fire #2…

here’s a real time pic of the 2nd fire in the new pit. it’s absolutely amazing tonight. see the moon? this pic doesn’t do it justice. much love, g

first fire…

this is blazin in my backyard…in my new outdoor fireplace (fire pit). i’m uber excited!

to protect and serve…

that’s right. i’m talking about the police. the po-po. johnny law. i had an encounter with the north hampton police tonight.

i had a late dinner at a co-worker’s home in dover. she made a wicked good lasagna. i did have one glass of wine, too.

i left her place around 10pm and headed straight for the seacoast to engage in some night riding. it was a full moon tonight and ABSOLUTELY AWESOME out there!!

after riding for a good stretch down 1A, i found a spot along the ocean and parked the bike. i knew parking there was illegal. i’m a special boy. no worries, right?

well, i did not count on falling asleep on the bench while i was lying there under the beautiful bright moon. who knew this could happen?

somehow, i awoke to blue lights flashing all over the place. the officer hadn’t gotten out of the car, but had been there ‘a few minutes’ (according to his account).

i stood up and took it slow. he asked me some questions and made sure i wasn’t drunk. not at all. he checked out my license and sent me packing elsewhere.

mostly, i was fretting a parking ticket. thankfully, he was a nice guy and gave me a pass. he told me i could sit at north hampton beach until 1am. good man.

the lesson: don’t fall asleep on a bench at night when illegally parked on the side of the road by the ocean. yep. i think that covers it

g’night and safe parking,
greg

florida in december…

thanks to the good people at skybus (and a little effort on my part), i’m making good on my talk about riding a motorcycle down to key west. f’n yippee!!

this morning, skybus sent an email announcing new flights from portsmouth to destinations in florida. i looked into it and found out the following:

(1) fort myers is one of those destinations
(2) $10 flights to and fro were still available
(3) harley davidson of fort myers rents motorcycles

seriously, what more could i ask for? the round trip flight cost me $31. the motorcycle will run about $175 per day. i booked it. i’m hoping to find a nice campground or hostel. any suggestions?

this is the second impromptu trip i’ve booked from simply receiving an email. skybus is giving me options i never imagined. it’s official. i love skybus! alot.

i’m leaving portsmouth on december 17 and coming back on december 20. my birthday falls on december 18, so this will be a great gift to myself.

applications for the passenger seat on the harley davidson electra glide classic will be accepted through comments on this blog seriously, if you’re interested in joining up or meeting me there, let me know.

love life!
greg

some damn good music…

after dining at flatbread on sunday night with my fam, we went into bull moose music to peruse their wares. this is always dangerous for me. bull moose boasts an excellent selection from many different genres and even includes dvds in the mix.

i ended up buying two great albums - lifeline by ben harper and the innocent criminals and the into the wild soundtrack by eddie vedder. they were impulse purchases, but truly worked out.

i’m no music critic, but i will say that i have been most impressed by both albums. they are significantly different, but both end with sweet notes that keep me coming back for more and more.

finally, i’m all excited about the prospect of watching the into the wild movie. i have the book from the portsmouth library. i’m running up a fine, but want to read it before i see the movie. at 10 cents per day, it’s pretty cheap sleep

wow. i thought i was fading earlier. apparently, i had one more post left in me before bed. i’m officially toast now.

peace and love,
greg

weekend debriefing…

this one was a new england weekend. it looks like i’m going to string together a number of new england weekends this fall. given the pace of my fall seasons over the past two years, i’m digging it.

i had family - my birthmother and her husband - in new england this weekend. they came in on wednesday night and stayed through this (monday) morning. they’re seasoned travelers and this made it a great trip for everyone.

they went off on their own on thursday and most of friday. we connected on friday night to grab a light dinner at blue moon market (yum!) and roll over to tupleo music hall for a show.

at tupleo, we saw seth glier and ellis paul. this is a great venue and the musicians were outstanding.

seth glier is maybe 20 years old. he plays the piano and sings. he started the night by absolutely blowing me/us away with a song written about modern day politics. he was most excellent throughout his entire set. seth is a talent to watch.

