Tom and Diana: East Coast Life

farewell friends

2010-06-13T17:55:00.011-04:00

Hello everyone! After much thought we have decided to follow in the path of Seinfeld, Lost, and other great things that have opted to quit while they are ahead; so friends, this will be our final post.

This blog has been a wonderful experience for us! From its beginnings as just a site for family & friends to keep up on our life on the East Coast to what it has morphed into-- a launching pad for Diana's travel writing as well as a site that boasts followers from all over the world (Seriously! I'm talking Russia even. We hardly believe it either)-it has been a lot of fun!

Thank-you VERY much to all of our followers and supporters that often told us how much they loved the blog.
Next time you find yourself surfing the web and have an inkling to read about travel, New York, Mexico, Europe, the beach, New Zealand or really anywhere, come and visit Diana at Travel. Write. Repeat.

So, until we meet again in the world wide web, today we say for the final time, goodbye and thanks for reading.

Be well,

Tom & Diana

until next time Zion...

2010-06-02T22:24:00.001-04:00

This third Zion post (read one & two) brings the trip to a close, at least the documentation of it on this website; the memories of course will live on.

I mean really, three high-school buddies meet up and road trip for a long weekend? How could that not be a great time! I am so thankful for Rachel and Jean, for the laughs and hot tamales, for the wacky pictures and wackier people in some of the establishments we frequented, for the bonding time we had in that amazing scenery, and for Melissa; another dear friend who decided to get married in this gorgeous spot!

Below are the remaining pictures I'd like to share.

The Emerald Pools Hike
There are three pools reachable on this Hike: Upper, Middle & Lower.--each reached by a different trail that included waterfalls both large and small, narrow paths and sheer drop-offs.

Jean & Diana across the canyon at the Upper Emerald Pool--about to be hit by the waterfall spray.

the view when looking up

Diana at the middle pool

one of the stealth waterfalls

gorgeous views at every turn

After the Emerald Pools, we hiked through an area that was more desert than anywhere we had seen so far. Hardly any trees and not as many high peaks. The riverbeds were mostly dry (we were warned about flash floods though) and we were convinced that episodes of Star Trek or Land of the Lost were filmed in the exact spots we were standing!
side note: after getting home and looking up some of the areas we were in, I found that this area of Utah as well as the Eastern part of the state was used for many episodes in various Star Trek seasons.

Rachel's glamour shot

Diana getting a little running in on the side of the mountain

Made it!

catching some rays

A nearby elk farm

and, the beautiful bride

too much beauty!

2010-05-28T21:50:00.010-04:00

this post is also featured on Travel. Write. Repeat.

Twice, in as many months, I have heard the title of this post uttered and have now adopted it as an essential descriptive phrase to use when beholding beauty that nearly hurts my eyes.

I first heard it in the British Virgin Islands when the transparently blue/green water and the scores of rainbow fish got to be just too beautiful to see over and over again (yeah, I am really not complaining here...) and one of my travel partners on that trip longed to see "the grayness of Newark" (well, she said that, but of course no one longs to see Newark)... anyway... I uttered the same phrase again while in Zion.

I'd like to think I have visited epic locales-- oceans, cities & mountains known for their beauty-- but I had not yet seen anything like Zion National Park.
Let me tell you now, any pictures you see, even the professional ones do not capture, in the slightest, what you will witness in person.

The Park, that welcomes three million visitors a year, is divided into 4 sections--all with gorgeous views, scenic drives and hikes for every level of mountaineer.

1.Zion Canyon containing: the Emerald Pools (that Jean, Rachel and I hiked), Angels Landing (the steepest hike in the entire park and upon your completion, if you have the energy to to make it back down, can buy a t-shirt proclaiming your victory ascent and The Narrows which has been voted by National Geographic as in the top 10 of their best 100 hikes in the Nation.

2.Kolob Canyons known for the famous Kolob Arch that is shown in many Zion pamphlets.

picture courtesy of First Light Photographs

3.Kolob Terrace: with the well known, yet challenging Subway hike. Parts of this hike travel through naturally made mountain tunnels and in some parts require partial or depending on the time of year (like last week while I was in Zion) total submersion and swimming into cold water.

photo courtesy of zionnationalpark.com

4. Highway 9 that includes the Tunnel-- a spectacular scenic drive that leads to the South side of the Park.

Zion is a massive area and my time there was for exploring the park, but also for my friend's wedding (which was IN the park and was GORGEOUS) which did not allow me excess time to get all of the hikes in I had wanted. Next time I go back, the Subway hike is first on my list.

Now that you know a little bit about Zion, and my original purpose of the trip... let me display some of my favorite pictures and accompanying stories.

Hiking around various areas of the Canyon we found ourselves in dry river beds full of ... sand? Yep. Some of the softest sand to ever have passed in between my toes! The mountain rocks are all Sandstone (some of the largest amount anywhere in the World actually) and the Virgin River, over time, has eroded parts down into, well, sand.

We came across a family of Mountain goats while hiking and I didn't zoom on this shot--we were this close.

This was the lodge we stayed at, just outside of the Park. The views were incredible and a free shuttle ran every 10 minutes to take you either into town or into the Park (of course we had our stealth Hybrid (see part 1). Us 3 girls shared a giant room with 2 queen beds, a queen sleeper sofa a nearly full kitchen and a deck overlooking the heated pool.

On one of our hikes...

Scenery shot! Too much beauty!!!!

I swear-- it was not easy to climb up here even though it looks like it'd be pretty easy...

This concludes part II of the Zion trip... but there is more to come... and take a read of part I if you haven't yet.

hybrids & high elevation in Utah

2010-05-27T20:44:00.023-04:00

this post can also be found at Travel. Write. Repeat.

Last Thursday I caught the early flight to Salt Lake City to meet up with two of my old high school buddies, Jean & Rachel. We three had a reunion road trip planned to Zion National Park via Park City to attend our friend Melissa's wedding in Zion.

When I got into Salt Lake (an hour early--thank you Delta) I had some time to kill before Rachel flew into town. I had been to Salt Lake about 10 years ago for a Husky game and had a chance to see some of the city and surrounding area. Salt Lake is small, but it is surrounded by mountains pretty much entirely which makes it look even smaller when viewing it from above--which is exactly what I did!

After picking up my hybrid rental car and taking like hours to start it (word to the wise---hybrids make NO noise until they are going like 25 mph. Who knew?) I drove to the highest point I could, within reason, and found a hike up to Ensign Peak. This place, as many places in Salt Lake, has religious significance to the large Mormon population, but to me it offered a spectacular view of the mountains and city.

After the hike and the wheezing, breathless reminder that Utah is at a much higher elevation than I have been used to on the East Coast, I caught my breath at a Starbucks then toured the city --drive by style--and saw the highlights.

Below is the Capital building that lies at the foothills of the mountain i had just climbed--near the University of Utah.

