In honor of one of my favorite TV characters ever, Reno 911!'s Lt. Jim Dangle, I did some new boot goofin' this weekend along the lines of hiking nine miles in Mt. Monadnock State Park in New Hampshire, as you can see under the Day Hikes section. I did the trek with Bill and Mark, and two of Bill's buddies, and it was a blast. I got to try out my new Salomon Quest 4D hiking boots (and some Keen, Asolo, and Merrell hiking boots were put to their first real test, too, on this trip) and I can away pleasantly surprised. They offer incredible ankle support despite their light weight, and the support under foot is miles beyond that of my old hiking boot, the Keen Targhee. Due to Salomon's success with trail runners, these boot incorporate a lot of the same features and essentially feel like you're hiking in a larger, heavier running shoes (which is a good thing). After none long miles (with minimal weight on my back) of rocky, root-y terrain, my feet felt terrific and comparable to what they felt like after 4-5 miles in my Keens. Now that I know comfort is second to none, it'll be fun and interesting to see how durable these boots are. The one-piece Gore-Tex lining should offer more waterproof-ness than the eVent in my Keens did (failed <1 year), and the proprietary sole (not a Vibram sole) looks promising. Though they only come with an EVA midsole (good for only 200-300 miles) versus a PU (polyurethane) midsole, my frequency (or infrequency, now) of hiking should allow me to get 3-4 years out of these boots. For more info on the actual hike itself, visit the Day Hikes section and peruse the short trail report, Picasa slideshow and Google map.
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So I haven't been around in a few weeks or so, and for good reason. Brooke gave birth to our son on Monday, June 14th. Aptly named Hunter, a family name going back more than five generations, he is our first child and such an amazing start to parenthood for Brooke and I. Despite hearing the cliche numerous times in my life, especially the past nine months, it really did ring true; the moment Brooke and I heard his first cries we were reduced to blubbering messes and our lives changed, for the better, forever. He's cute as hell, of course I'm considerably biased, and fun. With bright blue eyes and strawberry blond hair, he's a great mix of Brooke and I facially. Additions to this site will be a bit fewer and farther between with so much of our time preoccupied with the little one, but we'll be sure to indoctrinate him into the outdoors as soon as properly possible. With three different Kelty Kid Carriers, we're properly equipped to bring little Hunter into the woods and on the trail with us.
Had a few friends over for a craft beer tasting last week. You can find the write-up (along with quite a few more craft beer reviews) over at Wild Bill's site.
My father-in-law is a wise, wise man. He could see the void in my quiver of fishing skills, and pounced. As a 30th birthday present, my in-laws got me a brand-spankin'-new Temple Fork Outfitters 9'0" 4-piece 9-Wt. "Lefty Kreh Professional Series" fly rod. Score! With my sweet spinning set-up my only method for landing redfish, snook, and stripers, I now have a new weapon of choice - and new hobby. I've spent countless hours already researching reels (think Sage, Redington, Orvis...), and can't wait to be looked at strangely by neighbors as I practice casting in my backyard. I look forward to fly fishing off the Cape and back down in Charlotte Harbor for more redfish and snook. This is surely a new chapter for me as I expand my outdoor arsenal. Thanks, Phil!
So, I turned 30 on Saturday. Feels no different 29, so we'll see how this plays out in the long run. My wife, despite being 8 months pregnant with our first child, still had the energy to take me on a surprise road trip through western New England for the day on Saturday. We borrowed her dad's '02 Corvette convertible and took off for places unknown. Our first stop was at Curtis's Roadside BBQ in Putney, VT. I highly advise anyone within a two hour radius of Putney, VT to try this place. Let the link above speak for itself - it's awesome. Next stop? The town of Shelburne Falls, MA in the Berkshires. We walked around this quintessential New England town and popped in and out of the storefronts, checked out the glacial potholes and bridge of flowers, grabbed an ice cream and then hopped in the 'Vette, top down of course, to head to our final destination: the Northampton Brewery Bar & Grille. Northampton, a bustling college town in the Berkshires, is home to this awesome microbrewery. We didn't order anything to eat (see above: Curtis's), but I got a sampler of four of their beers: Maggie's Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, Summer Fling, Kung-Fu Grip, and Old Brown Dog.
