Piece O’ NYC: An afternoon in Brooklyn and Resources!

Posted on by
1

Jeff and I spent a little time in Brooklyn last Saturday. I had an event with iMentor (which I highly recommend you join or share with your friends to join) and met with Jeff afterwards to kill a little of the afternoon at the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

an afternoon in Brooklyn 1

Click on all the pictures for greater detail (and quality!).

an afternoon in Brooklyn 2

an afternoon in Brooklyn 3

This is the face of a man who did not want his picture taken :P.

an afternoon in Brooklyn 4

an afternoon in Brooklyn

If you’re traveling with kids, take them to Jane’s Carousel.

Jeff and I rarely visit Brooklyn. I generally only venture out that far for meetings and this really ended up being the second time for me to explore this borough. The last time we were there though, we visited Smorgasburg...which if you’re a foodie you must go to too! Definitely the easier way to get to the park is to take the A/C to High Street. Once you get out of the station, walk towards the bridge – it’s really that simple. While we were walking around, Jeff and I were honestly stunned. Brooklyn is like a different planet! The sidewalks are wide, the restaurants are much bigger than those here in Manhattan, and even the people are friendlier. We walked around feeling weird and oddly foreign. The weather was amazing though. It was windy enough sail boats got great wind and the kids with their families were roaming around. There was also a neat water art exhibit on display at the park, Jeff had a really great time with it ;p. If you’re in town and you want to catch a site of the bridge and East River, go to the Brooklyn Bridge Park!

an afternoon in Brooklyn 5

an afternoon in Brooklyn 6

The park is also a great location to catch a glimpse of this lady!

an afternoon in Brooklyn 7

This is the face of ‘mischief.’

Also, I mentioned resources in this post’s title. Many people reach out to me to ask how to do this or that in the city. And below are some resources I usually share. I hope they help you too and encourage you to visit the city soon!!!

  • A Google map that Jeff and I constantly add things to. We’ve been to a lot of the restaurants pinned on it and it has helpful information about airports.
  • I’ve found this NYC Guide to be both cute and informative about different neighborhoods.
  • Each neighborhood seems to have their own blogs or sites with relevant news and information. I follow the West Side Rag since I live in the UWS. It has good information about the Thanksgiving Parade too.
  • Bicycle rental! Rent one and ride along one of the many bike paths in Central Park!
  • Also, I really encourage the use of Uber or Lyft when you’re in a transportation bind. It’s more costly, but at least it’s often a quick fix.
  • If you know you’re going to take subways or buses while you’re visiting, be sure to look at the maps and schedules on the MTA website. The fares for a metrocard is also listed on it so you know how much to charge your card. The weekend schedules are different than the weekday and holidays usually operate on a Sunday schedule.

About those 10,000 steps…

Posted on by
7

beckygoldsmith-GaffsPoint

Did you see the article in the New York Magazine this weekend entitled How Many Steps A Day Should You Walk?

The article in question says pretty much what I always thought: that 10,000 step goal is both arbitrary and not always the most important thing. And guess who they quote saying that very thing? Our youngest son, Jeff, that’s who! You should absolutely read this article all the way down to the 9th paragraph!

I wear a fitbit, and have worn it for over a year now. However, I don’t pay any attention to the number of steps I walk—I’m all about the miles. My goal is 4 miles a day and I often hit it. When I don’t, I that’s OK, but I find it’s nice to have a goal. That said, I know that my 4 miles is an arbitrary number that I chose because it’s attainable, but not easily attainable. I have to exert myself to hit my goal, but not that much :-).

If you don’t have a fitness routine, and if it just seems too hard, you might want to consider something like a fitbit. When you keep tabs on your activity, you see how much you move doing the things you always do, which is nice. And it turns reaching a daily goal almost into a game. That’s what I’ll tell myself tomorrow when I take my morning walk in the airport terminal.

 

Where does the time go?!

Posted on by
6

I have come to the realization that I have become a miserable ‘To Do’ list maker. I used to be so good at it! I had lists, I used them, and I got more done. However, as I used the computer more, I moved away from paper to lists kept on the computer.

