Medina International Fest

Irish dancing highlights from Abby's performance at the Medina International Fest today.

Back to School!

Today was the kids first day of school. With Abby starting high school, and Andrew starting middle school, it was a milestone beginning. The video below is a brief peek at the morning sendoffs on this momentous day.

Also, here are some highlights from last year's first day of school.
And here are some highlights from 2008's first day of school.

(I think I need a new soundtrack song?)

Summer Camp & Ott Cabin

This blog post comes a little late, but here are some highlights, from back in July, of Abby's summer camp week at Spring Hill this year. This video also includes highlights of Karen, Abby and Andrew's time spent at the Ott Cabin in Lake Miramichi during the same time-frame. Looks like fun was had by all again this year (the kids even wrote a song for Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate their 50th anniversary).

Happy Birthday Andrew (Again)

Even though Andrew's 11th birthday was August 7, he never had a chance to celebrate it with his local buddies. So yesterday he had six of his friends over for a swimming and video game sleepover party ... and here are the highlights.

Happy Birthday Uncle Jerry!

Yesterday was officially Uncle Jerry's 80th Birthday! This past weekend we celebrated this lifetime achievement with him and a majority of the Wichman Family clan at cousin Jeff's house (Jeff and Salinda, that is). The first video below contains a few highlights that were captured on film.



Also, here are some links to vintage Hollywood Four video clips of Wichman family gatherings:

2006 Reunion
2008 Reunion (part 1)
2008 Reunion (part 2)
2008 Reunion (part 3)

Lastly, here is an edited down version of the video production by cousin Jeff ...

Vacation Days 7 and 8

Day 7 of our vacation we left Lake Placid and drove to Syracuse, NY. On the way, we stopped and hiked Panther Mountain (#18 of the Adirondacks High Peaks) and then we stopped and hiked Bald (Rondaxe) Mountain (oh, and Abby broke a nail at the former). This latter hike might have been our favorite of the trip. The hike was relative easy and there were numerous gorgeous views along the way - including and awesome ending that included another fire tower. Once we arrived in Syracuse, we cleaned up and headed to the ballpark where we watched the Syracuse Chiefs (AAA) defeat the Indianapolis Indians 8-6, followed by a nice fireworks display. We spent day 8 of our vacation with the McEuens again in Painted Post, NY where we had NY style pizza at Rico's Pizza. On the way home (officially day 9), we stopped in Erie, PA to catch one final baseball game to see the Erie Seawolves (AA affiliate for Tigers) lose 3-8 against the Binghamton Mets. Well, that about covers it ... just another spectacular Hollywood Four summer vacation.

Vacation Day 6

Day 6 was our last full day in the Lake Placid region. In the morning we hiked a trail part way up Mount Van Hoevenberg where the trail was essentially one of the old Olympic Bobsled tracks (we counted over 14 red lizards along the way). We spend the rest of the day hanging out at the resort kayaking, swimming and walking around downtown Lake Placid. Our final dinner was on the patio of Lake Placid Pub & Brewery where the kids finished off their meal by roasting marshmallows and making s'mores right at our dinner table.

Happy Birthday Andrew

Today Andrew turns 11 years old. Earlier this year, I wrote poem for Andrew for a school project he had to complete (he needed family members to write something about him). In honor of his birthday, here is that poem coupled with some photographs of young Mr. Frederick.

Also, click here for a look at Andrew's 10th birthday party and click here for a photographic tribute on Andrew's 9th birthday party.

Vacation Day 5

We stared day 5 of our vacation by hiking 2 miles up and down Mount Jo. This short hike provided some beautiful views of Indian Lake and the surrounding mountains. Then we hiked another 4 miles to the Rocky Falls where the kids enjoyed a brisk swim in a natural swimming pool. After that, we returned to High Peaks Resort where the kids swam in some man-made pools. We ate dinner at a little sports bar and then finished the night by catching a movie - The Sorcerer's Apprentice - at the Lake Placid Palace Theater. This quaint little movie theater has four screens. The theater we were in had only 35 seats (only 6 of which were occupied for our showing). The screen was small and the audio was bad, but it was like having our own little movie theater (and the prices were right at $6 a ticket and $3.50 for popcorn)!

Vacation Day 4

Day 4 was our first full day in the Lake Placid / Adirondack area. For our morning hike we made the decision (or mistake?) to hike an 8.5 mile trail up Phelps Mountain (#32 of the "46 Adirondack High Peaks" - those at or above 4,000 mile elevations). The first 3.2 miles was somewhat enjoyable, including some beautiful views at Marcy's Dam. The last 1 mile to the top of the mountain was brutal (Andrew fell and scraped his hand and bumped his head). Coming down wasn't too bad until the last mile ... we were all cranky and dying of thirst (four water bottles was not enough for this 5.5 hour hike)! After our long hike, we chilled out by kayaking around Mirror Lake followed by a little swimming in the lake and pool. Then we ate huge dinners at the Dancing Bears Restaurant. As our night cap, we walking around downtown Lake Placid.

Vacation Day 3

On day 3 of our vacation we drove from Rochester to Lake Placid, NY (home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics). It was about a 3.5 hour drive. On the way, we stopped and hiked up Mt. Arab which is in the Adirondack Park. It was a nice 2 mile hike and there was a cool fire tower at the top of the mountain. After that, we checked into High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid which would serve as our home base for the next four nights. One of the nice features with this hotel is that they have a private beach on Mirror Lake (and four swimming pools) with kayaks and paddle boats available for guests to use whenever they would like. So we did a little kayaking after we checked in. After that, we enjoyed an Italian dinner Eres Pizza.

Vacation Day 2

On day 2 of our vacation we drove to Rochester, NY to catch a Rochester Red Wings (AAA) game. On the way there, we stopped in Canandaigua, NY for lunch and a walk through its annual Waterfront Art Festival (first few pictures). Karen actually lived near this area for a couple years back in her high school days when her dad worked for a company located in this town. As far as the baseball game goes, it was great fun. Although the last place Rochester Red Wings lost to the Scranton Yankees, they have the coolest name in the league!

Vacation Day 1

Last week the Hollywood Four enjoyed a much needed family getaway vacation. Two years ago we hiked and watched baseball in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Last year we hiked and watched baseball in the Smokey Mountains region (and went to Disney World too). This year we decided to head back north to the Adirondacks region in New York. Our first stop was to see the McEuens (Karen's sister and family) in Painted Post, NY where we played at the Park Avenue Sports Center (where cousin Emily works) and went to see a Binghamton Mets (AA) game. Unfortunately, we only got to enjoy a little over 1 inning due to rain storms (but that inning was over 1 hour with 8 runs scored, 3 pitcher changes and one manager ejection).