It has been awhile since I have posted but I have good reason. I moved to Savannah, GA. Just after Thanksgiving I left New Jersey and spent about 18 hours in Richmond (sorry Mom) then Savannah the next day. I spent the first 4 days with my friends Jacob and Char before moving into my new bat cave. The place is great, I am south of the city by about 5 minutes in an old neighborhood of houses from the 30's. I am in a converted 1 story carriage house, about 600 sq feet with a small full bath, small kitchen, big den and big bedroom with a nice size closet. I will post some photos when I get everything setup. I got a great deal and it came well furnished. I am the center of the town, as I am 15 min from anywhere from my place. I must say it is nice to have a place of my own again, with the kicker being this place is 6 times the size of "the cabin", man I miss camp.
I did get around to sending out my "holiday" card so I have been busy. If you don't get one this year, all I can say is sorry, I did a very limited run this year . You may laugh now but if you could see the future you would see a descendent of yours on "Antiques Roadshow 2106" being told that if you only had the 2005 card for your highly collective "Sean Allocca Holiday Cards" collection it would be worth twice the estimate of 100 million pesos (yes pesos, don't ask me how but somehow the Mexican peso is the dominate currency in 2106, of course it may be the fact the most of Mexico had moved to the US by 2050 and was backfilled from China but they keep the currency because the Chinese figured out it was the cheapest way to do things but I digress) What I am saying is if you get one hang on to it, your great grand kids will thank you.
So what is next for me? What am I planning on? I know you are all dying to know but the simple truth is I am going to continue to pick up side work when I can and see what happens. It is still very early in what appears to be a 6 month location for me.
Oh yeah, for those of you who may have had a "sean" moment and forgot I turned 38 today don't worry at all about it. I have forgotten more people's birthdays than I can remember which is why I don't worry about it. That is the advantage of getting older, you can't remember what you forget so are you sure you forgot anything? I think not.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Saturday, November 12, 2005
The World Tour has been canceled
Yes you read that correctly. the long of the short of it is this, I have averaged 3.5 hours of sleep a night for the last 5 nights. This is the worst case of insomnia I have had in over 5 years and I can't take it anymore, 3 benedryl 2 hours before bed do nothing. Lunesta (prescription) sucks because it leaves a horrible bitter taste in my mouth all day, it makes water taste bad, milk tastes sour and in general ruins any food I eat. On top of the insomnia I have had a low grade fever for the last 3 days with body aches. So all in all a crappy trip. I did enjoy going to Scotland with Jason, we spent time in St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow. The weather was great for this time of year the first 2 days. I got what I believe will be amazing shots of the "Old Course" at St. Andrews. Jason said I could be here a month this time of year and never get sun like we had that second day. I am excited about that at least. Scotland is very pretty, it's a lot like Ireland in my mind but don't tell a scot that.
So where does this leave me? I am currently in London waiting for my flight back to Newark at 2:40pm (pop, I will be in Chester by 7 pm tonight). I will return to NJ for the weekend and after that I honestly have no idea what is next. Well that may not be entirely true, it maybe time for me to hole up in a cabin in the woods and start work on my manifesto for awhile. I do know this, my passport will not be stamped for some time to come, I'm done with it. Does this mean you are going to get a job, find a place to live and settle down? Let me check the magic 8 ball.....don't count on it. Man is that 8 ball accurate or what.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
French Weather Report
I have made it to London
I got in around 8pm tonight. Jason and I fly out tomorrow around 10 am for Scotland. I got maybe 3 hours of sleep last night so I slept for the first 3 hours of the flight. The choice of breakfast this morning was a standard English breakfast (eggs, sausage (bangers) and a hot tomato slice) or you could get chicken and rice for breakfast. I passed on both, I mean, chicken and rice for breakfast, what's up with that?
That's about all for tonight. I will try and update you tomorrow.
That's about all for tonight. I will try and update you tomorrow.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Jefferson went to Paris, Franklin went to Paris. Now, it's my turn, god help the French
I am in the final stages of preparation for the tours second leg in Western Europe. I spent the day rounding up the last of the supplies for the trip. The main things I picked up was the "Top 10" guides for London, Paris, Amsterdam and Scotland. They are pocket guides that give you just the main highlights that should not be missed. They should help with finding the main tourist areas to maximize my time in each city.
