Adventure Day!

Destination: Boston, MA

Adventure Day: Boston

Participants: 3 best buddies

May 22, 2010

This adventure took us a little farther out of town than usual, but a great friend promised a Weekend o’Fun in good old beantown. And these people are serious about Baked Bean related souveniers. That and that story about the ducks walking around, the Celtics, not the Yankees, and the Red Sox.

After getting wraps and smoothies in the suburbs around Tufts University, we took the T into Boston proper on Saturday. I didn’t see Charlie on the M.T.A. (though I never understood why his wife could bring him a sandwich but not a nickel so he could get off the train). We decided to spend the day around Quincy Market. 

Our first stop was Fanieul Hall. As with most places in Boston, it is rich in history and americana. It’s a really beautiful hall and kind of reminds me of part of the Mansion House in Sherrill, NY. We then headed over to Quincy Market where we could have bought any manner of souvenir or trinket. Also, lobster hats. 

It was an absolutely beautiful day, so we decided to walk along the waterfront from the aquarium to the Institute of Contemporary Art. On our walk we stopped and sat by the water in several different places. You can see in the pictures one particularly creepy sunbather. Keep in mind that everyone else around him was wearing clothes and he was just sprawled like that in the middle of the park. As we walked around, we attempted to find a reasonably priced boat tour, but they were all sold out. We were really bummed, so we kept walking. 

Eventually, we went down on a pier and could see the airport, Fenway Park, and ships sailing. Also, there were a large number of large dried bones all over the pier. We could not figure out where these must have come from. Maybe seagulls? But then why did they choose to die there?
Colleen: Angie! Take a picture of me on death pier!
Angie: Wait a second, I’ve got to take a picture of this pile of bones.

By the time we got to the ICA, it was really late in the day so we didn’t actually go into the museum part, but we did walk around the gift shop quite a bit. I always find that art museum gift shops are full of wonderful things that I want and don’t need. 

Hunger and Colleen’s intense desire to go somewhere with the name “Ye Olde” brought us to Ye Olde Union Oyster House, America’s oldest continuously operating restaurant. the food was absolutely delicious. I had lobster ravioli and Colleen had the scallops, and now I can see why the restaurant has been open for so long. 

All in all, Boston was a great adventure!

(photos by and copyright Angie Blair 2010)

Destination: Rome, NY

Adventure Day: Roller Derby

Participants: Hundreds of spectators, many derby girls and guys, and one stuffed monkey.

May 8, 2010

On Saturday, May 8th JFK arena in Rome, NY was host to one of two Roller Derby bouts occurring in the Utica Area. Women’s and Men’s flat track roller derby is experiencing a nationwide resurgence - and that is definitely evident in Central New York. Utica currently has two derby leagues and more and more people are joining all the time. This time, CNY Roller Derby’s Utica Clubbers were playing New Hampshire’s Skate Free or Die in front of a very busy JFK arena. 

In case you were wondering how Roller Derby works, there’s a really good video explanation here. Basically, each bout (matches are called bouts) lasts 1 hour, and your team tries to gain points by skating faster and smarter than the other team. Roller Derby has a reputation for being really rough, and while it is definitely not a dainty sport, there are rules about pushing and blocking that keep things from getting out of control. Roller derby is an athletically demanding sport and is very interesting to watch. Once you figure out what the rules are and what’s going on, it’s hard not to get really into the action. 

Oh yeah, and there was also a half-time show where Juggernaut Janice sang with Hamlet the Monkey. And a roller derby sponsored little league team cheering from the sidelines. You never know what you’re going to see. 

(photos by and copyright Marc Goldberg 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/deckard_creative_designs)

Links: 

CNY Roller Derby - If you’re interested in joining, they have a class for beginners starting this week!

Utica Observer Dispatch: Roller Derby Making a Comeback in Rome

Not only is Adventure Day always fun, you can learn a lot too! Fly Creek Cider Mill reminded us of three of the most important things in life (Power, Progress, and Popularity). And a nice painted wooden sign in Old Forge gave the cheesy but wise advice to “Never be so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” It just warms your heart, doesn’t it?

Destination: Cooperstown, NY

Adventure Day: Cooperstown Edition

Participants: 6 people

May 1, 2010

Spring and Fall are definitely the most beautiful times of year in Upstate NY, and on Saturday the weather was perfect for an adventure day! We headed to Cooperstown, NY this time.  

First stop - Fly Creek Cider Mill where we looked at ducks, drank apple cider floats, posed for ridiculous photos, and bought delicious things from the store. Ryan also bought something not so delicious - a scorpion in a banana flavored lollipop (see photos). It turns out that a dried scorpion inside your lollipop is just about as pleasant and tasty as you would expect (which is not at all). 

