Cross country couple

It had been a while since Kris and I had a "date." So this morning we packed up our cross country ski gear, dropped the kids off at my mom's and spent the morning outdoors.

We went to Indian Meadows Park, just up the road from the Glenville YMCA. It was the first time I had been on my skis since before Thomas was born.

Unfortunately, the conditions weren't that great. It was warm yesterday. So a lot of the snow had melted off. When we were out in the open it wasn't too bad. But when the trail took us into the woods the skiing became much worse. There was little snow on the ground. We were basically hiking over roots and rocks with skis on our feet. But it was still fun.

Our car was parked near a small hill. When we got back the car, I decided it would be fun to try to ski down it. There is a very good reason why I don't downhill ski. Everything was fine until I got to a little bump at the bottom. It was quite manageable. But I decided to hot dog it and try to get some air. Instead, I hit the ground...hard. My side still hurts. I think I may have bruised a rib or something!

The plan was to go to the Y after and soak in the hot tub. But the Y was hopping with what appeared to be a swim meet.

So instead we went out for coffee at Samuel's, a nice coffee shop in Alplaus. It was great. We relaxed in some comfy chairs and I did not want to get up when it came time to go.

It was a great morning, bruised rib and all.

One decade down...

Today we celebrate 10 years of debt home ownership! It was on this date in 1997 that we signed our name on the dotted line (repeatedly) and became the proud owners of our humble little abode.

Point Au Roche

We returned Friday to Point Au Roche Lodge, just outside of Plattsburgh, where we celebrated our 10^th anniversary in 2005. The getaway without the kids was our Christmas gift to each other.

We had such a good time there the last time that we wanted to go back. We thought it would be fun to go in the winter and do some cross country skiing in the Point Au Roche State Park.

That was the original plan, at least. But alas, there was no snow to ski on. So instead we went for a hike. Kris pointed out that this may have been the first time we had ever been hiking in January.

We ate terrific food while we were up there. We had a fantastic dinner at place in downtown Plattsburgh called Irises Café & Wine Bar. And breakfast at the lodge the next morning was great.

We stayed in a nicer room this time than the one we were in before. In fact, I think it may have been the most luxurious room we’ve ever stayed in anywhere.

The lodge is a great place to getaway and recharge your batteries, even if it’s just for one night. As before, I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

Anniversary Blues

Tomorrow Kris and I will celebrate 11 years of wedded bliss. We’re marking the occasion one day early tonight by taking in the Blue Man Group’s “How to be a Megastar 2.0 Tour.”

Blue Man Group! How cool is that?!? I’ve always got a kick out these guys on TV, in their Intel commercials and various talk show appearances (granted, they don’t talk). Over the summer we saw parts of their special on PBS and enjoyed it.

So when I heard they were coming to Albany I just had to get tickets. We’re pretty psyched.

Tomorrow after soccer we’ll be heading up north to visit Kris’ parents for the weekend. Maybe I’ll offer a Blue review after we get back.

Opposites attract

It's so funny when I look at Chris' blog and the light-hearted quips he includes. Whenever I think of something I'd like to contribute, it's always a deeper issue, like non-violence, thoughts on church, the toddler brain and I hesitate to even tell you the many ideas that pass through my head! Definately not Homer Simpson or what cool gadgets are in the movies. But that's my hubby, always lightening any deep thoughts I have. I'm Jack Handy and he's, I don't even know! I'm trying to think of a quirky Sat Night Live character to assign to him and that's his job! Maybe he can come up with one.

'I married a geek'

The new “Doctor Who” made its American television debut last week. Even though I downloaded all of the episodes last year, I’ve still been watching them on Sci Fi anyway.

Tonight Kris came down to the basement just in time to catch the last five minutes of one of my favorites, “The Unquiet Dead.” As the TARDIS dematerialized at the end of the show Kris said, “This is stupid.”

“This is good stuff,” I countered.

“You’re such a geek,” she told me.

This is news to anyone? I smiled and said, “I’m amazed I convinced you to marry me.”

What did I do after “Doctor Who” was over? I popped in one of my new “Star Trek Fan Collective: Time Travel” DVDs and watched the classic 1967 episode “Tomorrow Is Yesterday.”

