songbird's crazy world

#skywatchfriday

There's a temporary exhibit at the museum about drones. Yes, drones. That's an anti-submarine helicopter drone, the Navy used them from 1963 until 2006. If this WW II radioplane factory worker looks familiar, she  is... Yes, that's Norma Jean Mortenson, later known as Marilyn Monroe. In 2013 Lady Gaga had an album release event, and she was flown in by drone: Amazon delivery by drone? The future: And some humor: And, of course, we went up to the flight deck. The Growler, a submarine: On the hanger deck, a ship's propeller: And we got this little toy when we filled out a customer survey.  It's squeezable, like a stress ball. Overall a fun evening.

Among the museum memberships that Drew enjoys is a membership at  The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum .  The USS Intrepid, a WWII aircraft carrier, is now a museum located at Pier 86, 46th Street and 12th Avenue, on the West Side of Manhattan. We visited the museum in 2015    and again last year . This year we attended a "members only" evening. After the museum is closed for the day, members are invited to view exhibits, participate in tours, etc. This time around, my attention wandered to The Intrepid's current neighbor: That's the Insignia, a small cruise ship  -- capacity 684 passengers.  I believe she's sailing to New England, Canada and Bermuda these days. And then we went aboard the Intrepid. The tour Drew really wanted to do: . Yes, we got to go inside, see the passenger compartment: And the cockpit: Can you imagine flying in this thing?  The signatures in the cockpit ar...

Well, it's officially summer.  And to celebrate the season, Drew and I went to dinner at  Joe's Crabshack .  We're not food snobs, we enjoy chain restaurants.  We do go to local seafood places, too.  But we like the beach bar/party vibe at Joe's, and the steamer buckets ... yummy. So the Empire Pass turned out out to be a good investment.  I've already used it three times, and it's not even July yet. The "break even" point is 7 visits, and I think I'll get my money's worth. Yesterday I spent some time at Sunken Meadow, it's so different on a summer Sunday.  Very crowded, lots of families.  But I still managed to get a walk done. Becca posted a whole bunch of pictures on Facebook and Instagram, enjoying herself with friends at various locations in NYC.   Her summer is off to a great start. Jen starts her summer job today, she's a camp counselor.  She's part of the team that handles the rock wall and zip line.  She's got p...

It's a brand new park, just opened.  A small neighborhood park.  About 8 acres. There is a playground. A basketball court. Tennis anyone? And what they call "passive parkland", just grassy areas and gravel pathways where you can walk. A nice park, to be sure, but nothing special, nothing blogworthy... Unless you realize that this used to be Meyer's Farm. When I was a child, my dad would take us to Meyer's Farm every October.  It was a "pick your own" pumpkin farm.  We'd pick out a few  pumpkins, then take them home, paint them, and display them on the front porch for Halloween. By the time Jen and Becca went to Meyers, they  had added pony rides, hay rides and a bounce house. We were sad when the farm closed, but there are other farms in the area... tThere was talk that the farmland would become a housing development, or maybe an office building. The "passive parkland" was once a pumpkin field.  And ...

Just got back from a swim in the community pool.  Drew gets a pass to the pool every year.  He's not much of a swimmer, but he knows I love it. I learned to swim when I was a child.  My dad, a teacher, earned extra money in the summertime at a day camp, and my sisters and I attended the camp.  Campers went swimming twice a day -- one period of swimming instruction, and one period of free swim. After my dad stopped working at the camp, my parents decided to put a pool in the back yard -- an in-ground pool, complete with filter, heater, diving board ... hours of summer fun, pool parties... But pools are expensive, and require a lot of labor.  the last time we opened the pool for the season was 2011.  My father got sick in 2012, and we never opened the pool that summer.  Or the summer after that.  Or the one after that. I joined the JCC this year, and I have access to their indoor pool.  It's great. But it's not the same as swimming outs...

The famed Water Tower at Jones Beach. It can mean only one thing:  another glorious afternoon on the boardwalk. I love to watch the changing cloud formations: Hey, aren't you guys supposed to be up in the sky? Well, that's a little better: And even closer: Now you've got it! #skywatchfriday