Blessings …

I turned 50 on March 5, 2009. Big milestone or a big millstone? I don’t really know. Probably neither ... but since I was going to be within shouting distance of family and friends, we made a party of it. Actually, I don’t think I have ever had as much cake in a 5 day span as on this trip!

Let’s start at the beginning as that is generally a good place to start.

I left this:

for 12+ inches of snow in New England ... I flew out on Monday night and did not sleep more than 15 minutes during the 12 hours of flying and waiting in airports. I was awake for 36 hours straight and when I got to Al and Barb’s house, I was joined by Matt … it was just fantastic seeing him again. Then friends started showing up and we had pasta and meatballs. Tired but seeing their faces, I felt rejuvenated.

Matt and I had breakfast the next morning and by evening found our way to Ken and Joanne’s house for my 50th birthday party. With a ton of family around, we had pasta and sausage and then … let the first cake be eaten!! It was a delicious chocolate layer cake. Gifts were given and jokes were made but since my brother and sister are both older than me, the jokes were limited from them. ;-) Since my nephews are so young, they don’t know any good old-people jokes as yet … or are too embarrassed to tell them!

The cards were fun and the presents were great. I must say that I was truly shocked at two things. The picture book that Jeanne somehow (how does she pull these things off?) got together and the Cleary Club basketball shirt … were both incredible. I was in shock as I looked at the quality of the shirt. Do people actually play in shirts of this quality???

Back at the Horton’s, I packed and repacked my backpack three times. I brought so much stuff … just in case ...

It seemed like a blink of an eye and we were driving north in a small caravan of cars headed to the White Mountains of NH. A fairly quick stop for a great breakfast and then off to the trail.

This is when I first realized that I had made some packing mistakes. Y’know, if I hadn’t made a list, and checked it 3 times then I wouldn’t even comment on this. I guess you know you're 50 when you over-prepare and then screw it up anyway. These were my thought as I looked down at my second pair of gloves and they were both for the right hand … oops. Good thing it was warm.

The first sign we saw stated that a bull moose was near the A-Z Trail and it was not friendly. It also stated that it had charged several hikers. So, a baby pig charged me and I was scared … what would a bull moose do to me? Ah, I’m 50 and I trudged on.

The skiing up the hills was pleasant enough once the rain stopped. We all worked hard taking turns breaking the trail. There were snow shoe tracks and boot tracks that wrecked the trail but we persevered onward.

Matt skied really well though I’m not sure he’d say that. I watched him ski and there is a remarkable difference in his technique allowing him to glide further and go faster with a bit more control.

We got up to the hut all too fast. I was really enjoying skiing and if I hadn’t had that pack on my back, I would have skied the hills and bogs a couple of times.

Once in the hut, we unpacked and got our desired bunk beds. Jeanne laid out a tablecloth and put up a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” sign. Soon, there was a carrot cake sitting proudly on the table!

I helped the caretaker start the fire in the wood stove. We chatted with the other people in the hut (a total of 30+ people overnight) and then got started on dinner. I don’t know why but I always like to cook dinner there. Julie and Mike arranged most of the food and we had a generous helping of tortellini’s, grilled chicken (thanks Dave R!), red peppers and pesto. Cooking at Zealand Hut is always a challenge but somehow it is always good enough. Dave R. struggled with the bread sticks due to the oven never really heating up to the right temperature. It didn’t matter as it was one of the best dinners we’ve had up there … and that was BEFORE the carrot cake. There was envy around the room as the carrot cake was cut. Unfortunately for those not of our party, there was only enough for us and the caretaker. Fully nourished and partaking of fermented grape, we began playing cribbage.

I took a walk outside. The stars were brilliant, crisp and clear. A few wispy clouds found their way along the valley. Heading inside, it wasn’t long before most were off to get to bed.

Breakfast was good. I know that my sister wants real, old fashioned, oatmeal but the instant packets are good enough for me as I sometimes just don’t want breakfast and don’t want to clean up the mess. So, we had a minimal breakfast and cruised on out of the hut.

The trip down was fairly quick and warm. As I skied, I noted the moose droppings … steam still coming from them. Our friend the bull moose was somewhere nearby. We were lucky (depending upon your point of view as I would really have liked to see a bull moose in the winter) as we did not see him but we did see his droppings … EVERYWHERE. I have spared you the pictures and not posted them here. Let's just say that I will never look at malted milk balls or chocolate covered macadamia nuts the same way again. They were everywhere and it was tough to dodge them when they were in the middle of the trail.

We exited the trail and skied down the Zealand Road to the bottom. I felt good and not too sore.

Truant’s Tavern was great as always. They don’t serve hot pastrami anymore as I think they only sold one sandwich a year and that was to my uncle, Dave. He was a bit disappointed but suffered with a meaty Reuben.

Back in Bellingham, I bought some pizza as Matt said a few people were coming over … next thing I know we are having an ice cream cake with about 10 people all swarming through Barbara and Al’s house. It was great to see Bonnie, Bob, Carly, Ryan, Carly, Amy, David, Amanda, Al and Barbara.

The next morning, Al and I said our goodbyes at 5am as I left for Logan Airport and he left for a collectables show. The 5 days seemed to fly by so quickly and yet, as I got on the first airplane I somehow knew the next 12 hours were not going to fly by.

... and I was going to miss all of these people ... but then Kathy, Tucker, Krista, Majik and Jacob were waiting for me and I felt better.

I considered, as I settled into some James Taylor on my iPod and the seat in front of me leaned almost back into my lap, how I bring all of you every where I go ... and it is a very nice feeling to have you with me!

Next big trip ... October 2009 ... Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina.

[Special Thanks to Joanne for some of these pictures. She always toils tirelessly in the kitchen and behind the camera ...]