Jazz at the Deerhead Again and Mass Exodus from NYC

After a nice dinner at Elegante in Honesdale with my brother and Matt, we trekked down to the Delaware Water Gap to the Deerhead Inn to listen to some jazz. The quartet was made up of drummer, Drori Mondlak, alto saxophonist, Karolinna Strassmayer, bassist, Phil Palombi, and vibrophonist, Stefan Bauer. The waitress had suggested that I get a new dessert that had just been made that was a mocha mouse with chocolate chips. In my own words, it was fantastic! As was the jazz. The songs that were played included, "The Tragic Lives of Maximilian and Carlota," "After All," "If You Could See Me Now,"and "Look Up." After the first set, we all were chatting with Stefan Bauer. He is from a town along the Ruhr River in Germany and two days earlier, he had just played a gig in Hawley. He really likes the Water Gap area and could see himself living here one day. It was definitely a very chill evening and if you happen to like jazz, I would definitely recommend the Deerhead Inn.
As for the mass exodus, Hurricane Irene, is bearing down on the east coast and New York City Mayor Bloomberg ordered mandatory evacuations of parts of the city. This of course means that everybody is flooding into the Poconos at the moment, which has left Interstate 80 West at a near standstill since it is flooded with out of state cars. As much as I don't want anybody to get hurt, these evacuations better be worthwhile and not just a waste of people's time. I guess we will know more about that come Saturday night and Sunday.

Trek to the Mountain for Some Stress Relief

 On Wednesday, Chrissy and I decided to escape the Burg for some stress relief. We both needed it desperately, but for different reasons. For me, it was due to the frustration of job searching to no avail, whilst Chrissy has her last semester of classes and her prospectus looming. Needless to say, we needed some distractions. We started out by playing cards with my mother. This is always a good time because we throughly enjoy beating her and laughing about it. Since I needed something else to also keep my mind off the fact that my 15 year old cat, Midnight (aka Furface, Droolface, Demon Kitty), had just passed away in her sleep Monday, I decided to assemble a bunch of army men outside so that I could shoot them with a .22 rifle. Some might find this odd, but I find it to be quite soothing, and yes I promise I'm not some crazed psychopath. Anyways, my stress was quickly alleviated after aiming at the plastic army and Chrissy joined in on the fun. Soon, though, she had to work on her prospectus and I washed my car since it was filthy. Following a delicious steak dinner, my dad let us target practice with a .22 handgun and a .32 Ruger revolver. All in all, it was a very successful stress-relieving day =)

New Orleans: Bike Tour, Jazz, Riverboat Cruise, and the Red Hat Society

On August 16, Chrissy and I were kindly driven to JFK airport by our friend, Oliver, at 2am. We arrived at JFK around 4:30am in order to catch our 6:45am flight to NOLA. We got through security easily and then had time to nap on and off before boarding our JetBlue flight, which happened to get delayed an hour.
We landed in NOLA at 9:30am and quickly found a cab to take us to the French Quarter. Upon arriving, we strolled through the French Market. We passed the Joan of Arc statue and continued our walk along the Mississippi River. Soon we found ourselves in front of a statue of Bienville, the founder of New Orleans, before wandering past the House of Blues. We chose to loop back towards Jackson Square, where we heard some decent street performers playing jazz. We scooted through Pirates Alley and then decided to rest and have beignets at Cafe du Monde. The atmosphere was very relaxed and the beignets were phenomenal! Some more street performers could be heard playing across the street as we ate, which just made the experience even better.
After sitting for about an hour, we continued to wander the French Quarter, poking around shops and taking in our surroundings until we decided to check into our hotel. We stayed at the Ambassador Hotel for our three nights. Apparently it used to be an old coffee warehouse, which makes for some very unique room setups. We had a glass door and window that opened into the hallway, along with 12-foot ceilings in our room. The hotel also happened to be right across from a fountain that was a part of the Italian Embassy on Tchoupitoulas Street. Chrissy and I chose to frolic in the fountain in an attempt to cool off in the hot weather. Soon, we found ourselves back along the Mississippi enjoying the Riverwalk and the breeze until we thought it was best to take a nap since sleep the night before did not exist.

