To New Hampshire and Back

New Hampshire is pretty friggin' beautiful. We drove up there on Saturday. It was rainy on the way up, but the sun came out just as we started fishing in Newfound Lake. No bites -- unless you count all the flies and mosquitoes -- we definitely need a boat if we plan to fish there again. And next time, we avoid black fly season.



After fishing, we washed up at our hotel and walked to the main drag of town. It reminded me of New Hope, PA, but on a much smaller scale. We ate at The Common Man, which I'd definitely recommend to anyone visiting New Hampshire. Afterwards, we tried to find a bar with the Mets/Yankees game, but were unsuccessful. Instead, we spent an hour talking to some locals about fishing. Now we know where to go, next time.

We walked back to the hotel with a six pack of gas station Blue Moon and played in the game room for a bit. Most of the games sucked or were broken, save for the air hockey and pinball machine. Weird discovery: I'm not bad at Guns N' Roses pinball. Who knew?

We knocked out relatively early, only to wake up at 5:30 AM to head to the breeder's house. Once there, she took us to a spot where she trains her team. We helped get 16 dogs out of their dog boxes, onto their picket lines, into their harnesses, and onto the tow lines. Then the three of us rode on the back of her ATV, pulled mostly by her team, through the trails. I've never been pulled by so many dogs. It's amazing how well they all work together and listen to commands.

It was somewhat humid out, so the run wasn't too long. We put the dogs back on their picket lines, gave them water, and removed their soggy harnesses. Good training for my future team, although I think four will be my limit for awhile. Hell, two is enough for now.

Once back at the breeder's house, we piled into the puppy run and were met by six little balls of fur and teeth. I've never experienced such a happy swarm of, well, anything before. I had two pups to choose from, since the other four were being kept for the breeder's team. I chose the pup named Summer. Out of the two, she seemed to be more reserved and gentle. This being my first pure-bred husky, the calmer the better. After all, calm for a husky is a maniac for most other breeds.

We made the transaction, signed off on the paperwork, collected all her information, and packed up a bag of her current food. Everyone said their good-byes and the pup was packed up in her crate for the long drive home. She did very well on the (accidentally) extended ride (don't ask). She pottied at our pit stops and slept the majority of the time.


Once we got back, Dexter went just about insane with happiness. Friends and family came to great the new addition, and she began settling in pretty fast.


I'm pretty sure I've settled on the name Denali, after the National Park and alternate name for Mount McKinley in Alaska. She's a smart girl, but I can tell she's going to be more stubborn to train than Dexter. She's only had a few accidents inside, and she manages to keep them all in the same spot on the kitchen floor, so it hasn't been too messy. She cries a little in her crate at night -- the first night being worse than the second -- so I assume she'll grow out of it quickly.

She is a good little alarm clock, and she gets me moving before 7 AM every day. It's bittersweet -- I'm exhausted, but I'm getting much more out of my day. And waking up to an adorable puppy isn't too bad, either.

Eat. Fish. Sleep.

I've been fishing every day this past week, and I'm not complaining. I finally caught some this weekend: two Largemouth bass and a sunny. Next step is catching something edible -- but I'll have to leave central NJ for that.

This upcoming week will be full of rain, Netflix, new Tosh.0, and making preparations for new puppy's arrival. I'll be driving up to New Hampshire on Saturday to visit with the breeder and pick up my new girl. I'm trying to maintain my composure, but this really is the culmination of a childhood dream. Finally, I'm getting my first Siberian Husky!

Many, many pictures to come. And probably more huskies.

Strength In My Bones Put the Words In My Head

Time ticks on. In the past month, I attempted to attend three Met games (only successfully made it to two), went to Medieval Times, saw one of my favorite bands perform (Bayside), got my hair cut (first time in years), had backyard barbecues, planted my garden outside, bought a huge TV (55 inches!), hiked, fished, ate, and drank. It feels like summer has come early. If this is being a grown-up, I'm not complaining.




Speaking of growing up, yesterday I turned 24. I was sitting in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as the clock struck 12:00 AM, in the best seats I've ever had at a baseball game. It took another hour for the Mets to finally beat the Phillies, after fourteen innings. Thank Godzilla they did.

Back-track a few hours: my Facebook feed is blowing up with news of Obama giving an unexpected speech, followed by the reported death of Osama Bin Laden. The stadium broke out in "USA" chants -- it was kind of surreal. It's only the death of one man, but I hope it brings closure to those who lost loved ones on 9-11. A lot of people have been quoting Martin Luther King in regards to current events:

I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

Usually, I'd agree, but not really in this situation. And apparently, this isn't really a quote by King, anyway. The world is not perfect and people will always be killing one another. It's nature, survival of the fittest, on a more intellectual level. Or is it? We like to think so.

Anyway... onto cheerier topics.

This upcoming weekend, we'll be celebrating my 24th in Atlantic City. Somewhat out of character for me, but I'm determined to try new things this year -- and, well, every year. Why not?

All weekends to follow: hike, camp, fish. Until the cold comes again.