I learned to appreciate a beautiful sunset from my father. He knew how to pause whatever he was doing and give his full attention to the appreciation of nature’s light show. This was also true of a good campfire. I am pleased that I inherited his mindfulness and ability to really live in the moments of such beauty. With Jeanine visiting her sister in Vermont, Maya at ballet camp in Montreal, and Nico on a date with Koruna, I enjoyed the sunset this evening with memories of my father.

Gerbil B wished to be photographed with a funny face. Rose has a distinctly different personality than her sister and I am reminded of the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character when I am around her. She is a bundle of energy and a force of nature. I enjoyed this visit and was sad to see the girls leave today. Jeanine heads north to visit her sister in Burlington, Vermont today before the pair continue on to Montreal to pick up Maya from ballet camp.

We are enjoying a visit this week from my two nieces, Sophia and Rosie. They are here with my brother’s wife, Marie, who is in town on business. Yesterday, Jeanine spent the day with them at White Pond and today took them to the Science Museum in Boston by way of the commuter rail and “T”. When I returned from work, I conducted two belly button inspections, clearing both children for dinner after which I singled out Sophia for a few photographs. Their time with us has been positioned as a visit to camp Calabria. As such they have been given camp names. I call Sophia, Gerbil A. Tomorrow, the blog will feature a picture of her sister, Gerbil B.

Jeanine’s raspberry patch produced the first fruit of the season. Always a good excuse to break out the ice cream, I sampled the crop and am prepared to declare it will be a good year for berries.  The trick now, is to visit the patch everyday to gather the ripe fruit before the deers and birds make off with the harvest.

What a difference a day makes. Clear skies and unlimited visibility have been replaced by thick clouds and the threat of rain. Determined to reach home in time for the World Cup finals, I skip breakfast and break camp before dawn.  In my haste, I managed to miss the turn for the Zealand Hut and found myself atop South Twin Mountain.  I was in no mood to retrace several hours of my climb and decided to continue over North Twin and back to civilization via Haystack Road.  I was extremely fortunate to meet a trio of Tufts students at the end of the trail who were kind enough to drive 30 minutes out of their way to return me to my car.  I made a beeline for home and only missed the first 5 minutes of the game, which I watched, flanked on either side by my visiting nieces.  The extremely rocky trails, four 4000 footers and a total of 16 hours of climbing have left me very sore but equally happy.

On the advice of a colleague who is an avid White Mountain climber, I am headed for Bondcliff today.  Located in the middle of the Pemigewasset  wilderness, this very remote 4,265 ft. high peak offers a pristine 360 degree view of the Whites.  I start from the Zealand trailhead at 6:30am arriving at the Guyout tent site five and half hours later. Here I pause for lunch and to setup tent (the yellow one) on the provided wooden platforms (3 to a site to accommodate the maximum number of campers).

With a much lighter pack I departed camp at 1:30pm reaching Bondcliff by 3:30pm after a leisurely stop on top of 4698 ft. Mount Bond.

The view from Bondcliff was spectacular and I could not have asked for better weather conditions.  If not for my fear of heights, I would have ventured out onto the small rock platform atop the cliff edge for a truly memorable selfie but had to settle for the less dramatic version below. On my return to Guyout, it was my plan to take the spur trail to West Bond for the sunset.  My water ran out about the same time my legs did and I thought the better of finishing the day hiking by headlamp.

Before leaving for work this morning I decided I would spend the bulk of the weekend in the White Mountains and quickly packed my backpack for a 2 night excursion.  I left work at noon and drove first to Franconia Notch where I stopped for a little photography at the Basin.

I continued on to the Mount Washington Cog Railway, the world’s first mountain-climbing rack-and-pinion railway and a National Historic Engineering Landmark. The three mile railway is the second steepest rack railway in the world with an average grade of over 25% and a maximum grade of 37.41%.  Unfortunately, I arrived too late for the last run and had to settle for photos of the descending trains.

I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner in advance of several camp site prepared meals (read dehydrated food) at the famous Mount Washington Resort.

As I was enjoying their strawberry-balsamic soup from the veranda, I was treated to a full moon rising over the mountains. My final stop for the evening was the Zealand campsite.

 

Jeanine and close friend Irene head out this evening for a long weekend on Martha’s Vineyard.  With Nico off to a multi-day concert and Maya in Montreal, I am on my own for the next three days.  If the weather holds, I may head to the White Mountains for some climbing or look into a multi-day kayaking trip.

I think it is safe to say that Nico and I returned from Brazil with more  clothing and bags then when we left.  The Coca-Cola hospitality package included warmup-jackets, rain-jackets, shirts, scarves, umbrellas, hats, tambourines, workout bags, luggage tags, Coke tumblers and this does not even include the Powerade items that Nico received.  I had occasion this morning, as I was starting to unpack, to lay many of the items out for a quick photograph. This is not even the whole package. I am not sure about the tambourines, but everything else is going to be put to very good use.