Now the last thing I picked up may turn out to help me or just piss the French off more. I downloaded an audiobook titked "In-Flight French" and it claims to be able to teach me the 100 most used words that will get you by in France. It is about an hour so I will try and listen to it at least 10 times before I get to France. I have been told that if you can say some basic greetings, phrases and questions the French will be more apt to speak to me in english. I will test this theory and let you know how that works out. My biggest fear is since it took 4 years to get through Spanish 1 (there is a whole story to those 4 years but I don't want to get into it here), ten hours may not be enough. I am going to give it my best, I don't want to do anything that makes the French hate Americans more.
Now the last thing I picked up may turn out to help me or just piss the French off more. I downloaded an audiobook titked "In-Flight French" and it claims to be able to teach me the 100 most used words that will get you by in France. It is about an hour so I will try and listen to it at least 10 times before I get to France. I have been told that if you can say some basic greetings, phrases and questions the French will be more apt to speak to me in english. I will test this theory and let you know how that works out. My biggest fear is since it took 4 years to get through Spanish 1 (there is a whole story to those 4 years but I don't want to get into it here), ten hours may not be enough. I am going to give it my best, I don't want to do anything that makes the French hate Americans more.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Monday, October 24, 2005
Distance Traveling
Distance Traveling now Available
Have you ever wanted to travel for long periods of time but could never get away? Have you dreamed of taking all the pictures you could want and bring back cheap T-shirts and great stories to share with your friends? Well now you don't have to worry anymore. I am available for "Distance Traveling". What is distance traveling you ask? Well to put it simply, I do all the work while you enjoy my daily web updates of your trip. You tell me where you want to go, what you want to see and what you would like to experience and I will handle the rest.
Let me give you an example of a sample 7 day trip in Europe:
Day 1 - Arrive London (am) spend day seeing the sights you have asked to see. I will post photos and a journal that evening including photos of the double decker bus sight seeing trip you asked me to do.
Day 2 - London, spend day going around to as much of London as I can, finishing with an evening at the theater taking in a show for you. Updated web page that evening
Day 3 - Chunnel to Paris, France with stop over in Normandy for the late morning till late afternoon. Continue to Paris then spend the evening photographing the city at night. Web update that evening.
Day 4 - Paris, spend day as you wish. Web update that evening.
Day 5 - Paris to Holland, spend the day in Paris until I board a train for the night to Amsterdam. No update due train rides and internet access don't mix all that well.
Day 6 - Arrive Amsterdam (am), spend day seeing sights such as Anne Franks house, the canals, the cafes. Spend night photographing the city at night including the red light district (all the sin one could photograph without the guilt or confessional visits). No update due to lateness involved in trying to get authentic feel of a city like Amsterdam for you. It's nights like this that produce the better stories.
Day 7 Awake (pm) still in Amsterdam. I hope. The final day and final update from the road.
So now the trip is over, what's left to be done? I then spend a few days just getting all forms of media used on the trip in order. I will put it all together how ever you would like. Just want Hi-Res digital photos sent to you on DVD? No problem, that's the least expensive way to go. Or you could custom design your media experience a la carte. DVD slide show with music? No problem. DVD video along with the slide show? You know it, no problem.
The big savings is passed onto you. Because I am just one person who can travel both light and cheaply and I pass that savings on to you. Think about it, I can stay in a motel for $70 outside a city where you and your companion would rather say in the city at $170 - $200 a night. Big savings there. What about meals? I can eat on the cheap, how about you and you friend. My dinner bill comes to $15 -$20 when yours comes to $150 -$200. More savings I pass on to you. So what can someone expect pay for a trip like this if you do it instead of you and your husband or wife.
Flight to London from New York in coach.
Me:$450.00
You: $900.00 or more depending on your current location or unless you normally fly business or first the savings are tremendous.
Meals for 7 day.
Me: $250 -$300
You: $700 - $1000
Lodging
Me: around $70 per day may vary from city to city.
You: From $150 - $300 per night
As you can see by these few examples just how much you could save by sending me instead. I will be offering a wide range of services including the Xtreme Trip (I will do all the scary things you don't want too. Bungy, skydiving, etc) Digital and 35mm film photography, digital video, an audio diary of the trip as I experence it. I will be happy to discuss any special requests or if you want a photographer to shadow you on your actual trip as a private trip photographer.
