No Place Like Manhattan

I'm sure you've heard NYC described as "The city that never sleeps". I never realized how true it was until our recent visit. There is a constant buzz everywhere around you. If feels like every bit of space and oxygen is being used. Although I really enjoyed our visit, life in Manhattan can be a bit overwhelming!

Our visit began with a 3 hour wait in the baggage claim area. One of the engines on my son's plane encountered a flock of birds. Lets just say, there were no winners. The plane had to make an emergency landing. Once everyone was safe and accounted for, we headed to the hotel, dropped off our bags and started our NYC adventure.

We walked through Central Park which is around 2-1/2 miles long. It is a great park with a lot of activity happening. Concerts, performers, biking, boating, you name it we saw it.

I encountered this sign at the far end of the park. I don't think I ever heard of a No honking law, but I can understand why they would have one here.
We took a boat tour around the entire island. It was a great way to get a feeling for what the whole area is like. We went under 19 bridges and through one bridge that opens sideways. Needless to say, bridges are their lifeline. It's such a fabulous skyline, but it's impossible to tell what it really looks like when you are in the middle of it. Once you get out on the boat, it looks so much different.We didn't have enough time to visit Lady Liberty, but we did get pretty close.

Here's an odd sign on the side of a building "A bare knuckled bucket of does". Huh?? What the heck does that mean? If anyone knows, please share.

Other highlights were the Empire State Building at night. The view was absolutely breathtaking. We went to Peter Lik's gallery in SoHo. His photography is fabulous. If I were alone, I would have spent all day there.

We rented a car, managed to make it out of Manhattan without hitting any pedestrians (no easy feat), and headed to Massachusetts for our next adventure.

Here We Go Again!

Another wildfire (The Gap Fire) is burning here in Goleta, and this time, it's the moutain right above my house. The last time this area burned was over 50 years ago, so there is a lot of dry fuel. So far, 350 acres have burned. This photo was taken last night by Ray Ford, a photographer at the Independent Newspaper. My husband and I were enjoying a glass of wine during intermission at an Ottmar Liebert concert at Soho, when my son called to tell us about the fire. Needless to say, we left the concert and raced home. An evacuation warning was issued for the area around my house and we're ready to get out if need be.
What possessions would you save? Family and pets come first, of course. Some of the items I grabbed were photos, external hard drive, camera, computer, personal files and quilts. I have lots of stuff and I love it all, but when it comes right down to it, very few possessions are precious.
I'll keep you posted!