After picking up Rachel, we headed North to Park City-- the ski mecca of Utah. Of course, skiing wasn't really going on while we were there, although snow was in the forecast. We were much more interested in gabbing and cruising the town--and what a cute town it is!! The "Main Street" had art galleries, restaurants, shops and outrageously expensive pet clothing stores; needless to say--we were in heaven!

Rachel & Di hanging out on the lift chair

Main Street

Absurdly long staircases which have got to be damn near impossible to climb in the snow

One of 3 enormous resident Park City dogs at the doggie boutique

Rachel scoping out some night spots for when Jean meets up with us.

We drove back to Salt Lake to pick up Jean (only 30 minutes away) and then back to Park City to have some dinner and start our reunion! We ate at what we heard is THE hangout during the ski season: The No Name Saloon. The food was awesome and while we were outnumbered by like 75 to 3 in a men to women ratio-- we had plenty of time for ourselves to visit and laugh before stopping off at Lindzee O'Michaels Mixologists (see above pic) for $2 Ladies Night. Did I mention that driving is not necessary in Park City. Everything is within walking distance to the hotels!

At the No Name Saloon we got our first taste of Polygamy Porter: Why have just one?

Relaxing at Mixologists. The place had some interesting people... & I don't mean just us!!

Rachel dancing to, what else? The Beastie Boys! Its as if the Girls Trip Reunion Gods were smiling on us!!!

to be continued...

we are back in a big way!

2010-05-27T12:24:00.002-04:00

Sorry everyone for not posting lately. May was a busy month for us and with work demands, my website taking up more time (not complaining there!!) and travel-- its been hard to find time to post.

BUT-- June should be relatively calm except for a visit from Gretchen and a trip for me to Seattle, so I will have more time to post--starting tonight! Stay tuned for our latest adventures some which will feature one of the most beautiful locations I have ever visited.

Here is a photo hint:

bike ride down Broadway in NYC

2010-05-14T13:52:00.002-04:00

this is a really cool video on youtube courtesy of my twitter friend @gotsaga
This rider isn't going far, 59th (around Central Park) down to Herald Square (near Macy's)... but still. Pretty cool.

Gives me some ideas on making my own videos... stay tuned for that. Now where did I put that helmet cam...

want something to do this summer? Get thee to a Shakespeare festival!

2010-05-04T22:32:00.002-04:00

This post also appeared on Travel. Write. Repeat. I hope you enjoy it!

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"All the World is a Stage", so get thee to a Shakespeare festival!

It is that time of year again; the flowers have bloomed, the birds are singing and the sun warms your t-shirt wearing arms. Its time to pack your blankets, your wine & cheese and hop in the car to begin your road trip to the nearest (or furthest) Shakespeare festival to enjoy theatre at its best!

Now stop your internal nay-saying and hear me out.
Even if you were not an English major (as I was), Shakespeare has appealing qualities to everyone, well- except maybe my mom. When she helped me study my lines for the very amateur Shakespeare plays I took part in during my undergrad I remember her saying multiple times "how can anyone understand this"?

In retrospect, my response to her then of "Mom! It's not that hard! Just help me!" didn't add her to the number of Shakespeare fans out there. Since my future career of theatre has gone the way of Hamlet's father and my frustration of one not understanding "the craft of the language" has subsided, I can see how the complexity of the language can seem as approachable as snuggling a hedgehog.

Of course, one could buy cliff notes or watch the many movies that have been made from the plays (and I have to say, Mel Gibson's Hamlet is not bad), but I suggest instead to try taking in a live show in a true festival format. In my opinion, seeing the actors express the words make them easier to grasp and gives an unanticipated appreciation of this old language full of modern day messages.

Nearly every major city in the US and Canada have a Shakespeare Festival--as well as in Europe, but here are the ones that make the top of my list:

1. The Globe Theatre, London, England
The original Globe Theater was opened in the 1570's and here, Shakespeare got his start. After a few tragedies, namely the Bubonic Plague, a demolishing fire, the English Civil War and finally the destruction of the Globe (and theaters in general) by the Puritans, The Globe laid dormant for 350 years before a man named Sam Wanamaker had it rebuilt in the early 1990's.

Today, Shakespeare's Globe is THE Shakespeare festival to attend and their 2010 schedule is packed with some of the Bard's greatest hits.
With the gorgeous setting, the history and the nearby sights of London--this festival is hard to beat.

Plus, you can buy these cool mugs at the gift shop.

2010 Schedule
Macbeth until June 27, 2010
Henry VIII thru August 21, 2010
Henry IV Part 1 (my favorite) from June 6- October 2, 2010
Henry IV Part 2 from July 3- October 3, 2010
The Merry Wives of Windsor August 14-October 2, 2010

2. Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, Oregon
When I was last in Ashland, a town near the border of California, for this festival, 2 friends and I camped at the local campground was fun and saved us quite a bit of money--as the bed-n-breakfasts and hotels here can get pricey and fill up quickly. The campground was great and truly added to the wonderful memories I have of Ashland.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has always been known for having cutting edge plays showing alongside the most popular Shakespeare plays in their 3 theaters.

This year 'Hamlet' is featured and the last time it was featured here was 10 years ago (when I was there)!

'Henry IV, Part 1' must be a big one this year because its showing here too (as well as in London) and other than 'The Merchant of Venice' and 'Twelfth Night', the rest of the line-up is non-Shakespeare. Here are my recommendations playing through the end of October (and 'Hamlet' also playing through the end of October, is a given):
'Pride and Prejudice'
Ruined

After seeing some shows and strolling amongst the other Shakespeare buffs in Ashland-- drive just 90 miles away and see the truly take-your-breath-away vision of Crater Lake. The blue in this picture has not been doctored. The lake is seriously that blue.

3. Santa Cruz Shakespeare Festival, Santa Cruz, CA

Ahhhh, Santa Cruz: my favorite city in Cali. Close to San Francisco, but such a beach town with awesome surfing waves, boardwalk amusement parks (with the country's OLDEST working wood roller-coaster) and a very cool Shakespeare Festival!

the author & her brother with the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk in the background

Although a short season and with only three plays each summer, the festival on the campus of University of California at Santa Cruz ("UCSC") is quite popular and always sells out. My favorite showing here was the classic 'Romeo and Juliet" played out in the UCSC outdoor theatre surrounded by a canopy of evergreen trees and complete with 2 story stage so you could really see Juliet searching for "Romeo, Romeo..." as intended, from her second story balcony.

photo of the outdoor theatre during a showing of Julius Caesar in 2009. courtesy R.R. Jones

The 2010 Festival Season runs from July 20 - August 29 and the shows featured this year are:
Love's Labour Lost
Othello
and The Lion in Winter (a non-Shakespeare play)

4. Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, Ontario

My Aunt, a University English Professor, travels to Stratford each year from the West Coast for this Festival--- known as the most popular in all of North America.

For more than 50 years, this festival has provided, according to their website, "stimulating, thought-provoking productions of Shakespeare’s plays, to examine other plays from the classical repertoire, and to foster and support the development of Canadian theatre practitioners".