I have two good friends who are time management pros and both of them focus on list-making and prioritizing. I’ve gotten worse at prioritizing as well. I spend way too much time on fluff and not nearly enough on the things that I sincerely want to get done.

It’s taken me way longer than it should have to figure out that lists only work for me if I can see them, on my desk, every day. I’m writing about this now because I think I’m not alone and yesterday Julie Herman (Jaybird Quilts) posted a link to the Get To Work Book. I decided to give it a look-see and it looks like a really good tool. This workbook/calendar/list-making book is printed in January and July. Each book is good for a year which means that if you want to try it too, now is the time. I’m attaching the video that sold me on it below.

https://vimeo.com/129266276

I hope this helps at least some of you because we all seem to be too busy these days. It is my hope that I can re-learn how to better manage my time and that my stress level goes down. Sounds like a good plan, doesn’t it :-).

On being wet, and cold…

Posted on by
14

On our last full day in Nova Scotia, we decided to walk the Cape Split trail, overlooking the Bay of Fundy. On the way there, I spotted another interesting sign:

NovaScotiaSigns

I think the 3rd row, 2nd from left means ‘fruit and veggies for picking’ because the ladies in my classes said so. The last row, 1st image may be ‘farmer’s market’. Or not. The thing that I notice about Canadian signs is that they are more varied than the ones I see in the US, and they are more complex. In most cases they are easy to intuit, but not always. It must be a cultural thing. I’ll bet they make sense to Canadians.

I admit, I knew nothing about the Bay of Fundy before this morning. It is known for having the highest tidal range in the world. We drove toward Cape Split when the tide was low. We stopped to take some pictures on the way. Here’s an overlook into the valley…

BayOfFundy-Overlook

We stopped to take a photo of a beach with the tide out, and again on the way back when the tide was in. There was 3-4 hours between the shots with the water out and the water in.

Tide out.
Tide in.
Tide out.
Tide in.

I know that the tide goes in and out everywhere. It is high, and then low. But apparently in the Bay of Fundy the tide goes out really fast and comes in really fast. We were advised not to walk out on what looks like a safe place because you can get washed away. It happens.

I took a few photos as we began the hike, before the rain started. A lot of the trail looked like this.

CapeSplitHike-2 copy

The trail was steep-ish in some places. There were rocks and tree roots, but this was not a particularly hard hike. That said, I was sorry I didn’t take my knee braces for the downhill parts. Up may make your lungs hurt, but downhill is really hard on your knees.

We saw ‘Christmas trees’ on this hike. In fact, we’ve seen them all over Nova Scotia. I will always think of this place when I smell, and stroke, a Christmas tree pine.

ChristmasTrees

And there was art on the trail! There was a sign that identified this as part of the Fey Forest by Christine Waugh, an exhibit from Uncommon Common Art.

FeyForest-1

There were more parts to the exhibit but it was too darned wet to pull out either a camera or an iPhone to take a picture. And, honestly, it was too wet and cold for me to stop to admire the art. But I tried.

FeyForest-2

The Cape Split trail is 18 kilometers long, about 8 miles. It is listed as a 4-5 hour hike. We did it in 3 hours, mostly because I walk fast. Also, it was raining and cold. Usually I can moderate my speed-walking with stopping to take photos and admire the scenery. Not so much today.

When we got back to the car, and rest room, my hands were so cold that my thumbs didn’t work. I found it nearly impossible to deal with the snaps and zipper on my pants. That was a first!

Instead of doing more with the day, we went directly to our hotel near the airport. It will be a very early morning to catch our first flight home but we are warm and dry and our clothes and shoes are mostly dry! Dinner was nice. We have wine and an internet connection. And we are both tired enough to sleep well tonight.

Now, you’re read this far, I should share the rest. I wear my sister, Christy’s, watch when I wear a watch. I had it on for this trip. Christy died more than 3 years ago and you can go back in my blog to read about the end of her life if you want to. Suffice it to say, I feel her presence when I wear her watch. I don’t dwell, but it’s a nice nudge.

As we walked today and the rain got worse, I realized that the watch might not like the water, so I took it off and put it in a dry pocket of my pants. When we got to the point at Cape Split and headed back I realized that my pocket was not dry enough and I should move the watch to Steve’s backpack. And then it was: ‘oh shit, where’s the watch?!!!’

