#2017CanadianRoadtrip: Day One in upstate New York.

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We pack the car and head to the blue route on a sunny Tuesday morning. But first we stop at Wawa for a couple last minute things and Starbucks for out coffee, tea, and breakfast to start the start off the trip well fueled. The drive begins like a normal drive with all the usual sights. We on the westbound side flying passed the line of stopped cars going eastbound and trying to get to the office in time. Then somewhere along the northeast extension, probably a little past the Allentown exit I'm in less familiar territory and the road trip begins.

We're driving towards mountains, past some farms, and eventually we get to the Leigh Tunnel. At this point I know we must be closing in on the New York state line (maybe?).

After driving through endless farmland and seeing loads of cows and horses we see the sign was that says Cooperstown, NY!

Mobile photo - Entering Cooperstown

Mobile photo - Entering Cooperstown

We were on our way to the center of Cooperstown where the baseball hall of fame is and the little town when we saw a sign about the Ommegang Brewery. We decided to tackle the brewery first so we wouldn't be backtracking later in the day.

After finishing at the brewery we drove into the little town of Cooperstown and found a little hotdog place (Hey Getcha Diggity Dog) to eat. Very good food and well decorated with baseball memorabilia. Then we moved on to complete the main Cooperstown attraction, we went into the Baseball Hall of Fame museum!

Next stop is Pop's Lake Campground, located outside of Saratoga Springs. We were advised to spend night one at Pop's Lake because it according to Phish fans it is a very nice campground. And I can confirm right now that it is definately a nice campground to stay at, whether you're in town for a Phish show or just on a little camping trip!

...and above you see our breakfast at Pop's Lake on the morning of day 2.

BONUS! Mobile Photos (below)...

That is all for Day one in New York. Next up for Day two we make our way across the border to Canada, but first there's one more stop on the US side.

Day 2 coming soon!

Summer Concert Series: The Dead Milkmen in Clark Park

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Summer is filled with spending days and nights listening to music in a parks. Just about every park that exists in the greater Philadelphia area hosts a weekly summer concert series; to give music geeks a place to go each day of the week.

Earlier in July, The Dead Milkmen headlined the 2017 Clark Park summer festival, playing for hardcore fans and Sunday park-goers alike. See the full photo recap below.

NEW! Food Photo Series - COMING SOON!

Food is my favorite. Whether it's making up recipes for a meal, trying out a new recipe I find online and figuring out to make it my own, or just scrolling through endless photos of delicious foods on Instagram and Foodgawker.

Photography is also my favorite; probably my first favorite because I can combine it with all my other favorite things. This is why I have decided to start a brand new Food Photo Series.

What does a Food Photo Series mean?

Well... Once a week throughout summer I will be making a dish for fun. Anything and everything is on the table, a fun dish for any snack time or meal of the day! As this gets underway I may increase from only once a week.

And depending on how things go during the summer, I may try to keep it going through every season.

When will I be starting?

This fun project in just a few short days on July 1st!

Where can I follow this exciting series?

There will be a separate blog set up just for this project, but don't worry about not being able to find it. It will be blasted all over Instagram and Facebook, and maybe even Twitter!

Stay tuned for more info and the very first post coming soon.

#WaybackWednesday: Henley Royal Regatta 3 years ago

With the prestigious rowing regatta in England beginning today, I thought I'd give a flashback to when I had the opportunity to go 3 years ago. I managed to get my ticket (for free) thanks to the rowing coach I had rowed with several times during my 3-weeks studying in London. When I left London to head the regatta I wasn't completely sure where I was going... but don't worry! Once I boarded the overground train all I had to do was follow the massive crowd wearing fancy regatta blazers!

Once I got to the town of Henley I once again only needed to follow the crowd to find the regatta enclosure. I picked up the ticket waiting for me at the box office(?) and made my way to check out what this brilliant and historic regatta is all about.

What is this regatta all about, you ask?

Racing. Tea Time. Picnics.

As I walked along the banks of the Thames, I witnessed tons of spectators dressed nicely sitting on the banks with picnic baskets. There were others setting up chairs and more fancy picnics including champagne. There were boats on the sidelines of the river holding spectators hoping to get a much closer view of the exciting races. I even saw two ladies enjoying their tea while floating in a canoe watching races.

Check out my favorite Henley Regatta photos below!

PHOTO RECAP: The Dad Vail Regatta before the Rain

The Dad Vail regatta is a huge rowing race and it's right here in the city of brotherly love! The regatta took place a couple weeks ago. Hundreds of teams were in Philadelphia from all over the country competing, many of them competing in the rain. I headed over the Schuylkill River Friday afternoon to see some good racing and take a pictures. I managed to catch a few of the Philadelphia University (PhilaU) races, but even if I hadn't I still always enjoy watching any rowing race! Unfortunately, Friday turned out to be the main day of this two-day event.

While rowers often find themselves out in all kinds of weather and it typically takes super bad weather in this area to cancel a regatta, this is exactly what happened on day two of the 2017 Dad Vail Regatta. The day before this year's regatta began the official race schedule got switched around a bit due to the weather forecast including high winds and lots of rain. This did not stop rowers from having a good time and competing as usual on day one of the regatta, and don't worry, they still managed to get all the grand finals for the varsity 8's and 4's finished Saturday morning. But it was the Saturday afternoon races, which because of the schedule change were mostly smaller boats (doubles and singles), that got end up being canceled. Hopefully this years rain out satisfies mother nature for a bit and the next couple years can go back to being beautiful weekends for the Dad Vail regatta.

Check out my photos of day one at the 2017 Dad Vail Regatta below!

Philadelphia University Rowing.

Everyone.

Baby Geese, just because!

Blossoming into Spring at the Philadelphia Flower Show, with a Bike Tour of Holland

Each year, Philadelphia brings in the new spring season with the annual flower show. This year, in March, the Philadelphia Convention Center was transformed into Holland (or at least a small sample of the country's best parts). Locals and tourists of all ages walked through a space filled with daffodils, bikes, and thousands of other colorful flowers. The first thing seen as excited attendees entered the show was a bridge covered in daffodils and bikes that could have been imported straight from the streets of Amsterdam!

This year's flower show definitely did a wonderful job of portraying the best of Holland through the different garden displays. As someone who has traveled to Amsterdam, I could spend my three hours at the show reminiscing about my trip abroad and I found myself visualizing myself walking through the streets of Amsterdam again. There was even one display in particular that while I can not tell you for sure what it was meant to be it reminded me of was the huge bicycle parking garages I remember seeing all over the city. This display was awesome, partially because of it reminding me of the bicycle parking garages in Amsterdam!

There were flowers and bikes hanging from the ceiling, there was a giant windmill in the center of the room, and most of the garden displays had various bicycle parts being used as part of the the garden, either functioning, as decoration, or both; this one of the things which I felt was the coolest part of the show.

The show was not only filled with bicycles and several giant windmills but the Anne Frank house was also represented at the show complete with the statue of her, which stand in front of the house.

The Camden Children's Garden exhibit was especially well done including a variety of things Holland is typically known for, while presenting everything in an organized and cute display.

That about covers it forthe highlights of this years Flower Show. This year was probably one of the best shows in recent years! For me personally, what made it so awesome was the accurate portrayal of the amount of bicycles in Holland, and how every part of the bike was used even if the designers did not want a full bike in their exhibit. They got really creative with the garden designs.

Check out the full photo gallery below!

© Ellen C Miller, 2024