A Peaceful East and a Stormy West

In a span of a week and a half, I was able to get photos that portray a calm East Coast and a stormy West Coast. 

As soon as my daughter in New York told me that she twisted and broke her leg, I was there 'in a heartbeat'....well, actually not, but close. That occurred in late August.  I didn't have time to wander about the Hudson Valley, as I usually do when I visit, until the last two weeks of October.

A hike up Mt. Beacon in Beacon New York with my grandson was the highlight of my adventures.  We decided to use the 'fire road ' to climb the mountain.  This road is not open to vehicles, but provides emergency personnel a way to the top.  As we entered the area, I mistakenly took the wrong entrance.  It lead to a rock-bed creek next to a trailing waterfall.  Within minutes, I recognized the trail as the one his younger brother had chosen to lead me up the mountain three years previous.  At that time, water was slowly streaming down and he had to assist me so I would not slip on the wet rocks.  We stopped and turned around because I didn't feel safe crossing the waterfall on wet rocks.

This time though, the trail was dry.  The only thing I had to be careful about was not to turn my ankle as I traversed the rocks.  Before long, I realized that since I'm not a hiker, this trail was not the best choice.  We decided to cross the waterfall and head for the 'fire road.' 

Crossed waterfall here

Sample of trail.

 When we reached the waterfall, my grandson had to help me cross.  After carefully navigating the rocks,  I could see the waterfall that actually looked to be a series of about five small ones...a very pretty sight. 

Waterfall

My grandson used his phone (GPS) to locate the fire road and we were soon on our way down the mountain.  These pictures reflect a quiet, peaceful day.  We didn't get to the top of Mt. Beacon that day, so I have no photos of the beautiful Hudson Valley.  I've been told that from the Fire Station at the top of the mountain, you can see New York City, approximately 60 miles to the south.  Perhaps, next year....

The finch shown below was the only visible evidence of wildlife that day.

As we descended, one of the switchbacks on the fire road provided the opportunity to get a photo of the Newburgh Beacon Bridge over the Hudson River.

Now, on the opposite Coast, I have photos of the angry Pacific Ocean.  This past Tuesday night in San Diego, we experienced heavy rains with thunder and lightning.  It's a rare occurrence here.  The thunder persisted for hours with intermittent downpours. 
After this overnight storm, I thought I might get some good photos of the waves.  Camera in hand, I went to a neighboring area in San Diego called Ocean Beach.  The town was bustling with preparations for the Farmer's Market held weekly on Wednesday.  The tables already set up, invited me to stop and look, but I was on a mission.

As I neared the beach, the flock of sea gulls (photo on the right) fighting the gusts of wind were quite a sight.  The man was providing what looked like peanut butter.  Every so often a gull would succeed in getting the food.  I didn't have the same success in getting that shot.

As I expected, the waves were angry.  Hopefully, they would provide some good photos.  Ocean Beach has a very long pier.  Fishermen and tourists alike enjoy it. 

Ocean Beach Municipal Pier

 

The waves looked furious, but the storm was over.




The photo below resembled a crystal Christmas tree.  As I took it, I was startled by an unexpected spray of ocean water.  My clothing was just slightly wet....a small price to pay for that photo.

  

 

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Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

Beacon NY

Congratulations to Beacon NY for being selected as No. 8 in the "Editor's Favorite Trips of 2014" on the Conde Nast Traveler's website.  Beacon is a very interesting town.  When I visit the family, I've taken many an enjoyable walk through various areas there.

On the Hudson River side of the station, you can walk to Long Dock Park and follow the trails for a nice 'woodsy' walk.  South of the city, off Route 9D, is Madame Brett Park.  While the area is very rustic, it's a great easy hike.  The waterfalls are very pretty and the ruins of two factories are very interesting.  One made hats and the other, buttons.  As you walk the paths, you can see some small piles of buttons on the ground.