Nico celebrated his twentieth birthday today with friends who joined him to watch the Germany-Brazil semi-final World Cup match at the house.  Later he and Koruna went out for a nice dinner and allowed me to make a nice portrait upon their return.  It is hard to believe that we our down to one teenager and she is currently in Montreal attending ballet camp.

While Nico and I were in Brazil, Jeanine and Maya were visiting with Kyle and his girlfriend, Isabella, in California.  Mother and sister helped Kyle feather his new nest, the house below, which he shares with a few classmates.  Maya assembled a complicated Ikea dresser for her brother while Jeanine ensured the driving safety of his car by having the brakes serviced.  Since he will not be returning this summer due to his internship at Palo Alto Networks, I will plan to visit him sometime this summer.

Checkout time this morning was 9am and our shuttle to the airport is not until 6pm.  We decided to fill the day with sightseeing and hopped into a taxi to Sugarloaf Mountain immediately after breakfast. Unlike my first visit, the atmospheric conditions today are absolutely perfect. With minimal crowds and 20 mile visibility we lingered on top until we had absorbed the amazing panoramic views.

After descending we were fortunate to find the Rio Splash Tour on the verge of departure. We jumped on the amphibious open-sided bus akin to the Boston Duck Boats for a tour of the harbor.  The views were exceptional and offered a very different vantage point from which to enjoy the city.

Our final stop for the day was the Copacabana beach where we enjoyed a late lunch, a visit to the FIFA Fanfest Store (a total waste of time), and a stroll on the beach.  Never have I seen so many people on such an extensive beach in all my life.

The moment I learned I would be visiting Rio, I knew there was one iconic image I wanted to capture, that of Christ the Redeemer looking down over the city and harbor.  This morning, while Nico was sleeping in, I made my way to a local heliport where I boarded a short sightseeing flight.  Only an aerial platform could offer the perspective I was looking for.  I could not be happier with the resulting image or the many others I captured from the air.

When I returned to the hotel, I joined Nico for some beach volleyball which left me nearly paralyzed after an hour of play.  Despite the sore muscles and aggravation to my dilapidated shoulder joints, I was still able to hold my own with the younger players. We then had lunch and enjoyed the Argentina-Belgium quarter-final match in the lounge.  During our stay, Nico befriended Anna, one of the few women his age, who is here with her father Brian.  The four of us decided we would head down to the Copacabana beach and take in the Netherlands-Costa Rica match from the FanFest that is so often featured in media coverage of the World Cup.

Minutes after the kick-off, it became apparent that people come here to party en masse. The fact that there is a soccer game being projected on a huge screen is almost inconsequential.  We wisely chose to return to the hotel 15 minutes into the game as the crowd continued to grow. There we enjoyed the second half, overtime, and exciting penalty kick shoot out.  Another perfect day in paradise.

The big day has arrived. We are headed to Maracana Stadium for the quarter-final World Cup match between Germany and France.  Nico shows off our complimentary tickets before boarding the bus.  The bus for the French National team is also boarding and the security detail to protect them is insane.

The bus ride to the stadium went very quickly as today has been proclaimed a national holiday due to the quarter final match between Brazil and Columbia later this afternoon.  We arrived at the Coca-Cola pavilion for lunch and refreshments before the game.  Nico poses with Andra in front of a nice locker room backdrop provided just for this purpose.

I nearly had to twist his arm off before Nico would agree to pose for this photo with a dancer we met while making our way to the stadium entrance.  I suspect he is now happy I forced him to do so or will be in a couple of years when he revisits the blog.  My rule of thumb: Only good things come from the combination of large feathers and beautiful women.

When Nico first got the call from Powerade some 9 months ago we could not have imagined that his journey with the campaign would land us in Brazil for a World Cup match in the Maracana Stadium.  I am thrilled that he chose me for his +1 (Kyle and Karuna were both in the running) but even more so that the video I shot of his childhood has been woven into such a compelling story of his life in soccer.

Aside from the caliber of play, a World Cup match is defined by the fervor of the fans rooting for their country.  To be among the sea of supporters intent on propelling their team to victory was a truly memorable experience.

The game itself was not as high scoring as some of the matches so far but suffered no lack of intensity by either squad despite the sweltering conditions. Germany’s single goal off a brilliant header was enough to send France home.

After the match we returned to the Sheraton lounge where we all gathered to watch the Brazil-Columbia match on the big screen TVs openly rooting for the home team knowing a win would trigger massive celebration across the nation.  Andra, Nico, and Kevin show off their pro Brazil tattoos during half time.

When Brazil emerged victorious we joined a few newly made friends and some of the Coke folks for a sampling of the local pub scene.