Stratford is just outside of Toronto and aside from reaching here by train or plane, the festival has round trip bus rides for just $30 Canadian from Toronto to the Festival.

The festival here runs from April through October (but check individual plays for their running time). There are a dozen plays this year and including Peter Pan that has an emphasis on an all-ages audience and Evita, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber (both running through October), the key Shakespeare plays are:

'As You Like It' through Oct 31, 2010
'The Tempest" June 11- September 12, 2010
'The Two Gentlemen of Verona' July 12-September 19, 2010

See the entire playbill here.

Hopefully you can get to one of these festivals or many of the others that are going on around the country this summer!
Have any Shakespeare recommendations? Please leave a comment and let me know!

sunny days are here again

2010-05-02T19:19:00.006-04:00

This is going to be a good week and a good Monday tomorrow! Positive attitude goes a long way!

This weekend we headed to the boat to get it ready for the summer. It was 90 degrees yesterday and got to 92 today!

side note: yesterday was also the first day of boating season in my hometown of Seattle and it was in the 50's.

Yesterday at the boat Tom cleaned the outside (which was not an easy task after the tough & snowy winter) and I cleaned the inside (bathrooms, kitchen, put the bedding on etc.) After I finished my chores, Lisa and I hopped in my car (top down) and went for a much needed break to the beach. The sand felt sooooo nice! The water was still pretty cold, but it seemed like summer was finally here! After, we browsed the local shops in the town of Bay Head. Fun.
Afterwards we met back up with Tom and John and went to dinner.
Frank & Ollie were in heaven as they were reunited with their best friends, Snickers and Reeces. It was so cute to see them all run around together.

Today, as I mentioned, it was nice weather again but Tom and I stayed at home. I am feeling better so I went to kickboxing for the first time in like 8 days--it was tough, but I was glad I went. We ran errands and just hung out. Today was the first day this year that we felt the HUMIDITY!! Even the weaher forecasters said it was more like mid July than early May.

Here is a picture I took yesterday at the Shore. Hello beach days; I have missed you.

We have a full week coming up (thankfully with good weahter to last) but we'll be in touch as always!

sick sick sick...

2010-04-26T18:23:00.004-04:00

...and since misery loves company, its only right for me to do a post.

Tom does a most excellent job being my company when I am miserable--yesterday even, against his better judgement, he went and got me my obligatory McDonald's meal that I only eat when I am sick. (#1 with a Coke). I think I am right when I say that when I am sick, the calories and artery hardening oil from the delicious Big Mac doesn't add to my demise the same as when I am healthy--I believe its actually helping my cold..
And, you can bet I will support Tom when he likely gets (or gets again) what I now have.

This cold is getting close to matching my "worst cold ever" memory... the cold that had me zombie walking through Amsterdam for 2 days years back-- a cold I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I pretty much haven't left the couch since Friday, I have a cough that has taken me to the crazy side (a quote from my friend Rita), and my normal love of sleep is now something I dread... even surfing the web has become a chore. Seriously, this must be more serious than any of us think...

Yes I am having a pity party and I don't care. Bleck. One good thing is that its horrible rainy and dreary so I am not missing much by being stuck inside. Poor Tom though. He's a good man.

Here is to hoping everyone is feeling better than I am and I am attaching some pics from the archive documenting sunnier, more active days that make me tired just looking at them.

do seattle--like a local would

2010-04-24T19:46:00.003-04:00

This post was featured on Travel. Write. Repeat. and I wanted to showcase it here too.

Being a native of the great city of Seattle, I feel its my duty to give my readers some insight on great Seattle day. Forget the Pike Place Market and Space Needle tour and grab your fleece, your birkenstocks (socks optional), your messenger bag and enjoy your day--local style.

1. Start your day with sleeping in-- to hopefully beat the early morning rain showers (common during the Spring in Seattle) and then head to the U District (University of Washington area) for some wandering on the gorgeous campus. See the noted architecture of the buildings and the blooming quad, get in some shopping on the 'Ave (excellent thrift store The Red Light plus a coffee must stop at the Ugly Mug Cafe on 43rd (you thought I'd send you to a Starbucks, didn't you?)

2. After getting your caffeine buzz on and working up an appetite shopping, hoof it up to 45th for an unforgettable lunch at a Seattle landmark: Dick's Drive-In. (Order recommendation: Deluxe, Fry, two tarters, a ketchup and a chocolate shake). Man, I am hungry just thinking about it.

the quad on the UW Campus

Dick's

3. After the U Dist, head south just a bit to experience a legendary Seattle store: Archie McPhee's. Archie's was originally located in Ballard (more on that in a second) and has recently moved to the nearby Wallingford area to bump elbows with other sweet stores like my favorite travel store Wide World Books.
At Archie's you'll find all of the '80's candy you miss (candy cigarettes, ring pops and pop rocks) as well as the necessary household items such as bacon bandages, backwards clocks, pickle soap and my personal favorite, nunzilla wind-up toys, that shoot adorable sparks from the mouth.

4. To curb the candy buzz and giddy feeling from buying things you don't need but can't resist, take a leisurely stroll to the peaceful Ballard--just down the way from Archie's. Ballard, once its own city, a few decades ago was enveloped into Seattle proper. Ballard has kept its individuality though boasting the largest Norwegian population in the US and a bustling main street with sweet mom and pop shops, a movie theatre and and the nearby Ballard Locks where you can easily become hypnotized by the methodological process of water rising and falling as boats pass from Lake Washington/Lake Union into the Puget Sound and vice versa. The fish ladder at the locks, where the world famous Washington Salmon swim their hearts out, is very calming and entertaining--and FREE.

5. After the tranquil visit to the locks and surrounding gardens, press on past the lure of fish and chips at nearby stands (way too pricey) and head to the Tractor Tavern just a few short blocks away. Let the Tractor serve you up a locally brewed beer while you scan the upcoming live band list. Not only does the Tractor host big name bands, but also up and coming acts in their intimate venue. My claim to fame, or not, with the Tractor is that some friends from work were heading there for a happy hour cocktail years back and I passed on the invite just to find out the next morning that the unheard of band playing that night was Pearl Jam under a cover name. (Dammit-- it still hurts like it was yesterday.)

6. After a few beers at the Tractor you're probably feeling nice and loose so grab a cab and head straight to the Virginia Inn-- another Seattle Landmark.
You may recognize this bar as the one from the movie Singles, where Matt Dillon's character brainstormed with his "band mates" (real life Pearl Jam members). Sit in "their" booth and order another local beer or something a bit more crazy 'cause now you are in the Belltown area of Seattle, officially the newest "hip" place to be. Sit here a while and take in the scene.

7. Hungry? Probably. Close out your evening by dining on a Seattle staple: Sushi.
The Wasabi Bistro is just a block away from the Virginia Inn and is famous for its fresh Japanese fusion menu. They have a long happy hour (until 6 every night) and live music Sunday through Thursday. Order some sake, feast on some of their sushi roll specials (so fresh you may have seen these fish at the locks earlier) and enjoy the fact that you are in Seattle-- a very friendly, recycling, green city that will always welcome you back.

