Gee, Think.

Waiting to arrive. Who knows where.

No doubt one of the most beautiful skyscrapers in the city. It’s prime
real estate down town. It’s on of the only buildings with a curved wall
in lower Manhattan. It’s visible in any skyline shot facing North and
easily recognizable because of the rounded wall. 42 floors of mirrored
glass reflect the sky and waves depending on your angle.

We saw this cogeneration facility on the side of the New Jersey turnpike
on our way back from Ikea. It streches on for a long time, and is quite
a monstrosity to behold. It generates some type of fuel as well as
electricity.
I’m sure this plant is necessary. I’m sure that it provides an
essential part of the area’s infrastructure, but boy is it ugly.
Part of living in New Jersey is confronting the costs and strains that
our population puts on the environment. It’s not Jersey’s fault. In
fact they have pretty stringent rules and environment regulations.
These industrial sites are the necessary evil of sustaining our
incredibly dense and flourishing population. I know that we can improve
our environmental impact, but I accpet that we pay these costs for a
better standard or living. My hope is that we will someday soon
discover ways to drastically reduce the pullants and waste we produce.
Until then, there are the realities of our consumption to face.

There is a restaurant on Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, PA whic
overlooks the downtown skyscrapers and the meeting of the Allegheny and
Monangahela rivers to form the mighty Ohio. The slope of Mount
Washington is quite steep, and there is a rail line line runs up and
down the hillside. It’s called the incline, as in “Let’s take a ride on
the incline.” You can see one of the incline cars in the photo. I hope
to take that trip someday. It is reportedly very beautiful with the
city lights at night.

This is a shot from within the newly finished park at church and dey
street, next to WTC. It’s really nice, having smooth stone surfaces
everywhere and dozens of young honey locust trees. It almost feels
natural. It’s a nice break from the huge skyscaper scenery. The funny
part is that there still isn’t any grass. Stone is more durable
though.

This weekend we travelled northeast, all the way to Maine from New
Jersey. It was quite a trek. What is usually an 8 hour drive became an
11 hour serenity test. The rain was pouring on the way up. We worked 7
hour days beofre starting as well. The last 50 miles were a real
challenge of alertness and endurance. I don’t know how you truck
drivers do it.
The ride home has been excellent so far!! We’ve had nothing but
sunshine and fresh air!
We had so much fun at Jason and Mary’s wedding that the whole trip was
worth it. I saw a bunch of people I went to high school with that I
hadn’t seen since graduation. It was really fun to hang out with them
again.
My mother arranged for a big family gathering at their house this
morning. We celebrated my grandmother’s birthday 14 family members
strong. Little baby ben was there, my how they grow so fast!! He will
certainly be loved and supported by a large family.
This trip was great.

Another shot of the sunset at the elizabeth docks. This was from the night I dropped dad off on the ship.

This restaurant has one of the best bowls of New England Clam Chowder
I’ve ever tasted. It’s located right in the Copley square neighborhood
of Boston, on Boylston street I believe. The interior is a bit fancy,
but the prices were actually pretty reasonable. A bread bowl of chowder
was $8. You might say $6 would be more reasonable, but keep in mind
this is some of the best on the east coast, so the extra two dollars is
really worth it.
The tables are covered with nice fresh white linens, and the bathrooms
are clean and pleasently scented. Really a top notch operation. The
interior is nice, with natural wood and large paintings of nautical
scenes. I would love to go back to this restaurant next time I’m in
Beantown.

Who could ever have known that a gigantic skyscraper would be built
immediately next to this stone cathedral during the church’s
construction? Is it possible that a worker had this thought while
laying the stone for the foundation? Could they have imagined the glass
tower while they were building the stone wall?
This image, of the future and past existing in one moment, sums up my
wonder at the possibilities ahead. Who can dream up tomorrows reality?
I guess the answer is that we all can.

We had to grease up the sides of the car so that it could slip through
there.