Last days of Vava'u and Tonga adventures

THE REEF RESORT, Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga - We spent the day yesterday (and most of today) at Treasure Island Resort with new amigos Mark and Veronica who own the island paradise.

It's a stunning place - so stunning that I told Admiral Fox that after spending just a few hours there, my "Awe Meter" pegged at 100 percent and then broke.

Incredible doesn't describe it.

I will later, of course, and with it, with photos that are all trapped on various cameras, hard drives, SD cards and even on this iPad.

But our internet connection makes two tin cans and a string looked like fiber optic cable by comparison so it's crazy to even try to post anything bigger than a text file.

That said, of course I have to try... So below, tin cans and string willing, is a photo of our photo boat captains, Lisa Danger and John LeDoux.



Tomorrow we will be back in Neiafu, the main village, where the Internet can be a challenge, but we can usually overcome any obstacles.

Tuesday a.m. we fly out for the main island of Tonga, then Fiji, then LA, the Sacramento...

Home in Watkins Glen and Hector will be a week after that...

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A move from 'downtown' out to Treasure Island

TREASURE ISLAND, Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga - There are no coincidences.

Yesterday morning, desperate for a cab to haul all of our stuff down to the third race in the Regatta Vava'u, Adm. Fox spied a woman sitting in a cab at The Hilltop Hotel.

It turned out Veronica and her husband Mark own the Treasure Island Resort. And, AND, Veronica is originally from Mexico and we ended up not only sharing the cab, but having breakfast with she and Mark.

We have swapping tales of Mexico and Tonga ever since then.

The island resort was a few hundred yards from where we went whale watching/swimming last week.



Above is the pier we used when we arrived with on a boat that was full of food for the resort.

Below are two outside shots, one of the small restaurant where we just had rice and stir fried vegetables.

A heavenly lunch in a paradise setting.







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Final daze of Regatta Vava'u in Kingdom of Tonga

VAVA'U, Kingdom of Tonga - The past two days were a blur of sailing, parties and, well, more sailing and more parties.

Interspersed in with that were also some informational sessions on protecting the beautiful marine environment here and cruising destinations.

The sailboat race Thursday night was an around-the-harbor affair that got quite competitive. We were able to hop on the committee boat with Martin Craig (base manager for Sunsail and The Moorings), along with amigo Jeff from Vava'u Adventures (the kart-adventure company). It made for an excellent platform for shooting photos.




But Friday was the big day with a longish race through the islands to Ano Beach where the Full Moon Party kicked when the cruisers were all safely anchored.

The captain and skipper of the sailing catamara Orcinius (Lisa Danger and John LeDoux, respectively) took us out on their vessel as a photo boat for that race. They kept the cat nice and flat while I shot video and Admiral Fox did her still photo work. Below is the finish line as Cirrus crosses it.




There were lots of surprises at the Full Moon Party - some of which I will write about later, but check out the structure in the water near shore that greeted everyone as they came in my dinghy.

Look familiar?



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Children take over Regatta Vava'u for the day

VAVA'U, Kingdom of Tonga - After a fun sailboat race in solid breezes Tuesday, many of the cruisers in the Regatta Vava'u took time Wednesday to attend - and help out - with a Kids' Day that included face painting, costumes, music and, of course, a snazzy parade, complete with an all-Tongan children's band.




The Tongan children had the day off from school for the event and seemed to enjoy the whole thing as much as the hundreds of parents and cruisers who came to watch.

Local Vava'u celebrity and theater owner Billy worked with the children, leading part of the parade with a ukulele. Then the children from various schools put on performances of traditional dances, dressed in traditional garb.

After the end of the Kids' Day festivities, the cruisers retired to the Poolside Cafe for their own afternoon of fun and games and to rehydrate with the beverages of their choice.



Near the wharf area where the children were doing their dances, the inter-island container ship was at the dock, loading and offloading containers. The containers are the main way things are shipped to and from the island.