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T16:32:00.004-04:00

And what a great day it is here in the NE! Sunny most of the time with a few rain sprinkles here and there---light sprinkles somehow make it feel more "earthy" by keeping the grass and trees green and replenishing our water supply.

What are you doing to help the Earth today?

Tom and I are getting better at using reusable shopping bags or requesting no bag at all unless one is absolutley necessary. This small act really can make a difference.

Aside from it being Earth day, not much else has deemed itself valuable enough to write about. Well, we do both have colds (yuck) and hoping they don't linger into our month of May when we are pretty busy with travel and seeing friends. Even small Frank had an ear-ache last week. Poor boy.

Well that is all for now.
Enjoy this pic taken on one of my wanderings and be kind to the Earth and all who make it their home!
(Also including an artistic shot of the dogs: Near and Far). :)

Get out of NYC for the day--visit the suburbs

2010-04-19T21:36:00.005-04:00

Check out the latest travel post on Travel. Write. Repeat. : Visit the 'Burbs of New York City.

Most you, my faithful readers, already know the gems that New Jersey has to offer its own residents as well as those of neighboring states-- mainly New York. This post talks some about my favorite cities in Jersey and how they are quick and easy getaways from the busy city.

Here are a couple pictures featured in the article.

Jersey Shore boardwalk

Princeton University Campus

happy tax day!

2010-04-15T18:13:00.003-04:00

This may be a good day for some but bad for others, so--- in the attempt to make everyone a little happier, please enjoy this post on Anegada in the BVI's on my Travel. Write. Repeat. website!!

NYC in 3D

2010-04-13T14:07:00.002-04:00

There seem to be a lot of creative looks at NYC lately--maybe because of the upcoming summer months that leave the city (and its residents) sweltering... but happy because as most people would agree--Summer is the best time in the city.

Here is a neat little video showing a 3D view courtesy of Google Maps.

atari takes manhattan

2010-04-09T15:32:00.003-04:00

a fun video, especially if you played video games in the 80's (and you get to see some cool NYC sights).

gorgeous night in NYC

2010-04-09T15:03:00.009-04:00

The City Year banquet we went to last night (see most recent post) was held at Chelsea Piers in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan. The excellent weather we have been having here continued through last night and we were loving the location of the Piers and the chance to mingle with friends and City Year Corp Members outside in the evening sun.

Chelsea Piers is a one stop shop for all things activity based! There is a HUGE 4 story golf driving range that looks out over the Hudson to Jersey, an ice rink, gymnastics, rock climbing full weight rooms, work out classes, soccer, basketball, sailing, kayaking, kids programs, spas, banquet areas... the list goes on. It is 30 acres of STUFF to do.

I am attaching some photos I snapped with my camera phone while at the Piers as well as before when Tom and I took a nice walk on the High Line Park above the streets of the Meatpacking District. (See this link on the High Line for an article I wrote on it a little while back).

Today the heat wave has tamed itself some and we are back to 60 degrees... but Spring is here to stay and it is soooooo nice!

View from the High Line and some new art on the chain link fence separating the finished section from the construction section of more Park.

my very handsome husband holding our beverages with Jersey City (and a teeny Statue of Liberty in the Hudson) in the distance.

View of the Empire State Building and the Sailing marina at Chelsea Piers. Look at that blue sky!

and finally... I had to add this one in. Its been so hot here and poor Frank has a little ear infection, so on the way to the vet we had some extra time so he and I stopped at the doggy boutique and bakery for some blueberry cheesecake ice-cream--for Frank. I opted out of a taste, but it did look really good.

Dining with the Mayor for City Year

2010-04-09T10:48:00.007-04:00

Well, sort of. We were near him and then had the opportunity to hear him speak at a fundraising dinner for an organization that is important to him as well as Tom and me: City Year.

Tom and I headed into mid-town last night for the annual honoree dinner. Our good friends Chris and Clare were there with us as Chris is very involved in City Year here in NYC (They are all over the country). You may recall past posts mentioning our attendance at these dinners--it is something we look forward to each year. This organization's core is focused on under-privileged kids in our inner city public schools that often fall between the cracks due to the lack of personal attention they need (whether that be at home or school) to excel in their classes.

Young adults apply to be a City Year Corp Member for a 10 month stint. They are assigned to schools all over the city from elementary schools to high school. These Core members spend one on one time with specific students for extended periods and measurable results that are tracked are amazing and uplifting. So many children in our country will not graduate high school let alone even pass to the next grade. Self esteem, poor home life conditions or just not getting enough positive attention are what City Year helps with by getting to know them, supporting them in their individual challenges, building mutual respect as well as the tutoring assistance in all subjects.

From the website, City Year sums up their focus in these points:

City Year seeks to:

Help students and schools succeed
Build stronger communities
Break down social barriers
Develop young leaders
Foster active citizenship

Corp Members and their touching stories of seeing a child change and grow from the practices of City Year touched me personally. I coached basketball for 5th grade boys in an underprivileged neighborhood for 5 years while living in Seattle. It is still one of my greatest joys to recall these boys' faces when something would click within them-- and not just basketball skills or in City Year's case-- educational skills-- but to see a child realize that someone thinks he/she is important, talented and has a purpose. It is very powerful feeling.

Another speaker during the evening was the Mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg. He is a great advocate of the school systems as well as City Year and it was a treat to hear him speak about his interest and involvement in this great organization.

City Year's link is here. If you have a moment, please take a look at what they do and do so well.

heat wave

2010-04-08T11:04:00.003-04:00

its been an all out summer feeling here in the nyc area! Temps are breaking records that were set back in the '20's. For 4 days straight the temps have been 80 or above and yesterday got to 92! An average temp for June 1 (months away) is 75 degrees-- so this is clearly not the norm. However--we are loving the warmth. The tops been down every day on my car, the dogs are happy to be out of snow and rain and the sun just makes everything seem a little better!!

Here is a pic taken by one of my fellow twitterers, Meghan Lisson.
Central Park yesterday. Enjoy! Click on the photo to enlarge.

Jost van Dyke

2010-04-07T21:47:00.011-04:00

The title of this post may sound familiar, but it is not an actor--its an island in the BVI chain. It was our last stop (clearly I am doing some BVI posts out of order) and our favorite.

We anchored the boat in the clearest water I honestly have ever seen--and the warmest! The very distinct blue and green colored water that look as though they can't coexist in the same Sea without blending together at times did blend into a dreamy shade of aqua so needless to say, looking out at the water never got old.
Immediately after anchoring Tom and I jumped in and just swam around. Looking through the water, the white sand at the bottom (about 10' below) was very visible and we could see clearly the manta rays and parrot fish swim inches from our dangling feet.

our boat anchored at Jost van Dyke

tom in the very clear water and Tom and Di doing some snorkeling

Here are a couple views of the beach from our boat.

