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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

binghamton ny

Summer of Baseball: A game in Binghamton is a nice night

June 23, 2014

It’s almost crazy to think of a minor league baseball stadium built in 1992 as being old, but as the years go by – it becomes older.

To think that 1992 was more than 20 years ago will age a park, especially at the Double-A level. When NYSEG Stadium, in Binghamton, was built in 1992, it was quite the stadium. And over the years, it’s been used for other things, including high school football.

Home of the B-Mets.

Home of the B-Mets.

But, in the landscape of baseball, it’s an older stadium. Though one thing is certain – it’s still a pretty nice stadium.

I usually make a few trips to Binghamton per season as it’s an easy trip, never a problem to park and there are no issues getting tickets. There isn’t a bad seat in the house and, unless you go on a few uber-popular days, you can usually lounge a little more when there. I’ve sat on both sides of this field, as well as in the “upper deck,” which came on this trip. The third-base line is better if you want to avoid the sun.

You really are pretty close to the action, which is always a bonus. There’s a train yard out over the left-field wall, so sometimes you may get a train going through. That’s kind of a cool thing, though. The fences are average or so in length, which gives you the opportunity to see some homers.

The day's lineup.

The day’s lineup.

There aren’t a ton of bells and whistles with this stadium. They do quite a few games and such and there’s a kids area down the first-base line. The food selection is decent and the prices are OK, but not stellar. Case in point – I purchase two hot dogs and a soda. The soda cost about as much as the two dogs and if I had wanted French fries, they would have cost more than $4. A little steep when consider the hot dogs were $1.75 each, if I remember right.

As a hot dog nut, I wouldn’t classify those served in Binghamton as the best I’ve ever had a game and it’s not even close. But, I did enjoy them as they were cooked right and tasted just fine. I’d go above average on the hot dogs, say a 3.5 out of 5 or a 7 out of 10.

Keeping book, as always, on my Eephus League Halfliner.

Keeping book, as always, on my Eephus League Halfliner.

If you are looking to watch a baseball game, this is a good spot. The seats are pretty decent and you have a good amount of room. But if you are looking for a lot of extras, this might not be a place for you.

In recent years, there have been rumors about the Double-A team leaving Binghamton, which possibly could open the stadium up to be a Single-A team. This stadium, actually, would be really top-notch for that level (especially in the short-season Single-A New York-Penn League), though drawing fans might take a hit in that regard. Still, even with the rumors, Double-A ball remains in Binghamton and, hopefully, it will stay that way.

Park Notes:

NYSEG Stadium
Binghamton, New York
Home of the Binghamton Mets (AA affiliate of the New York Mets)
Visited on: Monday, May 26
Opponent: New Britain Rock Cats (AA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins)

Ratings (out of 10):

  • Stadium: 7
  • Concessions: 6
  • Parking: 8
  • Ambiance: 7
  • Friendliness: 9

I am embarking on a summer of baseball with the plan to hit a minimum of 10 stadiums this summer. Hopefully, there will be more than that. I will report on each park that I hit on the blog.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: Baseball, My world, Sports, Summer of Baseball Tagged With: aa baseball, ballpark, ballpark review, baseball, binghamton, binghamton baseball, binghamton mets, binghamton ny, double-a baseball, eephus league halfliner, mets, minor league baseball, minor leagues, new britain rock cats, nyseg stadium

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Foto Friday: Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk

October 11, 2013

Zhin-Li was born at Ross Park Zoo on June 18, 2013. The day of the WWPW was the first day Zhin-Li had come outside with his mother, Mei-Li.

Each year, well-known photographer Scott Kelby organizes a worldwide photo walk. It’s the sixth year this event has been held and it has grown each year. Though I’ve known about it for a few years, last year was my first official walk. I traveled to Schenectady to hit a smaller event and it was quite a bit of fun.

This year, I chose to head to Binghamton, where a walk was being held at the Ross Park Zoo.

An Amur Leopard.

What is the photo walk, you may want to know? Basically, people organize photo walks around the world and register them on the site. Other photographers can search and join a walk. The groups meet at the time and spot chosen by the walk leader and then head out to take photos. When done, some will go have a bite to eat and talk some photography.

