used to stand “MacArthur Stadium”, which was probably named after someone important that mostly likely did not leave the cake out in the rain. Well they ripped that down a decade or so ago and up in it’s place came “P & C Stadium”. Not a sexy name by any stretch. By the way, P & C is a grocery store chain here in Upstate New York. When they held naming rights, 1st was in produce, 2nd was in meats, 3rd was in dairy and home plate was at the checkout lines.

Nah, I’m just kidding, but wouldn’t that have been a kick. Especially if the baseball was green like a brussel sprout or something.

Anyways, P & C filed for bankruptcy so they gave up the rights to name the stadium and it became “Alliance Bank Stadium”.

You’d think they’d have more than one ATM machine on site.

Then there’s a bunch of rotating billboards all over the place. Gone are the days of a hand painted signs along the dugout and chain link fence, now we have flashing lights, billboards that change messages and banners that proclaim the virtues of some law firm. You know, I’ve never set foot in a Supercuts (with this haircut?) but I have to wonder what the clientele is like when they heavily advertise facial waxing and barely mention hair styling.

Earl and I stayed at the game through the bottom of the fifth and decided that we had fulfilled our baseball obligation for 2006. Overall it was an enjoyable experience, but I think we’re ready for some football.

So Earl and I just got home from the big high school reunion. Twenty years, where has the time gone?

Simply put, I had an absolutely amazing time. I was surprised to see that about half the class showed up; not bad for a small group of graduates from a small high school in the middle of nowhere. Friends came in from Nebraska, Delaware, Florida, all corners of the country. It was kind of neat to walk into a party of strangers and actually know everyone there.

I think Earl had a good time too. Everyone gave him hugs and such when I introduced him. It was refreshing to talk about my life experiences openly and honestly for the first time with people I had known for half my life.

I think I’m amazed at how my classmates went fared; I was tending to think of them as the graduates I left behind in June of ’86; now I know them as doctors, drug counselors, human resource managers, nurses, teachers and real estate brokers that travel the globe. As the memories were shared and pictures were shown and my true geekiness was revealed by letting out the secret that I still knew my high school locker combination, I gained a new respect for my contemporaries. It was good to see them all.