If you have any questions or would like to setup a trip let me know email distancetraveling at yahoo dot com (trying to avoid spam)
Have you ever wanted to travel for long periods of time but could never get away? Have you dreamed of taking all the pictures you could want and bring back cheap T-shirts and great stories to share with your friends? Well now you don't have to worry anymore. I am available for "Distance Traveling". What is distance traveling you ask? Well to put it simply, I do all the work while you enjoy my daily web updates of your trip. You tell me where you want to go, what you want to see and what you would like to experience and I will handle the rest.
Let me give you an example of a sample 7 day trip in Europe:
Day 1 - Arrive London (am) spend day seeing the sights you have asked to see. I will post photos and a journal that evening including photos of the double decker bus sight seeing trip you asked me to do.
Day 2 - London, spend day going around to as much of London as I can, finishing with an evening at the theater taking in a show for you. Updated web page that evening
Day 3 - Chunnel to Paris, France with stop over in Normandy for the late morning till late afternoon. Continue to Paris then spend the evening photographing the city at night. Web update that evening.
Day 4 - Paris, spend day as you wish. Web update that evening.
Day 5 - Paris to Holland, spend the day in Paris until I board a train for the night to Amsterdam. No update due train rides and internet access don't mix all that well.
Day 6 - Arrive Amsterdam (am), spend day seeing sights such as Anne Franks house, the canals, the cafes. Spend night photographing the city at night including the red light district (all the sin one could photograph without the guilt or confessional visits). No update due to lateness involved in trying to get authentic feel of a city like Amsterdam for you. It's nights like this that produce the better stories.
Day 7 Awake (pm) still in Amsterdam. I hope. The final day and final update from the road.
So now the trip is over, what's left to be done? I then spend a few days just getting all forms of media used on the trip in order. I will put it all together how ever you would like. Just want Hi-Res digital photos sent to you on DVD? No problem, that's the least expensive way to go. Or you could custom design your media experience a la carte. DVD slide show with music? No problem. DVD video along with the slide show? You know it, no problem.
The big savings is passed onto you. Because I am just one person who can travel both light and cheaply and I pass that savings on to you. Think about it, I can stay in a motel for $70 outside a city where you and your companion would rather say in the city at $170 - $200 a night. Big savings there. What about meals? I can eat on the cheap, how about you and you friend. My dinner bill comes to $15 -$20 when yours comes to $150 -$200. More savings I pass on to you. So what can someone expect pay for a trip like this if you do it instead of you and your husband or wife.
Flight to London from New York in coach.
Me:$450.00
You: $900.00 or more depending on your current location or unless you normally fly business or first the savings are tremendous.
Meals for 7 day.
Me: $250 -$300
You: $700 - $1000
Lodging
Me: around $70 per day may vary from city to city.
You: From $150 - $300 per night
As you can see by these few examples just how much you could save by sending me instead. I will be offering a wide range of services including the Xtreme Trip (I will do all the scary things you don't want too. Bungy, skydiving, etc) Digital and 35mm film photography, digital video, an audio diary of the trip as I experence it. I will be happy to discuss any special requests or if you want a photographer to shadow you on your actual trip as a private trip photographer.
If you have any questions or would like to setup a trip let me know email distancetraveling at yahoo dot com (trying to avoid spam)
Good News, Bad News - (is the glass half full or half empty?)
Have you ever wanted to know the answer to a question, waited months for the results to come in but the results where not what you had hoped for? Well that's where I am today. The way I look at it is, it's not so much a failure but just one avenue I don't have to worry about traveling anymore. So is the glass half empty or half full? Neither, I just got up to fill it up so I don't have to worry about it.
Having said that I am now looking for ideas for where I can spend the winter. I am looking at returning to New Zealand for 4-5 months. I am also looking into the Italian Alps with Mike Luke. So if anyone has a good idea where I can spend the winter let me know. Keep in mind, free (15 miles from the mountain for example) place to live trumps great place to stay (on the mountain), I can go looking for nice sights and places.
