Found In the Woods

I just got back from”out the Cape” on a long weekend. Friday through Monday. How I miss New England. We chose to leave early this year, 5:36am to be exact. What a difference it made. We crossed the CT border at precisely 9:36am. Four hours! With 4 stops on the way, we were up there at 2:45pm. It was great getting there early enough to enjoy the afternoon, especially since I could only stay for four days.

Activities included much-needed face time with some extended family, to the beach with Kyle (he’s still not so sure about the sand and water), lounging outside drinking beers and eating hors d’ouvres, playing poker, perusing some of my Grandfathers old tools in the basement, watching the Sox beat the Angels on NESN (Schilling in the 9th keeps the heart rate up), a visit to the Ocean State Job Lot, and lots of pictures and videos (to be posted soon).

It was also great to spend time with my immediate family, including my Bro who lives in CO and rarely makes it East. We shared many stories and caught up. The weather was perfect – cool and breezy in the 70’s. So little has changed there, except the absence of my Grandfather which is probably the toughest. This is the second summer he has been gone and the house gets emptier and emptier. It’s just not the same. But, the Cape is good to us. It’s a wonderful place to decompress and relax. The wind whistles through the pines and the neighbors are either non-existent or very quiet, which is so nice.

Talk is already of having another Thanksgiving get together there like last year. It was great. I hope it happens.

Getting ready for Cape Cod and Ireland… all within a month. Cape to visit family and enjoy the shore for a few days and Ireland with Kris and Kyle to enjoy the Old Country. The O’Sullivan’s are from County Cork which is where we’re going, partly. So, going back to my roots, I guess. Very excited.

Last weekend I gave a presentation at the B&O RR Historical Society’s Brunswick, MD Mini-Con on the Georgetown Branch. It went well. The Georgetown Branch is my main area of interest in railroading, both model and actual. My site can be found here. The Mini-Con was fun too. I got to put many faces with names and hear some interesting presentations. Brunswick is a fascinating town too. One place where you can see so much in the visible and invisible transformation it underwent from a sleepy town along the C&O Canal to a bursting division point on the B&O RR back to a sleepy town, rich with history and gorgeous architecture.

Slowly gaining ground on my long long long long depressing anchor-weight list of projects and to-do’s. Still have a long way to go. Go SOX! We’re 3.5 games ahead of the Yankees… we need to stay there.

Lately I've been really into the BitTorrent thing. It's really amazing what stuff you can find out there. I've tried out a few clients too and am now on Azureus, which I think I'll stay with. Nice interface and monitoring. I still have tons to explore with it. Kyle is walking now. It's really a riot. He sort of does this cowboy thing where he's a little bow-legged as he walks. He gets so excited and will sometimes throw his hands up into the air as he walks. I just love to see him grow. He is starting to figure out spaces – you know, being able to put things inside other things and then remove them. Dead Can Dance are coming to Bethesda. (I know, can you believe it?) They've reunited for a tour. Oct 10 is the magic night. Tix go on sale tomorrow at 10. Hopefully we'll be able to score a few.