The site explains the walk as this:

It’s a social photography event where photographers get together (usually in a downtown area or trendy section of town) to walk around, shoot photos, and generally have fun with other photographers.

From there, each photographer can (if they choose) upload a photo to their walk page. The leader chooses a winning photo, which is entered into the worldwide contest. The winner of that walks away with an amazing prize pack, as do some finalists.

Each of the two events I’ve gone to have been smaller, so a little more loose. I’m not sure if I’d want to go to one of the events where it’s filled (50 people) as I think that could get crazy. But who knows, maybe it would be kind of cool.

This arctic fox was gorgeous.

Anyway, I had never been to Ross Park Zoo, so this was exciting. The zoo is small, but has quite a few cool things.

Especially on this day.

See, three months ago, a red panda was born in the zoo. This was going to be the first day it went outside with its mother. How cool is that?

The walk was scheduled to be about two hours long and we went about 2 1/2. It was a beautiful day out, which made it even better. Ross Park Zoo is not only loaded with many animals, but some great nature and good fall color, too.

As noted, our group was smaller. We had 11, but honestly, I only saw 6-7 of them on a consistent basis. We all walked the same way, but people went their own ways, stopped, took photos and such. After, people are invited to meet and eat and chat. Six of us ended up going to a local place for a solid meal.

Fall colors were aplenty.

This photo walk really is fun and it’s worth experiencing. I said when I did my first one that I wanted to try and go somewhere new each year and I hope to continue that trend next year. The idea is to see how different leaders do things and see different places, which is always nice.

It’s amazing, too, to see all of the photos and posts tagged on different social medias. The range of photographers and their styles and experience is excellent.

For example, the walk I was on had different people — from iPhone photographers to point-and-shoots to high-level DSLRs, there was a wide range. That’s the best part of this — there’s no experience needed. Just come, socialize and take photos.

And it doesn’t get much better than that.

I look forward to next year and really enjoyed this year. Make sure, if you are a photographer, you keep an eye on this so you can possibly join up next year!

Below are a few more of the images I took. To see them all, check out the set I posted on Flickr.

Amur Tiger.

Does this scare you?

Snowy owl.

Bald Eagle.

Fall color.

Ring-tailed Lemur.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: Events, Foto Friday, My world, Photography Tagged With: animals, binghamton, binghamton ny, binghamton zoo, ross park zoo, scott kelby photo walk, scott kelby worldwide photo walk, worldwide photo walk, wwpw, zoo animals

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HooHaa 9: John McGuinness

September 9, 2011

The original docket showing the burial of John McGuinness at Patrick’s Cemetery in Johnson City, N.Y.

I’m calling this the curious case of John McGuinness.

He who appeared to be a cigar packer in his later years, following a short professional baseball career. He, who born in Ireland sometime in 1957, came to the United States at some point, played baseball and later lived in Binghamton, New York.

John J. McGuinness

He died in 1916, pending where you look. Finding information on him, outside of his baseball statistics, has proven to be quite difficult.

McGuinness is the next draftee on the HooHaa 9, a team made up of obscure baseball players from the 1800s and the early 1900s.

I came across him when searching for players to sponsor on Baseball-Reference.com. I did a search for Irish-born players and came across him. To make it better, he had the name McGuinness. I couldn’t go wrong with someone who had “Guinness” as part of their name, could I?

Further, he was buried in St. Patrick Cemetery in Johnson City, which isn’t too far from me.

But McGuinness became more than a quick research topic for me. He’s become a bit of an obsession. There’s no telling when he was born in 1857. Heck, he might have been born in 1856. Or 1858. When did he come across the big pond to the states? It’s a tough thing to pin down as the name “John McGuinness” was a more-than-common name in that time period (as I’ve discovered with my research).

Here are some of the things I do know:

He died in Binghamton on Dec. 19, 1916. He was interred at St. Patrick’s on Dec. 23, which happened to be 10 days after his daughter, Elizabeth, was buried.

Family interment records.