ellis paul put on one of his typically amazing shows. he’s a storyteller extraordinaire. the man can play guitar and sing with the best of them. he’s personable and polished, but not too polished or automatic. rock solid.

on saturday, we ate breakfast at the sun n’ surf in york, maine. the beach/ocean view is stunning from the patio. i highly recommend it.

from there, we rolled up to portland. our stops included the portland museum of art, mathew’s (purportedly the oldest pub in portland), gritty mcduff’s and various galleries and shops around town.

we arrived at the portland head light with a mere 10 minutes to spare before they were closing the gates for the day. i pointed out the best spots for photos of the ligthouse and scenery and we were off again in no time.

here are some pics from the portland adventure.

the final stop was a place in ogunquit named beachfire. they have a large fire pit stationed in front of their building. it’s a great place for a drink. we didn’t get too close to the fire, because ogunquit was rockin’ that night.

on sunday, we did our own thing for most of the day (which included church and motorcycle riding for me) and met up for dinner. we dined at flatbread in portsmouth. flatbread serves wood-fired pizza, never disappoints and is consistently mouth-watering. yum!

it was a great weekend and a top-notch visit. i’m fading fast, so i’ll bring it to a close here.

be well, friends!
greg

p.s. - the two ‘finds’ were seth glier and the sun n’ surf in york.

quick promo spot…

for another blog. i found this blog (getting past your past) a little while ago and have really been enjoying it. it might not be for you, but it certainly is speaking to me. if there’s something there for you, enjoy it.

one post on ‘trust’ jumped off the page at me. the author writes, ‘trust, like love, is what you DO, not what you say.’ this really resonates with me. it lines up nicely with the concept of actions matching words, et al.

sooo, i’ll be back later tonight or tomorrow with a weekend debriefing post. it was a great weekend with a couple nice ‘finds’ around new england.

peace,
g

that not so fresh feeling…

it has been nearly two whole days since my last post. i want to keep the blog fresh for loyal readers, but i’m out of topics for the moment. maybe i’ll just ramble a bit. (another thought is to assign authorship privileges to someone else…betsy?)

here goes…

when talking with a good friend on the phone, i got really clear about one thing. that is… i should start dating. now. probably yesterday.

have i mentioned that i’m not a big fan of dating? i like meeting people and really like meeting great people. however, i’m getting picky in my old age.

life is too short to spend it with the wrong person…even on a date. especially on a date. maybe you’ve had this thought, ‘there’s four hours and $100 i can’t get back.’ i have. ugh.

all of this being said, life is also too short to spend it at home typing blogs all night. where’s the balance? where are great people found?

i’m not bitching. i’ve had plenty of great people in my life. it’s true that i have squandered some really good opportunities. what can i say? i wasn’t ready.

when and how does one truly become ready? instead of waiting for perfect readiness, it feels more like this saying, ‘jump and the net will appear.’ it’s a wee bit scary, but sometimes true. other times, it’s splatto, man. been there. done that. bought the t-shirt.

so…dating. yep. that’s the topic du jour. what more can i say? i suppose it’s best to just get out there and do it. if nothing else, it’s great interviewing for potential friends.

i wish it were that easy. maybe it is and i’m not seeing it clearly. that’s always a possibility. while i can simplify many things in life, other are major blind spots. c’est la vie.

okay. i have nothing more of value to add. of course, this assumes that anything i’ve already typed has value. hmmmmm. i’m tired and yawning. it’s time for bed.

the sky is clear tonight. i’m thinking of the sleeping under the stars again. i’ve engaged in this a few times since doing it for the first time in nova scotia. none of the neighbors have joined me (yet).

peace and love,
greg

my first poem…

at heart

what i’m looking for

isn’t out here

it’s not found

on the internet

it’s not in

another book

it’s not in

my next tattoo

it’s not in
someone else

it’s inside

of me

it is
me

at

heart

the biloxi trip… was cancelled.

the biloxi trip… was cancelled. i am sad about this and am sitting with 'what is mine to do' now. a personal pilgrimage is an option. peace, g