Block Island
Cris and I took the ferry to Block Island on Tuesday. I was photographing the foam kicked up from the props (or jets?) when this woman’s head popped out.
I hadn’t been there for at least 30 years, and I had forgotten what a nice place it is. We were visiting our friends Scott and Lisa and their kids at their rental on the south side of the island, and the light at the end of the day was really nice.
We left early the next morning, but it was just about a perfect 24 hours.
Hay Bales
I shot suitcases in Rotterdam yesterday and then drove to Ithaca. On 206 between Green and Whitney Point I began to notice the big bales of hay that dot the landscape at this time of year. My friend Bill Marsh used to tell his daughter that they were giant shredded wheats.
Later in the evening Peter Carroll and I went to the Glenwood Pines for a bite to eat. I hadn’t been there in a long time.
Farnham’s Again
Peter and I made the first trip of the summer to Farnham’s yesterday. The fried clams are really the best we have found anywhere. I also had a bowl of the chowder which was very good.
Albert Bierstadt
I have always liked this painting. Bierstadt was apparently quite the operator. / I’ve been in DC the past few days and had the chance to spend a few hours at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It is the best museum in a city full of great museums. It shares the old patent office building with the National Portrait Gallery which in itself is pretty cool. While there I got the chance to see some of the people that Peter Carroll and I worked with on the Lunder Conservation Center project, and had a really nice visit. / Back to Massachusetts tomorrow and will mail out the next level of rewards for the suitcase backers.
Stanley Park
It is grey and cool here today but the past three days have been sunny and pleasant. I’m just as happy with the grey as with the sun. Yesterday we walked around the perimeter of Stanley Park. The water in English Bay was clear and calm and loads of people were out enjoying the day.
Vancouver reminds me of San Francisco with all the water and bridges. / This morning I am going to meet up with Pia Massie whom I met through Kickstarter. Check out her project here. It is really interesting. She lives here and will give me a quick tour of the waterfront.
Bishop’s Park Gents
Only some of you might be interested in this, but I have always enjoyed older public restrooms, especially here in Britain. This is the gents in the middle of Bishop’s Park. Beautiful tile, the urinals are all porcelain, no graffiti and clean. I am always a bit nervous about taking pictures in public facilities, but fortunately no one walked in on me. It would be a bit difficult to explain what I was doing.
Birds
I have always liked the birds in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.
The swan was spending a lot of time looking for something to eat, and the geese were just sleepin’.
Chick’s in West Haven, CT
After I left Yale yesterday I went to Chick’s in West Haven to eat some clams. Peter and I have been making a bit of a study of fried clams in the Northeast, and he had encouraged me to check it out. (See previous post) I had originally hoped to go to Stowe’s, which is just down the road, but they are closed on Mondays. Chick’s is big, and was quite empty at about 4.00 pm, which made me a bit nervous. But the clams were very good.
They didn’t have that real ocean taste like ones from the North Shore of Massachusetts, as I assume they came from somewhere in the Sound, but the breading was very light and they were quite hot. It was nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the late afternoon light.
Erie Canal Lock 8
I was photographing some of the damage to Lock 8 on the Erie Canal on Wednesday. It is pretty impressive, and I hope to get back soon to do some of the other locks. They are magnificent structures.
The river is still very muddy from the flooding and the clean-up will take some time.
Woodman’s / Farnham’s
Peter goes back to Union soon, and today was a good day to drive out to Essex for some clams. We had visited Farnham’s in June and wanted to try Woodman’s. We left Pelham late morning and arrived in Essex just before 2.00. Woodman’s is the larger operation of the two and claim to be the originator of the fried clam. We ordered a large and waited about 5 minutes.
We went out back to the picnic tables and enjoyed the view and the clams. It soon became clear to us that we couldn’t just operate on memory to compare the two spots, so we hopped in the car and drove down the road to Farnhams. Ordered a small box there and sat at the outside tables.
Both places are a must visit for anyone who heads up that way, but for us the Farnham’s experience was better in all ways.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
1 comment