Buffalo trip.

I flew home to Buffalo for my brother's bachelor party (which went well and was a lot of fun). Here is a shot of the Niagara River, Peace Bridge, and downtown.



Buffalo has a lot of brownfields from old steel plants and other rust-belt era industry. Along the lake they have used some of this land to put in new wind turbines, which can be seen behind this factory. It's amazing to fly into the city now and see the huge turbines spinning against the backdrop of the lake. A great symbol of progress and potential.

I went to the Erie County Fair with my family. It's one of the largest fairs in the country. We saw this calf being born, which I don't think I'd want to see again. I had to hold the camera over everyone's head.

I think this was Benjamin's favorite part of the fair!

At night after a long day of walking...

Mom plays with finger puppets!

Yeah, so it's blurry.

These are the two getting married. Can't you tell?

Shots from the National Arboretum

The National Arboretum is a very large tract of open land in the District along the Anacostia River. Most of it is forested or fields, but there are some pretty gardens here (conifer, azalea, fern, herb, the 50 state trees, and more). The park land is quiet and underutilized and makes for a peaceful afternoon activity.

The bonsai garden is very fun to walk through. A few of these little guys are from the 1600s and 1700s!

These pillars were from the east front of the Capitol. They were built around 1860, I think, then removed when an addition was added around 1950. These were sandstone and the new pillars are marble. Apparently these original pillars were lying next to the side of the road for many years until people collected money to arrange them here.

moderate it.

Remember my past post about moderation? Well, I've seen it again--on another candy bar. It's not unlikely the same company owns both brands. However, the previous warning I saw informed us that candy was a treat. But this one clearly is suggesting we eat more of their 'treat' to receive its multiple health benefits.

"The natural antioxidants found in tea and certain fruits like berries and grapes can also be found in Hershey's Extra Dark. This is good news; however, like most indulgent treats, HED should be enjoyed in moderation. A serving of HED Cranberries, Blueberries & Almonds [= YUM] is 3 blocks (37g) and has 200 calories and 13 g of fat."

~ green ~

 

 

 

I don't know how this will turn out, but the P-town harbor at night was quiet and peaceful.

Sunset @ Skaket Beach

Brr!

We camped near Brewster MA, which is in the middle of the cape near the bend. Here are some pics from Nauset Beach--swimming in 56 degree water is both invigorating and painful! Randi had a laugh watching. And a pic from our trip up to Provincetown.

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Rufus in concert last night! (actually this was Neko Case opening for him) More later. . .

Rufus played a stellar concert at the open-air pavilion in Charlottesville. Tom, Marc, and I struck out of work early on a Wed. to hang in Ch'ville and catch the concert.

Rufus does great piano work. He switched it up between ballad-like songs, rock songs on the piano, and some orchestrated pieces with string bass, sax, trumpet, french horn, and a few guitars. He played every song from his newest album, Release the Stars, and probably about 15 other songs. Including some Judy Garland favorites :)

The stage's backdrop was interesting: a black and white US flag with little sparkly designs where the stars should be. The entire band wore bright, jarring suits and pants of all different colors and stripes. I think the two worked together to convey a political message of our country's superfluous and superficial attitudes.

a picture from his website:

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On the road again. Headed for the BUF.

Cape Cod Camping

So after living in Boston and Cambridge for many years, I finally made it up to visit my friend Randi! We kicked around Cambridge for a bit and had a super time camping on the cape.


Here we are at Shepherd Pond, one of three freshwater ponds we went swimming at. We arrived here first thing in the morning when all was quiet and still. It was fun swimming way out in the warm water.

We spent part of our last afternoon at Craigsville Beach. It is on the southern end of the cape in the sound facing Martha's Vineyard. We were told these are the warmest water beaches around. It was lovely, though I missed the waves of the ocean side!

Today it hit the big one.

Some like it hot...some have no choice.

This is August in Washington D.C. I walked outside at lunch...it was a *slow* walk. Tomorrow's forecast is for 100 degrees.

I want to go back to the cape and the ocean!

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Sunset on cape cod!

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Hey. . . If you gotta wait in the airport. . .