pete4winds

Certainly not as high as some other parts of the country, but the local Mobil station (generally the high-end of gas prices in my area, Fall River, MA) is down to $3.75 for regular. Around here, Hess is generally lowest, and right now it's at about $3.68. I remember when I lived in San Diego (1993-97), I rode a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD with a heavily customized Kawasaki Ninja EX500 race engine, and because of the engine, I could only use premium gas...back in those days I thought it was INSANE that I was paying $1.56/gallon... ...oh, little did I know...

WOW!!! Glad I left federal government employment before this happened! My office considered NMCI the devil incarnate anyway, but this HURTS! As someone who, for a LONG time (like almost 10 years), has really enjoyed the quiet (and the paycheck) of the overnight shift, TPR has always been my saving grace for staying awake, alert, and, well...I have to agree...sane. Glad I rejoined the private sector when I did. Pete "was going to rejoin federal service, but I dunno now" FourWinds.

^ The sand...heh...what to say about the sand? It was a brilliant idea, giving the kids a little spot to make sand castles, but yeah...the placement was, well let's just be diplomatic and say it was a little uninspired. Overall this year's FRCA (or should I say LPCA?) was good, mostly because it dropped from $10.00 to $3.00...and it's within walking distance of the house.

I have to go with Joker's Jinx/SFA. I could ride Jinx a thousand times, but I was really disappointed with the park.

This weekend was this year's annual Fall River Celebrates America, and being Connor's first, I took him down the street to check it out. Because of the economy, it was smaller than in years past (in scale, but it still took up the entire park), with all local bands instead of national acts, but it was much more family-friendly. One of the really cool new things they had this year was a "beach" with inflatable palm trees where the kids could build sand castles (in the parking lot...taking that whole parking lot theme to a WHOLE new level). IndyCar driver Vitor Meira's show car was on hand, for you open wheel fans, as was a small classic car show (they had eight cars originally, I got there when there were five left, and three of those were already preparing to be loaded onto their flatbeds). The Marines and National Guard co-sponsored as they do every year, and manned the checkpoints at the gates. Normally, as a Navy veteran, I usually have nothing good to say about Marines (it's an "us vs. them" thing - you really have to be a sailor or marine to get the humor), but I have to really give credit to the marine manning the gate on the carnival side. A spot-on professional in every sense of the word, he even went so far as to ask how Connor was doing and whether I had enough food for him. Semper Fi, Sergeant (this ONE time). Still no first credit for Connor, though, but we're working on that. Oh, and they actually had...ready for this? A Roll-o-plane! That's not something you see very often, particularly around here. I'm not enough of a flat ride afficianado to know whether it was an Eyerly or a knock-off, but it was pretty cool seeing one (last time I saw one was when I was a kid), and Connor was pretty fascinated (that is, before he fell asleep). On to the photos!!! Final late-entry view of the Aladin. A quick beverage break for the lad. The last thing a pit board sees. Jen joined us later in the afternoon. Here she does her finest "trophy girl" pose. Your basic Round-Up. It was running pretty fast and actually got some decent height. They even had a Wisdom Aladin. Connor's not very interested. And there it is! So close, yet so far. The closest Connor came to his first credit. Yes, if you're four months old, a Dragon Wagon would count. Gorgeous '67 Camaro. This car made an appearance at the July 4th parade. Flawless '62 Impala. Connor's napping on the beach "catching some rays." The "beach." Nice '57 Bel Air. Classic '32 Ford Roadster ragtop, leaving the car show area. The driver drinking a Del's lemonade really completed the scene. Connor enjoys his first concert, despite what the look on his face says (he was getting sleepy). Local band d'Alma. OK, dad, maybe that wasn't so funny. Connor's old car and his new one! The show car of IndyCar driver Vitor Meira, Panther Racing.

OK, so it's been awhile. Connor's been pretty busy growing (over 15 pounds and not even four months old yet). A couple weeks ago, Jen and I decided to check out this local dairy farm for some fresh ice cream. The farm is called Simcock Farm...insert fresh cream joke here. The animals are accessible to customers in a kind of impromptu petting-farm way, so we thought it would be fun for Connor to see some animals other than his pets at home. I'll let the photos tell the REAL story. Insert ACEr gravy and/or buffet joke here. If that was Daytona, then I'm guessing this is Sprint. Insert ACEr joke here. I think this is Daytona. Somebody at the farm is an X-rated NASCAR fan. Ok, dad...I've had quite enough. Let's get our ice cream and get outta here. Dad...you woke me up for this??? He does love his oats. And the farm does love the money we spend to feed him his oats. Eeyore bullied us into hanging out with him some more. These guys were also hiding, but I thought the Biblical name thing was cool. As promised, the three... Three of these four cows were visible...the other one was probably doing the smart thing and hiding in the shade. The new weapon in Six Flags' new anti-coaster-hit-and-run-accident efforts. OK, so my wife unduly influences me. That doesn't make me a bad guy! Who can resist a cut-out photo? Obviously not Jen. I didn't catch this guy's name either. Not sure, but I'm guessing Butterscotch is the solid tan one. Butterscotch and Buttons, the resident rabbits. I didn't catch the goat's name. Come to think of it, I forgot to get her phone number, too. Eeyore had a thing for shorts. Along with Jen's, he also tried to eat mine. Who am I, Bart freakin' Simpson? Eeyore, Connor...Connor, Eeyore. Yes, his name really is Eeyore. In true Connor fashion, he was, of course, sleeping...as usual. Eeyore says: me likey cameras for lunch. Rock says: Welcome! Enjoy your stay. Here we are, Simcock Farm. Why do I laugh when I hear that name? This is the ice cream stand.

