Car Show and Raccoon Creek

Last weekend was the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix and car show so I dutifully sped round the corner (literally) to line Roger the Spitty up alongside a dwindling number of similar manifestations of mid-life crises.

I must be having mine early as all the other blokes (no chicks) were older (and I have to say tubbier) than me. To their credit they were incredibly friendly. No sooner had I backed into my alloted spot and crawled out (it's a long way down to the driver's seat), I was set upon by a welcoming throng of beer bellied jovial chaps remarking enthusiastically things like "ooh what a beauty" (thankfully they were talking about Roger) and "nice paint job"... "I bet somebody really gave that a good buffing". I am ashamed to say that this motivated me to abandon Roger on the spot and disappear for a slap-up breakfast with Shaz and the kids. When I finally returned at around 2 pm, most of the chaps had been subdued by a few hours of "Bud Light" consumption and sunshine so it was a bit more laid back and I spent an enjoyable hour pootling around amongst the Aston Martins and Jags. As you can see, Soph's Lady Penelope impression is coming along nicely.






On Sunday (last week) we went for brunch at Laura, Andy and Sophie's place. Dare I say that I think Adam has got the hots for Sophie. I well remember my interest in the contradictory gender being aroused (can I use that description?) during infant school and I am sure Paula Kennedy is still traumatized. Anyway...Adam and Sophie (and Sophia) had a blast while the grown ups sat around scoffing French pastries and all manner of exotic delicacies. Poor old Laura and Andy got more than they bargained for because we ended up staying most of the day and howling old rock songs on the porch while Andy strummed expertly on his various guitars.




Fortunately Laura and Andy (and more to the point Sophie) were not too bothered by our overstayed welcome and yesterday they joined us for a paddle on Raccoon Creek. Our old canoe weighs a tonne and so I bought a much lighter version earlier this summer with the intention of off-loading the old one on ebay. However, true to form, I haven't got around to it yet and so we are the proud owners of two canoes which was great because it meant that both families could paddle together. After a picnic lunch we headed off to a distant shore and spent a happy couple of hours jumping into deep lake water and paddling about. The water temperature was bath-like and the whole experience, frankly, glorious. There is nothing like swimming in warm fresh water.

Woof woof

This is a quickie.

I thought I would share a touch of the bizarre.

First....read THIS

Then watch THIS

And I thought I was good!

Well So Much for That

My grand plans of sneaking covertly onto the open wireless networks of Maine backfired in a cloud of misty ocean views, hot sunny days, paddling in Penobscot Bay and red wine. Well OK...probably mostly red wine.

We spent the first week in July staying in a delightful little two bedroom cottage in Bayside Maine which is right on the shores of Penobscot Bay. The cottage had a deck leading by stairs to a pebbly beach and so Shaz and I spent many happy hours sitting and chatting while the kids poottled around collecting "treasure". I had forgotten how it feels not to be immersed in the hustle and bustle of a US health sciences university campus.

One of the highlights of the week was the food. I am a seafood hound and there was fresh lobster and crab in abundance. Perhaps the greatest treat however was being able to stagger down the stairs to the beach and gather bucket fulls of mussels for steaming in garlic. The delightfully simple pleasure of this was magnified by the fact that Maine, for some reason, has lashings of excellent cheap red wine wherever you turn. What a treat!

Despite the fact that we spent an entire week in Maine, there really isn't much to blog about it which, lets' face it, must be a blessed relief to anyone who might read this (Hi Bergy).

Here are some pics.....