April at the beach

Dan made another quick trip to Eastern Long Island on April 6 and brought back some more photos of the back beach in Noyac, downtown Sag Harbor and the ocean at Bridgehampton.

This time the tide was low on the bay but higher at the ocean. The wooden pilings that had become exposed at the Bridgehampton beach have been partly re-covered by sand, indicating that the beach is recovering from the pounding of Sandy and other winter storms.


Click below for more photos.

Busy having fun in Hawaii: Part one

Doug, Lisa and Liz are on a vacation in Hawaii. They arrived Sunday afternoon in Kona on the big island.

On Monday, Lisa and Liz explored Kona and took a para-sailing ride, as seen above. Doug, meanwhile, had set out early in the morning to hike up Mauna Kea, a volcanic mountain. The summit is Hawaii's highest point, and Doug, who had hiked to the high points of 15 other states, set out to make this #16. He hiked five hours to the summit, at 13,796 feet. The hike back down took a mere three hours.


On Tuesday, Liz and Lisa went on a "zip and dip tour" -- a zipline adventure in the morning and a hike to waterfalls in the afternoon. "Liz won the race on the final zipline -- a side-by-side 1,200-foot zip," Lisa writes. "Doug spent the day exploring the north coast of the island.


"Back together for the evening's adventure -- snorkeling with the manta rays. A 40-minute boat ride out to a site where divers submerge large lights to attract plankton on which the manta rays feed. We were in the water for about 45 minutes and five different rays were sighted. Very cool trip!"

Here are more photos Lisa sent along:



After another day in Kona, the trio will head to Volcano Village next to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for two nights. Liz will fly back on the weekend but Doug and Lisa are staying for a second week on one of the smaller islands, Kauai.

Check back for further reports and photos.

Shanna, Kathy bask on beach in Barbados (Updated with photo album)

Kathy and Shanna recently returned from a spring vacation to sunny Barbados.



Shanna writes: My mom and I decided to get away for a few days and have a mother/daughter vacation. It was my first time out of the country and I loved every second of the experience.

We stayed at the Hilton hotel in Saint Michael Parish for five days.



We relaxed at the beach and pool, checked out an old fort on the hotel's property and explored the local area.



The beaches were amazing and I have never seen water that blue.

The trip was a great mix of relaxing and getting to explore the local places to eat -- especially a placed called Cuz's fish shack, which was literally a shack that served awesome fish sandwiches!

Although this was the first time there for both of us, it certainly will not be our last!

Here's an album of photos from the trip.

Marie, Brian and Xander check out their new home

Realtor's photo of the house Marie and Brian purchased today.

Marie and Brian have become homeowners!

They closed today on a house in suburban Fredericksburg, Va., about six miles from the apartment where they've lived for almost three years.

After signing all the papers, they took son Xander on a tour of their new digs.

Xander's very much looking forward to filling his big new bedroom with all his stuff.

He was nearly as impressed with the roll-out trash cabinet in the kitchen!

Originally built in 1977, the house was just completely renovated inside and out. Below is a look at the kitchen and some of its all-new appliances.

The family will move in gradually between now and June, while Xander finishes Kindergarten at the school a short walk from their current apartment.

Introducing: Birch Street Radio

This is a test. For the next couple of months, Birch Street Media will conduct a test of internet radio via Live365.com.

Please join in the experiment! Tune in to Birch Street Radio and then let us know what you think!

Here's how it works: DJ Dan lines up a playlist of tunes, adding some comments here and there, and it plays continuously on Live365. Anyone can listen at any time just by going to the Birch Street Radio web page and clicking the play button. Live365 drops in commercials a few times an hour - about a minute's worth at a time.

Dan says: On Birch Street Radio you'll find a lot of familiar tunes, but also some you rarely hear on the radio. Some are put together in sets of two or three songs that I think go together well - musically, lyrically or thematically. Others are just floating in the mix by themselves.

There's nearly 18 hours worth of music on the station right now, and I hope to keep it fresh by changing the selection frequently. Please let me know what you think - and send me ideas of what you'd like to hear added to the mix. (Also please alert me if you have any problems making the site work!)

Birch Street Radio -- Listen and enjoy!

