Shadow Shot Sunday - Jersey Shore Redux

The strong norther sun of Summer allows for interesting shadows in many places. For me, the New Jersey shore family vacations of decades past I will use for Shadow Shot Sunday 2. From the beach at Brigantine (1961), bicycle riding on the famous pre-casino Boardwalk (1965 and 1969), the shadows arrive on sand, surf...really any surface. Since life intrudes, Summers have not been the same as I remember them all those years ago...

The Weekend Roundup - 'I'

It's time for Tom's fun meme The Weekend Roundup. Today the third vowel is featured and it has its challenges...but persist I did!

Ice skating begins with 'I'. This is Dad and my big sister Michele on a neighborhood Ice Rink in St. Paul Minnesota, January 1959

Irish Dancers also starts with 'I'. This is the fantastic dancers from the Mulkerin School of Irish Dance in West Haven, CT. They dane in Ansonia for the raising of the Irish flag in March and other events during the year. Wearin' O' the green!

This is at New York City's Idlewild Airport (now JFK International). The year was 1962 and here is my Dad (in beret) at customs at the old and long gone International Arrivals building. Dad was a travel writer for UPI in the early '60s and traveled a lot. He liked the travel part but a he was low paid reporter in a very expensive city. The kids would travel to Idlewild to pick him after a trip and you could see the (lack of) action from upstairs...

Back to Icy we go. I'd be happy to keep the warmth of now; however, realizing the beauty of Winter we look at an Icy pond at Witek Park in neighboring Derby. Have a great week all!

The Weekend Roundup - 'G'

A missed week of Tom's meme The Weekend Roundup is not what I prefer. However, I am back for today's prompts, which means the seventh letter of the alphabet.

Graduate starts with 'G', and I have a few memories here. Top, dad graduated from Ohio's Bowling Green State University. As a bonus, he is with Grandma & Grandpa too!

I am a Graduate of Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Aside me is my Dad, 27 years later...

I like the rainbow that showed up for daughter Allegra's Graduation from Ansonia HS, 2006. I imagine she's had lots of Good Luck since then!

Our son Graduated from the University of Hartford in 2012. Allegra also graduated from the U of H (2010).

The George Washington Bridge is another. Known locally as the GWB, it appears to the right. I love looking at that 1931 beauty (but not necessarily being involved in its traffic :) Photo is from 2000 from the Henry Hudson Parkway.

Green is best represented (IMO) by this immaculate 1960 Plymouth Valiant. It is a lovely teal-green paint. Not pretty to be sure, but my favorite choice on the ballot at that show. It must have been the color...Have a great week all!

Shadow Shot Sunday - Isolated

Our daughter went to Silver Sands State Park the other day to relax amid the sparse weekday beach-going visitors. We are not on some enchanted oceanic isle, but at low tide along long island Sound. This lone tree emits its shapely shadow under a lovely sky - and we feel refreshed in its quiet solitude. Thus, I offer this tranquility  for Shadow Shot Sunday 2 - thanks MMT!

The Weekend Roundup - 'E'

It's fun to be back for Tom's great meme, The Weekend Roundup. The second vowel is featured and I'm living in the past to start...

Today we are in the NYC Manhattan for the annual Easter Parade, April 19, 1957. Aunt Terry (at 15), Grandma and Grandpa visited the parade where many a 'stylish' hat was worn. I like my aunt's flying saucer hat. Another 'E' is the WPIX truck emblazoned with Channel Eleven...

Like Tom, I found a 1959 Edsel! I like the way it looks but it has been estimated that ford lost upwards of $250 Million, and that was in 1959! Those losses then would be about $2.6 Billion in today's money. Yikes!! Have a great week all!

Shadow Shot Sunday - Proportional (Not)

Shadows appear all about, no matter the time or place, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is the place to reveal any oddities. Recently when riding the local paratransit van we found ourselves alongside a shiny tanker truck and saw a shadow underneath the behemoth. What's even more fun is the out-of-proportion reflection in the oval conveyance next to us. It almost feels like we are traversing a fun house hall of mirrors...always keep your camera at the ready!

The Weekend Roundup - 'D'

It's fun to be back for Tom's great meme, the Weekend Roundup.

My first 'D' is The First State, Delaware. This photo was taken by our 8 year old son along I-95 on a family vacation in 2000. 

Here is my Delicious Dinner at Copper City Restaurant recently. Underneath the crisp fried onions is a braised short rib (fork tender), perfectly sautéed green beans and garlic mashed potatoes. 'Tasty' describes it well!

Dusk. We left Copper City as dusk settles in over Downtown Ansonia.

Dodge. I like old Dodges like my Grandpa's 1955 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer (3 tone: white, plum and black) with my big sister Michele posing. At our home in St. Paul Minnesota,1959.

And finally, one more old Dodge, a 1936. I like this photo as I took the hubcap and whitewall from wheelchair height - look closely and you will see the photographer. Have a great week all!

The Weekend Roundup - 'C'

The heat and humidity of July has made it to Southern New England, but being this day it is time for Tom's fun meme The Weekend Roundup. Here is my eclectic mix for the week.

