The Rolling Dices

Support your local shelter

2011-10-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

Watch this fantastic lip dub made by the Wake Country (NC) SPCA. Please consider donating to them or to your local animal shelter.

Now I wonder if I can adopt the little guy at the end of the video...

Rolling on the River - Step 1

2011-08-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

The first step to a great kayaking trip is to know where you're going and how you're going to put in and take out. It's easy on a lake, pond, or reservoir, but takes more work on a river. We have been kayaking the Saco for so many years that we have it down to a science. If we want to save money, we drop the kayaks and gear at the put-in (First Bridge on River Road for us). One of us drives back to the take-out spot at the end of West Side Road and negotiates a ride with the kayak rental company back to the put-in. The downside is that the others have to wait quite a while.

Our default way of handling it is to have the kayak rental company (Saco Canoe Rental--our fav) transport us, our kayaks, and gear to the put-in. As of 2011, they charged $15 each. We unload our kayaks in the upper parking lot, park the car down by the river at their take-out spot. They load the kayaks on to their trailers and unload them at River Road. When we arrive at the take-out spot, they haul our kayaks up the hill (no small task, I might add). An added bonus is that they check off everyone arriving at the take-out. If you didn't show, I assume they would respond. Kind of nice to know.

Iron Mike's Pale Ale

2011-08-17T04:18:00.001-07:00

Iron Mike's Pale Ale, a photo by pjbishop93 on Flickr.

Our time in the White Mountains isn't complete unless we eat at Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery. A cold Iron Mike's Pale Ale is the perfect end to any day.

A Bipartisan Approach in the Animal Kingdom

2011-08-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

People often say dogs and cats cannot get along, that they are diametrically opposed in temperament and intelligence. They have incompatible agendas and goals. They dismiss each other's concerns as unreasonable and are unwilling to listen and find common ground. They must staunchly and uncompromisingly stand on their principles, regardless of the potential outcome.

I present here evidence that the media has overblown the partisan politics of the cat-dog/dog-cat community. Harvey (decidedly of the pro-social consciousness league) and Alvin (a committed capitalist and shrewd businessman when it comes to the distribution of wealth, i.e. food) play together, sleep together, chase squirrels together and plan coordinated attacks of my feet if I get distracted at feeding time, herding me towards the food containers.

If they can do it, surely Congress can, too.

Roar!

2011-07-30T04:53:00.001-07:00

Roar!, a photo by pjbishop93 on Flickr.

Harvey's first day of swimming

2011-07-21T05:32:00.000-07:00

Emperor Alvin

2011-07-21T02:44:00.001-07:00

I can see the little critters with my xray eyes, a photo by pjbishop93 on Flickr.

He rules over the backyard with his x-ray vision.

Look out, DC, here we come!

2011-07-20T03:50:00.001-07:00

Capitol, a photo by pjbishop93 on Flickr.

The Rolling Dices will be rolling down to DC this summer. Maybe we'll set 'em straight on how to run this here country. Hope to get there before they shut the doors.

Norton Reservoir

2011-07-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Double D and P kayaked on Norton Reservoir on July 4 after being road marshals for the Harvard Pilgrim 10K at Patriot Place Road Race. Perfect, perfect day.

Harvey's first hike in Borderland

2010-12-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

Borderlands

Find the best hikes in Massachusetts

The Times They Are A-Changin'

2009-08-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

It was a great theme for a boy's room way back in 4th grade, but it's time to move on.

So Jacob learned how to strip wallpaper...

And then he learned how to paint...

Diamond Hill, RI

2009-04-13T02:57:00.000-07:00

Double D and I tried hiking at Diamond Hill in Rhode Island. We went unprepared, assuming that (a) we could find it and (b) that a map of some sort would exist. We eventually figured out where the only parking lot is and that there is no map. We climbed to the top, looked around and came back down. Not much of a hike--1.3 miles total.

Diamond Hill, RI at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

2.4 mile walk in forest

2009-03-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

Here's an easy 2.4 mile hike we took today in the F. Gilbert Hills State Forest (a.k.a. Foxboro State Forest). I've also done it as a trail run. Easy surface for beginning trail runners. Written instructions are available by clicking on the description.

