Anniversary

Today's our twelfth wedding anniversary, although we've been together for forty-one years. You know, something about the law changing. The ceremony was simple (the officiant and her husband, two long-time friends, and two newer friends), informal (I did wear a button-down shirt), outdoors (under a tree in Albany's Washington Park), and drama-free (no relatives on either side).

Ken on the left, Walt on the right.

Our "reception" was lunch in a downtown restaurant. There may have been some champagne. After lunch, some of us took a leisurely walk around downtown like tourists, stopping in to visit a church, a cathedral, and the state capitol.

Jack's restaurant, a downtown institution.

And that was it. The administrative paperwork leading up to the ceremony was a little complicated, but the great staff at city hall pulled it all together. 

State Street, downtown Albany.

Those were the days

This is from May 2012, the last time Ken and I flew together. We were headed to upstate New York to get married and were fortunate to have a friend who agreed to stay in our house and watch over Callie, our border collie. We left from Terminal 2E on an Air France flight to Boston* where we visited friends and spent the night before driving west to Albany.

Enjoying a pre-departure snack and some wine. That Airbus 380 out the window was not our plane. We were on a Boeing 747 that day.

 

I've only flown twice since then. Once in 2016 to Montréal where I spent two nights, then drove south to Albany. The second and last time was this past February when one of my aunts passed away. That was just as the coronavirus was moving around the globe. I flew from Paris to Chicago where I changed planes for Albany. My return trip was Albany to Washington, DC, then back to Paris. I was fortunate that I did not pick up the virus on any of the four planes I was on or in any of the four airports I passed through. Not to mention the trains to and from home.

I have no idea when the next time I fly will be. It likely won't be soon.

*More information than you want: Albany is a three hour drive from JFK in New York City or from Logan in Boston. It's a four hour drive from Montréal. I prefer to take one plane and drive rather than change planes to fly to Albany. Except in winter. Even so, my February flight from Chicago to Albany was diverted to Buffalo for a few hours due to runway ice in Albany. My return from Albany to Washington Dulles was also delayed and I very nearly missed the connection back to Paris. Traveling to the snow belt in winter is no fun.

One year ago today - A Pic a Day in May #10

Ken and I got married. We had a nice little ceremony under a tree in Albany's Washington Park. The wind was brisk, but it was a nice day. Today is our first wedding anniversary.

Ken and me in Washington Park, May 10, 2012.

And we will soon celebrate thirty years of living together. We signed our first lease together on June 1, 1983, in Washington, DC. That was one long engagement. My how time flies.

From the archives

Our current weather pattern is not really motivating me to get out to take pictures. It's dark and gray. I walk Callie either in the morning before it gets fully light or in the evening as the light is fading. The overcast makes it even darker. So, until it lightens up a bit, I'll share this photo from last May when we spent an afternoon in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Pleasure boats anchored in Plymouth harbor, May 2012.

This is the harbor at Plymouth. The day was a Saturday and the weather was spectacular. Lots of people were out enjoying the warm sunshine, including us. We were on our way to Boston for our flight back to France after two weeks in the USA and Canada.

Between a rock and a lunch place

On Saturday morning, we packed up the car and headed out of Hyannis. The hotel guy had told us that if we got to the bridge before eleven a.m., we'd have no problems with traffic. He was right. Because we had time, we took the scenic route through Falmouth, dipping down through the southwestern part of the cape before heading back to the bridge.

Crazy Eddie's on Town Wharf, Plymouth Harbor.

Our first errand on our way back to Boston was to stop at an L.L. Bean outlet store in Wareham. We found it pretty easily in a large shopping center and spent about a half-hour shopping. Ken and I both found some nice shirts for good prices. Then we had to stuff them into our luggage. Yes, that was us you saw unpacking and repacking the parking lot.

Tails of the Sea. Get it? I think these might be whale-watching boats.

Our second errand was to find a place for lunch. We headed to Plymouth, back up on the coast on the way to Boston. I'm sure I've been there, but I only have a vague memory of it. We made our way to the waterfront very near the famous rock, then drove northward. It was lunch time and we were ready. Ken found a parking spot near a large pier that is home to a large bar and grill called Crazy Eddie's. The car was parked and we were hungry; this was the place.

