Sunday, August 31, 2008
Trip to the Big Apple - Summer 2008
Scott was up to visit here in CT in mid August before returning to FSU for his senior year. One of the things we did was visit NYC for the weekend. Here are some of the highlights of the trip.
The train from New Haven to Grand Central Station was an easy way to get right into the heart of the city without driving. We were able to walk to our hotel - the Intercontinental, check in and hit the streets right away.
We started out by taking one of those double-decker bus tours of lower Manhatten which allows you to get off at any stop and get back on any time you want. It was a perfect day, we were lucky. You had to be careful not to stand up or you might get knocked out by the street lights hanging overhead.
Since Scott had spent the summer in Italy, we figured it would be fitting that we have lunch in Little Italy. The streets were pedestrian only, lots of side walk cafes, Italian singers - it was like a festival. The food was pretty good too as you can imagine. He got a kick out of seeing all the restaurants with Italian names he recognized.
We visited Ground Zero, but there wasn't really much to see, construction is underway on the new building. There was a group of protesters there handing out pamplets claiming it was an inside job by our own government.
The Staten Island Ferry is free and is a great way to see the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the NYC skyline.
We capped off the day Saturday with a visit to Rockerfeller Plaza. This is where NBC studios is, including the Today show. The view from the "Top of the Rock" is pretty amazing. Here we are looking north over Central Park.
The view of Lower Manhatten to the south is pretty nice too, including a view of the Empire State Building.
On Sunday we spent the morning walking through Central Park. It's impressive to see when you realize it's in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world. If you didn't look up to see skyscapers, you might think you were out in the country.
One place we had to see was Yankee Stadium. This is the last season before they tear down the old stadium and begin play in the new stadium next year. This is the house that Ruth built - the place where all the great Yankees of the 20th century played. As basball fans, we had to see it before it was gone. We took the subway to the Bronx, it's actually a pretty easy way to get around, it wasn't as bad as we thought it might be.
We paid a fortune for tickets and our seats were about as high up as you can get. If you've never been to the upper deck at Yankee Staduim, it's about as steep as it can get. The view was great however and the best part was we were in the shade. It was a great day - there were at least 5 home runs, Yanks beat the Kansas City Royals 15-5.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
TOO HOT FOR YOU?
If so, take a look at a frosty Connecticut morning last Winter. Maybe it will give you comfort. We hope we don't get a lot of days like the one shown in the coming Winter with the price of oil so high. Got to get used to wearing sweaters in the house.
MEMBERS OF THE WEDDING PARTY
for Maria and Paul included these persons: Alex,Anthony, Amanda, Matt, Maria, Paul, Gary and Rita. A nice looking group there assembled.
Friday, August 29, 2008
MARIA AND PAUL
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Baby Grace in '08: All Grown Up!
Greetings from Cincinnati!
To finish off the summer, I spent a few days in New York City visiting friends. NYC is another one of my favorite places, so that was really a great way to end the summer. As I get out into the "real world", I would love to live there for a few years. I also am actively searching for jobs on both the east and west coasts, so I will keep you guys posted.
So, before I officially embark on my blogging career, let me just say that I hope everyone is doing well, and I'm very impressed with all the blogging that's been going on here! It really is a GREAT way to keep up with everyone. I'll do my best to contribute as often as possible, although this semester may prove to be my roughest yet, as I am taking 19 credit hours.
Well, I can hardly believe it, but today marked my LAST first day of school, time has really flown by. This summer was especially busy, I traveled to Ireland for a study abroad program through Xavier. It was absolutely awesome. My parents got me a digital Nikon camera that I have wanted for quite some time for my 21st, so I took some great pictures while I was there. I took two courses there, Biodiversity & Conservation as well as Celts, Conquest, & Identity (a sociology course). We traveled all over- the coasts, the country, Cork, and my favorite- Galway. Our teachers frequented the pubs with us, and needless to say we accomplished some quality bonding. I must say the people in Ireland are really what made the experience, I couldn't imagine a place that could ever be more welcoming.. or entertaining! All in all, a great experience.
I also weaseled some time out of my internship at Promerus to go on family
vacation in Maine, which is always a favorite of mine. My 21st birthday fell on the day I left for Maine, so I was greeted by the rest of the family with the cake that I included here to the right for your viewing pleasure. Upon feasting ones eyes on this piece of work, the conclusion that the actual craftsmanship of the cake appears to rival that of a 5th grader is imminent. We were in hysterics. The "Hooray for Grace" really was the nail in the coffin. This one will long linger in Hallenbeck family lore, but hey, it's the thought that counts right? I had a great time and am extremely thankful for having such a great family.
vacation in Maine, which is always a favorite of mine. My 21st birthday fell on the day I left for Maine, so I was greeted by the rest of the family with the cake that I included here to the right for your viewing pleasure. Upon feasting ones eyes on this piece of work, the conclusion that the actual craftsmanship of the cake appears to rival that of a 5th grader is imminent. We were in hysterics. The "Hooray for Grace" really was the nail in the coffin. This one will long linger in Hallenbeck family lore, but hey, it's the thought that counts right? I had a great time and am extremely thankful for having such a great family. 
