The Official Trippingpara's Chasing the Canadian Sunshine in the Maritimes Review

Great review so far. Thanks for sharing!

 

So sorry for the bad experience at Jiji's. I would have been quite upset. It is by far our favorite specialty restaurant on Carnival. Dined there on both of our Sunshine cruises last year and service and food were both outstanding. That's such a bummer that your meal there was so poor.

 

Hopefully the rest of your cruise went well. Looking forward to reading more.

Hi cruzeluver. Thank you so much for the kind words. We certainly didn't let our issues there bring a dark cloud over us. We still had a wonderful cruise and the service elsewhere was fabulous. For all we know, they could have had a bunch of servers out sick or have family emergencies or a million other reasons that could have caused the problems that we had there. We also ran into a few other issues during the cruise. Some made us laugh, some downright frightened us and others drew blood. But that's the beauty of a vacation...you're not at work! So just roll with the punches, keep that smile on your face and worst case scenario...go grab another drink!! You're on VACATION!!

Aww thanks. Honestly I try to make an effort to not have people in my pictures. Not sure why, it's just one of my weird things. That's the partial reason for our interior ship tour pictures being taken at 7am on the first sea day. Sometimes that's not an option, though. I'll keep an eye out for myself in yours - I'm a pretty noticeable dude.

 

Yeah JiJi's wouldn't give us a table any later than 6pm on Wednesday, which I was disappointed in until we had been sitting there for 2 hours. Oh well.

Sounds like we were there on the same day. Maybe they just had some staffing issues that day. I think the earlier reservations were the better ones to have. At least there was still some time afterwards to catch a show or drop by the Dive In Theater, etc. By the time, we rolled out of there, we were too bushed for anything else and most shows and events were over with.

I have a question. I have read a couple of posts here that say that Sunrise is the larger two story dining room, and that Sunset is the smaller of the two. I was told to email the maitre d to ask to be put in the sunrise dining room because it was so much bigger and brighter. So, since you are just off of the Sunshine, is it the Sunrise or the Sunset dining room that is the larger and brighter of the two? You said that Sunrise is the smaller, so I want to be certain that I request the correct dining room. Thank you so much.

The Official Trippingpara Review - Cliff Notes Style (Cont.)

 

FOOD: Of course with all of the foodies on Cruise Critic, I had to address this one. However, since the Sunshine has had so many reviews that have discussed the various food venues extensively, I will refrain from going into any further detail. For those that are curious or don't recall/know the venues available on the Sunshine, here is a listing of the main restaurants/eateries aboard: Sunset and Sunrise Restaurants (MDRs - forward and aft respectively), the Lido Marketplace Buffet, Guy’s Burgers/Blue Iguana, Ji Ji Asian Kitchen, Bonsai Sushi, Cucina del Capitano and Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. (I’ll discuss the Chef’s Table separately).

 

Sunrise Restaurant (MDR): This is one of the two main dining rooms. This is the smaller of the two (about half the size) and is located on Deck 4 and is all the way aft of the ship. Sunrise handles all of the Your Time Dining guests and is the location for the Seaday Brunch. This is the MDR that we were assigned to since we had selected the YTD option. The restaurant is nice looking without the gaudy decor of some of Carnival's earlier ships. Like we experienced on the Vista, if you have YTD, you have to go to check in on Deck 5 at the Java Café first. I understand this is to keep people from having to stand in line and wait outside the MDR, but couldn't they put the check in somewhere near the restaurant? I know, it's only 1 deck up but it still annoys me. That's probably why we never ate any dinners here (and the fact we didn't feel like packing any dressier clothes this trip - aka read that as we were too lazy and did not have the time to figure out wardrobes for dinner).

 

Nonetheless, we did eat here for the Seaday Brunch which was delicious! The service was good and the food was plentiful. We had some excitement during our brunch but you'll just have to wait to read about that in the diary section! Overall grade for the Seaday Brunch..."A". Sorry, but I really can't give it a grade for dinner service since we never ate there.