Godspeed my friends.

~~~
Here’s a picture of me and Shelly, my chemistry lab partner from our senior year. She has since forgiven me for burning off one arm of her sweater with the bunsen burner back in spring of 1986. She was still wearing the sweater when I did it and yes, it was an accident.

Harborfest 2006 Fireworks.

Originally uploaded by bluemarvel.

Yesterday afternoon I was in the middle of blogging when we had a very aggressive thunderstorm blow through the area, flooding areas that have been flooded repeatedly this summer, blowing us around with 60+ MPH winds and cutting power and internet to our happy little home. So we did the logical thing. We drove west to Harborfest 2006 in Oswego.

Harborfest is basically a city-wide festival, with street vendors, games, displays and all sorts of family fun to be found in every nick and cranny of this port city on Lake Ontario. I always like going to Oswego because it has the whole college town vibe going on and at just 15 miles, it’s the closest “metropolitan” area to the small village where I grew up. When we were youngsters, we’d always go school clothes shopping at Westons (regional department store chain that became Jamesway before going belly up) in Oswego.

Anyways, in addition to all the fun and games going on, there’s also some drinking. Lots of drinking. There’s bands playing everywhere, with tons of people crowding the streets, all drinking beer and other assorted beverages. People get very silly, there’s a fight here and there and basically all sorts of interesting activities take place whereever you look.

Last night was the great fireworks display put on by Entergy, one of the nuclear power company in Oswego. (And Earl wonders why I glow in the dark.) The storm gave way to clear skies in time for the massive display of pyrotechnics and I must say I think it was the most impressive fireworks display I’ve ever seen in my life. They are forgiven for not doing this on Independence Day. It’s that good.

I was able to get some great shots off the show, including the one pictured above. It’s amazing how well I was able to do, considering the couple of pints of dark ale I had in me.

I took a break from the stress of everyday life and went for a little solo roadtrip today. I ended up driving about 375 miles, all through the Southern Tier of Upstate New York, with a very brief stop in Pennsylvania. I was basically doing some roadgeeking stuff and exploring cities and towns I was unfamiliar with.

One of the cities I drove through was the hip town of Ithaca, home of Cornell University, Ithaca College and a whole lot of trendiness. I could really love living in Ithaca someday.

Another interesting area I drove through was the Elmira-Corning area. It seems like there’s some positive growth going on in that area, which is in stark contrast to the rust belt up here along the Thruway corridor (at least these parts of it). It goods to see some parts of Upstate New York are doing well.

I find a certain amount of peace in driving on a summer day, windows down and the radio off. I shun the interstates for the most part, opting for the two-lane roads they replaced. You see more that way and you get a vibe for the small town or large city you’re passing through.

I can’t wait to do it again.

I got home just in time for Earl and I see to see the latest “Pirates of the Carribean” movie. Everyone I’ve spoken with have just gone ga-ga over this flick, and while I did enjoy the experience, I was able to maintain my composure and give it an “o.k.” I guess I don’t have Johnny Depp Fever or something.

It was 10 years ago this weekend this weekend that I first saw “The Rosie O’Donnell” show. I can always remember the occasion because it was I camping at the time AND Diedre Hall was on the show and she didn’t want to talk about playing ElectraWoman back in the mid 1970s. I had always been a Rosie O’Donnell fan since her Star Search appearance and was delighted at the prospect of her talk show. Today I still enjoy Rosie by reading her blog. I can’t say that I’ll probably watch The View though just to see her. I guess I’ll have to settle for the blog.

Earl and I have done just about nothing today and it really couldn’t be any better. We lounged at the pool a bit where I huddled in the shade with another fair-skinned red head named Andrew. He and his lover Oscar are down here for the weekend. They’ve been together for 12 years. We enjoyed a nice chat with them and look forward to spending talking more as the weekend moves on.

It’s good to meet like minded people from time to time.

It is HOT today with the temperature in the 90s. Thank goodness we’re in the woods where we can enjoy some shade from the trees, a cold beer or three and some relaxation.

It’s good to reset the stress counters from time to time.

I was feeling inspired by this blog post. The summer air was very warm with the temperature hovering around 80 degrees, even though it was almost 9:30 on a steamy July night. Lightning danced across the sky in panoramic 360 degree splendor. The flashes gave a hint to the storms that would surely be arriving in the middle of the night.

Earl and I had just finished up a wonderful meal with my family at a restaurant not too far from my grandparents’ old house. I’m in the driver’s seat of my 21st century idea of a “muscle car”, my 2005 Acura RSX Type-S. The windows are down, the sunroof is open, Earl is in the passenger seat and his hand is resting on my right leg, it’s natural spot whenever we travel.

The green sign shines brightly along the Thruway, letting us know that we have a bit of a ride ahead of us as it proclaims “Utica 42 / Albany 128 / New York 276”. The windows are down and the summer winds fill the car as we move at around a tame 70 MPH. We could easily go faster, but then the moment would seem rushed. The lights of airliners landing at Syracuse Airport are neatly spaced apart, a couple thousand feet up and parallel to the roadway. I’m still fascinated by their orchestrated landing as the pilots simply listen to the instructions of an air traffic controller that only knows them as a sound in his earpiece and a blip on a radar screen. Lightning continues to dance around the sky, but Mother Nature can’t keep up as we continue the journey home, we eventually win the race this time.

Earl stares at the roadway ahead, somewhat lost in thought, undoubtedly thinking about work and what the rest of the week entails. Even after a decade I live in awe and completely amazed by this man. I amuse myself secretly by making gestures with my left hand down by my left leg. I smile slightly knowing I’m making various shapes with my fingers that can’t be seen as I enjoy the darkness that has engulfed the car. It’s a little game I’ve always played since I was a small child and will probably play until it’s time for me to leave this life.

“One Of These Nights” by the Eagles blares from the car speakers courtesy of a CD burned just for an occasion such as tonight; a CD inspired by similar rides I had as a passenger as a child; a CD saved for moments such as these. “One Of These Nights”, a classic song with a musical quality rarely found in today’s pop music world.

A wonderful meal. A lot of laughs. A loving family. The love of my life.

The perfect night.