The family plot also contains a Mrs. J.J. McGuinness, who was buried on Dec. 22, 1902. Also buried there is Robert E. McGuinness, who was buried on Aug. 1, 1935. He’s the lone member of the family with a headstone, though there appears to be remnants of others at the plot. According to the obituary for John J. McGuinness, Robert is his son.

Some notes have put Elizabeth as his wife, but according to an obituary, it is, indeed, his daughter. This does seem to have a bit of confusion, however, as the owner/director (Robert L. McDevitt) of the funeral home that handled the McGuinness bodies sent this as part of a letter to baseball historian Bill Haber on Jan. 21, 1980:

Our records indicated that subject individual was born (1857) in Ireland — died December 19, 1916 (9:45 p.m.) at his residence, 5 River Terrace, Binghamton, New York. The record of his baseball career was not required and not requested y us. Additionally, Mr. McGuinness was pre-deceased by his wife (Elizabeth P. McGuinness) on Dec. 10., 1916.

Further, the letter goes on to state that the funeral arrangements were made by “their” daughter, Mrs. Frank J. (Mary H.) Mangan. Mrs. Mangan died March 23, 1953, in Syracuse.

McDevitt, however, was going based on records at the funeral home. Though he states that the records are extremely well kept, there might not have been a full connection between Elizabeth and John in the records.

Haber also contacted the Binghamton Public Library and received a letter back on October 31, 1979, which gave him the obituary of McGuinness.

JOHN J. MC GUINNESS died last night at 10 o’clock at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Frank Mangan, 5 River Terrace, after a week’s illness. His daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth McGuinness, died one week ago. He is survived by his daughter, Mrs. Frank J. Mangan; one son, R. Emmitt McGuinness, and a sister, Miss Anna McGuinness of Brooklyn. Mr. McGuinness was formerly a well known athlete and played first base on the old Cricket baseball team. He was a member of the Kingston Council of the Knights of Columbus, the Elks of Kingston and of Branch 74 of the C.K. of A. The funeral will be held Friday morning at the home at 9:30 o’clock at 10 o’clock at St. Patrick’s Church. Burial will be at St. Patrick’s Cemetery.

This would somewhat go a little more on par with city guides from that time period. The 1899 Williams’ Binghamton City Guide shows John, Emma M. Mrs. (possibly his wife) and Mary all living at 134 Front St.

His name has been misspelled quite a bit, most commonly as “McGinnis.” There are misspellings on his interment record for the cemetery as well.

The Anthony Publishing Co.’s Standard City Directory of Binghamton 1893-1894.

This fact comes into an interesting play in the The Anthony Publishing Co.’s Standard City Directory of Binghamton 1893-1894. John J. McGinnis – a cigar packer — is listed at 99 Clinton. On the opposite page, a Mrs. J J McGuinness — a sales lady — is also listed at 99 Clinton.

The reality is that when dealing with records from the 1800s and early 1900s, a lot of items can be hard to figure out.

So let’s take a closer peek at John J. McGuinness. …

Born in 1857 (maybe), McGuinness, obviously, came across the ocean at some point. He eventually landed in the Binghamton, NY area. Though it’s not fully known when. I have uncovered some Binghamton city directories from the early 1880s and he’s listed there as a cigar packer. I’m quite sure these are him considering his occupation, on his death certificate, show him being a cigar packer.

Before delving into his baseball career, however, it’s interesting to figure this out — when was he born.

1900 Census

Thanks to items on ancestry.com, I came across the 1900 Federal Census for Broome County and came across John McGuinness. I am thinking, with all the other things that I found, that this is the right John McGuinness as “Emma” is listed as his wife, his daughters include Bissi (Elizabeth?) and Mary and a son Robert E.

The interesting part?

He’s listed as being born in March of 1856. AND he’s listed as a cigar packer!

The confusing part continues, however, as his name is noted as “Mcginness.” The handwriting on the census list is hard to read, so it can easily be construed as something else. It’s quite an interesting peek, though, and might be the first true piece of info that shows when Mr. McGuinness may have really been born.

