Taking no chances this time Nikki and I bought and carved a couple pumpkins the day before Halloween. TRICK or TREAT!
Notice the "theme" too...my pumkin has scared the other...hehe
Notice the "theme" too...my pumkin has scared the other...hehe
October 31, 2007
Gettysburg - Part Une
We're not in Kansas any more.
It’s amazing to me, how a drive of 3.5 hours can take you to an entirely different world. But that, dear readers is the truth of what happened to my mom, my Ron, and myself as we went to Gettysburg, PA last weekend or the weekend before or something....
We left on a Friday afternoon for the drive and we took our handy-dandy GPS along because she knew the way. My mom drove (THE ENTIRE WEEKEND despite offers of reprieve). The ride up was fairly smooth with route 78 being the exception (as usual). It took us about 3.5 hours to get to our hotel in Gettysburg, PA.
First a few reflections on the town:
I was very surprised that for all its fame, Gettysburg is truly a sleepy little town. It's got a population of about 7,000 people, which is not a far cry from its 1863 pop of just over 2,000. That is not a lot of growth in 150 years! The economy of the place appears to be strictly based on tourism and the enterprising townsfolk (yes they're townsfolk) have fully capitalized on that bloody battle so many years ago. We've got Pickett's Buffet, American History Bookshop, and about 6 million Civil War Memorabilia Shops. (we saw about 1/3rd of them hehe)
So when we arrived we quickly checked into our hotel which was really nice. The beds were as comfy as what we have at home! We quickly made a mess of the room and then headed off to our first event. A HAUNTED TRAIL RIDE WOOOOOOOOOOO!
This was a silly, silly ride, but the sad part is that it had all the potential in the world of being a great night of fun. First it was on an old train (I think it was 80-something years old) then it had the fortune to be a very dark, cold and stormy night! What luck! Lastly it was riding right THROUGH the creepy, foggy, blood-soaked (not literally) battlefield of Gettysburg!!!
How could this not be wonderful?!
I'll tell you how...first it didn't have all of those people in scary costumes walking up and down the aisle. From the safety of my computer I can announce with confidence that those things are ridiculous....but when I'm on the train I'm positively petrified. No this haunted train didn’t' take that route, instead they had a ghost "Expert" on board to tell ghost stories about Gettysburg. Now, I'm someone who loves oral history and I love love LOVE a good storyteller, so this had all the makings of a fabulous evening. Buuuuuttttttt this woman, our ghost "expert" was awful. She had this weird sing-song voice and she spoke for the entire two hours. One after another they came, 100 year old accounts from someone's senile aunt who remembered seeing the head of coal miner floating outside her window and so on. Eventually she ran out of supernatural and just started telling horror stories about train crashes, re-enacting whenever possible the screams of the victims and relaying in bloody detail the extent of their injuries.
I was really not alone in my dislike for the "entertainment" the people in the car around us started heckling a bit. (Don’t worry she was not near enough to hear them). Frankly, we were grateful for some comic relief because the ride was getting lloooong. haha!
Moving on we went back and had dinner at Perkins restaurant which is not very interesting but was in our direct line of vision.
After that we went back to our room and fell asleep. Big day on Saturday… we're heading out to the battlefield.
It’s amazing to me, how a drive of 3.5 hours can take you to an entirely different world. But that, dear readers is the truth of what happened to my mom, my Ron, and myself as we went to Gettysburg, PA last weekend or the weekend before or something....
We left on a Friday afternoon for the drive and we took our handy-dandy GPS along because she knew the way. My mom drove (THE ENTIRE WEEKEND despite offers of reprieve). The ride up was fairly smooth with route 78 being the exception (as usual). It took us about 3.5 hours to get to our hotel in Gettysburg, PA.
First a few reflections on the town:
I was very surprised that for all its fame, Gettysburg is truly a sleepy little town. It's got a population of about 7,000 people, which is not a far cry from its 1863 pop of just over 2,000. That is not a lot of growth in 150 years! The economy of the place appears to be strictly based on tourism and the enterprising townsfolk (yes they're townsfolk) have fully capitalized on that bloody battle so many years ago. We've got Pickett's Buffet, American History Bookshop, and about 6 million Civil War Memorabilia Shops. (we saw about 1/3rd of them hehe)
So when we arrived we quickly checked into our hotel which was really nice. The beds were as comfy as what we have at home! We quickly made a mess of the room and then headed off to our first event. A HAUNTED TRAIL RIDE WOOOOOOOOOOO!
This was a silly, silly ride, but the sad part is that it had all the potential in the world of being a great night of fun. First it was on an old train (I think it was 80-something years old) then it had the fortune to be a very dark, cold and stormy night! What luck! Lastly it was riding right THROUGH the creepy, foggy, blood-soaked (not literally) battlefield of Gettysburg!!!
