A visit to upstate New York and Vermont – Crossing Lake Champlain

On the way to Fort Ticonderoga, we drove up the Vermont side of Lake Champlain. Of course, this meant that we had to cross Lake Champlain to get to the fort, which is on the New York Side. To do so we took the Ticonderoga Ferry, which describes itself as follows:

The Ticonderoga Ferry provides historic, scenic seven-minute daytime crossings on Lake Champlain between Ticonderoga, New York and Shoreham, Vermont. Connecting the Lake George and Adirondack regions of New York, with the Middlebury and central Green Mountain areas of Vermont. We are located at 4831 VT Rte 74 just off of NY Rte 22 in Ticonderoga, New York and off of VT Rte 22A via VT Rte 73 in Orwell or VT Rte 74 in Shoreham, Vermont.

The ride was quite pretty, but short and a little slow (important to me because I needed to relieve myself). Although I wasn’t focusing too well, I recall that it was also rather expensive. On the way back from the fort we decided to take a different route that didn’t involve taking ferries.



Taken with a Sony RX10 IV

An Ice Cream Van

I used to see lots of these when I was growing up in England. They played music, and when we heard them coming, we would rush in to our parents to get money to buy something.

I don’t recall seeing many of them nowadays, possibly because there are no children in the immediate vicinity, and there are no convenient places to stop.

I had the opportunity to speak to Mr. Angamarca. He was happy to chat for a while, and for me to take his picture. But he did insist that I show his telephone number. So there it is in the third picture: 929-306-9555



Taken with a Kodak Easyshare 880.

In New York City with Jasmine – In Chinatown

My feet were no longer hurting (much). I wasn’t thirsty, but I was starting to get hungry. Luckily Jasmine appeared with a couple of her friends. We had a drink (or in my case another drink) and after a while one of her friends left. We went to Chinatown with the other friend (who I’ve known since she was about 14 and at the International School in Geneva with Jasmine).

The chosen venue was Dim Sum Go Go. You can see the sign behind me in the fifth picture. There we met Jasmine’s friend’s two sons.

Lin Ze Xu. According to Wikipedia (which has a lot of additional) information:

Lin Zexu (30 August 1785 – 22 November 1850), courtesy name Yuanfu, was a Chinese political philosopher and politician. He was a head of state (Viceroy), Governor General, scholar-official, and under the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing dynasty best known for his role in the First Opium War of 1839–42. He was from Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Lin’s forceful opposition to the opium trade was a primary catalyst for the First Opium War. He is praised for his constant position on the “moral high ground” in his fight, but he is also blamed for a rigid approach which failed to account for the domestic and international complexities of the problem. The emperor endorsed the hardline policies and anti-drugs movement advocated by Lin, but placed all responsibility for the resulting disastrous Opium War onto Lin.




Picture courtesy of Jasmine.



And that was about it for this particular trip. The next morning, we had breakfast, and after that I went back to Grand Central Terminal and took my train home.

Taken with a Sony RX10 IV

In New York City with Jasmine – Around The Frederick

Jasmine had a few things to do so I walked around for a while taking pictures in the area around the Frederick Hotel. I saw the picture above from the window of my room at the Frederick (See: In New York City with Jasmine – Our next hotel, The Frederick) and had to go down and take a closer look.


Strange vehicle


Woman in a pocket park


The David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building. According to Wikipedia (which has a lot more information):

The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building (originally the Municipal Building and later known as the Manhattan Municipal Building) is a 40-story, 580-foot (180 m) building at 1 Centre Street, east of Chambers Street, in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The structure was built to accommodate increased governmental space demands after the 1898 consolidation of the city’s five boroughs. Construction began in 1909 and continued through 1914 at a total cost of $12 million (equivalent to $269,713,000 in 2023).

Designed by McKim, Mead & White, the Manhattan Municipal Building was among the last buildings erected as part of the City Beautiful movement in New York. Its architectural style has been characterized as Roman Imperial, Italian Renaissance, French Renaissance, or Beaux-Arts. The Municipal Building is one of the largest governmental buildings in the world, with about 1 million square feet (93,000 m2) of office space. The base incorporates a subway station, while the top includes the gilded Civic Fame statue.

The Municipal Building was erected after three previous competitions to build a single municipal building for New York City’s government had failed. In 1907, the city’s Commissioner of Bridges held a competition to design the building in conjunction with a subway and trolley terminal at the Brooklyn Bridge, of which McKim, Mead & White’s plan was selected. The first offices in the Municipal Building were occupied by 1913. In later years, it received several renovations, including elevator replacements in the 1930s and restorations in the mid-1970s and the late 1980s. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building a landmark in 1966, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In October 2015, the building was renamed after David N. Dinkins, New York City’s first African-American mayor.


