One last game.

Today is my last full day before I get on a plane and fly home. I spent most of it in front of the TV although I did have to spend some time packing my bags and getting myself ready for departure. It was very sad putting all. My stuff back in my bags knowing I am going to have to leave soon. 

Sam got home early for the last night with the Englishman. We ordered food. I had a very tasty burger and Sam had some salad thing, I don't know. After we cleared up and I washed the dishes we played one last game of Carcassone, a game we played a couple of times while in Cape Cod when the weather wasn't so great. Afterwards, we watched an episode of cosmos and by this time it was 9pm. I had to get up at 4am the following morning so I thought an early night was a good idea. 

My last night in America was a wet one, the rain was coming down outside and I found that very relaxing to sleep to. It wasn't long before I drifted off, and soon I'd wake up to a day of travelling hell.

Ensamble

Another day of waiting for Sam to finish work, that's ok, I get to laze around and watch TV, relaxing before its time to get on another damn plane. 

Sam got home early and we got our selves ready and headed out for the evening. We went to get some food at Whole Foods and eat it there, which was nice, was a simple idea and done the job. 

After food we went to the cinema to see the New Avengers film. We were slightly late and on the way into the cinema, I stumbled and twisted my knee, gah! 

The film was pretty good, we both managed to enjoy this one. Sam got her fix of Robert Downey Jnr and me, of Scarlet Johanson. It was a great super hero film with many cross overs as we all come to expect. I had to explain to Sam the meaning of the extra scene in the credits, yeh you gotta watch another bunch of films to get everything that's going on, they are all in the same universe you see. 

Ok so not the best movie review but it was a lot of fun to watch. 

We got home and I put some ice on my knee, yeh I have done something not nice to it. At least that happened at the end of the holiday and not at the start. I'm going to have to be careful on it now, at least I get wheel chairs at the airport so I wont be on it too much. After icing my knee and watching a bit more Big Bang, I headed off to bed.

He Was Back.

Sam was working from home this morning but that didn't mean I could annoy her as usual, I left her to do her work and watched TV till the afternoon when Sam had to go to a meeting. Sam got home early evening and we went to the mall to get some food. We found a 50's themed burger dinner and had a delicious burger and a milkshake, it was awesome. 

Afterwards we bought tickets to see Terminator Genesys at the 3D Imax. I love 3D Imax films, they look amazing and I was looking forward to see the new Terminator film, I'm a fan of the Terminator film series. 

I enjoyed this film in the series, it was action packed and the story had a great little twist in it too. It was set over all the periods of the previous films, time travel a plenty, enough to get your head in a fizz if you thought about it too much. The Arnold vs Arnold fight was super cool. The first terminator goes back in time to kill Sarah Conner, yeh we know this one.. then an older terminator meets him and kicks ass.. wait. what? The tie ins to the older films were nice even though this was a kind of semi reboot. Effects were brilliant and I really enjoyed the film, again, I think they left it open for another. That seems to be the way of Holywood now-a-days. If your a Terminator fan, I would say go see this film.

Sam wasn't too impressed, then again I don't think she was a Terminator fan. I did ask her three times if she really wanted to go see this film but apparently she loves Imax so...

When we got home Sam went straight to bed while I sat up and enjoyed a bit more TV before another warm humid night. 

Dinosaurs!

Another quiet day while Sam was at work but when she got home, she tipped me off the sofa and told me we were going to the cinema tonight.

We drove to the Mall and got our tickets to see Jurassic World, one of the films on my to watch list. We took our seats and waited for the film to start.

Its the forth film in the Jurassic Park series originally directed by Steven Spielburg. It focused on the next generation of Jurassic Park called Jurassic world, set on the same island as the first park. A huge successful park with many futuristic attractions and lots of huge dinosaurs. However, inevitably something goes wrong and this time, it's when the geneticists merge the DNA of different dinosaurs to create their own 'new' dino. Highly intelligent it breaks free of it's pen and starts to wreck havoc in the park. 

