Rambling Reflections on New Haven

Lately, I've had New Haven on my mind. Discovery of the Elm City Diary Facebook page coupled with a slow and boring week at work was all it took to set me off on a Google search. When I stumbled upon Eva Geertz's blog post in New Haven Review, my curiosity about New Haven turned into full-fledged nostalgia. As I read the post, the names of local institutions, the sights and sounds of the Elm City, its people, its vibe, and whole slew of thoughts, feelings and images came flooding into my mind.

New Haven Green

Conspiring to Love, A Review of United by Cory Booker

I have been told over and over again that the way to be a writer is to write. Every day. I'm trying to do that but it's hard when you're trying to manage a million things in everyday life and perfect summer weather is competing for your limited free time.

Below you will find my review of Cory Booker's book United. I finished it a few weeks ago and rather than waiting to get it perfect, I'm going to share it with you now bumps, bruises, incomplete thoughts and all.

Official Diagnosis: Mid-Life Crisis

Rambling Thoughts On Mid-Life Discontent

When I was 39, I had a strong desire to go surfing and find a 23 year old boyfriend. Surfing had always interested me but the much younger boyfriend was only something to joke about as I contemplated my 40th birthday. I even went as far as saying I was having a mid-life crisis. Silly and over-dramatic for sure, but I didn't take myself or my imagined mid-life crisis seriously at all as in reality, I knew everything was fine By the time my birthday came around, I was preparing for a trip to the Pyrenees with surfing and the strapping young lad far from my mind. Life was moving along smoothly and I was content.

A Late Spring Ski Tour in America's First National Park

Over most Memorial Day weekends, you can find me skiing on Beartooth Pass (BTP). Between the abundance of road side skiing, challenging terrain, the camaraderie among skiers, and the chance to take an early season drive through Yellowstone National Park, it is always a great weekend. Mike and I headed down there this past weekend and took Lukas along for the adventure. While we did ski BTP, an unexpected, temporary closure of the pass on our drive over allowed us to explore the ski possibilities near Dunraven Pass in the park.

Early Mornings & NPR - They Just Go Together

While I'm not much of a morning person, I can rally for an early morning wake up if there is a compelling reason - a 6 a.m. flight, early starts for spring skiing, etc. To get the chance to see a live broadcast of NPR's Morning Edition ranks highly on the list of compelling reasons to leap out of bed before sunrise, and on Friday, the alarm want off at 4 a.m. for just that.

Luck & Powder on the Sphinx - 4.16.16

Sometimes a day in the backcountry comes together just as you want it to. When the outing is a ski tour in late spring that includes a long approach and it  works out perfectly, you are incredibly lucky. Mike and I must have had some good karma coming our way as our trip to ski the Sphinx couldn't have been better.

Update: I was able to rework this story into a piece for Ascent Backcountry Show Journal. Click to read "Solving the Riddle of the Sphinx."

Skiing with the Brits - Step Two, Teach Them the Lingo

Once again, I was surrounded by Brits on my most recent ski tour. in the Alps. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the delights of traveling and ski touring abroad is the opportunity to pick up new words and lingo. My three European ski tours have taught me a lot of British lingo and as a member of guided trips, I am able to share American mountain town lingo with the group. Other than one American guide leading a trip, I've been the only American on all of the tours I have completed so it becomes my responsibility to serves as an ambassador for American mountain town culture.

A Typical Day on A European Hut Tour

Grand Combin as seen from Rhêmes Notre Dame

Note: This entry is copied from the journal I kept during the trip.

First Impressions of Chamonix

So this is Chamonix I thought as I stared out my hotel room window at the tall and jagged mountains outside. Wow! Huge, rocky, icy, rugged, dramatic. So many superlatives and that was only one side of the valley. It was a "So this is Yale" moment for sure.

From the Front Porch to Center Stage: Robert Earl Keen & Lyle Lovett in Concert

Note: This is a work in progress! Concert reviews are harder than I thought! I have more thoughts, which I may jot down some day. The show was a few weeks ago so I want to get this review posted before more time goes by.

Marcy 18, 2016, Wilma Theatre

Gran Paradiso Hut Tour, La Dolce Vita

At Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele

If there is such a thing as paradise for backcountry skiers, I am pretty certain I found it in Italy’s Gran Paradiso National Park.