Earth Day 2014 - A Few Things Worth Protecting

Fresh Flowers, Rhode Island - 2012

Beekeeping Apprenticeship, City Island, New York - 2012

Little Compton, Rhode Island - 2013

Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania - 2012

Monterey, California - 2014

Anchovies, Monterey Aquarium - 2014

 Farm Stand Flowers, Rhode Island - 2013

 Seaweed, Rhode Island - 2012

New Jersey, 2010

Virginia Beach, Virginia - 2013

 Little Compton, Rhode Island - 2013

 Lancaster, Pennsylvania - 2012

Balancing Beach Art

Last week, I took a mini-vacation to San Francisco then a friend graciously drove me to Monterey for a family wedding. We stayed in Cannery Row for the night, and stumbled across these sculptural balancing rock formations (known as rock cairns) on the beach just in front of our seaside lodging. Are they art? Or are they some form of meditations? The guy who made them was out there day and night hoping to catch some tips from enamored tourists like us.

Feeling Beachy - A Singular View With A Spectrum of Color

Escape from New York - City Island

Ok, we never really left the city. Believe it or not, this is the Bronx. When my mom comes to visit me, we often get together with my cousin and have a "girls' weekend" loaded with many activities. Amazingly, we've almost never repeated any of these activities. A few weeks ago, before the beaches were officially open, we welcomed an early summer with a short jaunt to City Island and Orchard Beach. This area consists of a small peninsula just beyond Co-Op City. The air was surprisingly fresh and cool. It had the brine-y fish scent of the ocean and city smells no longer invaded my nostrils. You feel like you're thousands of miles away, but somehow, you can still see the spires of the city off in the distance.

We drove around for a while taking in the beautiful scenery, the aroma of someone cooking garlic shrimp wafting through the marinas, and dreaming about having our own cottage so close to Manhattan; the best of both worlds. After some ice cream, we then saw the very enjoyable movie of the same name which was filmed around City Island (starring Andy Garcia and Juliana Margulies). I highly recommend it. Having been there earlier in that same day made the movie even more fun to watch.

The film opens with the concept of the "clam digger" vs. the "mussel sucker". Translation: someone who's family has lived in the quaint fishing village for generations vs. someone who is just visiting and decides to settle down here. Despite the pejorative connotations, I can very easily see myself being the latter.

Have an enjoyable Memorial Day, everyone- and an official start to a great summer!