Remembered on his birthday

Disney band trip: Chris performs, Cathy chaperones

Chris and his fellow musicians in the Hilliard Darby High School marching band and orchestra traveled to Disney World in late March to perform and to enjoy the theme parks. Chris' mom was one of the brave parents who volunteered to go along as chaperones.

Cathy writes: "Well, I survived being a chaperone. The bus rides there and back were LONG (20 hours each way) but being at Disney was fun. We spent Friday at Epcot and stayed to see the fireworks and laser light show.

"On Saturday, after breakfast at the Rain Forest Cafe, we explored some of the Magic Kingdom. That evening the band marched in the Main Street parade. As a chaperone, I got to go to the 'backstage' area and help the kids get ready."

Chris (arrow) and his band mates
marching down Main Street at the Magic Kingdom

In the video below, Chris marches by in the first row of musicians after the banner and the field commanders. He's the second sax player from the right. (Video should open in a new window.)

Cathy continues: "On Sunday the kids were allowed to park-hop so they could go to any of the parks. The orchestra students had a clinic performance at Epcot that afternoon which went well. Luckily it was after the severe thunderstorms passed through.

"We spent our last day (Monday) at the Islands of Adventure park, where the Harry Potter section is. We also enjoyed breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe and a performance of the Blue Man Group."

Here's a slideshow of Cathy's photos from the trip.

"So we packed a lot in during our time there. The weather was good, mostly warm in the 80s. After the thunderstorm on Sunday it cooled down a little bit, so on Monday the temps were only around 70 but it was nice and sunny. We were delighted to learn that while we were in Florida, everyone back in Ohio was getting 6 inches of snow! Happily it was all melted by the time we returned.

"This was Chris' first visit to Disney and my first time since I was a teen. Chris said his favorite part was riding on Space Mountain. I would say mine was seeing the Blue Man Group.

"Traditionally the marching band makes this trip every 2 years so next time both Chris and Steph will be able to go. I'd better rest up in case I decide to be a chaperone again."

Meeting on McLean for St. Patrick's parade party

A group of family members and friends gathered at Brien's apartment on Saturday to watch the McLean Avenue St. Patrick's Day parade in VIP-suite style. The apartment's front windows provided the excellent view and Brien provided the snacks and beverages.



Kathy, Genevieve, Dan and Julie, Kevin and Kathy and two of their friends joined Brien to watch the marchers pass by. Afterwards, they strolled down McLean and joined the crowd in a local establishment listening to Irish music from a band called the Narrowbacks.

This was the second year that the McLean Avenue Merchants Association has put on a St. Pat's parade, and it's already grown into a major event for the Irish-American community in southeast Yonkers and nearby sections of The Bronx.

Champions! Rebecca's team wins nationals

Derek, Charrissa, Nate and Rebecca

Congratulations to Rebecca and her teammates for capturing the 2013 USA Curling Mixed National Championship.

They defeated a team from Wisconsin this afternoon to win the tournament, held in Willmar, Minn. The local newspaper, the West Central Tribune, reported: "On fire from the opening stone, Team Surka defeated Team Murray of Wisconsin 10-4 in nine ends on Saturday afternoon at the Willmar Civic Center. ... The Surka foursome was near perfection on its eight rocks per end." (Read more.)

West Central Tribune photo

Rebecca, who previously played in three junior national competitions, was invited last winter to join Team Surka in the adult mixed category. Her teammates Derek and Charissa are from Connecticut and Nate from New Hampshire. Maryland native Rebecca currently lives in Rochester, where she recently completed her degree at RIT.

Rebecca's team plays for national championship

Rebecca and her teammates have made it to the final round of the U.S. Mixed National Curling Championship tournament in Willmar, Minn.

Team Surka will be playing Saturday afternoon (3/23) for the championship.

File photo of Team Surka at the Grand National Curling Club championships in February.

The team came in second during the round-robin portion of the tournament with a 7-2 record. In its semi-final match on Friday, Team Surka came from behind to beat the third-place team 8-7.

Meanwhile, the top-ranked team was upset 9-2 by the fourth-place qualifier, Team Murray from Wisconsin. That sets up Saturday's championship match between Team Surka and Team Murray.

USA Curling posts the scores here, and live video of the match may be available here (if it's working).

Southampton beaches after a rough winter

Dan writes: These are the odd sights I saw when I visited two ocean beaches in Southampton Township on March 16, almost five months after Hurricane Sandy. That storm and others over the winter have removed many tons of sand from the Hampton beaches.

