a tiny frog sleeping in one of the Knock-out blossoms.

We had decided to return to the city to check out the museums, so we woke up early to prep for the train ride and a day in Manhattan. We packed light – Batman, a camera, our phones and some cash – and caught the LIRR train from Stony Brook to Penn Station.

The train trip to Manhattan was just under two hours and by the time we arrived, we were pretty hungry. Eager to start exploring, we grabbed a quick bite at a nearby Burger King then walked to Times Square, ducking inside Toys R Us and Swatch before a round of photos of Batman on Broadway.

From there we walked by Radio City Music Hall and through the Rockafeller building en route to the Plaza

After pictures in the Plaza, we ducked back into 30 Rock to grab some coffee and snacks as well as a few postcards which we quickly filled out and mailed in the basement post office.

Then we skipped a couple blocks over to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and caught a train toward the Met.

While walking up the steps of the Met, that feeling of dread arose as what looked like “Closed” signs come into view. Apparently you can visit the museum any day of the week BUT Monday. I guess everyone needs a day off.

Slipping around the side of the Met, we entered Central Park.

With a loose plan of heading to the west side to see the Natural History Museum, we wandered around, finding an obelisk:

and a castle in the process:

Unfortunately, Belvedere Castle is also closed on Mondays.

We passed the theater for Shakespeare in the Park and saw the Natural History Museum then entered the nearby metro station to head down to the Intrepid:

We got hungry after our train ride though, so we stopped at a Turkish place called Troy Turkish Grill on 9th Ave and 40th St for tasty (and gluten-free) falafel and dolmas. Then we went to the park on Pier 84 (which has several fun waterworks) before heading to the Intrepid.

We stopped for a drink at the park’s bar to let Jim’s phone charge

then took the train to see Ground Zero and the replacement building:

From there we wandered toward Wall St.

Before heading back to Penn Station to catch our train back out to Long Island, we hoofed it down to Battery Park to watch the sunset behind the Pier A building and to get at glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.

From there we walked along the Hudson River Greenway to return to the station (with only one other photo stop)

and arrived at Penn Station with plenty of time to catch the 8:45 out to Stony Brook.  Looooooong day with LOTS of walking, but a fun one for both of us.

We woke at the Holly Bluff campgrounds not to the songs of birds chirping but to the cacophony of what sounded like an avian war. The sun was just barely up, so we ignored (as best we could) the racket all around and slept in a bit longer. When we woke again, surrounded by a now-quiet campground, only two other people – both part of the staff – were awake and about. We cleaned up, packed up, then loaded the Mini hoping others campers would begin to stir before we had to fire up our loud engine.

I killed some extra time taking pictures of the grounds including two major attractions, the putt putt course and the church:

However, when the time came to leave and no one else was up, we decided we couldn’t waste any more time. We got in, turned the key: “BRAAAAAAAM bram bram bram brumbrumburmbrum…” and hit the road, probably leaving several grumpily awakened campers in our wake.

We had a great day of driving, made good time and even stopped to capture our crossing into Virginia: Awhile later we arrived safely at my Aunt Milly’s house only to find that after we turned the car off it wouldn’t start again. After Jim got it running again, we took the Mini to the nearest town for a check and tune up. Though they weren’t able to do much in the way of a tune up, they were able to find new tires for us. Unfortunately, it would take several days to order and ship them. In the meantime, we immensely enjoyed our company and all the adventures they and area had to offer:

…including the annual Fireman’s Fair and Parade:

She had to fly back to Texas before the rental period ended, so the accordion has stayed here in the house since, and on a few of those days when watching TV and doing laundry isn’t enough to pass the time, I’d pick it up and try to figure it out.

I played “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Jingle Bells” and even took a semi-successful crack at “San Antonio Rose” following an afternoon of having Patsy Cline stuck in my head. But, since it has to go back tomorrow, while waiting for Grandpa’s med-time to roll around this evening, I picked it up for one last round and worked out the melody – and some of the bass line chords – of “Oom-Pah-Pah” from Oliver! (with help from this guy).

Thankfully, Grandpa is nearly deaf, so me pumping out notes dug up from memory isn’t as painful for him as it would be for a healthy set of ears. Although I have no idea how or even if you can play the accordion quietly, Grandpa slept right through the whole practice session.

But I didn’t go completely without audience. Batman was there to help iron out the melody.