I'm a little surprised I didn't respond to this thread in its "earlier life." I served 4-and-a-half years in the United States Navy (Feb. 1993-Aug. 1997), and during that time I was a plankowner (original crewmember at the time of ship's commissioning) aboard USS Curtis Wilbur, one of the state-of-the-art Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers. Did two deployments, one a WESTPAC to the Persian Gulf during Operation Southern Watch (officially an operation of Desert Storm - we visited Bahrain and Dubai several times each) and several ports in Southeast Asia, including Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Loved it! In October 1997, Curtis Wilbur shifted homeports to Yokosuka, Japan, where I lived for nine months and went on the second deployment. As fun as the first one was, this SOUTHPAC was WAY cooler, with two stops in Australia at five days each, as well as Guam, Malaysia, South Korea, and more stops in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand.

^ Yeah, the carousel is PTC# 54 from Lincoln Park. We still drive by Lincoln Park every so often when we feel an overwhelming need to make ourselves sad. And yeah, we had a blast!!! Pierce Beach is my new favorite play spot for him.

This past Wednesday, Jen and I took Connor to a playground we'd never been to. Jen's a member of the "Somerset Moms' Club," a local support/playdate group for stay-at-home moms and their kids, and Wednesday was a scheduled playdate at this particular park. Because I work nights, I usually weasel my way into some of their events. In any case, nobody else showed up from the Moms' Club, so we made the most of it with Connor anyway. He had his first slide down a playground slide, and he was AWAKE for it!!! This slide was cool! It twisted through the trees down a hill that was maybe 30 feet tall, so the slide itself was about 50 feet long. It was the freakin' Boulder Dash of playground slides! On to the photos, and POV video!!! It just vanishes into the trees. The view from above. That's a big staircase. You sure you wanna do this, Connor? Not sure I do. I'm getting too old for stairs that tall. See? The Boulder Dash of playground slides. We're riding THAT beastly thing. Ready to go. No, that little pansy slide isn't the one we're riding... A little tummy-time before we slide. Even has a river-front beach. I think we've discovered our new summer spot! Pierce Beach Park, one of those little local "hidden-away-gem" types of parks.

This morning Jen shot some video of Connor playing in his bouncer, which I posted in the random video thread. Enjoy! Connor's playtime.

My son Connor, one month old today, playing with a learning toy attached to his bouncer this morning. Not particularly random, OR stupid, but it IS kinda funny and VERY cute. Sorry about the lack of sound...it was shot on my kinda low-end still camera, which has no mic.

4/21/08: Connor finally got to go on his first carousel ride today!!! Make that his first TWO, lucky little guy! While it's not exactly a full-on park visit, it's a pretty good start for one day shy of four weeks old. Jen's aunt Evy came down from New Hampshire to visit for the day, and she joined us on this momentous occasion. He was asleep the whole time, but whatever...it still counts, right? Aunt Evy visits with Mr. Cranky Boy. We need to find him a little miniature pair of Oakleys or something... All done with lunch! This is the lovely grove where Connor enjoyed dining al fresca. We'd had our lunch at a local diner before our carousel visit. Finally waking up for lunch...and it was ONLY because it was lunch time...again, just like Dad. Even the walk down the stairs and getting loaded into his stroller didn't wake him. He's just like his father in that sense. More detail. This really is a beautiful carousel. Jen and Connor are just about done with their ride. And artsy-fartsy high speed photo #2. Artsy-fartsy high speed photo #1. Still out cold. Some of the beautiful detail on this classic. There they go! Mom's turn! I look like I'm having WAY more fun than an adult should be allowed to have on a carousel. Here we go! Trying in vain to wake Connor for his ride. Dad, Connor, and a baby carrier. You'll never see THIS at Six Flags!, Oh, and by the way, nice shirt, Mr. Kiss-ass. Let's go! They're letting us on! Waiting to board. We're finally here for Connor's first carousel ride! On the carousel's back patio, overlooking the bay. Jen kinda caught me by surprise here. Aunt Evy and I walk with Connor as we watch that motorcycle ride by. On a day like this, that's what I should be doing.