Foxboro State Forest 2.4 at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Flat Stanley for CB - part 6

2009-02-22T15:17:00.001-08:00

Cousin Jacob lives in a town called Foxborough (sometimes spelled Foxboro) in Massachusetts. It is located approximately halfway between Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island (map). Flat Stanley is in front of the Foxborough sign on the east side of the town common. In the background you can see the spire of the Congregational Church. All of the roads that lead into the center of town have to go around the common in a counterclockwise circle, forming what is called a rotary. Rotaries are common in New England, as well as in England, where they are called roundabouts.

Foxboro is also the home of the New England Patriots (an NFL football team like the Panthers) and the New England Revolution (a professional soccer team). In the picture above, you can see the stadium where these teams play, Gillette Stadium. It is named after a Massachusetts company, Gillette Company, which is famous for making razors. Sometimes people around here call the stadium The Razor.

At the north end of the stadium (as seen in the picture), there is a replica of lighthouse. Massachusetts touches the Atlantic Ocean and is known for its fishing industry (especially lobsters) and its lighthouses. You can also see a replica of a bridge to the left of the lighthouse. This one is meant to look like the Longfellow Bridge, which crosses the Charles River. The Charles begins west of Boston and heads east into the ocean. The city of Boston is along the southern edge of the Charles and the city of Cambridge (home of Harvard University) is along the northern edge. The Longfellow Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in Massachusetts and is named after a famous American author, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who lived in Cambridge.

Though people had been living in the Foxboro area for nearly a hundred years, Foxboro wasn't incorporated as a town until 1778. It was named for Charles Fox, a member of Parliament in England, who believed that the American colonies should have their independence from England. In the 1800s, Foxboro was home to the straw hat industry. People (especially women) really liked to wear straw hats back then. In the early 1900s a company was formed that specialized in special measuring instruments. For many years it was called The Foxboro Company but is today known as Invensys.

Foxboro has about 16,500 residents. Raleigh has about 276,000 residents. Zebulon has about 4000 people. So Foxboro is in between Raleigh and Zebulon.

Flat Stanley for CB - part 5

2009-02-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

While in Maine, Flat Stanley stopped in a Shaker village. The Shakers, like many other religious groups in the 1600s and 1700s, came to America to be able to practice their religion without being persecuted. This particular community of Shakers formed in 1783 and is the only remaining community of Shakers in the country.

Flat Stanley for CB - part 4

2009-02-21T15:30:00.000-08:00

Flat Stanley went skiing with Cousin Jacob and Aunt Paula this week at Sunday River. It is located in western Maine, near the New Hampshire border. The highest peak is 3,140 feet high, not as high as the ski slopes in Colorado or Beech Mountain in North Carolina, but they get a lot of snow in the winter. While Flat Stanley was visiting, 12 inches of snow fell one night.

Sunday River is near the town of Bethel, Maine. Cousin Jacob and Flat Stanley are standing in front of a statue on the town common in Bethel. Town commons are small parcels of land in the center of a town and are very common in New England. Around the town common, you will usually find one or two churches, a fire station, some houses, and a few shops.

While many of the houses in the center of New England towns were built during the Colonial era (the 1600s and 1700s), many of the houses one to two blocks away were built during the Victorian period (the 1800s). Above is a Victorian house in Bethel.

Flat Stanley for CB - part 3

2009-02-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

Flat Stanley went on a road trip this week. Cousin Jacob and Aunt Paula took him to Maine with them. Here he is in the town of Paris. Maine has many cities and towns with unusual names, like Norway, Poland, Mexico, and Athens. The names of most towns, though, are derived from English towns or from Native American names.

The town of Poland is home to Poland Springs, a bottled water company. Maine has many natural springs. In fact, on the drive Flat Stanley saw a roadside spring where people were filling very large containers with water.

Flat Stanley for CB - Part 2

2009-02-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Day, Flat Stanley hiked with Jacob and Paula to the top of Blue Hills in Canton, Massachusetts.