Don’t think it gets easier, however.

In the 1910 census, John is now listed as an estimated birth year of 1860. But he’s in the same household with Robert and Elizabeth, who are listed as brother and sister. Also in the house are Frank and Mary Mangan and their kids. This would seem to show their family tree as it seems to be pretty much on par with the obituary.

Going back a bit more, the US Census in 1880 shows a McGuinness family in Norwich, with John (about 1859 birth year) as the son. In 1880, John is listed as 21 on the census report. That could be the same person as it’s near Binghamton and the age differential could be about right, considering it seems like John might have been born anywhere from 1856-1860.

IF this is the same one, then his father would have been James. The only major issue here is that John and his sister on this report are both listed as being born in the United States. And, his sister is Jennie. There is a blank spot, as if room for another, but nothing is seen.

Finally, looking at the 1870 census, this same household is in Norwich. There is James and Mary (the parents) and then Jane, Ann and John. With the writing in the 1880 census, Jane/Jennie/Janie could definitely be confused. The age gap here goes on the 1859 birth year sort of thing for John, however. Ann is listed as age 16.

Again, however, the kids are listed as being born in New York.

There are some dots that connect that make me believe that this is a possible match. On John’s death certificate, his mother is listed as Mary, with the maiden name of Cassidy.

Life in baseball

He played three years in the “Major Leagues,” — 1875, 1879 and 1884. It also appears he played some minor league ball in the missing years, but just one — Utica in 1879 — shows any statistics.

Mainly a first baseman throughout his career, it isn’t known if McGuinness threw or bat left- or right-handed. He’s listed as being 5-foot-10, 150 pounds.

He made his debut in the big leagues in 1876, playing one game for the New York Mutuals of the National League. He went 0-for-4 in the game. The team finished in sixth place in the league that year with a 21-35 record.

He returned to the majors in 1879, playing for the Syracuse Stars, also of the National League. The team finished 22-48 that season and McGuinness played in 12 games, finishing 15-for-51 (.294) with seven runs scored, a double, triple and four RBIs. He struck out six times

His fielding was so-so as he had a .928 fielding percentage. He had 125 chances and had 113 putouts, three assists, nine errors and was part of eight double-plays.

McGuinness played his final major league season in 1884 with the Philadelphia Keystones of the Union Association. The team went 21-46 and placed eighth in the league. McGuinness saw a lot more playing time, appearing in 53 games.

The long season appeared to have taken a toll on McGuinness as his batting average was a paltry .236 (52-for-220). He eight doubles, a triple and five walks. No strikeouts were apparently recorded, however.

He played 48 games at first base that season and had a fielding percentage of .959. In 586 chances, he had 550 putouts, 12 assists, 24 errors and took part in 19 double plays. The games played at first, putouts and assists were each  ranked fifth in the league.

His minor league playing days included stints with Binghamton Cricket of the League Alliance (1877), Utica of the International Association (1878), the Utica Pent Ups of the National Association (1879) and the Binghamton Bingoes of the New York State League (1885). He also served as manager of the 1879 Utica team.

For that Utica team, which is the only year in the minors where his statistics were kept, he hit 28-for-91 (.308) with 17 runs. Those numbers might have been what got him to Syracuse that same season.

Beyond baseball

After baseball, it appears that McGuinness settled into his life as a cigar packer in Binghamton. According to the various city guides, he seemed to move around from year to year.

Death certificate for John J. McGuinness

He was at the home of his daughter when he died, if I am reading his death certificate right. The writing is hard to read, but it appears he died of pneumonia, though there is a secondary thing mentioned. It’s something with his heart, though I can’t read the first word (it starts with P).

It’s likely that many of the connections with John McGuinness will never be confirmed. The Hall of Fame has a letter on file from John Mangan, dated January 30, 1980. In it, Mangan said that he would have been 5 when McGuinness died and that Mary Mangan would have been an aunt by marriage.

He notes that he spoke  with Frank J. Mangan, who would have been a grandson to McGuinness, and neither of them had any strong recollection of McGuinness. At this point (so more than 30 years ago), he said he believed there were several children of McGuinness’ son, Emmett. However, they did not know where they were located.

