My Return to the World

Our brunch party wasn't the only reason I was excited a few weekends ago. I was also thrilled to be getting out of the apartment.

That's because my friend and college roommate Sarah traveled from Philadelphia that Saturday to attend the brunch the following day. That left Saturday evening wide open, and I was ready to go!

Paul was left with Edith, a bottle of breast milk and a pact that he would have her bathed, fed and in bed by the time I returned. It was dark, cold and windy when Sarah and I left, but I hardly felt it. I was free!

Don't get me wrong. Of course I love my daughter. But staying home all of the time is stifling, especially when the weather isn't conducive to taking an infant for a stroller ride. And while I'm happy to be breastfeeding, it does mean that leaving the house sans baby takes some planning. But that's a whole other story. Suffice it to say that I had never been so glad to see the subway.

Sarah readily agreed to my suggestions: Dinner in Gramercy at East Japanese for conveyor-belt sushi, followed by dessert at the Doughnut Plant in Chelsea (look for a blog post on this soon!). While the food was good, the highlight was certainly catching up with Sarah and having a conversation that didn't include the word "poopy." Score!

While I'm anxious for the weather to warm up so I can explore with Edith, I also know that it's important for me to get out and about without a baby in tow. Luckily Paul understands that, too. And, by the way, Edith really was bathed, fed and in bed by the time Sarah and I returned.

49th Street Scene

Approaching sunset

Overnight in Manhattan

Maybe I was looking forward to it more than I should have, but I hadn't stayed overnight in Manhattan since our honeymoon.

But Thursday, for one night only, I had the chance. Paul had a full day of work meetings and meals in the city, and his company was putting him up in midtown's Intercontinental Barclay Hotel for the night. I couldn't let that go to waste.

Paul was planning to be with his out-of-town work friends until the wee hours (a prediction that turned out to be true) so I was on my own for the night. My goal: do as many things as possible in one night that he would've hated.

First stop: Bloomingdale's. I wasn't in the market for anything, but it is a New York landmark (that I also hadn't visited since our honeymoon). Then the big H&M store on Fifth Avenue. Then a shortcut through Rockefeller Center to Times Square, where I climbed the big, red neon steps above the TKTS booth.


As I made my way back to the hotel's neighborhood, I inadvertently walked through the dark-and-dreary diamond district and finally found the cupcake shop I had picked out for dessert. A quick stop for a pumpernickel bagel with strawberry cream cheese and I was off to the hotel.

The room exceeded my expectation. New York hotel rooms have a well-deserved reputations for being expensive and tiny. This room was actually normal sized! And the bed was as big and comfortable as any I'd every slept on-- just as wide as it was long.

The best part? The next morning my commute to work was cut in half to about 25 minutes, and I walked through Grand Central for only the second time in my life. That I could get used to.

A 1,453-Foot Reminder That I Live in New York

Empire State Building

It was a warm and sunny day -- seemingly the first in weeks -- so a couple of weekends ago I skipped the subway and decided to walk from the Gramercy thrift shops I'd been scouring on 23rd Street to the new J.C. Penney on 33rd.

After 10+ blocks, I was hot and eager for air conditioning, but the site of the Empire State Building towering above made me stop in my tracks and reach for my camera. I've walked within a block or two of the Empire State Building dozens of times, but this time it hit me:

I live here.

It still amazes me that I can walk to a place as mundane as Penney's and strut right by one of the tallest buildings in the world. Or exit the subway at work and see the New York Stock Exchange. Or down a milkshake in the shadow of the Flatiron Building.

Nearly two years in New York, and I still feel lucky every single day.

Water Taxi Beach: Sand, But No Swimming

Sand. Skeeball. Drinks. Did I mention sand?

That's all it took to convince me and a group of coworkers to visit Water Taxi Beach at the South Street Seaport on Friday.

It's an easy walk from work, but I'd never been. But a beach on the banks of the East River was intriguing, although you can't actually swim there-- even if you'd want to. In fact, a fence separates all beach-goers from the river (leading one co-worker to speculate that kids visiting Water Taxi Beach would grow up without the slightest idea that -- gasp! -- beaches are actually for swimming!).

