Highlights from my spring trips.

In March Kimberly and I went to Pittsburgh so that she could present a paper. We stayed in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh

where we had a lot of great food (such as sushi)

at great prices (much cheaper than east coast cities) and we took in a bit of culture

including these sculptures, but also a play and walks through historic places.

Pittsburgh was a fun place to visit, but I wouldn't recommend it for a week without a car. It's not a walking city like San Francisco or even Boston or New York.

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In April I went to Las Vegas for a week on business. It was my second National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention and my first one being in charge of the setup and operation. Due to a semi-scam from the agency we booked our hotel block with, we ended up at the Tropicana instead of the brand new Westin. It was mostly a painless downgrade, though the decor was exceptionally tacky.


Vegas was still Vegas, which I'm thoroughly sick of after about 30 minutes, but the show setup was a big success. Here's the finished booth:


Some other photo highlights:


Me with the international sales manager, Lars-olof Janflod.


Myspace-style picture from the hotel room.

The lobby of the Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil show at the Mirage.

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The very day I returned via red-eye flight from Las Vegas we went picnicking

and hiking

with the Kelihers at a state park called Purgatory Chasm outside of Worcester. It is a beautiful natural feature that was quite accessible for a short hike.

I fell asleep in their car on the way back, but I was so glad to get some fresh air after being stuck in the mire of Las Vegas life for an entire week.

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On the following week (near the end of April at this point) I got my daily job responsibilities back in order and then took a Wednesday off to go do some more serious hiking. I chose Mt. Moosilauke in the White Mountains since it was the only 4000 footer that Nathan had bagged without me last year.

I chose to attempt the steepest approach, only to find several feet of snow still on the ground.

The snowy hike was certainly grueling, but provided many beautiful sights.


I thought this natural ice sculpture was particularly inspiring.

As I approached the summit, the snow suddenly gave way.

The last several hundred feet were totally clear.

Ominous Mt. Washington in the distance.

I had a friend that I met on the trail snap a picture of me at the summit.


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My next adventure was a Mt. Monadnock hike with the Kelihers, including Nathan's brother Josh who sold me my Corolla but who I hadn't had the chance to really hang out with.



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We made it up to Maine once this spring. Here are some pics of us with my siblings.



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Our last big adventure of the spring was a trip to the Adirondacks.

Kimberly picked me up at work on Friday, we ate some good dinner at the Melting Pot in Framingham, and then we headed west on the Mass Pike. We ended up in Lee, MA Friday night, where we parked at the end of a trail near the AT and camped by our car.

Saturday we had breakfast at a local diner and then continued into New York. We checked out Lake Placid and then went on our first overnight backpacking trip.


Here we are loaded up with our gear.

We camped on the side of Mt. Marcy, the highest peak in New York state.

Our tiny campsite we scouted out.

Due to Kimberly forgetting her brand new hiking boots and there being much more snow than we had anticipated, we didn't go for the summit. On the way back down it rained, so we broke out the ponchos.



After we got back to the car we drove to the ferry that goes from Port Kent, NY to Burlington, VT where we checked into a hotel to shower and relax for the evening.

On Monday we took a trip through Stowe, VT to eat at our favorite pizza place there, Pie in the Sky, and then went to the Cabot Creamery. Since it was Memorial Day the cheddar guys had the day off, so we didn't get to take the tour.

On our way back through New Hampshire we stopped in Tilton and met up with the Havens and Nathan K. who were on their way back from Montreal. We did a Nathan swap and he had dinner with us in Tilton and then joined us for the rest of the trip.

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I'll try to keep up with my happenings a bit better from now on to keep the entry length down. The best thing I have to post this week is an amazing comic by Kimberly and Shannon, courtesy of the built in camera and software in Kimberly's new MacBook.


(click to enlarge and admire)