what about the plastic animals?

The Sherwood Boehlert Transportation Center

Most people don't even know Utica exists, let alone know that the city has a beautiful train station.  Built in 1914 and modeled on Grand Central Terminal the Utica train station sits not far from the Erie Canal on the northeastern edge of downtown Utica. 

Amtrak stops here daily, as do a couple of bus lines.  The station is also the southern terminal of the Adirondak Scenic Railroad, which runs several excursion trains through the Adirondaks up to Lake Placid.  In fact, the station served as the official rail terminal of the 1980 Winter Olympics.  At the back left of the second photo is a New York State DMV office.

The station has undergone extensive renovations the last couple of decades, partly thanks to funding secured by former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert.  As a side note, Boehlert was perhaps the last Republican in Congress to have a realistic understanding of environmental problems, specifically the challenges global warming poses to the country.

Cashdollar

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I was compelled to stop at a cemetery in Saugerties.  The reason I had to stop was to take a picture of the Cashdollar headstone.  Cashdollar!  Who would have guessed such a surname existed.  A little googling uncovers that Cindy Cashdollar is a well-regarded steel guitar and dobro player who happed to grow up in Woodstock, which is only about ten miles from Saugerties.

Grand Central Terminal Postings

Post-it notes with sincere and positive messages written on them were all over Grand Central Terminal this afternoon.  I don't think they are leftovers from this artwork from a couple of years ago.