Jeanine and I arrived in Havana slightly before noon to warm if not sunny weather. Our first priority was exchanging US currency for CUCs (Cuban Convertible Pesos) as credit cards are not accepted and ATMs are unreliable and hard to locate. Next we hired a taxi to take us to our homestay at Casa la Familia in Centro Habana where we quickly settled in.  Our host family speaks no English and our Spanish is not much better making for challenging communication. Eager to get some exercise, we set out on foot for Habana Vieja (Old Havana) by way of the Malecon, a broad esplanade, roadway and seawall which stretches for 5 miles along the coast. The sea was extremely rough and waves were constantly crashing over the wall so we elected to walk on the other side of the road.

One is immediately struck by the contrasts which exist in Cuba. For every beautifully restored colonial era building you can find one on the verge of collapse.  For every shop lined, well maintained street you can find one that is literally strewn with rubble and abandoned buildings.

Two thing are consistent, however.  Everywhere you go you will see wonderful vintage automobiles and hear musicians playing infectious latin music in the streets, bars, cafes and restaurants.

We rested our weary feet during a late lunch in a nice cafe before continuing our tour. By the time we reached our homestay, rain was threatening so we decided to have dinner nearby. As luck would have it we were one block away from a very fine Swedish-Cuban fusion restaurant. After dinner we were so tired that neither the street noise or sorry condition of our mattress kept us from sleeping like babies.

Maya spent last night on campus at Northeastern University where I joined her this morning for Admitted Students Welcome Day.  Maya has been accepted into the College of Engineering Honors Program, a distinction offered to  only 15% of the admitted class. Construction of the school’s new state-of-the-art engineering building was just completed and it is quite beautiful.

A reception for the College of Engineering Honors students was held on the 17th floor of the Egan Research Center offering spectacular views of the Boston skyline.  Hard to tell with Maya but I believe Northeastern will be on her short list.

Growing up in Schenectady I would have never imagined it would one day have a casino. Walking distance from Union College, the Rivers Casino with a 7,000 person capacity opened last month.  I decided to pay it a visit as I began my journey back to Concord early this morning.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover a decidedly understated building overlooking the Mohawk River replacing an ugly industrial site.  An adjacent resort hotel and riverside condominiums are nearing completion and will transform the entire area into something infinitely more attractive than what stood there before.  I view gambling as a tax on the statistically impaired but think the casino and adjacent properties may help to revitalize the city which now appears to be on the rebound after years of decline.

I decided to follow the Mohawk River and then the Hudson before heading for Massachusetts, pausing anytime I spotted something of photographic interest. The Rexford Bridge, above, is in the process of being replaced. If you zoom in you can see that the new piers are already in place.  I suspect this scene will look significantly different the next time I visit. Below are the Cohoes Falls which I did not even know existed despite growing up less than 30 minutes from them.

The bridges below carry Interstate-87 traffic over the Mohawk. I have traversed them many times but never enjoyed this view.

s 

For the second time in as many years (March 6, 2015) I visited the New Croton Dam. This time as a waypoint on a 420 mile one-day road trip from Concord to Little Neck, NY and then on to Schenectady, NY.  Technically, it was more of a bus/delivery service than a road trip.  My mother asked if I could drive her back to her home from NYC. Her last trip on the bus did not go very well and she also wanted me to transport a few pieces of furniture back to her home. Croton-on-Hudson was not too far out of the way and I needed something to break up all the driving. During the second leg of the journey I used the time to quiz my mother about our family history.  I learned that my maternal grandfather remarried after divorcing from my grandmother and had 5 children with his second wife.  I only knew about one of them so this trip netted me several new step aunts and uncles.

By my estimation, I have bought and sold more than 30 cameras since I took up a serious interest in photography while studying at Stanford.  I currently own six (2 Canon, 3 Sony, and 1 Nikon), each serving a different application.  Today I had occasion to think back on the first camera I ever purchased. It was the film-based Konica FS1, distinguished as the first SLR to incorporate a built-in motor drive. It remained my only camera for almost 20 years until I switched to digital in 1999.

