Time to Go

Here's a look at the clock in Clinton Town Center... this is a particularly helpful tool if you mistakenly leave home without your watch, ipod, cell phone or any other clock wielding device. Not sure that ever happens in this day and age.

Note: This concludes my week-long tribute to Clinton... at least until my next trip into the city from my country home :)

Best Seat in the House

Here's a picture of a new bench that was placed in town as a mini memorial to someone's lost loved one. Perhaps physically gone, but clearly still thought of often. Alex and I sat there for quite some time the other day, just watching the street activities that included a horse-drawn carriage and lots of people watching. The wooden bench is situated near the river/old mill under a large tree... a wonderful location to take a load off and enjoy the scenery.

The River House Restaurant

Lots of diners out enjoying the Clinton culture and scenic river while noshing on some of the local luncheon cuisine. A beautiful day made it just perfect.

There is also a little cafe near this area that gets loads of morning business... the sound of water cresting the dam at the mill and a newspaper while sipping some mornin' brew is an exceptional way to start a lazy Sunday.

The Big City

Here's the big city of Clinton. Nice walking area, but I drove... note the shiny convertible BMW. I do still enjoy that little ride.

Pretty Clinton Storefront

Saw this pretty sight while sashaying down the sidewalk the other day. Lots of pretty flowers on this store stoop. Not sure that I could easily navigate up the stairs to the entryway, but clearly a form over function setup. I do appreciate it though...

Clinton Book Shop

For a little shop, this bookstore draws some interesting author booksignings. It is neat to have such a store in town. Alas, I do think that the Barnes & Nobles and Boarders will wins this battle -- I noted a "for lease" sign in the window, which tells me that this long standing fixture in Clinton will not last much longer.

Note: This is the first in a mini-series of Clinton pics. Stay tuned...

Raritan River Fisherman

Saw this dude quietly casting a line into the slow and steadily moving Raritan River (south branch to be specific). A peaceful afternoon for us both.

As a note, this collection of Clinton photos were taken with my optically stabilized Tamron 18-280mm. There are technical compromises needed when cramming so much focal length into a single lens, but it serves me well as a simple travel kit. Most issues continue to be photographer related anyway, so this lens works just fine.

Clinton Auto Show

The family popped by a small, local auto show today for an hour or so. Finally had some nice weather, so attendance was good and the cars were neat to check out.

My personal favorite was a 1963 Falcon... was in rough shape, but the owner made it especially fun by letting people chalk graffiti on it. He said that he enjoyed the dichotomy between his Falcon and those owners that don't want anyone to get near their 'rides'. Was a cool idea and a really good guy. We voted his Falcon best in show... hope he wins.

Saw lots of Corvettes at the show, a Model T, a few Model As (no pickups though), motocyles, and several '57 Chevy's... got some ice cream and headed home.

Father's Day Cruise

Spent a few hours Dad's Day afternoon exploring the South Branch of the Raritan River. This river winds its way through Clinton, falling over the dam at the Red Mill. Above the mill dam, the water is very calm and can be easily navigated by paddle.



I accessed the river via a public parking area that sits right next to the river. I plopped my kayak into the water easy as can be. I paddled down closer to the red mill and the bridge, being careful not to get too close to the dam so as to become a You Tube flick of the week. I noted a fisherman that was launching right from the museum (stone, brown building on the left looking down river). He was only about 20 feet from the lip of the dam and didn't seem to have any issue at all. Too close for a newbie like me, but maybe next time I'll get a little closer.

As you can see from this next snapshot, the river winds its way along heavily treed banks on both sides. Above the dam there is less than a half mile before I ran across another low rise dam... could've portaged over it fairly easily, but thought I would check it out from satellite photos to see if it would be worth it on the next trip. At that point, it was fairly wide, so the portage may be worth the effort next time.

Taking a different branch, I paddled for quite a while and saw lots of animals. I caught gaggles of geese, several woodchucks, many turtles (see pic), a strange looking, large bird (pic) and an otter/beaver looking thing all in their natural habitat. The twists and turns in the river kept my interest as I moved up river.

Eventually, I came into a shallow area where the surface water speed picked up considerably. I was not man enough to push beyond this, but I think that the shallows would continue for a longer stretch making paddling upstream more than a little challenging even for heartier boaters.

So I turned back and cruised my way home to the launch site. Upon arrival, I was loaded up and headed home in less than 5 minutes (5 minutes later, I was in my driveway). Was a good little trip all facilitated by my Necky Manitou, the Chevy Avalanche and my new little PVC cart. A good day.

I do think that the water is much nicer at the local Round Valley Reservoir, so that will probably be my next outing... hopfully later this week if weather holds out.


Click on the picture of the bird to get a closer look at this beast... didn't seem especially aftraid of me, and with that hooked beak, I maintained a very reasonable distance. "I don't know what the heck that is.... but get a picture of me with my arm around it!" See if you can help me identify this creature. Is it a loon? A commorant? Not sure.

Not a "Knockout" Technically

I couldn't help but post this one last picture from my day out and about. After seeing the wonderful knockout roses in my brother's blog, I wanted to share this photo of one that I saw today.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I took this macro-like photo with the Canon 100-400 from about 2.5 meters away (shot off the bridge down to a walkway). After snapping the shot, I walked around to smell the beautiful roses - there were many, many of them.

I need to plant a few of these in my yard.

Note: Photo looks better in full scale size... blog gets a little grainy.

Ye Old Sub Base

Finally, I took a snapshot of one of my favorite little shoppes in Clinton. Ye Old Sub Base is a tiny little sandwich deli that offers very tasty subs. If it happens to be near lunch when then kids and I ride bikes into town, I'll often grab myself a seafood salad sub.

Love 'em.

Clinton Town Center

Couple more shots from downtown Clinton. One looking at the side of the bridge toward the downtown area and the other looking up Main Street back toward the bridge. Not too busy this morning, so I could easily stand right in the middle of the street.

Both shots taken with my Sigma 17-70mm lens.

Again, be sure to click on the photo to see the full sized picture.

Duck, Duck, Goose

Was out and about this morning in Clinton - took the BMW out for a spin and brought my camera along with me. These two photos taken with my Canon 100-400 L, which I absolutely LOVE.

Click these photos to see just how much detail is caught with this wonderous lens.

The Old Mill - Clinton, NJ

A little snapshot of the Red Mill in Clinton, NJ. Sitting at the end of Main Street is a bridge that overlooks the South Branch of the Raritan River and the old mill. A nice place to have a stroll on a summer day.