Walks in the Woods

With the beach weather behind us, we've been at home most weekends in October and November. The last few weekends have offered up some great fall weather and we have taken advantage by getting out and hiking our local trails again. We are fortunate enough to be able to walk to the Middlesex Fells from our house and enjoy the scenery and trails that this park has to offer.

October 25 , 2009 - Brendan and I overlooking the Middle Reservoir in the Middlesex Fells Reservation.

November 7, 2009 - Peaceful morning on the North Reservoir.

November 29, 2009 - The family photo overlooking Middle Reservoir.

2009 Falmouth Road Race

Despite growing up in Falmouth, I had never run in the Falmouth Road Race. Puzzling. So I decided that this was the year and with a little bit of training under my soles I found myself standing in Woods Hole on a beautiful Sunday morning with 10,000 other runners. I teamed up with my friend Barry from N. Falmouth who was also running for the first time.

To say the streets were crowded is an understatement. We were shoulder to shoulder in both directions for as far as I could see. After a 2 hour wait and 2 porta potty trips, the national anthem was sung and the first runners were off. About 10 minutes later our group (last group) was given the green light and we were off. Only 7.3 miles to go.

The first few miles were slow and navigating around slower runners was a challenge. The first 2 miles took 20+ minutes to run due to the lack of space on the road. As we popped out of the woods onto Surf Drive the dense group of runners started to thin out and I able to settle in to my pace. Staying clear of the water stops was also another challenge as groups of runners suddenly come to a complete stop in front of you to grab a quick drink. We were often zig zagging across the road to avoid them! Along most of the route the crowds lined both sides of the road and the non-stop cheering definetely keeps you motivated.

Well, the slower start definitely helped as I found that I had good life in my legs well into the race. I wasn't paying any attention to the mile markers but the crowd was always letting you know how much further. At the 10K mark I was happy to see Ady, Brendan and my parents on the side of the road cheering me on. I was still feeling good and they provided a nice boost for the final stretch which includes a nice litte hill up & over Falmouth Heights and then down to the finish line.

I crossed the finish line in 1:03:58 in 3,528th place.

I am quite sure I will be back next year chasing a sub 60 minute time. But for now I hope to continue to run a few times a week to keep in shape and sign up for another race or two.

Ady and I at the finish line.

Whale of a time

Went fishing on Saturday morning out of Duxbury Harbor with Roby H. seeking a little revenge on the blue fin tuna. This was our second tuna trip this month - I'd prefer not to tell stories of the 'one that got away' so I'll save the details of my first trip for another day. We were on the water early (4:30 AM) looking for bait inside the bay and this quickly proved to be a challenge. There was no bait in the bay and even the guys who sell live bait had nothing.

Live bait has been our preferred method for chasing tuna and with none to be had we were questioning whether to make the trip or not. At 6:30 with no live bait in the boat we decided to go anyways and try out luck with our limited arsenal of artificial lures. Seas were calm and we made good time crossing Cape Cod Bay to the outside edge of Provincetown.

The fishing was slow with only one large blue fish to show for our efforts. We moved around to a few different spots but couldn't seem to find the fish. However, finding the other mammals out there was not a problem. There were humpback whales EVERYWHERE and we were constanly pulling in our lines and moving the boat out of their way. It was impressive, and soon fishing started to take a back seat to the whale watching. It's quite the thrill to have a humpback whale that is larger than the boat surface ony 20 yards away.

No tuna on this trip, but it was a great day on the water!

Out of retirement for the TDF

When Lance retired from the Tour de France in 2005, I made an effort to watch the following year and try to route for Tyler Hamilton and others. But it just was not the same and by the time the 2007 race came around I was lucky to catch the headlines.

But Lance came back, and so did I. I didn't watch every stage, but more often than not I was up until 11pm watching the finish. He didn't win the overall or a stage, but it was his race from day 1 and everyone seemed to know it. Versus played the part of lead cheerleader but you can't blame them with his fans back and the money to be made. He was the lead story almost every day.

So I came out of retirement and hopefully there is still enough in the Livestrong tank to keep me watching again next year.

Exploring the ocean on Columbus Day

In honor of Christopher Columbus we spent the weekend on the water.

We left Megansett Harbor around 6am on Saturday and headed north along the coast to the west entrance of the Cape Cod Canal. The local fishing reports haven't been very good but we were hoping to find some fish in & around the canal entrance. We fished the slack tide from the west end up to the Mass Maritime Academy with no luck. We trolled tube & worm, threw surface lures, even anchored and chunked fresh pogies for a while with no action at all. There were a number of boats fishing the same area and we did not see one bluefish or striper caught all morning. We were back at the dock around 1pm with no fish. The fall fishing has not been good to us.

As the afternoon turned into evening we drove over to the house in Popponesset to spend the rest of the weekend. The house was rented most of the summer and other than a quick overnight in August, this was our first real visit to the house this year. We picked the perfect weekend. After burgers on the grill and a couple of cold Harpoon IPA's, I was asleep by the 3rd inning of Game 2 of the ALCS.

Sunday morning started with coffee & bagels followed by Ady and I taking Klondike for a 2 hour walk around the village, finishing up along the beach. During the walk we decided we should spend a few hours out in the kayaks so we did a quick turn around at house and drove over to Waquoit Bay. On previous boat trips in Waquoit Bay I had taken notice of a nice remote beach that seemed like a good place to launch the kayaks. I didn't know exactly how to get to by land, but after a little exploring we found a dirt road that looked like the a point of access. This was one of the situations where I was very happy to have a 4WD vehicle. The single lane dirt road was full of puddles and bumps that would have easily swamped a car. Making the most of the opportunity, we had a little bit of muddy water splashing up through the windows :-)

(Not too muddy, but I like it!)

We navigated the mud puddles for a half mile until it opened up to a small parking lot and just beyond revealed a long stretch of sandy beach. There was one other truck in the parking lot with an older couple unloading 2 kayaks. They clearly didn't have as much fun on the drive in because there wasn't a spot of mud on the shiny white Chevy Tahoe!

There was a light breeze out of the north and the tide was going out as we launched the kayaks off the beach. With no specific destination, we enjoyed a leisurely 2 hour paddle around the bay.

Who says you can't do stuff when you're 6 1/2 months pregnant!

We would have stayed out longer but we had 5pm dinner plans with the Murphy family in Osterville. However, before packing up the kayaks we decided that we should spend Monday on the Vineyard.

Monday morning started with Klondike and I walking to the beach followed by coffee & bagels at the house. With Klondike along for today's adventure, we drove to my parents house to pick up the boat and then headed to the boat ramp at Falmouth Harbor. Vineyard Sound was flat calm as we motored south out of Falmouth Harbor towards Oak Bluffs. Once in Oak Bluffs we pulled in to a slip and tied up for a few hours. On a weekend in the summer the place is a zoo and you're lucky to find a place to tie up. But in October it's a lot quieter and there are multiple slips available.

We walked around Oak Bluffs for a few hours, cruising up Circuit Ave and then walking through the community of small gingerbread cottages. We order sandwiches to go and found a bench along the town green to have lunch, overlooking the fountain, gazebo, and the ocean.


Early afternoon brought cloud cover and cooler temperatures so we decided to head back to the mainland. On the way out of Oak Bluffs, Klondike still appeared to be having a good time.

But by the time we got back in the car in Falmouth, he looked ready for a nap:

We spent the rest of the afternoon closing up the Popponesset house for the winter. This includes putting all the patio furniture away and draining & shutting off all exterior water faucets. It's not that much work, just a little depressing that another summer season has passed. We left at 7pm and were home by 8:30pm.

A great October weekend spent on the Cape. It truly is one of the best seasons to be down there.

Progress at home

From the weekend of September 27-28.......

This past weekend was very wet so I took the opportunity to stay at home and play in the circuit breaker box. In late July we began renovating 2 rooms in the house (nursery, office) by tearing down all the horsehair plaster walls & ceilings. Since then I've been insulating (there wasn't any to begin with) and replacing all the old knob & tube wiring with new Romex.

Having run 3 new circuits to the basement, my objective on Saturday was to unplug and remove the old circuit and get at least one circuit with the new lights plugged in. For the record, please note that my two primary objectives are always to (1) not burn the house down and (2) not send 120v through my body despite your curiosity to see if I'd actually hit the back wall.

In the nursery I replaced the one center light with 4 recessed lights (6") attached to a dimmer switch.  This new circuit will power the 6 recessed lights in the master bedroom (remodeled in 2007) and the not yet installed track lighting for the office.

With the breaker off, I removed the old lights and wiring in both the nursery and office all the way to the panel in the basement. Shutting off the Main, I replaced the existing 15A breaker with a new one and plugged in my new string of lights.  Flip the switch and...... Success!   Everything works except the basement lights.  Why are the basement lights attached to the 2nd floor lights?  Good question that only one of the previous owners would know.  This was not a surprise since the basement lights went out as soon as I shut off the breaker.

When we first moved into our house in January 2007 it was quite evident that the wiring in the basement was not up to code.  To be honest - it was down right scary and over a year later I had done nothing about it.  Time to get it done.  All the wiring was accessible thanks to my efforts last winter pulling down the plaster & lathe ceiling.  With a low ceiling and the floor joists exposed it seemed a logical choice for recessed lights.  A few hours later there was light coming from 4 recessed lights controlled by a switch at the top of the basement stairs.  I would like to add additional lights later, but for now there is enough light to do laundry and work down there.