The David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building (foreground) and the World Trade Center Building (background)


New York County Supreme Courthouse. According to Wikipedia (which has more information):

The New York State Supreme Court Building, originally known as the New York County Courthouse, is located at 60 Centre Street on Foley Square in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It houses the Civil and Appellate Terms of the New York State Supreme Court for the state’s First Judicial District, which is coextensive with Manhattan, as well as the offices of the New York County Clerk.

The granite-faced hexagonal building was designed by Guy Lowell of Boston in classical Roman style and was built between 1913 and 1927, completion having been delayed by World War I. It replaced the former New York County Courthouse on Chambers Street, popularly known as the Tweed Courthouse. Both the interior and exterior are New York City Landmarks: the exterior was designated on February 1, 1966 and the interior on March 24, 1981.

“Saint Andrew Roman Catholic Church. The Church of St. Andrew is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 20 Cardinal Hayes Place, Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1842. The present building was erected in 1939 through a joint effort involving Maginnis & Walsh and Robert J. Reiley in the Georgian Revival architectural style.

In August 2015 St. Andrew’s parish merged with that of Our Lady of Victory on William Street to form the Parish of Our Lady of Victory and St. Andrew. In 2020(?), St. Andrew’s Church was closed to the public when the Sisters of Life were given the building. In 2023, both parishes were merged with St. Peter’s Church at 22 Barclay Street.

St. Andrew’s parish was founded by Rev. Andrew Byrne. Local Catholics had purchased the old Universalist Church, known as Carroll Hall, which then Bishop John Hughes dedicated on March 19, 1842. In 1844, Byrne was named the first bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock. In 1858 extensive street improvements carried away so much of the old structure that it was found necessary to purchase the adjoining lot. According to Remigius Lafort, George Washington once dwelt in a house on this site. The remodeled St. Andrew’s was dedicated October 20, 1861.

On February 25, 1875, during a Lenten service at which about 1200 worshippers were assembled, the building next to the church suddenly collapsed. As a result, the roof of Saint Andrew’s caved in on those gathered, killing five and injuring at least 29.

Father Luke Evers initiated the “Printers’ Mass”, held at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. An adaptation approved by Pope Leo XIII, this allowed Catholic workers at nearby Printing House Square, where The Sun, The New York Telegram, The New York Times, and the New York World newspapers were then published, to fulfill their Sunday obligation by stopping by on their way home after the Saturday night press runs. The “Printers Mass” also drew railway workers, postal employees, policemen, firefighters, brewery and saloon workers. The practice soon spread to other cities. This tradition continued for more than 50 years, and the church became known as “The Printers’ Church. Some six years later a similar accommodation would be made for the theatrical community with the establishment of the “Actors’ Chapel” at St. Malachy’s.

Evers was also chaplain at The Tombs.

In 1892, the address listed was on Duane Street at the corner of City Hall Place (now Cardinal Hayes Place).[6] The present building was erected in 1939 through a joint effort involving the famous Boston firm Maginnis & Walsh and Robert J. Reiley of New York. It is one of the best examples of the Georgian Revival architectural style in New York. St. Andrew is the only New York City church to be designed by Maginnis & Walsh. The church was erected near the site of the infamous Five Points slum. The selection of the site for the church was near where Cardinal Hayes was born.

The church is located near New York City Hall and 1 Police Plaza, along with several other courthouses such as the New York County Courthouse and Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse. Above the entrance to the church, an inscription in Latin reads “Beati qvi ambvlant in lege Domini,” which means “Blessed are they who walk in the law of the Lord.” (Adapted from Wikipedia)

Taken with a Sony RX100M3

In New York City with Jasmine – 9/11 Museum

In an earlier post I mentioned that I’d visisted the 9/11 memorial back in October 2013. At that time the museum wasn’t yet open and so this was the first time I would see it.

According to Sowing Seeds of Faith:

Also on the site is the newly opened, National September 11 Memorial Museum which has become the central location for preserving the history of the tragedy. Located in the space between the North and South Towers, the museum is designed to help you relive what happened that day but also chronicles the stories of the survivors as they and the city rebuild.

As you walk through the halls, you hear stories about the victims, recordings from 911 calls, interviews with survivors. You view dozens of media images and even touch objects found near the site. There is the Ladder Company 3 Fire Truck smashed by chunks of debris. There is the Giant Cross made of two steel beams tha stood at “Ground Zero.” There are sections of the original walls and even a damaged elevator motor.

One hall is called “102 Minutes: Events of the Day” that helps you relive moment by moment what happened during the 102 minutes between the impact of the first plane into the North Tower to the crash of the fourth plane in Pennsylvania. There is the “Tribute Walk” that presents many of the artistic tributes created in response to 9/11.

