Another trip to Memphis

This time, I perused the Albany airport's art gallery:

You also get a good look at the TSA:

On our way to DTW in a CRJ:

with Google snow:

It's Yuletide:

Coming into Memphis, we had to avoid a tornado, but we did make it. Here's the pink palace:

while there, I gave Mom her Christmas:

went to church:

Solved a puzzle:

went to the mall:

and dealt with my not so reliable rental:

And all good things came to an end, and I flew back:


back into Detroit, with more Google snow:

waiting for the next flight:

Taxiing out:

a de-icing stop:

and we were back in Albany:

In the bleak midwinter

Well, it was a busy day. I started out by walking and shopping at Colonie Park and Boscov's.

I like Boscov's - it's truly a trip back to the seventies. They have a candy deparment, a travel dept a cafeteria (!). The only concession to modern times 7am opening, which is good. I also took advantage of Walmart's hours

Next , on to the Cathedral for the quiet day.

Only, this day was not so quiet for me:
Candy and I stood outside with the rest and prayed for them. Then I had tickets to the hockey game: And today may be a quiet day with a foot of snow on the ground:

Expanded borders

Many of you know, that I volunteer to sit at a prayer table. Well, we expanded our locations. The new one is at the Old Chruch I went to last week:

As you can see, it was not a good morning to be out on the streets. I dropped the Albany shaker Cemetery (where Ann Lee is buried):


Before heading over. This is Salih and Candy setting up. And yes, Salih spent the night on the streets:

And here are the Streets:

I would have taken some more photos, but really didn't want to take photos of folks down on their luck - it reminded me of riding along the River trails in SoCal and going past the Homeless encampments. Here's a shot of when the doors opened:
And I've committed to do some more, which might lead some of you to comment that I need to be committed.

Too much of a good thing

I was supposed to work at a soup kitchen the Diocese of Albany has set. It's in a church that closed for attendance, and has been re-purposed as St. Francis Mission. It's on Arbor hill, one of Albany's poorer neighborhoods:

Here's Saint Francis:

we had a worship service before hand:

when we got done, I noticed one odd thing: they were too many folks - the helpers outnumber the helpees. I was really feeling the call of my books, so I asked for permission and went home. A couple of hours later, I was doe with what I set for, and I set out for the hockey game:

You'll note in addition to our usual sellout crowd, the officials are busy fixing the glass:


The score was 8-6 in favor of Albany. not exactly your typical hockey score (3-2 is more the norm) - too much once again. It's like that way this time of year - too much going on, and a lot of folks wanting to help out, versus in July, when that still small voice isn't quite as loud. I hope you get through this yuletide fine/

The best kind of nieghbors

That's what my mom used of us living next door to a cemetery. So I went over to Albany Rural cemetery:


Its most famous 'resident' is Chester Arthur



After that, I need to warm up:
and got in a traffic jam:

Recycle this post

Well, Saturday was a bit too cold for cycling, so I did some indoor hiking:

And took in a hockey game. We lost again.

Sunday was little bit better. I went over to the Port of Albany. I had seen something in the Times union:
Somewhat Ironically, across the street is this:

more details of Mr. Curtiss' flight are here. Dome of the more fun details are: It took him two hours (What the Amtrak takes, A flight from ALB to EWR(no flights anymore to JFK or LGA) takes an hour), and he had stop in Poughkeepsie for gas. And the plane is close by a scrapyard, too,in case it becomes a can of Bud. I used to have a Neon, so this car spoke to me:

you eventually come to the end of the road:

But the road goes on, your old car becomes your soda can, holey socks turn into rags, you find a new job, the list goes on. Here's a nice view of Rensselaer:
Speaking of recycling, I heard a pop when I turned into the apartments. Another items to be recycled, as I broke a spoke:

Memphis gets some LUV

Yes, I went there again. I t took a different airline this time:
A blue 737? Yes, it's Southwest airlines. The Finger lakes:

Stopped to change planes at Chicago Midway:

and it was on to Memphis:

picked up my rental car:

And Mom headed up to Jackson, MO
I think it was good for both of use to go back, if only briefly. I'd like for it to be longer, Bur we know that sometimes you can't make that happen.

Fork in the road

We've got some nice fall colors.