Amazing isn't it? It is one long white sand beach that looks pretty desolate, but actually has 6 beach bars including the two we hung out at most, the Soggy Dollar (where the fabulous drink Pain Killer was invented) and the Stress Free Bar. You can either swim to the beach or take a dinghy in and we did both multiple, multiple times!

pics of the Soggy Dollar sign and a view from the Stress Free Bar

Aside from snorkeling, laying out and having fun... we didn't do anything else on this wonderful, gorgeous island. The boat accommodated us all quite nicely when we needed to get out of the sun. We had a lot of fun dancing and laughing on the deck. Such a relaxing time with great friends. It was hard to leave.

Here are some pictures of some fun we all had on the boat.

get off the beaten path in New York City

2010-04-06T22:36:00.002-04:00

More great adventures from our trip to the British Virgin Islands are to come, but check out this post (and others) on my website.

Get "off the beaten path" in nyc
(click here)

treasures in the bvi's

2010-04-02T20:24:00.014-04:00

My most sincere apologies for not posting in a few days. As always, coming back to work after vacation is very time consuming and since its been 75 degrees the last few days (and on track to continue for many more days...) it's been hard to find time to sit down and post on what was one of the best vacations Tom and I have ever had. I have to admit, with all of the pics I took and the info I gathered on the various islands we visited in the BVI's, I am somewhat overwhelmed when thinking about where to start.

As Lisa told me, "just start at the beginning Di" so---I will start at the beginning.

After we all met in Tortola (the most populated, modernized island in the BVI's) and picked up the boat-- the guys got it ready for take-off and the gals headed to town for provisions.

pic: Captain John and Todd at the helm

We didn't plan on getting much in terms of food provisions, just lunch fixings and snacks (and beverages of course), but the grocery store in Tortola was actually quite stocked-- much different than the usual Caribbean grocery stores which are not much bigger than our US 7-11's. The US dollar was king and the grocery store shelves were stocked with essentials and indulgences including the Grey Poupon John had to have. The refrigeration section was suspect so although we didn't procure any meat we outfitted ourselves nicely and for less money than we expected. Shopping at the store was such a nice feeling. I was happy to find that even though the BVI's are somewhat established, we were still in the Caribbean I knew and loved. Seeing the friendly locals (West Indians) dread-locked and accommodating made us feel welcome (and made me want to grow dreads. I am serious).

Our boat was moored in Tortola and our first stop after taking off from there was Virgin Gorda. After the Pirate Caves which I spoke of in a previous post (pic below), we decided to stop by Willie T's--the famous (infamous?) permanently moored ship in the shallowish clear waters.

pics: the Pirate Caves

Wille T's is famous for its "clothing optional" dress code and topless diving off of the top deck for a free "Willie" t-shirt. While the diving topless didn't interest us that night we did have a great time anyway and it was a great welcome to vacation!!

pics: most of the gang at willie t's and tom and todd having fun!

After Willie T's we headed back to the boat (via our private 4 person dinghys ([that the guys insisted on racing]) for a few nightcaps and a very restful night sleep on the calm Caribbean Sea... ahhhhhhh. Vacation. Day 1 anyway...

back from the BVI's

2010-03-29T16:25:00.004-04:00

Today is a day that has replayed itself many times in my life--the first day back to work after a long vacation somewhere sunny.

It is always hard to get back to the colder temps (30's), the early morning wakeups and the hundreds of emails waiting for attention in our work inboxs. Since I always try to look on the bright side, I DO love coming home to this area of the country (vs when we lived in Seattle and arriving home there meant depressing rain and horrible traffic once leaving the airport. Ugh). Also, the hundreds of emails waiting for me means I have a job--and one I like-- and for that I am very thankful.

The trip was amazing. That word is not nearly descriptive enough. All of the things and places we saw and experiences we had cannot be summed up easily, let alone in one word. Over the next few posts I will summarize the highlights of the trip and of course attach pictures. The pictures will be necessary to back up what I write--- without them reader, you surely wouldn't believe me when I say we were in paradise. It took me days to even think of a word to describe the color of the water in this part of the Caribbean Sea.

I am attaching a couple pics now to give you an idea of this paradise. Check back often because I have a lot to say!

Jer, Tom and John deciding where to shore dive. This is on Anegada, the furthest of the Islands in the chain we explored. The beach was empty except for us and one other couple.

The view through some of the Volcanic rock formations at the Baths on Virgin Gorda

Aye Matey!

2010-03-21T17:11:00.003-04:00

Shiver me timbers! Walk the plank! and whatever other pirate sayings I can't think of...

We are in Pirate Land here in the British Virgin Islands and it is so amazing! The sun is extremely hot (close to the equator) and even just with day 3 we are all a bit toasty and already sitting in the shade part of the day (which for me, as you may know, is extremely rare)-- but we are not complaining! Whoo hoo! Blue sky, even bluer water--an aqua sort of color that is hard for me to compare to anything.

With 3 other couples, Todd & Kyla, Jerry & Kay and Lisa & John, we chartered a power catamaran in Tortolla and are island hopping all around. Yesterday we hit Virgin Gorda and we got in some snorkeling and diving at the Wreck of the Roan--a shipwreck from 1867. It was a bit creepy... the ship's form was still pretty intact.
We also went to the Pirate Caves--- an island that is rumored to be the inspiration to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

We saw TONS of Parrot Fish, Trumpet fish as well as tons of urchins, angel fish, barracuda and super colorful coral.
Lisa, Jer and I got brave and I swam into a cave that had no natural light-- none. Super dark. It too was creepy and I am wondering if this may become a theme for the trip.

The best thing we saw though--the most amazing natural place we may have ever seen thus far in our travels--was the Baths. Giant boulders pushed through the ground by a primative volcanic explosian and have formed caverns, ponds with rushing waves that crash in every few minutes and hidden rooms that remind you of episodes of Lost in Space or even Land of the Lost (I was expecting a Sleestak to pop out any moment).

Today was a lay low day. We are at the Bitter End Yacht Club for the night and spent today lounging at the beach, taking small boat rides and Todd and Kyla rented a Hobie Cat Sailing boat. Can it only be day 3???
Even with the British name, this IS the Caribbean in every way you can imagine!

Pictures will follow. We have taken quite a few but coverage here is not always ideal to upload them.

pretty slow and wet week

2010-03-16T20:51:00.005-04:00

hey all-- not much to report lately--pretty quiet on the home front.
Aside from the tragic amount of rain we got last weekend (Central Park counted nearly 6" of rain in 48hrs) which led to terrible flooding (not for us but for so many in Jersey, NY and Connecticut) and made us feel as if we were back in Seattle, we have just been busy working getting ready for our trip to the British Virgin Islands (BVIs) in a few days.

The dogs are still not able to come along on this trip, but instead of the doggie spa which they really don't prefer (neither do we), our great friend Nick is going to be staying at our house and watching Frank and Ol. We cannot tell you how happy this makes us and knowing Nick is here with them will make this vacation even better!! He came over to visit the dogs the other night and normally feisty Ollie took to him INSTANTLY. I think a tear dripped from my eye I was so happy.