Thursday will be the second race in the three-race series this week, with a late afternoon around-the-harbor contest. I suspect there will be some amount of hydration involved in that race, too.



Then Friday the cruisers have a longer race scheduled through the islands, ending up at Ano Beach for what's called the Full Moon Party, a combination awards program, beach party, dance-a-thon, and pyrotechnics show.

There will also be a feast with lots of food and drink... lots...

Although the Full Moon Party is almost the grand finale to the Regatta, the next night there will be a traditional Tongan feast offered that many Regatta participants plan to attend, too.

I plan to stay away from the scales for at least a month when I get back from this adventure of feasts, parties, sailboat races and imbibing of hydrating beverages.

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A sailing/whaling day at the Regatta Vava'u

VAVA'U, Kingdom of Tonga - The day started out dark and stormy and right here in downtown the rain pounded hard for nearly 20 minutes in a tropical downpour.

Most people cheered.

It was an auspicious start, considering that much of this part of the island chain has been suffering from drought. And that is a pretty serious deal here, as most of the drinking water comes either from the skies or is shipped in via bottles. The vast majority is collected though into big tanks.

The race was a quick affair out and through some of the nearby islands, starting at 11:30 a.m. and done by 2:30 p.m. But in the middle of all that, the participants had to go into a shoreside cave as well as scamper across a spit of sand to get some clues that would help them in how they finished in the race.

The cave was amazing, the same spot Adm. Fox and I snorkeled in earlier this week as part of our swim-with-the whales expedition.

Our photo and video collection is growing in leaps and bounds, with backups and another set of backups on a gazillion gigabyte harddrive. (OK, it's only a one terrabyte hard drive, but still.)

This afternoon we listened to a presentation about the whales of this area, the very whales we were swimming with early this week.




We learned that whales are most closely related to the land mammals we call the hippo and that at one time, there were 45,000 humpbacks taken illegally from these islands before the then king called a halt to it in 1979

When he stopped the whale harvesting, the local Tonga whale population was down to 12 breeding females. Now there are about 2,400 and coming back at about 3 percent per year.

Kee-rist.

Among the many revelations was that krill - the mainstay food of these animals when in the frozen stretches of the southern oceans - is declining. No, not just because of climate charge, but because many countries are havesting krill for use in the manufacture of vitamin supplements.

I really need to research where the oil comes from in my USANA supplements.

Below is a photo of today's captains' meeting before the race, at the Mango Cafe.

Wild ending for Tridecagon-athlon at Regatta Vava'u

VAVA'U, KINGDOM OF TONGA - The big Monday event in the Regatta Vava'u was the tridecagon-athlon, a 13-event mashup that anyone who ever spent time in a scout camp, pledged a fraternity or, well, attended a cruiser's regatta like this would recognize.

The three-legged race was actually a centipede race with seven or so members all bound together. Then there was the hip bounce, where a huge boat fender gets pushed about using just the hips. It's get wilder as the game goes on and you are allowed to use your knees, too.




The whole day was punctuated with stops for cold beer (we are talking cruisers here) and some delicious food provided by both the Poolside Cafe and the Marina Wine Bar.

The master of ceremonies was a fellow named Billy - about whom I will be writing a lot more, here and other places. He has a background in the circus and comes from a show business family.

To quote that great sailing philosopher Captain Ron: "It shows."

For part of the festivities, I climbed a wall and perched up high, operating what we called the Regatta Vava'u Skycam. I suffered my only injury of the day climbing up - there was barbed wire wrapped through the chain link.



Tomorrow is the first actual sailing race in the regatta. Winds have been pretty light, but the sailors might need a less-that-chaotic sail given how sore their muscles likely are. Some will be recovering from the pie-eating contest that turned into a pie-throwing contest, the last event that left everyone (except for the two journalist/photographers) slimed by gooey, yellow pie.

We are talking about cruisers here.

Below is a group shot of the entire crowd from today's event sponsored by a locally owned company called Tropical Tease. Tropical Tease is a T-shirt and custom shirt shop right on the main street that has some of best quality shirts and coolest artwork I have seen in either hemisphere.