I am also available to come for visits from 1 day to 1 year, it's up to you. I am told I am fun to have around, people seem to get a kick out of me, go figure. I am also house trained and have no problem helping with computer/general electronic issues to earn a meal or two. I travel with a collection of over 250 DVD's a 27" TV a Playstation 2 and 15 gig of music so entertainment is always at hand. I must also tell you if you have kids, I am somewhat of a distraction and tend to get them slightly hyper at times and then go outside for a smoke and let someone else enjoy them. Bed times tend to be somewhat later than normal for some reason when I'm around but I have yet to figure out why. It is amazing though how much kids 8 to 12 act like a single, 37 year old guy. I will continue my research into this strange phenomenon.
Having said that I am now looking for ideas for where I can spend the winter. I am looking at returning to New Zealand for 4-5 months. I am also looking into the Italian Alps with Mike Luke. So if anyone has a good idea where I can spend the winter let me know. Keep in mind, free (15 miles from the mountain for example) place to live trumps great place to stay (on the mountain), I can go looking for nice sights and places.
I am also available to come for visits from 1 day to 1 year, it's up to you. I am told I am fun to have around, people seem to get a kick out of me, go figure. I am also house trained and have no problem helping with computer/general electronic issues to earn a meal or two. I travel with a collection of over 250 DVD's a 27" TV a Playstation 2 and 15 gig of music so entertainment is always at hand. I must also tell you if you have kids, I am somewhat of a distraction and tend to get them slightly hyper at times and then go outside for a smoke and let someone else enjoy them. Bed times tend to be somewhat later than normal for some reason when I'm around but I have yet to figure out why. It is amazing though how much kids 8 to 12 act like a single, 37 year old guy. I will continue my research into this strange phenomenon.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
What, Ads on the site!
Yes I have decided to put up google ads in hopes that I may make a buck or two. I will let you know how everything goes. If you see an ad that intrests you click on it, I might get paid. Don't sit there and just click ads, I don't get paid if you do.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Where Am I Going?
Leg 1 - Nov 8th leave Newark 8 am arrive London 8 pm
I will meet up with Jason (arrived earlier) for the night at or near the airport
Leg 2 - Nov 9th leave London 10 am arrive Edinburgh 11 am
Jason will be driving us around Scotland has he meets with golf club tour reps, i.e. St. Andrews and other famous courses. We will end up in Glasgow for the return to London. I hope to get some great shots while there. I am going to experiment with some black and white film for the first time in a long time . If it is a wet and grey as I think it should be, black and white should work well.
Leg 3 - Nov 12th leave Glasgow 7 am arrive London 9 am
Jason then departs for home. I then begin a short 10 day walkabout. I will see London, I will see Holland, I will see France, I will see your underpants. Well 3 out of 4 isn't bad. I will see a friend from camp while I am in Holland. I am also looking into meeting up with another camp friend in Paris. I hope to at least get to Normandy if I can't get to Paris. I feel I can't be that close to it and not see it. As for London I will wing it, I want to know if London is what New York wishes it could be?
Leg 4 - Nov 22nd Leave London 8 am arrive Newark 11 am
Unless I get married to a wonderful country girl from some small town in Europe or other highly unlikely, highly elaborate bit of imagination.
I will meet up with Jason (arrived earlier) for the night at or near the airport
Leg 2 - Nov 9th leave London 10 am arrive Edinburgh 11 am
Jason will be driving us around Scotland has he meets with golf club tour reps, i.e. St. Andrews and other famous courses. We will end up in Glasgow for the return to London. I hope to get some great shots while there. I am going to experiment with some black and white film for the first time in a long time . If it is a wet and grey as I think it should be, black and white should work well.
Leg 3 - Nov 12th leave Glasgow 7 am arrive London 9 am
Jason then departs for home. I then begin a short 10 day walkabout. I will see London, I will see Holland, I will see France, I will see your underpants. Well 3 out of 4 isn't bad. I will see a friend from camp while I am in Holland. I am also looking into meeting up with another camp friend in Paris. I hope to at least get to Normandy if I can't get to Paris. I feel I can't be that close to it and not see it. As for London I will wing it, I want to know if London is what New York wishes it could be?
