NEW YORK IS A LOT NICER THAN I THOUGHT!

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My favorite sight on JetBlue's Direct TV!
Sitting next to Sally, this is my 2nd favorite sight!
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CLICK to see Billy's Beach Cafe.

A trip to Long Island wouldn't seem complete without a visit there.

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2008 began with an extended visit due to the fare wars and weather.

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California had the worst storm of the century and even SFO was closed for a while.
We went into Manhattan to see the holiday decorations.

And of course, TIMES SQUARE before the hoardes got there.

Even though we were there the day prior to the New Year's eve mob scene, the streets were VERY crowded. The police presence was felt everywhere though. You could see that preparations were being made for crowd control.

The one thing missing was Port-o-san! That's why we would never go to Times Square to watch the ball drop.

The hike out to the Fire Island Lighthouse was cold and windy. The lighthouse where they had hot chocolate closed just as we arrived. We managed to keep warm though.


As you can see, the deer were very shy!

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Fall of 2008

We were treated to temporary art in New York Harbor.
Waterfalls designed by artist Olafur Eliason were erected.




Although there were several ways to see them, we chose the more traditional of the Circle Line Tours.
Having 2 bars aboard while being less crowded didn't sway our judgement....RIGHT! NOT MUCH.....

First we saw one near Pier 35

Next we turned and came back under the Brooklyn Bridge.


Then was Brooklyn Pier.
As you can see, it was a windy day. Must have been a beautiful day for sailing, but also been tricky because the direction made serious reversals.
Finally was Governor's Island and a view of the Statue of Liberty.

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Spring 2009 on Long Island.

In Farmingdale the 56th Fighter squadron has the BEST Beer/Cheddar Cheese soup! Very cool place with lots of WW II memorabilia. CAVE TONITRUM is Latin for
"BEWARE OF THE THUNDERBOLT!
A P47 "JUG"





I walked past this cannon and knew it wasn't a real piece of artillery because the rusted out barrel was too thin. What is though, is a rare surviving decoy that was used to confuse the Germans.

The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens were spectacular during the Cherry Blossom Festival.



Bob Slowesky was there too........


Along with a few friends.






I've never seen black flowers before that weren't dyed!



There was a Bonsai show in the conservatory too.





When the weather changed back to normal, we went underground.
We took the train in, and felt perfectly safe as long as we stayed nead the Donut stand.

Rock of Ages on Broadway was a lot of fun.

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