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Road Trip: MoMA

Joe — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:30:15 +0000

A couple weekends ago, some coworkers and I traveled to New York City to visit The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). This trip marked the first time I had been to the museum. Here are some of the photos I took.

Road trip? More like a rail trip:

Walking from Grand Central, I ducked inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral:

Parked:

MoMA:

Museum-goers:

Claude Monet’s water lilies:

“The Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh:

Museum-goers:

“Cinema Redux” of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. A frame was captured every second in the film, and each row represents one minute of the film. More here.

In the same section of the museum, there was this amazing touchscreen application called “I Want You to Want Me.” The application pulled together information from multiple dating websites and created this interactive display of what people want and who they’re looking for. Read more about the project here. The official video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Post-MoMA, the Chrysler Building in reflection:

Back at Grand Central:

Headed home:

America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip – Conclusion

Joe — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:14:10 +0000

My America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip: 10 days; 1,914 miles; 2,495 photos. I compare my journey to that of a tribesman journeying up the mountain and returning a different person. Having spent so much time by myself over as great of a distance as I did and having experienced places of awesome historical significance and places for great personal reflection changed my outlook on myself. I have an altered opinion of life, one, I think, that will make me a better person.

My road trip was an amazing journey. I cherish the experience I had, the memories I made, and the photographs I took. Looking back on my journey, while the drive was at times long, I will be forever thankful and grateful I was able to make the trek. Having seen all these American treasures makes me reiterate “America: F**k Yeah!”

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip – Liberty State Park

Joe — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:12:19 +0000

My final stop of my America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip in October was at Liberty State Park in New Jersey.

The park is directly across the harbor from New York City, so I was afforded a great view of the skyline:

The view down the pier:

And of course, to top-off my jingoisticly-themed trip, the Statue of Liberty:

Lady Liberty at dusk:

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip – Trenton

Joe — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:10:34 +0000

Stop #3 on my return trip from DC this past October was in Trenton, New Jersey at the site were General George Washington and his troops crossed the icy waters of the Delaware River to make a surprise Christmas Day attack on Hessian forces in Trenton.

The crossing, of course, was made famous in Emanuel Leutze’s painting:

I stopped at Washington Crossing State Park on the New Jersey side of the Delaware:

The Delaware today:

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip – Philadelphia

Joe — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:59:37 +0000

For anyone who was following my photos from my road trip in October, my apologies for not finishing the series.

As noted earlier, in October, I took a 10-day, almost 2,000-mile journey to North Carolina and back, stopping at several historical places on the way from and to Connecticut. The last day took me from DC back to CT with stops at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Trenton NJ where Washington crossed the Delaware during the Revolution, and Liberty State Park in NJ.

The Liberty Bell with Independence Hall in the background:

Forged in 1753:

The clapper:

In this room, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution were all signed:

The guide mentioned the only original item in the room was the chair (with, what was said by Benjamin Franklin, was a rising—not setting—sun) used by George Washington during the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787:

Independence Hall:

And since I was in Philadelphia, I had to stop for a cheesesteak!

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip – Fort McHenry

Joe — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:13:11 +0000

Day 10, the final day, of my road trip back in October was a spent driving from DC back to Connecticut—and of course I had some stops planned!

First stop on the return leg of my trip was to Fort McHenry in Baltimore MD. Interestingly, Fort McHenry is the only site in the National Park System that is designated as an Historic Shrine.

The fort from a distance:

Looking out to the harbor:

Cannonballs:

Inside the fort (several years after the War of 1812, the second story and porches were added):

The guns of war:

Rampart (as in “o’er the ramparts we watched”) #4:

An interesting bit of historical trivia I learned at Fort McHenry was that in 1861, several members of the Maryland state legislature were imprisoned in the jail cells at the fort to prevent them from voting to secede from the Union.

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip – Washington, DC (Part 2)

Joe — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:01:36 +0000

And now for part two of my Washington DC photos from my road trip.

I loved the ceiling and the perspectives offered by the DC Metro:

Flag above the Department of the Treasury building:

North portico of the White House at night:

I saw this device on the south gate of the White House grounds. I’m curious what might have happened if I pushed the button:

South lawn of the White House:

Lafayette Park just north of the White House:

The eternal flame at John F. Kennedy’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery:

Onlookers:

Brothers (Bobby, Jack, and Teddy):

A sea of white:

The U.S. Constitution at the National Archives:

The Washington Monument from the Jefferson Memorial:

The U.S. Capitol, glazed with rain water:

I only spent two days in DC, but I probably could have spend two weeks there.

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip – Washington, DC (Part 1)

Joe — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:51:30 +0000

Days 8 and 9 of my road trip were spent in the nation’s capital.

The weather those two days was cold, windy, and rainy, but I made the most of my time there. To alleviate my exposure to the elements, I would stay outside for a little while and then find something to do inside somewhere. Then I would go back out, then find something to do inside. Etc.

This was my first time in DC since 2001, and I was amazed at how much of a fortress certain areas and buildings have become because of security concerns. Buildings like the White House Visitor Center and the National Archives that you once were able to simply walk through the front door are now protected by metal detectors and security screenings. Walking and stopping at high value targets like the White House, I always felt like I was being watched, especially since I was traveling alone. Such is the life in a heightened-security state.

But anyway, on to the photo tour. The U.S. Capitol from the southeast end:

The Statue of Freedom above the Capitol dome:

Inside the Capitol rotunda, a statue of George Washington and The Apotheosis of Washington:

Inside the Library of Congress:

Looking to the Capitol from the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court:

The west side of the Capitol:

The Capitol fountain:

Sputnik I inside the National Air and Space Museum:

The Washington Monument:

The National World War II Memorial at night:

Walking up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial:

The Reflecting Pool from the Lincoln Memorial:

The Korean War Veterans Memorial:

To be continued….

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip – Manassas Battlefield

Joe — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:04:35 +0000

The last stop on day #7 before I arrived in Washington DC was to Manassas Battlefield (flag J).

This battlefield saw fighting twice. The First Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas) took place 21 July 1861 and was the first major land battle of the war. The Second Battle of Bull Run took place 28-30 August 1862.

Unlike my previous battlefields of the day, this one was all open field:

The Henry House, destroyed during the first battle but later rebuilt:

Tree and field near the Stone House:

The Stone House, used by Union soldiers as a field hospital during both battles:

Bull Run:

The Stone Bridge spanning Bull Run. This bridge was destroyed during the first battle but later rebuilt.

As I was taking photos of and around the bridge, two gentlemen dressed in Union gear came walking over the bridge. I started talking with them and asked if I could take a few photos of them. They said they were at a reenactment at another battlefield.

The following day when I was walking the streets of DC, I ran into these two again (sans their Union gear).

While Bull Run was the first major land battle of the Civil War, the battlefield was the last of six Civil War battlefields on my road trip. Like the previous battlefields, imagining what went on here so long ago while I wonder the fields was chilling.

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip:

America: F**k Yeah! Road Trip – Fredericksburg Battlefield

Joe — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:49:38 +0000

After Chancellorsville Battlefield, I made my way to neighboring Fredericksburg Battlefield.

The Battle of Fredericksburg took place 11-15 December 1862. Confederate forces held off advancing Union forces in their campaign to march to Richmond.

Part of the stone wall on Marye’s Heights, occupied by a well-positioned and reinforced Confederate force who drove-back waves of attacking Union troops. This part of the wall is the original wall:

An open field of battle:

These earthworks are remnants of trenches used by Stonewall Jackson’s troops:

Driving through Fredericksburg Battlefield:

A gun of battle:

My “America: F**k Yeah!” Road Trip: