Spare time this week should be filled with one thing; studying. With the week of finals upon us, the library is one busy place. Although I'll admit sometimes I will find myself socializing more than I am studying, try and hit the library this week. With many different resources; texts, journals, magazines, computers and the world wide web in every direction, the library is the perfect place. With food to keep your stomache from rumbling and a silent study floor, the library has everything you need. Each Plymouth State student has very different and somestimes conflicting study habits and this allows everyone to get exactly what they need to succeed on their finals. Visit the help desk for assistance and the reference desk for some informational help as well. College is a blast, but studying and good grades are important too. So head to Lamson Library this week, maybe a couple times, and get some studying in. Ace those finals!

This week, Loon Mountain is the place to be. Open for the season now and only a 20 minute drive away is Loon Mountain Ski Area (exit 32 off of interstate 93). Now with 17 trails open and over 400 new snow making tower guns, Loon is ready for winter to be here. Whether you are a fresh new beginner or an expert out on the slopes, Loon is a great place to get some fresh air and some exercise. As a college student currently enrolled Loon has available a seasons pass for $339 providing access to not only Loon but Sunday River (Bethel, Maine) and Sugarloaf (Carrabassett Valley, Maine). You really can't beat a deal like this! Loon offers both advanced terrain and beginner trails to please all skill levels, both skiers and riders. For the park rats, Loon has a few elements set up to be attacked and for the all mountain crowd, both the main peak and north peak are open for winter cruising. As Plymouth State University students, living right here in the heart of New Hampshire's mountains, it is our duty to utilize our beautiful surroundings. So students, I urge you, head to Loon, its time to shred!
 

It's game time this week! Tuesday the 26th, 7:30 pm tip off: season opener Boston Celtics versus Miami Heat. This game should be a good one, definitely worth watching more than just the highlights on sports center tomorrow morning. The hype reaching from fans in Boston all the way down to fans in Miami is one of a kind. Reading pregame reports tells a different story. Boston baller Paul Pierce said "it means more to the media and the fans than to us." Coach Doc Rivers was singing a tune more my style, "everybody is excited about it. Our guys try to downplay it until you walk through the locker room and you can hear them talking about it. And the film is on all day watching Miami.” With these two teams going head to head, they're will be an awful lot of skill out on one court. In the past three years the Celtics defense has been better than impressive, however the Dwanye Wade-Lebron James has the potential to put up some serious numbers. Although this is early season play and it may not matter, this is the game to watch.

This week I decided to give some insight to how I spent some of my free time. When I probably should have been doing some homework, I went hiking. Me and a friend headed to Waterville Valley (exit 28) and hiked the Tecumsah Mountain Trail. The trail began directly off of the mountain's main road, before the drop off zone, on the right and gives two options; the summit 2.2 m.or the tecumsah trail 5.7m. Both trails reached a summit, how the summit trail reached only the top of Waterville's ski mountain summit. We started out thinking that the 2.7m summit trail would be a good solid hike for the day. However, once we passed two hours worth of uphill, rocky climbing we came to the conclusion that we were not anywhere close to the 2.7 mile trail. After a couple slips on wet rocks and a few water breaks, we came across a turning point both signs both saying to the summit; either left or right. We chose left and reached the cloudy, cold summit around half an hour later. This hike, very physically challenging and worth while, was not half as great a view as the Rattlesnake Hike from a few posts ago. The weather may have hindered our summit experience but on a nice day, this hike would be a great thing to do with some spare time.




From Plymouth State University
Begin:
93 North - 6.6 miles
Exit 28 - 10.5 miles
Left on Tripoli Road - 1.2 miles
Slight Left on Ski Area Road - .7 miles
Right to stay on Ski Area Road - .3 miles
Parking: dirt parking lot across from access trail
Enjoy! Take lots of pictures!

As a New Hampshire resident, living so close to the border of Maine, the Fryeburg Fair has always been a destination every Fall since I can remember. Located right in Fryeburg, Maine, around an hour and a half drive from Plymouth, has been attracting people of all ages for since 1851. What began as a few farmers simply getting together to show off their produce and cattle to the community has evolved
into an 8-day Blue Ribbon Class attracting over 300,000 people annually. The fair has something to offer for each and every one of your friends. Whether they love all the fried food, the rides or the fair workers who make you reconsider strapping in the Fryeburg Fair has something to
offer everyone. Every college student knows that money gets tight, but the fair is just $10 for
admission, $5 to park and no extra charge for night shows. With prices like these and fun like you've heard how can you pass up a hung over Sunday to not head to the fair?

          

Tis the season..to be scary! And sugary! With Halloween right around the corner, this week our spare time idea will be a tasty Halloween treat, with a slightly healthy undertone. We will be making caramel apples.

Ingredients:
apples
caramel candies
popsickle sticks

First Step: chose your apples *hint* the smaller the apples, the easier it will be to make and enjoy! Step Two: Prepare cooking area. Have caramel melting pot ready, along with popsicle sticks, a place to sit the apples to cool and harden (usually a cooking sheet covered by wax paper) and a wooden spoon at the ready. Step Three: prepare caramel by unwrapping each piece and melting (at a low temperature) and stirring constantly Step Four: dip each apple into the caramel and cover completely *add any additional toppings ex. nuts, m&ms, sprinkles, choclate chips. candy corn, gummy bears etc.* before caramel hardens Step Five: place "dipped" apple on to baking sheet and into the refridgerator to cool off Step Six: enjoy sweet and tasty, yet a little healthy, caramel apples *be sure to eat within three days of making them

This is a cheap, fun thing to do around the time of Halloween with the roommates and friends or even by yourself. So grab the apples you picked last week and create a tasty treat this Halloween

This week's idea actually comes from my roommate. In true Autumn fashion, to fill up that extra time, you should be picking! And I don't mean bougars... This is the time for pumpkin picking. Pick a day when the weather will be nice and head to Meredith, NH. Moulton Farm reaches over 180 acres and grows a variety of fresh produce, flowers and herbs. Not only does Moulton Farm have big orange pumpkins to pick out and carve, but spend half the day lost in some corn! The Moulton Farm corn maze is always a big attraction for people of all ages. Cut into the corn is a huge imagine of a cornucopia and 2010. Not much to look at from the ground, but the birds eye view is an imagine to remember. So get a bunch of people together, hope in the car and head to Meredith (about 25 minutes away). See who can navigate through the corn maze first, but don't loose anyone. Then maybe play some trivia and pick out a big orange pumpkin to take home and carve, just in time for Halloween.

Moulton Farm
18 Quarry Road
Meredith, NH
603 279 3915