Magic of Christmas

Just got back from the Portland Symphony Orchestra's Magic of Christmas concert at Merrill Auditorium. Fantastic music in a fantastic concert hall. Emily was mesmerized, Chris cried, and even Michael was entertained. For me, it brought back a lot of band memories (I played a concert in Merrill during high school).

2009 Christmas Tree

Here are pictures from the 2009 Christmas Tree Hunt:

The Chapin Family Christmas tree

Half Moon

The Half Moon docked in Newburgh, NY along the Hudson River. This is a replica of the ship that Henry Hudson sailed in 1609 on a expedition to find the Northwest Passage. He searched in vain from Newfoundland to the Chesapeake Bay in search of a waterway to the East. When he got to the Hudson River, he sailed as far as Albany before determining it wouldn't get him to China. He named the river, as well as Manhatten, before returning to England. The ship was later destroyed in a battle in Jakarta - strange place for it to end up. Even stranger is how Husdon died. He returned to the New World in the ship Discovery in 1610 and along a more northerly route made his way to Hudson Bay. He and his crew spent a miserable winter on the shores of James Bay and in the Spring, when he resumed his westerly course, his crew mutinied, set him adrift, and returned to England. He was never heard from again.

Musician

Music is very special to me, and playing the trumpet is something I've enjoyed doing for a long time. I am thrilled that one of my kids has an interest in music, and this week, Emily started trumpet lessons in the school band. She also sings in the chorus, and does Irish step as well as hip-hop dance. I'm so proud of her for taking on new challenges.

Fall Hiking Report

Last Fall I blogged about my new hiking partner. This Fall we decided to hit the trails again, upping the ante on some challenging trails in the White Mountain National Forest.

On 9/7/2009, Michael and I hiked up Speckled Mountain, in the Maine portion of Evans Notch. It was a beautiful sunny day with no wind. In fact, on the summit it was eerily quiet and still. The hike was 8 miles long, to 2900', and we did it in 6 hours. Michael impressed me with his stamina and interest in the outdoors. Here is a photo album.

On 10/11/2009, we hiked up South and North Baldface Mountains, in the same area as Speckled Mountain. Although the hike was longer (10 miles, 8 hours) and higher (3900'), the views and foliage were so spectacular that we didn't want to come back down. It was cold at the top and all along the exposed ridge. It even snowed on us while we were eating lunch! We saw our first snowbow! It was the kind of scenery that made us stop our conversation every time we came to a clearing (which were many) to gawk in awe at the surroundings, only to forget what we were talking about. Hiking above treeline in October is very rewarding, but you must be prepared! If we hadn't had the right layers we would have been miserable and unsafe on the exposed ridge. Here's a photo album.

Dundee Pond

Today Emily and I went fishing on Dundee Pond, on the Gorham/Windham line. We've been there a couple of times before. We had a great time exploring the dam, catching frogs and bugs, and sneaking up on turtles. Oh, and we caught some fish too, including this largemouth bass. While I was fighting this one in about 10' of clear water right under the boat, another largemouth about twice the size came over to see what the commotion was about. There are definitely lunkers in Dundee Pond.

Sebago Lake

Yesterday we enjoyed what will probably be our last beach day of 2009 at Sebago Lake State Park. We love Sebago Lake for the clear cool water, long, narrow beach, and the great view of the huge lake with many boats going by. On the way home we stopped at Songo Locks, and hand-operated lock along the river between Sebago Lake and Brandy Pond that raises and lowers boats. The simplest type of machine, no motors or pumps, just water and pressure. Emily and I even helped open the doors to the lock once the water pressure equalized. We topped the evening off at a poker game at a neighbor's house.

Summer hockey

Congratulations to Gorham Middle School hockey team, which won the Southern Maine summer league championship last night in a close game against Cape Elizabeth.

Michael has hockey camp for the rest of the week, then a 1 month hiatus while he focuses on Fall baseball.

Happy 9th birthday Emily

Kiss the moose

Dick Enberg

Last weekend a play called McGuire, about the life of Al McGuire, Marquette basketball coach and televesion broadcaster, was performed in Portland. It was written by Dick Enberg, well-known sports broadcaster. The president of Chris' company has a personal relationship with Enberg and asked Chris to manage the local promotion of the play. Here is Chris with Enberg at a Seadogs game, where he did radio commentary for a couple innings. He was a class act and great story teller.

Camping

Last weekend Michael, Emily, and I went tent camping in North Conway with Harry and Judy and her granddaughter Janelle; Janet, Larry, and Andy; Jack and Cindy; and Dave and Shelly. It rained hard the day we got there, so everything was soaked, but Saturday was nice and we went swimming in the Saco River. It was icy cold, and my kids are used to swimming in the Maine ocean and even they thought it was cold. But we still liked floating in the current. We had some great ribs for dinner and it was nice to hang out with some family that I don't see very often.