 

Lido's Marketplace - Okay, if you have been to the buffet on a Carnival ship then you know what it's like here. I do like the more subdue decor in the Marketplace and the addition of the PYOB machines is pretty friggin' nice (Pour Your Own Beer). We ate several meals and one breakfast here. We never found the lines to be overly long or the crowds to be overwhelming. We didn't find it to be any more crowded than any other ship that we've been on. The food was good and the crew kept it clean and well stocked. My only compliant was the fact that I grabbed the last two pieces of French Toast that were sitting in a pan. They looked like they had been there for a while and when I tried to cut them up, it was confirmed...hard as a rock. That's what happens at a buffet though. But my made to order omelet was out of this world good! Overall grade..."A"

 

Guy's Burger - This is usually one of my favorite haunts during a cruise. I was a bit surprised the first day when I made a beeline there only to find a snarly young man handing burgers out like they were his own personal burgers and he was now going to starve because of it. And to top it off, the burger was drier than the Sahara Desert and the BBQ sauce (it was a Ringer Burger, my favorite) tasted bad. I ended up throwing it away after a couple bits. Lady Trip's burger was fine. We ate there later on in the cruise and both of our burgers were just fine. Not quite as good as I remember them being before, but they were much better than the first one I had. I think I just got the bad luck of the draw on that one. Overall grade..."B-"

 

Blue Iguanas - Okay, I am officially a Blue Iguana fan!! This is by far Lady Trip's favorite place and I think it just became mine too. We stopped here for lunch once as well as breakfast almost everyday. Their burritos are the BLEEP! If you have never been here before, please put the crack pipe down and go there. Now. Take your time, I'll hang out and wait.

 

 

See? Wasn't that worth it?! Seriously, go there. It's that good. Overall grade..."A++"

 

Fahrenheit 455 Steakhouse - Seriously? Do I need to say anymore? The service...outstanding! The food...delicious! Upcharge price...there is no steakhouse that I've ever been to where I can get that kind of service, quality of food and amount of food for $35. It's an absolute steal at that price! Normally we reserve well in advance, but this trip snuck up on us, so we had no reservation but was able to make one at the last minute on embarkation day (love that free bottle of wine! - "free" being the operative word there!) Overall grade...like I even need to say it..."A++"

 

JiJi's Asian - We ate here for the first time on the Vista and we loved it. Lady Trip thought it was one of the best dining experiences from that cruise. So, of course we decided to go back there again. Like the steakhouse, we had no pre-made reservations so we went back to the Havana Bar to see if there were any spots available. There was a spot available in an hour and a half so we signed up for it. It proved to be a big mistake. I'm not sure what the heck happened there but it was a horrible experience. Okay, so maybe "horrible" is a bit harsh, but it was certainly not an enjoyable experience.

 

We were seated promptly and just opted for some ice water as were both very thirsty. The waitress gave us the menus and explained how to order. No problem. We quickly marked up the order sheet and waited for her to return. And waited. And waited. And waited. I finally flagged down the manager who took the form. No apologies, just took the order sheet and walked away.

 

While we waited for our food, three tables around us were seated, given their menus, had their orders taken and then given their food while we got nothing. I had to stop several different waitresses just to get our ice water refilled. I finally found our waitress and waved to her. She nodded and went over to the counter and picked up our appetizers. Just as I suspected. Luke warm from sitting there.

 

It took them almost an hour to finally bring out our main course (only after I flagged the manager down again). She promptly brought our meal over. Again, no apologies. I was less than pleasant by the time the desert arrived. We spent over 3 hours in there and wasted the entire evening with the majority of it just sitting there waiting. It's hard for me to judge the food as it was mostly lukewarm by the time it was brought out to us. No one else seemed to have this issue and they all seemed to enjoy their meal. Not sure what we did to the waitress but somehow we were clearly knocked off her Christmas card list! Overall grade..."F"

 

Pizzeria del Capitano - Okay, let's get real. I could live off pizza. Seriously. You can put all the major food groups on one slice. Bam! Knock that food chart right out of the park in one meal. You can't beat it. And it goes with everything...milk, soda, beer. I mean, what more could you ask for, right? Anyways, so I'm probably not the best person to rate a pizza shop because I don't think there is such a thing as a bad pizza. There's just good pizza and even better pizza. This one, ranks in the even better pizza category. It was, by far, the best pizza that we have had on a Carnival ship! Even Lady Trip was singing their praises. A bit off key, but singing she was! Overall grade..."A+"

 

That was really it for the food joints that we ate in. Next up...Entertainment areas

The Official Trippingpara Review - Cliff Notes Style (Cont).

