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I had no definite walking plans this Friday.  I did walk around Stamford in the morning and by lunch I had walked five miles

I decided to take the train to Greenwich in the afternoon and walk to the library.  They have an art gallery, and I was hoping to see the new art exhibit.

I was in luck.  The new exhibit had opened the day before. Eagerly walking up the stairs I wondered why the door was closed.  The exhibit was closed as they were doing a video-interview with the artist.  Just my luck it had to be closed when I arrived.  If I was suspicious, I would blame Friday the 13^th.

I proceeded to walk back to the train station and decided to walk down Greenwich Ave. Greenwich Ave is the shopping avenue to be on.

Walking down the avenue I walked by the Sorokin Art Gallery. The door was open. I came to see art and in I walked.  There were three people there, a couple and an employee. 

The couple was walking out when I told the employee I really liked the art being exhibited.  He ran after the couple.  They were the artist and his agent. They came back and we talked about his paintings

The artist is Daro Campanile. He mentioned that he had worked with Salvatore Dali early in his career.

The painting I liked the most he told me he just started painting and the theme came to him as he painted.  As I looked at the painting longer fine details kept showing up.

It was such a joy to see these paintings and talk to the artist.

Friday the 13^th became a very lucky day for me.

One of the joys of walking, you never know what you will experience or see.

I checked their website, and the paintings will be there Thru June 8th

This was the last day of my walk from Stamford to Secaucus.  This segment would start at the George Washington Bridge (GWB). The plan was to get off at 125^th Street and take the subway to the (GWB).

Well, I got on the wrong subway and luckily realized it.  I got off at 135^th Street. At this point I decided to deviate from my plan and walk all the way up to the GWB. It was so worth it.  There are brownstone buildings all over Harlem  in New York City.  I have seen many. These brownstones were just elegant.  In the middle of the walk is this beautiful house. I would recommend for everyone to

walk the upper West Side of NY sometime.

Crossing the Bridge, I was able to get a view of the New York Skyline. Unfortunately, you can see the cloud cover blocked a lot of the view.

Reaching New Jersey, I deviated again.  The plan was to walk along Route One. I chose the River Road instead which ran along the Hudson River and it was a potpourri of architecture.  Houses, Apartments, Giant Apartments, and a lot of commercial buildings.  Always with New York City in the background.

The final deviation was in West New York, New Jersey.  The terminal for the ferry to NYC was there.  Time to take the ferry back to Manhattan. The ferry was

ten minutes, and I met a person who travels the country by Motorcycle. He has ridden over 150,000 miles all over the country. He mentioned you see so much more when you get out of a car.  My thoughts exactly.

I believe my next walking journey will be the Hudson River starting in NYC. There are trains along the route.  Hopefully I will start this summer.  

When I started my Stamford to Secaucus Journey (STS) I knew I would find the walking journey interesting. However, the journey has been so joyous.  There was so much to experience and take in what a delight it was.

The walk followed the Boston Post Road when possible.  There were times when the Boston Post Road shared I-95 and the is no way to walk that road safely or legally

Greenwich was a surprise. I have walked there many times, yet I still discovered new things There is a plaque saying this site was a rock quarry and the stones were used in building the Brooklyn Bridge. Walking past the Mianus River and dam is always interesting

Route One in Rye was tree lined and lovely houses and quiet for a main road.  The High School is like a college campus. One surprise was Long Island Sound.  I was usually just a mile or two from it, but I rarely spotted it except in Mamaroneck.

New York City and New Jersey were pure delights.  I walked thru the Bronx. The part I started out was all industry. Warehouses, car-repair shops, and recycling buildings.  Slowly there were more dwellings and stores.  I had lunch at White

Castle.  They offer the square hamburger. It was delicious. Approaching the Cross Bronx expressway brought me back to familiar territory.  I followed the road until the East River.  There was no sidewalk to cross the river on Rt 95.  Instead, there was the High Bridge. This bridge was built in the 1830’s to bring water into the growing city.

The second day of traveling ended at the George Washington Bridge.  I took the famous A train down to 42^nd street to catch the train home.

Tomorrow, New Jersey and the conclusion.

I have started my walking journey to Secaucus New Jersey. The trip will follow the Boston Post Road into New York City and across the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey.

The trip starts at the Old Town Hall where this plaque is. It is nice starting where George Washington and Lafayette were.

I am looking forward to finding more bronze plaques and learning more about the history of the tri-state.

The journey begins.

The flowers are starting to blossom, and the leaves are soon going to be budding out. The green curtain will soon arrive.

It is always nice when the foliage is out. The leaves are so vibrant. Nature is in full bloom. Yet I do miss the emptiness.  During the winter I discover so much when I walk. Seeing animals, rock outcroppings, hidden ponds and streams. It is much harder to see into the woods and forest when the foliage is out.

That is why I like Stamford. Each season is distinct and brings it own satisfaction

I usually walk alone. My wife and friends sometimes walk with me. However, the majority of time I am alone except for my constant companion.

Who is my companion? Very simple. Noise! Yes, noise is with me all the time when I walk. Vehicles, Sirens. Music, Planes and of course leaf blowers.

Vehicle noise comes in many sizes and shapes. The electric cars are quiet but still make noise.  The faster they go the louder the noise. Then we have tires. Some tires are okay and other usually on four-wheel drive or trucks have a loud and annoying sound.

