[easy-media cat=”15″ size=”550,186″]

On our return trip from Newport, RI in August, we got to make a stop in NYC to drop Audrey off at JFK. After rendezvousing with Brandon, we set out to get to know the city a little bit. We traveled by van service and subway into the Dumbo area for this view of the historic Brooklyn Bridge, then under the East River by subway to lower Manhattan. We visited the 9/11 Memorial, which really is a must for anyone traveling to the city. From there we walked to Battery Park at the tip of the island for a view of Governor Island, Liberty Island and Ellis Island. We were near Wall Street, but decided to call it a day. The following day we checked out the Brooklyn Art Museum and Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, both excellent places to visit.

This past weekend I attended the Fiddler’s Picnic for the first time. The annual event in Pennsylvania is really nice and laid back. Everyone can be a participant at some level, or just sit and watch the bands rotate on the main stage. Hibernia County Park is beautiful, and the event seems well organized (but they could use better signage to find the place). I pulled out my guitar for a couple hours and found I could keep up pretty well. Even learned the intro line to “Friend of A Devil” from another picker. People wander around from one musical circle to the next, joining for any length of time they desire. It is great to go to an event which is not completely commercialized by some corporate sponsorship – unusual in America today. I should have got someone to take my picture, but here is one of a the groups I played with.