The Bravery

It's not often that a live band sounds just like their album, but last night, The Bravery managed that feat. The lead singer Sam Endicott didn't miss a key. He told the audience that they had just come out with a new album, The Sun and the Moon. That album is far from "new": most of the audience had had several months to memorize the lyrics to each song. There was only one song on the set list, Dandy Rock, not on either of their two albums. They performed their hits -- An Honest Mistake, Believe -- flawlessly, and I found the song "Every Word is a Knife in my Ear" to be particularly moving. This is a band that's easy for everyone to like (it's definitely not heavy metal which I am partial to). I look forward to their new album, "The Moon" in March.

Avalon Trail, New Hampshire's White Mtns.

The goal was Mt. Tom, a 4,000 footer. Or, worst case, Mt. Avalon -- a mountain at least, though only 3,442 feet tall. Wouldn't have been a problem in better weather. But winter hiking is so much more difficult! I made it 1/3 of a mile past the trail junction with the Mt. Avalon spur, but then I wimped out. Two spills on the steep descent before the steep ascent of Mt. Tom, and I was done. Didn't feel comfortable doing the ascent, knowing I had all that to descend. I didn't even want to ascend Mt. Avalon, again due my perceived steepness of the trail. The good news is that I spent the rest of the 1.5 miles back to the car practicing flat-footing with the snowshoes on moderate grades. And I feel comfortable with that now. So, next weekend, I'm attempting Mt. Tom again. I just have to be more aggressive with my footing. Mike was a good sport about it all. I think I was more disappointed not to make it to the summit than he was! But a beautiful hike, on nearly 3 feet of packed snow!

Greenstone & Routeburn Track photos

Vicki above Greenstone Valley.

Vicki, JC and John in the enchanted forest, covered with goblin moss, lichen and ferns, on the way to Mt. 1538 on the Greenstone Track.

For more photos, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/23477159@N06/ . Click on the "i" in the middle of the first photo in the slideshow to get the photo names, which describe the photo.