September 19, 2023
When a camping spot in the coveted J-section at Hither Hills State Park opened up, I booked it for two nights knowing there wouldn’t be a better way to spend the evening on my visit back to the metro area of New York. And it would be a perfect location Read more…
June 24, 2023
Southdown Coffee in Glen Cove was the start of a day inside Long Island’s wonders. This cute coffee shop chain does things right. This is the Granita topped with dreamy coconut whip. Avocado Toast that was absolute perfection. The delicious Chickpea Salad Sandwich: Sourdough bread with arugula, alfalfa sprouts, roasted Read more…
February 3, 2022
Rochester Harbor Lighthouse is on the end of a long pier. In the whipping negative temperature windchills, we ventured to it as if on another more brutal planet, one that would help prepare me for the deep freeze of Fairbanks. There it is waiting… Along the way, the mouth of Read more…
November 27, 2021
I’m just going to put this here, because it was such a delight to exit Camp Hero to see the Montauk lighthouse all dressed up for the holidays. I had no idea that this happened and exclaimed to a nice man who was shutting the gate up from the holiday Read more…
June 14, 2021
For all intents and purposes, Summer is here. This I have declared since the season slips away so fast. Here is my trying to capture it at Nauset Lighthouse Beach on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. It’s the least I can do with my index finger. And yes, it is the Read more…
May 3, 2021
The glorious beauty of the Montauk shore, which looks upon a sparkling unending blue, is that it contains hoodoos,–rock formations etched into the bluffs. Here they are stretching from the grounds of Camp Hero State Park to Montauk Point State Park, a location I filed away in my brain for Read more…
September 28, 2020
I think I’d make a pretty good lighthouse keeper. In fact, on my bucket list: staying overnight at one and/or being a temporary keeper. Till then, enjoy these vivid shots of New Jersey’s East Point Lighthouse in Heislerville, New Jersey, which is not available for overnight stays. Built in 1849 Read more…
August 11, 2020
After a long day of exploring Long Island’s largest decaying state asylum, we headed to the Island’s end with hopes to catch some kind of meteor shower activity. The night was an exploration of light–first from the beautiful Montauk Lighthouse. But a haze of cloud cover thwarted our plans initially… Read more…
April 22, 2020
With the New Moon and the remnants of the Lyrids Meteor Shower playing out, I knew my ceiling was not going to cut it tonight. I headed to the darkest place that is sorta nearby, Montauk Point: The End of Long Island. A great destination of Earth Day. It was Read more…
October 1, 2019
I spent some time in Ontario, Canada on my trip to Buffalo because… it’s whole new country… well, a whole new Province in a whole new country! And the current USD to CAD exchange rate is a nice perk. With my reporting on 49 of the 50 United States, I Read more…
August 30, 2019
Day 18 would be my last adventure… the Assateague Island National Seashore, the barrier island shared by Virginia and Maryland where feral horse roam freely. Wild horses. If that is not enough, the beach is beautiful and washes up a slew of shells. I hit the shoreline early as the Read more…
August 19, 2019
Animals, Arts & Crafts, Beautiful Places Far Away, Bucket List, Eating Out, Nature, Photography, Wanderlust
Real quick: I photographed the gosh darned Milky Way 🌌 last night. I needed to say that first as it would not have happened if the earlier parts of the day played out differently. So the 2-hour traffic delay on the I-75, the extended shelling expedition at Bowman’s Beach, losing track Read more…
July 14, 2019
Sometimes I like to put stuff in front of a huge blue thing and take their picture. All of these pictures are hashtag: ThisSky. And tons of my favorite photographic subject matter. The wheels in the sky keep on turning. (Atlantic City & Wildwood, New Jersey) Run-down vintage neon porn Read more…
July 12, 2019
New Jersey often gets a bad rap. But it has so many wonderful places! And I just love to uncover and report on them. Plus, really great vegan options. So prepare yourself for tons of pictures on my pretty journey south to Atlantic City. Because Jersey deserves some cred. One Read more…
March 10, 2019
How have I never been to this place before?! Sandy Hook is part of Gateway, a National Recreation area that spans New York and New Jersey. I’ve explored the New York portions, Staten Island’s Fort Wadsworth, Jamaica Bay’s Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Dead Horse Beach in Queens, but I Read more…
August 23, 2018
The V.V. Manhattan tag count is pretty darn high on this here blog. And though I have been escaping into Manhattan since I was just a girl, there is always more to see. And though we’ve grown apart, I would spend a day with her, tucking our past away and welcoming Read more…
August 21, 2018
I have officially broken in my bike in Brooklyn… and Queens, thanks to the NYC Ferry. Though inclement weather has slowed up my official Queens and Bronx posts in the 5 Boroughs in 5 Days series, overcast clouds in Brooklyn are one of my new favorite things to photograph. And Read more…
May 30, 2017
Twenty years ago, after our closing shifts at Tower Records in Carle Place, my coworkers and I used to drive to the tip of Long Island, arriving at Montauk Point between 1 or 2 in the morning. We did this repeatedly, ceremoniously, as we inducted new recruits. Together, we’d clutch each other while walking the Read more…
February 24, 2017
Typically the weather during my mid-winter school break, the week of Presidents’ day, is poor. The usual snow chances have me avoiding travel and “hunkering down” at home in hibernation mode, perhaps planning Spring and Summer adventures. This year, however, had me stricken with early onset Spring fever. I needed to bust out Read more…
August 5, 2015
Travel tucks you into new environments, which facilitate different experiences. And experience is the basis of all learning, all growth. So, travel is enlightenment…. Luckily, there is no need to head to an ancient Buddhist temple to derive this wisdom. There is plenty of beauty, adventure, inspiration, oddity (and vegan eats) just a couple of hours away. Read more…
April 6, 2015
Almost time to head back east! So I started the day with a donut, a Pepples Donut. The Ferry Building has a market place with high-brow eats, and this Oakland-based all-vegan donut maker has a little outpost there. The selection was extensive. I choose the salted caramel (well-recommended) and skipped Read more…
June 28, 2011
Pleasure is your hairy host waking you up with a lick to the face… Pleasure is sangria in a quiet, New England yard in good company… (Thanks for human hosts Marsha & Ron!) Pleasure is being surrounded by water. Pleasure is a lonely lighthouse and not having to crop mingling Read more…