People who want by the mile but try by the inch should be kicked by the foot.

Day 13: NYC - DEN
Denver

After the early morning flight I landed in the mile high club-city of Denver to begin the next adventure. After picking up the car (which was a pretty good distance via shuttle from the airport), I headed downtown to take a look around. I wanted to get in a good run, so fortunately the local hash had one scheduled that afternoon, so I meandered around the city parks a bit taking pictures of some of the nice scenery and even searching for a geocache or two. After a while I made it to the hash start and chatted with folks as they showed up. This, like Portland, was definitely a running hash and trail was a leisurely 4.5 miles, not counting false trails and count backs. The altitude didn't really get to me, but it was the extreme dryness that I forgot was a big part of Denver's climate. I enjoyed meeting the different folks and was fortunate to find the after-party at the hare's home which included a nice cookout. I hung out until it got fairly late and then just car camped at the park near the start.

My watch is three hours fast, and I can't fix it. So I'm going to move to New York.

Day 12:
New York City

After sleeping in a bit, I again stored my luggage and hit the city for a little while. I headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge to get in some photography on a beautiful, sunny day. Though it is a bit of a walk to get to the middle span and observation areas, it was worth the effort since the reward is a sweeping view of the city. Since it was nearby, I also headed over to the African Burial Ground National Monument so I could get a park stamp and learn a little history of the area. I didn't have a lot of time since I had to get over to Chinatown to prepare for the NYC Hash House Harrier Red Dress Run. I didn't plan my trip to specifically be here for the event, but things were able to work out so I could attend, which was nice. I already knew a few hashers, Kiss My Rash of NYC and Shrimp Skanky of San Diego when he hosted me for their RDR many years ago. The afternoon and evening was spent socializing at the starting/ending bar and doing what turned out to be over 4 miles of a running trail. I was able to keep pretty close to the front of the pack since I definitely didn't want to get lost and separated from the herd. I've seen enough Discovery Channel to know what can happen when that occurs. I met some great people, including Kathy (NYC hashers do not apparently get hash names, which is very unusual) whom also was planning on hitting Peru this year and was into hiking and outdoor kind of stuff. I was pretty much at the bar from the time the hash started until most everyone had left since I didn't have too many other places to be.

After leaving I wandered to Times Square just one more time to take in the lights and sounds of the city before grabbing my stuff at the hostel (again the Google Maps application on the iPhone was vital) and heading to the airport. Since I had a very early flight anyway, to save money and some sleep time, I just went to the airport and slept just outside the terminal in a relatively quiet top story elevator lobby with no announcements and little traffic. NYC is probably one of the few major cities outside of Boston that I'd be comfortable in living. Except for getting to outdoor activities, there is always a lot to do and entertainment available and might be a place to which I'd consider moving.

Christopher Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the Pooh.

Day 9: Portland

After getting up we decided to drive down the coast just a little bit before having to cut back to Portland. Though it didn't really rain last night, we did get to witness the typically dreary Oregon west coast as we headed out of Cannon Beach and were very glad to have had such great conditions when we arrived yesterday While driving through some small towns we passed by the Tillamook Cheese Factory and knew we had to stop. Honestly, coming here was a lot more fun that we had thought and it the overall cheese and other dairy process was surprisingly interesting. We hung out for a while to watch the organized chaos and automated machines before heading down to the tasting area and going into lactose overload by sampling everything possible. After hitting the road once again we drove to Mt. Hood to take in the view, but had no real time to climb. On the way back towards Portland we did make a stop to do a little bit of hiking around an alpine lake that had some nice views of Mt. Hood itself. We had to get back into town in order to join the local Portland Humpin Hash to do a trail. I've always enjoyed away events as a fun way to meet new folks and had a great time on the trail. Unlike a lot of the Florida hash groups, this was a real running hash; there were no walkers. trail was about 5 miles of various terrain and they had about 50 or so folks, which is apparently typical for them. We had a few beer stops and I was able to keep to the front and was surprised as to how well Chris and Danny were able to keep up and how much they seemed to enjoy the event itself. In typical fashion the locals made us very welcome and we had a great time. Kim, our host for the first night we were in town, was kind enough to include Danny in our floor space arrangements that evening once we got back to the house. Overall, a very fun day.

A home, where the buffalo roam, is messy. When all the chips are down, the buffalo is empty.

Day 5: BUF - BOS
Niagara Falls
Buffalo, NY

After getting up early we visited the Whirlpool State Park to get a few of the gorge. I had heard and saw a picture of a cave at the bottom, so Mike and I took the several hundred steps down and finally found it after a long hike, however we were severely disappointed to find that it only went in about 30 feet. There was some going passage, but it looked like it would require a ladder and some climbing gear to get to it. after climbing all the way back up, we headed towards the airport. Mike decided to direct us to Duff's in Buffalo due to their 'history' with wings. Although they are said to have been invented as a normal food dish at the Anchor Bar, Duff's is said to have perfected or, at least, best marketed them. Since he had an earlier flight, I dropped Mike off at the airport and then headed back into Buffalo to visit the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site (official site). I got my NPS park stamp and then was able to timely join a tour that had just started after flashing the annual pass and jumping in just before the door closed. This was the home in which Roosevelt was inaugurated after the death of President McKinley. We were provided with a history of the events and view of the rooms in which they took place as well as a timeline of his precidency and forthcoming works after the events in Buffalo took place. I even allowed myself to take part in the cheesy 'be president for a day' interactive station about which the rangers (BTW, all of whom made themselves to look like TR), were so proud.