The hill is 635 feet high. That is pretty high for this part of Massachusetts. From the observation tower at the top, you can see the Boston skyline (left) and the Boston Harbor (right). Beyond the harbor is the Atlantic Ocean.

There is a weather observatory at the top of Blue Hill with a weather museum that you can visit (left). You can see some of their measuring equipment in the picture on the right.

Flat Stanley for CB - part 1

2009-02-14T16:42:00.000-08:00

Flat Stanley visited Boston on Friday, February 13. You can see him here in front of the Boston Public Library which was founded in 1848. The library was originally in a different location. The building you see in the background was built in 1895 for the library, though additions have been made over the years. Along the top of the building are the names of people that Bostonians considered great thinkers and artists back in the 1890s, including musicians, writers, artists, and scientists.

The Boston Marathon, a 26.2 mile run from Hopkinton, Massachusetts to Boston held every year for over 100 years, ends just to the right of the Boston Public Library and near the Old South Church, which is a Congregationalist church. Congregationalists are descended from the Pilgrims who came from England by way of Holland and landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in the 1600s.

The Boston Public Library is on one side of an area in the center of Boston called Copley Plaza. Within two blocks of that are the two of the most famous buildings in the Boston skyline: the Prudential Center (shown above) and the Hancock Tower.

To get to Boston, Flat Stanley rode the commuter train from Mansfield (near where Carlton's aunt, uncle, and cousin live) to Boston. Here he is sitting on a seat on the train. The trains and subways in Boston are assigned particular colors. There is a Green Line, a Blue Line, a Red Line, an Orange Line, and a Silver Line. The commuter train is often called the Purple Train because each car on the train has a purple stripe.

Once Flat Stanley got to Boston on the Purple Train, he had to ride the Green Line with Carlton's aunt to Boston University, where she is a student. In the picture above, Flat Stanley is in front Marsh Chapel, the center of Boston University. The sculpture you see just to the right of the chapel was built in honor of Martin Luther King, who attended Boston University.

Ancient Dice

2008-12-14T06:20:00.001-08:00

IMG_3677
Originally uploaded by pjbishop93

These dice in the Louvre are around 3000-years old. I was a hair disappointed that I couldn't find an ancient bishop, too. But maybe it's because this Bishop will always be younger than at least one of the Dices I live with.

Our First Espresso and Croissant

2008-08-12T12:41:00.001-07:00

IMG_3371
Originally uploaded by pjbishop93

7/29/08

Jet lagged but ready to dip into the first of many croissants and espressos. P learned that there are several ways to get something approximating American coffee: ask for un grand café or un café long or un café americain or ask for a bit of hot water. The J-Man and Double-D were content with espresso, though J-Man discovered cappuccinos in Italy. By the time we left Europe, we were pretty buzzed on caffeine.

We had this treat at one of the ubiquitous cafés that sit on nearly every corner of the streets in Paris. If it's not a café, it's a bar-restaurant or a brasserie. We were surprised that all of these places seemed to use the same menu.

Nous allons à Paris!

2008-07-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned because the Rolling Dices are headed to Paris! As in France! As in not Maine!

While there's the potential for a National Lampoon-style European vacation, we're hopeful there won't be any international incidents.

South Shore Conservatory

2008-07-24T11:11:00.001-07:00

South Shore Conservatory
Originally uploaded by pjbishop93

The J-Man spent two weeks at the South Shore Conservatory in Himgham at band camp. He says he had a great time and would pay to go again next year. lmao!!

You can him sitting in the front (slouched) to the left of the microphone. Walking across the stage is the conductor of his jazz band who is also his private sax teacher, the great Ken Reid.

Mighty Moose

2008-07-24T04:49:00.001-07:00

IMG_0382
Originally uploaded by pjbishop93

Yes, there are moose (mooses? meese?) in New Hampshire. They don't appear to be the brightest animals in the kingdom, but they certainly make up for it in size.

Flickr

2008-07-24T04:47:00.001-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.