Following our four hour nap, Chrissy and I went out to Huck Finn's Cafe for dinner. I chose a chicken sandwich while Chrissy settled for a pulled pork po-boy. It was a very relaxing evening and our waitress was quite pleasant. After dinner, the river was calling us so we sat along the banks of the Mississippi to absorb the peace that can only be found in the middle of the night with the breeze of the river against your face.
The next morning we awoke early in order to get some breakfast in the hotel before meeting with our tour guide, Bob, from Big Easy Bike Tours. We soon embarked on our epic 5 hour bike tour around the city. We began along the Mississippi River and checked out the Holocaust Memorial. Bob then explained how the highest elevation in the city could be found along the river's banks and that flood waters from Katrina actually came from Lake Pontchartrain, before entering the French Quarter. Bob explained all of the architecture to us and how the original houses only had side entrances when they were built and how they all had to be made of brick due to fires that had broke out in the city, though most of the brick had been covered in plaster and artisans had etched the plaster to look like large blocks. He also explained and pointed out the design of the original cobblestone streets in the city. Bob led us down Esplanade Avenue, continuing his thorough explanations of the architecture and the color schemes that could be found in particular neighborhoods. Eventually we found ourselves in a cemetery, which was full of mausoleums, the burial preference in New Orleans due to the sandy soil and water being found six feet down. Bob thoroughly described how the family plots were used and couldn't be reopened for a year and a day after somebody was placed inside the tomb. During times of yellow fever, rental tombs were utilized before the bodies were placed into the family tomb. Bob also explained that if one could not afford a family tomb that a society tomb was an option. There were Italian, Fisherman, and Nun tombs to name a few of the different societies. We continued on towards the New Orleans Museum of Art and into the park to look at the oak trees. We soon stopped so that we could have our picture taken next to a 600 year old tree before continuing on towards the Garden District after passing Tulane Medical Hospitals. Once in the Garden District, Bob pointed out some of the traditional mansions and architecture of the area, along with some homes that appeared out of place due to the paint choices on the exterior. We also went by some celebrity homes, which included Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, John Goodman, the home where Peyton and Eli Manning grew up (which had a car outside so Bob figured one of them was actually home), and Sandra Bullock. Bob then brought us to Tracey's for lunch. He told us how the po-boy got its name and shared how he got into the bike tour business. After lunch, we slowly pedaled back to our hotel for the completion of our tour.
Following our bike tour, we relaxed and discussed possible evening activities. We decided to wander the shops at the Riverwalk Marketplace before catching the ferry (on our third attempt) across the river to Old Algiers, which was on the west bank of the Mississppi River. There was a statue of Louis Armstrong erected near the ferry dock and a levee that we wandered along in the light summer drizzle before we crossed back across the Mississippi. We opted for fries at Huck Finn's Cafe before heading back to the hotel.
Thursday morning we hopped a streetcar on St. Charles Street in order to get to Tulane University so that Chrissy could explore the school she had always hoped to attend, but could also serve as a future place of employment. In our usual style, we made a beeline for the University Bookstore. After the bookstore, we found the Political Science building and were actually able to give a woman directions to the bookstore since we had just been there. We took the streetcar back towards Lafayette Square after circling Lee Circle, which has a statue of General Lee facing north because southerners believe he would never turn his back on the enemy.
