Civil War Monuments

Towanda Memorial - Pennsylvania  2018

Towanda Memorial - Pennsylvania  2018

The memorial in Towanda was dedicated in 1901. Inscription at base:

"In memory of the soldiers and sailors of Bradford Co. who defended their country in the War of the Rebellion 1861 to 1865."

The one in Allentown was erected in 1899. 

"On June 26, 1899 the cornerstone was laid. Taking part in the services was Rev. Stephen Albion Repass, the pastor of Allentown's St. John's Lutheran Church, and a former Confederate veteran who had fought and was captured at Gettysburg. He was one of the few members of Picketts's charge to make it over the fabled stonewall, later known as the high water mark of the Confederacy."

Allentown Memorial AM - Pennsylvania  2018

Monday Squirrel Blogging

Squirrel (Asbury Park) - New Jersey  2018

Seen on an Asbury Park residential street while walking around looking for a mailbox that never materialized.

Barnes Museum Exterior / Interior

Barnes Museum Exterior (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Barnes Museum Interior (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

The history of the Barnes Foundation is quite interesting, containing as it does stories of the eccentric founder, disputatious lawsuits and more.

The architecture is nicely minimalistic with a slightly Japanese esthetic. Again, like at the Corning Museum, Mike was more interested in the overall design of the museum than in the actual artworks being displayed, as probably should not have happened.

Barnes Museum Leaves (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Barnes Museum Visitor (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Philadelphia (Cheese Steaks)

Steve's (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Barry's (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

We took a day trip from Allentown to Philadelphia. Parked downtown and visited the Reading Market, a Pikes Place-type foodie destination. Spent some time walking around but didn’t get anything, other than some doughnuts that Dan bought.

Our two main goals were to sample a selection of Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches and to visit the famous Barnes Museum. So, first the sandwiches. We sampled three places: Steve’s, Barry’s, and Dalessandro’s. All the offerings were good, with perhaps a tie beween Barry’s and Dalessandro’s for first place. Third place goes to Steve’s, because they use pressed meat (we preferred chopped.)

[UPDATE:  But as Hali says (in the comments): "I do think the roll at Steve's was the best. Crunchy crust, soft interior."]

Dalessandro's (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Cheesesteak Condiments (Philadelphia) - Pennsylvania  2018

Stacks - 2

Abandoned Building (Bethlehem) - Pennsylvania  2018

Brick Wall, Vines (Bethlehem) - Pennsylvania  2018

The “Stacks” are now a popular entertainment venue! Also, there was a half-marathon being run when we were there, complete with loud announcements and rock ‘n roll music.

Another cold, windy morning, so we weren’t able to stay for long.

Stacks - 1

Blast Furnace (Bethlehem) - Pennsylvania  2018

Number Six (Bethlehem) - Pennsylvania  2018

Large abandoned industrial structures, left to rust away, trees and vines taking root here and there in the former Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces. A pathway complete with interpretive signs parallels the vacant factories. Quite impressive!

Allentown . . .

View from Hotel (Allentown) - Pennsylvania  2018

Street (Allentown) - Pennsylvania  2018

. . . had the nicest hotel of our trip (the Renaissance), but in a slightly dicey location. We had picked Allentown as a somewhat central spot, hoping to visit old steel mills, Philadelphia and possibly some rural areas. So, we didn’t spend that much time in Allentown, leaving in the morning and coming back at night.

New Year's Day - Pennsylvania Overlook

Farm, Susquehanna River - Pennsylvania  2018

Taken from the only scenic overlook of our trip.

Happy New Year!

Monday Gull Blogging

Gulls (Atlantic City) - New Jersey  2018

Gulls (Atlantic City) - New Jersey  2018

We stopped in Atlantic City for a quick visit. Will be the subject of a future post.

