Oregon Zoo Visit

I had a couple of hours to kill in Portland this past Saturday afternoon so I made my first visit to the Oregon Zoo. Between the intermittent rain showers I photographed some of the more interesting animals (and people).

I've been to quite a few zoos, and this one ranks high on my list. I found the Great Northwest area of the zoo to be particularly impressive with its diverse animals, habitats, and forested layout. Maybe it was because of the lower temperatures or the on-again off-again rain, but many of the animals seemed particularly alert and active.

I probably only saw half of the exhibits on this visit so I'll be wanting to go back again soon. Although, during a particularly heavy rain shower I got to spend over 20 minutes inside the Elephant Museum; plenty of time to read each and every plaque within the display, some of them twice. So, I may not need to go back to that part of the zoo...

This bobcat was pacing its habitat

The two mountain lions were very active, stalking one another...

...and pouncing when the other least expected it.

This polar bear was snoozing until rain started falling more heavily.  I snapped this as the rain woke it up.  It soon moved out of the rain.

The damara zebra.  Not just black and white.

Reticulated giraffe

Train in the rain (and sunshine)

Rocky Mountain Goat

Oregon Zoo See the entire album!

Bunker Hill Monument - Boston

The Bunker Hill Monument sits atop Breed's Hill in Charlestown, MA (that's where the battle Bunker Hill actually took place). This granite obelisk stands an impressive 221 feet tall. The first major commemorative monument built in the United States, it is a reminder of the first major conflict between Colonial forces and the British in the Revolutionary war.

I've been to the monument several times before but this was the first time we happened to arrive before closing time. As it turns out, when you visit during normal business hours you can climb the 294 steps that rise in a tight spiral to a small observation deck at the top of the monument. My two boys hiked with gusto, counting off the conveniently labeled stairs on their way to the top. The three-year-old mentioned a few times that it was "a lot of stairs" but he didn't slow down until he hit the traffic jam that began on the last four steps. He certainly seemed less winded than I did by the experience!

Bunker Hill Monument from a few blocks away

Tall Tower / Short Boys

Looking up

Looking down. An steam powered elevator was used to lift construction materials up the center column but it was removed in 1844 to the detriment of out-of-shape photographers with mountain goats for children.

Resting up in preparation for the trip back down those 294 steps!

The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is visible through the smudged and weathered windows at the top of the monument in the last light of the day

During a celebratory firing in 1821 a hole was blown in the side of the cannon on display on the observation platform

Down we go!

The Bunker Hill Monument is at the the north end of the Freedom Trail, a fantastic self-guided walking tour through all the historic highlights of Boston. Just follow the red brick line through the city (not shown here because I was practically standing on it to take this).

A candid capture of the family also inadvertently captures some Bunker Hill lovin' that I didn't notice until I downloaded these at home...

Trinity Church & Wall St.

On our recent trip to NYC we also visited the Wall Street area of Manhattan. We walked around and through Trinity Church and then headed down Broadway to see the iconic Wall Street sculpture Charging Bull. Unfortunately, the bull is still under constant police surveillance and barricaded to prevent anyone from approaching it. We walked back a few blocks until we could skirt the truck barricades and crowd-control fencing and walk past the front of the New York Stock Exchange, a tree that appears bigger than the one at Rockefeller Center, and Federal Hall.

Many of the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters have moved on now that Zuccotti Park has been cleared out (eventually I may get around to posting some of the pictures that I happened to take during the first week of the protests back in September). Anyway, the police presence at the NSYE is considerably smaller now but the barricades there, just like at the bull, still remain in place. I suppose most of the cops have migrated north with the crowds flocking to Times Square and Rockefeller Center.

Trinity Church - Looking South on Broadway

Ashes from a thousand candles

Bull Pen -- The Charging Bull sculpture is guarded and fenced off from tourists

Now that's a Christmas tree

George Washington surveys the NYSE from the steps of Federal Hall

"Integrity Protecting the Works of Man" -- Pediment sculpture by John Quincy Adams Ward

Hello, there George

Trinity Church looking west up Wall Street

Carlo's Bake Shop - Hoboken

Carlo's Bake Shop sits nearly hidden on Washington Street (or I guess it has technically been renamed Carlo's Bakery Way) in Hoboken, NJ. You might walk right past and completely miss the little shop... if it weren't for the crowds of people lined up for a city block and half, that is. Thanks, in large part, to the successful TLC special "Cake Boss" people come from miles around for a chance to elbow their way up to the glass cabinets and sample cupcakes, chocolate cannolis, lobster tails, and countless other pastries.

As we wandered through Hoboken a couple of weeks ago, however, we discovered that the line that morning consisted of a mere five people! We glanced down the block, but there was no sign of the typical queue along side the CVS. A stop at the bakery was not even in our plans (we were headed to Manhattan) but you just don't pass up on these treats when there's no line to get in. It's just not done!

So, we waited in line for mere minutes before we were ushered in. Then we realized that there was no line because half of Hoboken had already crammed themselves into the tiny bake shop! I understand that this is typical and part of the mystique surrounding the Carlo's experience. Somehow the cupcakes taste better if you have to fight your way up to the cabinet, pushing, shoving, biting if necessary... Somehow, the chocolate on the cannoli tastes even richer after being crammed into a box by a loud, gloveless Italian-American bakery clerk!

Are the pastries overrated? Maybe. But you won't convince my kids of that! We enjoyed every last crumb!

This photo is taken thousands of times a day in some form or another

Longing... For so long!

Mmm... Chocolate!

La Famiglia

I want the blue one!

The Crowd. Some were patient and kind. Some were not.

Are these really worth standing in this line for?

Worth it!

Darth Vader prefers the dark cakes

Lobster Tail

Manhattan Skyline - Sepia

Some of my favorite sepia treatments of the Manhattan skyline taken from and near my room in the W Hotel in Hoboken...

Amazed by the view from our room...

View from Pier C Park, Hoboken, NJ

Pier C Park from W Hotel

B/W vs. sepia

Same view, different sky

Freedom Tower over Pier A Park, Hoboken, NJ

Christmas Time In the City

Despite warnings about record level crowds of tourists in New York City this holiday season we decided to try our luck in the Big Apple. We have guests in town for Christmas so we bundled up and headed for Rockefeller Center and the Christmas tree. There were crowds, but they weren't nearly as difficult to get around and through as I had feared.