hints of Clayton, NY

Home of the antique boat museum, Clayton, NY is also a gate-way port for the St. Lawrence seaway ... several, unique lighthouses guide the big boats past rocky shores at night.  

The town is home to it's own opera house, where you can enjoy seasonal performances from the likes of Los Lobos, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Dance Theatre Of Harlem, or the winners of the Cape Vincent Arts Council Chopin Piano Competition.    

Odd, touches of pseudo-classical architectural detailing abound (these two photos by Kim):  

Mural artists make a stunning, up-state canvas of Clayton, NY (another photo from Kim):

Tea houses here are as frequent as the ice-cream bistros (a 4th photo from Kim):

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes.

I must preface this post by saying: my partner Kim is an incredibly stylish woman.  Awesome aesthetics all round.  I suppose her influence on me might be, sometimes, significant.  

Occasionally, schooling from her manifests itself in unexpected ways.  Yes, after brunch at Bella's I found myself bearing 3 specimens of truly ingenious Yankee Shoonery.  

First, there's the classic top-sider from Sperry, home on dock-wood and dory:

Light as a hand-full of feathers, these after surf Cushe shoes embody their shoemakers' mantra of true "coastal supremacy:"

Simple in both name and design, these ecoSneaks organic vegan recyclables will be great for a late summer date-night at the movies:

All three pairs, for only 220 USD.