A Scooter Break

One of the great things about my job is that I get to do some traveling. I have the good fortune to travel to New York City four or five times a year, usually spending one to two weeks there. So here I am in Manhattan this week, which means no scootering, but New York is such a great place that I don't mind being off the saddle for a little bit.

I got in Saturday night, so I am playing tourist this morning. First off, a cup of coffee - not some venti-orange-frappa-macchiato-shot of caramel-no room-165 degree concoction here - just a good cup' a joe.

Then it was off to wander the city. The architecture here is so varied and pretty beautiful in my opinion.

This building, on 40th and Lexington, had an amazing frieze just above the doorways of the various establishments. Work is being done to restore this building:

When lunchtime came around, I went to one of my favorite Filipino restaurants - I'm half Filipino, and I am always looking for something close to my Mom's cooking - this restaurant does a pretty good job:

One of the really cool things about New York is its diversity - so many nations and ethnic groups call New York home, and if you live here, you can have a parade to celebrate it - this one is a Mexican celebration:

While New York is such a busy, hard-working place, they take the time to celebrate, which I think is really great. This parade went right in front of my hotel, offering me an excellent view.

As I said, New York is a pretty diverse place!

Let The River Flow, Part 2

The three forks all converge in the town of Snoqualmie, at the Snoqualmie Falls. Snoqualmie Falls plunges 268 ft, making it about 100 ft taller than Niagara Falls (but a lot less wide). It is one of Washington's most popular attractions, but is perhaps best known internationally for its appearance in the cult television series Twin Peaks. There's a great observation deck where I took the second picture from, and there is a trail that you can take to get down to the bottom of the falls. For the less adventurous, there's a lodge that houses an excellent (and pricey) hotel and spa.

Soon it was time for me to return home, where I found one of our cats taking advantage of my absence and drinking from my water cup. Good thing I saw him do this!

Let The River Flow

On a recent ride, I decided to take some pictures of the Snoqualmie river, which is near my house. The Snoqualmie River is 45 miles long, and it has three main tributaries - the North, Middle, and South Forks, which drain the west side of the Cascade Mountains near North Bend, and then join in Snoqualmie. I live just uphill from the South Fork.

It's calm right now, but this river floods pretty regularly.

There's something special about rivers - they start small, high in the mountains, and gather steam as they come to the lowlands, joining with other streams and creeks until they make it to the ocean. Kind of a metaphor for life - I like how Roger McGuinn put it in "The Ballad of Easy Rider":

The river flows

It flows to the sea

Wherever that river goes

That's where I want to be

Flow river flow

Let your waters wash down

Take me from this road

To some other town

Wherever you are in this river of life, enjoy the ride!