My trip to NYC and Grey Towers

This smiling young ex-pat Cheesehead is my brother John, standing outside of his apartment building in Jersey City, NJ.  This picture was taken a couple weeks ago when I had the chance to visit him and his husband Jim prior to a business trip I was making in the area.  I flew into the Newark airport, and John picked me up there for a couple day visit.

This visit allowed for a brief sampling of the attractions of the big city--we focused mostly on food and architecture.  Below was my breakfast the first morning in Jersey City--bagels!  More specifically, bagels and lox (a brined salmon, with cream cheese, tomatoes, and capers):

After our bagel breakfast, the three of us walked a few blocks to a ferry that took us into downtown New York City (NYC):

(Yes, in case you didn't know, Jim is also a displaced Cheesehead, representing Wisconsin in the NYC!).  The tall building in the background of the picture above is the Freedom Tower, built after the Twin Towers came down in the 9-11 attacks.  Below is a clearer picture of this extremely tall building:

Here is part of the 9-11 memorial: 

We then walked from this part of downtown towards Wall Street and some of the other waterfront areas before heading through parts of Little Italy, which were celebrating a festival in honor of a saint (who I can't recall now):

As temptingly delicious smelling and looking as the dishes were (especially the sausage and peppers, which seemed to dominate), we tided ourselves with only a quick cannoli snack before heading through Chinatown towards our ultimate lunch destination--the world famous  Katz's deli, for a pastrami on rye:

After lunch, we head on to another part of NYC, which included more amazing architecture, including St. Patrick's Cathedral:

lots of Art-Deco skyscrapers:

and a trip to the top of the NBC building at 30 Rockefeller:

Jim didn't appreciate the prospects of looking at NYC from 850 feet above the ground, so he found us a perch at a local sports bar for the Badgers game while John and I enjoyed the sweeping views of the city.  After watching the Badger football team win, we passed through parts of Times Square:

en route to a quieter, less crowded, but very enjoyable dinner at a small Italian restaurant.  I got my sausage and peppers...and a very nice tiramisu...before we rolled back into Jersey City for the night.  The next morning, I got up early to go to mass at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church just blocks from my brother's apartment:

I love going to these old churches in big eastern cities when I travel--you can just feel the history!  Though this church was not packed at this early mass, the congregation here seemed to be very diverse, with dozens of nationalities represented among the worshippers...a microcosm of this metropolitan center.  John, Jim, and I then had a leisurely brunch in downtown Jersey City before the last tourist stop we made--Liberty Park, with its view of the Statue of Liberty and downtown NYC:

My short visit barely scratched the surface of what the NYC had to offer, but I wanted to save many of the sights for when the rest of Bragg Family South will be able to join me.  I would like to thank my hosts, John and Jim, for their company and hospitality, as well as their capable touring guidance:

I'm not a city kid, but I had fun, and I'm looking forward to the next visit!  By Sunday evening, I had picked up my rental car at the Newark airport and headed to my business meeting, which was in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania a couple hours west of Jersey City.  After checking into my hotel, I grabbed a quick hike in a nearby park, and found the woods more to my nature:

I was to spend most of the next week at a national historical site called "Grey Towers":

This massive summer home of the Pinchot Family has a special place in the history of my agency, the US Forest Service (following this link for more details:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/greytowers).  The man who is credited with getting forestry established as a profession in the United States, Gifford Pinchot, grew up here with his affluent (and influential) family, and the Pinchot Family eventually donated this building and much of the surrounding property to the federal government for use as a conference facility and interpretative site:

I was here for part of my leadership training I'm taking with about 40 other Forest Service staff.  The picture below is my leadership class getting a tour of the grounds:

Below is a picture of Pinchot Falls, on the nearby property of the Pinchot Family:

Below is an outdoor pool built by the Pinchot Family to use as an entertainment for guests--food would be placed on small boats pushed across the pool:

This trip pretty much capped off a summer of travel for me, which was both beneficial and taxing.  I should be pretty close to home for most of the month of October, which will be a blessing to both me and my family!