Then we have sirens.  Stamford is the town of sirens. If I did not know better, I would say Stamford is on fire.  The Firetrucks are always going around with the loud sirens. In most cases they are going to back up an ambulance or a false alarm

Then we have music.  I am amazed at how loud some of our drivers like to have the music in their car. Some even have a giant boom box on the front seat blaring away. I do feel sorry for their hearing long term.

We are in the landing corridor for Westchester Airport.  The jets fly low and south over Stamford and then turn right to start the final approach to runway 34.  The jets are not too loud. They are a constant.

What can I say about leaf-blowers? Another constant.  There always seems to be a leaf-blower in the neighborhood or along my walk.

The reason I write about noise is there were two occasions in the last month where I had silence. The first was at the Pound Ridge Reservations.  A great place to walk by the way.  I was walking up a hill on a trail and there was no noise.  I was far enough away from road and there were no planes around. It was very eerily.

The second time it happened I was walking North on Stillwater Street just past Stillmeadow school.  There was no traffic, no planes, just quiet. Then I heard birds singing. It was such a revelation there were dozens of birds singing. It was so nice to hear the singing without the distraction of Noise. Sadly, it did not last long.

Keep on Walking

Greenwich is a great destination. I have walked the border between North Stamford and North Greenwich often and there are great views, and you truly feel like you are in the forest.

However, today’s blog is about taking the train to Greenwich.  The time to take the train from Stamford to Greenwich is around ten minutes.  Trains run about every half hour during the day.

Once you arrive at the train station you have various choices.  Greenwich Avenue is a very short walk and offers a great variety of food and retail. Long Island shore is also a short walk from the station.  If you walk down Steamboat Road to the end you have a nice landing to view the sound and you will usually find someone fishing

Do you have children?  A close walk is the Bruce Museum and Bruce Park Playground. The Bruce Museum has many exhibits for children to enjoy plus the dinosaur outside.  The playground is excellent for children.

Now for the serious walker.  Walk thru Bruce Park until you come to Indian Field Road. Go north on Indian Field Road. Go past I-95 and turn right on Station Road.  Just past the Cos Cob Train Station is Cos Cob Park.  The location used to be the old Power Station for the New Haven RR.  The park has nice walks, and the view of the Sound is spectacular.

At this point you have a choice.  You can catch the train at Cos Cob back to Stamford or continue your walk on Station Drive which turns into Strickland Road. Going under I-95 you will pass the Bush-Holly House a nice place to visit.  Look for River Road and continue north on River Road to Route 1.

At Route 1 you have more choices.  The CT transit bus runs every half hour if want to get back to Stamford fast. Or you can cross the road. Check out the dam with the fish ladder. There are a few restaurants there.  Then start walking up Valley Road. You will be following the Mianus River.

At the intersection of Valley and Palmer Hill you have a choice again. Turn right to Palmer Hill to walk into Stamford or continue on Valley Road.  Both choices offer nice views and good walking.  Palmer Hill has some very old Stone Walls and Valley Road has the Mianus River with some nice rapids. Also check out the Fishhook clothesline along the way

This is just a sample of the walks and sights of Greenwich. Stamford and Greenwich share a long border and there are many walks for you to undertake

Enjoy your journey

A strange thing happened to me the other day when I was walking.  I was walking on a small sidewalk by the Rippowam River in Stamford when I heard a bell ringing behind me. 

I look back and there is a bicyclist behind ringing the bell to let me know he wants to pass me. Of course, I move to the side and let him pass.

Why is that strange? It is the law.  A bike on the sidewalk must signal the pedestrian to let them know they are there.

It is strange because almost no one follows the law. Three years of walking and I can count on one finger how many times I have heard the bell.

It was very refreshing to see the law being used. Don’t worry my faith in Inhumanity was restored fifteen minutes later when on Bedford Street the driver made a right hand turn on red. Did not stop or even slow down when turning right.

Now on to a lighter note.  Daylight savings ends Mid-March. I am looking forward to it for many reasons. One I can walk later in the day because the longer day. I don’t feel that comfortable walking in the dark.  It is harder to be seen by motorist and other travelers.  The second reason is sunrise is back around 6:45. I can get up at my usual hour and head down to the beach to view the beautiful sunrises.  I know I could do it in December.  It is just too cold at that time of the year.

Let’s enjoy the warming weather and the longer days

Keep on Walking

I took Statistics in college and really enjoyed the course.  After taking Algebra and Calculus. It was nice to take a math class that I understood and had a practical use for it. I especially enjoyed learning about mean, median and mode and standard deviations.

You are probably wondering what this has to do with walking around Stamford. The other day when I was walking, I found a wheat penny on my travels.  I usually pick up all change that I see on my walks. Mainly pennies. Sometimes dimes and quarters. So, onto the wheat penny.  I also found one the week before. So, the question is what is the probability of finding not one but two wheat pennies?

The US Mint stopped stamping wheat pennies in the 1950’s. According to my internet research there are over 200 billion pennies in circulation, and they feel one of every 350 pennies is a wheat penny.

I average picking up ten pennies a week. It is amazing where I find them.  A fair number of pennies I find around parking meters but the rest all over my walks.  I often wonder do people like to throw coins away.

One out of 350 are the odds.  I pick up ten a week. I should be finding one wheat penny every 35 weeks I have been actively picking pennies for almost two years. Finding two wheat pennies in that time fits the average.

I mention this because as I walk around Stamford and other areas I see and experience a lot of unique things. Seeing a Coyote. Bumping into Governor Lamont in Westport. If you walk enough you will probably see many unique things