Robert E. McGuinness was buried in the family plot on August 1, 1935 according to the cemetery records. His headstone shows he was born in 1890. In the 1900 census, he’s shown as being born in October of 1887, but being 11 years old. As we’ve seen, these dates can be very hard to pin down in some cases.

Grave of Robert E. McGuinness

But, either way, Robert E. (Emmett) would have had to had children before 1935. That would put them in their 80s or 90s now, if they are still alive. There is a chance that maybe a great-grandchild of John McGuinness is still alive and maybe they would be able to fill in a few details. Who can tell as they likely would have been born after Robert had already died, as his death came at a young age.

This case is definitely curious. If anyone out there has more info, drop me a comment or e-mail me. I’d be interested to hear more. More than likely, however, a lot of these lines will never be completed, though that’s what makes research like this fun and interesting.

To see the closeups of the documents in this blog post, you can click on them. You can see everything I have by checking out the baseball research set I have on my blog’s Flickr account.

Sources used:

Files from the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, including letters and death certificate.

Ancestry.com

Baseball-Reference.com

Baseball-Reference.com John McGuinness page

Baseball-Reference Bullpen page on John McGuinness

Baseball-Reference.com minor league page on John McGuinness

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Filed Under: Baseball, HooHaa 9, My world, Sports Tagged With: baseball, baseball hall, baseball hall of fame, baseball history, baseball research, binghamton ny, binghamton ny baseball players, elizabeth mcguinness, emmett mcguinness, hoohaa 9, john j mcguinness, john mcginness, john mcginnis, johnson city ny, joihn mcguinness, national baseball hall of fame, research, st patricks cemetery, st patricks cemetery johnson city ny

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Hot air balloons are still magical

August 10, 2011

Getting ready to go up!

There’s something majestic about a hot air balloon.

As a kid, I always thought they were amazing. Fire going into a balloon and lifting it off into the air and into so many possibilities. People in the basket having the chance to slowly go over the earth and see things from a different perspective. Balloons were so much better than planes because you were free to see everything from above and have the air in your face.

I’ve never flown in a hot air balloon (though I would like to some day). Still, watching them lift off and float away is a cool thing. In Oneonta, there is a yearly balloon thing, but the few times I have gone, they never seem to lift off because of the weather. This year, for the first time, I went to the Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally in Binghamton.

Balloons flying!

We went on Friday and the weather was wonderful. The balloons were going to fly.

And fly they did.

Up they went. One at a time. Two at a time.

When one went up, another soon followed. It was quite a sight.

With a blue sky as a backdrop, it was really wild to see all of these balloons going up and floating in the sky.

Even cooler, though, is watching them get ready to have the balloons fly. With people holding down the balloon as it starts to fill, to testing the flames/heat and people getting into the baskets, it’s all part of the show. And people gather around closely to watch and take photos. So much so that sometimes workers need to shoo people away because they are getting too close.

Setting up.

The crowds were large, too. With the weather for the day — despite being a little hot — why wouldn’t there be crowds? Balloons, good food and Eddie Money to top the night off!

Watching the setup was sort of cool. Someone has to hold the balloon in place so it doesn’t get out of hand as it gets ready to blast off.

What’s more, watching how close these balloons get next to one another, it was pretty interesting. We watched one where when it went up, bumping the one next to it a little as that one filled up. But with it being balloons, nothing seemed to happen when they bump one another.

Balloon rides aren’t cheap. I’m not sure how much they were here, but I know in the past I’ve heard a price upwards of $200 per person. That’s not a bad price, I don’t think, but not something I’d just throw out to hop in a balloon. It’s something I’d love to do some day for photo opportunities, though.

Just imagine being on the opposite end of this photo — and looking down instead of looking up:

Floating over ...

The following two days at the Spiedie Fest were pretty bad with weather. I’m not sure if they got balloons off or not, but I’m glad the day I chose to go was pretty solid as it was fun to watch them fly.

I’d hit the event again next year (and I’m shocked it’s the first time I ever went), especially if there was a good musical act at the end of the night.