The Mayflower II. It's bigger than I thought it would be, much larger than Henry Hudson's Half Moon.

We both enjoyed a huge servings of fish and chips. Delicious. The view from our table out over the water was spectacular, as was the weather. Warm, dry, sunny. The restaurant filled up as we finished, then we headed out for a walk around town before the final drive up to the airport. It was all very pleasant. We had a look at the Mayflower II, a replica of the famous ship that brought those religious fanatics out of England to the New World. Then we went to the Temple of the Rock to view, well, the Rock. It's a rock.

Yup. It's a rock. Apparently the original rock was removed and chipped apart over the years. This is all that's left.

A quick stroll through town took us back to the car and we headed to Boston and our overnight flight home to France. What an amazing two weeks we had. Thanks for sticking with me through two months of vacation photos. If nothing else, these blog entries will serve as a record of our trip and help jog our memories in our dotage.

Good-bye to Provincetown

Our few hours at the tip of Cape Cod came to an end. It was nice to see the place I've read so much about and I'd like to go back one day. But there's already too much on my "one day" list. I guess you can't do it all.

I don't know who they are, but they're in my picture.

The drive back to Hyannis was uneventful and I probably slept most of the way. Ken drove. I woke up just as we were getting close to our turn, but we missed it anyway and had to double back. We opened up the bottle of wine we bought and had a glass or two before bed. Well, not a glass; a plastic hotel cup.

The next morning we would drive up to Boston for our evening flight home, but we had a few stops to make along the way first.

When the moon hits your eye

Our dinner in Provincetown turned out to be... pizza. With all the choices, all the seafood, all the fancy, we went with something simple and comfortable. I think pizza is my favorite food group. I will always eat pizza. And when Ken says, "why don't we just get a pizza," I'm there.

This way to pizza.

Even with the decision of pizza made, we still had to choose among the three or four places we saw that served it. The winner was a place called John Dough's. They had outdoor seating on a deck one level above the main street and we liked the menu. Individual pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven. And a nice selection of wines by the glass.

The outdoor dining deck at John Dough's as we were leaving. It wasn't crowded.

As the sun set, one of the waitresses attempted to light the heat lamp near our table. She teetered on a chair and had several "whooosh!" moments with the propane before giving up and calling someone else. He lit the thing on the first try; obviously an expert. The food was good and we enjoyed the atmosphere. And then we headed back to the car.

We all scream

I'll bet this place in Provincetown on Cape Cod is getting a workout this week. We didn't stop in; I took the photo through the front door when no one was looking.

A Provincetown ice cream shop.

You're sure to fall in love...

...with old Cape Cod. All right, enough with the song lyrics. I still have a few photos of Provincetown I'd like to share. It looks nothing like this right now, I'm sure, since this is the Fourth of July week. I'll bet it's packed to the rafters with happy vacationers.

An old stone or concrete sign reassembled on the beach.

The big event going on this week in France is the Tour de France bicycle race, which started on Saturday. School vacations also just started this weekend, so many people are on the road getting to where they'll spend their holiday. Wimbledon tennis is nearing its finals weekend across the channel.

Colorful kayaks piled up (upside down), ready for the summer onslaught.

Preparations are certainly being made for France's national day, le quatorze julliet (Bastille Day on July 14). I'm sure our little town will be having its annual fireworks display down on the river. The annual Snail Festival, which is basically a big flea market with food and entertainment, will take place on the 22nd. If the weather is good, we might wander down for a quick walk-through.

The entrance to a restaurant, club, or boutique on Commercial Street.

So, the summer season is officially under way on both sides of the Atlantic. I'm hoping the weather cooperates and we have two good months of sunny days and (relatively) warm temperatures. The vegetable garden will like that.

If you like the taste of a lobster stew

Having dinner was our ultimate goal in Provincetown that Friday night. But when it came right down to it, we decided that we didn't want to have a big meal that would make us sleepy; we had an hour and a half drive to get back to our hotel afterward.

This place was very tempting, but we didn't end up eating here. Maybe next time.

Still, there are so many tempting places up and down Commercial Street. We had some recommendations from friends who had visited before, including the Lobster Pot in the photo above. As we strolled around, we looked in windows, glanced at menus, and kept getting hungrier.

