Sorry for the long silence. For being alone out here it seems like we always keep busy doing something. Currently we have my family out visiting us, and the city. Unfortunately I kept forgetting my camera so I am not 100% sure if I'll ever post pictures.

Stepping back in time a bit. Wes and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It started out at 4pm Wednesday when we boarded the train at Penn Station. Wes and I both really enjoyed riding Amtrak and recommend it to everyone. 15 hrs later, we arrived in Ohio. Thanksgiving day we enjoyed a wonderful feast with U. Mark & A. Diane, U. Kenneth & A. Carol, U. Wayne and A. Linda, Grandma Sinn, and all their families. I believe there was 19 of us in one house on Thursday and Friday. The food was wonderful and the company even better! We did a lot of talking, eating, and game playing. Jumping a head to Saturday, Mark & Diane and family took us out to an Amish Settlement close by. It really feels like you are taking a step back in time while amongst Amish. We were able to get little tour of a horse farm, did a little "Amish" shopping, and bought some farm fresh eggs. Our trip home began at 12:45am with a ride back to train station. 17hrs later we arrived at Penn Station.

We both really enjoyed our time in Ohio. Thank you A. Diane & U. Mark for hosting us!




Here are some pictures of our weekend.

Outside U. Mark & A. Diane's House

Wes, Grandma Marian, and U. Kenneth
Sitting around talking after the wonderful meal!

U. Mark, A. Diane, Kimber, Weston

A. Linda, U. Wayne, A. Carol

Lori, Wes, U. Mark, Carmen, Julie, Luke
Playing an intents game of Dominos

Luke, Wes, Weston
Playing a very cold game of Football

Julie, Tyler
Checking out the football game and deciding it was much too cold outside.

A parking lot. Signs that we may possibly be in the Amish Country

Weston, Tyler, Julie, and Lori
Touring the horse farm

The hat selection. Any size you can think of!

Umm... I think his new look is growing on me.

Fall in NYC

One thing particularly odd about fall in New York is, unlike Oregon, once it starts raining it does not continue for the next three months straight. It will rain one day, then it will be nice and clear for the next week. During the last clear stretches we decided to check out the beautiful autumn colors around the area. I'll have to say I am impressed at how well the camera picked up the colors, however, it was much more beautiful in person.

My Employer

Hello everyone. Not a whole lot new with us here in Harlem.

This is a promotional video for Village Academies, the charter school I work for. I don't know if any of you are interested in this, but I figured I'd put it up anyway because I thought it was nicely done and gave a glimpse into what charter schools on the East Coast are all about (they are a lot different than on the West Coast).

Jim and Irene Invade New York

Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting Mom and Dad Sinn. The first few days were filled with city stuff...eating at Afghani, Korean, and authentic Italian (located in the heart of Little Italy) restaurants. Friday and Saturday were full of touristy things around the city, like a visit to the top of the Empire State Building, touring old churches, walking around Battery Park and Central Park, etc. After a couple days in the city we decided to venture out and head up to the Catskills. The trees were in rare form and we were all impressed by how many of them there were!

These first few are from the Morse Estate, the guy who created the Morse Code. Our hotel happened to be right next to it so we took a walk through it.

The next few are from the Catskills State Park.

This House was built around 1717. It's amazing how old some of the buildings are.

This is close to West Point. We stopped by, but really didn't get any cool pictures. It was a gorgeous area though.

Laurie Simmons' Visit

Sunday we had the privilege of hosting our first visitor, Laurie Simmons, Wes's first cousin. We spent the day window shopping on 5th Avenue, exploring Central Park, venturing out to Brooklyn for a good pizza restaurant (which happened to be closed until the evening), viewing Statue of Liberty from Battery Park, stopping by Ground Zero, dinner in "The Village," and braving the crowds in Time Square. Yep, all in one day. Needless to say, the soles of our feet were very sore! Here are some pictures from our adventure.

This is on the bottom tip of Manhattan in Battery Park. Ellis Island is that blurry land mass in the distance.

This is in "The Village," a trendy part of Manhattan, with a lot of great places to eat. If you look closely, the Empire State Building is just beyond Wes' ear.

Of course this is Time Square.

