Life is....

what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. ~ John Lennon

It's been over two months since I last posted, wow that sure is a long time. I actually started this post about two weeks ago and got distracted once again by some tiny little detail... minutia, but the trail was lost and it took time to get back on track. Not that the last two months have been uneventful, quite the contrary. It was so eventful I was completely overwhelmed by it all.

The last week in May ended with the passing of a very close friend and confidant, my Aunt Lil was so special to me and she is missed daily. The pain and suffering are over and she is in a better place, yes I do believe there is a better place. The flowers of May brought relief and beauty in a time of deep sorrow.

June brought a birthday dinner for my daughter and I. Since we share a birthday, we also shared a celebratory cocktail while waiting to be seated. I had the honor of celebrating the 25th Anniversary of my 29th birthday this year.... but who's counting?

July was an exciting month! We attended my niece's wedding in south west Pennsylvania, a celebration and road trip all in one. With a dog and cat to tend to my DH stayed home while my daughter and I had a semi Thelma and Louise weekend (lol). It was great to spend time with my brother and nieces, something that's become far to rare! The bride was beautiful and the groom was as excited as a little boy, may they be blessed with love and happiness for many years to come.

Unfortunately we ended the month on a sad note. Our cat Belle has been suffering with kidney disease for the last year and sadly we had to let her go with the help of the vet that has cared for since we adopted her in 1994.

Seventeen years is a long time, she gave it the good fight and held on until the end, may she now rest in peace.

Exploring: 5 Pointz - Long Island City

80/365 5 Pointz
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

This weekend hubby had a meeting in Flushing, NY and we took the opportunity to explore the old neighborhoods. Coincidentally we did this almost exactly one year ago, we visited Long Island City then too, but stayed closer to the river.


We both grew up in Queens, he grew up in Astoria and I in Sunnyside. We really enjoy checking out the neighborhoods to see how they've changed over the years, we moved to New Jersey in 1988, there have been many changes! Yesterday after showing our daughter the schools we went to and the apartment houses we lived in we ventured over to Astoria to have gyros for lunch (I think that's the main reason she came with us). We went back to Mr. Gyro's where we had lunch last year, but the place was now Broadway Eats. Looked like they still made gyros so we were game to check it out. Glad we did, the gyros were just as good as they were last time! Yummy!

 

Gyro at Broadway Eats

After lunch we headed down by the water, then decided to change course and checkout the 5 Pointz graffiti area I had seen photos of several months back. While browsing the web on my phone I noted there were recent news stories that 5 Pointz would soon be closing due to future development plans for the site. I felt it might be now or never, so off we went to Long Island City in search of the world renowned "Graffiti Mecca" off of Jackson Avenue.

As we approached the site, an old warehouse, the first mural that caught my eye

The main entrance was quite intriguing...

Photographers come from miles around to capture the artists and their work

Read more about this amazing place at their website 5Ptz.com

Historic Track

July 4th weekend was a great time to take a trip out to Goshen, NY where the town was celebrating their Great American Weekend. We took a trip up on Saturday to visit the Historic Track, America's oldest track! Part of the week also included vendors and activities around the town.

A few pictures from the afternoon at the track - 

Ulysses S. Grant once watched the races from the loft of this barn

The refreshment stand is located under the Grand Stand, and proudly displays it's National standing

The band stand and judges stand are prominently located where all can be clearly seen from the Grand stand

The town library participated in the The Great American Weekend by hosting a book sale, there were quite a few people gathering around for the sale.

Despite the heat, we enjoyed the day and may go back again in cooler weather to take the quick Walking Tour offered by the Chamber of Commerce.

A Day in Hoboken

Saint Patrick's Day was a beautiful sunny spring day and Kate and I took a stroll along Washington Street in Hoboken.

Our first encounter was with a street artist that was painting an old time street scene

The painter was friendly and even gave his permission to take photos!

Even the hotdog vendor was cordial, he was very proud that one of the paintings was bought by the city of Hoboken for their archives. There seems to be lots of civic pride in the city!