It was an awesome day, and I mean that in the true definition of the word awesome, not in the liberally-used colloquialism we know of it today. I got the greatest birthday gift I could have asked for that day, a day alone with my wife. With our first child to be here any day now, I really cherish the time the two of us have together. We used to do a lot of day trips around New England when we were two young'ns dating, so this brought back a lot of great memories. I have thanked her profusely since we first pulled into Curtis's, but no matter how many times I kiss, hug and thank her, it never seems like enough. Finally got off my duff and played some golf this year. First round of the year was up at Butter Brook Golf Club in Westford, MA to celebrate passing the bar with a few compadres from law school, Joe and Justin. We wanted to squeeze in 18 holes before we were too busy with not finding jobs to play. The course was in beautiful shape and is very reasonable price-wise with a weekend rate for 18 holes plus cart for $75. Played reasonably well; 84, but with five three-putt bogeys, so it could have been much better.
The following morning, Saturday, played 18 at Shining Rock, a brand-new course in Northbridge, MA with a few local buddies, Gerry, Jay and Eric. Also extremely reasonable, 18 plus cart on a Saturday cost me $50 due to the member discount (thanks, Jay!) A long, hilly course, typical for New England golf, I managed an 86 with an ugly back-nine. We all had a good time, and this gem of a course will definitely keep getting my money: excellent service and operations + amazing layout and conditions = my home course for the remainder of the season. These rounds kept my handicap at 11.9. My goal is to get back into the single digits, but with our first little tike due in a mere four weeks, golf may end up being thrown to the very bottom of the "to-do" list for this summer. My nephew is 6, and like all adventurous 6-year-olds he loves to fish and get dirty and run around and be a "boy." For that, I admire him and am pretty jealous. My parents live on a lake in central Massachusetts, so fishing has been a part of my life for 20+ years. This past weekend, with the whole family gathered down at mom & pops house, my nephew and I spent some time fishing.
Our first adventure was using butterfly nets to catch newly-hatched baby perch, sunfish, and pumpkinseeds (kivers). We managed to catch one little guy and put him in a coffee can filled with water. Jack didn't want to use it as bait, as that would mean ending the baby fish's life, so we kept it in the coffee can while we tried to collect some crayfish. (He never really wrapped his brain around why it's called a crayfish when it's not really a fish, and the same logic applied when I explained to him, that in the alternative, he could call it a crawdad.) He didn't have the same sentiment towards the crayfish as he did the baby sunfish, so on the hook it went. One vicious cast later and the crayfish was deposited back into Lake Singletary. Having not hooked a crayfish in a number of years, I apparently threaded the hook through the wrong section of its exoskeleton. Oh well, in the minutes that elapsed over this occurrence, Jack had lost all emotion towards the 2" long baby sunfish in the Folger's can. No, he didn't want to use it as bait. He wanted to eat it. This brought a tear to my eye, as I can't recall ever being more proud of my nephew. Inside the house we went with our minuscule baby sunfish approaching the end of its short life. Using a boning knife, I deftly beheaded the creature and cleaned out the stomach cavity, rinsing it under cold tap water. Using the smallest dollop of butter I have ever used in cooking, I quickly sauteed the less-than-1" filleted fish. Jack and I each grabbed a fork and took a bite of our "hors d'oeuvre." Needless to say, Grampy was beaming with pride. Mom and dad thoroughly enjoyed this, as well, but were more confounded with his previous disdain for seafood. Fish and chips at a local pub? Nope. Baby sunfish gutted right in front of him? Yes please! Now that we were thoroughly stuffed from our lunker sunfish, Jack wanted to fish some more. After a few casts I snagged an adult sunfish (my least favorite of all freshwater fish to catch), and released it immediately upon getting the hook out. One cast later and I was hooked up with what I thought might be the same apparently stupid sunfish. This time, Jack's appetite got the better of him and he wanted to eat this one, too. Out came the Normark fillet knife, and within moments I had the sunfish gutted and cleaned in the ankle-deep water where we were standing. Just like before, a few dollops of butter in a hot fry pan, and voila! Fresh fish that Jack and I enjoyed as a side to the main course my mom had prepared. I can only imagine fishing with my own son (or daughter, whichever we may be blessed with) will be incredible, but for the time being, it doesn't get any better than throwing out a couple lines with my nephew. I think Jack had fun, but I think we all know who had the most fun fishing that day. With all this free time I have after the bar exam and before the baby arrives, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting back into something I so dearly loved before law school: drinking beer and wine. My buddy Troy runs a wine review blog, City of Troy, and my other buddy Bill has his own blog reviewing craft beers, Bill2me dot com. These two sites have really ignited an old passion, and it has driven me to delve deeper into the back aisles of my local package store (liquor store for non-New Englanders) and try random craft beers from various microbreweries. So far, I have had Opa Opa (from western MA) Red Ale, Brown Ale, Pale Ale, and India Pale Ale, and have to say that all four have been terrific. Dale's Pale Ale from Colorado was less-than-terrific (as in less-than-good), and will chock that up as a lesson learned. (I won't be doing in-depth reviews here...just telling you what I liked. If you want the nitty gritty on craft beers with a great analysis, check out Wild Bill's site linked above.)