One my favorite exhibits displayed a beautiful motorcycle named the “Dream Bike.” According to the description… “Firefighter Gerard Baptiste purchased a battered Honda motorcycle. Baptiste believed that he could restore it to good working order. His fellow firefighters joked that it would take time and money just to start the engine. Following Baptiste’s death on 9/11, the broken-down motorcycle remained at the firehouse until a memorial tribute inspired Baptiste’s colleagues to restore the bike in his memory. Surviving members of the firehouse and motorcycle enthusiasts nationwide, transformed the motorcycle into a “bike of healing’ known as the Dream Bike. Ten roses painted on the cover of its gas tank symbolize the members of Ladder Company 9 and Engine Company 33 killed that day.”

Near the end of your museum tour, you are invited to watch a multi-screen 360 surround film experience appropriately named “Rebirth at Ground Zero” which uses time lapse footage and interviews to show the rebuilding and renewal of the World Trade Center site. Upon leaving the museum you can’t help but notice the newly built World Trade Center towering above the memorial and the museum grounds.

I came to “Ground Zero” to pay my respects but I left the 9/11 Memorial and Museum with a sense of awe and pride at the resilience and fortitude of the survivors, New York City and America. 9/11 will always be a tragic day burned into our memory forever but September 11 may ultimately be one of America’s greatest examples of triumph in the face of tragedy; accomplishment in the midst of destruction.

Two pictures above: The World Trade Center Tridents. According to the World Trade Center Website:

These seven-story steel structures were part of the original façade of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, once forming the distinctive Gothic arch motif at the base of the skyscrapers. The forked columns are so large that the Museum Pavilion’s structure will be built around them. The steel icons were recovered from the World Trade Center site during the recovery effort in 2001 and 2002. The Port Authority has worked to conserve the steel columns and other historic World Trade Center artifacts at JFK International Airport’s Hangar 17.

‚The ‘tridents’ are visual references to the towers that once stood at the World Trade Center,? Chairman Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said. ‚Installed within the Museum, they will symbolize our resolve to overcome the devastation of 9/11 and signal a hopeful future as they greet visitors to the site.?


Above a scale model of The Sphere which once stood in the World Trade Center complex. As the only piece of iconic artwork to survive the 9/11 attacks, it became a symbol of strength, survival and resilience and reflected “the tenacious spirit of all those affected,”. Like the United States after the fateful event, the Sphere emerged “very bruised, much broken, but not defeated.” On March 11, 2002, the Sphere was erected in Battery Park as the first official memorial to the victims of 9/11 in New York City. The Port Authority voted in 2016 to return it to World Trade Center site.

The next two pictures show the World Trade Center’s foundations.



The two pictures below show The Last Column. It stands in the center of the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s Foundation Hall, is covered in thousands of markings and tributes placed on the beam by workers and family members. The story of how and why the markings began to appear links back to one fireman’s personal and practical act. For more information see Story Behind the Last Column’s First Markings




To the right of the stairs in the picture below you can just make out the Survivor’s Staircase. According to Wikipedia:

View of the Memorial Hall. The Survivors’ Staircase is a granite and concrete staircase that was the last visible remaining original structure above ground level at the World Trade Center site. It was originally an outdoor flight of stairs and two escalators, which connected Vesey Street to the World Trade Center’s Austin J. Tobin Plaza. During the September 11 attacks, the stairs were an escape route for hundreds of evacuees from 5 World Trade Center, a 9-floor building adjacent to the Twin Towers. The staircase was moved from its original location in 2008, and in 2010 it became part of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.


Below another view of the Memorial Hall featuring a quote from Virgil:

In the vast space known as Memorial Hall, first glimpsed from the overlook, you will again encounter the quote from the poet Virgil, presented in letters about fifteen inches tall, forged by blacksmith Tom Joyce in steel recovered from the World Trade Centre Site. Virgil’s words read “No day shall erase you from the memory of time. ” A sea of blue surrounds the quote: 2983 individual paper watercolours in different shades of blue pay tribute to the people killed on 9/11 and in the 1993 bombing. Artist Spencer Finch created this exhibition titled “Trying to remember the color of the sky on that September morning” especially for this space in the museum.


Below A 10,000-pound elevator motor that shuttled hundreds of people a day at the original World Trade Center. The exhibit also tells the story of John Menville, who arrived at the World Trade Center in 1969 to install the elevators and stayed for 32 years to maintain them. For more on this story see: Elevator Motor that Helped Save Thousands for 9/11 Museum.


Below: New York City, Ladder 3. For more information see: The tragic & symbolic wreck of Ladder 3 – victim of 9/11

Below motorcycles associated with the World Trade Center including (final picture) “The Dream Bike”



Below The Dream Bike. For more see: Black History: “The Dream Bike”

All things considered it was a very interesting, if sobering experience. Part of me wanted to browse around some more. Another part just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Taken with a Sony RX100M3