Leg 4 - Nov 22nd Leave London 8 am arrive Newark 11 am
Unless I get married to a wonderful country girl from some small town in Europe or other highly unlikely, highly elaborate bit of imagination.
Where are you?
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long," answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs... I have a full life."
The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."
"And after that?" asked the Mexican.
"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants
and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the Mexican.
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends."
Know where you're going in life... you may already be there.
thanx to N.S.
"Not very long," answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs... I have a full life."
The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."
"And after that?" asked the Mexican.
"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants
and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the Mexican.
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends."
Know where you're going in life... you may already be there.
thanx to N.S.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
A Quick Update
Sorry to all who check in and have not seen a new post in weeks. What can I say I'm a slacker. No the real reason is I have been as busy as a one armed paper hanger. The last few weeks I have been driving my ass off. Last week alone In drove over 1400 miles in 6 days. You may think that is not much for 6 days but you will understand once I post the photos of the old van I had to drive at least half of those miles.
Camp is great, if you have kids between the ages of 8-16 I would recommend them coming up next summer.
Big Shout out to my friend Kelly Essman who was the first one to send me a letter, thus she will receive a camp t-shirt.
Another shout out to Mom who sent me goodies. Thanks mom, you did a great job.
I just got back from an over flight of the camp for aerial photos, I will post those when I get them back.
That's all for now, I have to do a pick-up of some campers so I will post more later this week.
Camp is great, if you have kids between the ages of 8-16 I would recommend them coming up next summer.
Big Shout out to my friend Kelly Essman who was the first one to send me a letter, thus she will receive a camp t-shirt.
Another shout out to Mom who sent me goodies. Thanks mom, you did a great job.
I just got back from an over flight of the camp for aerial photos, I will post those when I get them back.
That's all for now, I have to do a pick-up of some campers so I will post more later this week.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
The first big camp update.
So I am sitting here in my cabin with no power and an hour left on my laptop battery so I thought I would give you guys an update.
First:
Camp is GREAT!!
Second: Anyone with kids who like the outdoors and camping should send them here. The place is great, there is so much for them to do; Canoeing, hiking, backpacking, swimming, archery, rock climbing, (power just came back on, yahoooo!!!!! More on this later) rifle range and so much more.
Third:
Care Packages - This is a shameless request for care packages. Everyone gets at least one during the summer and I don't want to be left out. Letters are just as good. I know in this age of e-mail writing is a lost art but a letter is ten times better than an e-mail. Address is given in a previous post.
Now to fill you in on the first 6 days.
It was nice to have a few days in camp before the kids showed up. It gave me some time to get to know the consolers and other staff. Most of the counselors and CIT's are between 19-24. Most where campers at one time and just love the camp. As I have figured out, you are either camp people or not. Those of us who are camp people love camp. The simple, laid back yet structured atmosphere is very condusive to stress free living. Three hots and a cot help as well.
The two brothers that own the camp are great guys who have been here since their family brought the camp in the early 70's. They both are teachers during the rest of the year at the school in Old Forge (K-12 and only 300 kids total). John handles the front end operations, and his brother Dave handles the back end camp maintenance. They are both at almost every meal with us. Dave spent today getting me and one other cabin our power back today. Not bad for a gym teacher. We had a thunderstorm roll through around 8pm last night and a tree fell and took my power line with it. It wasn't much of a problem for me as a group of use had plans to go to the local bar for the evening so I was not forced to hang out in the cabin in the dark. More on this later.
The job is great, it is exactly what I hoped it would be. So far I haven't had to make to many trips. Today was the first day I had to take campers to trails. There are two vans I drive, one is a van that was made into a "short" bus that seats 15 from the 70's. I drove that today with 8 canoes on the trailer and a bus load of campers. The thing handles only slightly better than the white whale I drove in New Zealand. It has an engine that has trouble getting to 50 mph when loaded and trailing canoes unless I am going down hill. I call it George. Then there is Gracie, new Ford F350 12 passenger van, what a dream compared to George. If I have to make airport runs, I can drive my car and they pay me for the mileage which is nice because I can smoke on the way there. Most of my days will involve a drop-off in the morning and a pick-up or another drop off for an overnight or longer canoe trip. So I get up at 7:55 am, ride my bike (more on this later) to breakfast by 8:10 then back to the cabin until my first run around 10:00. This can be a local run that gets me back in under an hour, I haven't had any long runs yet so I not sure how long they take. I think most trips are under 2 hours one way, which isn't bad in Gracie but George has no sound system at all. Then I will have a pick-up for all local trips in the afternoon. After that my day is done. I come back to the cabin and chill before grabbing a shower and watching some TV. I should say that I find it hard to believe that I only get 65% of 1 channel and I am O.K. with that. It's CBS and because I can watch Letterman every-night that makes easy to deal with. Watch him some time, he is so much better than Leno.
