Get Ready for New York Week

This week, I'm going back to New York for work and to play with all my favorite Yankees. As a result of my inevitable lack of productivity, I'm pre-posting this week all of my Best-Of posts about New York. Tuesday through Saturday, look for a pleathora of Big Apple themed awesomeness. There will be some great "Top X" lists on things to do in New York City, for those who have never been, for those who have been LOTS of times...

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Fresh Eyes in New York City

It's been over a year since I last stepped foot in New York. I'm landed here because my mom lives here now, so I have a free place to stay. Enough of a reason for me to stop anywhere. But I was excited to give New York another shot. See, people are always under this impression that you're either a West Coast gal, or an East Coast gal. There's no in between, there is no...

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I Love you New York.

Being back in NY has been amazing. From the day I stepped off the train at my mom s new apartment in Chelsea, I knew it wouldn t take me long to get adjusted here. Grocery store, check. Post office, check. Resident Irish bar, check check. Nope. This place feels just like home. And surprisingly, it s chalked full of just as many friends as I have pretty much anywhere else...

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How not to drive a stick...

Location: London, Ontario, Canada

It has certainly been a long day, but very productive. I stayed up all night last night, and more than anything, got all of my ducks in a row. I made about 20 lists of the things that I need to get done before Thursday, I scoured places for us to stay on Thursday and I did some thorough cleaning of my e-mail boxes. In addition, I made some substantial progress on my project for the Port of Long Beach; not enough progress to be able to relax and go out with my friends tonight, but enough progress to where I didn’t have to work in the car.

The drive today was incredibly short. We just had to pop down from Rochester to London, Ontario where we are staying with some of Dan’s friends from Panorama. We left Rochester at about 11 and headed for Niagara Falls. We ran into an anomaly at the US border when the border guard felt the need to chat us up and joke around with us for a couple minutes. He was so nice and I was glad to not suffer through the nerve racking interrogation that usually occurs when crossing the border.

We tried to find a parking spot near the falls so we could get out and walk around, but alas, we couldn’t find anything for less than $20. So I blurt out, “Well, why don’t I drive and drop you off and just come back and pick you up in like 15 minutes?” Great idea, Hesser… especially since you haven’t driven a stick in like 5 years. So Dan and I switch spots, he cringes as I kick the thing into first gear and we pull ahead… slowly… slow… almost… Yes, no. Stall. Ok, that’s fine, it was my first try in a while, and it’s a new car for me. Breathe. Alright, let’s try again. Breaks, clutch, first gear… slowly… ease… Ahhhh! *Jerks Forward*, *Jerks back* , *Jerks forward*, *back*, KEEP, *Jerks forward*, GOING, *back*… ahhhh… first gear :) And we’re off! I managed to circle the block while the boys jumped out to look at the falls, and didn’t completely strip the gears.

The rest of the way through Canada was smooth sailing. Dan got his first glimpse of Lake Ontario (I tried to tell you it looks like the ocean!) and then we turned south. We arrived into London in time for Trevor (our host for the evening) to take us on a nice leisurely drive through the hotspot that is London, Ontario. It was quite a pleasant place, looks a bit like Tulsa, actually. We’re back at the house now and watching a bit of TV (while I’m getting some more work done and hanging out with my new best friend, Trevor’s cat). Looks like we’re going to head to a sports bar tonight to watch MNF and the Leaf’s hockey game. Excited for a little relaxation!

XOXO

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Now playing: Jefferson Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
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A Long Day on the Road

Location: Rochester, New York, USA

We were very ambitious this morning with our early projected start time, and honestly, we didn’t do too badly. We were a little delayed by the long route we decided to take into the city through Cambridge. We drove past Harvard and MIT and down across the river to Fenway Park. This marks #7 on the list of ballparks Brian and I have visited in the past 9 or so months – which I feel is pretty noble. The original plan was to head to the Bleacher Bar to be able to see the field, but unfortunately, we got there too early and really didn’t have time to stay. So we took a quick stroll around the perimeter, checked out the green monster and then hopped back in the car for a long day of driving.

We headed north first through New Hampshire and into Maine. Our only real goal in Maine was to get some lunch, preferably with as much lobster as humanely possible. We drove along the coast through some really cute towns (Portsmouth and Kittery). We found a small lobster shack in Kittery Point called Capn’ Simeon’s so we pulled off and went inside. From our table by the window, we could see the ocean, a dock with a load of fishing boats, including one with fresh lobster cages coming off and being loaded in the back of a pickup truck; doesn’t get any fresher than this.