Plenty of action and lots of nice little nods to the previous films, the computer graphics were much better than the previous films and it was easy to see why it was this year's summer blockbuster. Unlike the first film, which tried to add some realism based on what we knew about dinosaurs at the time, this was a film based on action and thrills but it did leave me wondering, who keeps giving the park owners public liability insurance? They left a line open for another sequel so who knows. 

Overall I liked the film, leave your brain at the door and enjoy watching huge dinosaurs fighting each other and causing havoc. 

After the film, we done a quick shop at the local grocery store and headed home. Sam went to bed nearly as soon as we got back, I sat up and watch a couple Big Bang Theories before I headed to bed. It was another hot humid night and I was glad of the ceiling fan. 

Lazy Days of Summer

Not much to write about today. I got up late and Sam was already downstairs tapping away at Guild Wars 2. She got off the computer and let me write my blog for the day before (yes I write my posts the day after) and started pottering around outside. 

I watched a show on Discovery about Great White Sharks around Cape Cod, which was very interesting considering the week before I was swimming in those waters. 

I went outside to see if i could help Sam with her weeding, there wasn't much I could do but boy was it hot. The sun was really shinning in the garden and we didn't work too hard. Sam managed to get a fair amount of weeding done while I watered and fetched. 

We then spent the remainder of the afternoon in the shade and cool of the house, being lazy and relaxing. Like I said, not much to write about today. 

Chocked full of Freedom

Today is the 4th July, America's Independence Day. What better place to go find out about this holiday than an actual American Star Fort, Fort Ticonderoga. It was a couple of hours drive away on the border with Vermont. But first we had one thing to do. Freedom day required some show of freedom, so we planted a flag in Sam's front garden. 

With the stars and stripes firmly planted, we set off. 

After the fort was used for military opperations in the war for independence, it was purchased by a private family and a summer house was built on the grounds. It already had extensive gardens for feeding troops that were stationed there during the war but now they were extended for this summer house and they were build on an english style. Our first tour was of the King's gardens. 

It is clear these gardens have been well looked after and were really very beautiful. I think they gave Sam some ideas of what to do in her new Garden. 

We headed back up to the Fort for some lunch and then took a wander around the fort itself. We looked in the Museums and followed the tours with the tour guides all dressed in period costumes. It was all very interesting to learn about the history of the fort as it changed hands from the French to the British to the Americans and how it worked in conjunction with another fort across the peninsular (no longer standing) to protect the two lakes, Lake George and Lake Champlain. 

It was interesting to learn that the Declaration of Independence was actually signed on the 3rd of July 1776 but never really came into effect until the following year, there was still fighting, which meant the 4th of July 1776 was just another day for the soldiers at this fort. 

  

 

There was even musket and cannon demonstrations, where the guides explained how the men would act in formation and how these weapons were fired. The noise and the smoke from just a few muskets and one cannon was enormous so I imagined how it would be with hundreds of soldiers firing and numerous cannons bellowing smoke in the heat of battle. 

After exploring the fort, we took a trip up to mount Defiance, where the British placed their cannons in order to take the Fort. While there we learnt about how the landscape played it's part and how the occupants of the fort knew Mount Defiance was a liability but didn't believe anyone capable of placing cannons up there but they didn't count on the resourcefulness of the royal artillery.  

The whole tour was incredibly interesting and tied in really well with our visit to Saratoga a few days before because that's where the British army chased the Americans to after taking the fort and the real war for Independence began. 

After seeing all there was to see, we took to the road and headed home. We were both pretty tired from the trip and decided not to go to the Albany fireworks display, held at Empire Plaza in the center of Albany. We didn't like the idea of sitting around for a few hours waiting with those crowds but rather went home to get some food and watch the display on the television. 

The display was fantastic and we could hear the noise from Sam's house. It must of been so loud down at the plaza. I commented on the fact that at least we don't have to put up with the smell of the smoke and Sam said she loved that smell, it was the small of summer to her. Strange, to me that's the smell of winter as we have our fireworks in November. 

