What a crazy winter storm

I admit to being a bit of a weather fanatic. Not quite to the levels of Jim Cantore or Sean Drapeau, but more than most. This probably comes from the fact that it impacts so much of what we try to do here at the campground during the season. But even at this time of the year, I am intrigued by some of the strange weather. This particular storm is of greater interest than many as I am part of the group that runs the Wrestling State Championship Meet scheduled for Fri & Sat in New Haven...and need to decide by 10am if it will be postponed until Sat & Sun. Yesterday's rain/snow line was the craziest thing ever, running a few hundered miles straight north/south along the NY border, since most of the time these things are split based on latitude, not longitude (looking forward to next week's changes in lattitudes, changes in attitudes...and Jimmy Buffett will be in MA in June, but I digress). Today's radar looks more like a hurricane than a winter storm. With last night's temps alomost hitting 50, and all the flooding rains, it has taken some time for the current precip to start sticking to the roads as snow here at Strawberry Park, so we have very little accumulation so far. Olympic commentary: Very tough DQ call on the short track relay. I would have ruled otherwise. Have abandoned curling (for the most part) since the caliper lady has not been seen in quite some time. Although I don't watch figure skating, must feel for the Canadian whose mom passed and then gutted it out for the bronze. Since when did the US get good at Nordic XC stuff? Still not sure if that aerial ski flying thing should be an event, but I guess it is no more dangerous than going 90 miles an hour on Rosebud. Have a great weekend everyone...will try to make one more post on Monday before the trip (and I think someone is having a wedding here on Monday morning, so perhaps we can post some pix...still a little fuzzy on those details).

Rhode Island RV & Camping Show

This coming weekend features the RI RV Show in Providence on Fri, Sat & Sun. Hopefully the weather will cooperate--looks like the weekend will be OK, but Thur/Fri could be a little messy. Speaking of RI, was driving up RT 2 toward Hartford for the state wrestling tourney, and was behind a car in the left lane with RI plates. Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of fine folks from little Rhody (including my lovely wife), but all I could think about was designing a bumper sticker for my front bumper, printed in reverse like "ECNALUMBA" that reads "Move over...you're not in RI anymore...the left lane is for PASSING". I know, I am making a generalization, but it is a fairly accurate one. Probably wouldn't work, since I don't think they use their rear-view mirrors. Just so you can plan ahead for blog withdrawal, there probably won't be many (any?) posts next week as we are heading down to FLA to visit some of our Strawberry Park camper friends and take the boys to a spring training game, a day at Sea World, maybe see Mickey & Donald and perhaps on one of those swamp boats in the Everglades. I'm thinking we might be trying to fit too much into our stay, but when your primary job is creating a busy, daily activity schedule...sometimes you try to do a little too much with some time off. Going to try and send out our first batch email either today or Wednesday. If all works well, I'll add the sign up form to the main webpage. For now, there were a few folks who signed up from the blog link a couple of weeks ago. Thanks!

Still befuddled by curling

Being a sports fan, I try to give most Olympic events a fair chance. Although I can only take so much of a few things (ie figure skating, typically 7-8 seconds max), I spent at least 20 minutes watching curling last night and still have only a minimal understanding. Sort of like bocce on ice, but between the calls, the numbers that they refer to (zones) and the funny accents (not talking about the Japanese team...could not understand a word they were saying, but team USA's ladies made me feel like I was watching "Fargo"), I admit to struggling. Best part was the high-tech measuring device they brought out at the end to award the Japanese team the victory. Cool tool--I just don't think the ref had any idea how to use it. I would have used a string, like bocce, or a horseshoe caliper. Enjoyed a little of the snowboard roller derby thing, and Brock liked the special segment on polar bears. Apparently, no mercy rule in women's hockey, as Team USA won 13-0. Speaking of that team, I have been told that one of the players has an aunt who used to be a seasonal at Strawberry Park. Since Liz Wong was from Fairfield, I am guessing it must be Julie Chu, since she is also from Fairfield (and is the only player on the roster with a name that appears to be of Asian descent). Congrats and good luck!

