The End of Summer – Part 1

The weekend I wait all year for- Labor Day. Jean was lucky enough to score some tickets to Rock the Bells on Governor’s Island for Saturday. The line to get onto the ferry was so ridiculously long, luckily Jean’s friends were pretty far toward the front of the line and we got to slide in with them. We met this middle-aged white woman who was in line in front of us. Seems she was just trying to get over to Governor’s Island to meet up with her daughter and son-in-law and had no idea there was a hip hop concert going on. (They’d diverted the ferry traffic for the concert to the Staten Island terminal, while general public could just use the regular GI Ferry, and this lady got caught up in the wrong line and had to wait for like 2 hours in line with a bunch of young black kids. Proving once again that separate ferries can never be equal).

When we finally got over to the island, we saw performances by Gza, Cypress Hill, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill and also to enjoyed a cup of rose alongside a veggie corndog- proving that there certainly are not enough fake meats on sticks at these types of events.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, because i hadn’t had enough wine and soy protein, we took advantage of one of those groupon-type deals and tried out Bark, a glorified hot-dog shack in Brooklyn Bridge park- not over by DUMBO, but further down closer to Borough Hall and that new condo they keep advertising on TV. While they have a few volleyball courts nearby, and a decent view of Manhattan, I wasn’t so impressed with my soy dog and coleslaw, but Bark seems to be doing pretty well- perhaps it’s a captive audience of hungry volleyball players.

 

 

 

BBQ 2

So we set out to have three barbecues for the summer since the Memorial Day weekend one went so well.  This one was special to us because it was 364 days after we first met, and in the same place that we met.  Of course this one was more organized that the one at the end of May, since we had more prep time.  I love seeing Rebekkah get excited about making certain drink concoctions and meals.   We come together so well to make things happen once everything was set out there.  Plenty of vegetable made it to the grill to go with the burgers, kobe and veggie.  Or to just have alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got a football game going later which went well until Rebekkah got knocked over.

The high light of the day was setting out to make this happen.  We obsessed over the weather forecast since it was supposed to rain that day.

 

Rebekkah kept checking the hourly forecast fro her phone and it looked like we had a chance to get things going.  I only believed because she believed, and that energy was enjoyable to see.

 

All in all, it was a wonderful day.

 

 

Full of Hot Air

Jean mentioned awhile back that he wanted to check out a Hot Air Balloon Festival. I figured it was an Ok idea, and since I’m always making him do stuff that I want to do (ikea, brunch, ikea, endless walking, Fairway, ikea) I didn’t say anything as we got up at 4:30am to head to New Jersey (without coffee). We parked in a giant field and walked over to the other field to watch the inflating which started at 6:30am. Even though I was lukewarm about the balloon fest at the beginning, it was SO MUCH COOLER THAN I EVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE- and way more visually stimulating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite balloons were the Spiderpig and the Penguin. After watching the take off we went to Quick Check for coffee (finally) and sat to watch a 5k run.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited all these sponsored booths and tried every type of beverage, snack bar, candy bar, and other random product available and I filled my grab bag of goodies. We ate a funnel cake while both Jean and I tried to convince the other one to go on one of the kiddie rides. I think they’re death traps operated by weed-smoking teenagers, Jean thinks they’re somewhat safe- and an excellent photo op. Needless to say, we both declined.

two rooftops and some dragons

Its amazing how spending the weekend with Rebekkah has become second nature.  I dont know how it has happened, but we can easily pick out a few activities and have agreat time, even when the weather isnt the most desirable.

Friday evening, Rebekkah came to Queens(looking really hot I must say), and we ventured over to Ravel Hotel for their rooftop lounge.  We got a great view of the 59th street bridge, Roosevelt Island, and yes, yet another view of Manhattan.(we are obsessed) The place was nice, and we are definitely going back.  We fell in love with their cocktails after the view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way over to Jade eatery and lounge in Forrest Hills.  This place is also very please to the eye between its food, art gallery, large Buddah statues, and private lounge in the back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day was the Dragon Boat festival.  It was amazing how many kites were in the air that day.  The boats were beautiful and the races were great. One team got disqualified for having a fiberglass boat(try again).

That night we went to a rooftop restaurant in Red Hook called Alma.  I could not believe that I had finished this large rack of ribs without exploding.  This time we had a view of lower Manhattan and Governor’s Island(slacked on the pics).

The next morning, before an Ikea run, I dodge rain drops to grab the Sunday paper.  We read the paper together and ate quiche that Rebekkah had made(yummy).  later that evening, we went to Tea Lounge to partake in some teas and dominoes.  We felt like an old Jamaican couple.

Philly Part 2: Brotherly Love

Just adding some pictures of Jean’s friends the happy bride and groom and some more of us at the wedding reception. I had this great champagne cocktail that came with a sugar cube that made for extra bubbles- very cool. Jean put on a suit and looked so grown up and official, like Colonel Sanders. After the reception we went by this wine bar on Sansom st and inhaled this banana and nutella panini along with some wine.

The next day we had crepes for breakfast at Reading Terminal and spent the day at the Mummy exhibit at the Franklin Institute. They wouldn’t let us take any pictures of the mummies- you know being human remains and all. We braved the packs of smelly children and went throughout the institute playing with all the physics experiments, the most fun of which was setting up an elaborate dominoes chain reaction- but some little girl kept trying to knock it over.

All in all it was a great weekend- and in my mind’s eye, it’s always sunny in Philadelphia.

Philly part 1

So a friend of mine decided to have her wedding at a Japanese garden in Philadelphia.  Her and her fiance have fallen in love with this city, and I know why.  I have had past experience being here, but this was the first time that I really had a chance to look.  And who better to look at it with than Rebekkah.

We drove down on Friday afternoon, and crossed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge to the sounds of the Jackson 5’s greatest hits.  Driving into any metropolis with a overpowering skyline is an experience that steals your gaze.  Philly’s postcard moment(dotted with the Liberty Towers, Comcast Building, and City hall) made me feel welcome.

After a little unwinding, our weekend got under way with a nice surprise as we ate dinner at a place called Zahav’s.  This middle eastern resturant was a nice surprise that Rebekkah had come up with, and it was definitely a great experience.  It was a long walk from the hotel, so I wondered if we were leaving city limits for something.

Typical to my new hobby, I had to get a Hard Rock Cafe glass on my way back.  4 locations down, 136 to go.  On our way back, we passed several blocks heavy with nightlife, and also pranced through Independence Hall.  Did I mention that Rebekkah loves to walk?  I do too, but Rebekkah REALLY loves to walk. Ironically, a visit to a great brunch place called Marathon was part of our Saturday.

That day started at Reading Terminal, and poked our noses in and out of the markets that make up the open-boundary shopping area.

There was an ice cream eating contest going on.  I didn’t know that adults and kids could be in the same competition.  We made our way over to the campus for the University of Pennsylvania, Rebekkah’s Alma mater.  I felt connected to her as she showed me a city that she loves through her eyes, especially when we went to the school.  I saw the walkways and castle-like buildings and felt that I was being welcomed to another side of her.  Sometimes there are interesting facts that you know about people, but they really hit you when there are people, places and things to attach them to. I enjoyed her tour.

 

 

Later that day was the wedding.

……did I mention that I forgot my tie?…………

King of the Book Club

I met Jean last summer at a picnic for a meetup group my friends and I joined. Shortly after the picnic, I learned that Jean ran the book club for the meetup group. I’d wanted to be in a book club for awhile; so when Jean told me about it on one of our first dates, I decided that I’d give it a try and got started on “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, months later we’ve just finished “The Other Wes Moore”. I always tease Jean about having to be “king of the book club” and unilaterally making decisions on what we read and how we discuss the book- but overall he’s pretty good and guiding discussions, drawing connections between themes, and even highlighting various literary and plot techniques. Basically, if the book club has to have a monarch- he’s not a bad one to have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also here are a few more pictures from that night we hung out in Long Island City- which I want to re-emphasize was sooo awesome.

