Essential Navigation

"...Ja!, Zee next cafe ezz dare!" Walking through Vienna requires making several refueling stops.

Tram Number Two

Mass Transit Hungarian style...the trams, buses and metros throughout central Europe were clean, efficient and user-friendly.

Sunny Szentendre

In Hungary's countryside the medieval town of Szentendre is a great place to spend an afternoon, enjoy some local cuisine (goulash is actually a soup!) and pick up a few souvenirs.

Reaching Out

A fun night shot that was hard to resist...these young people hanging out in Vienna made for a great candid moment!

Starboard View

Downstream look from River Adagio, moored outside of Budapest.

Defensive View

The castle high above Salzburg offers wonderful vistas of the city below. The canon placements surely must have given would be invaders good reason to reconsider their intentions. (view in large format)

Low Bridge

I took this shot just to illustrate a point. The water level of the Danube is critical to the river cruise industry and too much water is as large of a problem as being too shallow. Several bridges gave me cause to look overhead!

Bitringer

Late night fast food Viennese style....a hot dog is afterall, still a hot dog.

Ode To Labor Day

Stay in one spot long enough in the 20 some miles from Ocean Beach to Smith Point and you will see this person walking East or West on Fire Island. Most everyday, without fail. Years ago we dubbed him "The Walking Man" after the famous James Taylor song that relates to the passing of the season and into the winter. Soo...with Labor Day recently over my shoulder this just seemed appropriate:
Moving in silent desperation
Keeping an eye on the holy land
A hypothetical destination
Say, who is this walking man?

And the walking man walks
Dosen't know nothing at all
Any other man stops and talks
But the walking man walks on by

Vienna Lights

Plenty of eye candy after dark in old Vienna...

Old Prague Riverfront

The Vltava River's recreational opportunities are enjoyed by the residents of Old prague...

Canal Rides

Summer fun in prague continues...

Cesky Krumlov

The medieval village of Cesky Krumlov maintains it's ancient charm in the Czech countyside.

Chico Sighting

The "excellent adventure" continues with a stop along the journey at the Charles Bridge, Prague.

Vienna Opera House

Reward for carrying my tripod half way through Europe...No Phantom sightings but a beautiful night view. Click on the image for best view!

On the Danube

Our ship for the week, "River Adagio" at 148 feet in length was an ideal fisheye subject!

(Seen best in large view)

The Prague Castle

Europe's largest ancient castle is 600 yards long and 180 yards wide. St. Vitus Cathedral dominates the third courtyard of the complex and makes for a for a "must see" evening skyline in Prague.

River Adagio

Ship's Bell...The River Adagio was our very comfortable accomadations as we sailed along the Danube through Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.

City of Music

Click on this picture for the larger view of the rooftops of Saltzburg, Austria, Mozart's home town. You may also notice that those hills are alive with the sound of music as this entire area was the set of Julie Andrew's most famous movie.

Budapest Air Race

The Red Bull Air Race...Part of Hungary's celebration of their national holiday (Saint Stephan's Day) involved an air race with aircraft at some very low altitudes above the Danube. (Click on the image for large format)

Prague Evening

We have returned from our Central Europe sojurn with memory cards full of images and hearts full of memories. This particular memory is one of Prague after sunset....

Summer Adventure

Expanding our horizons for two weeks...will post to the blog when possible! :-)

Reason To Smile

At 7 months of age there are many joyous discoveries and Oliver Scott seems to enjoy them all!

Waves of Fun

Nephew Troy, during his July visit, handles the Fire island surf like a pro!

Carnival Ride

Just something about young people turning fear into excitement...and loving to scream about it. It's ageless, as is the profitability for those who recognize this phenomenon.

Marina Resident

Just "hanging out" on a lazy summer morning...

Classic Pennant

Still snapping proudly this Chris Craft pennant celebrates boating from an earlier era.

(best in large view)

Timeless Toys

The toys of July, ageless and universal.

Happy Baby

Oliver Scott at 7 months.....yet another proud grandpa photo!

Sail Home

...as seen through the fisheye!

Afternoon Breeze

A lazy afternoon, a light breeze and a downwind reach...perfect combination for a relaxing sail.

Shea Goodbye

The old and the new...Citifield takes shape just feet beyond Shea Stadium's iconic scoreboard. Only 31 home games remain for Shea!

Pirates!

The Pirates have been "making the rounds" this summer. This nefarious character was recently spotted on the south shore at a local festival...

Blustery Beach

A stong sea breeze brought on by high temperatures combined with off shore storm surge has made for some very rough surf the past several days. Still, the beach is about the best place to be during this heat wave!

Summer Swing

July on Long Island and the local street fairs are in full swing.

Downwind

On a recent sail the breeze dropped off to a whisper. The spinnaker caught just enough air to give us a pleasant downwind ride.

Muffy In Tow

Fisheye view of Muffy the dingy. As always, faithfully tagging along...

Craftmanship

Maintaining the orginal beauty of wooden boats is a labor of love. The bow of this classic sailboat caught my eye...

Classic Century

A 1964 Century runabout in pristine condition at the Antique Boat Show on Long Island's South Shore. Back in the day when it seemed like a good idea to make boats look like cars, helms were right out of the auto plant (many still had the Buick/Chevrolet logo). Note the dashboard and rear view mirror!

2008 Parker Rally

6th annual White Water Parker Rally..Sister ships berthed side by side fill the Riverview Marina along the Connetquot River at Saturday's event. Recess recieved two awards including "Best Family Crusier" for 2008.

Tailsman Anchorage

Boat access to Fire Island via the Tailsman beach anchorage where the depth allows for a short walk ashore. There is plenty of room on the weekdays but on a hot Sunday afternoon this site can see over 100 boats competing for scope on their anchor rodes. (best seen in the larger view)

Beach Breeze

A refreshing sea breeze on Fire Island means a very choppy boat ride on the Great South bay!

(best in large view)

Fire Island Resident

Adding a touch of nature to our beach experience this guy took his time "checking us out"...

Keeping Watch

This guy is standing guard over Brother-In-Law Peter's farm project.
Peter has gained a great deal of personal satisfaction from his volunteer work in reviving this old Long Island farm site. Local food kitchens and church pantries will benefit from the harvest.

God Bless Oliver

Oliver Scott is dressed and ready on the day of his Baptism!

Mikey Micro Wave

Nephew Michael shows how it's done.... :-)

Sisters

Fourth of July weekend being celebrated in true style!

July 4th

From sea to shinning sea...a red white and blue day! Happy 4th of July!

Summer Surf

Nephew Michael shows some style with the Boogie Board in the Fire Island surf. Celebrating a holiday weekend visit with the clan from Pennsylvania...! :-) (check this in the large format!)

Betty Boop

Just came off the Good Ship Lollypop...gotta love summer!