Water Taxi

I don't know much about all of the routes they run, but I see a lot of New York Water Taxis out there these days. I can vouch for the fact that it's a fun way to get out to the Ikea in Brooklyn and they go many other places too. They are surprisingly nice inside. I'd recommend a ride in one someday!

Man and a Mural

This is a mural I saw recently in Brooklyn. I have no idea who created it, but I liked the vibrant colors and interesting subjects. There's some interesting art out there on the streets. Hope you have a goood week!

Big Baby

Before going to the Mermaid Parade we visited the New York Acquarium on the boardwalk in Coney Island. I'd never been before. This guy was in an exhibit called "Brooklyn's Biggest Baby." I'm not sure if this was the baby or the father actually. He loved all the attention he was getting though. Enjoy your weekend.

Mermaids

Okay, one last photo from the Mermaid Parade. I was going to move on to something different, but since Olivier asked about the Mermaids in his comment yesterday, I thought I'd humor him. I wasn't sure about posting a Mermaid photo, since many of them were rather scantily clad. But they were all posing for lots of pics, so I'm sure they don't mind. Most of the Mermaids in the parade dressed this way. I guess that's why it is so popular!

Last Mermaid shot

And finally, here is a photo of this year's "King Neptune" from the Mermaid parade, the actor Harvey Keitel. Harvey Keitel grew up in nearby Brighton Beach in Brooklyn and was in the films Taxi Driver, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, among many others. I believe that's his wife with him. It was a fun parade!

Metro card bridge

This guy was marching in the Mermaid parade wearing a Brooklyn Bridge on his head made completely out of metro cards. (Metro cards are used to pay for subway rides.) There was also a woman with an Empire State Building and a few other creations. They were really neat! They were also handing out various things made out of the cards like necklackes and shoes. It was a good way to recycle the used cards!

Mermaid Parade

I went to the Mermaid Parade on Saturday. The Mermaid Parade is an annual tradition along the ocean at Coney Island and is quite fun. Everyone had a great time despite the downpours during the parade. These participants were showing a circus theme because Ringling Brothers now has a circus at Coney Island. I'll show you a few more pics this week.

Water

Since it's been such a rainy week, here's a wet photo to end the week. I hope you have a great weekend and lovely weather wherever you are. See you Monday!

Hudson

Two people enjoying a quiet scene along the Hudson River in Riverside Park recently. The park runs along the west side of Manhattan and is an oasis from the bustle of the city. It's popular with bikers and with walkers alike.

Green Building

This building gives a new meaning to the term green building. I don't know how it started, but it is covered in vines and greenery. I wonder what it must look like from the inside? I've always been interested in this building and how it got that way.

Apple Bank

Yes, I'm running out of photos again (too many rainy days in a row!) so I'm showing some ordinary things. I do think this bank is pretty cool though, and brings us back to a time when you went to a teller instead of a bank machine. This is the Apple Savings Bank on West 73rd Street and Broadway. The top of this landmarked building was turned into very expensive apartments a few years ago and the bottom still remains a bank. You aren't allowed to take pictures, so I had to quickly sneak this one!

Caverns of NY

I thought I hadn't showed a typical "city" shot in a while, so here today is a photo I snapped the other day when I was walking on 34th Street. Nothing much interesting to say about this one, I just liked the hustle and bustle which says New York to me. Enjoy your week!

Long Island City photo 2

Let's hope we'll have another sunny weekend. This was taken on the pier in Long Island City Queens, looking towards Manhattan last Sunday. I think it has rained every day since then. But hopefully another nice weekend for photo-taking coming up!

Roses

This is a shot taken from the waterfront in Long Island City Queens, which is a very nice place to take a stroll. We're looking out at the East River and in the background you can see the Chrysler building (the pointy building on the left and the United Nations on the right - rectangular building.) The roses were just past their peak and smelled so lovely!

Park looking south

This is the park I mentioned earlier this week just south of the George Washington Bridge. Here we are looking south along the Hudson River and this is probably around 170th Street in Manhattan. The little tiny buildings along the left side are Manhattan receding in the background. It looks so tiny from this viewpoint!

Another view

Just to prove that the lighthouse actually is red, here's another vantage point today. As Jay pointed out in his comment yesterday this is the Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse, which was decomissioned and was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was the subject of the children's book called "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge" by Hildegarde Swift and Lynd Ward, which was first published in the 1940s.

Little Red Lighthouse

A while back I showed a photo of the George Washington Bridge with the little red lighthouse underneath. In that photo the lighthouse looked like a tiny speck. Here's a perspective taken from underneath the bridge, where you can get a better view of it. I was there for the first time this weekend and there is a beautiful park there, which affords some great views of the Hudson river.

Red tailed hawk

Continuing on the animal theme of yesterday, here is a red-tailed hawk that I saw recently in Riverside Park. I wouldn't even have noticed her, except for the big crowd of people below the tree taking pictures and looking through their binoculars. I guess the hawks are getting more common in New York these days. This one had a nest with babies inside and the father was there too, though he was camera shy. Enjoy your weekend!

Boardwalk Dog

Isn't he cute! This dog was enjoying walking along the Boardwalk at Coney Island last weekend. At least I think he was enjoying it. This was one of those cases where the dog really seemed to look like his owner, though you can't tell in the picture! I wonder if he's a bulldog. Anyway, he looks so sweet.

Parachute Jump

This is a picture of one of the former rides at Coney Island called the Parachute Jump. I don't think it's been used for some time but it still a famous structure from the park. It was originally built for the World's Fair in 1939 in Queens but was later moved to Coney Island. It would be fun to parachute down from there. Have a good day!

Nathan's Famous

Feel like a hot dog? This is the site of Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, which has been on this site in Coney Island since 1916. Of course things must have looked much different back then. Now it's known for the annual hot dog eating contest on the Fourth of July. I think the record is something like 66 hot dogs at one sitting. I think 2 would be a lot for me!

Coney Island Beach

I did a race this past weekend that ended at Coney Island in Brooklyn. It was a fun place to spend some time! The Coney Island beach was looking rather uncrowded since it is early in the season. The fate of the amusement park at Coney Island seems to be in limbo as developers decide what to do with it. I'll be sorry to see it change much. But the beach is still a nice place to catch some sun and spend some time near the water.