After a brief stop at our hotel room, we wandered down to the Mississppi River to board the Steamboat Natchez for our 2 hour riverboat cruise up the river. We learned about the levees, the 9th ward, and the different boats that could be found on the river. We passed the Old US Mint and the Domino Sugar factory, along with a Navy Yard. Our boat turned around near St. Bernard Port, which was about 8 miles downriver, before heading back towards the Crescent City. Chrissy and I wandered aft so that we could take pictures of the paddlewheel that powered the steamboat. We also went through the gift shop and into the dining room to try and hear some jazz, but they only had a piano player.
Once we docked, we got beignets at Cafe du Monde and I bought a shirt at the Harley Davidson store before we decided to walk up Decatur Street to Frenchman Street in order to relax in Washington Square. We sprawled out in the grass so that we could relax after our long day. There happened to be a group of people doing yoga/practicing for their own mini version of Cirque du Soleil. I also enjoyed watching two dogs play fetch whilst being the supportive/corrupting friend that I am by having Chrissy start pondering her next tattoo seriously since we wandered past a tattoo shop on our way to Washington Square. On our way back to the hotel, we did make inquiries at the tattoo shop before making our way back through the French Quarter to the Ambassador Hotel. For dinner, we chose to eat at the Extreme Sports Bar and Grille that was next to our hotel. I settled for a burger and fries for fuel before we headed back out in search of some decent jazz on Frenchman Street.
After a bit of wandering, we chose to enter The Spotted Cat, which was definitely a great decision. Not only was the music amazing, but there were a handful of individuals who were dressed in 1920s garb and swing dancing like there was no tomorrow. I was so glad that we could finally witness some excellent jazz in the city where that style of music was born. Once we left The Spotted Cat, we walked down Bourbon Street before cutting across the French Quarter to sit by the river. Unfortunately some security officers kicked us off of the steps of the riverwalk, so we chose to just go back to the hotel to get some sleep.
On our last morning, we packed up our belongings and ate some cereal in the room for breakfast. We checked out and went to the Riverwalk Marketplace to do some last minute shopping. On our walk there, we saw a bunch of women decked out in purple shirts and red hats. This didn't come as a surprise to us considering every day we happened to run into a large group of these women almost everywhere we went. Apparently the Red Hat Society was having a convention in the Big Easy, which I found entertaining. Following our shopping, we opted for some free wine tasting at the NOLA Tropical Winery. The wine was made from blueberries, strawberries, mangos, oranges, and coffee. The woman who worked at the winery was very entertaining and kept giving us a wide variety of wines to taste. In order to avoid an early morning buzz at 10:30am, we hotfooted it to Pinkberry in order to fill up on frozen yogurt. We then decided to walk down Canal Street in order to loop up to Bourbon Street so that we could continue shopping. After about an hour, we made our way towards Cafe du Monde for some frozen cafe au lait and beignets. Along the way we stopped to watch and take pictures of some street performers. Unfortunately, we happened to come across a very aggressive street performer who started following me and demanding a tip because I had taken pictures. After escaping that situation, we were able to relax at Cafe du Monde, browse some more shops, and lay out in Jackson Square before fetching a cab on Toulouse Street. Our cabbie was quite entertaining as we listened to him give a friend relationship advice on the phone. We checked in and made it through security so that we could lounge at our gate for 2 hours. We then boarded our plane on time, but due to horrendous weather in New York City, we were grounded on the tarmac for two hours. Luckily they handed out snacks and beverages and we soon got cleared for takeoff. We landed at JFK at 12:15am and met up with Oliver who was kind enough to drive us home to East Stroudsburg. Now it's back to reality and the frantic job search continues.