I will have lots to write about during our trip so stay tuned... also check out this link for my travel web site. :) I hope you like it---its still a work in progress but its coming along.

Here is to a happy Spring for you (March 20) as well as the celebration of the best day of our lives (Tom and I): our 1st wedding anniversary (March 20).

Here is a pic to take you back to that awesome day if you were unable to join us in person!!

congrats ryan and katrin!

2010-03-10T15:36:00.005-05:00

my cousin Ryan (fellow travel junkie, apple/mac lover, my travel partner in mexico years back, author of this blog (on my blogroll) and general wonderful guy) and his gorgeous wife Katrin just had their first baby! A healthy little boy! I think his name is Ben... (no middle name chosen yet)... but they may still be contemplating.

Regardless, he is a cutie and when Ryan was a baby--he won a "Cutest Baby of the Year" contest in California... I think his son will be following in those footsteps! I can't wait to see him in person when I go to Seattle next!

Here is link to a pic of the little family!

high end architecture in nyc

2010-03-07T15:47:00.008-05:00

hey everyone-this was featured on the news tonight here and it was too great of a story to pass up!
A German artist has been using Lego blocks to fill in open cracks and holes in buildings all around the city (as well as in Europe).
Here are just a few pics I found on line. Fun. :) I must go find one of these spots in person now!!

top NY songs

2010-03-05T14:48:00.004-05:00

New York Magazine just released the list of top songs they think describe/feel/bleed/scream/cry New York City.

Some we TOTALLY agree with, others--eh. And--we do think they missed a few we would have added (including the PJ Harvey/Thom Yorke duet "The Mess We're In" & "Daylight" by Brooklyn's own Matt & Kim) but, here are some we like that made the grade as well as the whole list here.

Listen and imagine you are here. :)

The Only Living Boy in NY-- Simon and Garfunkel

New York, New York-- Ryan Adams

B-Boy Bouillabaisse--Beastie Boys (Diana's fave NY group -- pic below)

Empire State of Mind--Jay Z (with Alicia Keys)

New York State of Mind-- Billy Joel

Around the Way Girl--LL Cool J

Aruba... relax

2010-03-03T22:36:00.003-05:00

need a vacation? Want a clean, tropical spot that has pretty much GUARANTEED perfect weather?
Check out my latest piece on Aruba.

http://www.dianaellefson.com/

misc ny happenings that gave us pause

2010-03-01T15:36:00.010-05:00

Now and again, when I have a free minute, I go through all of my magazines that seem to pile up (this includes my online subscriptions), many of which are centered on NYC, and I am amazed at the eye catching, sometimes odd things I discover. New York is a melting pot of all that is good, bad and weird in the world and here are some of the things of late that caught our attention.

Posh Icelandic couple sued for putting IKEA kitchen in swank Gramercy Park Hotel pad
courtesy of the Daily News

Apparently, the swank GPH is far too glamourous for run of the mill Ikea sinks. People, COME ON! Don't you know that you need to ask all of the important questions (like if the iron steams horizontal or vertical or sink brand) BEFORE you agree to rent a room... Geez. Obviously not locals.

In keeping with the above posh theme I have started...

Posh Soho House boots 'uncool' members
courtesy of the NY Post

This very, very, VERY elite hotel in one of my fave hangouts, the Meatpacking District, seems to be ditching the crowd that may look too elite (even the Sex in the City girls got booted in an episode). If you can get into Soho House parties (in particular, their pool parties on the roof are FAMOUS) you are definitely living right-- but now it seems, unless you can fit into the restructuring plan to get the House back to its "creative roots", well-- forget it. Even the early members (4500 in total with 3000 on the waiting list) are having their membership renewals declined because from what I can gather from this article-- the image of stuffiness and corporate-ness is a thing of the past; the management even requested that members not wear suits and ties. What apparently is still supported by the management is the "encouragement of under 27 memberships".

Side note: my very fabulous friend Justin (under 27), artist and film producer, actually had an invite to one of the pool parties last summer and INVITED ME! Sadly I was out of town and I recall wondering that I'd be a bit nervous for Tom and I showing up because maybe WE were not elite enough--- I mean, I actually swim when I go to pool parties--CANNONBALL! Anyway, now no need to worry about that! I am calling Justin to see about this summer!

... and to wrap this up I want to bring the last example down a level---one the common man can relate to: motorcycles.

New York Magazine had a feature on some new shops that offer complimentary food & drinks while you shop. This in itself doesn't sound too odd; in this economy you gotta do what you can to bring the consumer in, right? One of the stores' food and merchandise pairing though does seem to be a category in the childhood game of "one of these things doesn't belong".

NYC Motorcycle Federation on 6th Ave sells biker jackets, stylish gem encrusted helmets, customized leather seats and shredded Harley tees.
The food: Illy coffee, Ceci-Cela croissants and prosciutto panini.
Did I mention that their logo is a skull of the Statue of Liberty, her crown still intact?

Anything about this seem weird? Something about this combo of Harley and croissants doesn't quite work... but in NYC, well everything works.

wintergate

2010-02-28T14:11:00.006-05:00

snowgate, blizzard of 2010, winter storm event ---these were just a few of the terms thrown out by the news media (and then consequently, the general public) after the last few days of snow falling again in our area. This time it really was an event though. month alone it has snowed every 1 out of 3 days and March (just next week, wow!) looks to be following a similar pattern since the forecast calls for more Wednesday and Thursday.

Yes, I am still liking it and went out and shoveled and walked to Starbucks etc-- but I do find myself day dreaming more and more about laying on the boat in the warm sun...

Here are a few pictures from our own little snowgate: the neighborhood.

This is from our kitchen looking out onto our deck. That dark area at the bottom is the snow pressed up against the glass.

The neighbor kids Paul & Hannah taking a break

A house down the street. That snow accumulated in 3 hours after being plowed by a bobcat.

earthquake & tsunami

2010-02-27T17:53:00.006-05:00

** Update** Family is all safe and back at home. As CNN reported: Hawaii dodged a bullet. Lets turn our attention to Chile.

-----------------
Lots going on.
First off, the Chilean earthquake. Our heart goes out to all of Chile and everyone affected by this horrible 8.8 quake. The pictures we see on the news give us chills.

One of the unfortunate side affects of this quake is the tsunami warnings all through the Pacific including Hawaii---where I have a great deal of family that live there.

My cousin and her boyfriend on the Big Island are ok-- she lives in one of the more mountainous regions, but the downtown Kona and Hilo areas close to her house are crazy.

My aunt Janelle and family that visited us last summer had to evacuate their house in Kailua (on Oahu, near Waikiki) as it is close to the beach. At 3 30 am my uncle gassed up the car, they loaded the dog, the kids, my aunt Lynne visiting from Oregon and food in the car and headed to higher ground.
All is fine with them right now and as the first waves started to hit, they seem to be having less of an impact than feared, but it is still very soon.

