Happy New Year Folks!

Emily and I attended First Night here in Albany and had a great time with our friends Mark and Lisa. We walked around a bit and the weather was fairly accomodating. We stopped for free ice cream from Ben and Jerry's and then wandered over to the beautifully restored classic Palace Theater to see a performance by the Von Trapp Family Kids. These were the actual great-grandchildren of the Capt. from the Sound Of Music film. Very cute and fun. Then we wandered over to see some of the Albany Pipe and Drum corps. Always a good show. We then quickly set out for what was the highlight for me, an hour with local author David Pitkin who told some of the ghost stories he's collected from the area. I had brought a copy of his latest book, Ghosts of the Northeast, with me on the off chance he might be available after the talk. He did stick around to sell copies of his book and he gladly signed my copy and we spoke for a few minutes. A very nice gentleman with a great way of telling stories. we stuck around for the fireworks at midnight and then had to go pick Alena up from my parents, so I didn't make it home and into bed until almost 230am. and then work by 8am!

Hope your celebrations were happy and fun,

---Doug