I checked my pockets. Steve checked my pockets. No watch. I was more than bummed. On the 4 mile walk back we kept our eyes on the ground. I tried to remember where I was when I took it off and moved it to my pocket. We asked those we passed if they had seen it and they had not. I realized that there had been a lot of rain. The trail had lots more puddles on the outbound walk. The watch was surely under water.

On the walk back to the car, I let my sister’s watch go. I realized that I felt her in that watch and maybe leaving it on this trail was not such a bad thing. I think it’s a place she would like. Honestly, it kind of suits her. A little wild, tempestuous, different.

When we got to the car, I didn’t feel as bad about loosing Christy’s watch as I thought I would. And then, after my fingers thawed out, I found it hiding in my pocket, next to my fitbit. That felt good.

Objects with attachments are interesting, aren’t they? There are things, like Christy’s watch, that mean more than they are worth. But things are ephemeral. I’m happy to realize that I love my sister’s watch, I’m happy to still have it, but I could also be happy without it.

Things are things, people are what count. With or without the watch, my sister won’t be leaving my memory.

More from Nova Scotia…

Posted on by
6

We went out exploring on our 2nd day in Nova Scotia, which was actually a few days ago. I’ve been teaching for the Mahone Bay Quilters since then. It’s taken me this long to go through the photos and get them posted.

We went back toward Hirtle’s beach, through Lunenburg, along many of the same roads as the day before, but on this day it was clearer and not raining. We decided that stopping to take pretty-house-photos would slow us down too much so I did drive-by photos with my iPhone. I am surprised at how well they turned out.

Peeling paint adds character to a building.
Not all of the houses are colorful…
I love the bright blue door against the subdued yellow.
Just like butterscotch!
I loved the way this tree looked against the barn.
We stopped to take this photo. In fact Steve went back so I could take it. Love the way the red is reflected on the white walls.

Hirtle’s Beach is very pebbly/rocky. On the way into Canada I jokingly said that my suitcases were heavy but I didn’t have rocks in them. Can’t make that claim on the way home. Surely a baggie with pebbles won’t add that much weight…

Feet-BeachPebbles

We could not help but notice that there are many modern houses around Hirtle’s Beach. Look close and I’ll bet you spot the ‘Sliding House’ in the next photo. Click here for more info on it.

beckygoldsmith-TheRoad-18 copy

The ladies in my classes told me that most of these are summer homes and that there is some dispute over the fact that they have been built in a fragile ecosystem. But, putting all of that aside, I loved each and every one. If I could tear down my house and build again, I would build ‘modern’.

This reminds me of a Borg cube.
This sat high on a ridge, the other side looks out over the water.
There were several modern homes on this road. It’s high and you can see down onto water on one side and flat land that leads to water on the otherl.
This, and many other of these houses, were not that big.

It’s interesting to note that ‘modern’ does seem to also be ‘colorful’, at least on the outside of these houses. That’s often true of the houses I see featured in Dwell magazine.

The hiking trail at Hirtle’s Beach takes you around Gaff’s Point. It was a very nice walk.

Up in the woods at Gaff’s Point.
On the ridge, overlooking the water at Gaff’s Point.
Still on the ridge. There’s a lot of slate or shale that has been turned on its side by volcanic activity, long ago.

When we were in Lunenburg I took a nice photo of the big sailing ships with the colorful shops and houses behind. It is a place that poses well.

Lunenburg-Ships copy

Mahone Bay is a lovely town as well, I just didn’t take as many photos there. But I did take this shot of the 3 iconic and photogenic churches on the road into town. I lectured in the yellow church on the left and I taught 3 classes in the church on the right.

MohoneBayChurches

Sad to say that the congregations of these churches, like so many others in other parts of the world, are shrinking. It’s a real problem when a local church landmark does not have the money or people to keep it going. But that’s a whole other discussion.

My 52 Week Photo Challenge assignment this week was “the road”. It’s nice that I was in Nova Scotia, riding on so many photogenic roads, for this assignment. I posted my ‘road’ photos on this Smugmug page. Tomorrow we are going to see the Bay of Fundy. I hope to have more photos to share soon.