After the tour I headed over to Naval Park to get in a few pictures. I love exploring old Naval ships after having grown up near Patriot's Point in Charleston and really wish I had the time to visit the ships berthed here, but unless I nearly literally ran through the exhibit, I simply didn't have enough time. I did walk around for a while to the waterfront and got a few decent pictures while snagging a couple of geocaches. I also had the chance to sit in on a tea party rally taking place on the waterfront as speakers discussed local tax and restoration issues while other groups nearby got ready for a Saber's hockey game, while yet another group was having a music appreciation event and thought it great that there were so many great uses and chances to share space and ideals.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, however this was my first chance to really test the mapping abilities of my iPhone 3GS. The road directions worked incredibly well when driving through New York and Maine (though I had my normal GPS as backup), but dealing with public transit can be another beast. I loved the features and abilities that the Google Map application for the iPhone provided. A few days prior I coordinated with a hasher in Boston that graciously allowed me to crash on her couch for a few days. Normally finding ones way from the airport to Cambridge via a series of buses, subways, and walking would be a pain, however the application made everything so easy. I merely entered my location, airport, and the address in Cambridge that I wanted to target and the application immediately gave me directions and time tables for every step of the way. It told me to walk to a certain airport exit, take the silver line at a particular time to some point, switch to another line, exit at a particular station, and walk a few streets to arrive at my destination. The application was able to consistently get me exactly where I wanted to go and was able to predict the arrival time within 3-5 minutes in every instance. Thank you Google Map team. It was pretty easy to find my destination, especially since the 3GS has a magnetic sensor and can determine the direction in which I am facing and provide feedback as to where I need to start walking. Way too cool.

I got to my hosts place and after plugging in a few things, she made some phone calls and coordinated with some local hashers to coordinate an impromptu pub crawl to show me around. We ended up staying out until we shut down the bars and had a great time! After an experience like this I was thinking that Boston was definitely a place I could live if it was not for the frigid weather 6 months out of the year, however I seemed to have been able to visit at a time of perfect weather just before the first big chill came through.

NASA: There's no such thing as a free launch.

After several failed attempts, I finally got to see my second shuttle launch up close. I have been pining to see a night launch for a long, long time. On Monday I drove to Cape Canaveral for a 1:30AM launch only to see it canceled due to weather just ten minutes prior to the end of countdown. Just before heading over, I learned of a hash part at a friend's home as a welcome back party. So instead of battling for a parking spot and sitting around for a few hours, I hung out with the group for a while. About 30 minutes before launch we walked the two blocks to local park for a good viewing spot and direct view of the shuttle pad. After seeing previous videos (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P282wFz_Pgg) I knew this was one site I did not want to miss. Unfortunately, this is the last planned launch in total darkness before the end of the current shuttle fleet next year. The new shuttles probably will not be ready for a while, so I was not going to miss this opportunity. I loved how the entire sky light up as the multi-million dollar roman candle arced across the sky. I was only disappointed by the lack of sound or chance to really feel the vibrations as I was able to experience the first time. Apparently this mission had a light payload, thus not requiring as much thrust as is normal. There is something about space flight that really drives the imagination and sense of wonder. The pics didn't come out as well as I'd hope as I found it difficult to anticipate the intensity of the light and ended up having my aperture a little too high I think, but I was glad to have been able to simply sit back and enjoy being a witness to such an event, especially when able to do so in the company of a few friends.

All the world looks up to a skydiver.

'Excuse me while kiss the sky.'

It had been about three years since I last did a real honest to goodness skydive. I had a wonderfully gifted high wire bungee/bungy jump experience when in New Zealand last year that was pretty cool, but I still missed the feeling of a longer freefall even if it didn't have quite the ground rush. So this week I decided to just pull my rig from the closet shelf, check for spiders, moths, and small families of rodents or marsupials, and head to the drop zone. Since it had been so long since the last jump I had to go through a quick recertification class, but some things in life you just don't tend to forget, especially stuff that's suppose to help save your life. The weather sucked most of the day so I sat around talking to my buddy Jason waiting for it to clear up. The jump was normal, and it felt great. Even after a good bit of an absence it felt like I hadn't left. I burned through the testing skills, opened up, and enjoyed a decent canopy ride, even though I did land slightly off the DZ due to high winds.

After packing the parachute, which will be the real test of my memory on the next jump, I headed over the the hash event. I've been out of the activity for a few months while I reevaluated a lot of stuff, but this was supposed to be a pretty big event with some out-of-towners coming in, so I decided to make it out. Tattoo is infamous for his last trail that was a shot trail that saw the pack barely making it to the end due to the numerous shots provided on trail. We met in the Westchase area and boarded the rented bus that took us to the various colorful and cultured sites in Tampa for the pub crawl. It was nice to see some old friends and I actually started to enjoy myself again, which I actually didn't expect. I got to see Mams and Shop Teacher and hear all about their three week honeymoon to Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. The after party was at Tattoo's place and was complete with jello wrestling food, lots of great food, and plenty of remaining kegs. I ended up staying the evening since I wasn't about to drive 40 minutes so late at night after such a party evening. I'm actually thinking of getting back out to some more events sometime if time allows.