Glad to see so much talk again. The ground hog must have got everyone out, We had a cabin in the Islands for years. It was featured for sale in Yankee. It was just too much to keep up with my parents divorce et el and dad being in Prescott Valley, AZ and mom in CT. I lived in So Hero for a few years while attending UVM. I loved it. One of the "kids" that graduated a years ahead of us all is the Park Ranger for GrandIsle I believe. Our Cabin was adjacent to the Satee property. Very cold winters though and the wind always blew. I remember eating flapjacks when I was a kid at the old stone INN in the center of town (SH) but it fell into ruins and became just a bar. Have fun in DC Pat. They limit things since 911 but there is still alot to do and see. Glad I was able to do and see before that as it was much less restricted.

Hi Karen thanks for the encouragement. Dave and I have been looking over maps and web sites. Planning to go camping in the Shenandoah Mountains and of course "do DC". It will be a good time but the first time we've been away so long from the boys. Never longer than 2 weeks. Time to get used to to I guess as I hear they're supposed to grow up and move away. Doesn't sound like a very good idea to me, at least the moving part!

Though I tried hard some retired fellow from CA won the house in GA. Boy, that would have been amazing.

Rain and snow and fog here. The biathalon was incredible! Over 6,000 in attendance. So exciting and we happened to find a great spot where we could see the majority of the race. The marksmanship is extraordinary. To shoot so well when they have been skiing for so long, so fast! In 2 years the Jr. World Championship battalion will here in PI. Dave and I are volunteers for that and will be in the thick of things for quit a while. It's a stunning event.

Pat, I hope you enjoy your time in Baltimore. It sounds like a good opportunity to break out of the mold and have some new experiences. I have only been to Baltimore once but enjoyed the aquarium and the harbor area. I can see why you would hate to leave ME for the best months of the year, but hopefully it will prove to be worthwhile. Go for it!

Our house went on the market last Friday. I feel like if I never own a house again that would be fine with me. I am very sick of cleaning and I haven't even had a showing yet! I will go to GA to shop for a house in April, but the market is not strong here. We will have to be out of here by the end of July to start my youngest son in high school in Aug. We'd like to leave at the end of June.

All our snow is melted now but we have been getting flurries today and it is supposed to be like this for much of the next week. We had some temps in the 40's and 50's but now we are back to the 30's. I am looking forward to getting back to morning walks to jiggle off some of the 50 flab.

So good to have my internet access back. I had tried a version of Zone Alarm Pro (a firewall my husband likes) on my computer; when it worked too well and kept me off the internet I uninstalled it. But it left pieces of itself behind and continued to block my access. Finally, my son was able to delete something from the registry that got rid of it completely and now I'm back!

So I've read everyone's postings. Things were very quiet while you were away Richard. You've become our zen master.

Dave has accepted a detail in Baltimore that begins April 5 and ends August 5. Huge change for us. I'll join him there when school is out and try to stay for the summer but honestly I have a hard time imaging I'll enjoy it. I love the history of the area and the places I'll be able to go and see, but I'll be doing all alone. Those two months that I will be gone are my favorite 2 months here. But it's a neat opportunity and I told him we should go for it. I know if I even hesitated he wouldn't do it. But you career minded family types all know that promotions that move you around and work details that take you away from home can only be turned down so many times before the offers stop coming. The boys are on their on and not missing school really makes this the right time to do this. Most of the other details have been smack dab in the middle of the school year. I wouldn't have been able to go or join him for part so it's not been something we wanted to do. 6 months away from each other is not good for the marriage. So far we've been lucky and the offers have continued but we really thought this would be the one to say yes too.

I was really looking forward to coming to VT for the big camping reunion but as I told John I don't see how that will work out now. Unless it's held the second weekend in June and that won't be warm enough to enjoy I'm sure. But he hopes to do something like this every year so I'll shoot for the next one.

We're heading up to Fort Kent for the last day of the World Cup Biathalon in a few minutes. Yesterday there were more people in attendance that at any previous World Cup Event held in the US. Imagine that? It's been amazing stuff and very good for the local economy. See you all later.

Hi Richard, Robin, everyone else. (Where are you all, by the way?) I guess I drove by your office without knowing it, Robin.

Richard,
I remember the dress code and hair cut/no facial hair rules, but I don't recall celibacy being anything other than a fact of life at the Y, particularly if you were not a member of "The Church". I do recall some guy getting kicked out for being caught in the girls dorm. Thus, I worked off most of my ahh....energy...by skiing 3 or 4 days a week. Park City cost $7.50 per day.
Hi Lori, Yes..my office is in South Hero...we provide services for the five towns in "the Islands".

Robin, the main difference in Park City is that the roads in town are no longer dirt. That changed in about 1980. The rest of Utah is the same. I drove past Provo, but did not stop. Did you sign the contract to stay celibate when you were going to school there and if you did, were you ever guilty of lust in your heart?

Lori, give me a call when you get here and have a chance.

South Hero? That's where my parents rented a cottage last time they were in Vermont.

Richard, you've got it right--"working, playing, bonding with family." We still have things to finish on the house, but I don't think we'll be as busy as last time.

Snowbird, Brighton, Park City, Mormons, lots of Mormons, great desert parks, more Mormons (been to Provo?). Sometimes a rolled up newspaper worked...sometimes not. Wonder how it's changed since I lived there in 72-73? Saw Mr. Cerauskis of Riverside JHS fame. He and his wife are 85. He used to ski jump. Now he lives in a little house on the side of a rock in the middle of a frozen lake. Its nice to be able to give them a hand with some stuff. They apparently lived on a boat while they built their house in South Hero twenty years ago. Go figure.
Take care all....

Lori, sounds good. Will you be mostly working, playing, bonding with family??

One more thing. I think I already mentioned this--we'll be arriving in Vermont next Wed. night, March 10.

Sounds like you had a good trip, Richard. My son's dying to go snowboarding in Utah. He said the snow there is different--lighter. And I'd really like to see Zion Park. I've heard from a lot of people that it's beautiful there, but somehow we've never gotten there. And it's not that far from us. We haven't even been to Grand Canyon. Oh well...

Snowboarding was fun. Thursday it snowed all day- 2 feet of powder and the temperature was 25. It was the kind of day you live for. We were at a resort called Brighton that day. It's a little less glitz w/ tickets at $45/day instead of $69 at Snowbird etc. No one was there and everything was open. It's at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon at about 10,000 feet elevation. That was magic!

We were barely able to drive out of the canyon that night. There was so much snow that the next day Little Cottonwood Canyon where Snowbird and Alta are located was closed while they blasted snow to prevent avalanches. 12 more inches of snow fell that day.

We finished our vacation by visiting Zion National Park. The beauty there is beyond words. Being in a place that has endured the stresses of time with such majestic elegance and strength as the result is really inspirational. One last stop at a truck stop diner (the El Bambi in Beaver, Utah) and we were on our way back east.

Pat, you have a point about the virtues of too many wives. I think the wisdom of "Why have only one?" applies to beer but not wives.

From one to the other. Today it was 75 and sunny!! Yes Richard, when it snows here is IS NOT fun but thank goodness its only biannually. Supposed to be the same the rest of the week. Hope your snowboarding is going well.

Patty, please email myself @ punchman@joimail.com and see if that works. It shoudl be the correct one. Thanx.

The snow in Atlanta does not sound fun. Utah was great! Lots of snow and really good ski conditions. Time to sleep now.