Ducks, Bread, and what have you

Not a whole lot new with us. The past few weeks have gone by fast and with it summer. Fall has definitely set in with a constant chilly breeze. However, in comparison with the sticky stale summer warmth, neither one of us is complaining. We just have to remember to schlep our wind jackets around with us at all times, sweaters wont do.

I had a bit of excitement at work Friday. Apparently a small fire started in the laundry shoot in the hotel below our office. 3 city blocks in midtown Manhattan were completely blocked off with fire trucks (between 15 to 20 trucks). Only floors 8 and 9 were evacuated, but our floor had quite a few firemen standing around and with there the big fire hose causing a LOT of water damage. Luckily our office was unharmed and the only inconvenience it caused me was 21 flights of stairs in my dress shoes, ouch!

Wes has had a pretty easy month with school. He had Tuesday and Wednesday off this past week, Thursday off this week, and Monday off the following week. The first three for a Jewish holiday and the last for Columbus Day. School is going well for him; at least better than last year. Seems like the children are easier for him to handle and he is able to keep their attention a little better with science.

After church today we walked to central park to feed the ducks some old bread we had in our apartment. Here are some pictures of our adventure.

I have been looking for this particular bridge for a long time and we finally found it. It is a pretty peaceful little hiding place in the park.

Feeding the ducks.

What started with just a pair of ducks quickly multiplied.

Afterward, we decided to feed ourselves. Here we are at Amy's Bread. I'll have to say this is the first place I have eaten in New York that I can truly say is better than any Oregon equivalen. Prior to having a little baked good, we tried some Afghani food and ate it along the waterfront. It was surprisingly very good, however, it did cause simultaneous digestive problems. Wes thinks the Taliban had their hand in it.

Rachel decided to cook the Sinn calzone. Delectable. -Wes

September 20th: The Last Hurrah

In honor of the last official day of summer, Wes and I packed our bags and headed east toward the great Atlantic Ocean. Luckily for us we hit an amazing day. 75 degrees with a light salty breeze. The only disappointment for the day was the absence of a good claim chowder restaurant... or any restaurant for that matter. We were able to find a grocery store, which provided a nice loaf of french bread, deli ham, and Munster cheese, creating a great picnic on the beach.

Sorry... this is the only picture we have of us at the beach. My dear husband does not like asking others to take pictures of us, nor does he like getting just his picture taken. The result, one measly picture of us, a product of the 10 sec timer function.

The beach possessed quite of few of these man made rock peninsulas jetting out from the beach. I am not sure why, but they did add to the beauty of the beach.

Believe it or not but the surf was covered with surfers on these puny little waves. This made Oregon's waves look like the oncoming of a hurricane.

Tourist For the Day

This Saturday Wes had to attend class for his masters degree from 9Am to 3:30PM, so I was finally free to wander around the city, camera in one hand, map in the other with my head angled upward. With the liberty to take as many pictures as I saw fit, I believe I may have out done the Asian tourists. Here are a few select pictures.

One thing I love about New York is all the water fountains. They have so many all over the city and each one is beautiful!

Ground Zero

This ball was once artwork in front of the World Trade Center. It was suppose to symbolize peace. They found it in the ruble misshaped but still in tacked.

This is Fraunces Tavern. It was built in 1719 initially as a house, I believe. Washington's Farewell to the Officers address was give in this tavern in 1783. It is now a museum and an expensive restaurant... for West Coast standards anyway.

I was given a tip at work to check out the Staten Island Ferry. It was completely free.

This picture is deceiving. The Ferry was PACKED with way too many tourists!

The views of the city were wonderful.

We went right past the Statue of Liberty.

Not sure which bridge this is but it is huge. It's amazing how far apart the two structural pieces are. I figured Scott Z and Evan S would especially appreciate the bridge.

Resting my poor tired feet on the pier. The walk around Battery Park at the bottom of Manhattan is really quiet peaceful.

Other side of Battery Park. It is possible that it has became my new favorite park in the city.

Manhattan Bridge

After Wesley's class, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, took a nap in the park, and ate at Grimaldi's Pizzeria, supposedly the best pizza joint in the city... "I've tasted better."