Madame Brett Park, Beacon NY

With a short walk from the Metro North train station, you can visit the Dia Beacon Museum.  This museum is very popular with locals and visitors who take the train from New York City.  In the business section of the town, you will see a number of restaurants, gallery and shops.  I especially enjoyed my visit to Hudson Beach Glass, where my grandchildren created their own Christmas decorations.  It was fun for me.  It was an education opportunity for the grandchildren.

  During my last visit to New York, my friend, Katie, and I had lunch at the Beacon Falls Cafe on Main Street.  The restaurant is small and was very crowded.  We were advised of a wait and visited a 'Penny Social' at the American Legion Hall, just a short walk down the street.  Katie had never attended one before.  After this, we returned to the restaurant and discovered we were still on the waiting list.  When we were finally seated, our meal was very enjoyable.  I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

I was disappointed about not being able to climb Mt. Beacon during the past two trips to New York.  Last June, I was too busy with other things.  When I finally made arrangements with my grandson, we had a week of rain.  It was also the last week of my visit.  One of my previous climbs was up a rock-bed creek along side a waterfall in the mountain.  It was a little slippery.  So, I now prefer my climb to be on dry ground.  When I came to New York in November, I was happy to see that since the weather was clear, I could possibly go up Mt. Beacon when my grandson had time.  Because he was busy, the first available opportunity was Thanksgiving Day.  Then, 8 to 10 inches of snow the day before dashed my plans.

If you do decided to hike Mt. Beacon, you can see the following scenes.

Most hikers take the stairs near the ruins of an incline railway and continue on.  I take the fire road.  At the top are ruins of a casino and hotel of the 1920's.  I have yet to see this.  My grandson who knows the mountain, led me to the top of the fire road past the reservoir.  The stone monument was erected by the Daughters of the American in 1900 to commemorate the burning of signal fires during the Revolutionary War.  The scenery is beautiful, but I am curious about the casino and hotel.  Perhaps next summer.

Beacon offers a great day's visit.  Add it to your calendar.

     

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Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

Climbed Mt. Beacon

This past Sunday,my 16 year old grandson and I climbed Mt. Beacon (officially called Beacon Mountain) on the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon, New York.  The top of this mountain is 1,531 feet above sea level.  With the trees just starting to bloom, I was able to see further into the woods.  I listened and watched for any bird I might see.  However, we only heard two birds and they were nowhere to be seen.  The trail that we chose is a dirt and gravel road used for maintenance.  The locals call it the "fire road."  The topology varied from level to steep and leveling off again, and so forth up to the top.  This is considered the easiest approach to the top.  On the way up, we passed the reservoir, which supplies the City of Beacon with its water.  The photo above shows the Hudson River with Dennings Point (in Beacon) on the eastern side of the river and Newburgh, NY on the western bank.





As we started to leave, my grandson told me about the monument commemorating the Signal Fires used on Mt. Beacon during the American Revolution.  We found it on the edge of the mountain behind an old fenced-in communication tower.  The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) erected a monument at the site in 1901 and repaired it in 1929.

As I wrote above, we only heard two birds, but high on the mountaintop were two butterflies.  One lit on a rock enabling me to photograph it.

The mountain was the site of an incline railway.  For years there has been talk about rebuilding it.  Also, in the 1920s and 1930s, there was a hotel, restaurant and a casino near the top.  I told my grandson that I would definitely like to see what remains of the buildings.  We'll do that on my next climb.

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Post Office

Today, I planned to walk the hills in Ocean Beach in preparation for my climb up Mt. Beacon in the Spring.  I needed to send a letter to my grandson so I stopped at the Ocean Beach Post Office.  I don't go there often, but when I do there is always a line.  Today I waited 20 minutes for service. The girl behind me in line put her head on the table along which the line is formed and just groaned.  A woman approached me and asked me when it was my turn. "please just get me two address change forms."  She didn't want to get on the long line for two forms.  There were now around twelve people behind me.  When I joined the line, there were eight people ahead of me.

The Post Office is planning to suspend Saturday delivery in August 2013 for monetary reasons.  Although electronic mailing has made substantial inroads into communication, I wonder if they gave better service, things would be different.  I will repeat myself; this particular post office always has a line.  So does the Midway Post Office, which I think used to be the main post office in bygone days.  That Post Office definitely has more workers and provides faster service, but going there today just wasn't convenient for me..