Given the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, I offer a look at the last person to walk on the moon in 1972 - astronaut Gene Cernan in 1966. When Dad worked at then United Aircraft, they built rocket engines (note the Pratt & Whitney Eagle logo on the motor). The boy is not me in this publicity photo:) The days of pioneers made of the right stuff seem to be fading 40+ years later...

Another view from 1966 is Grandpa at the impressive Garden of the Gods outside Colorado Springs, Colorado. I visited this park a couple of decades later and the balancing rock there is amazing! 

How about Contrails? Our patio in Ansonia sits under the flight path from JFK Airport in New York City. The large number of originating flights to Europe each evening fly overhead when the winds are favorable. Given its location, this big twin (777, A330 or 787) took off from Runway 4 Left at JFK. Despite the orientation of the pic, it is actually going up, not down (yes, I am being true to my Airhead self :)

Shadow Shot Sunday - Soft Shadowy Steeples

The sultry summer gives us longer days and warmer evening shadows. So for Shadow Shot Sunday 2, hosted by MMT, we are aa the small town green of Derby CT. And like most old traditional New England greens, they were surrounded by churches. Immanuel St. James Episcopal Church from 1843 is clad in stone and the imposing 1894 brick Derby United Methodist Church looks softer in the light and shadow of the impending sunset. The shadows are divinely inspired it would seem...

The Weekend Roundup - 'B'

The second letter of the alphabet is the prompt this week for Tom's fun meme, The Weekend Roundup. The consonant  'B' offers many eclectic choices of photo to post about...

Here is the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. My brother Chris, a resident of the Beehive State, captured this while on his way to Nevada. The annual Speed Week will be held in August. In 1970, a land speed record run here was 630 mph / 1015 kmH - the wide flat surface is made for speed!

How about a Bevy or Bunch of Buicks? In this oft-used photo in this Steubenville parking structure in 1955, three Buicks are parked in the top row with the toothy chrome grilles, (L-R) a 1954, a 1950 and 1951 Buicks...

Our family often vacationed in Brigantine, New Jersey. Here are all the Villers on the Beach, July 1969.

Finally, and a Favorite is a Blue Jay on our gutter. They may be screechy but so good looking! Have a great week all!

The Weekend Roundup - 'A'

The alphabet begins anew on Tom's fun meme, The Weekend Roundup. This vowel is easy to capture based often on my domicile and heritage, So let's begin...

I live in Ansonia Connecticut, so that's where I am first. Here is Ansonia City Hall. This Main Street beauty was opened in 1904, with two additions in the 1920s and in 1998.

As for Heritage, so many memorable family vacations were on the New Jersey shore were in Atlantic City including the iconic (that is, pre-casino) Boardwalk. This is early morning bicycle ride was in 1965.

Another Ansonia landmark is the Ansonia Public Library. Completed in 1892, its Architecture is Romanesque. The Architect is George Keller, famous for such monuments as the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch in Hartford and the Soldiers' National Monument in Gettysburg, PA.

Week's Favorite. Daughter Allegra vacationed at another town on the fabulous NJ shore, Seaside Heights. She captured this gull who is dutifully keeping off the dunes. Have a great week all!

Shadow Shot Sunday - Peaceful

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 brings the viewer to the solitude and quiet countenance of the water almost overwhelms - but is actually gentle on the senses. The reservoir at Witek Park in neighboring Derby is only 5 or so minutes away from the suburban neighborhood tracts, but feeling almost a world away... 

The Weekend Roundup - 'Z'

The 26th and last letter of the English language is upon us. Thus, it is a perfect time to contribute to Tom's fun meme, The Weekend Roundup. As with many other letters and subjects, I've taken a few liberties with this week's prompts...

When flapping its wings, a Bumblebee goes BUZZ. Patti found this busy bumblebee gathering pollen in shrubbery in our front yard.

Cats, by their very nature sleep a lot - so plenty of Zzzzzzs I'd say...

Zero. A liberty I've taken with Zero is this picture of Grandpa under the Zero minus 4 sign - that is, -4°F / -20°C. This is Fargo ND, 1970.

Week's Favorite. Daughter Allegra was in Prospect Park in Brooklyn NYC. She captured this nice view of the Soldiers and Sailors Arch on a beautiful evening. I guess the plane above is on its way to Runway 4 at Laguardia Airport - Allegra and I spent time looking at a map later to see. An interesting daddy and daughter activity :)

The Weekend Roundup 'X'

Tom's fun meme The Weekend Roundup has as it's prompt this week that unusual letter 'X' which offers challenges but I managed to find an excellent 'X' and I'm stretching the letter to use for another...

Here is a pair of the 24th letter of the alphabet. A commuter train passes Division St. in Derby, CT. If the gate doesn't get your attention, the Railroad Crossing 'X' signs should also help...

Now here are other uses of today's letter...Linus is X-tra tired and Rosa Mina in Ansonia serves up X-tra tasty food (with X-tra garlic too :)

Week's Favorite. We are at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers in Derby under the Route 8 Commodore Hull Bridge as the sunset blazes above. Have a great weekend and Father's Day!