Late Tuesday night, the 25th of October, after a day of traveling back to San Diego from New York.  Nancy and I got up early this morning so we could join a small bunch of travellers, mostly Australians, as we came under the Verrazano Bridge.  It was a third time for me going under the bridge… once on the way out of New York Harbor at the beginning of a four-month round-the-world trip on the Cunard QE 2 in 2005.  The second time was coming into New York Harbor on the new Cunard Queen Mary which we took in Southhampton for the trip across the Atlantic to finish the four-month trip in 2005.  

This time was wonderful.  The pictures of the bridge were good, the pictures of the Lower End of the City were good, but the Statue of Liberty was too bright for the little camera I was using. It occurred to me as I looked at the pictures tonight that liberty is hard to capture and it’s brightness is dazzling, so I included the picture here anyway.  I thought about Donald Trump and how he and the people who are dazzled by him are missing the point of liberty and freedom.  It's definitely too bright for them. It's not too bright for my brother Jim and my Brother-in-Law Bill.  Sorry, Guys, we couldn't see you this time in NYC.