Founder's Day Outhouse Racing

On Saturday, August 13, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when Josh invited me to accompany him to Dushore, PA, for the annual Founder's Day Outhouse Races. We arrived at Dane's house to see a large gathering of people all wearing red shirts emblazoned with Super Septic Suckers on the back and a trailer holding the 3-time champion outhouse. Everybody was busy chatting and gearing up for the big evening while Josh and I took in our surroundings eating our Subway sandwiches.
Soon it was time for a few announcements. Dan gave a valiant speech outlining the integrity of the Super Septic Suckers, or SSS. He described how the torch would soon be passed to the Second Super Septic Suckers and the hopes that their endless training would pay off. Group pictures were taken and strategies were discussed amongst the teammates before we all loaded up onto the truck and trailer to cruise into the bustling metropolis of Dushore. Some marched behind the trailer carrying a large American flag, while the remaining members waved from the trailer as the team was announced.



After unloading the famed outhouse, the teams involved took the traditional walk through of the course before the racing began. The Super Septic Suckers took part in the first race against the Dushore Poo-lice. All was going well until the turn around the monument when the SSS rig had a wheel malfunction. They had to come to a complete stop and finish the rest of the course without the use of the left front wheel, but they still managed to cross the finish line in a stunning 45 seconds and move into the round of 8. There was much drama surround the Second Super Septic Suckers semifinal race due to the fact that one of the pushers fell right before the finish line and was not holding onto the outhouse when it crossed the finish, which gave them a 4 second penalty, taking them out of the final race. The final race came down to the Super Septic Suckers and the Dushore Poo-lice following the penalty, and unfortunately, SSS fell to second place for the first time in 4 years. They raced valiantly, but unfortunately, tired legs just couldn't come out on top. I would definitely recommend this event to anybody who happens to be in the Dushore area on the second Saturday in August.

80 Mile Kayak Excursion on the Delaware River

 On August 4, Chrissy and I set out down the West Branch of the Delaware River around 6:40am. There was a light mist falling on us as we set out, which made for some pretty cool pictures. We passed by the Buckingham Access after about 1.5 hours and reached Lordsville in another hour after that. We would snack every once and awhile and Chrissy got the "Goldfish" song stuck in my head for at least an hour. We stopped in Stalker for lunch around 12:40pm before setting out to conquer the rapids by Red Barn Campground. We came across a group that was kayaking down to Callicoon and I happened to know the three guides. They were kind enough to inform me that they had seen my dad a half hour before up in Stalker. We continued on and made it to Callicoon around 3pm. I stopped there to re-coat myself in sunscreen before meandering on towards Damascus. I helped out a fishing tour boat by returning an oar to the guide as I was paddling downstream. By this point it hurt a lot to move my arms and my paddle felt like it weighed about 20 pounds. When I caught up to Chrissy, we decided to just relax and float for about an hour. During this hour we decided that it would be best to only paddle for 3 days to see how far we got as opposed to attempting the entire length of the Delaware River. We finally reached Skinners Falls campground around 6:30pm, which is where we decided to stop for the day. Luckily this happened to be my place of employment, so we were able to just pick a campsite and setup our tent.
After we got situated, I started hearing sirens coming from both sides of the river. A pickup with lights pulled into the parking lot across the road, followed by a fire truck. I assumed that the old Victorian house was on fire, but I didn't see any smoke. I went inside the store at Skinners Falls and asked my co-worker if she knew what was going on and she informed me that she had gotten a call that there was a missing 18 year old. That was when every possible vehicle from police cars, to an ambulance, to the park service started arriving and I knew that it couldn't be a good situation. I watched as numerous men put on scuba gear and air boats were sent into the river to go search for the missing swimmer. A couple hours went by until, unfortunately, an EMT came in asking for tarps, which meant that they had found the body and had to set up a tent in order to wait for the coroner. It was a very sobering moment and a good reminder to always wear my life jacket and to be thankful that I am alive.
Given our long evening and extremely sore muscles, we decided to sleep in until 8:30am the next morning. We got up, disassembled the tent, and gathered our gear before setting off on Day 2 of our excursion. We passed through Narrowsburg and avoided the eel weir on our way to Ten Mile River. After hours of paddling, we made it to Minisink around 4pm. We stopped and ate lunch and I used the phone to call my house to inform my parents of our progress. My goal was to reach Knights Eddy, but given our exhaustion and tendinitis, I knew in the back of my mind that wouldn't be possible. We kept on paddling down the river and saw an eagle, which was pretty cool. I was able to float down directly underneath the eagle and got some good pictures while it was perched in the tree. It was slowly getting dark as we approached an unmarked eel weir near Pond Eddy where I happened to spot my mom on shore waving us over. We paddled over and were informed that we could leave our kayaks there overnight and sleep at my parents that night. We were very grateful for a warm house to sleep in and some hot dinner.
The next morning we awoke at 8am and my mom drove us down to Pond Eddy. We set off down the river once again despite our sore arms and hands. Our boats were much lighter since we kept the gear at the house because we were only paddling another 3 hours to Matamoras, PA. I was very grateful for this considering the rapids that we encountered on our journey, which were definitely the most fun we had the entire trip. I got some pictures and video along the way, which are compiled in a short movie at the bottom of this post. We definitely enjoyed ourselves and plan on doing the rest of the river in increments until we do the entire length, including the Delaware Bay. I will definitely post again whenever we decide to continue our excursion.