New Year's Eve At Sonora

For New Year's Eve we went to Sonora for a late dinner. They had a really good Latin-jazz band and the food was great.

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All You Can Eat And A Murder At The Met

To celebrate Eason getting his black belt we took him for his favorite all-you-can-eat meal. Then we went to solve The Murder at the Met Scavenger Hunt with Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Aviva planned a really great day!

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Puffs In The City

Aviva and the kids met me in the city after work and we went to dinner and a show. We saw Puffs: Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic. Some of the scenes were a bit inappropriate, but it was clever and funny. Afterwards we passed by Rockefeller Center to see the tree.

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Hanukkah 2017

We celebrated Hanukkah at Babcia & Dziadek's home. We had a a lot of fun, and there was a lot of laughter. We played Hanukkah Bingo and got cute prizes, and played a game of Suspend. We had hot political discussions and opinions. And, of course we ate a lot, a lot of food.

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Turkey Run 2017

We ran in the Turkey Run again this year. Andrea did a little better than previously, but Eason did much worse.

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Thanksgiving 2017

We had a cozy Thanksgiving feast with Babcia and Dziadek. Babcia, among other things, brought a delicious sweet potato dish with sliced apples, and Andrea made pumpkin pie. We had so much food that we had them back for leftovers the next day with a lot more family.

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Halloween In Glen Oaks

We celebrated Halloween in Glen Oaks with Andrea and her friends. We dressed up in a Harry Potter theme and went trick or treating after the Glen Oaks parade.

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Apple Picking 2017

We went apple picking at Barton Orchards with our friends. (Unfortunately Eason had to stay home to do homework.) We listened to love music, picked apples, and solved their corn maze riddle.

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Sweet Bungalow Goodbye

We had great weather on our last weekend at the bungalow, which didn't make it easy to close everything up. We spent lots of time on the lake every day, and even got to take a kite out onto the lake, even though Eason spent a lot of time completing his TabSpace Chrome extension, and we still made up for a lazy Labor Day weekend and did our push-ups. I did 500 push-ups in 30 minutes, and 600 after 40 minutes. Eason did 500 in 40 minutes, and Andrea did 500 in 60 minutes.

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Mohican Lake

On our last weekend at the bungalow before we closed it up we got to spend some quality time in the lake together. Even though it was Labor Day weekend, we didn't do push-ups like we usually do.

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UK Day 14 - Kensington Park

On our fourteenth and final day in the UK we took the train from Cardiff to London Paddington Station. We had lunch in London and hung around Kensington Park until it was time to head back to Heathrow Airport, where we dinner before getting on our flight.

It was a very busy vacation, and while it was sometimes stressful, we saw so much that I'm grateful for, and I owe it all to Aviva for making it happen!

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UK Day 13 - Vale Of Glamorgan

On our thirteenth and last full day in the UK we took a train to Llanwit Major, where we took a bus to Marcross. We meant to walk to a beach close by, but we went the wrong way and walked all the way to the beach by Monknash. The road was a small trail that went on for at least a mile with no signs. When we finally saw the beach it looked like a lousy beach strewn with rocks, but once we got out pas the small rocks it was breathtaking! From there we walked along the shore, stopping along the way, all the way back to Llanwit Major, where we had dinner.

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UK Day 12 - Gower Peninsula

On our twelfth day in the UK we explored the Gower Peninsula with Where When Wales Tours. First we visited the Swansea National Waterfront Museum. Then we went to the Swansea Bay, where we walked along the coast from Langlands to Caswell. Then we got some lunch at the Bay Bistro at Rhossili Bay, and walked around Worm's Head, which was really amazing! On our way back we visited King Arthur's Stone (Cefn Bryn). We had dinner back in Cardiff.

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UK Day 11 - Big Pit And Brecon Beacons

On our eleventh day in the UK we went on See Wales Tours' Mines & Mountains tour. First we drove to the Big Pit National Coal Museum. This is a real mine and it gets dark and you often have to duck down, but it was very informative. Afterwards we drove to Brecon where we had lunch and a tour of the Brecon Cathedral. The last leg of our tour was in Brecon Beacons National Park. When we returned to Cardiff we did some shopping and had dinner.