We then went and got subs, chips, and drinks at Danny’s Main Street market. (I highly recommend the Chicken Dilemma. Delicious!) As Ryan continued to work on eating his scorpion lollipop, we drove to Brewery Ommegang for a picnic (and to sample the brews). We filled a growler (or resealable bottle as one uninformed tourist called it) with some of their wonderful Belgian Pale Ale, and then quickly emptied it back out into our cups. I’m a big fan of pale ales, but I find that a lot of them are either too bland or overly bitter to the point of being unenjoyable. The Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale was delicious, smooth, and one of the better Pale Ales I’ve had in a while. If you are someone who enjoys beer, this brewery is a must visit. The staff is friendly, the tour is short, and the tasting is long. 

After our picnic, we went back into Cooperstown and found a nice spot to sit by Otsego lake. And yes, there were bubbles and water guns. This adventure day is going to be really hard to top!

Thanks to Marc Goldberg for taking some really great photos of the day!

(photo credits - Marc Goldberg and Mel Mogensen)

Destination: Hamilton College - Clinton, NY

Adventure Day: Acoustic Coffeehouse Edition

Participants: 4

April 15, 2010

Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth played an acoustic coffee house night at Hamilton College on April 15th and it was fantastic. I wasn’t really familiar with Joe Purdy, but Ryan is a huge fan, so we decided to go down and meet up with Katie running sound and our friend Mike. After the debacle that was Saturday’s Matt and Kim show, I was skeptical about how this would be, but it was great!  Good to know that the previous experience at Hamilton was just a fluke. Also, Ryan and I passed as college students, which was awesome, because we are quite a bit out of college.

Amber Rubarth opened. I had never heard of her before, but she was quite good. Excellent voice, good guitar, interesting songs, good piano. I was quite impressed! Definitely check her out. 

Joe Purdy was great. If you ever get a chance to see him in concert do it! He is a great songwriter with a great voice. It was a really relaxed intimate feeling show. I’m definitely a fan now. He was funny, engaging with the audience, and really seemed to love music.

Also, the sound and lighting was great! I’m not just saying that because my friend works for Fanelli Sound and Lighting. It was just a really well executed, enjoyable show with some really great musicians.

Destination: Central New York

Adventure Day: Bagel Grove, Indie Garage Sale, Used Books, Matt and Kim Concert Edition

Participants: 2-3

Part 1: Bagels and the New York Times at The Bagel Grove on Burrstone Road in Utica.

The Bagel Grove is easily my favorite bagel place ever (and I am a huge fan of bagels). They have a large selection of bagels made fresh daily, bagel sandwiches, and other deliciousness. Their everything bagel is absolute perfection (my go to bagel is the everything bagel with chive cream cheese). I had an everything bagel with bacon, egg, and cheddar cheese and a large coffee. And I had this for less than $5! Eating bagels and reading the times is nothing if not the perfect start to a day.

Part 2: Utica’s own Indie Garage Sale 

The Indie Garage Sale is kind of like an in person, local Etsy. There are all kinds of great vendors selling everything from screen printed t-shirts to welcome mats made out of recycled tires to fairy wings to handmade soaps. This is a really enjoyable a well run event that happens once every couple of months and has been growing and growing over the years. I got a beautiful lamp with a shade made from old slides and Ryan got a terrarium (which he promptly named Clark. Fitting name for a terrarium, don’t you think?). I also saw my friends from CNY Roller Derbyand Women’s Rugby. Gotta support the local obscure sports teams!

Part 3: Used Bookstore Goodness

Berry Hill books on Route 12b in Deansboro, NY is an absolute delight. Go there sometime. It’s an old barn full of used books that are fairly inexpensive. I got a really sweet old map of the world. Check out this other blogger’s description of the place (and pictures!) http://yoelknits.blogspot.com/2008/05/berry-hill-book-shop.html.

Part 4: Matt and Kim at Hamilton College

This was easily one of the worst run shows I’ve ever been to. First, we got there and there were not pre-sale tickets as advertised, and then it seems that many people are not familiar with the concept of a line. The student group putting on the show didn’t staff the line at all, didn’t communicate with those in line, and chose not to enforce any sort of order. People were pushing, it was chaos. The two opening bands were absolutely awful, but Matt and Kim put on a pretty good show. All in all, I would say that it was worth seeing, but if I had known that there was going to be pushing and shoving and potential tramplings on the way in and out, I would have passed. It’s not that hard to do these things right, and I’ve seen a lot of shows at Hamilton, so I was kind of disappointed. However, fun indie pop was definitely a great way to end the day!

Photo credits (because I had too much fun to take any pictures!):

Bagel Grove - mvny.org

BerryHill Books - http://yoelknits.blogspot.com/2008/05/berry-hill-book-shop.html

Indie Garage Sale - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dewonapetal/4182765041/

April 10, 2010