Lyra & Will in OPMH Children's Service

Will and Lyra were both in the Old Presbyterian Meeting House children's Christmas Eve service yesterday, Will as the prophet Micah and Lyra as an angel.  The overall service was really well done.  All the children were excellent, and the baby Jesus did his(?) part and slept peacefully through the performance.  Will had a speaking part which he enjoyed and performed well.  Lyra only needed to sing.  She dutifully held up the sheet to read from with the lyrics.  (The fact that she can't read yet seemingly only a minor inconvenience.)  

Ice & Snow in Old Town

It snowed all day Saturday, dropping 19" in Old Town, then dawned with sunshine and a beautiful blue sky on Sunday.  All day Saturday, the snow came down hard, blowing and drifting.  When I went out to take pictures, I kept my camera in a big zip lock, but it still ended up getting more snow on it than I was happy about.  I thought I would do some Christmas shopping on Saturday, but almost everything was closed, except Grape & Bean where I stopped for a glass of wine and to warm up.   

In the morning, it was warm enough to start melting the snow, but cold enough to form icicles, some large.  There were many 'beware of falling snow (ice)" signs around town.  On many buildings with metal roofs, the snow slowly slid off, forming wonderful snow sculptures, then breaking off in big sheets.  Cars were buried, and many people spent Sunday afternoon digging their cars out of the snowbanks, but quite a few cars were left buried, looking like big snow mounds. 

I went out Christmas shopping with Eva on Sunday afternoon, and lots of snow had turned to slush, but it was still sliding off the roofs of buildings and cars.  I took a lot of photos.  Snow is very photogenic, and with a new camera I had lots of fun recording the big snowstorm.  

Sledding at Lee Street Park

As everyone probably knows, the Washington Metro area was hit today with a major snowstorm.  Usually when the weather service reports they are expecting a major snowstorm here we end up being disappointed (or relieved), but today was the real deal.  Alexandria (or at least our backyard) received 19" of beautiful fluffy powder.  Too bad we don't have a good ski hill nearby.

The snow started last night around 9:30pm, so the kids knew it was on its way.  When Lyra woke up this morning she was beside herself.  "Daddy, look at the snow"  "Come see the snow" "Look at all the snow" She was in her snow suit before we even had breakfast.  

The older kids were pretty excited too.  The last two years have been pretty weak in terms of snow, and so not much sledding.  We were out of the house just after 9:00am this orning to Lee Street Park (aka Windmill Hill Park) to sled.  The hill is not big, but it is walking distance and always draws a small crowd of kids, parents and dogs on snow days.  

Everyone had a great time.  Lyra actually got to try going down the hill by herself, and no one got hurt or too cold.  Often by the time the kids admit they are ready to go home from sledding, they are close to frost bitten but today we had no problems.  Of course we still took the opportunity to make hot cocoa when we arrived back home.

It turned out that the storm was just getting started this morning, I think we only had about 9" when we went sledding, much less than we had on the ground by day's end.  We will be back for more sledding tomorrow and hopefully the sun will be out and the snow will be packed down for some fast runs.

Earth Treks Timonium American Bouldering Series Comp Photos

Today at Earth Treks climbing gym in Timonium, MD Eva competed in the fifth and final leg of the local American Bouldering Series / Friction Bouldering Series indoor bouldering competition.  Her next comp is the ABS regional at The Gravity Vault in Upper Saddle River, NJ on January 16th.  

This was our first time at Earth Treks in Timonium and it is a beautiful climbing gym.  It was big (so it did not feel too crowded), and the climbing problems were varied and good.  It was a long day.  Because there were so many youth competitors (over 100) and only twelve climbing stations, the comp was extended to four hours, from 10:30 to 2:30.  We spent two more hours after that waiting for results to be announced and did not get back to Alexandria until just after 6:00.  

