Youghiogheny River

October 26, 2025 by LB

Two weeks ago, friends and I rode half of the 150 mile Great Allegheny Passage Trail, part of the Rails to Trails movement which creates multi-use public paths from abandoned railroad corridors. We started our ride in a small trail town called Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania where Ohiopyle State Park is located. “Passing through the heart of the park, the rushing waters of the Youghiogheny [yawki-gay-nee] River Gorge are the centerpiece for Ohiopyle. The “Yough” [yawk] provides some of the best whitewater boating in the eastern United States, as well as spectacular scenery”. To see this same image in B&W, visit Monochromia

I’ll share more about this amazing trip in the next few posts.

Support Open Streets

October 22, 2025 by LB

As Greg and I walked through the Upper West Side on our way to dinner and then to see John Oliver and Seth Myers at the Beacon Theater, we passed through the Columbia Avenue Business District. We soon learned about Open Streets, a concept where the streets are closed off to motorized vehicles and allow people (and their pets) to replace automobile traffic for a few hours. Without cars, streets become a massive public space where people of all ages, abilities, and economic backgrounds can come together to exercise, and play

Columbus Ave was full of families and individuals walking and cycling,

playing Chess and Badminton,

And generally enjoying community on a beautiful evening. What a concept!

Manhattan, briefly

October 15, 2025 by LB

After our time in Philadelphia, we hopped back on an Amtrak train for a brief visit to NYC. We got to spend time with dear friends, enjoyed some delicious food, walked many more miles, and laughed out loud to the stand up comedy of John Oliver and Seth Myers. A perfect 24 hours!