The photo above was taken from the entrance to the beach at the end of Ocean Avenue in Bridgehampton. The tide was fairly low, leaving a tidal pool in what had been the middle of the beach. Protruding from that pool were four wooden pilings that had been covered over for many years but now stood a few feet tall.


A local resident told me that the pilings formerly supported a life guard station. He said he had seen old photographs showing that station -- which was positioned behind what was then the dune line. He said the tips of the pilings emerge occasionally after winter storms, but he has never seen them uncovered to this extent.

(Adding to the odd feeling as I walked around the beach was the fact that it was snowing lightly. I don't ever recall being on a beach during a snowfall.)

At Cameron beach, the views were even stranger. Work was apparently under way to restore at least some of the lost sand, so there were large mounds of sand near the parking lot. I don't know whether that sand was dredged or bulldozed out of Mecox Bay, or trucked in from somewhere else.

It's hard to get a sense of the scene from individual photographs, but here's a panoramic video that shows the narrowed beach, the sand mounds, and some work going on in front of a beachfront home, presumably to bolster the dune at the property line. Notice that on the west side of the beach, the beach in front of the homes along Flying Point Road has essentially disappeared, exposing a huge metal retaining wall.


Here's a closer look at the retaining wall. As I recall, the top of this wall used to stick out of the sand a bit, and water would come close to it at high tide. On this afternoon, the tide seemed to be low, so I'm guessing the waves may now break against the wall at high tide.

Lizzie gets oriented at Elon

Tish writes: Lizzie and I just returned from her orientation at Elon University in Elon, N.C.

We had a wonderful time there learning more about the school and meeting students and parents. It also helped that they arranged for 77 degree temperatures on Saturday!

We also had dinner with Phil -- the son of Owen's cousin Bonnie -- and his fiancee, Rebecca. Phil is an Elon graduate.

The Birch Street Web turns six years old

This family website made its debut on St. Patrick's day weekend in 2007.

The Birch Street Web now contains some 750 entries and many hundreds of photos. It documents big things and small, major events and minor, the milestones and the trivia of six years (and counting) in the lives of our extended family.

Thanks to all of our readers and contributors for helping to build this family archive. Please help keep it going, and growing. Remember - Keep in touch!

Leo joins the family

Kathy has a new addition to her household: Leo, a shih tzu puppy.

Leo was born Jan. 5 in Connecticut. Kathy picked him up from the breeder on Friday night (March 8) and brought him home, where Vivien, Genevieve and John were on hand to welcome him.

It looks like it didn't take long for Leo to feel comfortable in his new surroundings!

Between storms, spring peeks out

Early last week, before another snowstorm hit Cape Cod, Tish spotted a welcome sign of the coming spring, and took the photo below of crocuses emerging in her yard. (The photo now atop the page also was taken by Tish, but in 2010.)

Snow storm meanders up East Coast

The storm system that dropped snow on our family members in Ohio and Virginia on Wednesday hovered off the East Coast through Thursday and then brought snow to the New York-New Jersey area on Friday.


Dan took a few quick shots of the scene outside Birch Street Media headquarters on Friday morning, as the wet snow was falling and clinging to the trees and bushes.


Speaking of snow photos - Kathy took these next two pictures right after another snowfall back in February. The view is up through the branches of a Japanese maple tree in her yard.

Winter brings another blast

Wednesday was a Snow Day for our family members in Ohio and Virginia, while those of us to the north and east waited to see what Thursday would bring.

Brian and Xander teamed up to build...

...this fine snowman outside their apart- ment in Fredericks- burg, Va.

And Cathy sent along the photos at top and bottom from her home in Hilliard, Oh.

An unexpected party

Pat and her daughter, Mary, made a day trip to Yonkers on Sunday to visit Lorraine, Pat's sister, at Sunrise of Crestwood. The impromptu trip proved serendipitous, as Lorraine's son Dan and daughter, Kathy, also happened to visit that afternoon.

Afterward, Dan, Kathy, Pat and Mary went to a local diner for supper. As the next day would be Pat's birthday, a mini-party broke out, featuring a bit of candle-topped cake and a rendition of "Happy Birthday" with other diner patrons singing along.