Tag Archives: Travel

Acadia National Park

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While visiting Maine, we took a whirlwind trip though Acadia National Park. The park is spectacular. There are wonderful views from Cadillac Mountain and along the coast. While we were there, a fog rolled in and provided mysterious and obscured views. Based on the views, I have come to the realization that Maine’s coast is just a series of rock outcroppings.

View from Cadillac Mountain

View from Cadillac Mountain, to the left is the sand bar of Bar Harbor.

View from Cadillac Mountain

View from Cadillac Mountain

Pink granite cliffs

Pink granite cliffs with river rock beach

Fog settling over boats in harbor

Beach Rose

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Scattered across Maine’s Blue Hill Peninsula and Deer Island is a pretty plant known as beach rose. A bit of internet searching leads me to understand that unfortunately this pretty plant is invasive. It is still pretty though, and I enjoyed photographing it.

Beach rose

Beach rose with beetle

Beach rosebud

Beach rose hips, immature

Beach rose hips, ripe

Blue Hill Peninsula of Maine

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I’m visiting a relative who lives in Maine’s Blue Hill Peninsula, and today she gave us a tour of the area including Deer Island. The area is a combination of forests, grasslands, and seashore, which one visits via very windy and hilly roads. On these roads and in the few towns of the area are beautiful old houses. Many of the houses have beautiful gardens that seem to show how much the residents relish the summer and relief of the long, cold winters. The residents of the area also use lobster buoys for various non-lobster uses including decorating.

Deer Isle Bridge

Stonington Harbor

New lobster buoys for sale (probably for non-lobster purposes)

Old lobster buoys for sale

Stonington

Stonington

World’s Smallest Bookstore

Lobster traps ready for use

Naskeag Point

Providence, Rhode Island

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When I travel to a new city, I like to just wander around taking photos. I am in Providence, so that is what I did. Providence is like a lot of old U.S. cities with old historic buildings mixed in with new buildings. I like old cities that preserve at least some of those old buildings. Providence has done that. It also has lots of river walk type areas, which makes for pleasant wandering.

One of many river walk areas

Historic buildings line downtown streets

Providence City Hall

Narrow cobblestone streets

Old but renovated building

Performing arts center

Riverwalk area

State seal is on all bridges in some form

Riverwalk “pool” area

Old train station converted to new use

Looking down the Providence River

Providence River, looking upstream to the city

Gettysburg Gun

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Right past security at the entrance to the Rhode Island State Capitol, is the Gettysburg Gun. This cannon was used by Battery B of the 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery as they fought for the Union at Gettysburg in 1863. During the battle, members of the artillery was attempting to reload the cannon when it was struck by a Confederate shell. You can clearly see the dent on the left side of the bore. Two members of the artillery were killed, and other members attempted to keep reloading the gun, but the shell had compressed the mouth enough that the ball would not fully go in the gun. The men tried hammering the ball in, but the gun was hot from being fired numerous times and from being struck. Thus the gun was starting to cool after not being fired for several minutes, and the ball became permanently lodged in the mouth. It probably somewhat melted into place.

The gun became somewhat famous and a remembrance of the battle. It was put on display in Washington then in Rhode Island. It sat at the entrance to the Rhode Island Capitol for decades. Now here is the part I find most fascinating. It was not until 1962 that it dawned on people that the gun powder is loaded into a gun of this type BEFORE the ball is loaded. The ball got stuck while they were trying to load it. Hence in 1962 it finally occurred to some people that there was probably gun powder sitting in the barrel. Very old gun powder. Probably very unstable, old gun powder. Naval ordnance personnel and Rhode Island Army National Guard temporarily took the gun away. They put it into a pool and drilled two holes into it. You can see at least one of the holes on the front. It looks like two, but I am not positive if both are the drilled holes. Sure enough, there was gun powder in there. They flushed out two pounds of gun powder. They left the barrel flooded with water to disarm any residue gun powder before returning it to the capitol.

Our tour guide said the moral of the story is never stop asking questions. This gun was rendered safe because some nameless person asked questions and possibly prevented a horrible incident. I think one of the morals is assume all weapons are loaded. In my line of work as an environmental engineer, when I go to a site, I assume the site is contaminated until proven otherwise. When it comes to safety, plan for the worst, hope for the best. Even if that means a 100 year old weapon.

Gettysburg Gun

Close of mouth where dent from shell strike is clearly visible

Another close up of mouth

At least one of the drilled holes is visible right where the ball meets the cannon mouth at 6 o’clock (if this were a clock). There appear to be two holes but I can’t verify if those are both drilled holes.

Rhode Island State Capitol

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I visited the Rhode Island State Capitol today. One of my many travel goals is to visit all the state capitols. Like most states, Rhode Island has a lovely state capitol. I learned quite a bit on the tour I took. First trivia I learned is the official name of Rhode Island is actually the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Tiny state. Big name. Second thing I learned was that the present capitol was finished in 1904. There were several state houses before that, and for some time, the state legislature had no house and met sometimes in people’s houses. I can’t imagine having the entire house of representatives meet in an actual person’s house.

I digress. The capitol is beautiful and for the most part what you expect. It has the 5th largest marble dome in the world. [More trivia for you.] Lots of marble, brass, and painting. Not the fanciest one I have seen. It has lots of anchors to compete with Massachusetts’s fish everywhere. However, Rhode Island definitely wins bonus points for the motto in the women’s restroom. Photo below. I have no idea what is in the men’s restroom.

Finally see my next post. They have a cannon from Gettysburg at the entrance, and there is a really great story about it. So great, I am going to give it its own post.

Rhode Island State Capitol

Center dome

Center dome

Under the center dome

State house library. Ceiling decorations are meant to look like old book covers with printer’s seals.

Senate Chamber

House of Representatives chamber

Elevator door

Motto painted on wall of the women’s restroom

Original state charter from King Charles II of England

MTA’s Jamaica Yards

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I took another tour with the New York Transit Museum today. This one was of Jamaica Yards in Queens, where maintenance is performed on subway cars. I love touring these yards. Jamaica Yards was different then some of the other ones I have toured in that it has a bit more space. Not a lot, but at least a little more. Every time I go on one of these tours I learn and retain just a little more.

Subway cars enter the yards from this tunnel

Jamaica Yards repair sheds

Jamaica Yards. “Stop look read your iron” is a warning to drivers to be alert where they are going. “Iron” refers to the rail.

Trains lined up in the yards

Trains in the maintenance shed

Of course I am going to be interested int the safety measures. These lights read: Carbon monoxide alarm boiler room, methane alarm gas meter room, high water alarm car wash pump room, and car wash fire alarm.

One of the workers shows us how they test that the shoe, which contacts the third rail, is at the right height

One of the workers shows us how they test that the shoe, which contacts the third rail, has the correct tension

Hudson River Valley by Train

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I just got back from a very short trip to Albany, but the main reason I went to Albany was for the train ride up there. Amtrak has several train routes that go from New York City to Albany. I have taken two of these routes before, and I just love the view. I spend almost the entire time staring out the window at the gorgeous Hudson River, which can be seen during the vast majority of the ride. Below are a few photos I took on the route. The first six were taken on the train ride up to Albany as a storm was passing through and the sun was setting. The last three were taken on the way back down to New York City.

Tappan Zee Bridge, old one being deconstructed in front and new one in back

Near Tappan Zee

Bannerman Castle

view of area near Saugerties

view of area near Catskill

view of area near Catskill

Hudson Lighthouse

US Military Academy (West Point)

Bear Mountain Bridge

Albany, New York

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I am visiting Albany for the day, and I spent the day wandering around downtown after I visited the state capitol. The area around the Capitol, Empire Plaza, was built during Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s term, and he evidently micromanaged the design. It is very modern architecture, and it is in complete contrast to the Capitol. The Empire Plaza is fun to photograph because of all the interesting lines of the buildings. The four identical Agency Towers provide repetitive vertical lines, but then The Egg is a weird curved structure. The Corning Tower in the Empire Plaza is the tallest building in the city and has an observation floor, which has outstanding views of the area. Away from the Empire Plaza, the rest of downtown Albany is a mix of historic buildings and some modern buildings. Also, Albany is right on the Hudson River, and a park on the river has nice views of the river.

Empire State Plaza

Empire State Plaza

Agency Buildings 1-4

Agency Buildings 1-4

Agency Buildings

Erastus Corning II Tower

The Egg

Downtown Albany

Albany City Hall

D & H Building (SUNY)

Corning City Preserve

Jennings Landing

View from the Erastus Corning II Tower

View from the Erastus Corning II Tower

New York State Capitol

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I spent the day wandering around Albany today, and I started the day off with a tour of the Capitol. The New York Capitol is gorgeous. According to the tour guide, it was way over budget and way behind schedule when then Governor Teddy Roosevelt finally said, it’s done, no more. The guide pointed out some stone that was never carved because of that. The stone work is amazing none the less. There are numerous different stones used, and it is all exquisite.

From the outside, the building is beautiful, even without the domed tower it was supposed to have. I lost count of how many different architects the building had, but the style of the building is different in various areas because of that.

New York Capitol

The Senate Chamber is gorgeous with gold paneling and beautiful marble tiles on the walls. My favorite part of it is that the chamber has two fireplaces that haven’t been used in decades since the building got central heat and air. Because of the acoustics in the chamber, it is hard to have a private conversation, so the two fireplaces are called “whispering fireplaces” where senators can have private conversation. They even keep folding chairs in the fireplaces for this activity. I find this hilarious. Even better, I noticed a fire extinguisher next to one of the fireplaces. Is it for heated political arguments?

Senate Chamber

The whispering fireplaces in the Senate Chamber where senators can have a private conversation.

The Assembly Chamber is not as exquisite as the Senate Chamber, but it is pretty also. According to the guide, the current ceiling in the room is the third one. The first one kept cracking and falling apart to the degree that large stones fell onto the ground. Then the second version was mainly papier-mache and wood. It was supposed to be solid wood, but such bad, vague specifications were written into the contract that the builder substituted papier-mache. At some point after this when the legislatures discovered this they sued, but they lost in court because the specifications were so bad. There is a lesson to be learned there. The paper-mache ended up saving the room during a fire in 1911. This is now the third ceiling, (I wasn’t clear on this) built after the fire.

Assembly Chamber

The hallways and the staircases are some of the most beautiful areas of the building. The Great Western staircase is so beautiful that my photos cannot do it justice.

Upper Senate Corridor

Great Western Staircase

Great Western Staircase

Assembly Staircase

Senate Staircase

Senate Elevator

Governor’s Reception Room

Governor’s Reception Room

Hall of Governors