To paraphrase another co-worker, Water Taxi Beach is little more than a few truckloads of Home Depot sand spread thin. It couldn't have been more than a few inches before you'd hit concrete. But that didn't stop the kids from making sandcastles or me from flopping off my sandals and digging my feet in the sand.



The beach is practically in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, with good views of the Manhattan Bridge and, even further out, the Williamsburg Bridge. Manhattan lies on one side of the river, Brooklyn on the other. As an almost-full moon rose above the bridges, the night seemed almost magical-- if it weren't for the bright blue and orange neon palm trees lining the beach.



Despite the sights, the $5 cover and poor selection of adequate drinks means this isn't a destination I'd choose every weekend. But I'd willingly return and stake out another picnic table. And maybe next time I'll actually play skeeball.

J.C. Penney Takes Manhattan

Even a red carpet for J.C. Penney and (possibly) Miss Universe

J.C. Penney.

In Ohio, it's just a run-of-the-mill department store you find in almost every mall.

In Manhattan? It's a big deal.

That's the conclusion I came to Saturday when I visited Penney's first Manhattan store, which opened on July 31. I'm not a huge fan of the store, but I got a $10 coupon on a $10 or more purchase, and who am I to pass up a deal like that?

So I made my way to the Manhattan Mall (yes, Manhattan has one honest-to-goodness mall), just a stone's throw from Macy's in Herald Square. I don't know about you, but I've never had to wait in line to enter a Penney's. Yes, I waited in a 5- to 10-minute line just for the privilege of boarding the escalator that took me to the store.

Granted, I think most of the people just wanted to catch a glimpse of whatever model was outside the store entrance (Miss Universe, I believe), because the store itself was crowded but not overwhelmingly so. Even still, I couldn't help but mentally wag a finger at myself for waiting in line for a Penney's when New York is saturated with so many more interesting stores.

The store was about like every other Penney's you've ever visited, except with lower ceilings and better dressing rooms. There was actually a comfy chair and three-way mirror in every dressing room, making me long for such a space at home.

In any case, I walked out with some pj's, fulfilling my stated goal of using the discount. I'm not sure I'll visit again -- surely not when it's so crowded -- but it is kinda nice to know there's a down-homey store at my disposal.

City Hall Park: An Oasis ... With Rats

When I'm looking for a relaxing place to eat outdoors during my lunch break, I head for the benches in the nearby Trinity Church cemetery.

But I had heard a few of my co-workers mention that they go in the opposite direction to City Hall Park, so I decided to check it out.

I've now made three brief visits, all after work or during the weekend. But I still can't bring myself to go during lunch. Just a few months after we moved to New York, I read an article in the New York Times specifically about the rat infestation at City Hall Park. I don't know if the anti-rat measures the article mentions worked, and I'm not about to test it with a peanut butter sandwich in my right hand.

Even so, the nine acre park is a downtown oasis, with a lovely fountain, views of City Hall and plenty of benches. Now if I could only get those photos of rats out of my head ...

Fourth of July in New York City

Watching New York City's July 4th fireworks display would be a breeze, I thought to myself a few weeks ago.

We'll walk to the promenade in Bay Ridge along the bay, where there's a clear view of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. We'll not only have an excellent view, but also avoid the city crowds.

Then I learned the fireworks wouldn't be set off in the East River after all. Instead, for the first time in several years, they'd be over the Hudson River to commemorate Henry Hudson's arrival here 400 years ago.

The Hudson River separates Manhattan's west side from New Jersey. It's an area of the city I'm not extremely familiar with, but I figured we could follow the crowds.

And that we did. Paul and I, along with Allison and Phil (who were returning the visit we paid them in Baltimore last December), began walking west from 42nd Street about 45 minutes before the 9:20 p.m. start.

The crowds got thicker and thicker as we got closer and closer to the 12th Avenue viewing areas. In fact, there were so many people that police officers directed spectators further and further south. We ended up on 34th Street with a prime view of the fireworks in front of us and the Empire State Building behind.

The fireworks were set off from six barges in the river-- we could see four from our vantage point. Not bad. According to one of the free local newspapers, 40,000 fireworks were to be set off-- 1,500 per minute. I thought the finale had occurred about three times before it actually happened.

All in all, it was a great show-- not that I expected anything less. But if I had to be honest, I think Red, White & Boom in Columbus is a little better. There, it feels like the fireworks are hovering directly above you. In New York, I felt removed.

