Winter Break in Florida

Gianni and I had a fabulous week in Florida with Mom. The last time I was there in December, it was cold! This trip, it was sunny, dry and in the 70s. With such wonderful weather we were able to swim, boat, surf, play tennis, go to the beach, water ski, snorkel, boogie board, bike, sail, relax in the hot tub, fish, cook, eat, etc. Really good times!!!

Niantic Bay Light Parade

My dad and Gianni spent a couple of weeks decorating the tandem bike that they ride to school with lights. They powered the lights with a battery charged by solar panels. They called their creation a Solar Human Hybrid Car. They had fun riding it in the Niantic Bay Light Parade last week. Their creation was one of the more popular with spectators. See more pictures...

Thanksgiving in Key West

Gianni and I went to Key West over Thanksgiving with my mom and brother's family. The weather was great and we ate well. We were able to get in one full day of snorkeling, before the wind picked up. We saw dozens of barracuda, four sharks, many sea turtles, big eels, etc. I hadn't swam with sharks since I was a kid, so it brought back many fond memories of growing up snorkeling off of Miami with my family.

AMC Mount Firescrew Hike

Gianni and I spent the weekend hiking in New Hampshire with the AMC Family Group. The weather was so so. We summitted Mt. Firescrew in the rain, but the weather kept us from our second peak, Mt. Cardigan. In the picture to the left, Gianni is running down the summit ledges with friends. The second day we did a shorter hike to a waterfall. The kids had fun playing Frisbee, soccer and running the commercial dishwasher, too.

Seacoast Century

We set out with a goal of 50 miles...three generations, dad at 67, me at 40, and Gianni at 9. The Seacoast Century proved to be a perfect ride, with sun, cool weather and a scenic coast. After camping Friday night, we woke to a cool morning in the low 30's. We hustled out to meet the rest of the bike club, the Pequot Cyclists, at the event starting area. Most of the group rode 75 or 100 miles. Gianni's goal was 50, so he set the pace. The ride was spectacular along the coast. Gianni led our team of three to the finish as strong as he started. It was pretty obvious that he'll be faster than my dad and I soon. We spent another night at the campground eating and socializing with the rest of the club. Of course, Gianni was in charge of the marshmallows. Needless to say Gianni was tired after his soccer game the next day. To youth!

Final Sail of the Year

I suppose the pictures say it all. Gianni and I finished our last sail of the year this morning, a 75 mile trek from Falmouth, MA to Noank, CT. We sailed through the night again, this time on the new moon, shooting stars, etc. We had a smoking north breeze and were doing 7-9 knots over the bottom. As my friend Tony would say, we were living. After arriving at our mooring, we took a nap, and woke up at dawn. I had to jump in and swim to shore to fetch the dingy - that woke me up in a hurry. Today we spent the day with my bother and his family and took a trip to Martha's Vineyard for some bridge jumping. I think I got enough sun for one summer. Tomorrow we are back to school, without question rejuvenated.

Tuna Fishing

My brother and dad took me tuna fishing for my 40th birthday. I caught a 5 foot bluefin tuna (that's just the football/body and not counting the tail). It turned out that it was the biggest fish caught by the boat in its three years of fishing. The fish was so big that it couldn't fit in the large fish box in the aft of the boat (a good problem). It was a beautiful, sunny, mild day at sea. We saw so many whales that I stopped counting at 30. I suspect that we saw over 50 humpback and right whales. We saw them launch fully out of the water, celebrate feeding frenzies, and swim within feet of our boat. Words just can't describe the grander of it all. See the slideshow for more pictures.