Category Archives: Travel

Destruction

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And for today, the downside of yesterday’s jaunt through the southcentral Virginia countryside (if we set aside the gas money I must’ve used for it ;).

Destruction.

Just imagine what this field of ragged tree stumps must have been like in the not-too-distant past. And now: Ugh!

I know that there are reasons for deforestation. Maybe the people who cleared needed money to save their land or to help a family member in need.

A part of me says it’s not really my business what somebody does with his or her land or why … while another part of me says, Those trees breathe fresh air for me to breathe, too!

Really, though, beyond any political or neurotic issues, it just simply hurts my heart to see it.

And more:

A driveway that a little stream of water has rendered creek-bed-like. (I remember living at the top end of one about ten times as bad as that!) And two separate signposts knocked over.

Countryside Drive

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Atticus and I went riding for about an hour and a half after church this morning, all across Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Up Mount Cross Road, around and across to Whitmell School Road, and further onto Franklin Turnpike. Up and down and east on Dry Fork Road all around and onto 29. And finally, down Snakepath Road to Spring Garden Road, back to 29, and home.

Of all the beautiful sights, I’d have to say my favorite was the little angel above, but it was a hard choice!

Village Murals

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We were headed toward Washington Square Park, guitar in tow, ready to play some music for our favorite black squirrels.

Or at least we meant to be headed that way. Even after six NYC visits together (and two before that for me), we still find it quite easy to find things we never meant to see on the way to someplace we think we’re headed but really aren’t.

And then, we saw this awesome trio of murals, which were painted by Rico Fonseca, “the artist of Greenwich Village.” (It’s on West 3rd Street at MacDougal. Here’s a picture of the whole set.)

Here are the other two:

And here’s a video about the artist:

Village Music

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Kevin playing in Washington Square Park, July 22, 2010.

This was taken right after we got the turquoise and sterling Mr. Blue (and my amber ring). It was a gorgeous day: not too hot, a bit of breeze blowing, lots of people lounging on the grass.

Only six more months until our next Village show!

Don’t Start Nothin’, Won’t Be Nothin’ (Kevin and the Hulk)

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We’d walked blocks and blocks and blocks and blocks and blocks.

We could’ve taken the subway, but *somebody* didn’t like the subway. And, really, it’s always much more interesting to stumble across places we never would’ve made our destination or even our stops along the way than to sit in the swelteringly smelly subway.

But when we finally arrived at the Chelsea Theater, the showing of The Dark Knight we’d planned on was sold out. Sigh.

So we bought tickets for the late-late show and walked down to Jake’s Saloon for drinks and hors d’oeuvres to pass the hours. We talked and I drew on all the napkins, if our collective memory serves.

A little while later, we went back to the theater to find our seats. Somewhere on the way up the three flights between the theater lobby and our seats, Kevin met up with the Hulk. As you can see, they were kindred spirits at the time. (A lot has changed since the summer of 2008, but that green tattoo on the inside of Kevin’s upper right arm won’t be washing off any time soon. πŸ˜‰

After the epic movie (epic because it was reeaaalllly long, not epic because it was that awesome of a movie … because it wasn’t really, although at least one actor — who’s no longer with us — gave an amazing performance), we walked down to the other corner to catch the train.

It was well after midnight and the Chelsea streets were pretty much deserted. Imagine my surprise when the newspapers and bags piled up around the corner there moved! No matter how many times we visit New York, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks and park benches.

Thank God my Hulk was there to get me safely back to Midtown. πŸ˜€

Amber Is Forever

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It was Wednesday night, July 21st of last year, during our annual NYC pilgrimage.

We’d just left Zinc Bar on West 3rd, where we got to know (part-time) bartender and photographer Jacob Murphy while the Alex Stein/Matt Brown Quintet played.

As we headed back westward and along West 4th toward the Christopher Street station, we came across the smallest shop in the Village at 184-3/4 West 4th: The Silversmith. We had to take a look.

The SilversmithOwner Ruth Kuzub didn’t warm up to us immediately, but she suffered us to ooh and aah at her jewelry, and by the next afternoon when we returned with cash to purchase the two rings we’d fallen in love with, this amber and Kevin’s turquoise Mr. Blue, she was definitely opening up to us a bit.

She told us that she’d been in the original Broadway cast of Fanny in 1954 (with Florence Henderson in the lead role), which was why she’d come to New York in the first place. She told us about working for The Silversmith since 1960 and eventually buying the store later that decade. She told us about living in the Village through the decades, the changes she’d witnessed.

And she told us about this amber ring.

Amber is petrified tree sap; this particular piece is from Poland. The dual tones of the stone, darker and lighter, are extremely unusual, and the whitish pieces inside the stone are seeds that were trapped in the sap as it hardened millions of years ago.

Millions. Whoa!

We left Ruth’s shop that day, the 22nd, and went over to Washington Square to hang out and play some music for an hour or so before heading uptown to Radio City to see Widespread Panic.

As usual in the City, it was a day to remember.

I took this picture with the Retro Camera for Android app by Urbian.

Our Entourage

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Kevin (with Josephine and Mr. Trilby) outside Colony Records, NYC, July 2009

Kevin says his electric guitar (I mean, Josephine) is a member of the band. If he’s playing the acoustic, he announces (mostly to the walls) that we’re missing a member.

Now, he wants to make his hat (Mr. Trilby) our manager, and his turquoise ring (Mr. Blue) our security guy.

Me: Do I really have to be in a band with a bunch of inanimate objects?

Kevin: Like you’ve never done that before.

Ha! Yeah, well I didn’t ask who. But anyway.

See, it’s not that the hat (Mr. Trilby) and ring (Mr. Blue) haven’t been around. They both spent their lives pre-Kevin in Greenwich Village. We found the trilby at Native Leather on Bleecker Street a couple of years ago and the ring last month at The Silversmith on W. 4th.

Even so, do I want to be in a band with a hat and a ring? What’s next? Glasses? Marbles? The Jesus coin?

Well, to paraphrase Gigi’s comment to Gaston, Kevin, I’d rather be crazy with you than without you. πŸ™‚

NYC Travelogue 2010

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Ready to go out on the town...July 2010

Five years ago, on July 27, we ran off to New York City and got married. Since then, we’ve made it a tradition to celebrate our anniversary in the city that we’ve grown to love. This year made six years in a row.

Usually, we plan quite a bit. (Read: I plan quite a bit, and Kevin goes along with it. πŸ˜‰ That first year, we planned out almost every little detail. But year after year, we’ve planned less and less, desiring to experience more than adhere.

This year, we left home with a vague idea of some things we may want to try to do and a whole bunch of other possibilities (and a laptop and an iPod with several NYC apps.)

Here are some thing we wanted to do but didn’t:

  • See Shakespeare in the Park’s production of The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino: The day we thought we might give up an entire morning to wait in line hoping for tickets, it was supposed to rain. It didn’t.
  • See a Broadway show: This was the first year we haven’t seen at least one show. We were mostly considering seeing The 39 Steps, a comedic remake of one of my favorite Hitchcock films. We didn’t.
  • Take the Top of the Rock and Rockefeller Center tours: We went so far as to go in Rockefeller Center, where they sell tickets, and look at the posters of the view from the top at night and in the day, contemplating spending the $21 each. We didn’t.
  • Explore the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters branch, “devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe”: We gave this a most valiant effort on Thursday morning, trudging through Fort George’s hilly streets. After too many wrong turns and no idea where we were, we decided to cut our losses and take the elevator down to the train. πŸ™
  • See the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum: We went to Brooklyn on Tuesday with this in mind, but the museum turned out to be closed. It turned out splendidly regardless. πŸ™‚

And (…drumroll…) here’s what we did instead:

Monday, July 19

  • Left the house around 6:30 AM.
  • Drove straight through, basically, stopping for gas, restroom and snacks.
  • Accidentally drove past the Lincoln Tunnel toll booth. πŸ™
  • Drove over a serious pot hole. πŸ™
  • Checked in at The Wellington around 4:30 PM.
  • Rested, watched TV, and dealt with A/C and wi-fi issues. πŸ™
  • Dinner at the fabulous Tang Pavilion.
  • Checked out Thought mural on west side of RCA Building.
  • Considered doing the Top of the Rock view and tour. Nah.
  • Bought cannoli and Cokes from Fluffy’s.

