Rhododendron garden, memorials and tribute

- The Hamilton Rhododendron Gardens in Hiawassee, Georgia. Planted along a mile-long pine bark trail on the shore of Lake Chatuge, more than 3,000 plants are in bloom from early April to late May.

- It sounds easy enough to get to, but the garden is relatively hidden at the top of a multi-tiered parking lot of a music and event park. I discovered it a few years ago and use those paths as a good place to get my walks in when I am staying at my sister's vacation home nearby.

- The garden is home to numerous memorial benches like this one - so touching to think of this couple walking together in the afterlife.

- The Bonnie Day Quiet Area leads to the little covered pavilion pictured below.

- A quiet place to reflect and think about what this Monday day off represents. As I was leaving town today, I noticed that all of the neighbors in the little mountain village - all of them - had an American flag displayed at their homes.

- The American Legion in Hayesville, North Carolina has this lovely tribute every Memorial Day to its fallen soldiers - so many for such a tiny village.

Saturday in the park, a good walk and more

Lots of photos today of last Saturday and Sunday in New York. Thanks for indulging me and looking at all these photos. :)

- Saturday in Central Park. Lots of (attempts at) sunning and street hockey that day.

- Not to mention music!

- And festively adorned horses...

- The United Nations addition building in progress (partially hidden) with no flags flying today in front since the UN was not in session. My niece's husband works within the UN and tells me that the flags are hung in alphabetical order when flying. The Turkish flag is hung right next to the United States flag.

- Out walking on Sunday. A book I read as a Young Adult (a while back, that) talked about the lions in front of the New York Public Library. A proud one there.

- Beautiful Bryant Park where they used to hold Fashion Week events (now held at Lincoln Center.)

- A bit of media frenzy - not a good thing, but still an interesting part of our walk. We heard on the news that there was a collective cheer at 6pm in Times Square when there was no Rapture. :)

- Guess who used to live on this street???

- I can just imagine her on the steps of one of these brownstones, saying "The calla lilies are in bloom again..." I loved that film of hers, "Stage Door." :)

Thanks for taking this walk with me. As you can see - I loved my time in New York. Have a great weekend, y'all!

In the rain, Times Square and 15 seconds of fame

Friday, part II. Remember - you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

- So having been to the top of a building where captains of industry continue to do business, sister and I wandered into Times Square to have lunch and buy theater tickets. John's Pizza: oh yum. And the line for tickets - well, we stood in the rain, but it was all good. The young lady behind us was a citizen of France and the United States, but currently lives in Switzerland. So interesting. And we got our second choice of tickets to the Broadway show "Rain." Oh the irony.

- A blogger and her sister are displayed onscreen in this live shot of people in Times Square.

- This band was playing some jazz tune nearby - fun even in the rain. Later, we wandered off to our Broadway show "Rain" - featuring The Beatles. Lovely.

That show makes you feel as if you are in the middle of a Beatles concert. The "Beatles" perform the songs and there are screens off to the side that show the fans that appeared in audiences of The Ed Sullivan Show and other live concerts of the 1960s. They intersperse it with screen shots of people in the current audience of "Rain." And yours truly made it onto the screen - mouthing the words to "Let it Be." There will be an answer - let it be...

Looking up, beckoning and urban jungle

So much happened on Friday, that it will be divided into two posts. Remember - you can click on the photos to enlarge and see more detail. Friday, part 1:

- On Friday, we gamely slogged through some rain to go to the top of the Empire State Building. I've always had a thing for this building, beginning with a favorite film, "An Affair to Remember." I thought about Deborah Kerr running across the street toward it, "looking up", as I carefully watched traffic signals. According to David Letterman: "Traffic signals in New York are just rough guidelines." It would seem so!

- The Statue of Liberty beckoning in the harbor. There was no wait to get up to the top (maybe because of the rain) - although that took awhile. A guard wanted to know where I am from - I guess my accent gave me away. :) Standing there - I thought of another favorite film, "Sleepless in Seattle" and the young actor who played Tom Hank's little boy looking through the viewfinder.