Be safe and appreciate all you have and who you love-- you never know when something out of your control can so quickly and negatively alter your life.

mummies & street dogs

2010-02-26T16:05:00.004-05:00

Who doesn't love that combination??

Check out Travel. Write. Repeat. for my newest piece looking back on my first big trip: Guanajuato, Mexico. Quickly, go and be whisked away! :)

hazy shade of winter

2010-02-23T12:35:00.008-05:00

This winter is SO unlike last year in the Tri-state area. Last year we had hardly any snow in comparison and it seems to be snowing pretty much every week. I am still not to the point of complaining about it (my husband on the other hand had his fill after the first snowfall) but I am wondering how long this trend will continue.

Along with watching the Olympics, and going on a snow hike the other day on the Appalachian Trail we have been pretty mellow and still recovering from our exciting weekend in Lake Placid. I am attaching a few more shots from that trip! Enjoy!

I'm getting ready to hit the big (little) hill! The best part about snowboarding for me: I love love love my pants!!!

Tom and Diana at the mountain

The girls!

The guys!

One of the nights John and Li arranged for all of us to have a private dinner in the Wine Cellar of our Inn. We had our own waiter and the space all to ourselves. It was a gorgeous setting, the food was perfect and the company couldn't have been beat! That consideration by John and Li made the entire trip that much better. Thanks guys!!

But even that nice dinner didn't stop John (my pseudo brother) from annoying me as he usually does... I had to get revenge on the slopes!

offical travel writer??

2010-02-20T17:14:00.004-05:00

well... close, but not quite yet. However--I've been told that the first step to becoming what you want to become is to call yourself whatever it is you want to become ... and also to get a website.
Soooooo, I am following that advice and am proud to introduce my new website that is still VERY MUCH in beta format... Diana Ellefson: Travel. Write. Repeat.

This new site will not replace this blog--- Tom and I are still having WAY too many adventures to not have this blog so do not worry!! However--if you are a publisher, editor or anyone that wants to read my upcoming writings/posts/articles and comment or see if I have any potential at all in becoming the travel writer I think I can become... check out my new site. :)

As always thanks for your support!!!!

Miracle On Ice

2010-02-17T21:08:00.012-05:00

Lake Placid, NY is best known for the 1980 (and 1932) Winter Olympics. It was here that the title of this post was coined--at the conclusion of the now famous hockey finals competition. Heavily favored Russia fell to the USA at those '80 Olympics and back then, beating Russia would be similar to the US beating Al Queda today. Sortof. The win is still talked about at every Olympics and especially now since it is the 30yr anniversary of that historic match. Aside from the games, Lake Placid is a regular ski town complete with an eclectic collection of restaurants, bars and coffee shops as well as souvenir shops and galleries that only ski towns can keep in business. Its no secret that I do not miss living on the West Coast, but one of the things I do miss is Whistler. The village calls to me and after years and years of going there every "American Thanksgiving" its hard to be so far away from such a quaint, magical, welcoming place. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, I have to say that Lake Placid satisfied my longing to be in Whistler-- for this year at least. While it is not a contained village (in Whistler, you park your car underground and never get into it again--ski in, ski out, shop eat, sleep etc all in the village) Lake Placid is small and even with the snow falling we walked everywhere and enjoyed getting to know this town inside and out.

We stayed at the Interlaken Inn http://theinterlakeninn.com/ and Lisa (oh yeah, we went with John & Lisa, Jerry & Michelle) described it best when she said "I feel like I am in my own house but that I have servants". I think she said this as we laid by the fireplace in the large common area (that we seemed to pretty much "own") and all of us agreed realizing that wait--isn't this our own house??? With snow falling outside, our shoes off, feet on the couch and us adding wood to the roaring fire when needed while drinking hot buttered rums--we felt pretty at home.

Interlaken Inn is run by Mary and John and their family. They boast a very popular restaurant that is by reservation only and famous for their seafood dinners as well as their organic made to order breakfasts, a bar with the most friendly bartender we have ever met (Mark!) and a very family like feel. Dogs are even allowed in the cottage portion of the Inn--so next year it will become a "family affair" with the 4 dogs coming along!

All 6 of us went skiing one of the days, well, 5 of us did. I chose to snowboard. While I had a great deal of discouragement come my way from all of the guys ("its too hard", "you should ski", "you won't have any fun", yada yada yada), I held my own and aligned myself with the "cooler" of the two sports. I was set.

Cool Snowboard pants bought ON SALE over the summer? Check. Semi-cool Snowboard jacket I planned to replace as soon as we get home? Check. Helmet? Check. Cool Goggles borrowed from Jerry? Check. Attitude that I was going to do well? Check.

Lisa, a pro skier in her own right, was gracious enough to want to hang out with me (a TOTAL BEGINNER) and help me if she could. Michelle and I were both beginners, but we knew we could do this and Lisa was a great supporter! The guys headed to the top of the mountain to be manly and compete against each other while Lisa, Michelle (also a beginner) and I stayed at the very scary MIXING BOWL (actually only one step up from the nearly flat ground).
Li was able to help me some but it took me a couple runs to figure out the balance and the edging.
Long story short: 1) I liked it. 2) I fell a TON 3) I am sore. 4) I liked it.

Li has the pics of the skiing adventures so those will be posted in the next few days.

Other than hitting the slopes we enjoyed some wonderful meals, some great conversation (yay for girl time and guy time), shopping, laughing, some igloo time, toboggan rides, having a private dinner in the Inn's fabulous wine cellar (arranged by John and Li for all of us) and over all-----a fun and relaxing weekend; we didn't want to leave.

The pics I will post today show our other adventures/sights at Lake Placid.

Dog sledding on the Lake

The girls visiting the Husky shaped igloo built on the Lake

The group (Diana is taking the pic)

Waiting in line for the toboggan ride! Yikes!

Michelle and Diana lounging by the fire

The Lake Placid Olympic torch

And by night with Lisa!!

one last post on curling...

2010-02-16T15:20:00.007-05:00

If my previous posts didn't teach you about curling in a way that kept you interested... this clip from the Colbert Report surely will. As Colbert says, "Passing a stone never felt so good."
Enjoy--its hilarious. And enjoy the Olympics--we are!

Look for upcoming posts on our trip to Lake Placid (home of the 1980 Winter games and the famous Miracle on Ice event--US beat Russia in Hockey)!!

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Skate Expectations - Curling Team Tryouts - Colbert vs. Shuster

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Skate Expectations

Blizzard 2010

2010-02-10T18:11:00.006-05:00

And the title of this post is not just what I have named this storm, its what all of the news channels in NY have named it and we know that news stations never exaggerate any situation...

I do have to say though that this IS A BLIZZARD. My native west coast self is showing and I caught myself looking out the window often today to see the heavy snowfall and blowing winds that have gone on all day and are due to continue most of tonight. I do love it though but its just the dogs and me surviving it together as Tom is in Seattle for some intense work meetings. He is pretty happy to have avoided the snow, but lets hope it doesn't delay his flight home tomorrow!