But the switch from Fall to Winter is more a like a curve in the road, right? we can't really go back to summer. The fork I'm referring to is in my writing. I picked up one of my old projects, and made some progress with it, so I started a blog for it. And you Elvis fans, don't get upset. I'm still planning on maintain Jana's Journeys, still with a weekly posting schedule, so don't get too upset. It'll just be a little more focused now.

Auriesville Shrine

I had mentioned several time that I had ridden the bike path past the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs without stopping. Well, today I changed that: The Shrine commemorates Father Isaac Jogues, René Goupil, a Jesuit brother, and John Lalande, who lost their live at this site because of their faith in the 1640's. It was the Site of Ossernenon, the Main village of the Mohawks. Here is a marker for Fr. Joques: Three crosses for three saints: another view of the Mohawk river: There is quite a large Chapel here. I spent some time ion reflection, and thank the Lord for their lives: A pleasant day of rest.

The catskills

I've been planning some trips, and yesterday, I took one: This is the Catskill Scenic trail, which run 26 miles from Roxbury to Bloomville. I parked at the mid point in Stamford. The first thing I ran into was unpacked fine gravel up to my rims. Real fun. The unimproved portions weren't much better , as you can see here: I made to my destination, Grand Gorge. I think this is an old bridge: . Coming back , it was uphill, which made it a little harder. It had rained a lot there, so it was like pedaling in bog. Maybe I should get a fat bike. Here is an old barn: and the station in South Gilboa: a nice farm: 73 miles to Kingston: I thought about doing some, but I was pretty pooped. I got some lunch at Stewart's and headed back:

A Placid Lake

Today, I went to church: and then I took off for Lake Placid. Here is a rest stop on the Northway(I-87): The Last Howard Johnsons'. They used to be everywhere: Eating there proved you can't go back. Which is not always the case (look for another post on this in about a month or so). I was bit concerned with parking, but found a spot in front of the Olympic center The 1980 Arena: The speed skating track doubles as the track for Lake Placid High: For $70, you can ride a bobsled. I skipped: Up the ski lift: John Brown's Farm: I have a new found respect for ski jumpers: I went to whiteface and the Gondola ride. It decided to pour rain. no fun. It was also when my phone got a strong enough signal to transmit data. maybe having a 3g phone was good enough. A good and fun day:

George Eastman Vs Carl Ziess

My new phone has an 8mp Cal Ziess Camera, versus the 9mp on Kodak. Kodak: versus Ziess: Pretty close, eh? The only drawback to the Ziess is that is the largest exposure, but the phone automatically syncs with SkyDrive (Microsoft's Cloud Storage) The Half Moon is back in town: Leaves are falling: The Falls are still there: It's time for Pumpkin pie Donuts? Dissing a Medal of Honor winner: and the skyline

First Things first

I wound up working at Soup Kitchen on Saturday, so no riding again. I did get a walk in, though I also got a new phone: a Nokia Lumia running windows. I know But I like it. It's a very different apporoach than androiod or Io7, and it does do good at pics: Maybe next time i'll write a little more on it. and we do have color

Break that spoke

Well, I managed to break a spoke on both my bikes, so it's walking time: I was going to o up to Lake Placid but I changed my mind - late start - Maybe some other time. Still debate what should come first - I'm managing to get the wardrobe back in order, but I'm still losing. Probably the bent wheel will be first, as most of the stuff I want to travel to ride to would make more sense taking the hybrid along. I'll leave you with the Half Moon:

Change of Habit

Well, it's fall, and not this type of fall: And I broke another spoke on the recumbent, so that means I've got to wheel shopping. But I've also got tickets to Memphis to buy and I've lost 30 pounds over the summer, so I also need to make some trips to Boscov's, which I did yesterday. Some old signs: New signs? I don't know. I've still got my hybrid to ride, and I did get a new pair of shoes, so maybe I'll be able to keep up with weight loss over Hockey Season er winter.

Tug that boat

I went over to the towboat festival, first under the Patroon island bridge: Then across the drawbridge: This uncle sam hasn't lost his head: and finally to Waterford. This is the old arrow shirt factory: and the festival: stopped for a break: before taking a detour through Albany Rural cemetery on the way home: