Family Photos

Today we had some family photos taken for our church directory. Here’s 3 of the better ones. The link has full size versions for anyone back home who wants a photo of us as we are now!

Brooklyn Bridge

As part of a business trip, today I drove onto Manhattan for the first time (have visited here 3 times in the past as a pedestrian). I entered through the Holland Tunnel, which was smooth coming in mid-afternoon. Like everything else in New York City, it looks exactly like the movies (think Men-in-Black and THAT button).

My main reason for coming through here was to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. I couldn’t convince the family to walk it when we were here a few weeks ago, so I took the opportunity today. It had been a drizzly day driving up from DC, but it cleared up and the sun shone on mid-town, emphasising the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.

The bridge has a special raised pedestrian walkway from City Hall across to Brooklyn. The view from the bridge is spectacular. It is an awe-inspiring structure considering it was built in the 1880s.

For me, it was one of those experiences where I couldn’t stop smiling as I took in the surroundings which felt familiar after our 4 days here at the beginning of the month.

In the video below is a 360 pan from the center of the bridge, starting and finishing in the direction of Brooklyn.

Driving back across Manhattan and back through the Holland Tunnel took about an hour to travel the 4 miles!

Fencing

Today I finally got to see the kids doing their fencing. Today it was the “tykes” turn to use the electric foils and Gemma got into it and won both her bouts, coming from behind for a 3-2 win in her second bout. The bigger kids went through some routines. I was impressed at the standard they were all at, and were having a good time as well.

In the videos below, Gemma is furthest from the camera, and Sam is closest to the camera (watch for the thumbs up from Gemma after she comes from behind)

National Museum of the American Indian

Today (with Vanessa) we headed in to DC to visit another Smithsonian Museum. This one is a Gem, and vastly underated. It traces through the history and cultures of Native Americans.

The Building is itself unique architecturely and is surrounded both by gardens representing various nativve american environments and also grandfather rocks representing various terrains. The rock you see here with the kids is lava from Hawaii.

This Hanging describes the Native American Creation story.

This is the Calendar, both religious (260 days) and agricultural (365 days).

She's Back

Another repeat visitor. Vanessa is with us again for a few days, taking a break before heading back down to Nashville for some more recording.

Today she sung with the group at church and charmed everyone.

We then headed off for an afternoon in DC.

Chocolate Tank

I recently attended a convention and was amazed at all of the freebies that companies were giving away. Pens, lasers, torches (flashlights), posters etc. And then the night for the high rollers arrived and I managed to collect some of the more exotic giveaways. Amongst the backpacks and umbrellas, one company was giving away gift-wrapped chocolate tanks!

The Train, the train

I’ve had to make an overnight business trip up to New Jersey and chose to ride the train from DC. I got the Acela Express on the way up, which is Business Class only. It is way too comfortable and even has AC power for computers etc! We clocked it via GPS at over 130mph. factoring in transit times etc. I got to my destination faster than driving or flying and feeling very refreshed.

On the way back tonight, there was no Acela seating available, so I had to slum it on a regional train, which was must slower, stopped at more stations and not nearly as comfortable.

It’s the Acela for me from now on.

I walked past this advertisement without thinking until I remembered what country I was in!

Now I've seen freeway overpasses that finish in mid-air, but where in the world does this elevator go?

We were a part of it ..

Here’s another guess where we’ve been place marker. We spent 4 fantastic days and nights in New York city, staying on Staten Island and commuting across to Manhattan each day, with the fantastic views that that entailed (once the fog lifted). We hit the highlights of NYC, but could easily have spent a month exploring Manhattan and the other boroughs (we did get across the East River a couple of times and into Brooklyn). And the beautiful thing is that it is only a 4 hour drive from home in Virginia. More to come soon.

Last View

After 4 fantastic days, it was finally time to bid adieu to Manhattan. Here's some parting views as we rode the ferry for the last time.

Cannoli

Liz and Alyssa found some Cannoli at the shop at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal while waiting for the Staten Island Ferry and enjoyed it while on the Ferry.

From WikiPedia:

Cannoli are Italian pastry desserts. The singular is cannolo, meaning “little tube”, with the etymology stemming from the Latin "canna", or reed. Cannoli originated in Sicily and are an essential part of Sicilian cuisine. They are also popular in Italian American cuisine.
Cannoli consist of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing mascarpone (or alternatively, but less traditionally, sweetened ricotta cheese) blended with some combination of vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, Marsala wine, rosewater or other flavorings.