Fairport Sunrise

~ randyaa ~ Leave a comment

I’m not up early often. Today I was, so after dropping Rachel off at the airport at 4:30am I decided to explore a nearby Fairport park to see if I could find a scenic spot to watch the sunrise.

I haven’t been able to figure out what the name of the park is, and it’s not really advertised as a park at all. There’s just a small stone parking lot and an old worn out sign that no longer has anything on it.

The scenery there is quite beautiful though, and it’s probably one of the best places to watch the sunrise in Fairport NY.

RIT Big Shot 24

~ randyaa ~ 3 Comments

RIT has been doing what they call the Big Shot every year since 1987. They pick a point of interest and take a long exposure photograph using only flashlights and electronic flashes for illumination. This years Big Shot was located in Pittsford NY at Schoen Place to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

The Erie Canal was originally proposed in 1808…On July 4, 1817, Governor Dewitt Clinton broke ground for the construction of the canal…it was often sarcastically referred to as ‘Clinton’s Big Ditch’

Rachel and I heard about this a while ago and decided to go. It was fun. I was impressed to come home and see the photograph already online so for your viewing pleasure it is included below.

If you’re interested in seeing past Big Shots check them out here.

Mexican Moonshine

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Legend has it that some ancient man ‘discovered’ tequila when an Agave Plant got flash-fermented by a lightning bolt.

Outside Magazine recently ran an article in which the authors took a tequila tour in much the same fashion as a typical wine tour. Those of us living in the finger lakes know what that’s all about. No, it’s not about drinking as much as you can for free (you’re supposed to spit remember?). Wine tasting is all about finding the wines you really enjoy and refining your palette to enjoy those you don’t already.

I for one hate tequila. At least I hate the typical tequila shots you take. I’ve never understood what the excitement was all about. It always burned more than it tastes and the only part I enjoyed was the lime afterward.

From reading the article it sounds like tequila gets a really bad name. This is because most people (myself included) have only had bad fake tequila. As the article reads:

Tequila is made from a single species of agave, AGAVE TEQUILANA WEBER…and comes only from Jalisco – a Mexican state about the size of South Carolina.

Sounds a lot like Champagne doesn’t it? You can’t get the real flavor of good wine from trying Franzia Box wine and you can’t get the real flavor of good tequila by doing shots of Jose Cuervo at the bar. In fact no two tequilas are the same. Their flavor can range from caramel to apricot, anywhere in between and beyond.

To taste good tequila you need to hook up with Miguel the zucchini farmer and try some of his De la Sierra. You’ll have to get in line though, his home brew is a local favorite and he only makes about 20,000 liters a year.

After reading the article I definitely have a new respect for tequila and I would love to go on a tasting of my own. Anyone up for the trip?

Maybe they should make a wine that can be used as shots.

Biking in Downtown

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No matter what people tell you there is a lot to do in downtown Rochester. There are lots of museums, parks and weekend activities. Last Saturday Rachel actually had off so we went downtown on the bus and took our bikes along for the ride. The idea was to ride around and see some things we normally take for granted in Rochester. This was the first time with the bikes on the bus and every time we hit a bump I peaked my head up over the seat thinking I’d get to witness them shattering all over 490. Luckily they made it in one piece.

Our first stop was the Center at High falls where we got an awesome 10 minute taxi cab tour of the city including the now closed silver stadium! The Center also hosts a photography gallery on the 2nd floor which we took in and learned that Rochester’s main street completely flooded in 1865. From there we headed out across the footbridge to take in High Falls itself and then we were off for lunch.

While eating inside, the Hail started and WOW! I went outside to grab a few pictures and got nailed with one in the leg. It left a mark! Don’t worry, as always in Rochester Ny, If you don’t like the weather just wait 10 minutes, it’ll change. It did, but not much. We decided to play it safe and hop the next bus.

This trip was short, but not for lack of things to do. Next trip we’re heading to the Eastman House, Memorial Art Gallery, Susan B Anthony Park, among several others. We’ll also be making the trek up to the lake along the river if we have enough time. If not, we’ll catch it next time!

Utilizing the bus and our bikes to make these trips is very satisfying. I only wish they ran on Sundays too.

And Now I Feel Old

~ randyaa ~ 1 Comment

Mr and Mrs Pike's first KissMy niece Jennifer was married to Jeremy Pike last Friday April 18th. It was a Beautiful Ceremony at the Christian Community Church of East Williamson. Rachel and I were able to see some people we haven’t seen since our wedding including my Brother! Always a good time.

The only problem is. Now I feel Old. Is that wierd? She’s only my niece and really only 6 years younger.

Your Tweets

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Ever wanted to know your Twitter trends? Well now you can generate a cloud of all your tweets using Tweet Clouds. My Cloud is below. Clearly I need to stop replying to @npike so much.

My Tweet Cloud

Now that you know the words you use most frequently, wouldn’t it be nice to know how you used them? That’s where Tweet Scan comes in handy. In fact the tag cloud Tweet Cloud gets you has links but they go nowhere (every one just links to #, I’m not sure what that’s useful for…). This following is the Tweet Scan search results for Rochester for my username only.

Tweet Scan Results for Rochester for user Randyaa