We decided to do a little family style dining and ordered fish and chips, a lobster roll and lobster macaroni and cheese to share between the three of us. I was praying that the food was amazing, as I had convinced Brian and Dan to drive the hour out of the way to come up here and eat lunch. Fortunately, this was the best lobster I’ve ever had in my life. And at about $30 for the whole ticket, it was a smashing good deal as well. With full stomachs, we took a stroll around the fishing dock and then got back on the road headed towards Rochester, NY.

We passed through New Hampshire and Vermont which were both beautiful states. We missed the timing of the leaves changing on the trees up here by a couple weeks, so everything is pretty brown, but everyone once and a while you catch a glimpse of a straggler. We took the backcountry roads most of the way, so we really got to see some good scenery.

Once we entered New York State, it was a pretty mechanical drive. We busted out the guitar, did some serious jamming, started a road song game where we pass around the iPod and you have to play a song that starts with the letter the song before ended with. It’s actually pretty entertaining and gives everyone a fair chance to DJ. We got to Rochester just after dark and checked into a Super 8 motel (my new favorite place to stay). We got some Easy Mac, a 6 pack and got under the covers to watch Monday Night Football and the MLS Championship (incredible game!).

The boys passed out pretty quick, as it was a rather long day. But I just made the decision to make this an all-nighter. I have great internet and the room is rather peaceful right now so I think I can get some good thinking in.

We had a brainstorm today and decided that I think we want to find a place to stay for Thanksgiving with a kitchen so I can cook up some food. I just don’t feel right being on the road for Turkey Day. We’re thinking about getting a room at the Residence Inn or somewhere else like that with a small kitchenette. Not sure yet. Cooking will be necessary though.

XOXO

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Now playing: Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko
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I'm Shipping Up To Boston

Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Wow, last night was nuts! We went down to the bar downstairs to have a night cap at about midnight and decided to play a couple of games of foosball and pool. The special for the evening was $5 for a shot of whiskey and a PBR. Could Brian and I be in more of a heaven? We played a couple of very successful games of 9 ball and just sat around drinking and chatting, when a drunk woman walked into our little private conversation to chat about who knows what. Turns out the chick is a booking agent and books venues for bands at local places in Manhattan and Brooklyn. So when she asked us if we were a band, the natural response was “well… as a matter of fact, we are!” For the next hour we spit out song names, lyrics, places we’ve played and places we’re going and this girl just ate it up. When I mentioned a made up bar we were to be playing in tonight in Boston called “Wanda’s” after our car (where we do most of our performances) the broad actually said she’d heard of it! HA! Anyway, we ended up talking to her friends the PR Rep and the Graphic Designer and blah blah blah until about 5 AM when we got tired of the game and headed up to bed. We made the smart decision to sleep in and promised to be on the road by noon.

I got a phone call from Lauren at about 8:45 from downstairs saying that she was standing with a parking cop who was giving us a ticket. He told us we had to come down and move the car, so we drove around Brooklyn for a solid half hour before finding another spot. Fortunately, on the way, we stumbled upon a street down Lauren’s block that ran into the East River and provided stunning views of the midtown skyline. So we went back to the A.P.T., roused B Lee, packed up our bags and headed out of town with a quick stop down to the pier street for a foot dip in the river and a couple of minutes of silent side-by-side sitting on the wall that encloses the water.

Nothing too exciting happened on the road. We passed in and out of Connecticut and Rhode Island without incident or excitement and instead decided to focus on getting to Kimmie and Mike’s before dark. We were warmly greeted by the whole family, including Amelia who was just beside herself with excitement when we got there. Kimmie had an amazing meal of Mexican Meatloaf cooked up and we sat around and ate and chatted and drank some Winter Warmers, which were these fabulous cinnamon spiced beers from a brewery called Harpoon. We just put Amelia to bed so now we’re watched a little family movie (21 with Jim Sturgess and Kevin Spacey) which I’m not sure I’m going to last through. I have a feeling as soon as I press send on this entry, I will be promptly sending myself to bed.

XOXO

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Now playing: Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up to Boston
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Queen of New York City

Location: New York, New York, USA

I. Am. Exhausted.

Today began SUPER early as we had to pick up our new traveling companion, Mr. Brian Lee at JFK airport. After taking as many pictures as possible of Van Wyck and Queens Boulevard, we snatched up Brian with an authentic cardboard sign with his name on it and headed back to Brooklyn to get ready for the day.

We decided to start by taking the free Staten Island Ferry across the water so we could get some good panorama views of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan. I remembered from the last time I did liberty, that the best views in the city were from the boat that drove us to the island. Unfortunately, we had neither the time, nor money to go visit the statue, so Dan had the genius idea of taking the free ferry across and back (about an hour round trip and completely FREE! Obviously). Today, we’ve seen the first cloudy day the whole trip, but it’s somewhat fitting for the city. The views of the statue were great and the views of Manhattan were wonderful as well, although I will admit, it still never settles right to see the skyline without those two important towers.

