Happy Halloween!

The only Halloween decoration I saw all week.  On my neighbor's door. 

What do we know about our neighbors?  Not much.....  He's Spanish, she's Russian.  They're quiet.  He leaves for work every day at 7:45am, and gets home around 6:30pm.  She often doesn't leave the apartment, but sometimes plays the piano (and it's quite nice).  They keep to themselves, but it's not as if Pat & I are wild social butterflies either :)))

Oh yeah, and our adjoining entryway often smells like a combination of kielbasa, incense, and weed. 
Maybe we should get to know them better?

  

Redfish Fishing in Sea Island, GA

The Cloisters In Sea Island, Georgia.  A beautiful place that we visited recently for work. 

But that's not what this post is about....  it's about fishing.  For Bull Red or Red Drum.  We went just off of the coast of the GA barrier island (technically in the Atlantic Ocean, but not far from the shore)

The Wilczynski's and Cuevas's. 

This was good fishing!  After 10-15 minutes, my 1st one was on the hook.   And these fish were big - 25-30 lbs. each .  I needed the belt to give me some leverage

My 1st catch of the day.  Thanks to Reid for doing a lot of the dirty work :)

One for Pat

One for Kirt

And don't forget Caroline

I caught a big stingray along the way.  It was exhausting bringing him in

I caught 5 (plus the stingray) in total. 

Two at a time!

I think mine is bigger!

And another one.... or two.  My forearms HURT afterwards!

Time to rest

One last Fall weekend

I think we lucked out, and caught the last nice (i.e. dry and not too cold) weather this past weekend in St. Petersburg.  Snow is expected by Thursday & Friday of this week, and then even colder temperatures (mid 30's) next week

The leaves should fully change and start to fall this week.  The rain has started

I do miss the red leaves of the Northeast US.  The most beautiful Fall seasons in the world (in my opinion!)

The tourists are almost gone.  Just a few from the Russian regions, and China remain.  The Europeans and Americans are gone

I never get tired of taking pictures of this

The birds must not like these tree berries?

These birds are mean - Pat was attacked by one once, and I've seen them pecking at small children.  I think they are stalking this lady, and planning their attack

A lollypop salesman!  Made me smile.  Things can't be all bad if there is a lollypop market in Russia
 

 



Good night Peter!

A VERY short trip to NYC

3 nights, 2 days to be exact.  But it was enough time to enjoy NYC, one of the greatest cities in the world (if you ask me)!

And the weather in late September couldn't have been better for this gloomy-sky, rain-soaked couple that isn't used to wearing shorts and not carrying an umbrella this time of year. 

One of my favorites.... the Chrysler Building in East Midtown.  One of the best examples of Art Deco in NYC.  Did you know that it is still the tallest brick building in the world?  Currently, it's the 4th tallest building in NYC (after the Empire State Building, One World Trade, and the Bank of America Tower). 

New York Public Library.  2nd Largest in the US in terms of number of items, after the Library of Congress.  I love it's location in Bryant Park.  It just seems to fit!

I didn't catch the name of this church.  But I love churches in big cities that manage to keep their location & historical look, and aren't forced to move to build a Starbucks or Banana Republic. 

Another favorite, the Flatiron Building

An Iced Americano and shorts in late September?  Both are unheard in St Pete (especially the iced drink - people don't like cold drinks, and especially with ice)

 

We relaxed in Madison Square Park for a while.  It was just too nice to go inside

 



These two owned the Madison Square dog park! 

 

 

The Kneeling Fireman....Interesting story.  It was in-transit to Missouri in late 2011, but was stranded in NYC during the September 11th attacks and airport closures.  The Firefights Association of Missouri (who it was originally intended to honor) donated it to their brothers & sisters in New York

Saturday night 11:30 concert at Birdland. 

It was the Bud Powell Birthday Celebration

 

Cheers to Bud!

 

A quiet Sunday morning in Central Park.  I'm loving the reflections

This was breakfast on Sunday.  You can't get fresh sausage (let alone hot Italian sausage) in St. Petersburg

Final shot.... Empire State Building...  See you New York!