Back To Queens

Ellie on the way for her first trip to New York. There were thunderstorms, LaGuardia was closed for a while, and we spent an impatient hour in Richmond, Virginia. Got there just in time to hop in a taxi and go directly to the restaurant we had booked, Soleluna in Sunnyside. It was fabulous. Narrow storefront, superb, fresh Italian food and lovely people. A great NYC experience.

Queens Boulevard is the main thoroughfare of my old neighborhood. The convenience store next to the restaurant had a coin-operated kiddie ride. This stretch of the Number 7 line has graceful concrete arches, not the usual steel girders. Note the Empire Sate Building in the background of the last picture.   

Plan B Was Okay

Turns out there was some misunderstanding about yesterday morning's event. Clare's little airport has a fly-in/drive-in pancake breakfast around the forth of July. No plane rides but 75 to 100 single engine aircraft, mostly old and some just strange, stop in for a $7 breakfast of pancakes (as stated), cheesy potatoes, ham, eggs and coffee. People ate at picnic tables in a hangar. And everyone got complimentary treats from Cops & Donuts, more about which soon.

After breakfast we drove way up north to Traverse City, where the National Cherry Festival was in progress. I guess they grow 'em up there. It was packed. Nowhere to park close enough with a baby in a stroller. Visitors swarmed across the main road, oblivious to traffic and signals, at times reminding me of migrating herds of bison. So we drove straight out of town.

The alternate destination was Leland, Michigan, even farther north. It's a cute village that lives off summer tourism (it must be brutal in the winter). There is a nice sand beach along the northern reaches of Lake Michigan. Audrey got her Great Lakes baptism.             

Air Salvage

I've had airplanes on my mind this week (Bardarbunga, too). Didn't have anything to post today but I saw this while driving home from work - two scrapped light aircraft, strapped to a trailer and towed by a pickup truck. New to me! Hoping American Airlines has better equipment.

Shot with my iPhone from the driver's seat. Kids, don't try this at home. Remind your father not to do it, too.

Air Elvis

The Graceland complex contains Elvis' two airplanes, a big Convair 880 (Anyone remember that? I never flew in one.) and a smaller corporate plane, a Lockheed Jet Star. The larger one was named the Lisa Marie, after his daughter. It was used mainly on performance tours. The Lockheed is called the Hound Dog.

You can see some detail below. I doubt that lavatory on the Lisa Marie was genuine gold, but interpret the meaning if it is not. Even the sofas on the Lisa Marie have seat belts - federal regulation, of course. In the last picture, a security camera catches an intruder on the Hound Dog.

I want to do a bit about the city of Memphis itself before I return home. It was surprisingly pleasant. One on my favorite STL annual events is tomorrow and we'll get to that soon.                                        

On Angel's Wings

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From the Gypsy Caravan. One of the things I like about flea markets is the juxtaposition of random stuff on the sales tables. This one has a nice balance of winged creatures, colors and textures.

I'm going to a shoot today with the St. Louis Artist/Model/Photographer Co-op in a disused warehouse. Never been to one of their events before. Could be interesting. Could be pretty crazy.

Airports and Airplanes

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Sorry, this is sort of filler, but greetings from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. In an hour we board our flight to Delhi. By the time this post goes up Friday morning in the US we'll be over Russia or the Middle East or Something-astan or I don't know what. I've loved airports since I was a child.

When I was growing up in Queens, my friends and I would ride our bikes to La Guardia and JFK (Idlewild back them). There were observation decks on the terminal roofs. The international airport was my favorite. In the background of this picture you can see the livery of United, Swiss, Aer Lingus, Turkish, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. American, our regular airline, is up front.

AND A BIG HOWDY FROM DELHI! We just got to our hotel. Smooth flight, good service. So far, so good but my brain isn't completely screwed into the socket at the moment.

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