Happy President's Day

There are some who continue to insist that our true first president was Samuel Huntington from right next door in Norwich, as it gets into the whole articles of confederation issue. Perhaps you have the holiday off from work today...the RV and Camping Shows in Springfield and Suffern continue today, and were quite busy over the weekend. Calling for a little snow tonight, but after last week's forecasting debacle, most are downplaying the accumulation predictions, which probably means we will get buried. Many folks calling about the Strawberry Park festivals today, as there was a bluegrass event in Mass this weekend (Joe Val Festival) and a Cajun/Zydeco event in RI (the Mardi Gras Ball). Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, so why not zip on down to NOLA? High school wrestling action engulfed my weekend, but the big news is that during a state meeting on Sunday, I received a call from Brock letting me know that he did poopy on the potty. Perhaps Reed will want to become toilet trained earlier after watching Brock, because it appears Brock was less inspired by mommy & daddy using the potty than he was by Harvey and Cooper using the woods. Thanks to those who voted on the movie poll...congrats to The Notebook, edging out Dirty Dancing and The Pricess Bride, which is, in the words of Vezzini "Inconceivable". Hope you are enjoying the Olympics. I must admit that I am looking forward to baseball season, as I am not a big NBA fan, and with UConn men struggling, that really only leaves the lady Huskies these days. I guess there were big parties yesterday for the Daytona 500. I dunno, I struggle with that for multiple reasons. How can your biggest event be the first race of the season? While I am sure he is a good guy, I never heard of the winner until today. Did anyone have him in their office pool (if there are office pools for such things)? Also, maybe I am being nitpicky, but having to delay the race for hours to fix potholes would be like delaying the Super Bowl to have Carl Spangler (AKA Bill Murray) come out and blast the field because of a gopher infestation. I realize it has been cold down south, but I didn't know they were suffering from frost heaves. It had better warm up soon for pitchers and catchers, and especially for those fans arriving March 2.

Something for everyone this weekend

Looks like decent weather this weekend, following the mini-storm on Wednesday. Typically, the President's Day Weekend features at least one snowy day, but perhaps the RV and Camping Shows will be unaffected in Springfield, MA and Suffern, NY. Brenton (recent college grad and member of the summer maintenance staff) will be in NY, while Allison will be at the Big E. Since she will be stuck there on Valentine's Day, if you visit on Sunday, maybe bring her a flower. If you are not heading to an RV Show, perhaps you will celebrate Valentine's Day with a romantic movie, such as the "Wolfman." Nicely timed release for that one. Have seen a couple of polls regarding the most romantic movie. On one of them, Jen's favorite movie was 1st...The Notebook. On another (Boston.com), my all-time favorite was first (The Princess Bride). A few classics appeared on both polls, such as Casablanca, When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing and Ghost. I guess we will let our blog readers decide, with a quick poll of our own. As for me, the first of three straight busy wrestling weekends starts, with a conference tourney Fri & Sat, followed by 10 hours of state "seeding meetings" in Cheshire on Sunday. I don't think Jen is looking forward to those 3 days, but the boys will probably come to the tournament for part of the day (Reed needs to watch and learn how to stop Brock's double-leg takedowns). Have a great weekend, and congrats to our most recent raffle winner from when we reached 500 Facebook Fans...Christine Coushaine. Getting close to our next drawing, as I have seen a few more reviews posted to TripAdvisor and to the "Go Camping America" review site as well. Thanks! Have a happy Valentine's Day, and don't forget to vote for your favorite romantic movie. So as to not influence voters, I have posted a picture from a movie that does not depict the lead couple...but this does put Billy Crystal in 2 of the nominees.

How 'bout dem Saints?

Now I know how Jen felt a couple years back when the Sox and Pats were both on top of their respective sports, as I can currently enjoy the Yankees and the Saints as reigning champs. Still trying to figure out the best design of a multi-sport hat, with a shared "New" to go with York and Orleans and their respective logos. There must be a fair number of fans of these 2 teams...I know big Mo is one of them, but now he is down in FLA. Great game by Brees, but I would have voted the kicker for MVP. Cute shot after the awards of Drew with his infant son wearing earphones to protect his little ears. With al the commercial talk, not sure which I liked most...maybe the simple Jay, Dave & Oprah on the couch, or the Google search progression. All I know is that there were far too many rodents and pantless people...almost feel like one ad pitchman sends his ideas out to everyone, and they all head down the same path. Crazy weekend of weather, as we got nothing out here, and there was a fine line between who got bombarded and who got nothing. Guess Mother Nature is trying again on Wednesday. Also, thoughts going out to those impacted by the huge explosion over in Middletown that claimed at least 5 lives. Even being 40 miles away, some in this area claimed to have felt the shake. Quick reminder that the upcoming weekend features two of the biggest RV & Camping Shows, with Springfield MA at the Big E and also Suffern NY at Rockland Comm College. Stop in and say hello. While the boys slept OK last night, and the dogs did not awaken until dawn, I was roused by a kamikaze lady bug at 3am. Direct hit to the cheek (facial) woke me out of a deep sleep. Sure they are cute, but we have far too many...and the rogue ones have been known to nip, especially out in the wild (the domesticated variety within our window panes appear to be far less agressive). A late thanks to those who signed up on the email test--looks like I can add it to the website soon.

