Moving stuff to Storage...

 Tuesday Dec 1st, starting late afternoon, Cris and I loaded the U-Haul truck we rented with what we had packed up to "de-clutter" our house for photos.

Items were moved into storage up in East Hartford.

We stopped at our new favorite spot in Manchester for a delicious pizza lunch...

... and eventually --after driving around Manchester a bit--ended up in East Hampton, CT.

What a treat it was to find the old railroad station!   Photos and detail posted here >

We were blessed on the way back with an usually pink sunset.

Crossing the Western Gateway Bridge

I was in upstate NY managing moving my mother's things to storage and wanted to take advantage of the spectacular weather. It was November and temperatures were in the 70s!!

Cloud reflections in the Mohawk River

Crossing the Western Gateway Bridge

I always had the urge to cross the bridge from Scotia to Schenectady by bike but somehow never got around to it. Fortunately I scheduled time early in morning today to do it and had a old local friend (who is used to my crazy whims!) join me. 

We started from the Scotia side from the Glen Sanders Mansion and once in Schenectady, we crossed over at the Schenectady Community College and returned on the other side. Although it was absolutely gorgeous and sunny outside and the river was calm and serene, the traffic noise of the traffic was deafening and we could hardly hear each other talk,

The mysterious hand...

Power lines

Looking toward the park area behind Schenectady Community College

Looking eastward from the other side

I have always been curious about this historical relic...

Upstate November Visit

I traveled upstate to manage moving my Mother's belongings out of her former assisted living space to storage and her current residence in a nursing home. I took a break from the sorting and packing on Thursday afternoon to visit my old stomping grounds and take in a few new things as well.

House

First I drove by our old house and saw it looked nice, sparkling in white...

Down to the Creek

I parked up the street and hiked down to the Alplaus Kill to check out where I used to go in the woods as a kid.

There's a huge hill to descend/ascend

I brought my double flute and played a bit

Graveside

Next I visited my Dad's grave up at the Sweetman Road cemetery - my video was cut off by an incoming phone call :-(

Train Station

My visit to the new train station is posted on my RC-PedalPoint blog >

Misc

Dinner with my sister - I tried the local brew - VERY NICE!

I stayed at the new hotel at the casino and enjoyed the river view AND the great lightening for work at the couch!

BHBL Fall Colors

Before and after my ride at Luther Forest, I snapped a few shots of the autumn colors in the Burnt Hills- Ballston Lake area while driving -  it was gorgeous!

An eye-opening visit to NYC

I had business to attend to in New York City. It was the first time I ventured in since March when the pandemic sent us all home to work remotely.

The MetroNorth train was practically empty.

Grand Central Terminal

Although not dead, there seemed to be a dearth of folks in the station compared to how it was in March. 

There were many stores and sections closed...

...especially the lower floor :-(

Even the Vanderbilt Room was "closed for business".. 

.. but at least the wonderful kiosk of its history was still going strong!

Yikes!

I next walked up to where I first started full-time corporate work (ages ago!) and was shocked to see 270 Park Ave was being torn down.  It reminded me of the George Benson hit "Everything Must Change" "Everything must change...Nothing stays the same..."

That certainly is true of Manhattan!

Way back when this was one of our infrequent after work watering holes :-)

and this one (still open) was the other.

It was hard to recognize with the skyscraper no longer present but here is the Grand Central north entrance I used to use...

Ah but one heart-warming sight was to see the same food cart I used to patronize still on the same corner. Nick used to make the best Bacon, Egg and Cheese!

This elderly gentleman sitting in the lobby with super protection from COVID-19 caught my eye. Imagine this sight if it occurred a few years back! It's like a sci-fi dystopia reality we live in now <sigh>

Well I next ventured over to Hudson Yards - where I working until the pandemic sent us scrambling to work remotely.  Strangely this area is still incredibly bustling and new skyscrapers seem to be sproting up everywhere.

The good news is one of my favorite delis (an inexpensive lunch spot) was still open. No doubt supported by the army of hard-working construction workers on the nearby ever-growing assortment of skyscrapers.

Stowe2020 - 4-Various

Thursday, Sept 3rd

On Thursday, I drove up to Hyde Park to mountain bike at Cricket Hill. The weather was gorgeous! My ride there is detailed on my mountain biking/hiking blog >.  In the evening we had Mexican food to go at the house that Bri rented.

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Friday, Sept 4th

Friday was spent playing my Native American Flutes at various spots (Moscow Recreation Park, Perry Hill, etc.) In the afternoon Cris and I drove around looking for fresh blueberries to no avail but we stopped at a couple of farms and purchased a few things. Driving the back roads of Waterbury was interesting - especially Perry Hill Road.

Being our last night together with Greg (he headed back to Colorado early Saturday), the three of us had dinner together at Pie-casso a wonderful Pizza lace.

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Saturday Sept. 5th, 2020

On mid morning Saturday, I road the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail from Hyde Park to Cambridge Junction. The trip is detailed on my railroad-related PedalPoint blog >.

On Saturday evening - although it was cold, I road a quickie on the bike path.

Stowe Bike Path - North End

Sunday- Sept. 6th, 2020

Sunday morning was spent working on Web and YouTube documentations of this trip followed by a visit with Cris to the Stowe Farmer's Market. In the afternoon, I mountain biked on the lower trails at Trapp Family Lodge.

Stowe2020 - 3-Wednesday

Another day of crappy weather on our vacation - Yeech! To kill the time, in the morning I found a nice trail right next to where we are staying and brought along the Double Native American Flute.

Magic Flute Hike - A little music along the trail :-)

0:30, 1:35 and 3:15  (ending with a happy fast-paced improv)

The weather got even worse in the afternoon so--while Greg worked--Cris and I drove up to Morristown and then over to Jeffersonville/Cambridge returning to Stowe via Snuggler's Notch. It was very foggy going thru the Notch. It felt like we were in an Alfred Hitchcock movie!

Stowe2020 - 2-Tuesday

Burlington

Plans were for biking but since the weather was overcast and sprinkling, we hopped on over the Burlington. instead.

Union Station

No urban visit is complete without documenting the train station!

Strange gargoyle-like statues dot the roof of the station

Down at the Waterfront

That of course is Lake Champlain with New York State in the distance.

Burlington Street Ambiance

We spent so time wandering around downtown admiring the older buildings....

 

Church Street Pedestrian Mall