Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Another hidden gem in Newark, NJ. A Flickr contact mentioned that the Cathedral was very close to Branch Brook Park and that it would make for an interesting stop for anyone going up to the park. I'm glad I listened, especially after seeing it from the park! I stopped there for a few moments after leaving the park, I don't think I did it justice as it was an amazing place.

Originally planned to be built in the English/Irish Gothic style, the plans were changed to the French Gothic style in 1913.

Read more at Wikipedia

Cherry Blossoms

Last week I took a few hours and visited Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ. I've been hearing about the Cherry Blossom Festival and how lovely this park was for years, but never had the opportunity to visit until now. Turns out I was missing out on the beautiful display of cherry blossoms and a park that is the first County Park in the nation!

You can visit the Cherry Blossom Center and learn all about the trees that are part of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival each April. This year the festival began on April 12, my visit was on the 8th a little early but hoping to catch blossom before a pending storm did damage.

The park is 4 miles long, with lakes and trails along with recreational areas for use of the local sport teams.

The southern part of the park has a fabulous lake, with views of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Basilica, one of the largest cathedrals in the United States.

 What a great place to relax and maybe even review some important reading material on lovely spring day!

A great view of the Cathedral from this vantage point!

The lake also provided a wonderful color show in the fountain!

Walking along the path, there were quite a few visitors on this late Thursday afternoon. It's nice to see people out and enjoying the wonderful weather we were having!

And the Cherry trees were all in their colorful spring outfits!

The Cathedral framed with blossoms

Late afternoon light made this tree shine!

Day 98 Branch Brook Park

98/365

“Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.” ~ Douglas Pagels

Branch Brook Park boasts over 4100 Cherry Trees, far surpassing Washington DC's count, and the Blossom are said to exceed that show!

Camera:      Nikon D40
Exposure:     0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture:     f/5.6
Focal Length:     55 mm

Boomers!

It's been 10 days since my last post, and let me tell ya it's been a doozie. Just a little bit of sunshine can certainly make for an attitude adjustment, but the diagnosis of a cerebral aneurysm and a major MI definitely changes one's outlook things!

The week started out simple enough, ride up to Newark to help the youngin get a close-up glimpse at the American Idol Tour. Very strange city, Newark, they have no place to park! So we just drop of the star gazer and amuse ourselves sitting in the car. Here's a picture of my photo-buddy Rosie, playing chauffeur

And here's a mirror flip shot of the bus traveling Market Street and making special stops "Via PruCtr"

That was Sunday, then Tuesday came along and with the heat there was a power failure in my office building. No big deal, no power between 12:00 and 1:00 PM it's August finally got some heat. Power just has to go.... 1:20 call from hubby "I don't feel good, I think I should go to the hospital, can you come home?" Thank goodness our daughter was home, to keep him calm and help me keep my cool as I left the office and headed home.

To be continued......