But a close friend from the hometown (practically an adopted sister) visited this past week, and where she goes adventure is sure to follow. So, since she knows so well how to show Batman and me a good time, I thought I’d share some excerpts from our week:

Here’s a “Before” and “After” of a Black Widow we found on my back door:

I was way too nervous to get close to the Widow and certainly didn’t want to put Batman in peril. (Although – interesting side note – my ex-SO found a stunt double for Batman. I have a feeling the new little guy’ll have plenty of upcoming gigs.) Thanks for killing the Deadly Spider for me, Chica!

Now, onto the park:

Unfortunately, due to his perpetually flexed arms, Batman is cartwheel-challenged.

But, obviously D would make a great sidekick.

She’s got all the moves Tiny Plastic Batman can’t muster.

Plus she talked him into joining us for Ladies’ Night at the local bowling alley:

Unfortunately, none of us are that good at bowling, so we focused on messing around with the camera instead.

The Sepia-toned ones didn’t make the cut, but a some B&W’s ones came out neat.

And though negatives make terrible pictures, we both liked this one.

Due to the traditional low alley lighting, most of Batman’s pics didn’t come out well (the light of a flash tends to bring out his cheap, plastic nature), but that didn’t stop us from taking ten’s of photos of him.  We drew the attention of the management and some neighboring lady bowlers. All in all, a good night for Batman.

Earlier in the week, D joined me on an errand to the Bacchetta office and while we were there, Mike helped her take her first recumbent test ride.  Later, after a couple laps on my power-assisted recumbent with me hanging onto the back rack (parent-style) to help her balance, we figured she was ready for a real ride.

So the morning after bowling, we took off down the bike trail to visit the Bacchetta guys.  (As my Corsa is in California with my dad as he trains for RAAM – it’s his backup bike – I had to borrow a ride from a friend.  This Corsa (the black bike in the back) was provided courtesy of Jim Dibble. Thanks Jim! It’s a great ride!)

Mike was gone, so D didn’t get to show off her progress to him, but Jeremy, John and Mark visited with us and helped me work on convincing her to buy a recumbent and move to Florida. Afterward, to reinforce the brainwashing, we headed to check out the beautiful (not yet oil-soaked) beach:

Batman posed with the local pirate ship, then laid out to catch some rays.

After we had had enough sun, we packed up and were heading back to the car when a dragonfly landed on our beach bag.  Either he really likes green or he was just in desperate need of a lift down the beach. Either way, he stayed with us for quite a while.

Finally, we rounded the trip out with a trip to see Grandpa.

Grandpa certainly enjoyed his kiss goodbye and I enjoyed my wonderful week with this fun, encouraging, vibrant woman.  Now we both look forward to the next time D whirls into town to lift us out of our lives, if only temporarily.

]]> http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2010/05/resurrection-visited/feed/ 1 http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2010/04/join-us-on-a-journey-to-sign-and-lake/ http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2010/04/join-us-on-a-journey-to-sign-and-lake/#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:08:37 +0000 admin http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/?p=1361 A major perk of the new house is that it’s located near a beautiful park with a lake.

The park is haven to a variety of species of water fowl (help me out if you know any of these):

"Duck" -Jim Dibble

And as with every other lake in Florida, this one has alligators.

Obviously it’s a bad idea to go swimming in this lake, considering the size and abundance of alligators.  Strangely enough, it’s only visibly prohibited in one place, with one sign … and trust me, the alligators I’ve seen roaming the lake don’t strike nearly as much fear into my heart as does this sign:

I’d hate to know the secrets hidden under these waters…

Welcome to the living room:

It’s pretty roomy and not too unique, but it leads to the kitchen which has an avacado-green oven, range and venthood!:

The owner even kept the manual for the range:

Attached to the kitchen is the family room which is also roomy and semi-normal:

From there you can see the backyard which has one big oak that has swallowed a metal hook and is home to a strange, huge fern as well as some Spanish moss:

The 2nd bedroom is nothing crazy, but the guest bathroom has some interesting decor to go along with the squash-yellow (or is it “Harvest-Gold”) toilet and sink which are not pictured:

And finally, my coup de coeur, the delightfully gaudy master bedroom & bath:

Not pictured: the avacado-green sink, toilet and tub.

A few friends and contractors have encouraged us to remodel (or “at least take down the wallpaper”) but if we ever do, we’ll have to sell or donate it to something. We can’t simply trash these amusing trends.  In the meanwhile, this house and it’s decor are a blast. =)

Here are some of my favorites (all of the titles & captions are reproduced from the original Flickr photo pages):

And since everyone loves Batman:

What’s even more impressive is that, according to this photo’s caption, he tamed a chipmunk with almond offerings, then proceeded to name it Billy and include it in his photo shoots:

Who knew almonds could get you so far?