Some of the people who work here come with their kids who get to come for free! A 7 week summer vacation with your family that you get paid 250.00 a week for, how can you go wrong?
Walking back and forth from my cabin to the main dining hall was getting to be a pain so Alex told me about a bike in pieces that I could try and fix up. So I spent about 25 minutes putting this thing back together. Its an older mountain bike with a broken front de-railer that has me on the middle sprocket, so it's only a 6 speed not 18 but it is the best 6 to have. So I now ride everywhere in camp which took a few days for some of my leg muscles to remember what it was like to work. I will post a photo of the jalopy in a few days, it may have a slightly bent back wheel, missing one handle bar grip a crappy saddle and only 6 speeds but she's all mine. This of course does not change the fact I am in the market for a used golf cart (preferably an old school 3 wheel one with the tiller instead of a steering wheel just for the sheer danger factor alone. Hey I jump out of airplanes and bungy, what would you expect). Now stop and think about this for a second. Isn't that how you picture me getting around camp. We all have dreams.
SIDEBAR - For those who where waiting for my blood work to come back here is the news. My cholesterol is so low my doctor is putting me on a pork only diet.
My cabin is small (14 ft x 14 ft but very functional) having the loft to sleep in makes all the difference. Also it is one of the only insulated cabins in camp. Now you may ask how that makes a difference in the summer time? It gets cool every night so I open the windows and turn on the fans. Then when I get up in the morning I shut everything and turn off the fans. Because of this and the fact I am surrounded by trees my cabin stays cool all day long. Even when it was 92 the other day my cabin was around 76-78 all day long. If anyone would like to come and visit you are welcome to hang out in camp for a few days. Trust me it's worth the trip and I have plenty of room for up to two guests. Here is what you get a cabin that has a sink with a drain, a 3 1/2 gallon jug for water. A love seat, TV, Playstation 2, a selection of over 230 DVD's to watch at night, a classic early 60's fridge and a dark and quit place to sleep. The bathroom is 100 yards away though the woods or as close is the nearest empty Gatorade bottle, your choice. I have a small mouse issue but I am working on getting all of the one in a 50 yard radius of the cabin. I am two kills away from becoming an Ace. We even have high speed wireless internet in the office.
So a bunch of us went out last night to the local bar on the lake about 10 minutes away. The place is on a large lake with great views. The place is a total Nascar bar, in the winter time a few weeks before the start of the Nascar season, Rusty, Dale Jr. and a few others come up and hang out in the bar. I think they come up for a snowmobile race. Snowmobiling is huge in this area, the town of Old Forge is a huge destination for snowmobilers. The town has there own dept. of snowmobile trails for creation and maintenance. So the summer months are quite.
That's all for now I just finished dinner and stopped by the office to post this before I go out for the evening. More to come.
I hope there are not too many spelling and grammatical mistakes in this post. If so please feel free to keep them to yourself you smug bastards. Just kidding about the smug bastards part. :-)
First:
Camp is GREAT!!
Second: Anyone with kids who like the outdoors and camping should send them here. The place is great, there is so much for them to do; Canoeing, hiking, backpacking, swimming, archery, rock climbing, (power just came back on, yahoooo!!!!! More on this later) rifle range and so much more.
Third:
Care Packages - This is a shameless request for care packages. Everyone gets at least one during the summer and I don't want to be left out. Letters are just as good. I know in this age of e-mail writing is a lost art but a letter is ten times better than an e-mail. Address is given in a previous post.
Now to fill you in on the first 6 days.
