Photo of the Day: Train TV

Morning commute. Quiet Car. Train TV, set to snooze. Necessary morning nap/meditation.

~ photo by iPhone, with some filters.

Photo of the Day: Light at the End of the ...

February is almost over.

Deadlines are looming.

Maybe the end is in sight?

Or am I just being blinded by all the staring at computer and screens.

~ photos by iPhone

Photo of the Day: Sunset Signs of Hope

The days are getting longer.

If you catch an earlier train, and remember to look up,

you'll catch sight of some fiery ribbons of light.

~ photo by iPhone

43 Ideas for Birthday 43: Tiny Transportation

The rest of this post is pending....

But it will focus on trains, accidents, sadness, and transportation alternatives that look like, this:

Stay tuned.

Train Travels

To start my New Year off, instead of heading back to the office, I packed my bags and headed...

To see Mom and Dad in DC while they have a mini-break while the temple is closed for cleaning. 

On paper it is actually an easier and cheaper trip to see them... Via train.

2 ish blocks from my Attic to my MetroNorth stop, to

• Grand Central, to
• The Times Square shuttle across NYC, to
• 42nd street to transfer to
• The downtown 1 MTA taken 1stop down to
• 34th Street Herald's Square/Penn Station, to wind through Penn to
• Amtrak from NYC to DC Union Station, to
• The Maryland MARC train to Kensington, MD to
• About 2ish blocks to the parents' apartment.

Left about 8:30 this morning, arrived by 4:00, less money/hassle than flying, and... With hours of eastern sunlight on my southbound trips, lots of room in coach, and electricity and free wifi, why have I never taken Amtrak before? I caught up on some long overdue email...but not all, and refueled the Vit D levels that were diminished after 3 weeks of flu.**

 Sun. Glorious sun.

I will say that you shouldn't ride Amtrak hungry, as the conductors announce the food highpoints of each stop as you roll in.

If you read Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, you'll know why I was craving Tasty Kakes when we rolled into Newark and Trenton.

I want Philly cheesesteak now:

No pictures in Baltimore, but I want crab cakes. Look at the Chesapeake Bay:

Yes, there is a club car, but I had a long layover ahead in DC, so I waited.

MetroNorth could learn some things about platform designs:

I do have to note, Penn Station is the pit of despair; Union Station has better food options, and the same flying pigeons that seem to inhabit NYC's stations; I felt like I was in bizarro land in DC trying figure out commuter train tockets and schedules, and that the trains, crossings, and rural stations remind me of the ones in Chicago. Too weird. 

And then we passed these guys as I went to board train 5 of the day. We have come a long way, but...

Plans for tomorrow are in flux. Polar vortex, a snow clipper, and more are heading to DC, because OF COURSE!

Vacation!

*apparently, according to the news, the coughing component of this can last 1-3 more weeks. OY!

~photos and entry by iTouch

Sundays in the Country

Come for a concert/reunion, they urged. ~  A simple overnight in the country, she said. ~ Pack a picnic dinner, they said. ~ Bring some of your baby blankets, they asked. ~ Lots of e-mails, they were typed.

Two days of cooking ~ Two blisters ~ Two kinds of desserts ~ Two train trips ~ Four types of salad ~ Four bags 

For an afternoon of fun. ~ For an afternoon at the pool.

Going “home” to see friends?

Always worth it ~ In the end.

Manhattan Monday - Wandering the Line

As the Big J's fiscal year came to a close, I realized that I had some personal days off that I would "lose" if I didn't take them, so I took a couple of Mondays off. Fortunately for me, one of these Mondays aligned with a day that my friend Michelle was planning to visit from Miami.

Last Monday, I spent the day running errands around Manhattan. First I had to take the train in, get poppy seeds from Spice and Tease at the Grand Central Market, get money from the ATM, tickets from the machines, and then schlep over to a branch of the New York Public Library. Turns out the iconic Schwarzman Building at 42nd Street with the lions protecting it, doesn't have a drop-box for returning items. Good thing the Mid-Manhattan branch is katty-korner to the big cats. I don't like to have over-due items. It's a professional guilt thing.

Then it was off to the Chelsea Market to get some goods for various parties last week before meeting up for lunch with Michelle. The Market is a little touristy at times, but if you know where you are going and exactly what you want, it's easier.

