New York City

Today we took the Seastreak ferry from Atlantic Highlands to 35th St on the East River in NYC. We took the latest ferry at 10 AM (due to our still having not accommodated the time change so we are sleeping in), and found it was a smaller boat than is used during rush hour. And coming back at 3:50 it was also a small boat. The crossing was fine, but a bit rough. The reason for the trip was to see the new Islam exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum. It was neat, particularly the Moorish courtyard specially built for the exhibit. They don't allow flash photography and the light was low, so I didn't get good photos. We walked from the ferry terminal to the subway stop between 33rd and 34th on Park Ave and got off at 77th and walked to the museum. But coming back, we caught a cab outside the museum, since we'd had plenty of walking by then. We just had lunch at a soup place and then stopped for dinner at Inlet Cafe in Highlands.
The ferry seems like a good solution when I want to go to the library for geneaology. It is within walking distance from the 35th street terminal.

Trip to Lancaster

We drove to Lancaster yesterday for some serious fabric shopping. I bought lots at Old Country Store and at Zooks, both in Intercourse. We had a hard time finding somewhere to eat lunch. The folks at Old Country Store highly recommended Millers Smorgasbord in Ronks (much more so than Plain and Fancy), but they are not open for lunch at this time of year. I must remember to go later in March next time. We went through Lititz and had dinner at the Tomato Pie Cafe. Then to the Furnace Hills B&B. It is a nice place nestled in the woods near the Middle Creek Wildlife Management preserve. The trip was timed to see the snow geese and tundra swans at the preserve. Unfortunately, it was very foggy this morning. So while we saw lots of birds, the photos didn't turn out very well. It was something to see once, but I don't think I would do it again. Then we went to Burkholders for more fabric. I would probably start there next time and then head to Intercourse.

Yet another quilt

This is another stack 'n whack, but I don't like it as well as the last one. But I used heavy batting so it will be nice and cozy on the sofa.

Winter Activities

Even though there is little snow, we are managing to find things to do. Yesterday we snowshoed part of the Deer Pond Loop. But the microspikes would have worked fine. Tomorrow we are hiking in Henry's Woods outside of Lake Placid with some ADK friends and then going to the pot luck dinner afterwards. And tonight Jim and Cindy are coming to dinner. So we are getting our socializing done. Monday we head back to NJ.

New Gear

We drove to camp yesterday. There is very little snow here and relatively high temps. It was above freezing for the entire drive. This afternoon we joined some of our friends for a hike on the trails between Church and Osgood Ponds, across from Paul Smith's. Since there is little snow and what there is is icy, we needed some new equipment. These are microspikes and they worked quite well.After the hike we had a nice dinner at the St. Regis Cafe, the student-run restaurant in Paul Smith's, and then went to John's talk at the VIC.

Another Quilt for the Show

Miami Beach, Everglades, Etc.

On Friday we all went to Shark Valley and as usual enjoyed the large selection of birds. While I tried not to take too many photos of things I'd taken plenty of pictures of in the past, sometimes one cannot resist. Here is a snowy egretand a great blue heron.Yesterday we went to the main section of the Everglades and walked on the Anhinga Trail and saw lots more birds and alligators. Today we went to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens. We saw this turtle in the water near the parking lot.The garden has lots of beautiful tropic foliageinterspersed with various neat sculptures.We fly home tomorrow.

In Orlando

We, plus our younger daughter, flew to Orlando yesterday and spent the evening at Epcot.Today we headed for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal's Islands of Adventure. This is the entrance to Hogsmeade,and the Hogsmeade skyline.We drank butter beer and pumpkin juice and bought a chocolate frog and every-flavour beans. Needless to say, much of the attraction has to do with shopping. We toured the castle, but bailed before the ride at the end. And W rode the Dragon Challenge roller coaster. It was neat, but definitely not worth a trip by itself. We had to walk through the Dr Seuss portion of the park to get to Harry Potter and stopped there afterwards to ride the Caro-Seuss-el and see the Lorax. Later in the day we drove to Miami Beach to meet up with the rest of the family.

First Quilt of the Year

I love paper piecing.

Happy New Year

What great friends and neighbors we have. We managed to get 20 people in here for the appetizer portion of the neighborhood progressive dinner. W's penquin appetizers were a hit.Then after more courses and more visiting we headed for the get-together with our paddling friends in Saranac Lake for more good food and company. We left too late to get to any of the First Night activities but one of these years I'll get there. We did go out and see the fireworks at midnight and they were especially neat. The warm temperatures - it was in the mid 30's all evening - combined with the little amount of snow that is still left resulted in a lot of fog. It made the drive a bit of a challenge but it made for some great effects with the fireworks. The higher ones disappeared up into the fog then floated down out of it. And many lit the whole sky, reflecting off the fog. A great way to start the new year.

We're headed back to New Jersey tomorrow.