It was nice to have a few days in camp before the kids showed up. It gave me some time to get to know the consolers and other staff. Most of the counselors and CIT's are between 19-24. Most where campers at one time and just love the camp. As I have figured out, you are either camp people or not. Those of us who are camp people love camp. The simple, laid back yet structured atmosphere is very condusive to stress free living. Three hots and a cot help as well.
The two brothers that own the camp are great guys who have been here since their family brought the camp in the early 70's. They both are teachers during the rest of the year at the school in Old Forge (K-12 and only 300 kids total). John handles the front end operations, and his brother Dave handles the back end camp maintenance. They are both at almost every meal with us. Dave spent today getting me and one other cabin our power back today. Not bad for a gym teacher. We had a thunderstorm roll through around 8pm last night and a tree fell and took my power line with it. It wasn't much of a problem for me as a group of use had plans to go to the local bar for the evening so I was not forced to hang out in the cabin in the dark. More on this later.
The job is great, it is exactly what I hoped it would be. So far I haven't had to make to many trips. Today was the first day I had to take campers to trails. There are two vans I drive, one is a van that was made into a "short" bus that seats 15 from the 70's. I drove that today with 8 canoes on the trailer and a bus load of campers. The thing handles only slightly better than the white whale I drove in New Zealand. It has an engine that has trouble getting to 50 mph when loaded and trailing canoes unless I am going down hill. I call it George. Then there is Gracie, new Ford F350 12 passenger van, what a dream compared to George. If I have to make airport runs, I can drive my car and they pay me for the mileage which is nice because I can smoke on the way there. Most of my days will involve a drop-off in the morning and a pick-up or another drop off for an overnight or longer canoe trip. So I get up at 7:55 am, ride my bike (more on this later) to breakfast by 8:10 then back to the cabin until my first run around 10:00. This can be a local run that gets me back in under an hour, I haven't had any long runs yet so I not sure how long they take. I think most trips are under 2 hours one way, which isn't bad in Gracie but George has no sound system at all. Then I will have a pick-up for all local trips in the afternoon. After that my day is done. I come back to the cabin and chill before grabbing a shower and watching some TV. I should say that I find it hard to believe that I only get 65% of 1 channel and I am O.K. with that. It's CBS and because I can watch Letterman every-night that makes easy to deal with. Watch him some time, he is so much better than Leno.
Some of the people who work here come with their kids who get to come for free! A 7 week summer vacation with your family that you get paid 250.00 a week for, how can you go wrong?
Walking back and forth from my cabin to the main dining hall was getting to be a pain so Alex told me about a bike in pieces that I could try and fix up. So I spent about 25 minutes putting this thing back together. Its an older mountain bike with a broken front de-railer that has me on the middle sprocket, so it's only a 6 speed not 18 but it is the best 6 to have. So I now ride everywhere in camp which took a few days for some of my leg muscles to remember what it was like to work. I will post a photo of the jalopy in a few days, it may have a slightly bent back wheel, missing one handle bar grip a crappy saddle and only 6 speeds but she's all mine. This of course does not change the fact I am in the market for a used golf cart (preferably an old school 3 wheel one with the tiller instead of a steering wheel just for the sheer danger factor alone. Hey I jump out of airplanes and bungy, what would you expect). Now stop and think about this for a second. Isn't that how you picture me getting around camp. We all have dreams.
SIDEBAR - For those who where waiting for my blood work to come back here is the news. My cholesterol is so low my doctor is putting me on a pork only diet.
My cabin is small (14 ft x 14 ft but very functional) having the loft to sleep in makes all the difference. Also it is one of the only insulated cabins in camp. Now you may ask how that makes a difference in the summer time? It gets cool every night so I open the windows and turn on the fans. Then when I get up in the morning I shut everything and turn off the fans. Because of this and the fact I am surrounded by trees my cabin stays cool all day long. Even when it was 92 the other day my cabin was around 76-78 all day long. If anyone would like to come and visit you are welcome to hang out in camp for a few days. Trust me it's worth the trip and I have plenty of room for up to two guests. Here is what you get a cabin that has a sink with a drain, a 3 1/2 gallon jug for water. A love seat, TV, Playstation 2, a selection of over 230 DVD's to watch at night, a classic early 60's fridge and a dark and quit place to sleep. The bathroom is 100 yards away though the woods or as close is the nearest empty Gatorade bottle, your choice. I have a small mouse issue but I am working on getting all of the one in a 50 yard radius of the cabin. I am two kills away from becoming an Ace. We even have high speed wireless internet in the office.