 

all around the world

So, Rebekkah had not been to my place yet, and I guess I had felt that we should do things up the right way if she was going to spend some time in Queens.  As previously mentioned, we love looking at the Manhattan Skyline and just talking.  This evening we viewed New York county from Gantry Park, a relatively new park in Long Island City.  It was nice to walk through it on this warm summer night, as I have mostly visited in the cold.  This was a nice nigthcap after trying a nice Cuban restaurant, and hearing about Rebekkah’s trip there…..and also just walking through the neighborhood, caught in between the Citibank building across the water, and the Citicorp building a few blocks away.

The next morning, I introduced Rebekkah to Bayside as we had pastries and drinks at Martha’s Bakery.  I somehow avoided an early slice of red velvet cheesecake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that,we made our way over to Flushing Meadows- Corona park, where the camera got a lot of activity.

We sat and watched a children’s soccer game, while we enjoyed Italian ices, walked over to the lake and saw some cricket players suiting up, and then finished off with a visit to the museum and Unisphere.  Anybody that knows me well knows that I am completely enamored by the big globe……so seeing it with the fountains on was a treat.  I also got to see the NYC panorama for the first time., which is the miniature model of NYC as of 1992. The Towers still stand.

We made our way down to BK for a picnic at Prospect Park.  I bought too many dumplings to go with the spread of food that we already had, but I did enjoy them.  I was reminded again that I need to get Rebekkah a kite(yes a kite), and that some families are over-dramatic when they are out in public.

I dont know how it is that things have gotten so comfortable so quickly, but we spent a lot of time together that weekend.  Our friendship seems to mesh more and more each time we see each other, and everything just feels like second nature…..especially when you spend a lot of time outside.

Perspective

Jean and I met up one evening and took a walk to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. When we arrived we saw a group of Irish dancers and a small band of musicians. While there were a good number of people watching the dancing- I found the music kind of annoying- so when there was a break in the music Jean and I made a dash for the benches on the other side.

We’ve often sat and talked while looking at at the Manhattan skyline, from the promenade and other places (even other boroughs), but today I took some pictures of the skyline through the railing. The financial district against the sunset is really beautiful- but from this perspective it can seem like you’re imprisoned- in Brooklyn. If you actually look up, and look out, you can see that you’re not confined- that everything is open to you. This was interesting to me because it’s like the mental depiction of relationships for me. The idea seemed so limiting, so confining, as if i would be trapped, but once I was willing to change my perspective- I could see the beauty that was in front of my face all along. Oh yeah, and Jean being patient and supportive and just a good guy overall helped too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

just a lazy afternoon

So I am a wine novice, and Rebekkah is like Wikipedia for Wine.  I am not intimidated when a woman knows more on a topic than I do.  In fact, it turns me on.  Just as long as I don’t end up sounding like a total idiot.

So, for a while, I wanted to take Rebekkah to the vineyards in Riverhead, Long Island.  This was to be a comfortable afternoon for bonding, and relaxing together.

When we went on a Sunday in May, the cloudy skies and quick downpour did birth a moment of caution.  Rebekkah scouted the weather report to see that we would be in the clear for later that day.

Martha Clara Vineyards is located on a stretch of land that was just beautiful.   If it wasn’t for the grapes, I think I would have just ran into the field and done some cartwheels.  We tasted more than a few of the selections at the bar, mostly enjoying their Rose’, a dessert wine, and a couple others. We bought a few bottle’s, including a Rose’ with a dog on the bottle, which we shared during the Memorial Day weekend BBQ.

Outside, there was a mini farm which was a wonderful surprise.  After our visit, we ran off for the nearby shopping outlets.  We did try to visit the only Sonic Drive In in the area on our way back, but the three block wait wasn’t agreeing with us.

Its always nice to take a long drive and leave the city behind for a bit.  The narrow roads and thick patches of trees are definitely plentiful on that end of the island, even though you are not exactly outside of modern civilization.  I definitely see us going back out there, perhaps to another vineyard, or just for another long drive on a lazy afternoon.