ENTERTAINMENT: Since we didn't get to prepare as we normally do for this cruise, a lot of what we did tended to be spur of the moment decisions. What does that mean to you? Well, it means that we probably did not get to take advantage of as much things as we normally do. But what we did see was very enjoyable and extremely well done. The entertainment staff was extremely friendly and upbeat the whole cruise and Emma, the Cruise Director was very jolly. That's the only word that I can think of to describe her. She always sounds so happy and jovial. Combine that with her crisp British accent makes me think "jolly". She was very upbeat, fun and very friendly without being overly so. To sum it all up, I’ll grade the entertainment overall as an easy “A”.

SPORTS SQUARE: I really like the Sports Square on the newer ships. We first got to experience it on the Vista and I have to say that the version of the Sunshine was just as good. Although I did miss the SkyRide on the Vista. We did spend a good amount of time out here, especially on our last sea day which turned out to be perfect weather for a sea day. We did a lot of laps around the SkyTrak, the ropes course (with resulted in several incidents), Foosball table and a very interesting game of pool. You'll just have to keep on reading to find out more about our adventures at Sports Square! Overall grade…”A+”

ALCHEMY BAR: Our home away from home! This is also located on the Promenade Deck (Deck 5) next to Ocean Plaza. If you fancy a fancy drink, then this is THE place to be! Javorka and Dean were absolutely incredible! Their drinks were so delicious and they loved to joke around and have fun. There was always a party going on there. Well, at least there was when we were there! Want a drink that’s not on the menu? No problem! These guys kept the drinks flowing and witty banter going. Highly recommend! Grade…”A++”

SERENITY: The Serenity Deck is located on Deck 11, 12 and 14. I really liked the waterfall from Deck 12 into the pool on Deck 11. There are a plethora of the standard shaded seating, hammocks, sun loungers, chaise loungers and sunbeds. This was one of the prettiest of the Serenity Decks that I’ve seen. Very tranquil. It also makes a great area for sailaways. There was also a bar however the staff did next to nothing in enforcing the no one under the age of 18 rule, so I’ll grade it as an “B”.

SPA: Since we had a spa balcony, I guess it would be pretty foolish not to actually go to the spa! We mainly go for the Thermal Suites. They are a great way to relax. My only complaint here is that they do not even have a whirlpool in the Thermal Suites. I would have love the T Pool, but would happily taken at least a little pool that is nice and warm and bubbles. Alas, not here. Oh yeah, the dry sauna was not working. It wasn't closed off or anything. You would walk in there and it was...we...normal. Not hot, not dry, just normal. Oh well, we still did enjoy ourselves here. Overall grade, "B".

Next up...Staff, Movies, Music, etc.

I have a question. I have read a couple of posts here that say that Sunrise is the larger two story dining room, and that Sunset is the smaller of the two. I was told to email the maitre d to ask to be put in the sunrise dining room because it was so much bigger and brighter. So, since you are just off of the Sunshine, is it the Sunrise or the Sunset dining room that is the larger and brighter of the two? You said that Sunrise is the smaller, so I want to be certain that I request the correct dining room. Thank you so much.

Hi estillcrew, good question. I must apologize, as I misspoke when I said the Sunrise was the smaller of the two. You are correct...SunSET is the smaller of the two and is the forward dining room on Deck 3. SunRISE is the two story MDR that is located on Decks 3 and 4 and is the aft dining room. Yes, the SunRISE is the brighter of the two since it has windows on both sides as well as the entire aft bulkhead. My apologies for the confusion. Cheers!

Following. Anxiously awaiting being on her for the first time next month.

Following. Anxiously awaiting being on her for the first time next month.

Hi cpshaye. Thank you for joining along. You're going to love her!!

Thanks for the review.

Following along, great review so far !! We aren't doing the same itinerary, but being a Canadian I am looking forward to your thoughts. Some day we will do that itinerary, seems a much better way to see parts of eastern Canada without having to make the drive !! Looking forward to the rest of the review and pictures. Thank you.

Thanks for the review.

Hi riclop, you are more than welcome! There's plenty more to go, I'm just warming up!!

