Tuesday, November 18, 2008Hiking through GarrisonA couple of weeks ago, I decided to visit my friends Phil and Karen at their house by the river near the Bear Mountain Bridge. I had already missed the morning train to Manitou, where they live, so I decided to take the train to Garrison and hike back to their house. It's only four miles, and I was able to make the hike in under 90 minutes.View Larger Map It was a beautiful day; the leaves have just started to fall off the trees, and the last of the fall foliage was visible. The hike was very relaxing, even if most of it was along Route 9D. It's a bit difficult hiking along a highway because the road is sloped and there are no pedestrian trails.   After around three miles along Route 9D, I headed down a twisty road towards the Outward Bound headquarters. The headquarters is a large 10 bedroom building on 18 acres; it's for sale for $9MM. Taxes are around $51K per year. You cross over a bridge over the MTA tracks to get to Mystery Point.  After walking by the Outward Bound headquarters, I walked down Mystery Point Road towards my friends' house.       I hung out at Phil and Karen's house for a few hours before catching the 5 pm train back to New York City.   I also took a stop-motion video of the hike down Mystery Point Road; unfortunately, it didn't compress well. Thursday, October 23, 2008Goodbye QE2Last Thursday Evening, October 16, Anne and I went to the Rise Bar at the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park to wish the Queen Elizabeth 2 farewell to New York City. The QE2 is on it's final voyage; after returning to England she will be moved to Dubai as a museum.It was a windy, gray night, but the managers at the Rise Bar had the balcony open so that we could see the QE2 along side the much larger Queen Mary 2. The ships are both very impressive, but the QE2 looks more like a classic ocean liner than the QM2. Even though I had a tripod, it was difficult to keep the camera steady due to the fierce winds.   The QM2 waiting for the QE2  The QE2 passing in front of the QM2  The QE2 sails ahead of the QM2 and out of the harbor The New York Times has an article about the departure. And, of course, let's not ignore the "it's a small world" moment. The New York Times reports, "A duplicate of the pennant was presented Thursday to Grover Sanaschagrin [sic], 88, who as a harbor docking pilot guided liners to their berths from 1944 until his retirement in 1996." I believe this is the grandfather of Grover Sanschagrin, my coworker at PhotoShelter. Tuesday, October 14, 2008Boating and hikingLast weekend, I rode on a yacht, had food poisoning, and climbed Anthony's Nose.I took Friday, October 3rd off to sail around the New York Classic Week Regatta, a schooner race around New York Harbor. Anne, Ginny, and I met at Chelsea Piers to board the yacht Manhattan. We paced most of the race to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and then made our way up the East River before heading back to the finish line at the Hudson. There was a bit of extra time, so we continued up the Hudson to see the Intrepid before returning to dock. The day was overcast, but it was still pleasant outside and we all had a great time. We were supplied with a brunch of waffles, quiche, ham, salmon, and bagels; not to mention a fully stocked bar.    The Pride of Baltimore  New York harbor is a working harbor, and the sailboats navigated along large container vessels and barges.   Turning at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.  Anne and Ginny  The Manhattan was comfortable, fast, and fun. It's worth looking into if you want a pleasant cruise around the city.  The New York City Waterfalls. The project just finished this past weekend. We were able to get very close to the falls.  The day before our ride, the Intrepid returned to its permanent berth.  The view of Manhattan from the middle of New York harbor. Unfortunately, several hours into the ride, I started to become sick. I was still fatigued and weak after the ride, and took a nap when I went home. I woke up shaking several hours later and realized that I had food poisoning. I don't think it was from the food on the ship since no one was ill; I think it was from my breakfast at a coffee shop or my lunch the day before. The details are a bit gross, but the good news is that my fever broke that night at 3 am, and by the end of Saturday I was in good shape. So on Sunday, I went up along the Hudson to visit my friend Phil at his house in Garrison. Anne, Mary, Phil, and I started out the day by climbing Anthony's Nose, a peak overlooking Bear Mountain. We climbed the mountain fairly quickly; it's a fairly easy, but steep, climb with a beautiful view.  Phil and Mary at the peak of Anthony's Nose.  Bear Mountain Bridge  Me (Sam Greenfield) overlooking Bear Mountain Bridge from Anthony's Nose  Anne, me, Mary, and Phil Climbing down the mountain, I saw many weird looking mushrooms. I would have taken more pictures, but I didn't want to keep everyone waiting.    I didn't do as much this past weekend, but I did walk down to Brooklyn Bridge Park with a friend of mine. It was a clear, warm day.   I finished up the weekend playing with my camera. I want to work with the strobe to see if I can capture better images of water droplets.  
Wednesday, September 03, 2008Tugboat Races This past Sunday, August 31, the Working Harbor Committee held the Sixteenth Annual Great North River Tugboat Race & Competition on the Hudson River. My friend Anne and I went to Pier 84 at 44th Street. All of the tugboats line up at Pier 84 and parade up to the starting line at the 79th Street Boat Basin. Then they race as quickly as they can back down to the finish line at Pier 84. Here are some photos of the tugs before the race.         The crane ship from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers marks the finish line.  The tugboats parade up to the 79th Street Boat Basin  More tugboats!   The NYFD was also on hand.   Lined up for the start of the race.  The race to the finish  After the race, the tugboats participate in other competitions, like a pushing competition. They go head to head, and the tug that is pushed backwards loses.   More tugs hanging out on the river....  The crews of the tugboats compete in a line throwing competition.   The Tug Pegasus was built in 1907 and is the oldest Tugboat in the New York City region.   After the race, the tugs dock on the pier, and you can get a very close look.   [Both of the panoramas are linked to larger versions. I have more images and high-resolution copies; contact me if you would like them.] 
|
|