The Way I See It . . .: 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hurricane Sandy October 29-30, 2012

We just lived through the worst storm to ever hit the east coast! The winds were truly scary, and we had gusts up to 90 mph throughout the evening of October 29 and early morning October 30. The news coverage has been constant for 4 days now, and the effects around the region have been unbelievable.

Thankfully we did not lose power or have any tree damage, although I was worried about the tree in the back of us the whole time. Many others have not been so lucky, and some have suffered extreme devastation. We hear that Alice & Harvey are flooded and have no power or phone service! I suspect many people I work with at the library have had damages or power outages in Staten Island, Long Island, the Rockaways, and coastal NJ.

I was off work for 3 days (unprecendented!) and it seems that many of our library branches have been damaged. At least 10 will not open when the system reopens on Thursday, November 1. I know that not all of my staff will make it in.

In this part of Queens, most of the damage has been fallen trees, and there are power outages along the Kissena Corridor. The weather cleared for a while this morning and I rode my bike to Kissena Park to check things out:

Other shots around the area:

Will continue to add as I get them...

Monday, September 3, 2012

Roadtrip - Denver-Seattle: Day 3

June 18, 2012 - Day 3: Up early this morning; it's going to be a long day. We need to pack, meet Renee and Keston, go see Jack at the cemetery, then be on our way to Wyoming. We have a long day of driving ahead of us, and don't expect to arrive in Jackson until after dinnertime.

Sunrise from our hotel window:

Visiting Jack (with Keston)

On our way to Wyoming (near Fort Collins)

Welcome to Wyoming

Southern Wyoming Landscape: big sky and flat brown land!

on the road, mile after mile!

Finally, after a whole day of driving along flat, dry arid landscapes, we started to see some changes in the scenery:

Strangely, out in the middle of nowhere, we found this monument dedicated to Abraham Lincoln:

Finally, the hint of mountains:

Heading north now, Gros Ventre, the entryway into Jackson Hole. We learned that Jackson Hole is the entire Valley, as opposed to Jackson, the town!

Sunset behind the mountains in Jackson Hole!

Day 3 ends as we finally reach our destination in Jackson, WY!

Monday, July 9, 2012

Roadtrip - Denver-Seattle: Day 2 (Afternoon)

Day 2 - June 17, 2012 (Mt Evans):
We drove to Mt. Evans, about 90 minutes west of Denver. It reached 99 degrees in Denver this day, but it was very cold and windy at the top of Mt. Evans. Plus, the altitude left us breathless and headachy! But it was well-worth it for these amazing views!

Echo Lake

View from half-way up:

Still partially-frozen Summit Lake

King's Crown Sedum (tundra wildflower)

Arctic Gentian (tundra wildflower)

View from near the top:

Tree Line

Mountain Goat

View from the Top:

Bob at 14,130 Feet (it was cold and VERY windy!)

View from the Top:

Mountain Goats (on the way back down):

Photographer and Mountain Goats:

We arrived back in Denver just in time to meet the family for dinner at Picolo's Peetza!

A great ending to a great day!

End of Day 2!

* * * * *

Roadtrip - Denver-Seattle: Day 2 (Morning)

Day 2 - June 17, 2012 (Denver):
Our second day in Denver promises to be VERY hot. We're going to Renee & Marvin's for a Father's Day Brunch this morning. Renee has to go to work around 11:00AM, so we're going to take a trip to Mt. Evans (where it should be very cool!) Then we'll return to Denver in time to have dinner with the family at one of their favorite Pizza Places!

Here are photos of the kids from brunch:

Baschen & Keston

Keston

Jon, Keston & Baschen

Jon & Keston

Roadtrip - Denver-Seattle: Day 1

Day 1 - June 16, 2012 (Denver)
We flew to Denver last night and rented a car at Fox Rental Cars that will carry us to Seattle, over the next 14 days! All went smoothly with the rental, no hidden charges so far. The only small disappointment is that we didn't get an economy car, but rather a compact (a Hyundi Accent). But since they were both the same price, I guess we can't complain. I just hope this car makes it up the mountain passes we have planned for it :)

Woke this morning to beautiful weather, cooler than it has been, which is fine by us! We got out early and went to Target to pick up some supplies, and gifts for Ellen & Scott's boys. We made a plan to meet up with Ellen, Baschen and Keston at the Denver Zoo.

Here are photos from our day:

Baschen & Keston looking at Elephants: