There's a new kid in town: Jaume Plensa's "Water's Soul" on the Jersey CIty waterfront.
Daily Commute LVII
Author: smbrannan
Daily Commute LVI
The office was closed because of COVID-19 and I needed something to replace my daily walks to and from the train station. So I started going for a walk down to the Hudson River every morning. On 6 July 2020, I started taking a picture of downtown Manhattan every time I went on Hoboken's Pier [...]
Roadtrip: Up the country
Day One - we stopped at Storm King State Park, and climbed the Storm King mountain famous for spectacular views of the Hudson River valley. The hike was strenuous, the trail was steep and rocky in places, but the views... the views were non-existent due to low cloud cover. We contnued up the river to [...]
It’s Coney Island, Baby
The mercury had been rising daily, so this past weekend it was time to get our of town. You can get to Coney Island from our place by public transit, but it's a bit of a marathon. So we fired up the red rocket and drove. I don't think liberating the car from its parking [...]
Just Back: Dry Creek Valley
It makes no sense: a dry creek is just a furrow, a trench, or a rut. Whatever. Although it doesn't have the high profile of neighbouring Napa valley, Dry Creek Valley is home to some pretty good wineries. We drove in from the coast, and settled in the town of Healdsburg. On the first day, [...]
Just Back: Sonoma Coast
It was our first non-working vacation since the pandemic started. We flew to California for some hiking, biking and wine-tasting. First stop was the Sonoma Coast, north of Jenner. There was a cold wind blowing at about 1000 kph during our visit to Salt Point State Park. But the flowers were in bloom, and the [...]
Memorial Day
The rain stopped, so we went to Brooklyn and walked back across a bridge. We found where all the tourists have been hanging out.
Rain
When it’s raining in NYC it’s usually both a great and a terrible idea to visit a museum. Great, because what else are you going to do? Terrible, because everyone else has the same idea. But now that NYC is not swarmed with tourists, and museums are still limiting visitors due to COVID, the rules [...]
Music 2020
It was a bleak year. COVID-19 made sure of that. Without a commute, I didn't listen to nearly as much new music as before. But still... ..... here are 3 albums that I liked in 2020. None of the artists are new to me. Gidge is a Swedish electronic duo consisting of Ludvig Stolterman and Jonathan Nilsson [...]
Daniel Van Willegen
Daniel Van Willegen passed peacefully at his home in Toronto on Saturday, 19 December 2020. He was 58 years old. Dan was born on 5 December 1962, in Toronto, ON, to Willem and Edith (Mindow) Van Willegen. He received his diploma in business management from George Brown College in 1982 and his B.A. from the [...]
Autumn in NY
We have been back in the USA for about a month now, but have been keeping a low profile due to rising COVID-19 rates here in NJ. Here are various pics from the past month that I never got around to posting. Socially distancing, here in Hoboken... And in NYC...
Not quarantined no more
It was a good week to be out and about in SW Ontario. And I’m not even talking about the fire, police, ambulance and bomb squad who arrived in the neighborhood on Saturday night to take care of a WWII device discovered around the corner from us. @Etobicoke CreekBirdhouses @Etobicoke CreekHVW + SMB @Etobicoke CreekPrep [...]
2nd Week in Quarantine
Week 2 is not unlike week 1, except I got busy and didn’t take any pictures one day. Quarantine Day 8. Work station upgraded thanks to Don.Quarantine Day 11. FaceTime training session.Quarantine Day 12. Fall mums thanks to Dan.Quarantine Day 13. Best part of Canada. (Not maple syrup, hockey, or the Hip).Quarantine Day 14. We’re [...]
1st Week in Quarantine
The rules say that if you cross the US/Canada border, then you must self-isolate for 2 weeks. So we are sequestered in a house that is just a few blocks away from our first home in Etobicoke. We left more than 25 years ago. Quarantine Day 0. At the border. Quarantine Day 1. Did the [...]
Daily Commute LV
Since I'm not really commuting these days, I walk along the Hudson River each morning. I take the same picture at roughly the same time every day. This is a smörgåsbord of pictures from August and early September.
MoMA
This week, our “get out and stay sane” event was a visit to MoMA, which recently reopened. The number of visitors is limited, and you need a timed entrance ticket, unless you are the guest of a staff member or volunteer, in which case you can waltz right in(1). @MoMA sculpture garden w/ PS H1 [...]
Just Back: Portland, ME
Heidi and I last visited Maine in the beforetimes (1). We camped at Bar Harbour and at Acadia National Park. Back then, we thought it was a great place. Still do. So we decided to go back, but this time, we stayed in Portland, the city of 66 thousand after which Portland OR is named. [...]
Drink Entire: Against the Madness of Crowds
It's one of those sweltering days in the city that I imagine propelled Ray Bradbury's imagination to conjure stories about urban witches, insomnia and climbing the corporate ladder.
ESB
We have been in the NYC area for more than 4 years, but during that time, I have never been back to the Empire State Building (1). HVW went with visitors once, but I couldn't make it. The main reason, is the crowds. They are always, always, out of control. We once had a plan [...]
Just back: Nantucket
At work, we worry that people are going squirrely after working from home for 4 months. At home, Heidi and I are going (a little) squirrely. So we decided to get away for a few days to a place that doesn’t require quarantine. If you're fond of sand dunes and salty airQuaint little villages here [...]
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