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Tag: VV Western New York

Rando Bando En Route to Rochester


Summer, Going Off With a Bang

We rolled up into Rochester just in time for the spectacular fireworks shows downtown. Before July flies by too soon, stop and stand and watch its fireworks.


Lots of Vegan Food in Rochester, NY {Part 4}

Though many of these are repeats from previous visits, a second visit is a nice progression to developing reliability for cravings. Like the chocolate chip cookie from Balsam Bagels. Thick and just barely cooked like I like… And their breakfast bagel is also an easy pleaser There is not a Read more…


Back Underground
Abandoned Subway in Rochester, New York

We never get to stay in the tunnels very long before about-facing and calmly and determinedly walking back towards the light in unison, peering at each other in our peripheral vision. You see, some guy lives in the tunnels and he starts yelling things if your flashlight gets too close Read more…


Portrait Day at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
Rochester, New York

Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, NY has some lovely old sculptures on its grounds. It’s the perfect foreground for a muted overcast sky. I entered with a goal of portraiture. Many of these sad figures, in various and intense states of grief, avert their eyes but still are my most Read more…


Chimney Bluffs State Park
Wolcott, New York

A Great Lake is a powerful thing. Powerful enough to play about with the land at its will, as if it were some toy in its toy chest. The result, beautiful spires made by partial collapse, persistent peaks that battle honorably before tumbling to shore, tree trunk splayed like pick Read more…


Winter Came

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…


Rochester Outtakes

Rando Abando. The Finger Lakes from the sky A city covered in white. The tremendous Kodak campus. A creepy mess of old utilitarian buildings of bygone era. Baby Yoda vegan waffles, because I couldn’t resist. She slaved away on her plastic oven for this meal. More rando abando. This is Read more…


Lots of Vegan Food in Rochester, NY {Part 3}

I’m pretty motivated to uncover all the best vegan food in Rochester, New York. And my list continues to grow… well beyond the well known all-vegan eateries. On this most recent visit, I started with Hollycake House, a new all-vegan eatery and bakery. I got the California Bagel Breakfast Sandwich–Just Read more…


Lots of Vegan Food in Rochester, NY {Part 2}

I am slowly working my way to all of the eateries on my vegan Rochester list. So here’s my second run-down. πŸ˜‹ An old school diner with vegan options, as you likely know if you are a reader of my blog, is one of my favorite things to report on! Read more…


Abandoned Mount St. Mary’s Hospital
Niagara Falls, New York

Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Niagara Falls, New York has had a fascinating history that, for all intents and purposes, ended in 2003. The site was once Electro Magnetic Sanitarium, in operation from 1901-1906. This unique sanitarium provided treatment for those afflicted with chronic nervous and mental disorders. At the Read more…


Mount Hope Cemetery
Rochester, New York

So the day was perfect for graving… potent white sky, a chill in the air, some time to kill. So I headed to the first municipal cemetery in the United States. Rochester, New York’s Mount Hope Cemetery, established in 1838. With two quick visits, I haven’t even scratched the surface Read more…


The Current State of Jackson Sanatorium
Dansville, New York


Birthdaze 2021 πŸ₯³:
Lots of Vegan Food in Rochester, NY

Finally, all the vegan food from my Rochester trip! Starting at Balsam Bagels, which offers next level vegan options like more than 10 varieties of vegan cream cheese, Just Egg breakfast sandwiches with their house made coconut bacon, vegan bagel dogs and carrot lox, as well as vegan sweet treats. Read more…


Birthdaze 2021 πŸ₯³:
Long Exposure Photography
in the Abandoned Subway,
Rochester, NY

Another item on the things I want to do while in town for my Birthday list was doing long exposure in the abandoned tunnels of the old Rochester subway. But after watching a stranger walk into the darkness of the tunnels before setting up… and then hearing yelling within the Read more…


Birthdaze 2021 πŸ₯³:
Abandoned Brick Factory,
Rochester, NY

The goal was to get up on the roof of the brick factory I explored last time I was in Rochester… but half way up was just as good. With great city views, some hardcore machinery and impressive graffiti art, the prospect of going farther to tiptoe on a holy Read more…


Birthdaze 2021 πŸ₯³:
Pretty Rochester, NY {Pictorial}

Turning Point Park Durand Eastman Park & Beach


Letchworth State Park (Night)

And with the moonset the enormous blob of white light fell past the horizon at Letchworth State Park, leaving me great conditions to shoot the Milky Way, which seemed to originate from the park’s iconic steel bridge. But while the light was still bright (below), it illuminated the waters around Read more…


Letchworth State Park (Day)

The highly accoladed Letchworth State Park is one of New York’s gems. Though I knew I was more interested in spending time there after the sun and the moon set, given its darker sky but close proximity to Rochester, the daytime brought easy views of the park’s prominent features: waterfalls. Read more…


Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
Rochester, New York

It was a quest to find one of my favorite angel replicas at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York: The heartbreaking Angel of Grief. But there were plenty of other beautiful sculptures to admire and capture on the grounds. Many sculptures had very nice detailing. Look at this Read more…


Notes From Underground
Abandoned Subway in Rochester, New York

The Rochester Subway operated from 1927 to 1956, but now parts of it remain abandoned for easy exploration. To follow, some of my favorite shots from my brief visit. I plan to return with my tripod to capture some of the darker innards.


Cobbs Hill Reservoir Water Tanks
Rochester, New York

The abandoned water tanks are a training ground for graffiti artists in plain view for the curious. For scale… Ever-changing exhibits Color in every direction “I draw these bears so I don’t kill myself” Honoring the old skool nearer to the top Interpret as you will Inside Surreal views Nature Read more…


Abandoned Brick Factory 🧱 🧱
Rochester, New York

All in all, it was all just bricks in the wall… that were manufactured here.


Vegan Eats in Rochester, New York

Of course if I have to be on the road, I’m going to find vegan eats! Having some unfinished business in Buffalo, I made a strategic layover in Rochester, New York. Leaving Brooklyn after a long day of professional development but not before a long commute to pick up a Read more…


Forest Lawn Cemetery
in Buffalo, New York

Another cemetery on my list gets checked off during my stay in Buffalo–Forest Lawn Cemetery. I explored most of its 269 acres on a brisk fall morning. Here is what I saw. Aspiration. She is he reason for Forest Lawn being on my list. Ever since I saw her in Read more…


Abandoned Buffalo

Buffalo and Niagara Falls City are great places for urban exploration. Reminders of both cities’ hey days still linger just outside of the tourist centers. And for me, they’re a huge draw. These parts capture history powerfully, mark eras tainted by economic inequity and the harsh shifts of commerce. Here Read more…