We finished watching the display and were yawning heavily so headed to bed. However, some people were still letting off fireworks and the sounds of their freedom were keeping this Brit awake. The noise eventually stopped and I was able to get to sleep. 

Batter Up!

Today was a warm sunny day and we started off by doing some work in the garden. Nothing too strenuous; spread some compost and planted a couple of plants. We worked mostly around the front of the house as it was too warm in the sun around the back, with the trees gone. 

That evening I had an all American treat, we went to watch a Baseball game. The Albany Valleycats vs the Vermont Lake Monsters. I was excited, I wanted to go see a baseball game since the last summer I was here. 

We took our seats in the well packed stadium and waited for the game to begin. First of all, everyone had to stand up for the National Anthem. I stood, didn't do the hand on heart thing or even sing but Sam was stood there, hand on heart mouth the words after that, the game began. 

I didn't quite understand the rules so Sam was explaining them to me as they went. It seemed to be a more complicated form of rounders that we would play at school but was fun to watch none the less. 

Sam got up a few times to go get food and beer, of which there seemed to be a huge selection. At one point she even brought me back what could only be described as an ice cream pizza! Delicious but oh so messy. 

The Game itself was exciting in places, especially when one team or another would have bases loaded and try to get a home run brining in a full 4 runs, which the Lake Monsters did, giving them a 2 run lead. 

Between innings there was a rest up, even at half innings, which meant the game kind of dragged. That didn't matter however as there was other entertainment. From clowns,bike races, barrel rolls, t-shirt throws and crowd based competitions. It wasn't just about the game, it was also about the field side entertainment which was something new to me, we don't have such things. When we see sport it's just about the game but here, it's a whole evening of games and entertainment. 

The Valleycats were leading by 2 runs come the last inning and it looked like they would take home a home win, until the lake monsters hit another home, bringing in 2. The score was tied, which meant extra innings. Then the crowd really livened up cheering on the home side until the 12th inning, when the Valley cats hit a long ball into the outfield, with a man on second, he sprinted and brought himself home just before the ball was caught. The winning score 7:6 to the Albany Valley Cats. The crowd was up on it's feet cheering and I really enjoyed it. 

After the game there was a fireworks display because the 4th of July was the next day. So the red, white and blue sparkles flew. 

I didn't get very good shots of the fireworks so I just sat and enjoyed watching them instead. 

After the game, we droves home and chatted about how fun it was, I'm glad I went. It was late by the time we got home so straight to bed we went. What a great, fun packed evening. 

Movers and Shakers

Another quiet morning as Sam worked, giving me more chance to watch Game of Thrones and potter about the house. 

When Sam got home we took a trip back into Massachusetts to an old Shaker village. The village was mostly restored and had lots of the old equipment and technology that the Shakers would of used at the time. 

From my understanding Shakers were a religious people who kept a certain way of life within their own community much like the Amish except they embraced modern technology as it arrived as they tried to strive for efficiency in their lives and work. They were a fairly closed community with a basis of self sufficiency and sustainability. Although they were mostly all celibate I wonder how sustainable that actually was. Nether the less, it was interesting to see the old buildings, equipment and learn about their lives. 

They had some well planned and laid out gardens, not just with fruit, vegetables and herbs but flowers too however, they all seemed to have a use. The beds were all marked and we could see what they would use the flowers for. Mainly medicine and remedies. 

They had some impressive workshops. They were well known for the quality of their work as they strived for perfection in everything they done and the wide selection of tools they had showed this. They had their own carpenter and blacksmiths. 

   They believed in 'men's work' and 'women's work' where the women would cook, do laundry, weave, sew, churn butter and other such things. Sam tried her hand at weaving, I think she still needs a little practice. 

The Shakers were sticklers for detail and I think nothing showed this more than when we took at look at the chair making. The bottom of the legs of the chairs weren't just cut and left as flat surfaces. No! They spent a great deal of time and care to produce feet for their chairs; carving out the bottom of the legs and using a leather strap to pull in a piece of carved wood close to the foot of the chair. It was never really fixed in, so the foot would rotate and move depending on the surface it was placed upon, this would stop the chair rocking on uneven surfaces. 