To finish off the summer, I spent a few days in New York City visiting friends. NYC is another one of my favorite places, so that was really a great way to end the summer. As I get out into the "real world", I would love to live there for a few years. I also am actively searching for jobs on both the east and west coasts, so I will keep you guys posted.Unfortunately, I didn't get enough time off from the internship to visit with everyone in Connecticut, which was really too bad. I really wish I could have seen everyone, I miss you all!
So, that's what's up.. for now. Just 19 more hours this semester and17 next, and I will be a Xavier grad (with a major in Biology and minors in business and chemistry)!
ANOTHER SCHOLARSHIP NOTE
Somebody once said something to this effect: "Memory is an eroded and uncertain tool." This is becoming more true for me all the time, so when I rediscovered the attached, I figured I'd better publish it. I was not sure how many years the scholarships were awarded, but this shows it was at least nine.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
BOB TOOMBS FAMILY
Bob, Hannah and Dylan on a recent morning. It was fun having them here.
CHEERLEADING PRACTICE
Hannah and Dylan Toombs did a little cheerleading demonstration for us today. It was a fun morning.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
HERE'S SCOTT
Scott just returned from a semester in Italy. He will be returning to FSU for his Senior year next week. It will be interesting to see some of his pictures and read his comments about the European adventure. Here are Gail, Bob, Scott, and grandparents, Moe and Bob.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
NEW BRITAIN SPORTS HALL OF FAME
includes John "Mickey" Noonan. He was called Mickey, Mike, or even John, but he will be called a member of the New Britain Sports Hall of Fame as long as that group is remembered. You can see his name on the list of all the recipients if you visit the stadium in New Britain which currently is home to the New Britain Rock Cats, class A farm team of the Minnesota Twins. In his time, Mickey was among the most recognized athletes in the city. His name seemed to be in the New Britain Herald all the time. He still played on a top semi-pro team in a state league while in his late forties. His team was sponsored by a New Britain brewery, the Cremo Brewery, which played its home games at East End Park. They were called the Cremos, and were well known, and regarded.
In the '30's, and '40's, it was customary for the umpire to to go to the center of the infield prior to the start of the game to call out the "Batteries for today's game." which were the pitchers and catchers. Later on, when some announcer called out the names of the players, and their ages, when it came to Mickey, they would announce he is "over 21." Actually, he was over 41, while ther other players, the best in th state on these teams, were young guys.
FROM THE TOOT YOUR OWN HORN DEPARTMENT
comes the attached news item from 1991. It was rediscovered in and rescued from that god forsaken, and god forgotten purgatory to which things of this type are relegated to languish 'til the end of time.
I can't recall how many more years the scholarships were awarded, but the sponsoring organization, The Rockville Area of Commerce is no longer in existence, and the scholarships died along with it.
It was an honor to have been so honored.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Commotion at the Mt Washington Hotel
Anyone who has been to the beautiful Mount Washingting Hotel probably knows that dinner in the dining room is a fairly quiet, somewhat formal experience. Not the night we were there, people were jumping out of their chairs and talking and laughing with each other. In all our years there, we have never experienced such a fun dinner.
As you can see, all the commotion was over a little visitor who passed by the dining room several times, just walking down the dirt road. It looked to be somewhere between cub and adult, hopefully old enough to fend for itself! I hope it found what it was looking for!
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Cog railway up Mt. Washington
One of the high-points (literally, I guess) of our vacation was our ride up Mount Washington on the cog railway. The cog has been running since 1869, and at that time, it was considered an "engineering marvel, a new technology of cog toothed gears". It hasn't changed at all since then, the engine is still coal fired, although they have since added a diesel powered train as well. The engineer's assistant shovels coal into the engine about 4 times a minute for the whole trip up which is about one hour (elevation 6288 feet).
We were lucky in that we were put on the "speed train", the diesel, which goes about 8 miles an hour instead of 6 for the coal powered trains. Also, the coal powered trains need to stop half way up to fill their water tanks (also steam powered, I guess). We were on the first train up that morning which meant we did not have to pull over and share the track while another train was on the way down.
The pictures don't really show just how breath-taking this adventure really was. Yes, it probably was a little scary for some especially on Jacob's Ladder where the grade was about 37% I think.
We were allowed about 30 minutes up on top of the mountain, I should mention that all the buildings up there are chained down because some of the highest recorded winds have been on Mount Washington. By the way, there is a listing in the visitor center on top that shows all those who have lost their lives on Mount Washington. Pat Kelly was listed (at about # 80 I think, currently the lists stands around 120). The plaque says he died hiking in Tuckerman's Ravine.
Anyway, the kids were amazed at how interesting the adventure was and wanted to know why we didn't go up there years ago.