Following along, great review so far !! We aren't doing the same itinerary, but being a Canadian I am looking forward to your thoughts. Some day we will do that itinerary, seems a much better way to see parts of eastern Canada without having to make the drive !! Looking forward to the rest of the review and pictures. Thank you.

Hey hockeyluver. Thanks for following along. I never would have guessed that you were Canadian from your CC name! Lol, seriously, I should be able to finish up my cliff notes version today and dive deep into posting the photos and diary section tomorrow.

Enjoying your well written review. I didn't realize the Sunshine had no hot tub or pool in the Spa area, bummer.

Enjoying your well written review. I didn't realize the Sunshine had no hot tub or pool in the Spa area, bummer.

Thank you JaniceB, I appreciate that. Glad you're enjoying it so far. I was a bit bummed about the lack of pools in the Thermal Suites as that's my favorite way to relax. But, I'll take a day in Carnival's Thermal Suites with or without a pool any day of the week and Sundays too over being at work!!!

The Official Trippingpara Review - Cliff Notes Style (Cont).

Entertainment: Even though we boarded the Sunshine with no real plans on what to do while sailing on her (aside from the Chef's Table), we did end up taking part in several different entertainment options. I must say that we thoroughly enjoyed all of the various forms of entertainment that we took advantage of. Here's a quick snippet of the options we did.

Playlist Productions - I've read many reviews where people slammed these shows because they no longer had live bands performing or didn't include multiple stage sets, etc. Whatever rows your boat man. Lady Trip occasionally gets me to take her to a play or musical (although personally, I'd much rather attend an opera performed by a group of screaming goats scraping their nails on a chalkboard). But that's me. I'm a guy's guy. I laugh at fart jokes, am about as politically incorrect as one can be, think watching 450 lb linebackers slam into each other is one of the greatest inventions of mankind and enjoy the smell of gun powder as much as my Mum's apple pie.

So what does all of that have to do with Playlist Productions? Well, nothing actually. But it does show that even neanderthals like myself can enjoy a very well put together show. And these shows were very well done! We saw both their Motown show (Motor City) and the 80's rock show (Epic Rock). Lady Trip and I found ourselves dancing and singing along to both shows (well, except when she completely bus chucked me which resulted with me being on stage singing "Stop in the Name of Love" - which now has me sending my entire paycheck for the rest of the year to a psychiatrist for therapy!) Overall grade - "A+"

Comedy Shows - We were finally able to catch one of the comedy shows in the Limelight Lounge. It is an odd shaped venue in that the stage juts way out into the club creating large sections of the club that can't even see the stage. There are large televisions set up to watch instead. Weird. Nonetheless, the guy we saw was friggin' hilarious! We went to the 18+ show which really wasn't that raunchy or "adult". Some of the comedians I've seen before seem to think that means they have to drop F bombs for every other word. He only dropped a couple here and there and I never found anything that he covered potentially offensive. Then again, I grew up watching "All in the Family" and thought that show was hysterical. Of course nowadays if I even thought of making one of the comments that Archie used to say would result in me being strung up at the nearest flagpole with the wedgie to end all wedgies!

His jokes about men and cats had me in stitches. Lady Trip was in tears too. They described me to a "T"! However, seeing how we only got to see one of the two comedians on the ship, I can only grade based off that one, but he was great, so I'll give him an "A".

Musicians - Aside from the guitarist that opened the Epic Rock show, I can't say that any particular group of musicians really stood out to me. They were all good, but not particularly spectacular enough to remember. I do recall that the bassist in the band that played in the Ocean Plaza was very good. The DJ out on the Lido Deck played the normal dance songs that are played on pretty much ever Carnival ship ever. It was a little weird listening to Jimmy Buffett as you're sailing through fog so dense you can barely make out the giant whale tail 20 yards away. Overall the musicians were good but not great, so I'll give them a solid "B".

Staff - This is one area that I think Carnival definitely excels at. It is truly rare to run into a foul tempered staff member. Most of them are all smiles and very outgoing. I'm not sure if I would be able to smile while I work as hard as they do. They put in very long hours, day after day and they do it all with a huge smile. Maybe they fake it until they make it, but they are darn good at it! Overall grade "A+"

Next up...a crapload of photos and the diary section!!

Great cliff notes. Thx for helping me get thru this Friday afternoon.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Forums mobile app

Looking forward to the rest of the review, while I prepare my Alaska review.