I am such a geek.

Anniversary weekend

Our anniversary getaway was terrific. We had a very nice stay at the Point Au Roche Lodge in Plattsburgh while the kids spent the night at my mom’s house.

We arrived in Plattsburgh around lunchtime yesterday. We had packed some sandwiches because initially we thought we’d do our hike in the Point Au Roche State Park first and would eat there. But the weather was cold, gloomy and damp. So we went to the campus first.

The campus was pretty deserted. Granted it was noon on a Sunday, which is still pretty early by college student standards. Not to mention it was a holiday weekend, so a lot of students were probably out of town.

We went to the Angell College Center and ate our sandwiches in what we used to know as “the blue room.” It is now called the Flynt Commons. The big comfy blue chairs are gone. In their place are tables and chairs, as well as dorm lounge-style loveseats and coffee tables. Also the “hidden” corner space where you could watch TV has been turned into a coffee shop called Java Joe’s.

Perhaps most disappointing to see was the old Point. The good news was that they’ve added some hanging TVs that looked to be playing ESPN and HBO as well as some video games. The bad news is that the room has been painted a sickening yellow color. The snack bar now has some stupid name like the Wingery or something like that. The old bar is of course long gone – it was closed shortly after I graduated. It was briefly turned into a Taco Bell, but now it’s just more regular eating space. The back room where the dart board and pool table used to be has been walled off so that all that’s left is the area where the bar itself was.

After leaving the Angell Center, we tried to get into Yokum Hall to see the TV studio. Being a Sunday, the building was locked up. I’m sure there was someone in there working – we always were. We could have ringed the doorbell and had a student let us in, but we didn’t bother. Instead we walked over to the Myers Fine Arts building to check out some of the student artwork.

After Myers we tried to get into the bookstore, which was of course closed. So we made our way down to our old dorm, Macdonough Hall – the place where Kris and I met. Macdonough is the oldest dorm on campus and it recently reopened after being closed for extensive renovations. We were anxious to see it – and boy is it different. The doors are now locked all day long, but a student saw us trying to get in and opened the door for us (she actually mistook us for students at first – we were flattered!). Everything is new inside. They’ve crammed a ton more dorm rooms into the building, mainly on the first floor and in the basement, which is also now home to a computer lab. Parts of the dorm also used to have kind of a kooky layout. But that’s all been streamlined. And there are elevators now!

After leaving the campus we made our way to the park and did our hike. We spent about an hour walking through the woods and along the shores of Lake Champlain. We weren’t dressed quite warm enough for the day, but we were moving fast enough that we kept ourselves warm. The weather was lousy, but we still enjoyed being outdoors and the lake is always impressive to see.

By the time we were done hiking it was finally time to check-in at the lodge. After getting settled we headed back out. We had some gifts we needed to buy, so we drove around looking for places to shop and eat. The old Tijuana Jail is now an English pub called Geoffrey’s. The Mexican restaurant the former mayor of Plattsburgh owned looks like it’s been closed for a long time. We ultimately wound up at the mall and then ate at a new Mexican place on upper Broad Street called Desert Moon (who would guess a city so close to Canada would have so many Mexican restaurants).

Then it was back to the lodge where we popped open a bottle of champagne we received as an anniversary gift (thanks Ray & Marlene!) and sipped some bubbly while sitting in the great room playing Scrabble (remarkably, I won 257-247). We eventually retired to our room where we each cracked into a book. Alas, there was no TV, so I had to listen to Angels-Yankees Game 4 on WIRY-AM.

This morning our innkeepers prepared for us a big helping of blueberry pancakes, fresh fruit and some of the best bacon I’ve ever had. Then we were on our way home.

I can’t say enough about the lodge. Our room was very comfortable, the great room was…well…great and the owners were very friendly. I highly recommend it to anyone. It’s right across the street from the park entrance. So we hope to go back in the winter sometime and take in some cross country skiing.

It should also be noted that the kids had a great time at Gaba’s house. It was the first time we’ve ever left Thomas overnight, but he did super.

It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary. Back to reality tomorrow.