In asking for the American Flag stamp, I was reminded that you can only get that if you purchase a $20 book of stamps.  Why would they make it so difficult to express your patriotism?  The stamp with the American Flag should be the easiest to get.  Perhaps the executives at the Post Office should be thinking more like a customer.

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Transitions

Since I returned from my New York visit, I've been walking/jogging 3 miles a day, as well as occasionally walking up long hills in neighboring Ocean Beach.  The long hills are preparing me to reach the top of Mt Beacon in New York on my next visit.  To improve my daily diet, I've been using the Nutribullet since July of this year.  Although I always ate my vegetables and some fruit, I never had a great amount.  I was intrigued by the Nutribullet ads on TV, so I decided to try it.  I'm providing a link to the Nutribullet because I believe so much in this product.   Every day now, I have a drink made with fresh veggies, such as kale, spinach, and/or carrots, as well as fresh or frozen strawberries, blueberries, or cherries, and 1/2 a banana.  To this I add almonds, walnuts and flax seeds.  I use a 24 oz container supplied with the Nutribullet, varying the fruits.  I think it's great.   Nutribullet Superfood Nutrition Extractor (Google Affiliate Ad) 

On one of my recent walks, I noticed some fresh green blossoms dropping from some of the trees I pass on my daily trek.   At first, I thought that some small birds were causing them to drop.  At any rate, the falling of these blossoms made me think of spring.  On another block, I have to do a hop, skip and a jump to avoid dried up leaves (of a different kind of tree) on the sidewalk.  Then, one day at my daughter's house, I noticed birds in nests previously populated by other birds all summer.  The original inhabitants had moved out after their babies were ready to leave the nest.  The silence was deafening.  Now the yard is again a harbor for song.  Possibly, the new birds have just migrated for the winter.  However, the changes in the trees got me wondering if this year, San Diego has such a good climate that it may have two spring seasons.  Some years, we have cold days with heavy rains between November and February.  Thankfully for me and my exercise, this is a pleasant winter.

On my recent walk to the Famosa Slough, there were some migrating ducks.  I was looking for a bird I had not seen before.  After looking at the "regulars" I was ready to leave the property.  Then, I spotted just such a bird.  After I took the photo, I left the property.   A computer search for the name of the bird got me nowhere, so I sent an e-mail to someone I believed could identify it.  He responded that it was a "Say's Phoebe."   Thanks, Ray.

Say's Phoebe

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Climbed Mt. Beacon

On Monday, My 14 year old grandson and I climbed Mt. Beacon in Beacon, NY. Well, sort of.... We climbed a stairway of 200 steps to a level of about 600 feet.   The mountain is 1,610 feet high.  I wanted to get above the tree line to take some photos to the area.   The stairs are very sturdy and I had no problem climbing.  Then I saw the path at the end of the stairs and that was the end of my climb.  The path with slanted slabs of rock was too steep for me. 

So, there ended my quest.  The mountain seems to be a popular hiking spot.  The hikers passed right by us traveling up and down the path.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to climb high enough to photograph the scenery I wanted, due to haze over the Hudson River.

At one time, there was a casino (circa 1902), hotel, and restaurant atop Mt. Beacon. Many people rode an "incline railway" to the top. Presently, there are plans to rebuild the "incline." I hope to experience the ride when it is completed.   At the top of the mountain there is also a reservior, which provides the city of Beacon with water.  My grandson told me that the area up there is relatively flat.  On the way down, he told me about another way up the mountain.  There is a dirt road at the end of East Main Street.   Actually, Wikipedia says that way is the easier way to climb Mt. Beacon.

Near the bottom, we checked out the remnants of the "incline" and what is left of the old "lower railhead"structure.  We also found a strange looking remains of a tree (see photo at right). 

Just before we exited Mt. Beacon Park, my grandson pointed to the "gum" trees.  Apparently hikers plant their chewing gum on a tree either before or after their climb. 

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