Cool days in San Jose

We've had some cool nights and days in San Jose recently. Needless to say, little Irelan wanted to go outside so she was dressed appropriately. Check out her cold days outfit.

Quiet Christmas with family and friends

I had a quite Christmas at my sister-in-laws house with friend and family. My sister-in-law Lydia, brought her children. Below are some pictures taken at the party. One note, the Christmas tree was at least 16 feet high if not higher. I think they had to take a wall out to get it in the house.

Monkey PJs

Little Irelan received some new pj's from Shimaine and tried them out this past Sunday. She really liked them and if you ever get a chance, have Irelan do her monkey impression.
The last picture is just a "pretty baby".

A visit from Maddie

Last week Maddie came over to visit with Irelan. As luck would have it, I had my camera ready. So, here are a couple shots of them and then 1 shot of Irelan resting.

Beware - of the KittyKat - Groooowwwwlllll

Little Irelan Went as a KittyKat for Haloween. As usual, pictures are provided with commentary





The official KittyKat pose





Beware- KittyKat on the prowl



Puuuuuuuuurrrrrrr





Practicing to growl

Not so..Hot..Humid...Hazy

Well, the weather is finally starting to cooperate. It got a little cooler during the day. It was still muggy, but cooler.

Yesterday morning, Celena and I went to her college. Before getting there, we stopped by a sports restaurant/bar near her school and ordered breakfast. A lot of the Columbia students frequent this bar after school and, maybe, during school time. I took a guided tour of her school. The building and class rooms are very old style, lots of brick and wood. Reminds me of my grammar school days in Chicago, when I had to take a horse and buggy to school, just kidding, or am I.

Late in the afternoon we went to Chinatown and had dinner. We also took a walk through the streets to check out the merchandise that was on sale. Lots of merchants offering all kinds of deals on watches, jewelry, Cd's and handbags.

After Chinatown, we went back near her apartment to a sports bar to see, if by chance, they would have the Bears/Packers game. Initially, they had the world series on, but as the night progressed, I spotted 1, 2, a dozen and maybe more than 2 dozen Bear fans walk in and before long, the world series was off and the Bear game on. Very cool. It was a good night, the Bears beat the Packers.








Sports bar/restaurant near Columbia.


Sign says it all.

Teachers collage takes up the whole block plus some.

Saw this sign near the campus.

Yet, another shot of the subway.

Chinatown


Chinatown

Hot..Humid..Hazy..Part Deux

It is 5:00 in the morning, New York time, and my shirt is soaked. I just returned from outside getting a cup of coffee and a donut for breakfast. The laws of nature have no effect in NY. When it's dark outside, it's supposed to be cooler not frigen hot. Did I mention that it's crazy hot here in New York. My daughter and her roomies are great, they let me lounge around and sleep in their rooms with the air conditioning on. Plus allow me to take my usual nap or two.

Yesterday we went on the Brooklyn Bridge. The subway, number 6, actually runs near my daughters apartment and ends at the Brooklyn Bridge. The subway is about 1 block from her apartment. The great thing about the subways, besides being great for transportation, is that they are air conditioned. Pretty much any where I was planning on going, I made sure that there was a subway close by, to get some relief from the heat. My daughter purchased an all week subway and bus pass for me to use and use I did.

As usual, it was smoggy outside so I had to do a little touch up on my pictures just so they look half way decent.

Today, I think the plan is to go to my daughters college and check it out.



This is the subway where you wait for your train. Unfortunately, the subway station is not air-conditioned so consequently you perspire for a bit waiting for the train. Then, when the train arrives, it's like a cooler and your body goes into a euphoric shock. Then you start getting cold and can't wait to get off the subway. Is there no pleasing me at all?

Yesterday, when we went to the Brooklyn bridge, we had to share the bridge with hundreds of ladies who were doing the Avon breast cancer awareness walk. The bridge walkway is not very wide and half of it is allocated to bike riders. It was a challenge traversing across the bridge past the ladies

If you are driving from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the Brooklyn bridge, this is the sign that greets you as you enter Brooklyn.

Skyline of Manhattan from the Brooklyn bridge.

Some of the intricate cables connecting the bridge.


A shot of the Empire State building along the bridge.


A different shot of the Manhattan skyline.