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UK Day 10 - Cardiff Castle

On our tenth day in the UK we woke up early to take a flight from Edinburgh Airport to Cardiff Airport in Wales. After checking in at our hotel we had a very nice lunch in Cardiff Central. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Cardiff Castle, which was a lot of fun. In the evening we took a cruise around Cardiff Bay before grabbing dinner.

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UK Day 9 - Salisbury Crags

Our ninth day in the UK was Eason's birthday. We tried to see a show in the morning, but arriving on time was too late and the doors were closed, so that sucked. Fortunately we spent most of the day climbing around the Salisbury Crags and Holyrood Park up to Arthur's Seat. It was amazing, and pretty scary at times. When we were done we had a great birthday dinner at Monteiths. Afterwards we saw another show: Murder She Didn't Write, which was very funny.

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UK Day 8 - Edinburgh Fringe

We spent our eighth day in the UK enjoying the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We watched street performers perform tricks, make jokes and music. We had lunch and we saw two shows: Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew (by Dramawise and Sky Blue Theatre) and Good With Maps (by Siren Theatre Co). I enjoyed both of them.

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UK Day 7 - Edinburgh Castle

On our seventh day in the UK we went straight from the hotel to exploring Edinburgh Castle. It was very cool. Afterwards we wandered around the Fringe festival to watch some street performers and get dinner.

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UK Day 6 - York And The Bungee Flyer

On our sixth day in the UK, we woke up very early in the morning to take a train from London's King's Cross Station to York Station. York was such a charming place. We walked along the city walls, we took a cruise up and down the Ouse River, and we walked through The Shambles. There we lounged around, dined, and most importantly, the kids discovered the Bungee Flyer, which may have been the highlight of their entire trip. That evening we took a train from York Station to Edinburgh Station in Scotland.

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UK Day 5 - The Changing Of The Guard And The Churchill War Room

On our fifth day we watched the changing of the guard, then we walked around Hyde Park. After lunch we watched some performers in Covent Gardens, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Churchill War Rooms museum. Then we walked back to Waterloo and grabbed dinner on the way.

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UK Day 4 - The London Eye And The Making of Harry Potter

On our fourth day we grabbed a quick breakfast and then went walking through Leadenhall Market to see Diagon Alley and the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. Then we walked across the Tower Bridge, through the Borough Market, along the south bank, and to the London Eye. It was a long line to get on, but it was worth it. Afterwards we went to The Making of Harry Potter.

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UK Day 3 - Stonehenge And Bath

On our third day we took a tour bus from London to Stonehenge and Bath. In Bath we went to the Roman Baths and had a guided tour around the town. Afterwards we had dinner back in London.

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UK Day 2 - Big Bus To Tower of London To Thames River Cruise

On our second day in London we got on a hop-on-hop-off bus to take us around. Our first stop was a guided tour of the Tower of London. Afterwards we walked through Petticoat Lane to the Museum of London. We also took a cruise down the Thames River. Finally we had dinner in chinatown.

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UK Day 1 - Parliament

This year we took our longest and most ambitious vacation ever, 14 days traveling around the United Kingdom. At the airport we tried to have an authentic Irish meal, with Ireland being the only UK country were not visiting. We departed late and were pretty tired when we landed. Yet we still managed visit Parliament, and do some sightseeing around Westminster before grabbing dinner at the Red Lion Pub and returning to our hotel in Waterloo.

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Lake Mohawk

We went to visit the Maldonado family and we went tubing on their boat. This time Jack drove us around the lake. We had a lot of fun, as we always do.

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At The Bungalow With Family

Rafi and Eddie came up to the bungalow, so the food was extra special. We all had fun doing the usual things.

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Goodbye 45

I spent my last day before turning 46 at the bungalow. Aviva and I took the boat out onto the lake. Andrea sewed patches on her new jacket with Aunt Regina. Babcia and Dziadek got us tickets to see The Little Mermaid at the Forestburg Playhouse for my birthday. That was fun. Unfortunately Eason was away at camp.

