Category Archives: Tourism

Posts relating to travel of any kind.

Manipulating A View For You……

I was doing some family stuff not too long ago and right across the street from the restaurant where we had all gathered was this river inlet kind of setting. For some reason the view I had of this waterway just prompted me to take out the trusty Canon snappy camera and grab it for posterity. Sometimes I do that and end up wondering how to use the photo going forward. It’s a nice shot isn’t it? Kind of a calm serene setting. It was quiet today and you would not know from standing there on its bank that it was right next to a very active roadway.

On the way home I looked at the photo again and played with it without color in my mind. Once I was back at the computer I did this with the software and felt that the image now appeared to be something we might find on the cover of an Opeth album. It had that certain “Bleak”ness to it (pardon the pun and use of one of their songs names, but I could not resist). Do you agree that this could be this kind of bands album visual? I like to think that you are nodding your head right now. If not, I shall not hold it against you.

Oddly enough when I took this same image and turned it negative it took on an even more ominous aspect. Now it looked like something from an old Traditional Black Metal release of some kind. Sinister, foreboding, dangerous. Questionable about where it leads and what awaits you when you get to the end. I think that you get the picture. Anyways. It’s so fascinating what simple manipulation of an image can bring to mind.

That’s all I have for you my friends, I just wanted to get this out of my brain and onto a post for you to absorb. As always there is more to come.

In Atlantic City? Then Let’s Play Monopoly!!!

Every now and again I get the chance to take a hop down to Atlantic City, NJ and enjoy some gambling, dining and the sights that are around me. Don’t worry, we generally break even at the slot machines and never add on too many pounds to our adventuring frame. However, the one thing that I always seem to find being bountiful is the amount of photographic opportunities that are around me. It’s not the same as my own metropolis of the Big Apple but it is cool in its own right and that leads me to this new bunch of images. It was the tail end of September and I was with family and had discovered that the Bally’s Atlantic City Casino had a life-sized Monopoly board right on the Boardwalk. For all intents and purposes this was being used to promote a new game that they had going on but at the same time it was a giant piece of artwork as well for all the passerby to indulge in. Using the trusty Panasonic Lumix I took a few minutes to “play” the board from beginning to end and hope that you enjoy it. Let’s roll those giant dice and get a move on shall we.

walkable monopoly board, atlantic city nj, bally's atlantic city, giant-sized monopoly
The Monopoly Board From Afar

Ready, set, roll!!!

walkable monopoly board, atlantic city nj, bally's atlantic city, giant-sized monopoly
Giant Dice

I always strive to get the “car” playing token.  Usually I do.

walkable monopoly board, atlantic city nj, bally's atlantic city, giant-sized monopoly
Gentlemen, and Ladies; Start Your Engines

Continue reading In Atlantic City? Then Let’s Play Monopoly!!!

Seasons Of Winter Being Shared In The Summer

I know that it’s the middle of Summer, but so what. It’s hot outside and there are days when it is next to impossible to get cool or comfortable. Let’s face it, in the big city, there are only so many clothes one can take off in public without getting arrested 🙂 Anyways, while going through photo folders recently I came across these images that were just perfect to be shared during the hot summer months. They were taken a few years ago when I spent the weekend with friends who have a house in the Poconos. It was cold that weekend but not bone numbing in terms of wind or chill so we did a little wandering together to see the surrounding area.

Continue reading Seasons Of Winter Being Shared In The Summer

Some Stewart Air Force Base Stuffs

Given the random nature of this blogs very existence and its premise of being a place to share whatever photos or thoughts that I see fit, I decided to present this small handful of images from a not too long ago visit upstate.  It was the summer of 2009 and I was visiting friends who live up in a part of New York called Newburgh, and they are not too far from the Stewart Air Force Base which is located in New Windsor.

stewart air force base, Continue reading Some Stewart Air Force Base Stuffs

“Place Yer Bets”, “Place Yer Bets”

Last month I was in Atlantic City and wandering around the premises of the hotel after a not too productive session of slot machine play. I must admit that while the thrill of winning always appeals to me, the actual visuals of some of the slot machines really piques my interest but therein lies the dilemma – You are NOT allowed to take photographs on the casino floor.  That bothered me a little bit as a photographer since there are so many cool machines out there.  I have seen a Star Wars and Star Trek one, an Ebay one and many, many more.  I am sure that even KISS has its own machine but I just have not seen it yet.  Moving along.  As I wandered the hotel lobby I happened upon this icon of the hotels history and snapped a shot. It was apparently the first ever slot machine to be installed. Feel free to utter awed sighs of amazement.

The plaque above this relic reads “This is the first legal slot machine in Atlantic City and was installed on the Resort’s International casino floor in 1978. It can be identified as the first machine by the number 1 on the lower right side of the cabinet. Since that time more than 14,900 different machines……” Sadly I blocked the rest of the sign but I guess it’s pretty safe to say that there are now over that many machines in this particular casino floor and since there are numerous casinos to enjoy on the Atlantic City Boardwalk we are likely talking about a couple of hundred thousand in total. That is surely a lot of money coming in and all the more reason that we should finally have gambling of this kind be legal in New York State. I think casinos on the West Side highway would be awesome for tourism. Something to think about.

How To See This: Go to Atlantic City, NJ to the Resort’s International hotel and casino and wander the lobby until you chance upon it.