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A trip along Vavau's Mahogany Ridge

MAHOGANY RIDGE, VAVA'U, Tonga - The second big event of Regatta Vava'u here was a pub crawl last night, an hours-long affair that started at one end of this small village and ended somewhere on the other side.

I can't tell you exactly where it ended up because after the first two spots, the Ovava Restaurant followed by the Aquarium Restaurant, it looked like I would have to start crawling and there is an entire week of festivities yet to be written about and photographed. Adm. Fox and I retired from the field a little early, but the pub crawl crawled on for hours.

It was a fancy dress affair with wild costumes and enough music to get everyone dancing in the streets. Quite literally dancing in the streets. And after partying at the first stop on the tour with beer, drinks and fantastic pizza, a crowd of maybe 100 revelers paraded down the street following the music blasting from a sound trailer.


I went dressed as a visiting journalist. Not that original perhaps, but then I did get a free beer for my efforts. Adm. Fox was in one of her drop-dead gorgeous Mexico outfits. She got a beer, too.

Earlier in the day Admiral Fox and I teamed up to cover a paddle boat race in the harbor. The affair was organized to kick off efforts to raise money for the Vava'u folks to purchase a traditional Tongan canoe (which cost about $18,000) to use in races against other islands.

The boat races died out some years ago when outboard motors took over all the inter-island boating. But with a little nudge, the organizers of the regatta believe they can get the competitions going again.


Today is Sunday in Tonga and everything shuts down so that people can attend church and then spend time with families. It is also a day of feasting here at Port of Refuge Villas (where we are staying for another four days). We will be feasting this afternoon with the family and other community members and the menu looks unbelievably good.

But we won't have far to crawl home afterwards.


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Off to see - and swim with - the whales

VAVAU, Kingdom of Tonga - Yesterday we took a cart tour (spelled Kart, here) around the island, seeing some beaches that are so beautiful, it's hard to believe they are real.

The carts (karts) were fun to drive, and in a few places we understood why they were equipped with roll bars.

Unfortunately, on the last leg home, the chain broke on our unit (which driving over a downed tree) and so we ended up getting towed home for the last few kilometers on a 10-foot tow rope.

A ten-foot rope isn't very long when you are going 30 miles and hour and the brakes on your kart are (as they say here) a little dodgy.

In a couple of hours, we head out on a motorized catamaran to swim with the whales and see some more of this island from the sea. The harbor is filling up fast with yachts for the RegattaVava'u that starts officially tomorrow.

Among the first events is a pub crawl, scheduled for the evening.

The sacrifices we make as journalists.

Below is a photo taken from the deck of our accommodations last night, a place called The Balcony.




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In Vava'u, the Kingdom of Tonga, days later

VAVA'U, Kingdom of Tonga, South Pacific - Days later - I can't tell you how many... We are now in Vava'u for the sailing regatta and festival we will be writing about as well as shooting photos and taking video.

We changed time zones so many times, I lost track of what time and day it is, but know that as long as I file my column to the Finger Lakes Times sometime early tomorrow, I'll make my deadline.

I think anyway.

Adm. Fox and I just had lunch in The Aquarium Cafe and will be heading out to an island for the night, an island leased by regatta organizers Lisa and Ben.

More on that later...

Here's a photo of what we looked at from the deck of The Aquarium.



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Final preparations for the flights to the Kingdom of Tonga

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - Adm. Fox and I are putting the finishing touches on smashing way too much stuff into bags that are way too small as we get ready to fly to LA and then on to Tonga tonight.

We leave late Sunday night and arrive very early Tuesday morning.

The International Dateline makes things complicated.

But as best we can tell, we are ready for the trip. The only issue is the 15 pound weight limit for carry-on baggage. Believe me, carry on luggage can weigh a lot more than that.

Just my camera weighs about 5 pounds - and there is noooo way that is going to be in a checked piece of luggage.


