Niagara Falls State Park!

July 9, 2021 / Ed Armstrong

Getting ready for the Maid of the Mist boat ride for a closeup view of the falls!

I had a wonderful time visiting Niagara Falls State Park. Years ago, I visited Niagara Falls from the Canadian side, but today was the first time to visit the American side. The highlight was the Maid of the Mist boat ride to the base of both the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls. I stood near the front of the boat and we were complete covered with water mist. It was a very fun experience!

This was our boat filled with excited people to see the waterfalls!

This is the left side of Horseshoe Falls! Note the size of the people to the left of the falls.

This is the right side of Horseshoe Falls! We can feel the rumble in the water!

Getting closer and feeling the force of the water and mist rising up around us!

This is the left side of the American Falls.

Everyone on the boat is focused on the water crashing in front of us.

We move in closer to the American Falls.

This is the observation tower to get a good view of the American Falls. Not the size of the people on top.

This is a view of the American Falls from the observation tower. The Horseshoe Falls are in the background on the right.

Finger Lakes Region of New York State (Canandaigua, New York)!

July 8, 2021 / Ed Armstrong

One of the highlights of this RV trip was to visit with extremely special friends Betty and Jim. I spent two winters with them when RVing in the Phoenix area several years ago. It was wonderful to see them and enjoy lunch together!

Now I know when so many people speak favorably about going to “up state New York.” It is an extremely beautiful area. It has a nice combination of rural areas and nearby major cities. I loved driving through the Adirondacks and seeing the finger lakes region. It would be very easy to spend the summer in such a nice location!

I love shopping in farm to market businesses! Great food and it is nice to talk to people growing the products.

I love blueberries on my morning oatmeal!

It is a rare treat for me to enjoy black raspberries!

The Canandaigua Lady provides cruises around Canandaigua Lake, one of the finger lakes.

I love to visit microbreweries and sample some of their products. They had several berry flavored beers that would quite good! Berlinerweiss was my favorite beer at Twisted Rail Brewing Company in Canandaigua.

I enjoy all the colorful flowers growing in the area.

Here is my nice camp site, complete with the pond and fountain providing soothing water sounds.

New York City!!

June 27, 2021 / Ed Armstrong

This charging bull is famous! Finally I was able to touch the bull in person! Go stock market go!!

A special attribute of America is the ease with which we can become part-owners of companies. Truly powerful and truly amazing wealth building in a capitalistic society.

I had a fantastic time in New York City! It has been years and years since I have visited. The 9/11 museum was not open the last time I was there.

I started my visit by seeing the Charging Bull and the New York Stock Exchange. I am so grateful that we live in a capitalistic society. Capitalism is not always pretty, but it sure beats the alternatives.

This cute statue has some controversy. My understanding is that she used to be placed in front of the Charging Bull. Now she stands in Front of the New York Stock Exchange. She seems defiant to me. She may benefit beginning to buy shares in a broad index of companies. Who am I to say? Just a suggestion.

I am not sure why I took this photo? Maybe because stocks do not always go up? Maybe because there can sometimes be ugly downsides to company ownership? During bad times, poop can fly everywhere and adversely impact many people.

The September 11th memorial museum is outstanding. It is very well done!

Next, I visited the 9/11 museum. This has always been a very tender time for me. My father died on September 4, 2011. We had his funeral the following weekend and then the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred right after the funeral. The combination of those two events has always been difficult for me.

Large sections of the memorial did not allow photography. This image shows the massive destruction with the collapse of the towers.

I liked the symmetry of the 9 and 11 in Roman numerals.

I really enjoyed walking through the 9/11 museum. The people who put the contents together really deserve high praise. It is very well done. It is respectful to all the people who died, and yet is it very factual describing what happened. I encourage everyone to see it. It brought back many memories.

A structure of the towers that is frequently recognized.

Outside, the are the “inverse” towers with the names of people who died during the attacks.

Next, I rode a ferry out to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I learned that both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are actually in New Jersey and not New York state.