Quaint little villages here and there

Here are some images of Commercial Street, the main street, in Provincetown. These aren't the greatest shots, but they are the only wider shots I took during our short walk that evening.

Provincetown's Pilgrim Monument rises high above the center of town (left).

The people we saw on the street were obviously enjoying the almost balmy weather. Remember, this was mid-May and a Friday evening. I'm sure folks were happy to be able to stroll around as if it were summer.

Most buildings along the central section of Commercial Street are shops, restaurants, or art galleries.

I don't know how I'd feel about being there in the height of summer, though. I'm sure there's a great energy, but I don't do well with large crowds, crawling traffic, lines for food, and the other trappings of a popular vacation spot. Especially one that's not far from a large city. People try to "get away from it all" but more often than not just end up bringing it all with them.

The sun goes down and the lights come on.

I suppose it's just the change of scenery that the vacationers are after, exchanging country air for city air, walking on a beach instead of a concrete wharf, leisurely enjoying an ice cream cone instead of choking down a fast-food lunch. Can't blame them for that.

If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air

We only spent a few hours in Provincetown, a fishing-village-turned-resort town on the tip of Cape Cod. It was Friday night, but it was also the week before Memorial Day, so while there were people out and about, the town was far from crowded. I know how crowded it can get; I've seen pictures.

A large pier in Cape Cod Bay at Provincetown. You can see the cape curling southward on the horizon.

We found a place to park the car about two blocks from Commercial Street and set out on foot. With our limited time we just walked up and down the street looking at all the shops and thinking about where to have dinner. At nearly every intersection there is a view toward the bay and at a couple points we went down to the beach for a closer look.

A pier that's seen better days, but still lovely.

The shops, galleries, and restaurants along Commercial Street are colorful and inviting. The weather was perfect and, as I said, there were people strolling everywhere but I never felt crowded, so taking pictures was fun and not frustrating. The sun started to set and Ken and I were getting hungry.

We felt welcome and right at home in Provincetown.

Another fine bugaboo

We left Albany on Friday morning and headed east toward Cape Cod. We had made reservations at a hotel in Hyannis and planned on driving up to Provincetown that evening for dinner. Neither of us had been to P-town before. Just outside of Boston, somewhere along I-495 near Milford, we stopped for a quick lunch. Not knowing where we were, we looked for shopping centers alongside the interstate exits where we were likely to find a collection of national chains to choose from.

The Highland Lighthouse in Truro, Massachusetts, on the Atlantic side of the Cape.

It didn't take long for us to find a restaurant that looked promising, although we'd never heard of it before. It was called the Bugaboo Creek Steak House. This one corner of a shopping plaza, right there in the heart of New England, was done up to resemble a mining lodge from the Canadian Rockies. It looked as though Walt Disney himself had directed the design. We were greeted outside by a huge carved wood statue of a moose. Inside, an imposing rock fireplace commanded the center of the dining room. The stuffed heads of such northern critters as bison, deer, and caribou hung here and there on the walls among all manner of north country memorabilia. The chandeliers were made to look like they were crafted from antlers. Snowshoes dangled from the rafters. I think I remember seeing a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Mountie) uniform and the characteristic hat somewhere.

Ken's photo of the steak house. There's Mr. Moose on the left.

The food choices were pretty much what you'd expect in a rugged Rockies-themed steak house: Classic Steaks! Big Mountain Burgers! Summit Sides! Mountain Outfitters' Specials! I suppose even the most dyed-in-the-deck-shoes New Englander needs a change from his near constant diet of lobster and scrod now and again. Ken and I resisted the larger meals (although the Moosebreath Burger was tempting) and we both ordered something called a Lodge Chicken Salad. The salads came garnished with the grilled breast of a free-range Canadian Snowbird Chicken (I hope it's not an endangered species). It turned out to be mighty tasty, eh?

Ken's photo of the interior. Yes, that's a stuffed raccoon on the left. Appetizing. See the bison's head on the wall?

After lunch we looked forward to the short drive out to the Cape. As it was a Friday afternoon and the weather was beautiful, there were a few other people looking forward to the same thing. And all of us chose the same moment to converge on the two bridges that cross the man-made canal that separates the mainland from the cape itself. There we sat. And sat. And crawled a little. But mostly sat. For about an hour. The bridge we had chosen was down to a single lane because of construction. The other was backed up just as bad handling the overflow.