I was very happy to see all of the old wiring in the nursery, office and basement replaced.  I think it was a big improvement to the overall quality and safety of our house.  Replacement windows are next!

In search of striped bass

The alarm went off at 4am on Saturday morning. Still half asleep, I threw on the clothes I had put out the night before and headed downstairs to begin loading up the boat with fishing rods and tackle. The trailer had been hooked up to the truck the night before to allow for a quicker getaway in the morning.

At 5am my Dad and I are fueling up at Dunkin Donuts where we find Wayne picking up his morning coffee as well. (Random observation: the same 2 old guys are sitting at D&D at 5am every Sat. morning that I go fishing.) Wayne followed us over to the boat ramp at Falmouth Harbor and in short time the 3 of us were making our way out of Falmouth Harbor under the limited light of the half-moon. At the harbor entrance we hit the throttle and are headed southwest between the Vineyard and Elizabeth Islands.

There are so many places to catch fish along the south side of the Elizabeth Islands and west side of the Vineyard and the fall is usually prime feeding time for striped bass. Our first stop was at Devil's Bridge (off Gay Head) where we put the lines in the water and made multiple passes along the rip. Nothing. We moved down the west side of the Vineyard from Gay Head down to Squibnocket. Nothing. We marked a few fish, but no action. Finally, off Squibnocket beach we we managed to pull in a small bluefish. Not quite the striped bass feeding frenzy we were hoping for.

We decided to change locations and headed up to Quick's Hole, a narrow channel between Nashawena and Pasque Islands (part of the the Elizabeth Islands chain). On the south side of the channel we pulled in some bluefish in the 8-10 lb. range. Not the striped bass we were looking for, but good enough that we kept 6 to bring home for dinner.

By 11:30am the bite was slow so we decided to head back to the harbor. The wind had picked up a bit and the ride back was a little bumpy, but not bad. Back at the dock we loaded the boat back on the trailer and stopped to fill up the gas tank on the drive home.

Once at home I had the responsibility of filleting the fish. I find bluefish very easy to fillet and in no time had them packaged in ziplock bags. I then took a walk down to the beach to dump the fish carcasses, returning to the ocean everything we won't eat. This way none of the fish goes to waste. My parents w

While at the beach I receive a call from Wayne with an invitation out on his boat for the evening. I'll meet him at Little River Boat Yard as soon as possible.

Wayne had spent the afternoon cleaning up his boat and by 4:30pm we were off the dock and headed out towards Waquiot Bay. We fished the entrance to Waquiot Bay for quite a while but had no fish to show for our effort.

With daylight fading, we started to make our way back to the boatyard. As we passed through the "no wake" entrance of Waquoit Bay I made a few casts, throwing a white sluggo with a jig head off towards the sandy beach. I cast towards the shore to about 2 feet of water, a few twitches and BANG! A big splash of water as the fish hits the sluggo and my rod bends over. Fish on!!!, but I don't even get the words out of my mouth. The line breaks at the leader and the fish is gone. Probably not a huge bass, but it would have been a good fish to end the day with. The most frustrating part is that I've been putting in the effort to learn and tie better knots and trying out different fishing line. Needless to say, I won't be purchasing this brand again!

I drove back to my parents house and grabbed a quick bite to eat. I was tired and needed to go to bed to get some rest to do it all over again on Sunday.

The alarm went off at 4am on Sunday morning and I repeated the ritual of the prior day. Get dressed, load up the boat, and drive to Falmouth Harbor. Roby H. was driving down from Duxbury to fish for striped bass off the Vineyard. Based on my luck the previous day, I was less than optimistic. We were off the dock by 5:15am, again making our way in the dark towards the west side of the Vineyard.

Within minutes of the lines being in the water on Devil's Bridge we had a fish on, a small bluefish that shook free just as we got it to the boat. I had enough bluefish from the day before so we weren't keeping any blues today. Unfortunately we encountered the same luck as Saturday, no bass and only the occassional bluefish as we fished the entire west shore from Squibnocket to Gay Head. We even anchored and threw chunked bait with no luck. Fishing the rocks at Quick's Hole produced nothing around 11:30 we headed back to the harbor - striking out all weekend on the bass.

Despite our lack of fish, I was able to observe a charter fisherman who was also fishing the rocks around Quick's Hole. I've seen this guy bring in BIG bass so I'm looking to trying a few of his techniques on my next trip.

Back at my parents house I rinsed down the boat and all the fishing gear and by 3:30pm I was in the car driving home to Winchester, dropping off a few bluefish fillets to our friends Kathy & Larry in Arlington on my way home.

Going into the weekend I had hoped for a much more successful fishing weekend. With the fall being one of the best times to fish for striped bass it was disappointing not to catch any. But I had two enjoyable days out on the water and I can't complain about that. I'll just have to find time to get out again before the season is over.