NJ-NYC-LI-CT-Hudson

WARNING:

The following picture features stunts performed either by professionals or under the supervision of professionals. Accordingly, Paul Clare Web Design must insist that no one attempt to recreate or re-enact any stunt or activity performed in this picture.

(Stepladder warning label magnification courtesy of Photoshop)

Erie Canal on the way up, Champlain Canal on the way down. 6/20

New friends

Did you know that "Uncle Sam" was based on a real person? I didn't.

Sam Wilson was a Troy, NY meatpacker during the war of 1812, and his nickname was Uncle Sam. Sam won the contract to supply meat to the War Department for armies in NY and NJ. His meat is stamped U.S., and the workers joked that it meant "Uncle Sam".

The State Capitol of NY

A foggy day for foggy memories. Tom returns to the cottage he spent his summers in growing up.

Built in 1838, this is the only lighthouse on the Hudson that you can stay overnight in (it is now a B&B), and it is also the only one you can walk to over land.

Famous American painter Frederick Church's worked closely with architect Calvert Vaux for this estate modeled after a Moorish villa. The house itself was built from 1870 to 1872 based on hundreds of Church's own drawings.

The Culinary Institute of America ... What were you thinking, the real one is in Langley, VA!

Only one of two Hudson River lighthouses still under the supervision of the US Coast Guard, Esopus Meadows Lighthouse is suffering from years of neglect and indifference. Long abandoned as a navigational aid, the lighthouse has begun the fast paced sequence of decay and disintegration. Only recently has the lighthouse been shored and placed back into correct horizontal alignment.

This unique castle was built for the Bannerman family's purchase of 90 percent of the captured loot from the Spanish American war. The castle is now closed to the public.

View from the Hudson River

Paul, Michael, Jen and Kim

Gerry's longtime friends

The ever present rain finds Tom and Gerry near Tarrytown

Randall's Island, NY hosts the Cirque's latest production, Varekai (as seen on the TV show CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: FIRE WITHIN on the Bravo Channel)

Tom's Georgetown University roommate Willie and his wife Gail made for gracious hosts in Ivoryton, CT

A return visit to The Griswold Inn in Essex, CT. Tom and Gerry ate there on their Long Island Sound Honeymoon 16 years ago.

A charming dining room helps make this a Tom and Gerry 5 Star special

The Stepping Stone Lighthouse sits atop a rocky foundation, east of the Throggs Neck Bridge and off the tip of City Island, The Bronx. It warns boaters to stay clear of the mussel and clam encrusted reefs south of the light. Irish bargemen and stonemasons from the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx built the Second Empire style lighthouse with red brick and stone. The light was completed in 1878 and still guides the maritime community safely around the dangerous reefs, showing its green flashing light.

Information from www.lighthousemuseum.org

1 - There has to be a UN security resolution demanding a change - but only if the bulb can be proved to be burned out and not just in a state of flux.

2 - There should be an increase in the number and frequency of inspections to determine that the bulb is not just burned out, but a genuine threat to the world. There has to be a "smoking filament" or else the changing of the bulb would be considered unnecessary since it poses no threat to world stability, let alone in breach of said resolution by illuminating anything other than it's own space.

3 - There should be endless debate about the ramifications of bulb change. How do we know the next bulb will be a more cooperative bulb and illuminate our lives?

4 - France will in no way support a violent action in changing the bulb. There must be a peaceful solution to this bulb change; violent action is unacceptable.

5 - Without a broad coalition that supports bulb change, any action to change the bulb will be considered a breach of "spirit" of the UN resolution.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

with conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

with silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

- Emma Lazarus

Lovely day for a boat ride

The webmaster declines to make any sarcastic comments at this time, as his Aunt Alicia might not appreciate them. Actually a great picture of them with the Verrazano Bridge and a gorgeous sunset acting as the backdrop.

Gerry's brother Bob, and his wife Marvel, pose for another of the family album pictures this trip is generating

Old friends from Tom and Gerry's NJ Shore days

Upscale NJ marinas all come with strolling violinists, some are even named Ken

Joey, Monica, Ross, Rachel and Pheobe (Chandler is taking the picture).

Portrayed by Capt. John Hunter, Barbara Van Duyne, Ken and Linda Reitz, and Gerry Clare (Tom is, of course, taking the picture)

Actually their old condo and the site of their wedding in 1987

Where the girls raised hell before Tom made an honest woman out of Gerry

Long Beach Island, NJ

Not exactly Las Vegas, but the Boardwalk, the Beach and the Ocean make up for the lack of neon.

The NJ reunion tour begins with good friends from Plainfield, NJ

Did you know Cape May is The Nation's Oldest Seashore Resort? Restoration of Victorian homes was a major endeavor in the 1980's and 1990's.

Cape May, NJ is the southernmost point of The Garden State