But we made it. We got checked into the hotel (the staff were very friendly and helpful) and headed up the cape to Provincetown, about ninety minutes away, for dinner.

What a sendoff!

On our last night in Albany, Ken and I were treated to a terrific evening with our hosts, Lorraine & Lou and their friends and neighbors Tina & Joe. If I remember correctly (wow, it's been well over a month now), we started out with nibbles and wine while Lou got his barbeque grill fired up.

Left to right: Tina, Joe, Lorraine, and Lou.

Lou cut up a gorgeous tenderloin of beef and grilled it to perfection. Ken, Joe, and I watched the master at work (but I took no photos, d'oh!). We enjoyed steaks, wonderful kale, an amazing salad, and other tasty dishes with some local New York and some California wines. It was a fantastic evening and a great way to end our stay.

At one point, Tina grabbed my camera and took a few shots.

Lorraine made place settings for the party. In keeping with the wedding theme, she printed out a photo of each of us and attached them to little tuxedo stands. After a little wine, I lined them all up for a group portrait.

You see? It was a formal dinner.

We had a fun-filled visit and are grateful to have such wonderful friends welcome us so warmly into their home.

The south front

Here's a gratuitous shot of the south facade of the state capitol in Albany. This is the side that faces the Empire State Plaza. I liked how the group of school kids walking by is dwarfed by the architecture.

The reflecting pool where that fountain is becomes an ice skating rink in winter. Click to capitolize.

Part of the effect is the result of using my camera's telephoto lens from the southern end of the plaza, I think. The larger white building on the left is the Legislative Office Building where New Yorkers can visit their state senators and assembly members.

Isengard

Otherwise known as the shorter of Albany's two towers: The Alfred E. Smith State Office Building. I posted a few of photos of the exterior of this building in 2009 here. When I was a kid I thought that this was the Empire State Building. Ha!

The Smith Building viewed from the south along Swan Street.

The Smith Building was completed in 1928 in the Art Deco style of architecture. Its thirty-four floors top out at 388 feet making it the second tallest building in the city. There used to be an outdoor observation deck on the 31st floor. Well, there still is, but it's been closed since the Corning Tower observation deck opened. And that's a shame because, as I mentioned, the Corning deck doesn't offer 360º views as the Smith deck did.

A glimpse of the Smith Building between two of the Plaza's agency buildings.

One of the distinguishing features of the building, and one that I did not photograph, is the engraving of the name of each of New York State's counties on an exterior frieze that runs around the building above the first floor. I always thought that was cool; it was fun to look for particular county names. Well, it was for me.

Erastus Corning Tower

I've mentioned Albany's Corning Tower a few times, so I thought I'd do a little post about it. The tower is the primary office building in Albany's Empire State Plaza, an office and cultural complex designed in the Modernist style. Completed in 1966, nearly ten years before work ended on the larger complex, the building was known simply as the Tower Building.

Looking up from the base of Corning Tower with a telephoto lens.

In 1983, the tower was dedicated to Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd, who died that year. Corning was mayor of Albany for forty years. His great grandfather, Erastus Corning I, founded the New York Central Railroad (he was a big railroad mogul) and the town of Corning, New York, home of the famous glass manufacturer.

Corning Tower seen from across the Hudson River.

The building has forty-four floors, with an observation deck on the forty-second. I think the two floors above the observation deck are machine rooms and don't contain any offices. The rest of the building serves as offices for two state departments: Health and General Services.

It's not what you think; he's reading a newspaper. At the base of the tower on the plaza level.

Corning Tower has the distinction of being the tallest building in the state of New York, outside of New York City. I also read that it's the tallest building between New York City and Cleveland, Ohio, although I wonder about that one. In any case, it's certainly the tallest building in Albany and it dominates the skyline.

Weather instruments, communications antennae, and traffic cameras are installed on the roof.

The tower sits prominently on the eastern edge of the plaza. Behind it, four identical (to each other) twenty-three story towers (creatively named Agency Buildings 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively) mimic the taller tower's shape. They are all clad in white Vermont marble and glass. You can see all five towers in this shot from earlier in this series.