How could this not be wonderful?!
I'll tell you how...first it didn't have all of those people in scary costumes walking up and down the aisle. From the safety of my computer I can announce with confidence that those things are ridiculous....but when I'm on the train I'm positively petrified. No this haunted train didn’t' take that route, instead they had a ghost "Expert" on board to tell ghost stories about Gettysburg. Now, I'm someone who loves oral history and I love love LOVE a good storyteller, so this had all the makings of a fabulous evening. Buuuuuttttttt this woman, our ghost "expert" was awful. She had this weird sing-song voice and she spoke for the entire two hours. One after another they came, 100 year old accounts from someone's senile aunt who remembered seeing the head of coal miner floating outside her window and so on. Eventually she ran out of supernatural and just started telling horror stories about train crashes, re-enacting whenever possible the screams of the victims and relaying in bloody detail the extent of their injuries.
I was really not alone in my dislike for the "entertainment" the people in the car around us started heckling a bit. (Don’t worry she was not near enough to hear them). Frankly, we were grateful for some comic relief because the ride was getting lloooong. haha!
Moving on we went back and had dinner at Perkins restaurant which is not very interesting but was in our direct line of vision.
After that we went back to our room and fell asleep. Big day on Saturday… we're heading out to the battlefield.
October 22, 2007
An Exhibition of Nikki
We're back from our trip to Gettysburg, PA. We all had a great time. Pictures to follow but first.....
I am going through the process of moving all of the digital pictures that Ron and I take, off of the computer and onto CD. It's also my intention to move the pictures onto Kodak Gallary as well. It's happening.... but slowly. Anyway I found some pictures of my latest batch of pumpkin spice candles (they smell great).
I am going through the process of moving all of the digital pictures that Ron and I take, off of the computer and onto CD. It's also my intention to move the pictures onto Kodak Gallary as well. It's happening.... but slowly. Anyway I found some pictures of my latest batch of pumpkin spice candles (they smell great).
October 17, 2007
Pumpkins Don't Like Us
Last night we came home to this! It was like a crime scene. The pumpkin "blood" leaked onto our chair too. We have since cleaned the seat and it's fine. Looks like Nikki won the battle over who can find the best method to preserve their pumpkin.
However, I think the death of this pumkin was suspicious...was it natural or homicide!
However, I think the death of this pumkin was suspicious...was it natural or homicide!
October 14, 2007
Opening Day of duck Season
I think some people who don't normally see this side of me would find these pics rather funny.
On October 13th my dad and I went to Paulenskill WMA (Wildlife Management Area) in Lafayette NJ.
I got up at 3:20 AM to meet my dad at my parent's house in Plainfield. We left there at about 4:20. We got to the parking lot at about 5:45. We then got on our chest waders, jackets, packs full of decoys and shotguns and then hopped on our bikes. That's right! Bikes!
HAHA it must be pretty funny to see someone in boots up to their chest , plastic duck heads in their backpack and a shotgun across their back taking a bike ride!
Well we rode about 10 minutes down the dirt road to where we have to turn into the marsh/lake. We dragged the bikes in and locked them up. We then walked another 5-10 minutes to our spot. Once there we got our things together and put out the decoys and were ready by 6:25. Legal shooting time was 7:38 (half hour before sunrise) so we got to relax a little bit.
It was a very nice day. I got a Green Wing Teal and my dad got a Green Wing Teal and a Wood Duck. Boy the area is so pretty!
I see some of the prettiest places in New Jersey fishing and hunting.
On October 13th my dad and I went to Paulenskill WMA (Wildlife Management Area) in Lafayette NJ.
I got up at 3:20 AM to meet my dad at my parent's house in Plainfield. We left there at about 4:20. We got to the parking lot at about 5:45. We then got on our chest waders, jackets, packs full of decoys and shotguns and then hopped on our bikes. That's right! Bikes!
HAHA it must be pretty funny to see someone in boots up to their chest , plastic duck heads in their backpack and a shotgun across their back taking a bike ride!
Well we rode about 10 minutes down the dirt road to where we have to turn into the marsh/lake. We dragged the bikes in and locked them up. We then walked another 5-10 minutes to our spot. Once there we got our things together and put out the decoys and were ready by 6:25. Legal shooting time was 7:38 (half hour before sunrise) so we got to relax a little bit.
It was a very nice day. I got a Green Wing Teal and my dad got a Green Wing Teal and a Wood Duck. Boy the area is so pretty!
I see some of the prettiest places in New Jersey fishing and hunting.
