Day 304 of 365

Life at the Depot

A mural on the platform of Track 2 at the Secaucus Junction station.

Day 303 of 365

If these walls could talk

Photos on the wall of a store on Greenwich St.

Day 302 of 365

Go back home across autumn America

"These Roads Don't Move,"
Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard

There is no need to say another word
You'll be golden and eternal just like that
Something good will come of all things yet
Simple golden eternity blessing all

'Cause these roads don't move
You're the one that moves
'Cause these roads don't move
You're the one that moves

Now get my ticket and say goodbye
Leave San Francisco behind
Go back home across autumn America
And it'll be all like it was in the beginning


'Cause these roads don't move
You're the one that moves
'Cause these roads don't move
You're the one that moves

All the dark torture is a memory
I do see my star still shining
For all those years looking out of jail and ship windows
The irrational mortal loneliness is always crowned

'Cause these roads don't move
You're the one that moves
'Cause these roads don't move
You're the one that moves
'Cause these roads don't move
You're the one that moves

Day 301 of 365

A little bit of country rock at Webster Hall

With day No. 300, we hit the home stretch, in a way. Just a little more than two months to go. I like how it worked out to be this shot of Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar at Webster Hall for their concert in support of One Fast Move Or I'm Gone, an album I loved from the moment I first heard it, both for its music and for its use of Jack Kerouac's words from Big Sur. Great show.

Day 300 of 365

Purple, in Theory

My original plan was to take a photo of the White Horse Tavern (which I did) to use on Dylan Thomas' birthday. But since I've already used the White Horse for this project, I went with Theory headquarters on Gansevoort St. in the Meatpacking District.

Day 299 of 365

All lit up

I made my first trip to the remodeled Washington Square Park on my way back across town from the East Village to Chelsea. While it's definitely more polished and doesn't seem to have the same atmosphere as it used to (though I'm admittedly basing this on one visit), and the offset fountain in relation to the arch and Fifth Ave. was a nice quirk, the fountain's new position does seem to provide for some nice fountain-arch-Empire shots that I'm not sure would've been a possibility before the renovations.

Day 298 of 365

Gorgeous sunset

We often get sexy underwear ads on top of that building at 14th St. and Ninth Ave. It used to be David Beckham's crotch up there, which I'm sure was a big hit in Chelsea.

Day 297 of 365

Rainy night, Ninth Avenue

Managed to get from my car to the office during a break from the downpour that had occurred -- and would come back.

Day 296 of 365

Parkway autumn

I often forget how pretty the trees along the Garden State Parkway can be in autumn. Luckily I found myself down that way this week and could see the turning leaves again.

Day 295 of 365

Farview Trail off the Old Mine Road

On my third day of autumn road tripping, I explored the southern stretch of the Old Mine Road along the Delaware River for the first time. Looking for the remains of an old camp resort, I parked at the Farview trailhead on the east side of the road and walked an hour up the hill -- crossing the Appalachian Trail -- and back down. Only then did I finally figure out that the poorly written account I'd printed out from the internet was talking about the trails on the western side of the road -- which go no more than a few hundred feet before they reach the Delaware. And sure enough, there were concrete steps and sheds and other remnants of a long-gone riverside resort.

Day 294 of 365

Hint of orange

A branch fights against the force of the falls -- as minor as they are -- on the North Branch of the Raritan River on the Natirar estate in Somerset County, New Jersey.

Day 293 of 365

Step up

The front porch of a house not far from mine.

Day 292 of 365

Autumn brightness

A burst of brightness in New York's Meatpacking District.

Day 291 of 365

Skeletor's future

Chelsea Market is decked out for the Halloween season, and the last two days -- the weekend -- have required patience to walk through the concourse, because the primary displays cause people to stop and huddle and clog the thoroughfare. It can be frustrating when you're trying to navigate your way through the hordes when they stop in the middle of the walking lanes to look at the photos on their cameras' LCD screens or compose a text message.

"Rocky Mountain stop," Colorado, May 2006

Stop for views

There's always that dichotomy in a visit to a national park -- at least those grand, expansive Western national parks that were established to preserve the vast wilderness. How much of the park are you truly experiencing if you don't get too far from the car?

When my former college roommate and I went out West on a weeklong road trip to mark our 30th birthdays, we devised a grand loop that began and ended in Denver and went as far north and west as Yellowstone and Idaho and as far east as Billings and Cheyenne and that little southwestern corner of Nebraska.

After spending the first two nights in Boulder, we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park on our way north into Wyoming. We stopped at parking areas and vistas, spent a little time walking along the ridges and gazing into the valleys, but we didn't truly leave the car behind and traipse down a mountain path to truly get a feel for the place, the way we did on a college trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

On the one hand, I would've preferred to spend more time -- more quiet time -- in the Rocky Mountain NP, but on the other, we wouldn't have been able to do and see as much as we did if we'd allotted more time for any of our stops. We would've had to cut something out of Boulder, Rocky Mountain NP, Jackson Hole (and the Tetons and Yellowstone), Little Bighorn National Monument, Cheyenne or our last night in Denver. As it was, we didn't get to actually enter Teton NP or detour to Devil's Tower (I definitely have to get back to that one).

But in the end, I think I'd rather spend a little time at more places on the first visit and come back a second time to experience a place more fully. And then someday, when I'm independently wealthy or comfortably retired, I'll simply be able to do whatever, wherever, whenever, for however long I'd like.

Or so I can dream...

Day 290 of 365

Everywhere there's signs

Shot this after I left Foley's next door. The Dempsey's neon is great, and all these other signs made for quite a wordy photo. Not quite 1,000, though.