Part 2: Connor's first "park trip." One last view from the top of the hill. This view is only two blocks from our house. Crap! Not open until Monday. That's OK. It's only a five minute walk. We'll be back. Mom and Connor rush to see, dad struggles to keep up and take photos at the same time. C'mon. We still gotta see if the carousel is open! A 1916 photo of the Durfee Mills, now home to some outlet shops, a 99 Restaurant, and, ready for this? The local DMV. A (ahem) fine tribute to the history of our fair city. Connor checks out a mural of Fall River's early waterfront. OK, dad was checking it out...Connor was, as usual, sleeping through it. I'm still looking for a Dale Earnhardt scale-model decal set to deck-out Connor's stroller like The Intimidator's Monte Carlo. Dad, there's the carousel. Let's go see if it's open! In a few minutes, Connor. Let's enjoy the air conditioning first. Connor's still not all that interested. He'd rather inspect the eyelids. I think I'll be doing the same when we go home. The rarely-open Heritage State Park building is...holy crap, it's OPEN! And AIR CONDITIONED!!! We're totally there! Taking a quick break from our walk. Mom and dad's view of Battleship Cove. Connor was too asleep to be very interested. What a life. The kid's not even a month old, and already he has his own convertible WITH driver.

We're undecided on that, but we did take a walk to the Heritage State Park down the street today to try his first carousel ride (sadly, it won't be open until Monday, so we'll try again then). Some people might remember the carousel from past PTRs as Old PTC #54, the last operating remnant of Lincoln Park here in Massachusetts. Anyway, on to the photos of today's "park visit" and other antics from earlier this week, presented in two parts! He makes some of his funniest faces when he's asleep. Here he does a fairly passable Edward G. Robinson impression. Nah, it's just Nana (my mom) on the other end. Dad, Connor's agent, is cutting some deals with those Gerber people. I said I'm done playing. Put me the eff down for a nap, please! OK, mom, I've had enough fun. Effin' paparazzi...get the camera outta my face. Elsie hams it up for Connor...she WAS our dog until he arrived. Now she's HIS dog. OK, Connor, if that's how it's gonna be, YOU walk her. Connor's first real interaction with Elsie. Interestingly, she's an Ibizan Hound, and the name Connor is the Gaelic word for "Lover of Hounds." Our middle brother, Uncle Corey (he's 12), was a little nervous about holding his nephew. Connor, Uncle Forest. Uncle Forest, Connor. My youngest brother Forest (he's 9) meets his nephew for the first time, with his sister-in-law's help. On this episode of "Scared Straight," the new scourge of youth...breast milk hangover. Even when he's not making funny faces, he's still pretty damn cute. "Step away from the baby, human, before I bite your @$$." Elsie the ever-present protecto-dog, watching over her charge. Connor the charlatan likes to sucker us into paying for psychic readings. "I see...donkeys."

^ Heh, I wish...the whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" thing? UTTER CRAP I tell ya! Nah, I kinda like having him around. He'll be three weeks tomorrow, so hopefully soon things will start to fall into some semblance of a routine. I'll say this, though...I never dreamed I'd be so happy to catch a whole two consecutive hours of sleep...there was once a time when I was a nine-hour kinda guy!

^ You're going to love him. He's a little cutie! Anyway, Connor came home Saturday, and he's doing GREAT! The first couple of nights were a little tough, and getting him to bed at night was, well, let's just call it a challenge. He's starting to settle into a routine, though. I haven't been able to hold him in two days, since I got blasted with a 102.6 fever yesterday, but my mom's been a big help, often giving Jen a chance to take a break. On to the photos! Dad and Connor are engaged in a heated staring contest. Nana and Connor have a Zen moment together. Yup, we're cheesy parents. We even went out and got the baby-view mirror. Buckled in, ready to go. C'mon dad, take the damn picture and close the door...it's windy out there! The patient pick-up zone looks like a tram stop straight out of Yesterland. He might be a big kid, but he still almost gets lost in his carrier. Connor's stylin' new ride. "Low ri...duh drives a little slower." Christine communes with Connor. She gets bonus points for the dragonflies on her smock. Some last minute advice from Christine, the very hot nurse. OK, doc. Hand him over. You'll get to see him again this week. Jen's OB Dr. Lee says hi to Connor. Nah, we don't look alike. So patient, he's almost unconscious. Dad and Connor are waiting patiently to go home. Well, Connor's waiting patiently...dad, not so much.

^ As we are, too! Thanks! I can only describe it as (paraphrased from Armageddon) "99% scary and 1% exciting, or maybe it's 1% scary and 99% exciting..." I'm just happy he's ok.