Its very difficult to describe as it was quite a complicated piece of woodworking all for a foot of a chair for the sake of a possible un even surface. This showed me just how much time, effort and care they put into making their products and one reason why they were so expensive. 

The architecture was amazing too. They had a beautiful round stone barn where they kept the animals that they used within the community. 

We found some of the animals they would of kept too, from goats to turkeys. 

When new technology arrived they certainly made the most of it. There was an old car in a garage which they must have painstakingly looked after and maintained, as the garage even had heating to make sure the oil was kept at a good temperature during the cold months. 

They lived all together in a brick dwelling where the women lived in the left side of the building and the men in the right. Both sides an almost mirror image of the other. They ate, slept and worked separately. The hall ways were even made exceptionally wide so they didn't happen to accidentally touch each other  while passing in the hallways. 

It was a very interesting visit and the weather was great too, it was great to just potter around and look at the place,

After the Shaker village we tried to find the highest point in Massachusetts but the map was poorly drawn and we ended up driving around in circles for ages by which time the sun was getting low and our bellies empty. So we went back to Albany to eat at Jumping Jacks. However when we arrived it was really quite busy and the line was into the parking lot, I didn't like the idea of queuing for ages for a burger so we went home and ordered take out. 

Another great afternoon and evening out. We were later to bed then most nights, Sam doesn't have to get up so early tomorrow as its a national holiday; it'll soon be 4th July. 

  

Timber!

Today is gardening day. Sam took her car to the garage to be fixed and when she returned the gardening was already starting. Today the garden would go from this;

To this;

In a single day. 

Ok so, it wasn't just me and Sam that done this, in actual fact we were mere bystanders and just watched as Lumberjacks came into the garden and set to work. 

They started with the small tree,  making short work of it and feeding it into the chipper leaving nothing but a stump in it's place. Then the heavy work began. Using a 90 foot crane to lift a climber high into the branches and allowing him to rope off and work with the chain saw tied around his waist. 

To watch them work in such a confined space was amazing. They had the crane on the neighbor's drive and the chipper on Sam's but the trick was to not allow the branches to fall on the houses and garages they over hung. Piece by piece the tall tree began to vanish. 

Sam and I watched as they craned down limb after limb and the group of men busied themselves with chainsaws slicing them into pieces small enough to fit into the chipper or large enough to get hoisted into the trailer for cart away. 

The smell of saw dust and chainsaw fumes brought back many happy memories of when we were kids and the family went wood cutting for the winter months and the wood fires we had. I would help in the garden, come logging camp, chopping wood, splitting wood and moving logs as my dad run the chainsaw filling the garden with sawdust and fumes. There is a lot of wood in this tree and I know it would of lasted my family more than a couple of winters, however I don't think I can fit it all in my carry on luggage. Sorry. 

Once they had cut enough of the limbs down, it was time for the fall and the men roped off the tops while one man took his long chainsaw and cut out a wedge. 

He worked his way around the trunk, it was thick and took some work to get his saw in as deep as possible. He pulled his blade out and the men began to pull on the ropes. The big old tree still had some fight to give and it's creaks and groans were it's dying moans as the trunk finally cracked and fell.

Saw dust fell like smoke from the sawn tops of the trunk and it fell upon its dismembered limbs and hit the ground with a ground shaking thunk. It shook the house as it landed, leaving two great divits in the ground, rocked a little and lay still. It was down. 

It was down but not over. The men then had to hoist and cut the remaining limbs and the large trunk into their loader for cart away. The root grinder was next; a machine with steel teeth that ground away the stumps and six inches below the surface leaving nothing above ground. They also ground away a stump in the neighbor's garden free of charge, for letting them use their access for the crane and loader. 

We watched as the garden was cleared and the men left as quickly as they came. We then admired the sun kissed garden that was before left in shade and the imaginings of what Sam could now do with her now sun filled garden flooded her mind. 

We ordered dinner in and talked about what we had seen. We turned in early.