After the ferry, we headed up to the old trade center site to see the construction of the WTC Memorial which was relatively uneventful. There were some great pictures of what it is going to look like and some good views of the construction site, but other than that, not too exciting. We did stop in this great deli though which was hit hard by the fall of the towers and had some amazing pictures of firefighters taking refuge when the air outside was too thick. Not to mention, the food was amazing and very quick.

From there we headed to Wall Street and the financial district, uptown to the Empire State Building (which for some reason I keep calling the Eiffel Tower, even just now when I typed it the first time) and ended in Rockefeller Center to watch some ice skaters and sip on some much needed caramel apple cider. About this time, it was ready to go back to JFK to pick up Dan’s parents who were flying in from Sydney for the holidays. Brian and I waited at the station in Queens while Dan took the shuttle to the airport and then we all rode the train back to the Upper West Side where the family was staying. They were such a hoot and we had such a great chat on the way. I wish we had more time to hang out, but we had promised to meet up with Miss Emma for drinks down in Gramercy so we had to depart (don’t worry, Dan will see them soon as they’re coming up to Canada for X-mas).

We stopped at Time Square on the way to Gramercy so that Brian and Dan could see the area at night (really the only time to see it) and then we met Em at a German restaurant called Rolf’s. It was so great to catch up and she joined us for dinner at a nearby pub called Barfly before we had to head back to Brooklyn for karaoke. Only… we didn’t really make it. On the way to the train station after hanging out with Emma, I got a phone call from Mary who lived in between where we were and where we were going, so we decided to meet up for just one more drink. As it usually goes with Mary, we had so much to talk about that our one drink lasted about an hour, so we just got back to Brooklyn. We’re going to go downstairs and grab some drinks here, and I’m keeping the boys waiting, so this is me stopping typing!

XOXO

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Now playing: Ryan Adams - New York, New York
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I want to be a part of it, New York, New York

Location: New York, New York, USA

Ahh… what a GREAT day! I did a couple more hours of work after our bonfire (which was so perfect) and then crashed hard in the princess bed (Amelia’s bed when she comes to stay with Auntie Jennifer). We woke up at 6:30 to get on the road by 7, but unfortunately, Dan couldn’t find the keys (oh ya and I wasn’t ready) so we didn’t leave until 7:30. Fortunately, we were lucky and there wasn’t any traffic anyway, so we headed north to New York. Jennifer packed us a to-go bag with all of the roadtrip necessities (candy from all of the candy food groups, Chex mix, vitamin water, and an assortment of other nifty snacks and goodies).

The drive to New York City was pretty uneventful. We were both too excited to get there and I was not feeling well, so other than sick stops in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we really didn’t pay much attention to the in between states (oh, except to yell profanities at the Philly Flyer’s rink).

We crossed into NY from Staten Island and found our way to Lauren’s place in Brooklyn quite easily. We parked the car nearby (for FREE, I might add!) and hopped on the train to Central Park to meet up with some of Dan’s friends. After meeting up with Natalia and Jamie at the Plaza Hotel, we began our super exciting Seinfeld tour! As Dan and I are both huge Seinfeld fans, I felt it appropriate to put a little list of famous spots from the show and check them out since we didn’t have much daylight left. We walked to the Soup Nazi Soup Kitchen, to Monk’s (which is actually called “Tom’s Restaurant”), down in the neighborhood where Jerry is said to have lived on the show, and finally to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. We got to the Bronx late (and had an interesting walk through a seedy area of the borough just after dark) so we decided to head back to Manhattan quickly and grab some food and Lauren’s house keys so we could go back to the apartment and chill.

We stopped for dinner in Little Italy at the first place which seemed reasonably priced and where the staff spoke as little English as possible. I had the Gorgonzola Gnocchi (go figure) and a Peroni and we had a quick dinner before heading back to the flat.

Lauren’s place is… it’s just… I can’t do it justice. The place is huge. It’s exactly what you would expect from Brooklyn; a large exposed brick, high ceiling and open floor plan kind of place that even housed its own freight elevator (which opened into one of the rommie’s bedrooms!). One of the bedrooms was larger than my entire apartment in Los Angeles! Lauren got home shortly after us and we all headed down to the bar underneath her apartment (yes… directly underneath) for a beer (that naturally turned into three). I love this neighborhood. It’s such a great place to live and having spent a night here, I really feel like I could live here. I’ll make another judgment before I leave, but for now, I can’t imagine liking another neighborhood in the city better.

Tomorrow is filled with a lot of sightseeing so retirement is necessary at this point. Should have LOTS of good photos and stories to share tomorrow!

XOXO

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Now playing: moe. - New York City
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