The base of the tower (just to the left of center) sits on a six-story platform, the roof of which is the exterior plaza that connects all the buildings. Inside the platform are parking garages, machine rooms, offices, a convention hall, and an interior pedestrian concourse.

I never worked in Corning Tower, but my first job as a state employee was as a clerk for the state's Insurance Department on the seventh floor of Agency Building 1. I loved working in the plaza; in fact I chose that first job because of the location. I had been offered jobs at other state agencies, but they weren't in spiffy downtown office buildings and that's where I wanted to work.

Inside the observation deck, view looking north.

Albany on the Hudson

Did you know that Albany is a port town? Henry Hudson sailed up the river to this point in 1609. He found out that it's as far as you can go up river in an ocean-going vessel. To this day, ocean-going ships still make the trip up to Albany's port to unload and load and return south.

The Port of Albany on the Hudson River. View looking south toward New York City (150 miles away).

Albany was the point at which lumber, harvested from forests in the state's interior, was processed for shipment to points south (primarily New York City). Back in the early nineteenth century, the Erie Canal was dug, the first locks of which begin at Albany, to open up the west and the Great Lakes region to barge traffic. The railroads came quickly after and relegated the canal to mostly leisure traffic.

Port activity. Such as it is.

The Hudson experiences significant tidal effects as far north as Troy (just north of Albany). The Mahican Indians called the river muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, the river that flows two ways. If you watch at the right time, you can actually see the tide moving up river.

When I was a kid, the river was seriously polluted. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with it. A huge freeway was built between downtown and the river, over the old railroad tracks and the old lumber district, cutting the city off from the foul waters.

These days, the river is very much cleaner thanks to decades of environmental legislation and cleanup efforts, not to mention the decline of industry in the river's valley. I remember the Hudson being brown; these days it's a beautiful blue color. It's too bad that freeway still blocks access to the waterfront. Although, in the 1990s, the city built a pedestrian bridge over the freeway to reconnect downtown to a newly created riverfront park. That's better than nothing, I suppose.

Townhouses

We're getting toward the end of our trip photos. I keep asking myself. "Self," I say, "how many more pictures of Albany can your readers stand?" After all, I live in France and my blog is ostensibly about my life in France. But part of my life in France is a trip home now and then, isn't it?

Townhouses in the historic district along lower Clinton Avenue. Clinton as in DeWitt Clinton, 6th Governor of New York.

I took these pictures from up in the observation deck of the Corning Tower, the tallest building in Albany at 44 floors (589 feet, 180 meters). Not all that tall, but still. The old neighborhoods downtown have withered a bit over the years. Suburbanization and white flight took many people away, leaving the old townhouses to the poor and mostly black population.

These well-maintained townhouses face the capitol and include the headquarters of the New York State Bar Association.

A lot of the building stock is gone, but enough of it remains. Many of the old townhouses, especially those closest to the capitol, have been renovated. Some have been converted into offices, others into nice residences. Most are doing duty, as they always have, as homes to the people who live downtown. I'm struck by how green the city looks in these pictures.

The church on the lower right is Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church. The big church on the upper left is St. Joseph's.

So I offer you a few views of townhouses. I have a bunch more photographs to share from downtown. After those, I have some photos of our evening in Provincetown, Massachusetts, followed by a few shots from Plymouth in the same state. That was the last day of our trip before coming home to France.

Back in Albany

We got back to Albany on Monday afternoon and spent the next few days seeing family and doing some last minute errands. My new glasses came in so I went in for the fitting. Some other paperwork got done, and we shopped a bit more.

My cousin Mark's painting, with the wine bar in the basements of the yellow & green buildings.

And that's a self-portrait of the artist pushing a dolly of wine cases.

In addition to seeing my mom and three of my aunts, we spent an evening having drinks with one of my cousins and his wife. They're the ones who came to Paris on their honeymoon last year, and he's the one who painted this scene (above), which is now hanging in my house.

And here's the actual scene, from a slightly different angle.

Ken and I met up with Mark and Julie at a wine bar downtown which just happens to be in Mark's painting. I couldn't resist taking a real-life shot of the scene the next day. It was great fun to see them again!