Saturday, October 11, 2008

NEW YORK, NEW YORK DAY 5

To the airport at 5:30 to get guests to airport. On the way home we stopped at the Brooklyn Flea Market and had a bagel and juice at a fun deli while we waited for it to open.

Wendell saw a porcelain flange sign that he wants to contact the owner about and I picked up a packet of beautiful vintage photo's. I can't imagine how such wonderful photo's ended up in a flea market.If anyone recognizes them please leave a comment and I'll make sure they get back to you.
Dates on the back are 1929 and 1931 and "Graves Studio, Chadron, Neb" is printed on the back of two of the photos.


I had never been to Prospect Park so we walked through it and over to the Botanical Gardens.






Feet killing me--

Friday, October 10, 2008

NEW YORK, NEW YORK- DAY 4

Bleeker Street Fair


Don't you love Saturday in the Park




A huge German-American Parade up 5th Avenue




Back into the park after a quick visit to the Met. Passed Geraldo Rivera on the steps
outside. Not sure that counts as a "celebrity sighting"


Love the Afrobats every time we see them
She was passing out "Fairy Dust". Took me a week to wash it out of my hair.

Good Day

Thursday, October 9, 2008

NEW YORK, NEW YORK--DAY 3

Started the day with Circle Line Cruise. Hoped to see the Waterfalls but they are running
limited hours because evidently the spray is harming trees, shrubs and grass on the shore.

Next- Lunch at Grand Central--one of my favorite places.


I don't remember seeing this great old Taxi stand before.


I love the Top of the Rock. Years ago vowed never to wait in line 4 hours at the Empire State Building again. Only down side is you don't get a clear view of the Chrysler Building.


Canal Street and up Mulberry to the St. Gennaro Festival. Smelled so good.


The crew from Crumpler Bags on 8th street having a picnic in the street. They were
giving away free goodies.

Dinner at the mexican food restaurant on 12 & Washington.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

NEW YORK, NEW YORK ---DAY 2


Brother and Sister-in-law arrived last night and today we headed for Ellis Island. One of my favorite places.



Bingo--Found a Great-Grandfather
The twins (born 15 years apart)

Why am I so fascinated with the unrestored buildings. I understand they are going to start restoring the hospital buildings. It would be great if they left part of it unrestored and took tours through it.


Also did the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Ground Zero, Wall Street and Trinity Church.
Home to crash

Sunday, October 5, 2008

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Just returned from our annual trip to the Big Apple and again, we had a great time. The first day DH and I did some exploring on our own. I had always wanted to see the old Custom House in Battery Park so that is where we started.

The architecture was beautiful





Grabbed a Subway and ate lunch in Bowling Green Park
Fraunces Tavern-- such an interesting museum within the Tavern. A lot of history

within these walls




Hadn't walked the lower section of the Hudson River Park and

it is beautiful.



DH just had a birthday so I was looking for a gift and this is what he chose.



and a Bentley Convertible.

I had heard about the Irish Famine Memorial and this was our destination
as we headed up the Parkway.
We were not disappointed. What a incredible oasis of beauty with towers all around.
Seems like New York is full of places this wonderful.


The Memorial was created by artist Brian Tolle to remember the events that led to the famine of 1845-52 and to encourage efforts to address current and future hunger worldwide

It was this famine that led to the mass immigration the middle of the 1800's.


There are many large rocks with beautiful engraved names of the county's of Ireland

on individual rocks. I'm assuming the rocks actually came from those counties
considering the effort put into the Memorial.




Central to Tolle's project is an authentic Famine-era stone cottage donated to the memorial by his extended family, the Slacks of Attymass, County Mayo, Ireland. The cottage has been painstakingly reconstructed on the memorial's half-acre site.


Reconstructed potato rows
A recreation of an Irish cemetery is in the elevated portion to the left.

A beautiful oasis

I can't imagine what it would be like to construct a memorial this beautiful around
an actual stone cottage of a long ago family member.
If you think you don't have time to read the panels of quotations along the entrance, please
reconsider. They are touching, imformative and add to the total experience.


Chess table toward the end of this portion of the Parkway.
Such a goooooooood day.

MOFFAT ROAD/TUNNEL LAST OF 3 PARTS

Decided to try out the Moffat Road at the East Tunnel Entrance before closing out the season here. Over the pass on 40 and down to the new highway to the back road. This is an old mining shaft on the way to Central City.

Central City-- used to be a great old mining/tourist town. Then they legalized gambling in just this town in Colorado and this is about the only street that looks like the old town.Beautiful old gabled house.



Assay office in Rollinsville



Three large freight trains were stopped on the tracks as we made our way through the tiny valley. We ask a Union Pacific worker what was going on and they had a 3 hour work window on the west side of the tunnel. They were just waiting for it to end and then they were going to rush the trains through every 15 minutes. That's how long it takes to get a train through and blow the smoke out with the huge fans in the tunnel. This is Boulder Creek running along side the road. In the space of 4 miles we saw 6 police/sheriff/security vehicles. And they looked like they were there all the timeEast Entrance to the Moffat Tunnel. I like the West Entrance best.



Original 1921 houses for workers



This was a wagon road and stagecoach road before it was a railbed.


Keep in mind we're in a Honda Accord but we have taken it really terrible places so we

have faith we can get up to the top.

We were hugging the side of the hill to get around some bad spots when we came past

some bushes and all of the sudden this little guy was sitting about 5 feet from me. He had parked his 4W drive at the bottom of the hill and walked up to watch the trains. We ask him how bad the road got up ahead and he said "this is actually pretty good". We knew then we

wouldn't make it much further.

Beautiful forest along side the road. After we turned around and came down we found out that they grade the road the week before the 4th of July so torrents of people can get up to Yankee Doodle Lake. So perhaps we'll try that next year.


What could be better than an Ice Cream Store and a Book Store together.




Up the road a ways-- an old abandoned church in a seriously scarry town. Don't ask-I really don't want to go into it.


Another 45 minutes up the road a church to take your breath away. Called the Church on the Rock or St. Catherine of Siena Chapel. It is near Allenpark. Belongs to the Archdiocese of Denver and has a new retreat/convention

center up against the hill.




White Plaster Medallions on either side of wall once were in the Denver home chapel of Evalyn Walsh McLean of Hope Diamond fame.Longs Peak from Allenspark. This one's for you Mike






Adams Tunnel was dug in the 30's by the CCC's . Named the "Big Thompson Water Project" it was designated to take water from the West side of the Divide to the East side for the farms and ranches. The West intake is at the East end of Grand Lake and this is where it ends , Mary's Lake in Estes Park. From here it's piped down the canyon and onto the front range.









It was a fun day and somewhere along the way DH turned 71.
Happy Birthday