Baseball

Here's a picture of Michael behind the plate.

Father's Day

Today we decided to brave the weather and head to Old Orchard Beach, thinking that the clouds and cool weather would keep the crowds away. We were right, plus I don't think their season is in full swing yet. The amusement park wasn't open, but all the shops and restaurants were. It was almost deserted. We played mini golf and ate lunch on the pier. Very different than it will be there in a couple weeks as the beach weather comes. It was a nice way to spend Father's Day. Now it's off to Michael's first summer hockey game.

Memorial Day

We spent the weekend at my sisters in Montague, MA. Had a relaxing weekend playing backyard games, visiting the old stomping grounds, including lunch at Rafters and touring my old Mall with the kids. They were not impressed. Visited with my friend Sharri, whom I hadn't seen in 20 years.

I also visited my Dad's grave, and my uncle's. I noticed how many American flags there were on gravestones of veterans in the cemetery. I took the opportunity to point them out to my kids and explain what Memorial Day meant, besides a day off from school before the final push toward Summer. I told them that every flag they saw there represented someone who played a part in protecting our country. I was moved and I hope that someday both of the kids will realize what those flags mean to them.

And to top off the weekend, Michael had a baseball game under the lights tonight. He hit a single, triple, and his first home run! Add to that a walk, and he was a double away from hitting for the cycle.

It was a pretty full weekend.

Dear Edwina

Last week Emily performed in the elementary school musical as a member of the chorus in a production of Dear Edwina.

Celtics round 1 game 7

Geary's Imperial IPA

I thought about starting a separate Beer Blog, and maybe I still will. But for now, I thought I'd report my thoughts on a new beer (for me). At Hannaford tonight to pick up a few things while Emily was at Brownies, I saw 4-packs of Geary's Imperial IPA. I'm a big fan of double IPA's, and a big fan of Geary's, so this ended up in my cart before I knew what was happening.

It poured a darker color than I expected, more brown than orange. Fine foam head that didn't stick around for very long. Big bready flavor that surrounded the tongue and lingered. Alcohol in the aftertaste, along with that big malt flavor. I will be looking for this beer on tap or on cask. This beer reminds me a lot of Geary's Hampshire Special, also one of my favorites. If you like Geary's Hampshire, you can always find it on tap at Norm's BBQ.

A note about Imperial IPA's, more commonly referred to as Double IPA. An American style of India Pale Ale characterized by higher amounts of malts, hops, and alcohol content. The term Imperial is homage to the Russian Imperial Stout, which is actually an English stout brewed for the Russian court of Catherine II in the late 1700's. Imperial stouts are very strong stouts, so it makes sense that Imperial IPAs are very strong IPAs.

So, a little beer, a little history, and for $9.99 you too can be the proud owner of a 4-pack of 12-oz bottles of this fine Imperial IPA.

Happy Easter

On a frigid Easter morning (wind chills in the 20's), the kids had fun searching for eggs outside. The morning has been spent mostly eating candy. Good thing Halloween and Easter are so far apart.

Father-Daughter Dance

Tonight was our third Father Daughter dance. This year we danced a lot more than past years. Maybe it was because Emily thinks her Dad is an awesome dancer. Maybe it was because Emily's 2 best friends weren't there. Either way it was fun.

Academic Honors

Congratulations to Michael for making the High Honor Roll last quarter. That means he got all A's, which in Gorham is 93 or higher. He's worked hard in the classroom as well as on the ice this year.

Emily also has been recognized at her school, where she received a certificate for Outstanding Display of the Village School Code of Conduct in the Area of Compassion & Respect. Only 2 students in her class got this recognition. She really has a kind soul.

Seacoast Hockey League Playoffs

Michael's team had their Seacoast League playoffs last weekend and this weekend. Last weekend they won 2 games, putting them in the championship game, which was today. They played a team they beat last weekend 6-1, however, they got outplayed this time and lost 6-2. So, that's 2 tournaments they played this season in which they lost the championship game. So close.

That wraps up this hockey season. Except for tryouts for next year's travel team, which are this week, Michael will not lace up again until June, when summer hockey starts.

Baseball's next.

Where's Sammy?