Here are a few videos I took of balloons taking off and such.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com.

Filed Under: Events, My world, Photography Tagged With: balloon, balloon rally, balloons, binghamton, binghamton ny, flyinh balloons, hot air balloon, spiedie fest, spiedie fest and balloon rally

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Notes from my noodle: August 3 edition

August 3, 2011

Ahhh the world of social networking.

Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. StumbledUpon. Tumblr.

Hash tags. Trending topics.

There is so much out there to digest. And it’s crazy to try and figure it all out. Alas, I’ve taken a jump with the social media for the HooHaa Blog and created a “fan” page. It’s not so much a page for fans, rather a spot where I will post updates for this blog and my photo blog. It’s a nice little spot to keep track of things and all that. I don’t expect anything major out of it, but it’s nice to have.

If you want to like the blog on there, hit up the HooHaa Blog Facebook page.

And now, there’s Google +.

I have accounts at other spots and got an invite for the Google +, so I’m all signed up. I’ve messed around a little with it and am trying to figure it out. Not sure if it’s the next Facebook or what, but it’s interesting.

I’m pretty sure I covered this all in a post not too long ago, but I guess I’ve taken the latest plunges into the social networking world. Well, at least for the blog!

***

Softball season is winding down.

Though it’s always disappointing when softball ends, that means there won’t be the worry of playing every Tuesday and Thursday.

Still, we have at least two games in our Oneonta City League remaining, with the possibility of three.

The championship begins Thursday as we play Miller, the lone team to earn a victory over us this season. It should be a fun series and, of course, I am hoping that we win this series and earn our second straight championship.

We ousted the Fuzzy Dogs in the semifinals, dispatching of them Tuesday for a sweep. Third-seeded Miller swept the Copper Fox (who we beat in last year’s final) to reach the championship.

Currently, we’re 17-1 and hopefully we can win two more and finish with one heck of a wild season.

***

The job hunt is going slow.

I’ve sent out things for jobs, took a workshop on some other things and have been keeping my head up as much as possible. It’s a bit frustrating, however. I have a couple of irons in the fire, so to speak, and hope that one of them catch fire a bit as they are spots I’d really dig. I keep looking and keep applying, though at times it becomes tedious.

Funny story though and it makes me wonder about some other jobs I’ve employed to.

A couple of people pointed me to an interesting job. I saw it on the company website, looked a bit more and it seemed like something I could deal with. Another friend had looked into applying for it at one time and knew the pay scale and all seemed pretty solid.

I looked at what I needed to do and one part included a digital portfolio of sorts to send along to them.

I started looking for things to include and got a few things together. But before I went any further, I figured I should call the company to see to whom I should address a cover letter and if there was anything else I needed to send.

Turns out the job has been filled, but had not been taken off the website.

I’m glad I called ahead as that would have been quite annoying to work on all of that stuff and find out the job wasn’t available any longer.

The job listing is off the website now, though, so that’s a good thing at least.

***

Researching obscure baseball players has been fun.

The thing about some of these baseball players is that they are so obscure that there isn’t much on them. There’s statistics, but not much more.

One of the ball players who I’ve sponsored on Baseball-Reference is buried in nearby Johnson City.

After touching base with the cemetery and finding out where he is buried, we went on a search. Alas, we got to the spot and there’s one headstone for someone else in this family plot, but not the person we were looking for. There were two things that seemed like they could have been bases for former headstones, but there was nothing to show that this person was buried there, other than knowing where he was supposed to be. The one headstone is for someone listed on the cemetery card for this plot, alas wasn’t the person I was hoping to find info on. It’s a shame, too, because some of the dates of his birth and death differ in certain spots.

I’ll keep up the research and will eventually have a post on him.

***

As those of you who read this blog will know, I’m quite interested in reading about, learning and hearing stories about long-distance hiking. It’s fascinating to see people who go through all of this and then see how they react at the end.

