Went out to the Queens Museum yesterday to see the map of NYC's water-supply system. This is a gigantic relief map, room-sized, built for the 1939 World's Fair but never displayed there. It was exhibited ten years later, then packed up and left to languish and deteriorate until the early about ten years ago, when it was shipped off to theMcKay Lodge Conservation Lab in Oberlin, Ohio. (Home of Oberlin College, my alma mater!) The map's been installed on the floor in a room where the walls are hung with photos of the building of the reservoirs and water tunnels that supply NYC with such excellent water at the turn of a tap. (If you live here and buy water in plastic bottles, you're being taken.) Water being an area of interest for me, and of professional concern for one of my expedition companions, a DEP guy, we were fascinated by the whole thing.

Afterwards, searched for lunch in Queens, finally settled on what turned out to be an excellent joint advertising itself as offering "Italian Mexican Food." We skipped the Italian, went for the chili rellenos and a cemita, which was described by the waiter as "just like a sandwich but without tomatoes, lettuce or mayonnaise." That seems to speak poorly of the American concept of "sandwich." In fact, this cemita was exactly a sandwich -- white Mexican cheese (like very fresh mozarella), onions, chipotle, and avocado on a terrific slightly sweet sesame roll.

Below, photos, plus some others of the last few days wandering around NYC.



lunch joint



lunch



labor and management in an old construction drawing



these folks had a boombox, and as we exited the subway they were finishing up the Mexican Hat Dance and starting another dance I didn't know (they guy on the left is teaching the other guys; the girl already knows)



and of course



three gents shopping in my neighborhood



temporary bike rack



knitting store display -- yes, everything here's made of wool



turtles on the first warm day



my neighbor's flowerbox