Great cliff notes. Thx for helping me get thru this Friday afternoon.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Forums mobile app

Hi cynt. Thank you very much. Glad I could help get through the day!!

Looking forward to the rest of the review, while I prepare my Alaska review.

Hi NWACruisier. Glad to hear that you're looking forward to it. I gotta say, I'm now looking forward to seeing your Alaska cruise! That's the next one we have booked. Can't wait to start seeing some reviews on that cruise.

I am excited to read another of your reviews. I had a less than good experience at JiJi's on the Vista, I think I am going to skip it on the Sunshine in October. Plenty of other good food available.

I am excited to read another of your reviews. I had a less than good experience at JiJi's on the Vista, I think I am going to skip it on the Sunshine in October. Plenty of other good food available.

Hi dacsmom. I don't blame you for skipping it. There are so many other options available. Next time, we're definitely going to Cucina instead (plus, there's a reason I married an Italian woman...I love their food!! Unfortunately, she doesn't cook any Italian dishes, I have to!)

Okay, before I dive deep into the day to day diary stuff, I want to cover a couple more things real quick.

Cameras: A very common question that I get asked is what camera am I using. Well, I'm glad you asked. We packed very light this trip and only took one camera each (not counting our cell phones which did get used as a camera a few times). I recently decided to start pursuing photography a little more seriously than I have before. I have somehow been accepted into the photography program at the Rhode Island School of Art which is like the Harvard of art schools. And it just so happens to be in my backyard so to speak. Now that I think of it, so is Harvard. I guess that's one of the benefits of living in New England!

Anyways, Lady Trip has recently started to share in my passion for photography and actually commandeered my old DSLR as her own and used it for the first time on this trip. You'll see a bunch of her photos later on and she beat me like a red-headed step child with some of her photos. She has some real talent and I can't wait to see her grow as she learns more.

So, on this trip she used my older Sony a300 DSLR with a Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5 all in one lens. It's a real nice set up, lightweight and takes some great shots.

I carried my Sony a99 DSLT with a Sony Zeiss 24-70 mm f/2.8 main lens and my Sony G 70-300 mm f/2.8 zoom lens. It's a big, heavy, pro-sized camera and that Zeiss lens is amazing! It has one of the best sensors on the market and is my favorite camera out of my collection.

This was the first time that I carried this set up and I loved it. I was scheduled to spend the embarkation morning with James Maher, who is a very well known street photographer based in NYC but unfortunately, ol' Mother Nature had other plans that ruined our little outing. Guess I just have to make another trip back to NYC!

Itinerary: This was the shortest cruise that we have ever taken. We booked it while we were on the Vista's maiden voyage. We always wanted to sail out of NYC and we love the Maritime area of Canada. As a special bonus, we were able to meet up with a couple that we became good friends with on Cruise Critic and the inaugural cruise of the Vista.

It was a 5 day cruise and here was the schedule:

Day 1 - New York City

Day 2 - Sea Day

Day 3 - Saint John, New Brunswick

Day 4 - Halifax, Nova Scotia

Day 5 - Sea Day

Day 6 - New York City

We tend to tour on our own versus taking ship based tours. We prefer the freedom that it allows us and is often cheaper (bonus!). Plus we are not bound by other people and their refusal to follow the time schedule (we had a lot problems with this on our Vista cruise which really ruined those tours).

Next up...Depart Providence, RI for New York City and the lights of the Big Apple!

The Official Trippingpara Review – Diary Style

Okay, enough with the Cliff Notes, now it’s time for the meat and potatoes of my review. Let me give you a little background about us. As I mentioned earlier, I’m Trippingpara but you can just call me Trip. I’m in my mid-forties and work in upper management for a large international software company. I’m a pretty laid back guy that loves to travel and goes pretty crazy with planning trips. I think I missed my calling as a travel agent. You should see my Excel spreadsheets outlining our itinerary, back up options in case our primary excursion falls though, options to eat, etc. I won’t even get into my packing lists!! Oy vey!!

Joining me on this adventure was my lovely wife who we’ll call Lady Trip. She is in her early forties and works as a paralegal specializing in international biotech patents. I'm just going to pretend that I know what she does and move on.

