Well, what was to be my “2nd annual” trip to Mt. Washington, NH with a group of friends turned out to be a wasted vacation day spent in Greater Pittsburgh International Airport.
We were supposed to fly out of Pittsburgh bound for Boston on Friday morning around 9 AM. We were to have arrived in Boston around 11 and then were scheduled to rent a van to drive the rest of the way to New Hampshire (about 3 - 4 hours to our final destination).
We arrived at the airport around 7:00 AM, did the shoeless security screening dance, then went to the gate. Before long, we were being told that the plane was still in Boston due to a mechanical issue, and JetBlue hoped to have it repaired and en route quickly. It never happened, and the flight was ultimately canceled.
After a lot of web surfing on Scott’s new iPod Touch, calls to friends who had Internet access, and talking with other travelers, we determined our only other option was to fly to JFK (depart Pittsburgh at 5:20 PM), then catch a connection to Boston, which would have arrived there at 11:16 PM. Of course, we still would have had the long drive (which would result in very little sleep for the ascent the next day), but we were going to hang on and do it anyhow. After not making the summit last year, we were a determined and eager bunch.
Long story short: due to weather delays, the flight to JFK would not leave Pittsburgh until 9:00 PM at the earliest, so we basically were faced with not being able to get to where we wanted to go. We left the airport defeated around 6:00 PM.
I just love burning a vacation day to sit around in an airport for an entire day. Weeeeeee…
Although my wife and I have successfully made it through the “baby years” with our children, I have a lot of friends who are just entering this stage. As a service to young parents everywhere, I thought I should link to this handy guide. Follow the simple rules therein and you will be a better parent than Brittney Spears in no time. Here’s a small sample of what to expect:
Whether or not you ascribe to Tony Snow’s political views, you would be hard-pressed to find any human being who can’t see the tragedy in the death of a man still so young. Former White House Press Secretary Snow passed away on Saturday after a battle with colon cancer.
Just over a year ago, Tony wrote a very moving piece for Christianity Today about the unexpected blessings of his illness. I’d like to share one quote from his article:
“We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us—that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God’s love for others.”
Some have said that we’re “gluttons for punishment,” but yesterday we took the plunge (again) and got a second weimaraner. The new puppy (a girl named Zeta) is sort of a niece to our Mädchen when you look at the pedigree. We had been talking about getting another dog for a while anyhow, and with the passing of Tom Wilson last year, we were not sure how often his wife Jan was going to be breeding their bloodlines going forward. When Jan said she had a litter of 3 girls and 1 boy in May, we decided that now was as good as any time, so we made the commitment.
It’s interesting to see Mädchen with Zeta… she wants to rough-house with her like any other dog, but we keep stopping her, so she’s sort of confused and frustrated with the new addition. Unfortunately the cute puppy stage only lasts a few weeks, but that means soon it’ll be a little easier for the two to play together.
I’ll be posting some pictures soon… maybe even a video or two.
I took the past 2 Fridays off from work for a little Scott time. Last weekend (6/20 - 6/22) I went to Penn State with my brother for a mini Fraternity reunion / golf outing. I will be posting photos from that weekend soon.
On Friday 6/27 I went on a canoe / camping / fishing trip with Ekas, Lav, Breeze, and Sal. It was our usual trip to Fisherman’s Cove near Franklin, PA (click the image above for a larger panoramic photo of the camp site). Although we heard some thunder rumble in the distance a few times, the weather was beautiful for the most part. Fortunately, the fish were biting too; Northern Pike and bass mostly. I took advantage of the peace and quiet to catch up on some sleep… for me it was a very relaxing outing. A few pictures from the trip are here.
Wow - first we lose Russert - now we lose Carlin. George Carlin’s comedy has made me laugh since I was old enough to watch his HBO specials as a kid. I always loved hearing his insights and commentary on the absurdities of the world we all share. He could make you laugh and think at the same time.
I was really bummed to hear about Tim Russert’s passing today. I love him on Meet The Press, and he always seemed to be an incredibly affable guy in interviews I’d seen.
This is an incredible loss to the world of journalism.