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From Watkins Glen to Sacramento, via Philadelphia and Phoenix

SOMEWHERE OVER ARIZONA AT 35,000 FEET - Admiral Fox and I left our Watkins Glen casa at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for a quick drive to the Elmira Airport where we hopped the first of three flights to get us to Sacramento.
And much to my surprise, the first plane was a prop plane - a Dash-8, a nice enough plane, but.
A prop plane? Hoo-boy.




Still, we got on (after gate checking our bags) and bounced our way safely to Philadelphia. We didn't talk much - hard to over the sound of those two engines whining right outside the window.
But it was in Philadelphia where things got a little tight.
We had to catch a shuttle from Terminal F to Terminal A - with about a 35-minute window to catch our connector to Phoenix. And the shuttle line was long and moving with the speed of a glacier (a growing glacier, not the kind that are melting...)
Santa Crappo, we thought, can we make it?
But we made it to the gate just as they were boarding the last four passengers (us among them) and wedged ourselves into middle seats. The flight was only about 4 hours, but I managed to somehow cramp up my left leg enough that it still hurts as we hurtle along towards Sacramento.
I just started reading the classic book, "The Monkey Wrench Gang," a book recommended to me by Adm. Fox and some other folks. It made the four hours go by very fast, just wish it had reminded me to stretch a few times.




Our time in Sacramento will be short - just until Sunday when we head out to LAX for our 10.5 hour trip to Fiji, followed by another 1-hour flight to our destination: the Kingdom of Tonga.
Then the next morning, we have to roll out very early to catch an inter-island flight from Tonga to Vava/u, our final destination for the sailing regatta and festival that drew us halfway across the globe.
From that point, it's whale watching, island tours, fiestas, snorkeling, sailing, followed by more whale watching, more tours, more fiestas, more snorkeling and more sailing.
OH! And somewhere in all that we will be prepping stories and taking photos and videos to write and post when we return to the U.S. in about three weeks.
I could get used to this travel writing.


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Anti-hydrofracking, anti-Inergy forces ramping up the pressure

HECTOR, New York, USA - The people opposed to hydrofracking for natural gas  - as well as those folks who think the proposed Inergy propane storage and transportation depot is too awful to even contemplate - all gathered Sunday for a combination political convention/concert called The Big Splash.

Newest Inergy's drill site on the shore of Seneca Lake

The Big Splash had music, speeches, bumper stickers, handouts, food and good drink provided by wineries and breweries.

And the weather was glorious, just glorious for more than a 1,000 people who came to the Hector Volunteer Fire Department grounds for the event.

The Big Splash was actually Big Splash II. Last year the event was a big success, also.

The energy of the people at the event was reminiscent of the march that was held in Watkins Glen recently to protest the Inergy project. Inergy is already drilling wells to store natural gas from the Marcellus Shale and this summer accidentally dumped thousands of gallons of brine water (salt water) into Seneca Lake.

More protests can be expected very soon.

*subject2change Media was on scene and made two videos: one focuses on three speeches, the second is a video of Brett Beardslee giving a talk and then performing an antifracking song he recently composed.

The Gas Bag strategies for defusing hydrofracking opposition

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - A website called Energy in Depth started popping up in my emails about hydrofracking recently. Usually the emails were because someone was commenting about some outrageous opinion columns printed on the site purporting to be news.

I won't provide the link here because the people that run it likely use the number of hits to show their bosses how much traffic they generate as they ask for more money.

A new way to heat homes - light the faucets on fire

EID is a gas industry mouthpiece which pretends that it is presenting the news and facts about natural gas exploration and drilling but in fact spends most of its time ridiculing anyone who criticizes any aspect of the gas industry.

EID is supported by the oil industry, too. They are all sleeping the same rather rumpled, toxic bed.

The stories/columns are quite sophomoric and make wild claims about the wonderfulness of natural gas, dismissing any assertions that there have been toxic spills or water pollution or nasty incidents of any kind.

But in the past few days, I allowed myself to get sucked into reading some of the posts and responding a few times.

