Last week in New York: Sightseeing with Dad

my dad and i took the 3 hr. circleline boat tour which circumnavigates the island of manhattan--pretty cool! we learned about the feud that fueled the sky-scraping ambitions of the empire state building versus the chrysler building and much, much more.
my dad in the esb lobby
dad in the middle of times square!
my dad and i at the top of the empire state building:)
the esb
moving out day and saying goodbye to our wonderful friends:( a bittersweet ending to a fantastic nyc adventure--we'll be back, though!!!

Governors Island Dutch Festival

These butterfly or dragonfly-looking art installations called Wind Nomads were spread out over a vast open field on Governors Island. There were actual dragonflies hovering over the pieces, I'm guessing, sort of confused.
Rob amongst the Wind Nomads.
Kristia, Erin and me, PT.
Our end of the day trek through the Wind Nomads to the ferry.
Here is the sun setting on tugboat shot.

We took the ferry on Saturday from the riverfront under the Brooklyn Bridge to Governors Island for the Dutch New Island Festival. The festival is put on by all Dutch artists. There were a bunch of different site-specific art installations (Wind Nomads), performance art pieces and music and comedy routines (Mr. Jones and Fred, his little (stuffed) stunt pig, was Rob's favorite act).

Brooklyn--hollah!

Our beloved R train to Brooklyn.
The moon shining at the top of 18th St.
A little bit of the West Indies Day Parade. There were LOTS of people! We did not stay very long.
People celebrating and viewing the parade from their fire escapes.
Rob and our friend James dancing on the roof top! A group of giggling girls at the back.

Montauk-the end.

Rob and I with the giant, roadside duck.
Rob walking Butters in front of the looming duck.
Rob, Nanook and our friends, Ken and Butters, in downtown 'Tauk.
Paige and Nanook by the sea. Since there were no dogs allowed, as well as a ridiculously pricey admission into the light house, we just enjoyed scaling the rocks around the base.
Rob, the dogs and I by the rocky shore.
The Montauk Point light house is apparently the 3rd oldest light house in the nation. There is no fabled light house keeper anymore; it is presently maintained by the Coast Guard--not very romantic.

Our visit to Ellis Island

Ah, Lady Liberty...her crown was closed for the day.
View of downtown Manhattan from our ferry, Miss Gateway.
Rob outside of the museum. It is so great that this beautiful building was completely restored!
The obsession with fashion ensued.
Little baby shoes from Italy and Austria, I think.
So, after the grueling immigration process, folks got train tickets to all over. There was one crazy story about a couple of mail order brides getting their tickets mixed up, one mistakenly going to Cincinnati, the other to Memphis or Mississippi, or somewhere, and all parties, of course, very upset. It turned out that a conductor in New Jersey was to blame for the mix up--yikes, to say the least!
Ellis Island interior view from the 3rd floor where the tiny dormitories were located. Yep, people lived here for extended periods of time. People died and babies were born on Ellis Island. It seems so unbelievable what people went through for the pursuit of any sort of freedom, opportunity and happiness. The stories are all at once inspiring and humbling.

Down Home

Rob and Lefty enjoying some leisure time on the sister's back porch.
Li'l Picasso-Olivia is making her arty aunt so proud:)
Olivia completely absorbed by the technology.

Paige on the tracks in Carrboro, N.C.
Rob and the train car bar in Carrboro, N.C. Here we taste-tested some of the local brews, like 1556 and the Seeing Double IPA--not too shabby of a selection.
Downtown Wilmington drive-by.
The lovely, lovely Inter coastal waterway at Carolina Beach. We are highly looking forward to being so close to this!

hot fun in the summertime

Rob and I just ran a 5k for Harlem Health this past weekend. This was not actually race day. I was just going to pick up our numbers, though, and happened upon the APOLLO Theater! Race day was rainy, hot and humid. I realized at the 2 mile mark of the race that, once upon a time, I would have been finished. I'm okay with my 10 min. mile now, though. I can observe my surroundings a lot better.
Rob, some friends and I gallivanted about the Lower East Side a couple of weekends ago sampling all of the tasty treats we could stomach in one afternoon. Here we are at Economy Candy---oooooh, the candy!
I was able to purchase a half pound sampler bag of tootsie rolls, multi-colored taffy, those caramel candies with the creamy center, and my fave, Mary Janes.

I found pickled okra!
I'd heard great things about the Doughnut Plant and finally we made it. We each got a different doughnut (pbj, banana pecan and coconut glaze) and had a taste of each. Coconut glaze was my personal favorite--ultra gooey! Apparently, they just stay open 'til they sell out, which appeared could have happened a lot sooner than expected.
Here is Rob being awesome at his Coney Island Frisbee tournament.
Mom, here is the beach at Coney Island, which does not actually seem that crowded, but I realize that is because it is Coney Island and there are a gazillion other places for the masses to be besides the beach, like riding rides, rollerskating, visiting the aquarium, drinking beer, singing karaoke, standing in line for a Nathan's hot dog, viewing a freak or burlesque show, and on and on...this picture is not an accurate depiction of the Coney Island congestion. Surprisingly, though, it is not unpleasant to go there; it never ceases to amaze somehow.
Union Square: where people gather to do what? I don't know, everything and nothing. There's the Empire State Bldg in the top left hand corner. Also, the Farmers Market is there to the left below the trees.
The beautiful Brooklyn Bridge at sundown.
We're going to miss this place.

Red Hooked

Drift wood garden--brilliant!
The side of probably some old, grumpy pirate's house.
Flowers from the garden walk along the Red Hook pier.
A random and colorful mural that wrapped around a whole block.
Red Hook is all gardens, all the time!
Interesting Feng Shui.

My friend Abbey and I walked and spent the day in Red Hook, Brooklyn this past Sunday. Red Hook is probably my most favorite neighborhood in Brooklyn, because it boasts a seemingly endless array of gardens, as well as random oddities. It is also right by the water, which, even though Brooklyn is surrounded by water, one tends to forget, because it is not so accessible. Red Hook, for that matter, is not so accessible, but on a nice day, it is a relatively pleasant walk. One of our favorite coffee/pastry shops, called Baked, is another mouth-watering RH draw. I just bought the recipe book and Rob and my housemates are now reaping the tasty benefits:p