Have you seen or heard of  "Cake Boss" ? Well Buddy's bakery has been located in Hoboken since the early 1900's. Carlo's Bakery is directly across the street from Town Hall

The TV show has definitely improved this little shop's business, and word on the street is that the town was giving Buddy an award on 3/17 for the shop's contributions to the local economy.

Now that's getting a lot out of your dough... don't ya think?

Kate and I step inside for a few minutes, but the crowd was huge... 

We really don't need to be eating any of those sweet cakes or pastries anyway! We walked a bit further down Washington Street to see what other goodies we could find!

City Hall, directly across from the bakery was bustling with activity, after all it was the middle of a normal weekday.

This Police Officer was trying to keep things moving, mostly that bus which was interfering with the flow of cars and pedestrians! While it was a "normal" weekday, I did think there were more people just strolling along than was usual. Probably just the tourists and St. Paddy's Day celebrants getting ready to partake in the celebrations at one of the many neighbor pubs!

From the looks of things, revelers and inn keepers alike were anxious for this day to begin!

 

Kate was excited to be in Hoboken and wanted to have lunch at one of the many pubs along Washington St.  We did find a place that had a nice menu and reasonable prices, it's a shame I can't recall the name of it.

We loved the traditional pub setting, and the weather was gorgeous so the doors were open wide!

Steak with pesto and cheese was one of the specials, and it was quite good.

There was much more we got to see along Washington Street and then later along the river front. I'll be sure to post those another time! All in all we had a great day and I'm looking forward to another trip to investigate more of the neighborhood!

Sunday Drive

Steve and I have been taking little Sunday trips over the last month. And of course I made of point of having my camera with me every step of the way. Seems to me the month of October just went flying by! Our first Sunday drive was to Lambertville.

Lambertville Station has been converted into a restaurant, a complete 19th century restoration has made this a must see stop for visitors to the town.

Canal-side dining is also available, enjoy the calming sights and sounds of the D & R Canal.

This was our very first trip to this quaint and historic town located on the Delaware River. Formerly known as Coryell, George Washington's troops crossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania from here. There is a brief and interesting history of Lambertville provided by the Lambertville Historical Society.

The town saw a resurgence of popularity during the 1970's - 1980's when many artists were drawn to the town.

Today the town is full of quaint little antique shops, proud of their location and decorating to keep up appearences.

Shops with antique bicycles and building clocks

Shops that offer the best of the confections

Or maybe just a glimpse of the owner's own treasures

A place where one can clearly see modes of transporation from bygone eras

Waterways

Rails

and Automobiles

A truly enlighting autumn day in the Garden State! More photos can be seen in my Flickr Lambertville Set.

Until next time ~ Live, Love, Laugh!

Road Trip - Part 1

Now the 4th is behind us and I've been thinking it's time to share what's been going on over the last few weeks. I've shared that we took a short 4 day road trip in June and I'll be posting pictures from the trip over the next several posts.

Steve and I had a great time. It was nice to just get away from the routine of the day to day and spend some time together, despite the weather that covered the entire Eastern US over a very long period. Including during our trip.

Our first stop on the journey was Charles Town, WV (more like the main event). Great place, they have a HUGH casino along with the racetrack. Seems like everyone is competing with Atlantic City these days and adding slots to the racetrack. Anyway, the night was fun but pretty wet as you can see from these photos.

A shot of the track from the field level



The horses were beautiful and ran their races despite the muddy track. (I thought they were pretty sloppy, but Steve said "No, just muddy.")

The casino was also where we had dinner. They had many places to choose from but we just went to the buffet. We enjoyed!

Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

Tourist Day

We made it, living a day as a tourist and we had a great time! Katie and I celebrated our birthday by going to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I've always lived within 40 miles of these national treasures and finally made my first visit today!

The "Great Hall" in b&W manhattan in the background

Katie, who loved the Museum, getting a shot of an exhibit. This was really pretty cool, from one angle it was a collage of people and from the other it was an American flag.

Jess, Cindy and Katie and the Wall of Names

A collage made with Picasa