"Hop Devil is in the details," May 2009

Hop Devil

There's not much to dislike about Victory beers, particularly the Prima Pils, which may be the single best beer for a summer day. Hop Devil's not too bad, either. This one was enjoyed on a warm, nearly summer day in Portland, Maine, back in May.

I was a little surprised that none of the 203 photos posted before mine bore any reference to the devil in the details.

Day 289 of 365

One Poochini, please

I love going to Shake Shack on cool days -- short line, but the burger's just as good. This guy knows what I'm talking about.

Day 288 of 365

Soggy autumn day

I was hoping to spend one of my days off this week on another drive through northern New Jersey's rural highlands to take in the foliage, but the weather didn't cooperate. But I didn't want to miss the peak days of my favorite tree in the yard, so I opened the window next to it and shot from the dining room -- staying dry the whole time.

Day 287 of 365

Proper

Lenny stretches out on Casey's legs during a quiet night of TV watching.

Day 286 of 365

'Nurse Jackie' on location

I regularly see the signs posted along sidestreets throughout Manhattan -- no parking on a certain day because of a film shoot. But I don't see the actual production taking place nearly as often -- maybe once every 10 times I see the signs. That tends to happen because I'm either off on the day of filming and therefore not in New York, or I only see the trailers lining the streets, with the actual filming taking place somewhere else, around a corner on a different street.

But a day after seeing the "Nurse Jackie" signs posted, I came walking along that same route the next day and spotted the bright lights beneath the High Line on Washington St. I stood across the street for a few minutes watching the action -- such as it was; they were filming inside the ambulance, and all I saw was someone shifting from the back to the front repeatedly over several takes.

I didn't recognize either of the actors after filming of the scene was complete, but because of the nature of the scene, I'm sure I'll be able to spot it when the episode airs.

Day 285 of 365

Autumn doorstop

My hope of taking an autumn-themed photo every day of October wasn't feasible, but I still looked for them every day. This one was at the Macelleria restaurant on Gansevoort St. in the Meatpacking District.

Day 284 of 365

The Weehawken library

I first noticed the Weehawken library on one of the rides home from work with the car service. The turret on the right is close to the highway and stands out at night, making it seem like a little more of a mystical place.

Day 283 of 365

Opposite sign

Just across the street and a block north of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, naturally.

Day 282 of 365

Alton Brown at Barnes & Noble

Alton Brown is really funny unscripted and in person -- especially if you have a vegan in the audience. A nice guy, too, who took time to chat with everyone as he signed their books.

Day 281 of 365

You've got mail

Seen on Greenwich St. in the West Village.

Day 280 of 365

Everything must go

This little repair shop is on a busy suburban corner, but whenever I'm stopped at the red light on my way to Target, I find myself imagining that it's been there for half a century, older than any of its neighbors. I think of it having sat at this spot since Kingsland St. and Passaic Ave. were dusty dirty roads or rudimentary asphalt ribbons cutting through the countryside.

Day 279 of 365

Gold in the afternoon

Resumed my annual autumn tradition of a trip to Sussex County, which usually involves High Point State Park. After last year's trip came too late to get the leaves at peak color (but it wasn't a total loss), I decided to consider several trips over two or three weeks rather than setting aside one day to try to pinpoint the peak.

Today was nearly perfect. The weather, that is. The foliage is still spotty, but the scenery still starred in and around the park. I had good light, pleasant breezes and plenty of autumn splendor to behold.

As far as this shot goes, I didn't intend to shoot at this angle, but to get the golden tree into the frame, I had to because I was at the edge of the trail with my foot as far as it could go before stepping onto the loose, gravelly, steep slope. I could've tried to descend a few feet to get under the tree more and bring it closer to the monument, but I was in sneakers (I'd left my hiking boots in the car, hoping the monument would be open for a climb to the top, but it wasn't -- weekends only after Labor Day) and didn't want to get a few feet and then slide down the hill in a gravel-slide. I think it turned out OK, though.

Day 278 of 365

Happy birthday, Ray Kroc!

A guilty pleasure on Ray Kroc's birthday. I'm nothing if not thematic.

Day 277 of 365

Big Bucks outside Starbucks

A lazy shot. I could've gotten closer, but I shot this from the driver's seat of my car after I parked on Ninth Ave. because I had a 13x9-inch dish of shortbread brownies to take into work.

"Beer man," Chicago, August 2007

Beer man

Hot, sticky August day in the Windy City. Wrigley Field's roof provides some shade and a North Side breeze cools us off a little, but it's still a muggy day in the Midwest. On the field, the Cubs take on the Mets, but in the stands the fans buzz with talk -- Cubs vs. White Sox, Chicago vs. New York. One fan even trumpets the Red Sox to anyone around him who will listen. He knew what he was talking about -- 2 1/2 months later, they'd be World Series champions. And among us all walk the beer men, bringing us carbonated refreshment on a summer Friday at the ballpark.

Day 276 of 365

Last look for the year

Spent one last day at Citi Field -- mainly for the Shake Shack. Yeah, we can get it in Manhattan, but the tickets were free. Wanted one last shot similar to the one I took the first time I saw it in February.

Day 275 of 365

Bigger Big Man

Springsteen, Giants Stadium, October 2nd. What a show!

Day 274 of 365

Looking out my back door

I love those moments when you look up from what you're doing and see a moment worthy of a photograph, and that's what I got when I looked out the back to see the lowering sun shining on and through the leaves -- some of which have just started their autumn changeover.