I haven't been on TPR much lately, and my son's arrival yesterday is the major reason why. Those of you who remember what happened to my daughter Ceilidh (do a search for the thread - I can't get the stupid link to work) will understand why I've been really quiet about this new pregnancy. Call it being cautiously optimistic. Anyway, now that he's here and doing well, I felt my second family at TPR needed to know about their newest coaster geek. Now before everyone gets on my case about leaving my wife and son at the hospital, we do have several four-legged furry children that also need to be looked after, so while I was home this morning I decided to post this TR. Connor Nathan Giove arrived by C-section at 1:04 PM yesterday afternoon, and he tipped the scales at a whopping 9 lbs. 2.2 oz. Not JUST a future fat-boy coaster geek, but a full-on ACEr-in-training. Oh, and he was 20-and-one-half inches. He was born at Charlton Memorial Hospital, for those of you familiar with Fall River, MA. Now, it's fairly normal for babies born by c-section to retain a little fluid in the lungs for several hours or more, so Connor had a tough night. His tough night made for a tough night all around, because when baby can't sleep, mom and dad can't sleep either. The first night together is by far the worst night to have this particular difficulty sleeping. This morning, however, his pediatrician gave him a clean bill of health, and when Jen called me a few minutes ago she said he was sleeping very comfortably. Yesterday his arrival was attended by both of my parents (mom Janet and dad, also Pete - for those of you who follow Native American Folk Music, you'd know him as Peter Searching Owl, the name he goes by on his CDs), my mother's next older sister Claire, a labor and delivery nurse herself, my wife's birth coach and sister-in-spirit Laura (since it was a c-section, her coaching services weren't needed, but the support from her was awesome anyway), and Jen's father John and brother, also John. On a side note, obviously I was in the surgical suite with Jen. All those medical shows on Discovery Channel don't even TOUCH this experience. Never in my life did I think I'd ever witness a surgery in person, but if I MUST be present for one, I'm glad it was this one. It was pretty gruesome, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Sorry, no photos of the surgery for this TR. But, I digress. On to the photos! Stay tuned for part 2, his arrival home this weekend! "Nana" (my mom) meets her grandson. OK, dad, give others a chance to meet him. Dad thought it was funny when I asked if Dudu was the word for GrandMOTHER on Father's side. My mother didn't. My dad meets Connor. He's "Duda," which is the Mohawk word for "Grandfather on Father's side." Jen's brother John. Grand-dad on Jen's side. He wants to be "Gramps." Yup! He really IS an ACEr-in-training. Conked out on the way to the nursery for measurements. Mother and son meet for the first time. Connor was the only one out of the three of us that WASN'T crying. He's not really screaming. Just testing his new jaw muscles, on the way to meet mom. Enjoy it now, kid. When you get older, you might be paying good money for all that poking and prodding! I don't think he much cared for all the poking and prodding. Here he is, Connor Nathan Giove (Nathan is Jen's maiden name). See? Head to toe in freakin' blue! I don't even have hair! Why did I need a damn hair net? "When you go with her into surgery, don't touch anything blue. Blue is sterile." "Whaddaya mean don't touch anything blue? I'm DRESSED IN BLUE!" Jen's recovery room nurse, who also helped us get ready for the big event. Hey, it's major abdominal surgery! You'd need a little guidance, too. And checked in. Checking in. Not sure exactly what the look on Jen's face is really saying..."Yay, we made it!" or "holy sh*t, what are we getting into?" We're here! C'mon, Jen, hurry up! Your chariot awaits, madame. Delaying the inevitable, or just goofing around? Jen and Elsie are having a comforting moment before we go. My father, Peter Searching Owl. He's just as anxious as I am. "Auntie" Laura, just waiting to head off to the hospital. Elsie knows something big is happening.

One earring (left) and one lorum piercing (look it up - this is a family friendly board so I won't describe it here )

I live about 8 or 9 miles from the park, and I go by every so often to reminisce. It never gets any easier to see it this way.

Next time I'm in Chicago, I'm all over it! I'm a "the hotter the better" kind of guy.

This thread represents exactly the kind of thing my wife and I would do just to see how loudly we can get our son to scream.

SFNE is only 10.8 miles from Bradley International Airport. Not sure about local mass transit, since the airport is across the state line, but it's serviced by all the major rental agencies.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra on Nov. 20th in Providence RI. The drummer, Jeff Plate, was a many-years-ago acquaintance of mine, and during the meet-and-greet after the show, he remembered me. Oh, yeah, the show was effing phenomenal. Three solid hours of TSO, and the freakin' lighting truss was articulated, so even IT was part of the show (as opposed to just holding the lights up).

Considering the weather we had, we couldn't even SEE the I-Way on the way to SFNE, and the trip back was too dark. Judging from the news this week, we really didn't miss much!