September 26-27, 2009

Out to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania for the Bloomsburg Fair . . .

September 26, 2009

Drove past the Meadowlands Sports Complex on an accident-related detour and saw Giants Stadium one last time:

Because of the detour, we couldn’t figure out how to get to Tick Tock Diner in Clifton so we tried a new one, the Versailles Diner on Route 46 in Fairfield.

The Pine Brook Motor Lodge in Pine Brook, New Jersey on the way to Interstate 80:

The Bloomsburg Fair:

Didn’t notice the hilariously snippy comments in the flower arrangement competition in the Horticulture Hall the last time we went to the fair:

We of course overindulged in pit beef and pierogies:

And then there’s the livestock:

And poultry and rabbits:

And an exhaustive Russ Berrie Figurine collection in the Arts and Crafts Hall:

Slept at the Pine Barn Inn in Danville.

September 27, 2009

For breakfast, ate a Cheesesteak Omelette at the New Bloomsburg Diner (mmm):

Drove through Catawissa on our way to Knoebels Amusement Park in Elysburg:

Rode on The Phoenix and Twister roller coasters, two wood-frame thrill rides at Knoebels:

Here’s what The Phoenix is like:

Rode on the Skyway up to the top of one of the hills in the valley there:

Bought pumpkins at Richard’s Scattered Acres Farm Market just down the road from Knoebels:

Drove through Mt. Carmel on our way to Centralia to see the Underground Mine Fire steaming at the surface of the abandoned town:

Ate fantastic pumpkin soft serve at May’s Drive In in Ashland, Pennsylvania:

Made it to the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton, New Jersey on the way home for dinner:

Arizona, September 16-20, 2009

September 16, 2009

Ate at a couple of new places — America’s Taco Shop in Central Phoenix (named for its proprietor and not necessarily the country), Cyclo Vietnamese Cuisine in Chandler, Angel Sweet Gelato in Chandler and got drinks at SideBar in Central Phoenix.

September 17, 2009

A trip out of Phoenix to Jerome and Prescott via Black Canyon City and the Black Canyon Greyhound Park, which was a dog track and not a dog rack:

Then the World’s Largest Kokopelli in Camp Verde:

Through Cottonwood, then up the hill to Jerome, the old mining town that was resurrected as a tourist destination. The Main Street is quaint, its Upper Park is a nice vantage point from which to take in the scene and there is surprisingly good wine to taste at the Caduceus Cellars Tasting Room, founded by the lead singer of Tool (no kidding!). You can also try the Caduceus wines at the Jerome Grand Hotel‘s restaurant, which has really nice views of the Verde Valley:

We returned to Phoenix via Prescott, stopping by Whiskey Row across from Courthouse Plaza and getting a drink at one of its older saloons:

There are a lot of old motels on Gurley Street as you’re heading out of town and the road through Prescott Valley illustrates the sprawl still happening in the exurban Southwest:

Back in Phoenix we ate a late dinner at Hanny’s in Downtown Phoenix. A cool example of a repurposed space downtown, Hanny’s the department store closed in the 1980s and fortunately was never gobbled up by real estate speculators:

September 18, 2009

Ate at Gallo Blanco in The Clarendon Hotel — again, nice to see Phoenix using/reusing old spaces instead of always tearing down and building up. The Clarendon Hotel has a bust of journalist Don Bolles in the lobby. A quirky Phoenix historical footnote, Bolles was murdered by a car bomb in 1976 while investigating organized crime in Arizona. Kind of weird to think that that happened in Phoenix — you associate that kind of thing with other places — Chicago, New York, I guess Russia these days. But when you’re visiting, stop in at the Clarendon (it looks good now!) and check out the memorial to Bolles:

Christown Lanes is a bowling alley with a great 1960s look:

Someday, maybe not any time soon, people will start to take a closer look at 1980s boom-style architecture like the Security Title Plaza building on Central Avenue:

I read that Circles Records & Tapes in Downtown Phoenix finally closed in December:

September 19, 2009

Photographing sunsets is a compulsive and addictive behavior:

Some remnants of Downtown Phoenix:

September 20, 2009

A Diamondbacks game at Chase Field:

September 8-14, 2009

I always liked the view from the rooftop parking garage at The Shoppes At Northern Boulevard, otherwise known as the place where there’s a Chuck E. Cheese on Northern Boulevard:

The Employees Must Wash Hands sign at the Forest Hills Trader Joe’s is funny, and a departure from the usual generic version:

St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan has been in the news a lot lately. The 60s facade of its 36 Seventh Avenue building is charming, for a hospital:

The whimsical birdhouse-type contraptions at McCarthy Square in the Village don’t look as if they’re Parks Department-approved, and that’s a good thing:

Another iteration of a Barneys ad on the side of the building next to the Tiles For America display in the West Village:

The Ace of Cakes guy was at the Beard House:

The Tribute in Light from a corner of Long Island City:

Maxwell’s in Hoboken:

On the way back from Hoboken, I noticed an ancient paint “ghost” under about 250 paint layers on the 7 train tracks in the 5th Avenue-Bryant Park subway station. It’s not there anymore (or it is, just under a new layer of paint):