Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (City Hall, buildings, blue sky and a man reflected in the puddle) The man and the statue of William Penn (on top of the city hall tower) seem to be walking in the same direction. To give a little perspective the statue is 37 feet tall and weighs 27 tons. 
This is a statue of Union Civil War General George McClellan on his horse. It stands next to Philadelphia's City Hall. This statue was created in 1894 by Henry Jackson Ellicott.
It's great to be back! With the exception of this photo and some for Weekend Reflections I'll be be posting the pictures that I took in Europe on my other blog Something Sighted. I've already posted a few and I'll be posting them for a long time to come. This picture is another version of my other blog's new header photo. I hope you all enjoyed Weekend Reflections while I was away. I'm looking forward to the fun this weekend! 
I took this shot in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Saturday. I wasn't standing in the fountain but I was tempted. :)
The top and bottom statues where on a roof near the flower pot from the previous Weekend Reflections post. There were hundreds of other garden statues around the place too. They were amongst all sorts of rusty outdoor antiques. I only had my 50mm lens and I was glad to find so many interesting subjects to photograph.
It was getting late in the day and we were about to head back to the train station when a lady saw me looking at my map and asked if she could be of assistance. She said she's lived in Lower Manhattan for 30 yrs. I told her that we didn't need any directions but before I knew it she was leading us to a river walk type park which was the opposite direction from the train station. We were both exhausted after walking all day but I was glad that we made the final trek to the water because I was surprised with my first ever sighting of the Statue of Liberty. 
The statue has a few wasp nests under her arm. (click to enlarge if needed)
While taking a drive on Sunday I spotted a huge gated entryway with a road that wound up a hill. There was beautiful green grass on both sides, and at the top of the hill was a statue of either Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, or Mary the mother of Jesus. The gate was open so I went in. There was a house on the other side of the hill but I seemed to be the only person in this expansive green area. I took a few pictures and as I left I noticed that it was the spot for a future cemetery. Which made perfect sense.
The eagle and lamp strut their stuff in front of a beautiful Philadelphia sky. These are three views of part of the bridge that I was standing on when I took these pictures. The eagle is the national bird of the United States, and Philadelphia was the birthplace of the United States, so images of eagles can be found all over the city. Philadelphia's NFL football team is also called the Eagles.
This is the Smith Civil War Memorial in Philadelphia's Fairmont park.
When I was walking around Lambertville New Jersey this Catholic school wall caught my eye, and I thought it might look interesting in sepia.
It was such a beautiful day when I went to Fairmont Park so let's continue with a couple of views of this very imposing statue of Thorfinn Karlsefni who seems to be the gaurdian of the Schuylkill River. The Ballon in the background is from the 135 yr old Philadelphia Zoo, a place that I hope to visit soon. Can you imagine the pictures that I could get if I was in that balloon?
This is Memorial Hall which is now home to the Please Touch Me Museum. I really like the look of the building, but have no interest in the museum.(It looks like a great place for kids though) It's located on the other side of the Schuylkill River ("SKOO-kull") from where I took the other Fairmont Park pictures. This is a really great park.
This is the Connecting Railroad Bridge in Philadelphia which I think was built in the 1860's or 70's. Above it is a statue called The Laborer; it's by Ahron Ben-Shmuel 1952 (inscription: He wrought miracles). 
Once again it's time for Skywatch Friday. I love taking pictures of interesting things with a beautiful sky in the background. This week I present part of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Some of the middle fence posts seem to be pointing to the train headed for Camden New Jersey.
Friday I spent the day in Philadelphia and Saturday I spent the day in Manhattan mostly in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This picture was taken Friday in Philadelphia's Penn Treaty park. This is the top part of a statue of William Penn the founder of Pennsylvania.
I took this picture today at a park near princeton university in New Jersey. The young man is giving it the old college try but I doubt he'll finish his keg anytime soon.
I can imagine the statue saying "who's bright idea was it to block my view with these buildings" Even so there is still plenty of beautiful Philadelphia sky to be seen.
