Sometimes it's the little things...

I had to post this little pic today, because it was so much fun to create... I just love the the tilt-shift effect.

Thanks to Bricolagelife for her post, filled with her fun photos that inspired me to go take a look myself.

What do you think? Want to give it a go too? Well, here is the link to the Tilt Shift Maker to try for yourself. You can do it to. Go on, give it a go, it's super easy and it's quite addictive.

Once you've created some pics you like, post them and leave me a comment - I'd love to see how you go! I am going to post a couple more over the next few days.

St Pauls Church, NYC - Hope and Healing at Ground Zero

St. Paul's Church is located between Broadway and Church Street in downtown NYC. It is just across the street from ground zero, and is one of the only buildings in the immediate vicinity to have survived  the devestation unscathed. In the months following the tragedy it became a refuge and sanctuary for thousands of volunteers and service men and women as they worked endlessly in their search for bodies. They went there to pray, to eat and to sleep and continued to do so for nine months after the attacks.

This was also where well wishers and mourners created a makeshift memorial, posting photos of loved ones lost, and messages of love and support were also added onto the fence surrounding the small church. Many of those personal items were saved and are now on display inside the chapel in an exhibit called "Unwavering Spirit: Hope and Healing at Ground Zero."

We didn't go there on Saturday, but decided to visit Monday and I am glad we did. It was a moving tribute to all the victims and the workers alike, with messages and momentos from the months following the Setptember 11 attacks, it was an emotional experience that left me choking back tears and unable to speak. There was very little talking within the church and no-one was meeting anyone else's eyes. It was a very personal insight and yet the feelings seemed connected..

Photography was allowed and I took a few pictures, something I did not feel entirely comfortable with, but I have decided to post a couple of them so that you might see some of what I am talking about. Any of the personal pictures were posted by people for public viewing as a tribute to their loved ones, so I feel ok with sharing them here...

 

This is the graveyard at the back of St Pauls that looks onto the WTC site.

New York City, September 11, 2010...

Saturday September 11, 2010.

Nine years since the terrorist attacks on The World Trade Center Twin Towers and I remember it well, as I am sure you probably do too.

The shock
The emotion
The disbelief
The imagination
The horror

The enormity of the event as it unfolded before our eyes. Visions that will forever be remembered. The horror of it all, and the realisation that lives were being destroyed and families torn apart.

And in its aftermath and the loss of so many people, the overwhelming grief and deep sense of sadness.

Visiting NYC, I was always going to go there. To see the site. To pause. To pay my respects. And to reflect. To be here on the anniversary, I wanted to go to the memorial and to stand alongside strangers in a moment of silence and to listen quietly as the names of victims were read by family members.

It was an odd sensation, to be standing there surrounded by thousands of people, in the city that never sleeps... in a city crowded with buildings and traffic, looking toward a gaping hole where the twin towers previously stood. And although traffic and the noises of the city never totally abated, I imagine it was as quiet as NYC ever gets.

A woman stood nearby holding an American flag and clutching a sign displaying the picture of a loved one lost, others walked by wearing T-shirt memorials. Police and firefighters stood scattered throughout the crowd and in small groups. And all of us remembering those moments nine years ago, as we stood together in the city streets and American flags flew at half mast.

I have included some images of the memorial below. The image at the top of the post* is an evening shot taken from the sunset ferry on the night of the 11th and shows the two beams shining into the heavens from the site of the WTC. (This is a once a year occurance)

This image was taken later in the day from the Statue of Liberty ferry on the way back from Ellis Island. And just to put it all in perspective, the black building to the left of the flag, is HALF the height of the WTC, which stood at 110 floors.

*Sunset photo taken by blogging buddy Patty who spent 4 days with us in NYC. Thanks Patty for sharing your pic. All remaining images are by moi!

Take me out to the ball game...

So, since we booked our flights I have been talking about going to a ball game. To pick up the All-American atmosphere. We weren't really sure until the day if we would make it there... would we get tickets? would we survive the subway? would we get to see the Yankees?

And we did. We managed all these things. Subway, crowds, tickets, the heat.

And it was a great afternoon. Thankfully we did not have to sit in the direct sun as it was baking hot, but the seats we had, had a great aspect and we enjoyed the game, cheering and standing (as per the other supporters!) and totally enjoying the atmoshpere of the Yankee Stadium. 

Wow! It looks like a pretty light crowd in this pic, but it was just warm-up time and the crowd grew too.

 So this was it - the winning moment.

New York Yankees 3, Baltimore Orioles 2.

*

‎"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,

I don't care if I never get back,

Let me root, root, root for the home team,

...If they don't win it's a shame.

For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,

At the old ball game."

The Big Apple chaos...

It's big.
It's loud
It's chaotic
It's brash
It's crazy
It's exciting
It's busy
It's smelly
It's colourful

It's hot.

It's amazing.



This is New York City!

Start spreading the news...

Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today
I want to be a part of it - New York, New York
These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it - New York, New York

I wanna wake up in a city, that doesn’t sleep
And find I’m king of the hill - top of the heap

These little town blues, are melting away
I’ll make a brand new start of it - in old New York
If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere
It’s up to you - New York, New York


Artist : Frank Sinatra Song

New York City... here we come!

Winging it in the USA and holding onto adventure...