The entire eastern seaboard was pummeled by a powerful “nor’easter” yesterday.  The two feet of snow that was forecasted for our area missed us by about 30 miles as the blizzard veered inland when it reached Massachusetts.  Even still, we got more than our fair share before it turned into freezing rain.  I had the good sense to clear a major portion of the drive last night before the rain arrived. The ice-caked snow that remained this morning was impervious to our snowblower and after replacing two shear pins I decided to let the sun do its work before making another attempt.

With a blizzard raging outside today, I had time to process additional photos from our recent visit to New York City.  Caleb is a freshman at Tufts majoring in political science. Maya got to know him while on a school trip to Paris many years ago and they have been dating for the past 6 months. The parental units approve of him.  He is intelligent, charming, and kind to Maya. Neither Kyle nor Nicolai has threatened him with bodily harm suggesting he has cleared that all-important hurdle. We enjoyed getting to know him better on this trip.

The life-size dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History are nothing short of spectacular. I decided they warranted a post of their own. If a picture is worth a thousand words, these displays are worth a million. Life-like in every detail, they are true works of art.  Maya: Did you notice the otter?

Over the many visits I have made to Manhattan over my lifetime, I have never paused to enjoy Central Park. Jeanine and I braved the cold and wind to complete a 4 mile tour of the southern end of the park this morning after visiting with my mother and aunt and dropping off Maya and Caleb to rendezvous with a friend. The views from Belvedere Castle were impressive but not nearly as exciting to Jeanine as a visit to the Swedish Cottage, home to one of the last public marionette companies in the United States. Unfortunately, advanced reservations were required for the performance.

After a so-so lunch at Dean & DeLuca’s we visited the American Museum of Natural History, one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Founded in 1869, the Museum has advanced its mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe. I was drawn to the dinosaur displays while Jeanine preferred the furry mammals. Maya and Caleb caught up with us later in the day before we set out on our return journey to Boston.

The newly discovered 122-foot-long Titanosaur pictured below is arguably the most impressive fossil ever discovered and its 39-foot-long neck extends out the door of the Wallach Orientation Center into the next room. Discovered in 2012, this dinosaur is estimated to have weighed 70 tons and is thought to have been a juvenile. Hard to imagine how big momma and papa would have been.

My Aunt Maruja celebrated her 90th birthday today.  Jeanine, Maya, her boyfriend Caleb, and I traveled to New York City for the party which was held at the Douglaston Club in Little Neck, a block from her home. A complete set of photos from the evening can be found here. I can only hope to be as spry and sharp minded should I survive for another three decades.

Earlier in the day we visited the Fearless Girl Statue on Wall Street. I had hoped to photograph it in relationship to the Bull but the mob surrounding it made that impossible. Later we visited the Occulus and Eataly.

It is nice when we get enough snow to cover the grass and powder coat the trees but not enough to bring out the snowblower to clear the driveway. Today’s dusting is the warm-up act for a major winter storm we are expecting next week. Temperatures are expected to plummet this weekend to record lows making the anticipation of our trip to Cuba in 10 days that much more pronounced.

US citizens traveling to Cuba need a passport and “visa – tourist card” which must be obtained through the agency specified by your air carrier. The cost of the visa is $50 but the agency/airlines see fit to mark that up by 100% by way of service and delivery fees. Our tickets are with American Airlines which seems to have the highest markup of any of the airlines now flying to Cuba.

While parked at a grocery store, Jeanine’s car was sideswiped by a careless driver who left the scene without reporting the incident. The impact was localized to the driver’s side rear door. I took the car in for a repair estimate today which totaled $1740. I may try to buff out the black streak and pop the dents out myself given what seems to me like an insane bill for the amount of damage present.

My listings for photographic equipment and shop tools have been selling like hot cakes.  Today I turned my attention to antique furniture. Before moving to Concord, we lived in Indianapolis, IN in an old English Tudor mansion. Furnishing the 10,000 square foot home was a massive undertaking and during that time we accumulated a great number of antiques which worked well with the style of the house. As we look forward to downsizing, we simply have to part with at least half of our current furnishings. Craig’s List has not proven very effective for furniture so I may have to investigate alternatives.  The French powder table pictured above will be something of a trial balloon.

UPDATE: My mother expressed great interest in this powder table and it will be making its way to her home in Schenectady the next time we drive out. She has given us so many wonderful gifts over the years it is so nice to be able to reciprocate with something she truly covets.