Then I realized that is a major part of the EID strategy: Get concerned citizens busy replying to stories posted by the morons who write for the website. (My apologies to morons everywhere for that crack. These people aren't stupid, just mean-spirited.) If the fracking opponents are spending time  posting on the website, responding to some snotty, inaccurate or lie-filled post, they are not writing letters to legislators, researching the ongoing chemical spills or talking to their neighbors about the dangers of hydrofracking.

Tom Shepstone, gas industry flack

Tom Shepstone, the man in charge of the public relations site (and other efforts to discredit anyone asking questions) is a gas industry consultant and told me - in a comment on the EID website - that my assertion that they were trying to suck off activists' time was ludicrous.

I don't think so. I think Shepstone and his klan of gas baggers is all about trying to get the opponents of hydrofracking from focusing on fighting in ways that matter such as trying to stop the gas companies from continuing to buy politicians while they blithely pollute the groundwater.

So, adios EID. Rest in peace, preferably near a concrete hydrofracking pad or adjacent to one of those naturally occurring methane puddles which are growing in such great numbers where hydrofracking is taking place.

Kingdom of Tonga next stop for the Backpack Journalists

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - The dateline in a few weeks on this blog (and my column for the Finger Lakes Times newspaper) will not read Watkins Glen. It will read:
 VAVA'U, Kingdom of Tonga.

Admiral Fox and I will be traveling there to attend a sailing regatta and festival (LINK: Tonga Sailing Regatta) about which we will be publishing stories and photos in several magazines. There might even be some video postings for publication involved, too.

The whole thing started in June when Captain Clarence Harvey of the sailing vessel Lotus (yes, the Lotus, the ship we raced in the Banderas Bay race the past three seasons) forwarded me a notice from the group putting on the regatta. The group was looking for a journalist to come, sail, (and eat, drink and be merry, I believe) and then publish about the experience later in whatever publications or video outlets might be interested.

A flurry of emails later and our tickets are booked, we are in a mad scramble to get proper footgear and clothing - while also figuring out how to pack all the needed computer and camera gear.

Oh! And I am learning how to say, "I would like a cold beer, please," in polite Tongan.

The majority of the population of the island nation does speak English so if my Tongan doesn't improve, I will not die of dehydration.

A dream assignment? Yup. And Admiral Fox has already landed a writing and photo assignment from her Zumba magazine. She will also be teaching some Zumba classes  there and posting stories and photos on her website: RoadTrip Zumba.

On my side of the writing fence, I have an overall story about the sailing regatta and festival to do and several feature ideas percolating. I was in contact with the travel writer Rolf Potts (Rolf Potts Vagabonding) who advised me not to get carried away prior to my visit, but check out every grain of sand while in the islands for stories and articles to do later.

Who knows? We just might have to stay in the island paradise a few extra days (or weeks, or months, or years) to see all of what Tonga has to offer. I have wanted to travel in the South Pacific ever since watching the television program, Adventures in Paradise in the early 1960s. (Adventures in Paradise, first episode...).

One feature idea I am considering is swimming with whales. You read correctly. It seems that the whales in the waters around the islands of the Kingdom of Tonga don't mind a little company in the water.

We'll see. It could be instead of my diving in, I'll take some great video and stills of Admiral Fox swimming with these leviathans. Maybe she can teach them a couple of underwater Zumba moves while she is down there.

She is going to be certified soon in Aqua Zumba, after all.

How do you say, I am your friend, in Whale?

Inergy protest in Watkins Glen draws more than 200 people

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - A rally in Watkins Glen - against the proposed Inergy propane storage project - drew more than 200 people Friday who heard heated speeches and then took their protest to the streets of downtown Watkins Glen in a march that drew a lot of interest from local residents and tourists.

Inergy - a Missouri-based corporation - wants to store propane and natural gas in salt caverns in the Town of Reading, just north of Watkins Glen. Opponents have a detailed litany of safety issues with the proposal, few of which have been addressed by local or state officials.