As for the wine, Troy is a well-schooled aficionado who points out with clarity things that the layman's palate would gloss over, yet does it with diction that John Q. Public can understand appreciate. His descriptions of wine flavors as they pass over the palate and invade your olfactory senses really crystallize what you might "think," but aren't able to describe. These are two great sites that are very worthy of subscribing to if craft beer and delicious wine interest you. I have no business attempting to review such complex things, so I'll leave this space dedicated to simpler, more basic reviews such as golf clubs, fishing reels and hiking boots, where the only adjectives I'll need to think of are "comfy," "nice," and "super." So the membership at Maplegate never materialized, due solely out of guilt...sure, the price was ridiculous, almost too good to be true, but with our first baby due in less than 7 weeks, I figure $348 can buy a good amount of diapers, formula, onesies, etc...when I told Brooke I canceled it (she had supported it all along), she said "that was very fatherly of you." - I guess I'm starting off on the right foot, then.
So back to the fishing trip. I had new gear to try out, and try out I did. I caught around 25 fish spread out over two days, and couldn't be happier with my new stuff.
First to bat is my new Cabela's Salt Striker 7' medium-heavy travel spinning rod. This 3-piece travel rod, which comes with its own hard-shell case, is a perfect spinning rod for any saltwater species under 35-40lbs. The midsection and butt and sturdy enough to fight larger fish, and the tip is light enough to cast and toss lighter baits and lures. The biggest fish I fought with this rod was an 11lb. Redfish, and though the weight might not be impressive off the bat, these fish are renowned fighters and fight pound-for-pound right alongside a bluefish. When my professional guide said "the perfect rod for Snook and Redfish is a 7' medium-heavy spinning rod," I knew I had made the right choice. Next comes my new reel that I mated to the new rod, my Team Daiwa Tierra 3000. I had read that the best flats fishing reel is either a 3000 or 4000-class spinning reel, and again my guide backed up my purchase. When I told him I was concerned my 3000-class reel might be a bit on the light side, he told me "I'll only use 3000's in tournaments." Awesome. The spool is large enough to hold a few hundred yards of 30lb. braid (and I have 12lb. mono on the free second spool), and it can cast a mile. Its compact size belies a reel that feels like a tank in your hands. I fought some pretty strong fish with this reel, and it never hiccuped once. Daiwa has a great reputation, and I hope that with years of good care this reel can last me a long time. Hey folks...just got home from a few days down in Punta Gorda, FL fishing for Snook & Redfish in the flats of Charlotte Harbor. The trip report, along with a slideshow, links, and map of the area are up in the Fishing section of the site. The fishing was terrific, as was the company. Getting bit pretty hard by the saltwater fishing bug.
A banner day in the Melia household yesterday...my mom & sister threw Brooke the most amazing baby shower, and then the mailman delivered the single best piece of mail I've ever received - passing results on the Massachusetts Bar Exam...being sworn in to the Mass. Bar at the end of June, right around the time Brooke is due with our first child...things are certainly falling into place!
Make sure to stroll over to the Links page (bottom of sidebar to your left) and check out the many cool sites I have linked to...some you have heard of, others you have not, but each site is awesome in its own unique way. Thanks!
To bring everyone up to date on everything, I recently purchased some new hiking boots, namely the Salomon Quest 4D GTX that can be seen on my Gear page. I've tried many a boot since I declared my original Keen Targhee Mids not fit for action, and this one has proven to be the most comfortable, stable, and supportive boot of the three I tried. I can't speak to their durability or long-lasting comfort, but that update will come as I put some miles on these bad boys.
Also, next week I'll be going on a fishing trip with my father-in-law Phil and two brothers-in-law, Marc and Ben to Punta Gorda, FL. Phil recently purchased a vacation spot down there, so instead of working the outer coast of Cape Cod for our Man Trip this year, we'll be flats fishing in Charlotte Harbor for two days. Pictures and a trip report will be posted shortly after coming home. Hey folks...I don't know why it took me this long to figure out how to add this feature, but I just stumbled across it while messing around in the site management section...anywho, this will be the place were I update the world on a new piece of gear purchased, a trip just taken (with appropriate linkage, of course), and any other mundane nonsense I feel that you (how many of "you" are there, anyway?) need to know. Enjoy the rest of your day!
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AuthorI'm just a guy who loves to hike, fish, hunt, camp, and snowmobile, preferably with my wife Brooke and our three kids, Hunter, Max & Shea. I play the part of a lawyer during the week and try to get outside and get dirty on the weekends. Archives
October 2022
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