Life not like Monopoly

First off, big thumbs up to Brock and Reed for both sleeping through the night...therefore allowing mommy, daddy and the dogs to do the same. Exactly 13 months since that has happened (mostly Reed causing the "awakenings"). So in Monopoly, there is the classic card for "Bank Error in Your Favor--Collect $200." Unfortunately, real life does not imitate art. Try to make a long story short (not my forte), but as Jen is figuring taxes, there is a discrepancy in the amount contributed to our HSA (that is a Health Savings Account, used for those who have high deductible health insurance plans, for the uninformed). Our records showed a number $625 less than the year-end bank statement. So I become a Super Sleuth (just like Pooh & Tigger, but without the capes). Phone calls, emails, registering on-line to view accounts etc. Finally, determined the difference was a deposit on January 5, 2009. Since Jen was giving birth, and I was helping (helping by not hindering), I knew we did not make the deposit. Got a hold of a real person with these details, just trying to figure if it was from the prior year or something...who knows, maybe some distant relative decided to make a deposit in honor of Reed's birth (or Jen's pain). After 30 seconds of research, they say "Oops, that was supposed to be deposited into someone else's account." Hmm, so for 13 months, no one noticed. Damn my detective skills!!! Waiting to hear back from them about a new statement, and I don't think it is too much to ask for a redacted copy of the beneficiary of my misfortune. I should at least get a toaster for being out the $$. In other news... Go Saints!!! My brief stay in N'Awlins in 83/84 made me a fan for life. Guessing they might just shut the city down for 9 days if the Saints win, with the celebration leading right into Fat Tuesday on Feb 16. Also, looks like we will reach our 500th Facebook Fan sometime today, which means our next $100 SP credit drawing. Have requested help in picking the winning row and column from our shuffle of the pictures. Coming up next...drawings for when we reach 50 reviews on TripAdvisor or 75 on the ARVC Survey (links to both on the SP website). Have a great weekend...and for some killer skiing, head to Philly or DC.

Strawberry Park is Going Green!!

Strawberry Park will soon be contracting with the Willimantic Waste Company to begin a single stream recycling effort. Unlike the old days of recycling, single stream allows all recyclables to be placed in the same bag and end up in the same bin--no separating plastics from papers from metals. Campers will receive 2 bags upon registration, with the clear bag for all recyclables and a tinted bag for all trash. As in the past, bagged trash may be placed curbside between 8am and 4pm, and the campground maintenance staff will be collecting the bags and placing them in the appropriate dumpsters. We anticpate that this effort will result in considerably less trash being sent to the local incinerator, with a good percentage of the material heading to Willimantic, Connecticut for recycling. If you are interested in how the process works at their huge facility, or for a specific list of items that may be recycled, check out www.williwaste.com

Testing out a new email service

While we have tried to create some email lists for our owners and other long term campers, we are exploring a few options for email gathering. Not quite sure if it will work as intended, but before putting it up on the main website, figured I would try it out on the blog first. All it does is to add you to the email list, so that weekly or monthly notifications may be sent. As long as a couple of you readers give it a try, I will know if it works. Thanks in advance. We got just a little snow cover this morning, but there is talk of a larger storm on Sat. We shall see.

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Strawberry Park Campers out to see The Outriggers

Quite a few Strawberry Park campers were out in Groton on Saturday night to see The Outriggers perform at the Holiday Bowl. After taking Brock & Reed mini-golfing at "Monster Golf" (they had fun there) and a late dinner at The 99, we stopped in to say hello to the band and the campers. Unfortunately, not only was it getting near bedtime (for Jen & I, not the kids...they usually stay up and watch SNL), but the band was in the bar, which was completely separated from the bowling alley. Might have rolled a frame or 2 if they were audible on the lanes. Hard to believe it is February already, and oddly hoping for some clouds on Tues so that varmint Phil does not see his shadow and winter comes to a rapid halt. Currently trying to finalize some plans for a short jaunt down to FLA to catch a couple of spring training games with the boys and a visit with a few of our snow-bird campers. Not sure if it is OK to bring little ones on an airboat tour of the Everglades, but it sounds like fun. Looks like we are rapidly approaching 500 fans on Facebook, so another raffle is just around the corner. No camping shows this coming weekend, but then it is Springfield and Suffern, NY on President's Day/Valentine's Weekend. Have had quite a few weekend visitors checking out seasonal sites...still have a handful on hold for the upcoming season, as a few special event weekends are getting full (Memorial Day & Bluegrass in particular).