Tuesday, July 20

  • Train to Brooklyn.
  • Grand Army Plaza. Brooklyn Public Library. Museum closed.
  • Brooklyn Heights and the Promenade. Overtures.
  • Whitman’s Eagle building.
  • Walked Bridge.

    • Humorous interlude concerning the extreme heat…
    Kevin: It may not have rained outside today, but it rained in my pants.

  • Walked around City Hall area.
  • Found St. Andrew’s Church. πŸ™‚
  • Hung out with Steve Squirrel at City Hall park.
  • R train to 34th Street
  • Ate at Pig n’ Whistle on 36th St.

    • Humorous interlude concerning Kevin’s cheeseburger and his demented sense of humor…
    Jo: Your bun is seared.
    Kevin: And I thought it was just raw from sitting all day yesterday.

  • 6 p.m. Latin Mass at the Church of the Holy Innocents (37th between 7th and Broadway)
  • Rest!!
  • 10:20 showing of Inception at Ziegfeld Theatre: WHOA!

Wednesday, July 21

  • Slept in!!
  • Lunch at La Parisienne on 7th Ave., a couple of blocks north of our hotel
  • Walked up to The Shops at Columbus Circle in the Time Warner building, a mall with way overpriced restaurants upstairs like Per Se, where you can get a lunch-time deal for only $175 per person. Especially enjoyed L’Occitane and Satya Jewelry.
  • Explored the Upper West Side. Favorite: Antiques at The Emporium and talking to owner, Leo Matrovitis.
  • Train down to Christopher St. — the Village!
  • Hung out at Zinc Bar on W. 3rd: listened to Alex Stein/Matt Brown Quintet and talked to (part-time) bartender, photographer Jacob Murphy.
  • Stumbled upon the smallest shop in the Village: 184-3/4 W. 4th St. . . The Silversmith, Ruth Kuzub, owner
  • 55 Bar on Christopher St.: listened to a little Justin Vasquez – Triptych.
  • Stopped by Ray’s on Broadway for a pesto pie!!
  • Ate said pesto pie back in the room.

Thursday, July 22

  • Walked to Radio City Music Hall on 6th Ave. and picked up our Widespread Panic tickets for tonight’s show!!!
  • Walked to Broadway and 50th, bought bagel for the ride πŸ™
  • Took the A train to 191st St.
  • Second-most treacherous stairs ever (1st has to go to Savannah waterfront!)
  • Walked around in circles for hours through Ft. George, etc., looking for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Cloisters πŸ™ >:
  • Cool views of the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge from the north
  • Back to The Wellington for the guitar
  • Train down to Christopher St. in Greenwich Village
  • Back to see Ruth at The Silversmith for turquoise ring and amber ring!!
  • Walked to Washington Square Park and saw the black squirrels!
  • Played in the park for an hour or so (recordings to come!)
  • Back to room to freshen up
  • Widespread Panic at Radio City!!!
  • I went back to room. Kevin walked to Ray’s for our very late dinner.

Friday, July 23

  • Checked out at 11 AM and checked our bags.
  • Stopped at the Pig ‘N’ Whistle on 47th to get out of the rain.
  • To Church of the Holy Innocents for Mass
  • Talked to Father Thomas about the Shrine of the Holy Innocents
  • Went bag shopping at the Herald Square Macy’s and found an awesome Fossil!
  • Had lunch at O’Lunney’s in Times Square
  • Back to hotel for bags and car, which had a flat tire. πŸ™
  • Drove across Midtown Manhattan THREE TIMES looking for a gas station. (It was rush hour!)
  • Stopped and filled tire with air on 11th Ave.; guy said he didn’t see anything wrong with tire
  • Left Manhattan through the Lincoln Tunnel, van pulling to left sharply…
  • Speculated alignment could have been knocked out of whack in Monday’s pothole incident
  • Stopped at travel park in Maryland to find that tire had only 5 lbs of pressure left.
  • Found a mechanic willing to find leak and plug tire at 10 PM. (THANK YOU, SCOTT!!!)
  • Praised God for our miracle!!!
  • Back home around 7 AM.

I’ll add more links as we add more pictures and info from our trip. It’s been almost a month, but as I said the other day, I feel like I leave a part of myself there every time I leave.