Did a little tidying up around the Almanac this evening ... finally got around to posting a few new pages of photos, and finished up some minor design tweaks, too.


Back in September, on a visit up to Vermont, I dragged Amie to the one n' only Champlain Valley Fair. I grew up about a mile from the thing, and spent way too much time roaming the midway, wasting money on rigged games, staring slack-jawed at the rednecks that came down from the hills, dodging carnies, and wondering which ride would be the next to break down. I'd save up over the summer for that one week, just before school started, when I could blow all my cash on videogames, ride tickets, bad food, and usually-crappy concerts. The Fair is responsible for my shamefull response to the question "What was the first concert you ever saw?" (sadly, the Charlie Daniels Band... although sometimes I'll "forget" and answer "Foreigner with Loverboy").


For me, our visit this time was five minutes of nostalgia, followed by "... and why did I used to love coming here so much?!". It seemed a lot smaller, but the crowd was still packed to the gills with locals and mountain folk. We toured the midway, hit the ferris wheel for the aerial view, had some Al's Fries, checked out the animals, then got the hell outta there. Hard to believe there was a time when I could spend hours upon days on those fairgrounds and still not have done everything. I used to want it to last forever, but I think that's because the end of the fair always meant the end of the summer.

Here's a couple pages of Fair photos. Beware, a couple of them are not for the faint of heart.


Also in September, back before the dark days, when Boston's love affair with the Red Sox was still in full-swing, I took an extra-long lunch hour and headed over to Fenway Park. The Sox had teamed up with the Red Cross to mark the anniversary of nine-eleven with a big-honkin' blood drive. Hundreds upon hundreds of Sox fans and concerned citizens showed up to donate pints upon pints of the red stuff... so many people that the place was overwhelmed, and the wait was hours long.


The Sox helped us pass the time with free food & drink, tours of the park, and interviews with a few current and former players (broadcaster Don Orsillo, too). After almost 3 hours of hanging around, and not even close to getting called, I had to go back to work without giving ... but I was able to get a bunch of photos, and give the Red Cross my blood a couple weeks later. Check out the pictures here.


Speaking of digital visual, you'll see that my recent photos page has been updated (better check... you might be on there), and now it will always include the three latest pictures from my camera-phone's moblog, and Amie's, too. You'll also see the most recent picture from my cellphone in the upper right there... you can click it to go straight to my moblog page, if ya like.

posted by brad at 8:45 PM | direct link | rss (1:2) | |