The big surprise: The crowds at Red, White & Boom are actually denser. Maybe that's because New Yorkers had 30+ blocks to spread out!

Only in New York?

Yes, that's a holistic pet care store in Manhattan. No, I did not go in.

Morning in Manhattan

Showers and flowers.

I've seen plenty of both over the last couple of weeks, which have made for some pretty (though not always pleasant) Manhattan mornings.

Luckily, I work in an area of the city serviced by plenty of subway lines. When it's raining, snowing, or cold I always take a train that drops me off less than a block from my office.

If it's warm and sunny, however, I'll stay on the R train and get off at a stop that's about a 5 or 10 minute walk to work. And if it's a Thursday, I get the added bonus of picking up a chocolate chip scone at the farmer's market in the park (read: slab of concrete) that's on my way.

And if I'm extra lucky, I'll have a couple of extra minutes before I rush up to my third-floor desk to snap a quick photo or two of Manhattan in the morning.

Paul, Old and Wise

Paul turned the grand old age of 30 on Sunday, and in an effort to drown his sorrows I planned a tour of eight of the best beer bars in New York over the weekend.

Yep, I really am the best wife a boy (or at least Paul the homebrewer) could ask for.

The beer odyssey, as Paul called it, was split between two nights. We hit four bars on Friday and another four on Saturday. Half were old favorites, half we knew by legend only.

So here's the itinerary and reviews, with help from Paul.

The stops on Friday:

1. Burp Castle. A small bar in the East Village specializing in Belgian beers. The bar is dedicated to the monastic tradition of beer, complete with murals of monks and beer barrels on the wall. I especially like the image of monks on a raft, drinking it up while a ship sank in the background. I also like my Lindemans Framboise-- yummy raspberry beer.

2. Blind Tiger Ale House. A bar in the West Village with a large selection of mostly American, English and Irish beers. It's a no frills type of place to enjoy a quality beer-- substance over style here (although the working fireplace is a nice touch).

3. The Ginger Man. Located not far from the Empire State Building is the largest bar (by New York standards) I'd ever been to in Manhattan. The large number of bottles and few draft selections cater to the young urban professionals. Anyone from Columbus would call it the rich man's Brothers. Paul was especially pleased to find one of his favorite beer here: Elysian's Avatar. It's brewed in Seattle, and that's the only place he'd ever drank it.

4. The Brazen Head. We ended the night in Brooklyn, at this average neighborhood bar (though not our neighborhood. Your average taps, with a higher than average number of people drinking cans of PBR. Paul calls that the beer of hipsters.

Stops on Saturday:

1. Spuyten Duyvil. We began Saturday night in Williamsburg, another of Brooklyn's hipster havens. This place is known also known for it's Belgian's, and also for being kind of hard to find. The only "sign" was the small label on the bar's mailbox. Paul says the bar was like being in an indie rocker's basement. But I guess that's high praise, because it was his favorite bar of the weekend that we had never before visited. Another plus: the gluhwein, or spiced wine that's served warm in a coffee mug.

2. Barcade. Consistently a favorite, we frequent this Williamsburg bar equally for the excellent selection of draft beers as well as for the arcade games that line the walls of the former industrial space. Paul says the bar has an amazing selection of beers from the tri-state area (meaning New York, New Jersey and Connecticut). Also an amazing selection of games: Tetris, Frogger, Marble Madness, Crystal Castle, and Outrun to name a few.

3. Heartland Brewery. We first went to this Times Square restaurant/bar/brewery on our honeymoon, and Paul fell in love (with the beer, not with me). The old standby.

4. Pacific Standard. At the stroke of midnight we celebrated Paul's birthday at this, our favorite bar not only in Brooklyn but in all of New York. We briefly considered ordering Miller High Life ("The Champagne of Beers") to celebrate the occasion, but instead opted for a couple of pints from their large selection of mostly West Coast beers. Paul says it makes him want to become a Hollywood liberal.

Sorry- no pictures of beer for the blog. You know what that looks like anyway, right? But I did snap one photo in a subway station Saturday night that proves that although Paul may be 30, he hasn't quite succumbed to old age (or maybe even adulthood!) yet.