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We spent New Year's Eve in Lake Placid, NY with old friends from near and far.We made the 5 1/2-hour trek up to Chris Caputo's traditional New Year's locale.

Luke Ahmann and his girlfriend, Kate, made the jaunt from nearby Burlington, VT. Luke's sister Nora and Butch Walker came up from Atlanta. Kieran Smith and his girlfriend, Crystal, came from NYC and North Carolina, respectively. Jack and Suzanne O'Neill, along with their golden lab, Scanner, came north from NYC. Last, but not least, "Dirty" Stephen Cowart won the unfortunate "Most Miles for a Party" award. He came from South Korea...it's a whole other country.

Little Luke traveled well and the snow was incredible. Most of the group skiied, but we went ice skating instead. Maybe next year we can get Luke on the mountain. Beyond that, since there were several guitarists in the group, we played a lot and toasted the new year...and the old year...and each of the other years past and future.