 

(blurry iTouch photos from inside the Market)

It had been a while since I'd been, and turns out the shop, The Nut Box, that I was going to see has revamped down from having pre-packaged and bulk fruit, nuts and candies, down to just pre-packaged. I *might* have gotten too much, between that shop and the Chelsea Market Basket Company. I didn't realize how much I actually was hauling around the rest of the day until I got home and unbagged 9.5 POUNDS of assorted nuts, snacks, grains, and fruit. No wonder my shoulder was killing me.

After a deliciously long chatty lunch at The Green Table (get the red quinoa falafel platter, trust me), some coffee for Michelle and a wait in the line for the restrooms, it was off to wander the High Line.

The last time I visited the High Line was in the winter, with Jane, a few years ago. What a difference a season or two can make (and switching cameras!) The second section was open, lush, and the area is blossoming up around it. In addition to art being made on the Line,

 art is being added by Line, by buildings around it,

 

 and on billboards in the area.

 

It is so nice to see the hard lines of the City open up to green spaces, 

 to have spots of color, unexpected views, have nature disguise and reveal new things.

 Like the various backyards, patios, and other special spaces that people carve out for themselves.

It was so easy to fall back into conversational rhythms, relax, regroup, and get caught up in the High Line, that the sudden summer thunderstorm that rolled in was a surprise. 

Whoops. There are the clouds. Maybe it's not a good idea to be elevated, on a line with metal tracks, or hiding out under the metal scaffolding that leads to the part where section II and III of the High Line will meet up. Needless to say, Michelle and I got out of there, and wandered through the rain and puddles back to the subway to head back to Grand Central for our trains back to various destinations.

Thanks again, Michelle, for always making time to squeeze me into your New York itinerary! I'm so glad that we're able to pick up where we leave off - and that you get my weird sense of humor when we stumble across weird vignettes like this!

Photo of the Day: Long Shadows

Train Station, Evening Return

via iTouch

Scenes from the Road, er - I mean, Rails

As I've saying, this year has been busy - but this last few weeks has also been super busy. I have been trying to remember to snap photos to illustrate the weird and random - but ...

As this ad says, it's almost too hard to choose between photos, activities, and necessities ...
(i.e., blog, eat, work, sleep, blog, or sleep ...)

So, in now particular order, here's some of the weirdness that has been the last month or so, when my life was going "off the rails."

Fashion

This is a bad photo of the gentleman with his leather shoes, handbag, and jacket, the jaunty socks under his high-water khakis, the fancy fringed scarf tucked into this shirt -- TOPPED OFF BY A BOWLER!

This little commuter has matching fuchsia accessories. She often also carries the cutest little kitty cat handbags. She is as allergic to commuting in the morning as the rest of us are.

L: I want to go to London and get my own very special Harrod's handbag. I would be perfect for lunch and the library, and everything. I WANT!
R: "Do anything you want to, but ... Honey ... Don't you step on my blue suede shoes." THEN GET THEM OUT OF THE AISLE.

 Which brings us to other annoying passenger issues....

Talking and Trashing:

I don't know which is worse, listening to this dude on the left for more than 30 minutes, or watching/listening/smelling this guy on the right's breakfast for the entire commute. PLEASE shut up and don't eat your entire smelly porridge-y breakfast on the train.

L: I thought Activa was supposed to give you energy? So you should have enough energy to clean up after yourself.
R: Someone forgot to take away their take away on the subway.

The other night, I forced myself to leave the building at 5:30 so I could catch the 6:05 and go home and do the laundry. But because I hadn't caught the 6:05 in almost 2 years, the train wasn't at its "usual" track. I had to race across the lower level and was trying to run up the escalator. I, of course, took a nasty, gnarly, spill up the escalator and it chewed up my shin and left me with a goose egg on my knee I have named "Grace." For me, the light at the end of the tunnel is the train arriving to take me home.

I have been able to enjoy my spring via the train platforms and windows.

Finding Beauty in Nature:

 

 

 

Spring sure looks/looked pretty ... Maybe I need to get out of the building and tin can and enjoy it more?

Finally.

I don't usually stand in the shelter on the train platform, but last week I did -- only to discover that Brooklyn's influence is creeping into Westchester.

Sigh. I want to go back to the beach.

all photos via the iTouch