- The Brooklyn Bridge is up to the left. Something I read in the map I purchased seems to be true: "We are told that Manhattan is an island, but we experience it as a jungle. One can be here for weeks and never get near the water. Manhattan, you see, was built looking inward, with its back to the water."

New York, NY, beacon and other view

I'm back - with lots of pictures to weed through. I'll post some this week in chronological order, beginning with my arrival in New York City on Thursday night. Remember - you can click on the photos to enlarge and see more detail.

- The flight was delayed and so I was around 10pm getting into Manhattan on an unfamiliar shuttle. So having been dropped off in a spot in which I couldn't get my bearings, I asked for help. A very nice lady pointed me in the direction of East 43rd and 2nd Avenue. This familiar landmark was like a beacon lighting the way.

- The view from inside the apartment, where sister, niece and niece's very nice husband waited with dinner.

- The view from the other side of the apartment of Tudor City. I love that rooftop garden you can see there and have never seen anyone in it. It was lovely to sleep in a little on Friday morning and play with a very charming 16-month-old little girl who was sleeping when I got in the night before.

Freedom, Better World Books and personal note

- My book came in the mail from Better World Books - a great place to buy books inexpensively. I still advocate the library, but my (suburban) book club is reading this next and the wait list was too long. So this hardback book only cost $9 and shipping was free.

- A bar at the top of the web page has this wonderful message: Funds raised for literacy & libraries: $ 9,612,975.23.

- Most of all, though - I love the email that came with the personal message from my book (pictured above):

Hello Lynn,

(Your book asked to write you a personal note - it seemed unusual, but who are we to say no?)

Holy canasta! It's me... it's me! I can't believe it is actually me! You could have picked any of over 2 million books but you picked me! I've got to get packed! How is the weather where you live? Will I need a dust jacket? I can't believe I'm leaving Mishawaka, Indiana already - the friendly people, the Hummer plant, the Linebacker Lounge - so many memories. I don't have much time to say goodbye to everyone, but it's time to see the world!

I can't wait to meet you! You sound like such a well read person. Although, I have to say, it sure has taken you a while! I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but how would you like to spend five months sandwiched between Jane Eyre (drama queen) and Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (pyromaniac)? At least Jane was an upgrade from that stupid book on brewing beer. How many times did the ol' brewmaster have one too many and topple off our shelf at 2am?

I know the trip to meet you will be long and fraught with peril, but after the close calls I've had, I'm ready for anything (besides, some of my best friends are suspense novels). Just five months ago, I thought I was a goner. My owner was moving and couldn't take me with her. I was sure I was landfill bait until I ended up in a Better World Books book drive bin. Thanks to your socially conscious book shopping, I've found a new home. Even better, your book buying dollars are helping kids read from Brazil to Botswana.

See you soon -

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

This is the post that disappeared on Black Thursday last week. It never did come back - it must have been having a good time floating around the blogosphere. :) So I copied it from Google Reader. And speaking of good times: I am off on a trip to New York City for a long weekend. I'll be back posting next Tuesday and I hope you have a great weekend. I might see if I can get on a computer somewhere to check in on you before then. Cheers!

Not Tony, they did that and sides + dessert

- A fun theater evening with the Fun Girls at the "fabulous" Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Hint - we saw one of the shows pictured on my less-than-award-winning photo above. Extra hint - not Tony Bennett.

- Hair - the musical, was exciting, fun and involved lots of people with a lot of hair. I wondered at some point if the vague memory that they all shed their clothes during the play would still be true. Yes - they did that. Lots of giggling from the Fun Girls to my right. :) Love them.

- Dinner at the grand restaurant across the street prior to the show was pretty good, but next time I'll just skip the protein entree and just get the grilled asparagus, hand cut fries and the flourless chocolate cake with panna cotta and coffee ice cream. Yum.