Finger Lakes Micro-mini Vacation 3/31-4/1/2012: Day 1 part 2

A second group of photos taken over the weekend March 31 - April 1.

It was back to Geneva. I find downtown Geneva, NY to be a place of potential. it has lovely buildings and nice people. A couple of exterior shots and architectural details followed by a few inside the Geneva Antique Co-op on Exchange Street, where the sisters were shopping for a wedding. The sisters were having a great time, and I they allowed me to share in their good humor.

The previous group of photos included a bunch of exteriors of homes in the Castle Hill neighborhood. Here I feature two neighboring properties, the William Brook House and Smith Observatory and the William Smith house. The former is a lovely brick Victorian with the restored observatory in the rear. Originally the home of Professor Brook, the astronomer and professor at Hobart College, the observatory houses a ten inch refracting telescope and a transit telescope. According to the Observatory's website, it has all been restored and maintained since 1974.

Next door is a bed and breakfast, the William Smith Inn. It's a lovely brick Victorian home that has been lovingly restored by it's current owners, David and Theresa Gage.

They were kind enough to give us a tour of the interior, relating its history as the home of the nurseryman and founder of the college, and as a church run retirement home. David, a native of Geneva and a graduate of Hobart College, and his wife Teresa, have been restoring homes in Geneva for the past twenty or so years. She told us this is the fourth home they've restored and put back on the tax rolls.

 An interesting contest, the results of which I don't know. It's little hints like this that get me thinking that something is going on in Geneva, NY, though I can't get a feel for the timetable.

Theresa Gage is a delightful and energetic hostess

What's a B&B without it's resident dog?

I've got at least one more batch to work on from this micro-mini-vacation, but before I get to that, there's going to be photos from the 2012 Radomer Mutual Culture Center Yom Hashoah memorial at Bnai Zion in NYC.

Street Corner Theater indeed.

A Spring afternoon in Manhattan.

I had an errand to run that took me over to E. 34th Street, then up Lexington to E. 42nd, over to Madison and back to my office. These are mostly in groups of two describing a quantum: a moment and then another. Something happens in between but we only see the before and after.

Along the way, the usual: people not paying attention where they ought to, or seeing things they didn't expect. People crossing the street in the middle of the block, but everywhere, people. It's all theater.

Someone asked me where I find these people. I didn't answer because the answer's just too obvious. They come to me, I don't have to go far to find them. Midtown Manhattan's a stage and we are all players on it. That's all there is it. The woman talking on the phone's a perfect example: she is posing as if was ready for her close-up, even if there's no Mr. DeMille in her life to shoot it.

This is great. This woman's working part-time giving out little ads for a wellness center. She's really into it - and when we speak I discover her career is in theater - not on stage but in production and stage management. But watching her, I see she's also always on stage. I prefer the candids but who can resist the ones where she's posing?

Is it hard to guess what he's looking at?

Choosing which photos to use of this delightful couple was hard. He's a regular ham. I'm pretty sure he saw me taking pictures even before I spotted them, and started posing as if the camera was already on him. He's an actor who's always ready, never out of character. Gotta love that tie.

Here's the senior owner of Park Avenue Liquors, which is on Madison Avenue. An immense selection of Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, among other things, and a very helpful and knowledgable staff.

I call this pair Hope(i) just for love.This guy's boxing out of his weight class, and she's about as interested in him at this moment as he is in the high-calorie coffee based drink in his hand But's give him credit. He keeps on smiling.

I am always looking to catch bits of text in the photos and sometimes they work out better than others.

 Last, but certainly not least, are these. In case you haven't noticed, hats are making comeback.