I got an e-mail the other day from hiker Skywalker (I’ve read one of his two books and will be reading the second soon), who arrived back in the states after hiking in Spain. It seems he had quite the experience. I’m working on doing an interview with him soon about his experiences, hiking and other things along those lines. If you have any questions you’d like to ask a long-distance hiker, let me know and I’ll put them in that interview.

That made me realize I hadn’t checked the hikers I started reading about at Trail Journals several months ago. Though I knew several people had dropped out of their hike of the Appalachian Trail, I knew several were still at it. Those that I was reading included both genders and ages ranging from recent high-school graduates to senior citizens.

It was sad to see that several of them had dropped out. There were various reasons, but all were valid. Many of them got several hundred miles in, too. A few of them are close to finishing or have already finished. It’s really quite impressive to think that these people will have hiked more than 2,000 miles over varying terrain to finish the AT.

I’m still intrigued by the AT. I’m not saying I will do the hike one day and I’m not saying I won’t. The odds are against it, but it does still intrigue me. It’s a shame I wasn’t better off financially or in better shape as being laid off for all this time would have been the perfect time to try it. We’ll see though. Only time can tell.

To those of you who have done it or finished this year, awesome job and congrats. For those who try it in the future, good luck.

And if you want to ask someone who has done the AT and the Pacific Crest Trail, let me know and I’ll add it to my question sheet!

***

Every year, Binghamton hosts the Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally. I’ve never gone and have always wanted to as it seems like it would be great photography.

Years ago, when working a summer job as a painter at a local college, a few of us used to listen to a Binghamt0n-area radio station. That year, Eddie Money was a headliner at the Spiedie Fest. Quite often during that summer, you’d hear Money’s song “Take Me Home Tonight” on the radio and them advertising for Spiedie Fest.

And every time the chorus part of the song came on, the announcer would — in a booming voice — say “EDDIE MONEY!”

Ever since then, it’s been a running joke between a few of us.

Eddie Money is back at Spiedie Fest this year. Two of us are going Friday to check out the festival, hopefully see some balloons launch and watch Eddie Money (hopefully) rock the stage. It should be quite fun.

And there better be some good spiedies as they are tasty as can be and will be something I am looking to snack on while down there!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com.

Filed Under: Baseball, Hiking, Job hunt, My world, Notes from my noodle, softball, Sports Tagged With: appalachian trail, baseball, baseball players, bill walker, binghamton, binghamton ny, concert, eddie money, employment, facebook, facebook fan page, finding work, hiking, hoohaa blog fan page, job, job hunt, long-distance hiking, music, obscure baseball players, oneonta city league softball, oneonta ny, pacific crest trail, research, singing, skywalker, social media, softball, spiedie fest and balloon rally, spiedies, thru-hiking, twitter

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Harper is counting down to Santa Paws! You know, Harper is counting down to Santa Paws! 

You know, of course, Santa Paws travels with Santa Clause, making sure to find treats and toys for all the good little doggies! (We know they are all deserving, right?) So, Harper put out some milk for the big guy, carrots for Rudolph and the reindeer, and special cookies for Santa Paws! She is ready! 

#SantaPaws #Christmas2022 #HarperChristmas #MyDogHarper #GoldenRetriever #DogsofInstagram #PhotoOfTheDay #Photography #Christmas #IPhoneography
One of the best parts about having Harper as my be One of the best parts about having Harper as my best friend… ❤️
Couldn't resist stopping on the way to work to sna Couldn't resist stopping on the way to work to snap this shot. The colors in the sky were fantastic and the scene was nice looking (though, to be fair, I drove by what I think would have been a better scene -- the valley and hills full of snow etc.)

#Snow #Winter #Sky #Color #InstaLove #photooftheday #picoftheday #iPhoneography #nature #love #instalove #photography #happy #smile #photo
The best of times??? 🤪🤪🤪 The best of times??? 🤪🤪🤪
Just a break on our morning walk … #goldenretri Just a break on our morning walk …

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #mydogharper
Tired. Tired.
Harper is ready for tonight! Let’s go Phillies! Harper is ready for tonight! Let’s go Phillies! 

