Whatever happened to the Big Apple?

G'day all!

We recently spent a week in New York City.  It's mighty convenient that DH's work is based there and they like him to visit because $400 a night for a hotel room is more than I want to pay!  Anyway, something I noticed is all the tourist tat no longer mentions the Big Apple.  It's all I heart NY.

These guys made me yummy Pad Thai.

So whatever happened to the Big Apple?  Did that advertising campaign got boring?

Lots of redwood water tanks!

Ornate buildings near the Flatiron

May the Fourth be with You!

I don't buy tourist tat because I don't like buying tourist tat these days.  Fridge magnets and occasionally a t-shirt that is irresistible are about as far as I go.

Anyway, I spent a lovely few days walking the streets of Manhattan between about 25th up to halfway through Central Park.  Over seven days (including a day where we spent six hours on a plane), I walked almost ten kilometres a day.  On a couple of days, I walked more then 20,000 steps.

Looking south on the Hudson River

Nifty murals seen from the High Line

Looking south from Sheep Meadow in Central Park

Red eared sliders begging for food, Central Park

Spring blooms

The Mall in early Spring livery

Sunset from the Air Train.

I admit that my feet were a bit tired after that but walking did feel very normal.  One of my hips started whinging too but with a careful gait change and some squats, I got on top of that!

School buses, tulips and skyscrapers

A quieter part of town

People always encourage me to go shopping in NYC and go to shows but you know what I like doing?

I like going to Central Park.  Now that I've discovered the Ramble, I go there and well ramble, and I've found the bird feeding area so I sit there and watch the birds and take pics of them.  I could do that for hours.

More Narnia

Cardinal bathing.  Exciting to me!

 

American Goldfinch.  Exciting to me!

I have done that for hours.  Ahem.

Yep, I go to the densest city in the United States and go to the park to find the wildest bit of it to sit and watch birds.

I did do a bit of shopping but nothing of any note.  I also moaned about how hot it was.  It was 28 C, people!  We've hardly gotten above 20 C in Seattle so far this year, and 28 C and a bit of humidity was too much!

Whilst we were on the east coast, we did a side trip down to DC to visit friends who live just outside DC.  We caught the train down, and that is an interesting trip in itself.  It was lovely to see them because it's been years, and lovely to see their girls (who are growing up, as kids are wont to do).  We got to see a bit of the area in which they live and...

Philadelphia from the train

Everything is bright green.  Except the lamp.
Makes me think of Narnia

Lake, fountain and moon!

I got to go to Maryland Sheep and Wool!  Yay!  (Thanks to a very kind Ravelry contact and her husband.)

I've wanted to get to MDSW for years and years and years.  Ever since I heard about it online through blogs.  I have to say it was worth the wait.  It's a smorgasbord of wonderful fibery stuff.

(And for those who are not in the know, it is not Mary land, it is merrillend all blurred together.)

I bought yarn at MDSW.  Duh!  And some lovely tops, one of which I've already spun up, the other is on the wheel at the moment.

I saw some interesting sheep.  I saw some interesting stuff and bought from new and well-established dyers.

My haul.  The front and centre yarn is already a sock

 

Don't you take your sheep for walks?

Some of the food stands are pretty fancy

Cool markings, bro!

I bought fleece.  This was an indulgence and naughty, given I've hardly touched the fleece I got nearly three years ago at OFFF in Oregon.  I got that fleece commercially washed and some of it came back greasy and a mess, and the rest is disarrayed and needs to be picked and carded, and I have neither picker nor a drum carder.  Actually, I don't think I've got hand cards here either.

I bought lovely fleece.  I spent part of yesterday washing some of the fleece so I can play with it.  It is lovely lovely stuff - CVM/Romeldale (a favourite since my time in Colorado when I first came across it), all bouncy and yummy.  I'll have to deal with the Corriedale fleece some other time.  Actually I have to deal with the rest of the CVM fleece too.

CVM/Romeldale fleece pre and post washing

Holly's fleece.  She's a CVM sheep

Luscious black Corriedale fleece

The day after I went to MDSW, we went to visit Great Falls on the Potomac River (latter is National parks link).  That was an interesting trip because of it
a) having cascades, white water and some actual waterfalls
b) being a place with a bit of history about it.

The falls on the Potomac got in the way of boat traffic, so the obvious thing to do in the late 1700s was build a canal around it!  George Washington was a major supporter of the canal.  It was on the Virginia side (the other side of the river is Maryland!).  It was doomed to fail as the Potomac is very seasonal and suffers highs that stopped boat traffic going upstream and lows that stopped all boat traffic, literally.

Looks smaller than it is.  Wibbly waterfall

Tie dye at Great Falls

All of the excitement

This canal once led to locks that went around
the waterfalls and rapids

If this looks like a lock, there's a reason for that

I can see why a lot of people go there - water and history - but alas swimming is strictly verboten above the falls.  It gets warm and a dip in the water would be grand but there's a little issue - people regularly get washed into the main part of the river or fall off the rocks in the gorge and get dashed to death in the cascades.

We also discovered that after a cold winter and manky April, we were lucky enough to see the start of summer in the DC area.  Yep, the weather was glorious on Saturday with enough breeze to temper the sun, on Sunday it started getting humid and when we hurried through the National Mall on Monday morning on our way to get our Amtrak train back to NYC, it was starting to get horrid!  DH was dripping sweat and even I was feeling sweaty.  Sorry, I was glowing.  A lot.

As close to the White House as I've ever been

Fishface!  Washington Monument in background

Truth in advertising.  The National Mall is not always pretty

Spring on the east coast of the US is apparently about two weeks long and involves the earliest Spring flowers and the start of the trees leafing out.  Then when enough trees have greened up, they pump so much moisture into the air that it goes humid.

We got to experience a brief moment of Spring and then the start of summer.  Ugh.  We were so glad to get back to Seattle, even if it means getting into the low 20s at best and a slow ramp up to summer.  I think I prefer five months of Spring than two weeks of it and five months of summer followed by three weeks of autumn, five months of winter, two weeks of mud season and two weeks of Spring...

I've got plenty more I want to say about the train trip but this is getting long with a gazillion photos...  Oh and I have to show off two shawls I've made recently, though I haven't blocked one yet.

anon!