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Father's Day 2017

The kids made a french toast breakfast for Father's Day, and it was the best french toast I've ever had. After soccer we all went out for dinner.

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Foster The People At The College Street Music Hall

We took the kids to see Foster The People, Eason's favorite band, at the College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT. They played all their favorite songs, and it was a very late night, but we all had a great time and it was worth it.

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SUNY Oneonta Reunion Weekend

We went to Aviva's 25th SUNY Oneonta Reunion Weekend. We visited her old town, took a tour of the campus, had a clam bake dinner at the Red Dragon Welcome Party, saw a planetarium show, went hiking, and had a really great time visiting with her professor.

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Mother's Day Kid's Meals

For Mother's Day Eason and Andrea made brunch and dinner. They picked out the menus, did the grocery shopping, and made the meals. All I had to do was drive them to the supermarket, pay for the food, open the jars, and send Aviva for a pedicure to get her out of the house. For brunch, they made french toast with an assortment of fruits. For dinner they made lasagna. Aviva was thrilled, and said it was a bonus that she didn't have to cook another meal or two, because of all the leftovers.

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Pre-Mother's Day Plates

For Mother's Day weekend we went for dinner on Saturday since, besides Eason's soccer game, Eason and Andrea had a lot of work to do for Mother's Day on Sunday.

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2017 Rye Derby

We ran in another Rye Derby. This time only the kids and I ran. We all made significant improvements over previous times. I'm not sure how the times are calculated as I know I came in a good two steps before Andrea.

Here were our times:

Hiking On Bull Hill

We went hiking along the Cornish Trail Loop to the top of Bull Hill in Cold Springs, NY. We stopped a lot along the way to explore the ruins, take some pictures, and left the trail to climb up to the summit.

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Weights Vs Cardio and Body Goals

This is one of the most comprehensive analysis I've ever seen on the controversial debate over the benefits of aerobic versus anaerobic exercise, especially for the purpose of weight [fat] loss. Is is far more comprehensive, and I suspect accurate, than the CNN article that recently came out on the same topic.

Babcia's 75th Birthday

For babcia's 75th birthday the whole family went to brunch at Equus Restaurant at the Castle Hotel in Tarrytown.

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Kensico Dam Plaza

After lunch we went for a walk around Kensico Dam Plaza. It was like a beautiful spring day.

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American Museum Of Natural History Chaperone

I was fortunate to be able to chaperone Eason's school field trip to the American Museum of Natural History. I was responsible for nine kids, each with packets of field trip work assigned to them, and they were so enthusiastic, organized, and cooperative, it was such a pleasure to accompany them. We watched Dark Universe in the Hayden Planetarium, and the Big Bang presentation. Then we went down the Cosmic Pathway, and visited the Hall of the Universe, the Hall of Planet Earth, and the Scales of the Universe (which is my personal favorite). Then we got to see The Titanosaur, and Eason's science teacher gave us a tour of the entire fourth floor Fossil Halls. Everyone was so thankful and polite when the trip was over.

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My Rye Y Story

Each year, Y staff and volunteers encourage members to share their personal stories, from the back stories that brought them to the Y to the successes and challenges encountered on the road to healthy living. Interviews are conducted in the Y's lobby in the fall, within a story "booth" made from a large gym mat. When I was approached by the staff at the Y about participating in their Rye Y Story project I was intrigued. I thought it was something like StoryCorps, so I agreed to do it. Once I started, I quickly realized that this was very much a marketing opportunity, where people could share their personalized testimonials. This was a bit awkward, since my experience there is very mixed. There are plenty of very friendly people, and plenty who are not friendly, and many who are very inconsiderate. I made the most of the situation I and enjoyed reading about other people's stories. Overall I thought it was a very positive experience and one of the many things the Y does to build and strengthen the community.

See My Rye Y Story below:

Goatee

My kids bet or dared me to grow my goatee out for a year, so I did.

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Blue Man Group On Lafayette

We took Aviva out for a special dinner and to see Blue Man Group for her birthday. We all thought t was a great show.

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