Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Niagara Falls - "Rain Parka Day"


























Ok, I hope to never see another rain parka, I've had 3 different ones on today. We did "Maid of the Mist", "Journey behind the Falls", "Niagara Whitewater Walk", and "Niagara Fury".....all of which got me wet!

To bad you can't whitewater raft the river..it's a class 6.

The Niagara Falls are voluminous waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

Niagara Falls is composed of two major sections separated by Goat Island: Horseshoe Falls, the majority of which--two-thirds according to the US Geological Survey--lies on the Canadian side of the border, and American Falls on the American side. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the main falls by Luna Island.

Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age), and water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than 6 million cubic feet (168,000 m³) of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow, and almost 4 million cubic feet (110,000 m³) on average. It is the most powerful waterfall in North America.

The Niagara Falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power.

Pic 1) Rainbow over Niagara - shot this from the restaurant we ate dinner at tonight.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
































So the pictures of the falls are from our hotel room.......the hillbilly and the city slicker are livin life right, can't say I've ever had a room with a fireplace/hot tub.

We left Bar Harbor and went through Quebec on our way to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada...we drove about 200+ miles through Quebec and only saw one other American license plate.....we were glad to get out of there...plus we couldn't understand the french road signs. We spent the night at Cornwell, Ontario where they speak english and road signs are in french and english.

We stopped at a little town on the way to Niagra called Niagra on the Lake...what a beautiful/charming little town.

Bar Harbor....whale watch



















This is the only moose I saw.....

So we went back in search of the elusive whale before we left Bar Harbor on Sunday.....we did get to see a mama whale and her baby....needless to say they only popped out of the water a couple times then they would go back for a "terminal dive" and you'd have to wait 5-10 minutes for them to pop back up.

On to Canada.....

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Bar Harbor, Maine






























Acadia National Park preserves much of Mount Desert Island, and associated smaller islands, off the Atlantic coast of Maine. Originally inhabited by the Wabanaki people, the area includes mountains, an ocean shoreline, woodlands, and lakes. In addition to Mount Desert Island, the park comprises much of the Isle au Haut, a small island to the southwest of Mount Desert Island and parts of Baker Island, also nearby. A portion of Schoodic Peninsula on the mainland is also part of the park. In total, Acadia National Park consists of 30,300 acres (47 square miles or 123 km2) on Mount Desert Island, 2,728 acres (4.6 square miles or 11 km2) on Isle au Haut and 2,366 acres (3.5 square miles or 9.2 km2) on the Schoodic Peninsula.

The Ullikana (Bed/Breakfast Joe & I stayed at) is a secluded, romantic haven by the sea in the heart of Bar Harbor, Maine. Old-fashioned gardens surround this historic English Tudor style house built in 1885. All of our rooms have private baths, many have fireplaces or private terraces with beautiful water views. Alpheus Hardy, Bar Harbor's first summer cottager, built and named the Ullikana in 1885. This historic building is one of the few early cottages still remaining. While no one knows the story behind the name Ullikana, this elegant bed and breakfast maintains a long tradition of hospitality and welcomes guests and travellers from the world over. The Ullikana is a secluded, romantic haven by the sea in the heart of Bar Harbor, Maine. Old-fashioned gardens surround this historic English Tudor style house built in 1885. All of our rooms have private baths, many have fireplaces or private terraces with beautiful water views. We invite you to come and enjoy a sumptuous breakfast on the patio overlooking Frenchman Bay, relax in the afternoon with refreshments on the terrace and end your day by a cozy fire.

Alpheus Hardy, Bar Harbor's first summer cottager, built and named the Ullikana in 1885. This historic building is one of the few early cottages still remaining. While no one knows the story behind the name Ullikana, this elegant bed and breakfast maintains a long tradition of hospitality and welcomes guests and travellers from the world over. http://ullikana.com

Joe & I went on a puffin/whale watch boat, but only got to see puffins (and alot of fog).....we are going back out in the morning to see if we can get a glimpse of a whale. Then on to Canada.

Pic 1) Joe eating lobster for dinner
Pic 2) Sailboat in Bar Harbor
Pic 3) Joe & Julie in Acadia Nat'l Park
Pic 4, 5 & 6) Acadia Nat'l Bark
Pic 7) Lighthouse
Pic 8) Inns at Ullikana (Bed/Breakfast)

Final Day in NY City






























Wall Street is a street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. It runs east from Broadway to South Street on the East River, through the historical center of the Financial District. It is the first permanent home of the New York Stock Exchange.

The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between Manhattan Island and Staten Island. The ferry departs Manhattan from South Ferry, near Whitehall Circle, at the southernmost tip of Manhattan near Battery Park. On Staten Island, the ferry arrives and departs from St. George Ferry Terminal on Richmond Terrace, near Richmond County Borough Hall and Richmond County Supreme Court. Service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Staten Island Ferry is the most reliable form of mass transit, with an on-time performance of over 96 percent. The Staten Island Ferry has been a municipal service since 1905, and currently carries over 21 million passengers annually on the 5.2-mile run.

Play Me, I’m Yours: New York City 2010 “Play Me, I’m Yours” is an artwork by British artist Luke Jerram who has been touring the project globally since 2008. From 9am-10pm each day, 60 pianos will be available to play across New York City. Presented by Sing for Hope they are located in public parks, streets and plazas.