When we have enough duck Nikki and I will probably go over my parents and have a duck dinner. My dad has a new recipe he wants to try.
My dad in full camo scanning the sky. Ducks can see color so hence the "bandit" look.
See the fog? Earlier it was so thick I couldn't past that decoy in the background. Oh and those aren't ducks back there, they are decoys.
See the decoys? What a beautiful day!
Jack-O-Lanters!
On October 10th Nikki and I did our annual pumpkin carving. It's always fun to do! Hopefully they won't mold and rot too much before Halloween.
We're trying two different ways to preserve them. I'm spraying it with Pam inside to prevent moisture loss and also spray it with Lysol to kill mold. Nikki is using just lemon juice.
Looks like Nikki is winning so far, as of writting this my pumpkin has made more mold than hers.
Nikki's is the cat and mine is the monster face.
October 10, 2007
2007 Governor's Surf Fishing Tournament
****UPDATE 1****
Here are the results of the Tournament:
33 bluefish, 3 blackfish, 7 kingfish and 2 stripers out of 1000+ anglers.
****UPDATE 2****
Alright, it's official. Nikki would have won. 7 Kingfish were caught. Men accounted for 5 of them. So Nikki would have at least received third place! DOH!
On Sunday October 7th Nikki, Dad and I went to the annual Governor's Surf Fishing Tournament. We had a great time but holy smokes i think it was August not October!
This year was especially good because of Mom and Dad's new condo in Ortley Beach. It's about 15 minutes from the park. That is great because the Tournament starts at 6am and in past years we would get up at 3:30am. ugh!
This year we met my parents at the condo the night before, had a nice evening, got bait, and got to sleep until about 6am. Still early but certainly not too bad. We got on the beach around 7:30am and got our poles in the water as fast as possible.
The beach is so pretty in the morning.
About 45 minutes into things Nikki said she noticed a bite on my pole but when i looked it wasn't doing anything. I assumed she had just seen the wave action effecting the pole but I decided to check my bait anyway. Nothing seemed unusual as I reeled but when the bait emerged out of the water there was a tiny fish on my rig! Nikki was right! Turned out it was a Kingfish! This was incredibly weird because: 1. it had bitten on a mullet (little bait fish) but typically they feed on worms and little critters. 2. the mullet bait it bit on was half it's size! and 3. the hook was as big as it's head and bigger than it's mouth! I don't know what it was thinking but i guess it really wanted to get caught!
Anyway, this was great because the way the tournament works is there is a first, second and third place for each specie of fish eligible. There would not be many Kingfish caught at all because the time for them being around has pretty much passed. However, I REALLY wanted Nikki to catch something like this because the primary competition is among adult men. There are not only 1st 2nd and 3rd among species but according to child female\male, teen male\female and adult men and women. If Nikki would have caught this thing her chances of winning would have been huge. It was quite good for me but for her it would have been almost a foregone conclusion! I have yet to hear what the women's Kingfish catch was though.
The winner LOL!
Well the day progressed and all we caught were some skates and sea robins that are ineligible for prizes. I guess you could say Nikki won among us though because she caught the biggest fish. A skate that was 4-5 pounds. They look so nasty.
Nikki's winner, nasty right!
Well the Tournament ended at 1pm and all we had in the running was my 10 inch Kingfish but funny as it seemed, I could easily place with it so we went to the ceremony.
Well... I lost by 1 inch! DOH!
My dad kept a couple large sea robins and with my kingfish we almost had a dinner. So we picked up two flounder fillets from the store and made a nice fish fry. Oh well, we didn't get a fishing pole and reel but we had a great dinner! :) There's always next year to get my 4th win hehe.
Nikki eagle eyeing the poles with a judge in the background.
awwww
Look what I caught!! hehe nope it's bait!
Nikki showing my dad and I how it's done.
Plants Don't Like Us
Alright. I don't know what the problem is but Nikki and I are convinced that plants just don't like us or something!. We first bought a plant from Walmart. It looked great but within a few days started losing it's leaves. We didn't do anything drastic, just placed it so it would get some sun but certainly not too much. I watered it once because the soil was dry. Why did it die!
But the kicker was the next poor plant to find itself in our grasp. After seeing that the Walmart plant was pretty much gone we picked up a really nice plant at Ikea. Everything looked good for a few days. A few leaves fell off but nothing seem abnormal. So off we go to Princeton to have dinner with a friend. Little did we know what awaited us at home!
When we walked into the house i saw our plant and it was like a crime scene. It was so shocking we briefly wondered if some mischievous kid walked in and did it! Every single leaf had fallen off the plant!! It was like it got frightened to death or something!
What is up with these plants!! The picture is of the crime scene we walk in on.
October 1, 2007
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