Towanda

Main Street (Towanda) - Pennsylvania  2018

Storefronts (Towanda) - Pennsylvania  2018

Giveaway (Towanda) - Pennsylvania  2018

As we were driving from Ithaca to Allentown, the next stop on our East Coast tour, a sudden attack of acute hunger led to a stop in Towanda, Pennsylvania. As we walked down the uncrowded main street of town we noticed quite a few vacant storefronts. Someone had spruced the blank windows up with Halloween art. News reports attribute the town’s economic plight to the local decline of the fracking industry.

We ended up eating at Vincents Pizza: the pizza was quite respectable!

Vincents Pizza (Towanda) - Pennsylvania  2018

Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum, Exterior - Pennsylvania  2018

Corning Museum, Interior - Pennsylvania  2018

We left Ithaca after visiting the local Farmers Market in heavy rain, then drove to Corning, Pennsylvania to visit the Corning Museum of Glass. For some reason, Mike was more interested in the architecture of the museum building than he was in the exhibits. Next time he’ll pay more attention to the art! There’s a nearby Norman Rockwell museum as well that might be worth seeing.

Also of interest: during a glass-blowing demonstration the narration was spoken by two ladies, one in English and the other in Mandarin.

Watkins Glen

Protect Your Rear (Watkins Glen) - New York  2018

Watkins Glen Sign - New York  2018

OK, so we did end up going to Watkins Glen State Park. Huh. For some reason Mike didn’t find that much of interest there. We had lunch at the local Burger King, then ice cream at the “Great Escape Ice Cream Parlor.”

Hali's Birthday!

Hali Leaving for Horsepacking Trip - Oakland  1987

Wow!

New York Water Features

Taughannock Waterfall - New York  2018

Fly Fishing - New York  2018

I used an Olympus E-M1II for these photos. The camera has a fairly robust "image stabilization" feature, so for the lower photo I was able use a handheld exposure of 1/13th second, blurring the water but keeping the fisherman mostly sharp.

Christmas Decorations . . .

Winter Wonderland - Los Angeles  2013

Christmas Balls - San Francisco  2018

. . . in Los Angeles, at "The Grove," and in San Francisco's Financial District.

Happy Holidays!

Monday Cow Blogging

Cows - Pennsylvania  2018

We spotted these cows while driving off the main highway down a random side road. I managed to find a spot to pull over and Dan and I got out to take some photos.

For some reason this was the first and last time during the trip to acquire any cow pix, or actual farm pix for that matter. I managed to take some from-the-car photos while speeding back to our Allentown hotel, though.

Barn, Milk's Got More - Pennsylvania  2018

New York Corn

Cornfield Stubble - New York  2018

Cornstalks, Forest - New York  2018

Somehow I hadn't realized that corn is such a major presence in rural New York. Picturesque.

Ithaca

Wall Art (Woman, Ithaca) - New York  2018

Da Westy (Ithaca) - New York  2018

One way streets. Confusing GPS directions. Lots of restaurants. We might not have seen the trendy, college-oriented section, if there is one. I saw these scenes near a pleasant Vietnamese restaurant where we had lunch.

Beebe Lake

Yellow Leaves (Beebe Lake) - New York  2018

Trees, Lake - New York  2018

So, the autumn foliage this year was not that colorful back East. A little hit and miss, requiring some telephoto action to pick out the yellows and oranges. We walked around a bit, then the cold and the wind chill factor drove us back to the parking lot where we waited for the motel shuttle. And waited.

And waited.

Mundy Wildflower Garden

Trees, Mundy Garden (Ithaca) - New York  2018

Muriel Mundy (Ithaca) - New York  2018

"This garden was inspired by Muriel B. Mundy’s love of nature, and made possible through the generosity of Muriel and Floyd W. Mundy."

Needless to say, this spot was on Mike's must-see list for the trip. No wildflowers, alas, due to the season, but a nice quiet forest.

Mike, Mundy Garden Entrance (Ithaca) - New York  2018
Photo by Hali