The Dooryard

Views of Maine

We spent five days in Maine visiting my parents about two weeks ago. We stayed for part of the trip in Bryant Pond, which is very near New Hampshire, and part of it in Washington, which is between Camden and Augusta. I love visiting Maine in the autumn; it provides an incredible sense of warmth and comfort, despite the often cold, blistering wind and weather.

If you haven't been to Maine in the autumn, I strongly encourage you to go. It's very different from the beauty of the West. Colorado and California and Utah are beautiful because of the size and majesty of everything there, from the rivers to the mountains. Maine is beautiful because of its quaintness. Just riding through towns like Buckfield, Paris and Bethel, I wanted to stop at the general store, find and apartment to rent, and spend the next month there.

I hope someday to spend a few months there, just writing and photographing the state. It's a special place and has a special place in my heart.

30 PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP>>

The beauty of Provincetown II

While I looked at a lot of buildings in Provincetown, I also focused on the elements of what makes the place so beautiful, from the oily water lying in the marsh to the flowers to the trim on the buildings, basking in the light of the sunset.

Painter John Dowd years ago began capturing the way the light dances in Provincetown. I don't know what it is about the place, but the light of the waning sun changes the look of the place more than anywhere else I've been. I could have taken hundreds of pictures of the edges of the buildings at sunset. Unfortunately, the golden hour lasts only an hour, and I had my camera out only one afternoon.

Photos after the jump>>

The beauty of Provincetown I

The beauty of Provincetown, to me, is the quaintness of the place. Actually, it's what makes all of New England so beautiful. While California has its majestic coastline and Colorado has its towering mountains, everything about New England is smaller, quieter, more charming.

I took my brand-spanking new camera to Provincetown and spent a couple hours strolling the West End on Monday evening looking for some of that beauty. I think I found it.

More photos after the jump>>

Rehomo 2006

I've joked since my football league's inception that we're a group of alcoholics who happen to play football together. About 30 of us who went to Rehoboth Beach for Memorial Day weekend proved me right. It was an awesome weekend of incredible weather (85 on Saturday), late nights, parties, drag queens, straight chicks, chicken wings, and an introduction to Grotto Pizza.

The best part is, I can't wait to hang out with these guys even more. I feel blessed that the most incredible group of gay guys in New York have found their way to the football league, and I just want to hang out with them more and more after this weekend.

More photos after the jump

Upcoming photographer in NYC

I wanted to give a little plug for a good guy who's offered his services to the New York Gay Football League this past year, and who has been a big supporter of what we've done there. Carlos Monroy works at Genre magazine but is making a name for himself as a photographer. He has some beautiful stuff from men to still lifes (lives?). I've been really happy with every photo he's taken of me. Check out his site - it's good stuff. There are also a couple more photos after the jump.

Pics from the Cape & Island

Here is the latest batch of pictures from our trip to Cape Cod for Independence Day, our last weekend on Fire Island (we're headed there again this weekend) and some from the Pride Parade here in NYC.

Playa Del Carmen

It's been six weeks since Dan and I got back from our week in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, so I figured it was time I posted some pics from the trip. It was just great. Playa is a (growingly touristy) town about 40 miles south of Cancun. It has a lot of the charm of a small-town village, but many of the luxuries and traps of a tourist destination. We had heard that it was gay-friendly - and it is. I don't think anyone would stop you from doing just about anything there (though nudity on the beach and the use of many drugs are illegal; there is a nude gay beach about a 45-minute walk north of the main beaches).

We went with our friend Jason, who was a great travelling companion. His only request for the trip: go to Tulum at some point - and it was well worth the $40 rental car and hour-long drive.

The SCUBA diving was also great (even if the snorkeling was downright bad). We saw about a dozen sea turtles on our first dive of the trip, and that was a thrill. We also saw many baracuda, a nurse shark, coral galore on our one-day trip to Cozumel, a puffer the size of a dog, tarpin (a school of 20 of which swam right through a group - a scare and a thrill) and I even watched an eel and a crab fight for a crevice.

I'd love to go back - heck, it was my third trip to the Carribean in the last year, and I'm falling in love.

Fire Island 2005, Episode I

It took some convincing from Dan, but we're going to be spending some time on Fire Island this summer. I was trepidacious about it because I know of the insane partying that goes on there. But, my trepidation has been replaced by an excitement for a quiet reprieve in nature. I'm now looking forward to an awesome summer there.

We went out to the house on Saturday to do some painting and cleaning. The water just got turned on there, so this was the first weekend many headed out there. It was chilly, in the upper 40s with an ocean breeze, and serene. There were only a few folks in the Pines, but they were in good spirits and friendly - a "hi" and a smile every time we passed someone on the boardwalk.

It was just what I am hoping for from the Fire Island Pines this summer - a quiet reprieve from the bustle of New York City, meeting some new people, a chance to write some more and to return to fishing (my parents sent me a fishing pole and tackle last week). We'll be out there about half the weekends this summer. I can't wait.

PHOTO ALBUM - Blizzard 05

While we got over 12 inches in New York City last Saturday, it was a dusting compared to the 34 inches they got on Cape Cod. My mother sent me some amazing pictures from my hometown of Harwich, which I've included here.

PHOTO ALBUM - Sports

I love sports. Watching them and playing them. I also love the images that sports create. Here are some - mostly of me playing sports.