Battery Lewis

miliBuilt in 1942, this massive bunker in the hills near Red Bank offer a glimpse into what a WWII-type defense post must have been like. This site from which you can effectivly see New York City from would have been instrumental in defending NY from German U-Boats which were known to prey off of ships in this part of the Atlantic, and eventually in the 1960s and 1970s, hosted a long since demolished command and control headquarters for the local Nike anti-aircraft system that would have shot down Soviet bombers if the Reds ever got uppidy and sent planes to level NY.

Now, the majority of the bunker is sealed off by chain link fence and the trail to get on top was so treacherous, I went up by myself and almost went down on my ass.

This place was really cool to visit, amazing how 67 years of harsh elements -especially teenagers with spray cans- takes a toll on these places.

Enjoy the shots so far, we'll be making a return trip in the future.

On top of the bunker, that small trail to the left of the sign is all I had to guide myself up with. The route I took was so steep that I was grabbing onto exposed roots to keep from loosing my balance.

View from on top of the bunker, did I ever mention that I am positively MORTIFIED of heights?

Ahhh grayscale

My Sweetheart took these two shots of me from down below. She can take EPIC pics one handed while I use both of my shaky hands and get lackluster results.

We'll be back.
-AK

Lucy The Elephant

For our Anniversary, me and my Sweetheart spent the weekend in Point Pleasant, and on Saturday morning -this being last Saturday- we went down to Margate, near Atlantic City, to see Lucy; the gigantic 6-story piece of "zoomorphic architecture" and an attraction for literally generations of people.

Lucy was built in 1882 by a fella named James Lafferty, who in fact built several elephant-shaped buildings in NY and NJ, the tallest being 12 stories and resided in Coney Island. She is also the last one to remain standing.

Lucy is made of tin and wood, and despite being nearly 128 years old, looks fantastic. If you happen to be in Atlantic City, head about two miles south and pay her a visit.

For more information, you can visit www.lucytheelephant.org .

Lucy is watching...

-AK

Sleepy Hollow

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow...

Originally a short story written by Washington Irving, published in 1820, tells the story of a headless Hessian Trooper who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head" which he 'lost' thanks to a stray cannonball round during a 'nameless' battle of the Revolutionary War.

On the night of Halloween, the Headless Horseman chased Ichabod Crane, a Connecticut schoolteacher, through the Tarrytown NY subsidy called Sleepy Hollow, and especially, over the old bridge recreated below.

Irving is burried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, along with Samuel Gompers (founder of the AFL), Andrew Carnegie (yes, that one), Walter Chrysler (guess what car company he founded)... and thousands of others.

This is seriously the first, if not only, cemetary that I've been to and NOT been a little weirded out by. It's incredibly peaceful and almost like a park. You can even FISH there! For more information on the place, you can go to http://www.olddutchburyingground.org/ and http://www.sleepyhollowcemetery.org .

You're welcome?

The original bridge is long gone, but this is a replica of the bridge that the Headless Horseman chased Ichabod Crane over. When a car drives over it -at any speed- it sounds like the clap of thunder. More like a cannon actually.

Current desktop background.

-AK

Fairytale Forest... Take 2

"Hey!"
"What?"
"There's someone over there!"

Oh shit

Me and Sweetheart, or rather Sweetheart and I went back to the Fairytale Forest earlier this afternoon, and after poking around a bit, discovering new displays and buildings, we froze.

A maroon station wagon off in the distance, part of the self-storage place, with it's owner walking around.

We spent the next half-hour picking our way out of there, using over and moving only when we knew it was safe.

It was probably just somebody who rented space there, but with time of the essence, we made our exit.

Our hearts were beating so loud I'm amazed we did hear each others, and having enough skulking around, we set course for our third and final stop of the afternoon, Sleepy Hollow.

We went to the Forest today to basically check up on it, and dispel the rumors I keep hearing that it's about to be torn down. There's no benefit to using the land what left of it is on, too hilly, too densely forested, and by the looks of the self-storage facility, they already have more than enough room to work with.

Shrooms... they're everywhere.

Donkey!

The Skunk and I

The Great Pumpkin

-AK