We needed a break and some time off. We got on an airplane and headed south…where to go?
Our friend wanted to do a little diving, so we picked a different island than we had ever been to before.
The Dominican Republic sounded different. Warm water and sun 🙂
We wanted a little downtime to do some reading and relaxing…
and try some different foods and drinks of course!
Stay tuned on the diving! This blog will continue 🙂
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If you believe in the amazing history, accomplishments and importance of this site being available for man others to visit, please consider joining me and sponsoring a brick!
Someone finally shared a picture of my brick which has a conspiratorial ardency/correlation to another famous person! 😉
Since I had to stay up really late last night work on some Cybersecurity challenges in London…I decided I needed a short break.
I decided to take an extra long lunch break today and check on some earlier Cybersecurity experts outside of London.
One of the most famous Cybersecurity experts in the world Dr. Steve Lipner recommended I visit when I had a chance. The grounds and museums were very well kept.
Maybe it was Mr. Lipner that was inspired by the story of Dilly Knox and his famous bath routine, I am not sure…
It is only a 40 minute train ride out and it is a very quiet campus that is full of history.
It became quiet famous again after the movie the Imitation Game, but the positive is all the renovation and work that is being done to re-create the bombe experience in how they worked to break the enigma devices.
They had several Enigma devices which was quite a treat to see. Interestingly, there are two others in England. One is in Churchill’s War Museum and another is in the Imperial War Museum, both in London!
The real amazing thing I learned was the Lorenz machine which was used by Hitler for his secret messages and not the Enigma. This was not even de-classified until 2003!
http://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/lorenz/sz40/index.htm
If interested, here is my posting from touring around London.
Many people wonder…what should you do on your last day in NYC.
You go to Coney Island of course!
I have to admit it was a little of an old school carnival, but I can see why locals and tourists all like to visit.
You have to enjoy a famous hot dog of course and have the chili-cheese fries at the most famous hot dog stand in the world…
It is a simple ride from Manhattan on an express route for $2.80 each way. It only takes about an hour, but if you get bored, you can do some dancing on the train if you like.
We did not go into the museum, but it was a great opportunity to visit the new Freedom Tower (World Trade Center 1)
and also observe the very moving memorial (no pun intended) that was built in the former footprint of the twin towers.
Afterwards, it was a good excuse to get some classic New York pizza nearby…and check out Wall Street to see where all the big money is made in this country. In all honesty, there is not that much activity or thriving environment in Wall Street anymore…I am not sure this is the best place to seek new opportunities any more…
Later that evening, we took in a Broadway show – the controversial “Book of Mormon”.
We had great seats up front, but they don’t let you take pictures during the show.
I have to admit the acting and humor was quite a show. The music was also very well done. It was quite funny to see the orchestra members watching movies on their iPad next to their music scores…
Later, after the show, we had to check out one of the local Irish pubs for a beer and enjoy the open floor and see the evening skyline 🙂
Today was a little different…we walked to the Hudson river to check out the Intrepid carrier.
It was fun to offer a little tour of a naval ship (type) that I had served upon 20 years ago…although this was quite a bit older that CV-67.
Amazing how quickly getting around a carrier came back to me…I don’t miss the food though!
It was cool to see some familiar planes, but very weird to see them painting in non-combat demo colors that you would never see on active duty. Real planes are only grey…and a true F-14 always has drip pans beneath it due to all the leaks…
The museum was well done with lots of space exhibits and fun activities for families (like the Enterprise space shuttle).
The cool thing for me is the Growler submarine which carried the legacy Regulus cruise missiles. These were like the cold war variant of the V2 rockets based on the German technology captured after WWII and were carried on submarines until the Polaris missiles were deployed which could be launched from under the water.
Now for dinner, we went to the Rainbow Room on the top of the Rockefeller building (NBC).
On Monday nights only, they have big band orchestra, music, singers and dancing.
Amazing food, amazing views, amazing service, amazing music, amazing energy and tons of fun. Highly recommended.
We had an interesting day all around Central Park in New York City.
Since Mr. Trump was not available for coffee…
We went to the local favorite in NYC that blows away Starbucks. A donut qualifies for carb loading for long runs doesn’t it?
So we jogged across the street to get a run around Central Park.
And there were LOTS of other runners. Was this normal for a Sunday?
No, it was a NY Road Runner training event! We could not resist being bandits! 🙂 But I do admit it is hard running more than 10 miles without a dozen donuts for fuel…
On the other side of Central Park is the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
And I must admit, this museum is HUGE. With an amazing collection of exhibits and artifacts from many different eras.
It is like the Louvre, but in the Great Hall, it is like the zoo!
We checked out the special exhibit on the China: Through the Looking Glass. The arrangement, design and modern approaches in this exhibit were quite impressive and hard to describe or represent in pictures. Very well done.
I do have to admit, even though I am not an American History aficionado, seeing this original piece of art with George Washington and the American Revolution was pretty cool. I had no idea this was a 20 foot long wall painting…did anyone else?
Here is another blog post of NYC in the winter on a different business trip.
Landed and hanging out in NYC for a few days. This is going to be a fun few days…New York City is one fun city/zoo/entertainment center.
Mr. Trump rented us a room in his place on AirBnB. This was before he came President. Very conveniently located next to Central Park. You can guess what the next post will be about 😉
Side by side: Times Square at 9 PM and at 9 AM. The city is alive at night to say the least.
Stay tuned to this channel! Here is the next post about Central Park!
Our last day on the island with a sporty drive in a Porsche Cayenne to the southern part of the island where the airport resides.
We enjoyed the views along the way and were thankful for a Priority Pass lounge in the local airport. The Platinum AMEX continues to pay off 🙂
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Since it was our last day, we took a hike to the nearby Pigeon Island. You can see the Sandals resort with the red roofs below.
It looks like it is peninsula, but the British and French built up a causeway over time to maintain the fort.
It is a great hike as you can get in the national park for $7 (per person) and explore around. There are nice placards to explain the history. You can see the fort above.
They even have original guns from the 1800s still up at the top. Caution: don’t try climbing in the rain, the walkway will be so slippery and dangerous because the rock paths are steep.
Now, if you are brave, you can truly hike (I mean climb) up to the nearby peak where the gun slope winches were used. It was VERY challenging and steep, but a fun adventure if you are fit. See the fort in the distance?
and when you get to the top, the views of the surrounding area and other islands is amazing. If you speak French, you can see Martinique in the distance.
Of course, you can have a lot of fun in the sun and play pool volleyball all afternoon and enjoy your favorite frozen drink…
But you can also eat along the waterfront with some great local fare and wine…
and watch the sun go down next to the firepit…
and then take a great run around the marina.
so, you can then enjoy the local casino just down the street to play your lucky numbers on the roulette wheel to get enough money to pay for a taxi back to your resort.
