Random stuff

'Tis been a while, and thus I thought to post again.
Happy holidays all; I hope they went well. I spent mine with Kathi (well, duuh), and her parents up in long island ("lawn geyeland"), with a 3 day stint up at their cabin in the catskills (really, and no, I didn't see Jackie Mason) doing wedding planning and making googly eyes at each other (with time out for creek stomping, which you'd think would not work so well in December. When it's 50 degrees out and the sky is BLUE!!!, you'd be wrong). Just an amazing week. The catskills are real mountains; not the rockies certainly, but for a midwestern boy they'll do just fine. At one point we took a side trip to Kingston, founded in 1688 (yes, as in 318 years ago), and some of the original stone houses are still standing (despite the British's best efforts to the contrary). Met Kathi's extended family, and survived, and they all like me. the karma wheel must be going round my (our) way.



So it's back to work, and grimy snow, and cold weather, and no ocean, and no waves, and a brown river, and so on. I'd be upset, but honestly things are going pretty well, so I'll be content with my lot.



BTW: driving around NYC makes driving around chicago look like a picnic. The whole islands and bridges thing, plus Robert Moses' penchant for curving parkways, makes the experience akin to a pinball game, and you're the pinball. Trust me; if you can avoid driving, take the train. (unless you're doing the scenic route; then by all means wander about.)



OK, now for some photos:














West Shokan Reservoir (provides the drinking water for NYC: the cabin is about 10 miles away)






Downtown Kingston






Old State House; 1676








Hoffman House, also circa 1676







Kime Avenue House;
This house is 3 blocks from Kathi's parents. I don't know how many lights and decorations there are on and around the house; to say there are 10's of thousands is an understatement. There are a handful of houses in the neighborhood who all do this, and in any other city they would be the star. Compared to this house they don't even measure up. To their credit, the owners take donations for the local children's hospital; according to the papers the annual donation is well over $20,000. The Southern State Parkway runs behind this house, so you can quite literally see it from the highway.

(more photos to follow when they are uploaded)
(and yes, these are not my photos, as evidenced by the fact that the trees aren't green in december)