Opponents also believe that the facility would be a disaster for the rapidly growing - and successful - tourist industry.

As a nice capstone to the many issues already uniting the protesters, Inergy went to the state Supreme Court this past week to demand that its property tax bill be cut in half - while simultaneously touting all the fiscal advantages the surrounding area will enjoy if the project is approved.

Those fiscal advantages would likely include having to lay off local schoolteachers and police.

It seems the concept of cognitive dissonance is alive and well in Missouri at Inergy.

The best stories about the protest came out of the Corning Leader, written by Derek Ek and the Odessa File.

Here are the links to those two pieces:

Odessa File story and photos
Corning Leader article and photos

Also here are photos of the rally, and a short video:

Sandra Steingraber (photo by Sylvia Fox)

Elaine Mansfield

 

Gas Industry photographer 'covering' the rally

 

Friday is the time to just say NO to Inergy propane storage

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - A few weeks ago I wrote the following in my column for the Finger Lakes Times in Geneva:

===============================

The winds of war are blowing and hard to ignore this summer.

I’m not talking about the national political chatter about Iran and that nation’s potential to produce nuclear weapons.

The breezes on the back of my neck come from much closer to home from two seemingly related decisions: a pending state decision whether to allow hydrofracking for natural gas and the possible approval of a massive propane and natural gas storage project in the Town of Reading, a few miles north of Watkins Glen.

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This Friday those winds will be blowing hard, right along the main boulevards of Watkins Glen, NY, with a very large demonstration and march against the proposed Inergy propane storage facility in the Town of Reading.

Protestors will assemble at 4 p.m. near the waterfront and from there, well, it's anybody's guess what will happen.

Many people have worked hard for several years to convince local officials to stop this disaster-in-the-making from moving forward. For the most part, government officials seem unimpressed and dismiss the opponents as some kind of environmental whack jobs.

They aren't.

Thousands of people have signed petitions against it and have the support of hundreds of local businesses - large and small - which are threatened with a loss of commerce if this large-scale industrial project gets the nod.

The planned project is an environmental nightmare of epic proportions. And the proponents have demonstrated they have little regard for the safety and well-being of the area and its residents.

Just in the last few months, without permits, the company has spilled many gallons of brine water - water that is much, much saltier than sea water - right into Seneca Lake. The scars of burnt grass and dying trees are visible to the naked eye from the lake.

Inergy officials merely yawn.

Part of the Inergy site

Beyond that, there is no safety plan in case of a major emergency. And even at that, Inergy has admitted in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that if there is a major accident/incident, it couldn't afford to clean things up and pay for all the likely claims.

And if that all isn't bad enough, on the same day that demonstrators will be demanding that the Missouri-based company withdraw its application, the company will be arguing before the state Supreme Court to get its property taxes cut in half.

Cut in half! Jaysus!

No wonder people are taking to the streets.

The winds of war will blow Friday and it remains to be seen if local government officials will wake up and see just how alarmed the local citizenry is - really alarmed - and how much the citizens want the project stopped.

Among the many scenarios protestors are worried about - with some of the millions of gallons of propane being stored in unstable salt caverns beneath the lake for Godsakes  - is that a major fire and explosion is likely.

No possible. Likely.

The video below from Toronto, Canada shows just how powerful a propane explosion is. 

If Inergy's salt caverns - or planned above ground storage - caught fire and started to explode.

Well, adios Watkins Glen - and the surrounding countryside.

 

The Frackers are closing in on New York State - time to act

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - New York State residents are expecting word from the Governor's office almost any day about whether he will move ahead and allow hydrofracking for natural gas in New York.

Hydrofracking site

If he does, New York can kiss its clean water goodbye, as well as get ready for an environmental assault that could seriously damage - if not kill - much of the growing tourist industry around the Finger Lakes.

Nothing like have a concrete natural gas well pad, industrial equipment, the smell of methane and chemicals - or a flaring gas stack - within sight of a winery where you are tasting the latest Seyval offerings.

