Monthly Archives: August 2006

New York State Fair

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It’s been a busy week for me at the NYS Fair. Busy eating too much, walking too much and eating too much. This year I bought pre-sale tickets and parking passes in order to save some bucks… you know, so I could spend it on Fair essentials like food. I had the brilliant idea of buying the advance sale parking passes so that I could park closer to the main gate. Why I was thinking this I do not know. All I do know is that when I parked at the Fair using my parking pass, I ended up being directed to the absolutely farthest away parking spot available. I think I must have walked almost a mile to get to the end of the midway, than another 1/2 mile to get to my final destination, the Dinosaur BBQ tent. But I did finally make it and immediately had a Hot Sausage with peppers and onions. Yum!

After eating that way too quickly, it quickly became apparent that I was right across from where one of my favorite street performers was scheduled to begin his show. I’m referring of course to Hilby, the Skinny,German, Juggle Boy. This guy is hilarious and has a routine that appeals to all ages. His humor is very clever and although some of his jokes will skim right over the heads of kids, adults will end up howling with laughter. If you ever get a chance to see Hilby perform, don’t miss the opportunity. Here are a couple shots of Hilby taken at the State Fair on Thursday, August 31, 2006.
Hilby, The Sknny German Juggle Boy

After seeing Hilby, we walked a short distance to the Wine Court. It was nearing happy hour, so we decided we’d better taste a few wines and eat some cheese and crackers. After happy hour, it was a quick jaunt across the street to Chevrolet Court to see the Four Tops perform. They were just awesome. Click here to see a short movie of the Four Tops.

The show was about 40 minutes long. Every song was performed with great enthusiasm and they looked and sounded great!
The Four Tops

When the Four Tops had finished their show and since the fair is primarily about eating (from my point of view anyway), it was off to the International Food Pavilion for some Buffalo Chicken Gyros and a large piece of Baklavah. Belive it or not, that was topped off with an Apple Dumpling a la mode. Did I share any of this with my wife? Well, a little bit and rather reluctantly. Afterwards, we slowly made our way through food alley and past the Dairy Building. Wait a minute, did I say past the Dairy Building? I actually meant we walked into the Dairy Building so I could get my 2 glasses of cold, fresh chocolate milk while my wife got a chocotale covered banana. After that (with no room left in my belly for any more food), it was time to call it a day and begin the long trek back to the car and look forward to next years NYS Fair.

Congratulations to Eric and Ursula-Aug 26, 2006

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It was my pleasure to provide the entertainment for the wedding reception of Eric Ledbetter and Ursula Krotscheck (August 26, 2006). The reception was held at the Fontainebleau Inn, in Alpine, NY. The Fontainebleau is one of my favorite places to work. John and Teri VanSoest, the owners, are the perfect hosts and the Inn is one of the most picturesque places you could ever imagine. The weather was a little gray but it did not rain and the Fontainebleau Inn is beautiful no matter what the weather.
Fontainebleau Inn
Eric and Ursula arrived at the reception and were quickly provided with some Hors d’Oeuvers. The caterer was Word of Mouth Catering in Trumansburg, NY. Kate and Tina are absolutely the best! The food they prepare is out of this world.
Eric and Ursula arriving
The photographer for the wedding was Shai Eynav. It’s always fun to work with Shai. He’s always got a smile on his face and his enthusiasm and love for his craft is evident. Here’s a picture I took of some dueling photographers.
Shia Eynav
Eric and Ursula had their First Dance to Louis Armstrong’s, “What a Wonderful World”
Eric and Ursula's First Dance
It was a wonderful evening and it was made even more special by a slide presentation put on as a joint effort between Ursula’s mother and Eric’s father.

I’d like to thank Eric and Ursula for putting their trust in me to ensure that the reception proceeded according to their wishes. Here are a few more photos from the reception.
Head Table place setting
Wedding cake

Celebrating my 3rd Anniversary

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August 23rd was my 3rd anniversary. My beautiful wife and I celebrated by visiting some great new friends of ours who live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Scott and Maria Crawford operate the Gaslight B&B, one of the most beautiful B&B’s we’ve ever stayed in. Maria cooks the most delicious breakfasts and the house is just fantastic. It’s located in Clifton, right in the middle of the Gaslight District of Cincinnati, near the University. If you ever find yourself going to Cincinnati and are looking for excellent accommodations, make sure to check out the Gaslight B&B. You’ll also find Ohio a great place to buy gasoline…it was only $2.56/gallon for unleaded regular vs $3.06/gallon when we got back to New York. Gotta love New York State taxes.

Gaslight B&B, Clifton, Ohio

We love the Gaslight District of Cincinnati. One of our favorite restaurants there is Biaggio’s (great Italian food). We also like to go to Dewey’s Pizza for a more casual eating extravaganza. And of course, no visit would be complete without a stop at Graeter’s Ice Cream in Clifton. Homemade ice cream that is as good as it gets and they do mail-order!

One of the days we were there was spent at the United States Air Force Museum. The museum is located at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. It’s about an hour drive from Cincinnati. It is an excellent museum and there are so many planes on display that it is quite difficult to see the entire museum in just one day. We only had 4 hours so a return trip is something I’ll schedule in the future.

One of the exhibits that is really interesting is the Presidential Plane hangar where the recently retired Air Force One is on display. Walking through the plane is pretty cool and there are several other Presidential planes in the exhibit that are open for walk-through inspection.

I’ve always been interested in planes and my wife is a flight attendant, so this trip was very enjoyable for both of us. One of the more intriguing displays was of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. What an awesome plane to view. Here is a photo of it…
B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber

A great lineup of friends…

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This has been a fantastic summer. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the summer of 2006 has been meeting new people and developing new friendships. In particular, I have really established an excellent relationship with some fellow wedding professionals. Frank DiMeo, Luke Waliker, Bob Kaussner, Marybeth Longo and Brady Dillsworth.

Frank, Luke, Bob and Brady are wedding photographers; some very talented photographers I might add. Marybeth Longo is an excellent videographer and owns Video Network, Inc. Her work is fantastic!

Our little group got together at Marybeth’s cottage which is located in a very beautiful area knows as Sackets Harbor. Sackets Harbor is on Lake Ontario and is essentially the gateway to the Thousand Islands area of New York State. It was a beautiful, relaxing day and a great opportunity to network and enjoy each others company.

Marybeth grilled some awesome chicken and some smokin’ corn-on-the-cob flambé. For those of you who don’t know what corn-on-the-cob flambé is, let me explain. Corn-on-the-cob flambé is corn which you grill. If you grill it at a hot enough temperature for a long enough period of time, presto change-o, you get corn-on-the-cob flambé. It really is a sight to behold… big ears of corn, smoking beautifully on the serving platter. It’s really very easy to eat too…after you blow out the flames and wave away the smoke. Tasty too!

A great line-up of friends!

Left to right: Brady Dillsworth, Michael Erb, Marybeth Longo, Robert Kaussner, Frank DiMeo, Luke Walker