Here are two program reminders of special interest to the group that just traveled to New York City with us....programs that should be enjoyable for all of us, as we enter into the 'holiday season'.
Tonight, on NBC, Al Roker (pictured below giving us the 'thumbs up', as we were watching him at his weather desk in NY) hosts the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center.
We saw the tree just after it was brought into NYC and put in the place where it will stand proud and beautiful during the holiday season. We were told it is the tallest tree ever to grace Rockefeller Plaza at a majestic 80 feet.
And there also was quite a story surrounding its discovery and selection.
Apparently, a neighbor sent photos of the tree in to the selection committee without telling the owners of the property the tree was on in Connecticut, I believe. When the committee member showed up to tell the man that the tree had been selected, the man had to tell him it wasn't his tree and they both went over to the neighbors to deliver them the surprise news and see what would happen next.
Long story short...the neighbors were flattered and came to the conclusion that the tree probably was close to the end of it's life and, therefore, said 'yes, you can have the tree for New York City and the rest of the world to enjoy'.
The second program note also involves our recently completed trip to the 'Big Apple'.
We were fortunate enough to enjoy the 'Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular' on the night when it was taped to be shown on NBC at a later date as a special to honor the famed hall and the Rockettes 75th Anniversary.
Well, that 'later date' is this weekend, as the one hour special will be shown on Saturday night, December 1st, on NBC. It was a spectacular show and one that I'm sure will really put you in the 'holiday spirit'.
Matt and Meredith from the Today Show were even there the evening we saw the show. After the show, I was able to get photographs of several members of our group with 3 of the 'stars' of the 'Spectacular'. I'll include a couple of the photos and a little story about them on my next travel-ography.com post.
(All above photos were taken on our trip...click on them to see a larger version.)
Happy Holidays !!!
Steve
We're back ! From our travel-ography.com adventure in New York City !
We maybe didn't make quite enough of an impact to change NYC from being called the 'Big Apple'....to the 'Big Potato' ....but we did show a lot of New Yorkers just how kind and generous....and fun!...a group from North Dakota can be.
Oh, and did I mention.....resilient ?
With Broadway theater shows on our mind, we landed at LaGuardia Airport at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.....only to find out that at 11:00 a.m. the stage workers were all going on strike, thus shutting down all of Broadway's productions until further notice.
Did we flinch.....yes. Did we fold.....heck no !
After mentally going over our options, I asked my cousin Sheila, who lives in Manhattan, and had spent much of the day with us showing us around her city, if she had any suggestions for an 'off-Broadway' show, since the news had only reported the strike to affect Broadway shows. She suggested a show she had personally seen three times, and at 1:00 a.m. Linda and I had located and purchased 12 very difficult to find scalper's tickets to the 'off-Broadway' play/musical called 'Altar Boyz'.
This little known 'gem' was terrific, blending a perfect mix of harmonious songs, with sidesplitting humor. It was an extremely well written, well produced production performed in an intimate little theater seating 360 very appreciative people.
Plus, it was only 5 blocks from our hotel. Just another of life's little situations where you can sometimes make lemonade when handed a lemon. Everyone on the trip was a very good sport about it and I think really enjoyed the show.
I'll share more of what turned out to be a fabulous trip on future travel-ography.com blog posts.
By the way, the photo of our group was taken by cousin Sheila, as we strolled through beautiful Central Park, just a couple of hours after landing in New York City.
As always, click on the photo to enlarge it, and click on the 'X' if you are reading this on email or on the 'back arrow' if reading this on our blog and you will be returned to the blog.
More later,
Steve
What a great turn out we had yesterday for our Duluth and the North Shore Drive Release Date Party.
Just about everyone who went with us on the trip stopped by the studio and enjoyed some coffee, cider and cookies (my mother-in-laws 'famous' chocolate chip cookies !), as well as some fellowship with their newly made friends from the trip.
It was great to see everyone and, especially gratifying to Linda and I, to see how much everyone enjoyed the photo albums, the coffee table books and the DVD video. After all, new friendships and lasting memories, in the form of photographs, is what travel-ography.com is all about!
One thing I noticed is that some of the folks were interested in some of the other travel-ography products from the trip that they didn't sign up for (ie: maybe they had chosen the book and now would like either the photo album or the video DVD, as well.
So, I thought I'd mention that these items would make great Christmas gifts from family or friends...and maybe, just maybe, you should drop some hints. We'd be glad to accommodate any orders of the images of our trip in any form (book, photo album, DVD, enlarged prints, calendars, etc.) and would do so in a timely fashion.
Just thought I'd mention this since these are very cool items and are being offered at very reasonable prices. Pictured below are some of the items.
Now it's off to New York City on another travel-ography.com experience! We'll share some of the highlights on this blog site when we return.
Steve
Celebrate with us this afternoon (Wednesday, Nov.7th) from 4:00 to 5:30 at Steve Larson Studio.
It's our Release Date Open House, as we deliver our Coffee Table Books, Photo Albums and Video DVD's to those who traveled with us to Duluth and the North Shore Drive in late September.
The premier showing of the DVD Video 'Duluth and the North Shore Drive' will take place at 4:30.