I have been reading entreaties from activists all over the state, urging people to send a message to our governor, Andrew Cuomo, to tell him not to allow hydrofracking.

Andrew Cuomo

And so today, I got off my duff and wrote the governor. It's rumored he is courting the natural gas industry because he thinks their big bucks will help him get elected president in 2016. If he approves fracking in New York State, he won't have my vote or support for anything.

I'm still miffed that he won't support the sale of wine in grocery stores, because he owes too many political chits to the liquor lobby.


Here's the letter I sent to the Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor today:

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3 August 2012

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Cuomo:

I am writing to you today to urge that you NOT approve of any hydrofracking in the State of New York – even what might be considered small test sites.

I have been studying, writing and publishing about hydrofracking since 2005 and my conclusion is this: Hydrofracking cannot be done safely and is a clear and present threat to public health, the environment, and the economy.

Yes, the economy.

The natural gas companies that have promoted the gas-rush fever have built their entire program on faulty financial data and projections (perhaps deliberately) as most of the companies are more interested in investment and profits than actual production of natural gas. That house of cards will collapse. And when it does, I do not want New York State to be left with polluted waters, an abandoned industrial wasteland and a public health nightmare.

Far better for New York State to be a state that still has clean water, a solid tourist industry and healthy people.

It’s doubtful in future years that people will be flocking to the Barnett Shale area in Texas to vacation, or even many of the hydrofracking hot spots in Pennsylvania and Ohio where once beautiful tourist vistas have been turned into something that looks like a movie set from one of Mel Gibson’s Mad Max movies.

I urge you to resist the temptations of allowing hydrofracking, no matter how much is being offered by the powers behind it. The road to re-election, and perhaps to higher office, lies with the people who elected you in the first place.

If John McCain had stood by his principles, he would likely be President of the United States today.

Sincerely

Michael J. Fitzgerald, president

*subject2change Media

Watkins Glen, NY, Arroyo Seco, Jalisco, Mexico

607-535-4941 (Watkins Glen, home office)

916-201-0787 (U.S. mobile)

315-107-6957 (Mexico mobile)

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Back to journalistic roots at a New York high school graduation

CORNING, New York, USA - The assignment was a slam-dunk, plus it helped out the Elmira Star-Gazette newspaper for which I do occasional bits of writing. Already this spring I wrote about a Titanic anniversary festival, a hiking trail cleanup, a new farm-animal hospital, and a wine festival.

So it was I found myself on a gorgeous Friday afternoon - a perfect Seneca Lake Appreciation Day - loading cameras and notebooks to head to the Corning-Painted Post West High School Graduation about 40 minutes from the lake cottage.

Getting the caps on straight

It was, as Yogi Berra intoned once, 'Deja vu all over again.'

When I started my writing career in the summer of 1973, I wrote every obituary the Napa Register published that season and covered everything. Everything was generally defined as what the veteran journalists didn't want to touch.

And so I found myself doing all kinds of stories that are not on the top of my list of clippings, but certainly important to the people about whom I was writing.

Friday night's story was no different.

The place was packed with parents so excited they were vibrating even more than their sons, daughters, grandchildren and nieces and nephews. And the students had a great mix of excitement, awe and trepidation about what the next step meant for them, once they threw their mortarboards in the air..

For some, the next step was heading off universities in the fall. But one young fellow told me he would never set foot in classroom again in his life. If his attitude stays the same as what he evidenced Friday night, I hope he doesn't - for the sake of any teacher or professor.

Administrators and teachers first, please

I was surprised to be asked to write the graduation story until I opened up Saturday's newspaper and realized that most of the high schools in Central New York had all had their ceremonies Friday night. And in the Elmira Star-Gazette's circulation area, well, they had a lot more bases to cover than staff and photographers.

It was kind of sweet event to go to and Admiral Fox gamely agree to attend, too. She proved invaluable (again!) in chatting up the students to get them to talk and setting some of the stock photos I knew I needed.

It brought back so many memories that I had dreams of my first newspaper job - writing sports.