We car pooled up to the comp with Eva's friend Ellie and her mom Janice, and that made the drive go by quickly.  Eva's friends Emma and Rebecca were also competing, and we saw lots of other familiar faces from other comps so Eva was in a comfortable environment.  She got of to a slow start climbing and the waits for each climb were long, so she only carded one finished climb in the first hour.  After that she picked up the pace quickly, and ended up with five successful climbs by 12:30.  Eva had several very strong climbs and ended up with an overall score she thought was pretty good.

While Eva was climbing, I was trying out a new camera, the Canon 7D.  I have been using a Canon D20 for several years, and it is a wonderful camera.  However, digital SLRs follow the same trend line as PCs, and the 7D is about four generations ahead of the D20.  It is way too early for any objective assessment of the new camera, but my initial impression is that it is fantastic. It's low light performance and focusing speed and accuracy were both evident today.  I have not even had time to read the manual, and now I can't wait to dig in and really understand the camera's capabilities.  I tried today to get photos of a variety of our friends and other people we see regularly at the climbing comps.  

Eva did do well today in the comp, ending up with another First Place in Youth D Female.  This was the last leg of the five event Friction Bouldering Series, and Eva also placed first overall in the series, so it was a good (and very tiring) day for her.   She is looking forward to Regionals.  

Christmas Tree Shopping (and cutting & hauling...)

Today was one of those storybook days whence Christmas fairy tales are made.  For the third year in a row we went to the Snickers Gap Tree Farm to cut our Christmas tree.  Two years ago, the day was very cold.  Last year the day was foggy.  Today dawned to blue sky, moderate temperature and a few inches of fresh snow.  In a word, postcard weather for our adventure. After cutting our tree and dragging it down the hill we enjoyed hot cider while the tree was shaken, baled and measured.  

We met our friends, the Munks, at Wolf Trap so Will could ride with Ross and Cathleen could ride with Tamara.  Wolf Trap was its own wonderland, with sparkling ice on the trees and covering the parking lot.  Our kids played and slid around while we waited for the Munk family to arrive.  This was one of Lyra's first experiences with ice, and it was a good thing she was well bundled because she spent a lot of time falling down.

After cutting our tree we retired for brunch at Magnolias in Purcellville, Virginia.  The food was delicious; I just wish we could have stayed longer and relaxed (and enjoyed some Virginia wine).  As it was, we needed to get Eva back for a play date and Ross back to the Cathedral to sing the Messiah with the Choristers.  

Three years must qualify as a tradition, and we will be back next year, hopefully with more time to relax and enjoy brunch.

SportRock Alexandria ABS Comp Photos

Today was the fourth leg of the local American Bouldering Series / Friction Bouldering Series competition calendar.  The final competition is at Earth Treks in Timonium Maryland on December 12th.  

It was great having a competition at SportRock in Alexandria.  It is our local climbing gym, so it is familiar ground for Eva, and they are in the final phases of a major renovation/expansion, and the climbing area is big and the bouldering terrain is complex and varied with lots of overhang.  

Bouldering is scored based on the best five climbs (hardest, highest point climbs) in a three hour period.  For the Junior division this is usually 10:00am - 1:00pm.  Eva got off to a slow start and only had one completed climb in the first half hour.  Chalk dust was bothering her eyes and she was trying some routes that were beyond her ability.  She started to get her groove around 10:30, and posted a couple of more good scores by 11:00am.    By noon Eva had five completed routes on her card that were respectable, but probably not good enough to win.  

We spent the last hour trying to find higher point routes that she could complete.  She found a couple of routes that were 290 and 295 (V2+) that she completed but we could not find any 3XX point routes that she could make.  She found a 555 that she thought she could do, but after two tries it was clear she was overly optimistic (and she still needs to work harder at planning (sequencing) her climbs before she gets on the wall).  

We finally found a 430 point route that played to Eva's strengths, requiring good balance and the ability to grip small holds.  She missed her first try, but made her second try with about ten minutes to spare.  She tried one more route, but did not make it.  

Eva ended up with another First Place in Youth D Female (10 years old and under). 