Coffee, cider and cookies will be served.....and All are Welcome !
Come see what travel-ography.com is all about.....we think you'll be amazed.
Steve and Linda
I'm outside the other day photographing a young man by his car for his senior pictures, when we hear this unmistakable honking sound and look to the sky.
There, in all of nature's glory, is a flock of geese apparently advertising for 'Nike'.
Speaking of advertising, there are some really catchy and comical commercials out right now. A few that I find particularly amusing include; one for Avis and Garmin GPS...where a guy driving his car is directed to 'turn right at the next intersection' by this soft, pleasant feminine voice. To which, after getting this 'longing' look on his face, he blurts out "I love you". There is a painful silence, where the driver has an almost chagrined look on his face. Suddenly the silence is broken when the female voice, once again, matter of factly, states something like 'In one mile take the I95 exit and head south'. To which the relieved male driver says, "You're right, let's just keep it professional." A very catchy advertisement in my opinion.
A more upbeat and highly visual commercial that I have to watch every time it comes on is the Arby's ad, where two lab scientists get exciting over an Arby's sandwich instead of an amazing display of Irish Riverdancing by a line of lab monkeys. Watching those monkeys dance absolutely amazes me every time. Just watch their faces and their feet. A scream.
Then there's the Sears battery commercial on the radio, where 'Positive' and 'Negative' are carrying on a conversation. Part of it finds 'Positive' saying "What a beautiful, brisk morning." with 'Negative' responding "It's so cold I'm freezing my 'bolts' off." I almost drove off the road I was laughing so hard. Reminded me of an old cheer we used to shout in high school...'Nuts and Bolts...Nuts and Bolts...We got Screwed !'
I better switch topics. Although humor is on my mind, as I'm watching 'Saturday Night Live' hosted tonight by my favorite news anchor Brian Williams. The show is excellent. I usually don't watch SNL because it's on pretty late but tonight I'm watching for two reasons. First, because we gain an hour tonight, as we leave daylight saving time....and second, because we're going to be on the 'Saturday Night Live' set next weekend, as our travel-ography.com group heads to New York City. It's pretty unreal just thinking about it.
Also, I'll be watching tomorrow's New York City Marathon, which will be on NBC at 2 p.m. The footage of the race should show a lot of the very spots we'll be walking next weekend. Wow ! Including the finish at Tavern on the Green in world famous Central Park...just two blocks from the hotel we are staying in!
A quick bit of info on the marathon. More than 38,000 runners are expected to try navigate their way over the 26.2 mile course, which winds through all five New York City boroughs and over five bridges, with more than two million spectators watching. Hopefully they are all finished by the time we get there.
A quick sight we'll see in the park that will actually look pretty familiar to us North Dakotans.
This skating rink is located in Central Park, again, just a couple blocks from where we are staying.
I'll end this blog post by steering you to another blog....the one our son, Rob, is authoring. Go to www.roamingrob.com and see the first picture Rob has been able to post from his adventure in Indonesia. The internet was not sufficient in Indonesia to get photographs on his blog, but now that he has moved to Malaysia...voila...our first picture we've seen of him in two months. We think he looks like a happy, and younger, version of Tom Hanks in the movie 'Castaway'.
Happy travels,
Steve
Eight days....and counting.
It always seems when you plan something exciting it seems so far off in the future. Then, suddenly, it's here. The future is now...or at least almost now, as our trip to New York City is only a week and a day away.
From the tranquil scenes in Central Park.....
.....to the undeniable rapid 'pulse of the city' culminating at Times Square.....
We plan on putting ourselves right in the middle of the action !
The last couple of times we've been to the 'Big Apple', I've seen this sign in the subway. And I can tell you, Gene Kelly couldn't have said it any better.
New York City....Here we come !
As a special bonus, we just received confirmation today that my cousin Sheila (an actual local, who lives in Manhattan !) will be joining us for part of our stay to make sure us North Dakotans 'fit in'. You'll love Sheila.
As always, click on any of the photos I have taken, and you can view them much larger. Then, simply hit the little 'x' (if you're reading this as an email message) or hit the 'back arrow' (if you are reading this on the travel-ography.com blog) to return to the message.
By the way, New York in November isn't all that is on our minds these days. In fact, the Duluth group will again take 'center stage' this coming Wednesday, Nov. 7th.
We're having an open house for about an hour at Steve Larson Studio to celebrate the release date of our Coffee Table Books, Photo Albums and Video DVD's from our recently completed adventure in Duluth and along the North Shore Drive.
The books, albums and video turned out fantastic and I'm sure all will agree that they make for some wonderful memories of our time together. After all, that's what travel-ography.com is all about!
The Release Date Open House is from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. this coming Wednesday, the 7th. The premier showing of the video, 'Duluth and the North Shore Drive' will be at 4:30.
The folks that traveled with us received special invitations, but everyone is welcome to stop by the studio on this special afternoon and see what travel-ography.com is all about. We'd love to see you there.
Steve and Linda
We were fortunate enough to enjoy the 'Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular' on the night when it was taped to be shown on NBC at a later date as a special to honor the famed hall and the Rockettes 75th Anniversary.