The September 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11th or 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners.[1][2] The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There were no survivors from any of the flights.

Grand Central Terminal (GCT) — sometimes called Grand Central Station or simply Grand Central — is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger trains, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms: 44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100.

The Carnegie Deli is located in midtown Manhattan on 7th Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets and was opened in 1937 adjacent to Carnegie Hall. Now in the third generation of owners, the Parker family's delicatessen is among the most visited restaurants of its type in the city, according to the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau. USA Today has called the restaurant the "most famous" deli in the United States. It is operated by Sandy Levine, whose business card indicates he is the "MBD" = Married Boss's Daughter, namely, Marian Parker. The restaurant offers pastrami, corned beef and other sandwiches with at least one pound of meat.

Pic 1) Wall Street "Bull"
Pic 2) NY Stock Exchange
Pic 3) Staten Island Ferry Terminal
Pic 4) Piano's around NY
Pic 5) 9/11 Site
Pic 6) Joe @ Grand Central Station
Pic 7) Trump Towers
Pic 8) Joe & Julie pigging out at Carnegie Deli

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

NY City - Day 2







































Ok, just a quick rundown of today........up at 0400 to get down to the today show.....we got in line at 0520 and we were 12 & 13th in line. We got pics w/Lennie (he's been in the Today show crowd for years)....then we get to see Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Ron Schneider (they were promoting their movie Grown Ups)....then off to ride bikes in Central Park for a couple hours. After taking a break to people watch in Times Square, we got to see the "Naked Cowboy", "Naked Cowgirl" and the "Naked Granny". I saved your eyes by NOT posting a picture of her on the blog....yikes if you know what I mean....LMAO..

Then Joe and I scored standby tickets to the Late Show w/Jimmy Fallon...what a hoot...you should see me on there tonight, when he's playing the guitar he walks up the isle I'm sitting on. Heidi Klum was his guest tonight along w/singer Macy Gray.

Dinner in Hell's Kitchen........my feet are killing me and I'm going to bed...tomorrow we head downtown, and possibly a show.....

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

New York City - Day 1
































William Lamb, an architect at the firm Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, was chosen to design the Empire State Building. His design was influenced by the perpendicular style of another architect, Eliel Saarinen. He happened to base most of his design on a simple pencil. The clean, soaring lines inspired him, and he modeled the building after it. He also decided that the columns of stone would be easier to put up if they were separated from the windows with metal strips. The strips covered the stone's edges, which meant the stone could be rough-cut at the quarry and then heaved into place without any final cutting or fitting, thus saving a great amount of time. The stonework began in June of 1930, and was completed in November. The windows were attached with metal brackets between the stone columns, with aluminum panels above and below each level.

By October 3, 1930, there were 88 floors finished and only 14 to go. These top floors took the form of a distinctive tower of glass, steel, and aluminum. The tower is about 200 ft. high and topped with a dome.

The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986.

Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The extended Times Square area, also called the Theatre District, consists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan.

Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after the New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly built Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Years Eve. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World" and "The Great White Way", has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and the United States.

According to documented history, Lombardi's was the first American pizzeria. Pizza didn't gain its popularity until just after World War II, but Lombardi's, opened by Gennaro Lombardi, began selling pizza in New York City in 1905, so you might say Gennaro is the father of American pizza. Lombardi's was originally a grocery store, but it soon became a popular stop for workers looking for something to take to work for lunch. Gennaro started selling tomato pies, which were wrapped in paper and tied with a string, and the many workers of Italian descent would take them to the job site. Most could not afford the entire pie, so it was often sold by the piece. There was no set price or size, so you asked for whatever lets say 2 cents would buy and you were given portion of what was equal to the amount offered. Gennaro's son, John, took over after Gennaro passed away and the business eventually went to Genarro's grandson, Jerry. Over the years, Lombardi's continued to sell pizza, becoming a cult-like Mecca for pizza enthusiasts. In 1984, Lombardi's closed its doors. In 1994, John Brescio, who was a childhood friend of Gennaro's grandson, Jerry, started talking to Jerry about reopening Lombardi's and in that same year they did, but not in the same location. They moved a block down the street to 32 Spring Street.

Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians. Today the neighborhood of Little Italy consists of Italian stores and restaurants.

Much of the neighborhood has been absorbed and engulfed by Chinatown, as immigrants from China moved to the area. What was once Little Italy has essentially shrunk into a single street which serves as a tourist area and maintains few if any Italian residents. The northern reaches of Little Italy, near Houston Street, ceased to be recognizably Italian, and eventually became the neighborhood known today as NoLIta, an abbreviation for North of Little Italy. Today, the section of Mulberry Street between Broome and Canal Streets, is all that is left of the old Italian neighborhood. The street is lined with some two-dozen Italian restaurants popular with tourists, and seemingly very few locals. Unlike Chinatown, which continues to expand in all directions with newer Chinese immigrants, little remains of the original Little Italy.

In 2010, Little Italy and Chinatown were listed in a single historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

Pic 1) Empire State Building
Pic 2) Statue of Liberty
Pic 3) Chris in CA this pic is for you...I know you LOVE this shirt...LOL
Pic 4) Times Square
Pic 5) Times Square
Pic 6) Joe & Juie eating at Lombardi's Pizza (est. 1905) in Little Italy
Pic 7) Little Italy
Pic 8) China Town