Philadelphia Rock Gym - Another Blue Ribbon

Eva loves indoor rock climbing, and in the autumn competes in the Friction Bouldering Series / American Bouldering Series competitions in the Mid-Atlantic.  The competition this weekend was at Philadelphia Rock Gym (PRG) in Oaks, Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia.  We had a miserable drive to Philadelphia, leaving DC at 4:30pm Friday and taking almost 4hrs to get to our hotel in Oaks.  It should have been 2.5hrs.  

Eva gorged on sweet breakfast food this morning before the competition, so I hoped she would have plenty of energy.  When she started climbing, it turned out that the routes were interesting, but frequently deceptive.  What looked easy turned out to have some twist that made the route very difficult.  The way bouldering competition works, a competitor has 3hrs to climb, and is scored on his/her 5 best (most difficult) climbs that have been successfully completed.  Normally you try and get five moderately difficult climbs done quickly, then work on more difficult (higher point) routes.  

For some reason, the waiting between climbs at PRG was long.  Eva would try a route, if she did not make it we would wait 15 - 20 minutes to try the route again. After an hour, she had only successfully completed one route.  She sent (completed) another climb, then had a bad fall and had to take a break.  Eva had some candy and soda, and said she would stage a great comeback.  She did, but it was a nail-biter.  

The competition was ending at 1:10, and at 12:55 Eva only had 4 climbs on her card.  She picked a pretty hard climb and had to complete it successfully, or she would have ended the day with only four completed routes.  I was nervous, but Eva finished strong.

Eva competes in the Female Youth D class - girls 10 and under.  There were five girls in her class, and she won.  This was Eva's second win, and she was thrilled and is now looking forward to competing at her home gym, SportRock Alexandria, in two weeks.  

In the photos, note the 'snow' in photo three.  This is the light from the camera flash bouncing off chalk dust in the air.  Climbers use chalk on their hands to improve grip.  SportRock in Alexandria bans loose chalk and requires climbers to use liquid chalk or chalk that comes in balls.  Both approaches minimize the release of chalk dust into the air.  My lungs hate chalk dust suspended in the air, and I hope all climbing gyms soon start banning loose chalk.  

Six Flags Roller Coaster Photos

Will and I made a short pilgrimage to Six Flags Great America today, to use the season passes we were levered into purchasing on our last visit.  I have to say that with Six Flags only 30min from our house, and practically no lines because it is off season, this is an easy ~3hr excursion.

On the last trip I used my iPhone to take some photos.  This time I used my Canon G10 configured for 'point and shoot' (preset focus and aperture set for maximum depth of field).  This worked great and all the photos were good from a focus and exposure perspective.  However, the composition was not up to my mental aspiration.  I had the camera strap threaded through my belt so if the camera flew out of my hands on a roller coaster it would not go anywhere.  Unfortunately this meant I could only get the camera about a foot from my body, and there were some great shots I missed because I could not hold the camera over my head.  I also need to back the shutter speed off a little to show more of the motion in some of the shots.  Oh well, we do have season passes, and they are open Saturdays and Sundays through 11/1.   

Because the lines were so short (almost non-existent) we were able to get the front seats in the front car on most of our rides.  I have to say, this is eerie, especially on Super Man, which is the highest roller coaster at Six Flags.  As Will put it, when you start down the main hill, it feels 'more than straight down'.  Because I could not get the camera high enough, I could not effectively capture the sensation of vertical drop, but in the front car with nothing at all in front of you it was intense.  This video on YouTube gives a pretty good sense of what the ride is like in the front car.  

Paraiso Pinot Noir 2007

There don't seem to be many bargains in Pinot Noir.  Inexpensive Pinot is frequently pale with mild berry flavors and not much more.  Not unpleasant, but with no hint of the seductiveness the grape has the potential to exhibit.  The Paraiso is an exception.  It is rich and smoky, and under $20 from several internet wine merchants. 

Wine Spectator gives it 92 Points and says:

"Serves up a trim, flavorful band of ripe cherry, wild berry and strawberry jam that's elegantly styled and well-structured, finishing with a long, complex finish echoing anise and mineral. Drink now through 2014"