We decided to book this cruise while we were in the middle of our inaugural cruise on the Vista. We always wanted to sail out of New York City and we really love the Maritime area of Canada. Craggy rocks, crashing waves, lighthouses and sleepy little fishing villages are a photographer's dream come true. Okay, maybe not all photographer's but they are THIS photographer's dream!

Lady Trip and I were both swamped between work, some photo shoots, a family wedding, classes, etc., so the next thing we knew, it was time to head downtown to jump on the Amtrax Northeast Regional Express to New York City.

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Saturday, August 5th – New York City

Track 1 at Providence's Amtrak Station

The Northeast Regional runs from Boston all the way down through Washington, D.C. and into Virginia. The ride was easy and uneventful and rather comfortable. We had business class tickets and sat in the front row of the car with a ton of space in front of us to stretch out.

The ride was a little over 3 hours long to New York City. Driving there is about the same length of time but without all of the cussing, yelling and finger flipping that driving into NYC usually involves. We arrived into Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan around 10:30 am.

We strolled out of Penn Station under Madison Square Garden and headed towards our hotel, the Radisson Martinique on Broadway. It was located right in the heart of Midtown, kitty corner to the Empire State Building. Not too shabby!

Thankfully, our room was ready when we arrived so we could quickly drop our bags off and head back out to the city. We had tickets to a Museum Hack at the National History Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the MET).

One of the many dinosaurs to greet you at the entrance to the National History Museum in Central Park

Entering the American Art part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka...the MET)

If you’ve never done a museum hack, you need to ask yourself a couple questions…do you like to go gaze thoughtfully at old historical pieces and ponder the great mysteries of antiquity or stare at wonderful pieces of art and study the various techniques of the great art masters? If so, then these tours are NOT for you!

These hack tours are led by joe-smoes that are history and art geeks. With a sense of humor. And alcohol. It’s a wonderful combination. The rest of the day was spent touring both the Natural History Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If you have never been there before, please take my word that they are friggin’ huge!!! You could easily spend an entire day and more to tour one of these museums, yet we just toured both in 5 hours! Needless to say, we were bushed!!

Zak was our tour guide for the Natural History Museum. His tour was hysterical although he ruined a few of my idols though. He showed us the statue of Teddy Roosevelt (my favorite President) and showed us where an obvious repair was done on a hole near his foot. The statue is hollow and apparently, mice had taken a liking to his insides and made numerous nests in there.

He then proceeded to tell us how clownfish reproduce and sexually mature. According to science, the story of Finding Nemo was all wrong. To be scientifically correct, when Nemo’s mother died, Marvin (his father) would have become his mother. And Nemo, being the only other male would have become sexually active and would now be his father/mother’s sex partner. Just think about that for a couple minutes. Teddy Roosevelt was full of rats and Nemo ended up boinking his father! That is so wrong on so many levels!

Any ways, we took the Metro (subway) from Central Park back down to Midtown. The subway in New York City is easy to take but be careful. Not all subways run all day nor every day. Quite a few lines are shut down on the weekend and other lines can be shut down as the city is upgrading and repairing the lines.

Here are a couple shots of the sights of the city...

I just thought this was an interest mixture of items, technology, a bicycle helmet and a Confederate Flag. All at the New York Library!

This was another one that I thought was really interesting...girls in shorts standing next to the Summer Shorts sign. Yes, it's the simple things in life that amuse me!

Back at our hotel, we grabbed a couple beers and relaxed before hitting the sack. The Martinique on Broadway is on the Historic Registry and is really nice. It is a typical NYC hotel in that the rooms are about ½ the size of a normal hotel. Space is at a premium here in NYC. We didn’t care. We were absolutely tanked and needed some serious rest.

Next up: More of New York City (Times Square, Top of the Rock and more!)

Trip, I think you missed another calling besides photographer and travel agent...comedian. I'm busting out laughing at your comments and descriptions about "ruined idols". :') My hubby is looking at me wondering what the heck I'm reading and I just told him a review on cruise critic. The look on his face.

Now I am really looking forward to seeing the pictures that both you and Lady Trip got. Those that you've already shared are great. I really need to consider a photography course. Glad to be following along and looking forward to more.

Trip, I think you missed another calling besides photographer and travel agent...comedian. I'm busting out laughing at your comments and descriptions about "ruined idols". :') My hubby is looking at me wondering what the heck I'm reading and I just told him a review on cruise critic. The look on his face.

