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| Had a delicious seafood lunch at Chelsea Market, a giant indoor area with tons of restaurants and little grocery stores (viewed here from the High Line, a railroad track converted to a green area) |
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| Did I mention the fresh seafood? These were the largest prawns I've ever seen. |
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| We spent Saturday morning at the High Line, a former railroad track that's been converted to a park that is more than a mile long. |
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| Sharon had a sprained ankle so relaxed and read the New York Times while I walked the High Line path. |
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| The "man bun" was everywhere. |
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| So much building going on! Reminds me of the Austin skyline. |
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| Not surprisingly, the High Line ends at the rail yard. |
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| Flowers are everywhere on the High Line; condos and apartments line the walking path. |
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| Lots of community activities take place on the High Line |
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| Train track from the days when the High Line was a rail line and not a park. |
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| A kid taking a drink at a water fountain ( a la Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead"?) |
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| High Line people watching area. Besides shops and restaurants along the walking path, there are viewing stations where you can people watch through windows. |
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| The police station in Times Square does its part to compete with all the neon signs. |
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| Saw my first Broadway show: "Beautiful," the Carole King story. I was amazed at how much talent was on that stage! The cast members could dance, sing, act, and some could even play musical instruments, all very well! |
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| After the show, we headed to Brooklyn. First stop was in a little park with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the One World tower, also known as the Freedom Tower. |
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| One must have Brooklyn pizza when one goes to Brooklyn. In the mirror you can see Sharon and me, and another customer. We had left Austin on a 6:15 a.m. flight that day and didn't get back to our hotel until about 12:30 a.m. We slept well! |
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| Super heroes hanging out at the Staten Island ferry terminal |
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| There she is! |
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| View of lower Manhattan from the Staten Island ferry. |
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| Now I can't remember why this building is important, except that it's in the financial district |
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| Didn't see the Donald, but saw his building |
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| More street art |
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| Random art in the street: these guys were sculpting an eagle head out of sand |
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| We picked up lunch at a deli and sat on benches overlooking the Hudson River in Battery Park City, the lowest part of lower Manhattan |
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| Skating around cones |
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| Yachts (or just big boats?) in the harbor at Battery Park |
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| An Irish cottage was disassembled in Ireland and reassembled stone by stone for the monument to famine, which caused so many Irish to emigrate to America in the 1800s. |
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| Looking across the harbor at Battery Park: Lady Liberty is in the distance |
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This was Jade's response when I told her that Otis will visit during one of Otis's upcoming school holidays. The trains are waiting for you, Otis!
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I love the delicately fragrant moonflowers, that only bloom once, and at night
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And there's the magical transition time, just after dawn, when the moonflowers are closing and the morning glories are opening.
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Do you see the bee on the morning glory?
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| Look very closely. Here's a bee on a moonflower! |
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Here's the birthday girl. She turned 31 on September 10.
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Jim got to wear the birthday hat too. And Papa Tom made sure that Flat Stanley, being made of paper, avoided the candles.
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| At the state capitol, I saw the cowboy statue. Mia made it look like I'm wearing the cowboy's hat. |
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I'd like to ride a horse someday. And have boots and a hat.
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Gave my paper legs a workout by walking to the top of Mt. Bonnell. The view was worth it!
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My pet armadillo is going back to Asheville with me. He's so smart! He plays guitar. But what else would you expect from an armadillo from Austin, the Live Music Capital of the World? Still can't think of name for him. Any ideas?
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Finally got that cowboy hat and boots, and learned to say "yeehaw!" Should be back in Asheville by Thursday. I hope to go on more adventures soon!
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Mya sent her pal Flat Stanley for an adventure in Texas. Let F. Stanley tell you all about it: "Al, Joyce, Emma, Papa Tom, and Mia took me to the Via 313 food trailer on Rainey Street, where Emma tried to turn me into "Fat" Stanley with some delicious pizza."
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Mia offered me a "man"-icure, but I kept the tennis shoes on. No pink toenails for me!
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I got to see "Mission Impossible" at Alamo Drafthouse, by standing in the slot where patrons place their orders for food. Here, before the movie, I was fascinated by the short on skydivers plummeting from the tallest building in the world, located in Dubai, I think. Maybe I'll have my next adventure there!
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Mia took me out of town with her for a hearing. The hotel was being remodeled. I got to hang with some of the construction guys in the hallway.
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Wouldn't be Texas without cacti and cows. And wouldn't be Austin, Texas, without a cow covered in daisies.
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Just to prove I was in Austin.
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I as surprised to learn that the Texas state capitol dome is taller than the U.S. capitol dome. Yes, everything is bigger in Texas.
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The Horns came to Austin on Saturday, September 5, Joyce's birthday eve. We had dinner at Via 313 on Rainey Street. Flat Stanley came along on our adventure. Mya's teacher sent Flat Stanley to us. We're supposed to take him on adventures, photograph the action, and send him and the photos back to Mya.
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After dinner, we returned to our house for gelato and ice cream. Joyce got a birthday candle on her gelato.
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Lala (Anjanette's Mom, Laura Humphrey) and I attended Jade's back-to-school night. Her pre-K class has 13 girls and 4 boys!
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Jade drew a picture and said "I like to play horses at school."
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Jade showed Lala and me around the playground.
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She showed us how she crosses the monkey bars.
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