On our last run, the wind completely died, affording me my only opportunity to get a photo of us on the water.

Today, I took my entire management team to Newport, RI for a team sailing challenge. The weather and wind were perfect and the outing was a great success. We had six J-22 boats manned by three team members and one coach/safety officer. We learned basic sailing techniques in the morning and had the team challenge in the afternoon. The challenge required us sailing in teams of three boats through a course (set with buoys). We were rewarded for sailing in a specific boat sequence, in the least amount of time, with the tightest grouping of boats (time of slowest boat plus the delta time of the first boat to the last boat). A great deal of communication and strategy was involved. The final event required us to sail as a group of six boats against the clock. Our team produced the best time in this configuration (the ultimate goal) which was a first for the facilitators of this event.

1 PM: Woman flying through air suspended by balloon complying with sign (only in NYC)

8:35 AM: Brush with celebrities John Lithgow,Jeffery Tambor, Katie Couric, and Matt Lauer.

8:30 AM: Arrive Rockefeller Center for meetings with NBC.

7:00 AM: Sunrise over NYC on approach to Laguardia.

4:20 AM: Wake up
4:45 AM: Limo to airport
6:30 AM: Taxi for take-off

Kyle showed some interest in my camera and took this very nice photo of his mother and sister while we were waiting for our dinner to arrive.

When we returned from hiking, we went out to our favorite Mexican restaurant. Kyle had a rare weekend with no soccer games which was very fortunate as he is nursing a turned ankle.

When I retruned home Jeanine and I were both in the mood to be outdoors on this glorious fall day. We grabbed Maya and drove to the Boxborough Conservation area and did a little hiking in the woods. Here we discovered a tiny stone bridge over a small creek.

This morning, I was back in action again after missing one game to a hamstring injury. We beat Cambridge 1-0 despite playing a man down for the entire second half due to a red card ejection of one of our players. Since I was so close, I decided to do a little shopping at Harvard Square. When I arrived, I discovered the entire area closed to auto traffic for Octoberfest. I decided to stay for lunch and sampled the varied open air musical entertainiment.

Question: How long does it take to consume nearly two pounds of Cougar Gold cheese? Answer: It has been 8 days since I received this gift for my birthday. Thank you Larry!

Jeanine and Rudy shared a canoe with good friend Gabe (in the middle – even though you can not see her). I had Maya and Julie with me. I love these girls more than words can express, but when they persistantly dragged their paddles in the water thus thwarting my attempts at propulsion, I was prepared to put their swimming ability to the test.

Maya would have taken the lamb home with her if she could have gotten it in the canoe.