#phillies #ringthebell #baseball #dog #goldenretriever
I look at her and sometimes still can’t believe I look at her and sometimes still can’t believe I have her. It’s been a year and four months and she makes me smile and laugh more each day. It’s amazing how much a dog changes your look on life, and how much joy they can bring. 

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #goldenretrieversofinstagram #harper_dublin #akc #photography #photooftheday #love #mydogharper #harperdublin #instagood #happy #picoftheday #fun #iphoneology #retrieveroftheday #ilovemygolden #dogstagram #dailygolden #dogsofinsta
I’ve recently realized how many photos I have to I’ve recently realized how many photos I have to post here, as well as on Harper’s (@harper_dublin) account). So, as I start to transfer photos, I’ll try and catch up. So photos coming could be from all seasons and who knows when. 🤣

This one is recent from the courthouse square in Delhi. We had some pretty good fall colors this year. 

#fall #delhiny #seasons #iphoneonly #love #photography #photooftheday #instagood #happy #picoftheday
From a few weeks ago. I was trying to get Harper t From a few weeks ago. I was trying to get Harper to put her paws on the bridge and looked out, but she was more content jumping on me and looking up. I do love the way she seems to be looking at me.
Instagram post 17992900117561614 Instagram post 17992900117561614
Couldn’t resist a quick stop this morning with t Couldn’t resist a quick stop this morning with the fog and frost settled in. 

Hamden Covered Bridge 

#coveredbridge #coveredbridges #bridge #fog #frost #nature #upstatenewyork
Harper’s friend Lucy is around this weekend! #g Harper’s friend Lucy is around this weekend!

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #goldenretrieversofinstagram #harper_dublin #akc #photography #photooftheday #love #mydogharper #harperdublin #instagood #happy #picoftheday #fun #iphoneology #retrieveroftheday #ilovemygolden #dogstagram #dailygolden #dogsofinsta #outside #sunshine #friends
So… @harper_dublin wants to know why she can’t So… @harper_dublin wants to know why she can’t have @mallons_homemade_sticky_buns.
This is why we can’t have nice things. Saw this This is why we can’t have nice things. Saw this on me morning walk Friday with Harper. Likely some college kids, but also as chance at local hooligans. I had Harper so not a lot I could do, but I managed to get the cart off the chair. (See second photo) This was in a local park.
Harper is ready for #nationalfetchday on October 1 Harper is ready for #nationalfetchday on October 15! @chuckitfetchgames 

Should be fun! @discgolfdarren @harmm23
Starting to feel like fall! #fall #nature #autum Starting to feel like fall! 

#fall #nature #autumn #colors #foliage #instagood #seasonchange #leaves #leaves🍁
Street lights hidden in a tree. #life #light #wa Street lights hidden in a tree. 

#life #light #walk #explore ##instagood #photooftheday #photography #happy
Finally learning this Canon M6 MarkII before my tr Finally learning this Canon M6 MarkII before my trip starts this weekend. Really like it now that I took the time to set it up and learn the differences between this and my 7D MarkII. This and the iPhone will do most of the work on the trip. 

Photo is inside on a dark and dreary day. Transferred to phone and edited with #snapseed. 

#canon #m6markii #dog #dogsofinstagram #goldenretriever
Life is good. Life is good.
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P.J. Harmer

P.J. Harmer
A video looking at my first year and a half of owning a golden retriever, my first dog. It's had its ups and downs, but I've truly loved the ride and look forward to the future. 

Music: Happy before we get old by Michael Shynes via Artlist. 

► My blog: http://www.hoohaa.com
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Thank you for watching. :)
When these boxes come, there usually some excitement. But this one ... is the ultimate unboxing! 

#cielovideo52 #52weekchallenge #week5 #weeklychallenge

Music: Happy to be Happy (Dapun)

► My blog: http://www.hoohaa.com
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I hate being in front of the camera, but also realize sometimes it's not the worst thing in the world. So, I'm getting better with it. Week 4's theme was all about us and having us in front of the camera, so I tried to come up with a creative way to do it. 

#cielovideo52 #52weekchallenge #week4 #weeklychallenge

Music: Infinite Wonder (Ben Fox)

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