Last night at bedtime I discovered that the cover to Sammy the Hamster's cage was open and he was not inside. After a brief panic we figured out that the last person to open his cage was Emily when she fed him a peach pit that morning. That meant that he was out and about all day long and we were all fearing the worst. After a thorough interrogation, the cat provided no evidence of foul play, and I found no signs of struggle anywhere in the house. Faced with the pressure of reassuring the kids so they could go to sleep knowing Sammy was in peril, and actually finding the rodent before his nocturnal wanderings could take him anywhere, I called upon my years of experience trapping small mammals during college summers. I took 2 live traps, baited them with peanut butter, and placed them strategically in Emily's room, on the hunch that he had not strayed far from where he fell out of the cage (though try as I might I could not find him or any signs). After about 15 minutes of settling the kids in their beds and searching for the little guy, I heard the telltale clang of the trap door snapping shut. I called the kids in and we transferred Sammy back into his cage, with the doors firmly closed. We were quite relieved, and all slept soundly that night knowing he was safe.

Middle School Regular Season Comes to an End

In the last regular season Middle School game last night, Michael has 2 goals and 3 assists in a 6-0 defeat of Portland. That's the most points he's had in 1 game. Nothing like having only 2 subs to pad the stats. He was on the ice for most of the game.

MEAHA season over

Michael's travel team lost today 4-2 to Capital District Skaters in Augusta. That ends their MEAHA (Maine Amateur Hockey Association) season, as a win in this game would have qualified them for next weekend's state tournament. They started terribly, falling behind 3-0 in the first period. They scored a goal apiece in the second, and with running time throughout the third period, they got to within 4-2, but despite a frantic empty-net last couple of minutes, they couldn't put it in the net.

It's bittersweet; next weekend will be the first weekend without hockey in months, but we'll miss it. Still more hockey though. Middle school game tomorrow, and playoffs for the Seacoast (NH) league in a couple weeks.

Weekend Update

I forgot to post this Sunday night, but Michael scored 2 goals in a 4-3 loss at Phillips Exeter Academy on Sunday. His line provided their only offense and were double-shifted in the 3rd period. This weekend they have a play-in game to qualify for the state tournament.

Emily has joined the chorus for the school musical. She was going to try out for a part, but chickened out at the last minute. I'm wondering if she's regretting that decision, since she spent the night in her room playing the musical CD and singing every part on the script. Next year she'll know what she's in for.

Hockey update

Today was a long day. Michael had a hockey game in Biddeford, which is 1/2 hour away, at 8:10AM. He has to be there one hour before, so do the math and the alarm clock started with a 5 when we got up. They played pretty well, but couldn't manage to pull ahead and ended up with a 1-1 tie. Michael had some sweet passes, including a nice drop pass to a streaking forward. After that game, we had another one in Manchester, NH, about 1 hour away, that started at 1:55. So we killed some time in Kittery, ate lunch in Manchester, and headed over to the St. Anselm College's hockey rink. Nice rink. The boys started poorly, and we were fearing a rout. They managed to get through the first period without letting in a goal, and didn't generate much offense of their own. But in the 2nd period, they came alive, started moving the puck and hitting, and scored 3 goals, without letting any in. In the 3rd period, things got a little chippy and we spent some time in the penalty box, which hurt us. They scored twice and we scored once more 4-2. The last couple of minutes were harrowing, but they managed to pull off the win. After an hour-and-a-half drive home we are all tired, and are resting up for 2 more games tomorrow.

High Honors

Congratulations to Michael for making the high honor roll this period. His lowest grade was 93 (in Gorham, 92 is a B). He was really excited about this, so I'm glad he sees this as reward for hard work. He's learning a valuable lesson: reasonable goals can be achieved through hard work.

Marlborough Tournament

Michael had a hockey tournament this past weekend in Marlborough, MA, with games on Friday and Saturday. They played their hardest, but had some tough competition, playing the eventual tournament champions and runners up. They lost all 3 of their games. Then he had a Middle School game on Sunday night in Saco at 8:30PM! They won that game, although Michael was wiped out. Back to practice tonight.

Chorus

Emily had a chorus concert last night. There must have been about 50 3-5th graders in the chorus and they did a great job. Songs ranged from classical composers to jazz to rock and celebrated how music makes you feel. I'm so glad one of my kids has an interest in music.

Back to Work

I've been on vacation since 12/23, taking advantage of a couple of weekends and a couple of holidays. It's been far from a relaxing, lounge around vacation though. We had family visiting twice, Christmas, Christmas cleanup, Chris and I both had the stomach flu, a trip to MA for New Years Eve, and hockey - lots and lots of hockey. Since 12/23, we have logged 576 miles for Michael to play in 9 games in 8 different rinks from Bangor, ME to Durham, NH. Their team won some and lost some, and have definitely been enjoying themselves. Michael scored 2 goals yesterday in a travel game, and 1 goal tonight in a Middle School game. And guess what? Practice tomorrow night.