Macy's Independence Day Fireworks, 2010

OK, Sarah, you asked for pictures - here ya go! There is a video at the end.

But first, the preliminaries. As the sun set, the barges lined up and some fireboats sprayed colored water.

This was the scene on the roof of the building whence we watched. We were on 40th street, about in the middle of the viewing area. This building is 32 stories high (33, really, and we were higher than that on the structures of the roof. My tripod is already setup at the edge of the roof.

Is it dark enough yet?

Behind us, the Empire State Building displayed patriotic colors.

Is it dark enough yet?

Yup.









To the viewers at ground level near the river, these ones are supposed to look like smiles. My angle and the shutter speed kinda kills it.




Some shots of the grand finale...








The video was taken with my phone.

I took over 400 still shots, most of which are garbage, but with a digital camera it doesn't matter. I did switch memory cards halfway through, and I switched between a wide-angle and telephoto lens a few times.

Long Beach, Again!

Manhattan, seen from the Whitestone bridge.

Finn buried in the sand.

Governors Island

Finn and I went to Governors Island, which is now a national park. We got on the ferry at the Battery. It's free, and runs every hour from 10 a.m.



Some pilings at the ferry slip.

The Staten Island Ferry is right next door. You can take the 1 train right to it.

Leaving Manhattan behind.

As we arrive at the island, a cormorant looks on.

Tree-lined street.
The tip of Manhattan from Governors Island.

Finn on the island on a bike with no name. Oh hahahHAHhahahah...
Details of Fort William.


A behemoth cruise ship docked in Brooklyn.
Places to relax.

As we left, I noticed the vent for the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel.

Gull where the cormorant was earlier.

Detail of ferry terminal.

I have no idea what this means. There was 'art' all over the place on the island, even on the ferry.
Guinevere*.

*if you understand the allusion, I'll buy you a pizza.

Paddling On the Hudson

Today some friends from work and I paddled on the Hudson. They had Kayaks, I had a canoe. It was tough going for the tide was coming in strong and the waves coming down the Hudson were rather large. Then there was the wind.

Gerry and Junior get ready to go from Waryas Park.




That's Junior in front of the Walkway Over the Hudson.

Gerry.

Finn, in my canoe. Nice face, kid.

Gerry and Don.
Roggie.

Don helps Roger bail his kayak. He spilled twice, and we had to make sure he lost as much water as possible to prevent a third tip.

Haze

On a clearer day you can see the mountains all around the Ashokan Reservoir. Today it was very hazy, and I think the area around the reservoir got some thunderstorms after we left.




We drove across the reservoir after tubing the Esopus and walking around Woodstock.