I have been meaning to add an update post to my blog for ages, but because my plans have been changing (and more countdown posts were getting a little bit boring), it was hard to know where to start. And on top of all that, I have been super busy.

All the planning (tickets/itinerary/accommodation/contacting friends)

The paper work (passport/money/visa)

Organising my life and home in my absence (house sitter/bills to be paid/work replacement)
Making decisions (where to go/what to do/where to stay)

Google has become my best computer buddy, taking over temporarily from my bff - blogging. Any free time I have had, has been spent researching, planning, changing plans and thinking about other plans.

As if procrastination isn't bad enough, add in indecision (a slightly different affliction) and a touch of nervousness and the plans have been rotating and changing on a daily basis.

The internet, in some ways makes it all a little too accessible, too easy to plan everything before even boarding the plane. Down to an itinerary for each and every day, each moment accounted for, each meal, tour and destination planned. But where is the adventure in that?

So, instead of over planning, I have decided to wing it a little.

I had plans. Lots of them.

Maybe too many.

Some have changed.

Some remain the same.

Many more will no doubt change along the way...

And so, as far as telling you my plans, I can't tell you that much at all.
What I do know of my six weeks in the USA is this...
I be staying in Maine for the first week and renewing my love for beautiful New England.
I am staying with old friends and we will be having a small reunion with a few others too.
I am spending ten nights in NYC, and at least three in Washington DC.

I am meeting up with some blogging friends.

And the rest?
There are many options of course, but right now, I am trying to hold on a little to the adventure of not knowing what might happen... being open to all the possibilities, embracing the freedom, relaxing... and remembering to breathe. At least three of the six weeks are a mystery at this stage, and that is how it's going to stay for now.

Maybe it's a little bit crazy, but it's pretty exciting too!

And so you know, it's just over two weeks to go...

Selling up to go traveling...

I chose this image because (as you know) it's just 37 sleeps to the USA, but also because this is my car - well it's the same version as my car - a 40th anniversary edition to commemorate when the Mini won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964.

Mine doesn't have the checkered roof or details, but it has a number 37 on the side (the number of the car that won the race).

I love it, though recently I have been considering selling it and going traveling for a year. What do you think?

Any buyers?

* I just wanted to say a very big thank you to everyone for your comments and suggestions re travel to the USA and apologise for not getting around to many blogs lately (and those I do visit I haven't been leaving many comments). Planning for the big trip has been keeping me busy, but I am still here and lurking about. And I will return!

48 Sleeps

On this day in 7 weeks I will be getting on a plane to NYC, USA.


I will be away for a total of 6 and a half weeks. I can barely believe it is happening! It seems like an age since I have had a holiday and I really do need the break, and 6.5 weeks is bliss.

My Mum (Mom) and I will be traveling together. We have agreed to spend 4 weeks together and 2 weeks 'doing our own thing', so that I can get the escape from 'my world' that I have been craving, and we can hang out together for the rest of it. Thankfully we are good travel companions, so it will be a great combination.

There has been some planning (though this weekend will see more when Mum and I get together) and this is where it stands at this stage...

Arrive NYC, August 5th.
Head straight to Maine for the first week or two. We will hang out with friends and visit Camp Tanglewood where I worked as a summer camp counsellor 20 years ago. I would love to rent a house (or better still be invited to house sit or stay with friends) on the Maine coast.

Picture all those New England postcards you may have seen of little seaside towns with stark white homes and tiny shops huddled around a small bay and that's where we'll be. With luck we will see the Northern Lights.

For those first one to two weeks, my ideal would be relaxing in the summer sun and soaking up good old USA hospitality. No pressure to do anything but grab a book, write a journal, do some drawing, take a walk, sit in a cafe and watch the world go by.

Be still. And breathe. Deeply.

From there it's largely unplanned. At this stage we are going to stay in the northern states as I traveled to California and other southern states 20 years ago.

What I do know... There will be a trip to Niagara Falls. Maybe a few days in Boston. Two weeks of mystery adventures. And then, across the last two weeks I will be in Washington DC for the long weekend in September (where I hope to meet a lovely blogging friend), traveling south to Southern Maryland to visit another friend (due to have twins in the next few weeks) and then ten nights in NYC.

It already sounds busy, but I don't want to over plan as I want to leave some of it to chance. Though I am keen to organise accommodation in NYC so that we can head there and not have to worry about where we will be staying.

I'm expecting there may be some readers who are a little envious (I know this because I know the jealousy I have experienced when reading posts about other blogger's travels) and maybe wish you could be doing the same trip... that right now you are thinking of all the things you would do if you were in the USA for 6 weeks!

I would love to hear your thoughts.

If you had 6 weeks in the USA where would you go and what would you do?
Is there anything you just wouldn't want to miss?
Have you been to NYC? Would you recommend anywhere to stay?
Are there markets you would like to visit? Stores? Galleries?
Hidden treasures you'd like to share.
Workshops you would like to take?
I would love some specifics. Or just general comments are fine too.

The Big Apple...

The decision is made.
Finally.

I am so so SO excited, I can barely breathe.
6 weeks in the sunny U S of A.

Wooooo hoooooo!

Now... anyone got any advice, ideas, suggestions?

Bring it on people... because now the decision is made, anything is possible!