 

Now I am really looking forward to seeing the pictures that both you and Lady Trip got. Those that you've already shared are great. I really need to consider a photography course. Glad to be following along and looking forward to more.

Hey pghsteelerfan! I really appreciate the kind words. Most people would use the word "idiotic" or "moronic" to describe my comments, but I like your view much better! Glad you're following along! I remember your photos. You have taken some great shots! I still remember your whale tail in a puddle shot - that was great! Lady Trip bought me a class at our local REI store and that was really good. It gave me the confidence to slowly break away from the auto settings and now I run completely manual. There are a ton of great classes out there and most are pretty inexpensive. Treat yourself with one!

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Sunday, August 6th – New York City

I woke up early and did my normal morning ritual. When I was done, Lady Trip was still sound asleep so I decided to head out to grab some Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. I knew there was one around the corner so I wrote a brief note to her, grabbed my camera and headed out.

It only took me a couple minutes to walk down to DD and grab a large cup of Joe. Knowing that my Lady would still be sleeping, I decided to head a bit further down to check things out. The Flatiron Building was only a few blocks away, so I headed in that direction.

Since it was still fairly early in the morning, there were very few people out and about. Mostly locals heading off to work, jogging or out walking their dogs. I walked 8 blocks south to Madison Park, which sat at the edge of the Flatiron Building.

After snapping a bunch of pics of the infamous building, I strolled into the park, sat down and watched the city come alive.

Dozens of dogs ran around the dog park in one corner, an older pair of gentlemen sat in silence playing chess while several various people sat like me on park benches, drinking coffee and watch the world go by. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a lazy, hazy morning.

I spent about an hour enjoying the park before heading back. Apparently, the city was now fully awake and the streets were now active and buzzing like a beehive with activity. Lady Trip was already up as well when I returned. We chatted for a little bit before packing our camera gear up and headed back out into the city.

The goal for the day was to spend it taking photos. I was scheduled to spend the morning with a famous street photographer walking the streets of lower Manhattan on Monday, but the pending thunderstorms forced us to cancel. Since I’m a photography student at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), I was sooo looking forward to spending the time with such an expert and distinguished individual in his field. But the weather was not cooperating. So, if the world gives you a bunch of sour lemons, you make lemonade!

Lady Trip asked me if I was willing to teach her about photography, so off we went. I love teaching my passion to others and Lady Trip has an incredible eye and sees things very differently than I do. She loves the finer details of things and naturally leans more towards fine art photography while I tend to focus more on landscapes and travel photography.

We slowly walked the streets taking photos of everything and anything. We strolled through Bryant Park, the New York Public Library, Grand Central Station, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the shops on Madison Ave., Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City Music Hall, Times Square, the Theater District, the Garment District and of course, we had to stop at B&H (the greatest photography store in the world!!!) Yes, I was like a little kid in a toy store.

Here is a sampling of some of our photos:

I call this one: Birds in Flight. The streets of New York is a never ending stream of photographic opportunities!

The infamous Chrysler Building

Commotion in Motion. The main chamber of Grand Central Station is a constant hub of activity.

Catholic mass at the enormous St. Patrick's Cathedral

42nd and Madison.

If you have never heard of B&H before than you need to go do a quick Google search. This is Nirvana for anybody into photography, videography, music, computers, drones, televisions...ah hell, if you like electronics, than you'll love this place! I love how you buy a product there. First you chat it up with anyone of the hundreds of specialists there to assist you, request the item, then watch it (and thousands of other products) go sailing across the mammoth store on a raised track above your head over to the checkout lines. You then pay for it and pick up your item. The person that first helped you, will tell you exactly how long of a wait it will be to get your item (usually is only a couple minute wait). I had a permanently etched smile on my face there (as did 90% of the men there while their wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, cats, dogs, etc., looked utterly terrified!). Lady Trip was smart...she took my wallet away from me. Too bad I have Samsung Pay on my phone! Ha-Ha!!

Next up: Top of the Rock and Times Square at Night

OMG! You're getting me super psyched for our first trip ever to NYC! Also, I'm a fledgling dslr photographer trying to learn to use my standard lens, and attempting to go off auto settings. I'm in awe of your photos and am giddy awaiting more!