The top 75 most played songs on my iPhone

May 10, 2010 // 4 Comments  // Add yours » //  Buzz it // Share

In response to a request by @MrsdelCampo on twitter, here's the top 75 most played songs on my iPhone & iTunes.  The count began in June of 2009, so the list is a combination of temporary obsessions from the past year and "tried and true" favorites. I suspect the songs on this list will be dramatically different in another twelve month's time.

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Manhattan

April 25, 2010 // 0 Comments  // Add yours » //  Buzz it // Share

Just another trip to the city.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, New York, New York State, NYC, Photos, Travel, Videos | Technorati Tags: Blogsherpa, Manhattan, New York, New York State, NYC | Link | TrackBack | Comments (0)
 

Cleanup of the Naugatuck River Scheduled in Derby

April 14, 2010 // 2 Comments  // Add yours » //  Buzz it // Share

The second annual volunteer effort to cleanup the banks of the Naugatuck River in Derby has been scheduled for Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 8am to 4pm. There will be a one hour lunch between noon to one.  I participated last year and believe me, a ton of help is needed.  There is an enormous amount of junk remaining along the banks of that river.  More info is available on the Valley Indy and on Derby's website.

Posted in:  Connecticut, Derby, CT | | Link | TrackBack | Comments (2)
 

A Tri-State Hike: Brace Mountain to Mount Frissell

March 24, 2010 // 2 Comments  // Add yours » //  Buzz it // Share

This past weekend my friends and I drove to Taconic State Park in New York for our first major hike of the year. We took the South Taconic Trail, which brought us along the top of Brace Mountain and then over to Mount Frissel, Connecticut's highest point.

It was a steep climb when we first started off but the views were rewarding.  From the top of Brace Mountain we could see clear across the Hudson Valley and even as far as the Catskill Mountains.  At the top we came across three paragliders who were having a bit of trouble due to the strong winds.  We stuck around about 20 minutes or so to watch a launch only to see the guy spin upside down and then crash into the bushes - a firm reminder why I avoid doing that sort of thing.

From the top of Brace Mountain we continued on for about another 2.5 miles along the ridgeline towards Mt. Frissell, the highest point in Connecticut. The peak of Mt. Frissell is actually in Massachusetts, but the south slop lies across the Connecticut line and is slightly higher than Bear Mountain, the highest peak in the state. 

It wasn't the most enjoyable part of the hike.  Along the way the trail dipped down a bit and suddenly we were walking through a foot of melting snow. We made a quick stop at the tri-state marker and at the CT high point before eating a late lunch and heading back towards Brace Mountain for a few more great views of the Hudson Valley.

Continue reading "A Tri-State Hike: Brace Mountain to Mount Frissell"

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Adventure, BlogSherpa, Catskills, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New England, New York, New York State, Taconic Mountains, The Outdoors, Travel, USA | | Link | TrackBack | Comments (2)
 

Burlington and Vermont's Scenic Byways

February 26, 2010 // 0 Comments  // Add yours » //  Buzz it // Share

This was round 2 of traveling around Vermont in less than a month, this time with my friends Mindy and Kamil for a weekend in the Burlington/Lake Champlain area. To be honest, we didn't spend a heck of a lot of time roaming around Burlington itself aside from checking out some of the restaurants and bars/pubs/breweries at night for a few rounds of Switchback as well as some other local brews.

The best part of the trip was leaving Burlington and exploring the area. Saturday morning we went out for breakfast at Magnolia Bistro and then hit the road, driving north through the outskirts of Burlington before merging onto RT. 7.  We reached a small town called Milton and then swung right towards the mountains.  Our first real stop that day was the Boyden Valley Winery.  We had hoped they might have some cheese to snack on but it was just wine, good wine.  My favorite was the Glogg, which is served warm and apparently popular around the holidays.

From there drove to Stowe, stopping at the Stowe Mercantile to sample some food, and then continuing our drive south with stops at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Cabot Store Annex, and the Ben and Jerry's factory.

On Sunday morning we took the long, scenic route home, sticking to the scenic roads and byways. This gave us the best views of the trip.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, Burlington, VT, New England, Photos, Road Trips, Travel, USA, Vermont | Technorati Tags: Ben and Jerry's, Blogsherpa, Boyden Valley Winery, Burlington, Cabot Store Annex, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Lake Champlain, Magnolia Bistro, New England, Scenic Drives, Stowe, Stowe Mercantile, Vermont, Vermont Byways, Vermont Scenic Drives | Link | TrackBack | Comments (0)
 

A weekend in Stowe, Vermont

February 07, 2010 // 2 Comments  // Add yours » //  Buzz it // Share

I recently spent a relaxing weekend at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont with some good friends of mine. When I say Trapp Family, I mean the real Trapp Family, the ones made famous by the Sound of Music.   Back in the 40's they settled in Stowe Vermont and eventually opened up their lodge to the public.  You can read about the place here.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, New England, Stowe, Stowe, VT, Travel, USA, Vermont | Technorati Tags: blogsherpa, New England, Northeast, Stowe, Stowe Vermont, Trapp Family Lodge, Trappe Family Lodge, Trappes in Stowe, USA, Vermont, Von Trapp Family Lodge | Link | TrackBack | Comments (2)
 

The Berkshires & Newport

January 13, 2010 // 0 Comments  // Add yours » //  Buzz it // Share

This past weekend started off with a drive through the Berkshires with stops at the Barrington Brewery for some great food and microbrews, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and a brief visit to the city of Pittsfield. It ended with a spontaneous drive to Newport, RI, where we stopped for a tour and wine tasting at Greenvale Vineyards, and then enjoyed some food and a traditional Irish music seisiún at the Fastnet Pub.

These two dogs kept trying to knock us over during the tour of the vineyards.  The vineyard also had two massive Scottish Highland steer which they are using to eat away the treeline.  Apparently they can't use machinery due to restrictions of the local preservation society, so they brought the animals in to do the job instead. I missed the opportunity to snap a good photo of them, but you can see what they look like here.

This shot was from our table at the Fastnet Pub just before the musicians started strolling in. You can see a video of that below the cut.  The place has a great atmosphere and the food was halfway decent.  It's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a relaxing way to end your day in Newport without spending too much.

Continue reading "The Berkshires & Newport"

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, Food and Drink, Road Trips, Travel | | Link | TrackBack | Comments (0)
 

Welcome to the "Teens"

January 01, 2010 // 0 Comments  // Add yours » //  Buzz it // Share

The aughts/noughts/zeros have come to a close, and we can now officially say we're in the Teens.  I was going to type up one of those "year in review" posts, which I've always done in the past, but changed my mind, set this post to a "draft" and forgot to post it.  Now this post is showing up a few weeks late but that's alright.  I want to be able to dig through the archives of this blog a few years from now and remember what I did and who I closed the year with.

It was a good decade, a great year, and I've got high hopes for whatever 2010 is going to bring.

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