So a bunch of us went out last night to the local bar on the lake about 10 minutes away. The place is on a large lake with great views. The place is a total Nascar bar, in the winter time a few weeks before the start of the Nascar season, Rusty, Dale Jr. and a few others come up and hang out in the bar. I think they come up for a snowmobile race. Snowmobiling is huge in this area, the town of Old Forge is a huge destination for snowmobilers. The town has there own dept. of snowmobile trails for creation and maintenance. So the summer months are quite.
That's all for now I just finished dinner and stopped by the office to post this before I go out for the evening. More to come.
I hope there are not too many spelling and grammatical mistakes in this post. If so please feel free to keep them to yourself you smug bastards. Just kidding about the smug bastards part. :-)
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
First Full day at Camp
As another day at camp draws to a close, and I reflect upon the day and I can't help but think..... It's hot as shit today. For the north woods this is amazing. 92 and high humidity.
Today was the first full day of camp and things are great. I rolled out of bed at 7:45am and had breakfast, bacon and eggos. I then returned to the cabin for rest period, which for me was 8:45 to 11:45. Back to the dining hall for lunch then on the road for my one and only pickup of the day. So I spent the next 5 hours driving to the Syracuse Airport and back to pickup the son of the French Sec. Of State, nice kid. Dinner at 6:15 and now this.
I have a slow day tomorrow, no pick-ups or drop-offs so I will hop on the lawn tractor and cut grass tomorrow for a few hours, then maybe some arts and crafts if I feel up to it.
Now to the important things:
Where to send care packages (I'm at camp, of course I want care packages)
285 Woodcraft Rd
Old Forge, NY 13420
More to come, stay tuned.
Today was the first full day of camp and things are great. I rolled out of bed at 7:45am and had breakfast, bacon and eggos. I then returned to the cabin for rest period, which for me was 8:45 to 11:45. Back to the dining hall for lunch then on the road for my one and only pickup of the day. So I spent the next 5 hours driving to the Syracuse Airport and back to pickup the son of the French Sec. Of State, nice kid. Dinner at 6:15 and now this.
I have a slow day tomorrow, no pick-ups or drop-offs so I will hop on the lawn tractor and cut grass tomorrow for a few hours, then maybe some arts and crafts if I feel up to it.
Now to the important things:
Where to send care packages (I'm at camp, of course I want care packages)
285 Woodcraft Rd
Old Forge, NY 13420
More to come, stay tuned.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Are you ready for the summer....Are you ready for Camp North Star
Ok, so it's not Camp North Star but I am going to Summer Camp. Yup, you read that right. I am taking the job as van driver for the Adirondack Woodcraft Camp
I am not sure what my internet connections will be like at camp so I will post whenever I can. I will send photos also. I am not sure if my cell phone works there, I am fairly sure it will so I can do audio posts.
More to follow
I am not sure what my internet connections will be like at camp so I will post whenever I can. I will send photos also. I am not sure if my cell phone works there, I am fairly sure it will so I can do audio posts.
More to follow
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
My favorite photo from the trip.
This was taken at the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch. I spent 3
hours walking around taking pictures of the flowers. This is by far
one of the best shots I have ever taken. I can't explain what it does
to me but it makes my happy when I look at it.
Coromandel Town - Panorama
The Coromandel Penisula is second only to the Queenstown / Milford Sound area.
Milford Sound Area - South Island NZ
What more can I say about this area. The cost of the flight was worth
every penny for views like this.
Milford Sound Area - South Island NZ
Again, more great shots from the air. The falls drop about 800 feet.
Upper Coromandel Peninsula
I drove for hours on dirt roads for great shots like this one on the
Coromandel Peninsula.
North Island NZ on the west coast
This is the bottom of "Ninety Mile Beach" you are looking west at the
Tasman Sea.
Milford Sound Area - South Island NZ
The only way to see Milford Sound is from the air. Trust me on that.
South Island NZ - West Coast
One of my best shots from the whole trip. This was a great day for pictures.
North Island NZ
Huka Falls. The volume of water is amazing, something like 20 swimming
pools a second.
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