One winter I had the unenviable assignment of writing about junior high school boys basketball. Watching one of those games makes spectating at a golf match look exciting.

They pretty much went like this:

Dribble, pass, dribble, shoot - MISS, 

Dribble, pass, dribble, shoot - MISS, 

Dribble, pass, dribble, shoot - MISS, 

Dribble, pass, dribble,shoot - MISS, 

Dribble, pass, dribble, shoot - MISS, 

 Dribble, pass, dribble, shoot - MISS...

The final score would usually be something like 17-12.

I get sleepy just thinking about it.

Stands were full of parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and amigos...

Winestock 2012 gets a break with fabulous summer weather

THREE BROTHERS WINERY, Seneca County, New York - If the third time is a charm (and I believe it is...) then it worked for the 3rd annual Winestock NY, a festival held this Saturday to celebrate good wine, good food and good music.

The procession in to Winestock 2012

About 15 wineries participated in the event under almost cloudless skies with temperatures in the low 80s.

Last year it rained so hard I thought I had mistakenly returned to coastal Mexico in mid-June. (Not a good place, unless you like 100 percent humidity and temperatures in the 90s...)_

There was lots of competition for people's attention this weekend besides Winestock. In Watkins Glen, the hugely popular Cardboard Boat Races drew a thousand people.

Still, Winestock might have set some attendance records.

By the time Admiral Fox and I arrived - just a half hour after the gate opened - so many people had already showed up that they were using  overflow parking out in the vineyard. It was actually quite cool to walk in via row Reisling 115. No grapes showing much yet, but the vines certainly looked healthy.

Limos at the ready

Winestock 2012 also had a number of limos and tour buses arrive (part of the reason smaller vehicles had to park outside the compound).

There was even a bridal party or two making its way around to wine tastings.

The music was excellent with a favorite blues guy, Delta Mike Shaw, performing on the center stage with several amigos. (See video of Mike on stage, below).

Lots of other familiar faces were there, too: Tina Hazlitt (who helps organize this each year, Jason Hazlitt and Rose (from the Hector Wine Company), Cindi and Lisa (representing Atwater) and probably a dozen other people from Red Newt Winery and Hazlitt's who I know, but didn't see.

It's still going on as I write this.

Hmm ... perhaps I should go back for just a couple of more tastings to track down any other amigos who I might have missed.

Jason Hazlitt, co-owner of the Hector Wine Company, pours for Winestock 2012 guests

Picking out the wedding wines

And it is off-we-go as Admiral Fox starts up her RoadTrip Zumba

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - Admiral Fox talks about her latest leap-off-the-precipice idea in her new blog, RoadTrip Zumba (LINK:Take a Zumba trip here...). She is far more able to explain at that website exactly what she is up to.

Rolf Potts with friends

But I know this: Whenever we take trips (or plan trips), there will likely be a Zumba factor involved. And chances are good that I will be traveling along, roadie-style, with my video and still cameras in hand.

The idea sprang in part from a columnist/traveler/writer/blogger I have been following for several years named Rolf Potts: (LINK: The Rolf Potts website). He came to my attention via a student who thought what Potts did was, well, cool.

The student was right.

Potts travels with a camera man a lot of the time, filming Pott's adventures, sort of a 21st Century Boswell. Some of that film gets translated in often hilarious videos. And Potts also writes about where he has been in addition.

Can you see where this is all going?

The sign makes it official

The Admiral decided that she would launch RoadTrip Zumba this spring and summer, continuing it on in the fall. The only place I know we are going this fall (before we head to Mexico) is Nova Scotia. Do you think there is Zumba there?

Yup. It's already been checked out.

And the beaches of Nuevo Vallarta will see some Zumba this fall and winter, too.

The first RoadTrip Zumba session Monday was at the Hector Wine Company (LINK: HWC website), just up the road - with lots of smiling faces for the group shot.

When the weather gets better (read: Warmer), there is talk of Zumba on the Hazlitt's Beach.

Zumba group at the Hector Wine Company