Earlier today, around noon before the conditions turned really nasty, I went for a jog in the snow (what a workout) and then shoveled our driveway and walk to get some exercise. It was quiet out and gorgeous. The dogs were out with me and here is a funny little video of them! Enjoy!!

Curling. The End.

2010-02-07T18:57:00.006-05:00

It is as if the Universe KNEW I was seeking to learn more about Curling as so many different articles and bits of info seemed to just materialize without any effort on my end (and that, for a writer, does not happen much).

Before I get into more info--first let me start off this final installment of all things Curling with pictures of our nieces in a recent bonspiel (a Curling tournament) that no doubt, they won.

Lisa

Lindsay

Jillian

They are so cute!
OK--back to my discoveries on Curling. In the last post I wondered if Scotland, the homeland of Curling had a team that would be at the Olympics. I don't think so. I think maybe the Scots combine some with the Brits team, but I can't be sure...

I also wondered what the draw was to curling.
The endorsements? Yeah, not likely.
The intoxicating cold ice? Doubtful, but I found no evidence to support that.
The sweet uniforms? YES!!! That must be one draw... lately at least.

I didn't have to look far to find that Curling is not really known for its stylish outfits. But you see, Curling is getting to be more well known, in fact--- Curling is the ONLY Olympic Sport that increased its audience from 2002 to 2006 and because of that, NBC will be airing 100 hours of action in Vancouver. According to a producer for the Vancouver Games, Curling will be "without a doubt be one of the hottest tickets at the Olympics".

But again, their outfits or uniforms have been known to be a bit... frumpy...but not this year.
According to some rumors-- expect to see slim fitting, streamlined zip-front jackets and body hugging tops the Canadian team will be sporting this Olympics--complete with the maple leaf and the word Canada in big letters. Even the sale of replica jackets have been popular throughout Canada.

For Curling? I never would have thought!!

Another thing that is sure to bring some new fans is this --which actually, has been in place for a few years now I think--the Women of Curling Calendar.

http://www.mopo.ca/2009/06/2010-women-of-curling-calendar.html

Here is a sneak peak of one month:

I KNOW, right?? Curling??

And if that was not enough--

Curling has a young, popular and pretty Captain on team Canada: Eve Muirhead. At only 19, she is not only is in the present news of Curling in Canada, but also very much the future. Read about her here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article6943307.ece

All in all, this information about Curling has made me curious to watch some of the matches and to see how rabid the fans are during these upcoming Olympics. But no longer am I baffled (as much) about the draw to Curling and I think I can see why people get behind the people that get behind the stones. I think. :)

It IS called a broom!

2010-02-07T14:56:00.006-05:00

Welcome to the 2nd of ... well, maybe only 2 posts on the Olympic event of Curling.

In my early attempts to learn more about this sport I have to admit that I likened it to Trigonometry: I knew it existed, but that is really where my interest ended. Now though, as our nieces are involved and I am getting many inquiries from friends all over (thanks @lacaptainkey and @farwriter on twitter) on exactly what Curling is, I feel I need to look a bit deeper than Wikipedia to find out.

It seems that Curling's home is in Scotland. While it likely originated in the Netherlands, Scotland made it "their" event in the 1500's and the Scottish immigrants coming to Canada brought the sport with them.
(Hmmm, does Scotland still have a curling team? I wonder if they will be representing in Vancouver? Must check...)

Curling is played on a sheet of ice with 4 "players" and granite "stones" that weigh no more than 44 lbs. One player slides ("delivers") a stone down the ice gives and gives it a slight spin upon release. The ideal amount of spin should cause the stone to make no more than three full rotations as it travels the length of the ice. The spin allows the stone to travel in a curved path as it approaches the target "house" on the ice It's called Curling because the curved path is called the curl. How much a stone curls depends on the amount of spin, the speed of the stone and the ice conditions. 2 of the other players help the stone along down the ice with a curling "broom" by sweeping the ice at the commands of the captain ("skip").

I don't know about you, but while now I have about 85% more info than I used to have, I am still way less than excited about Curling. I need to find some interesting tidbits, or Curling gossip or some famous curlers to help my interest... what brings people to this sport? Is it the endorsements? The intoxicating freezing temps of the ice? The skimpy (see diagram) yet warm outfits the players get to wear?

I will find out for us all. Stay tuned for a much needed 3rd installment.

The countdown is on--only 5 days until the Opening Ceremonies!

Getting ready for the Olympics!!

2010-02-06T19:17:00.013-05:00

Our household is very excited for the upcoming Olympics---for many reasons, including:

1) They are very exciting--much more than the summer Olympics (in our opinion).

2) They are in Canada--Tom's home country and where some family still lives.

3) They feel like they are in my home town since they are in Vancouver, BC in Canada (only 90 min from Seattle).

4) We will be in Lake Placid (home of the Winter Olympics in 1980) for Opening Ceremonies and Valentines Day Weekend with our friends John & Lisa.

If you have been anticipating the Olympics as we have been, you will know that Canada is VERY serious about getting some gold this time (as they have not yet gotten Gold when the Olympics have been in Canada). Its bound to be a battle in every event--especially Speed Skating and of course Hockey.

One event though I am expecting Canada to win with their EYES CLOSED--in fact, in this event I am about to name, I think the Canadian athletes should wear blindfolds. This event---Curling. Yes, Curling. Some spectators (read: me) have been quoted as saying "isn't that shuffle board on ice?" or "isn't that the game where they push big circular thingy's around with brooms?"
Good questions--- and I aim to find the answers.

Curling, faithful readers, the third biggest sport in Canada behind hockey and Canadian Football (really? Canadian Football is really that big??), will be the focus of my posts the next few days--partly because I am extremely interested (read: baffled?) in how this "sport" works and what exactly is involved and partly because our gorgeous nieces that live in Calgary are curling CHAMPS in their town and for that reason alone, I am a bit embarrassed that I don't know more about this event so I can properly cheer them on!!

Here are 3 of our Curling nieces (Jillian, Lindsay and Lisa with Gretchen and me in Curacao last March--only Em is missing. Don't they seem to be holding their sparklers like they'd hold a curling broom. Or is it curling stick?)

I will post more soon... but until then, please ponder this word: bonspiel
(pronounced bon-schpeel).

Who to believe???

2010-02-02T20:44:00.007-05:00

OK-- so today is Feb 2 and also Groundhog Day. (It is also the season premier of LOST and also someone's birthday. That someone chooses to remain anonymous because as he says "I'm not a big birthday guy." This "guy" is also my husband. If you figure out his name--well, you are just way ahead of the game because I am not naming names... (happy birthday hon!!))

Anyway-- Groundhog Day. Now many areas in the country have their own Groundhogs that they pay homage to each year. Of course there is Punxsutawney Phil--the assumed "main" groundhog--- but there is also NY's own Staten Island Chuck (who bit Mayor Bloomberg last year) among many others.

Growing up, my Spring start date always depended on Phil. Here is where it gets tricky... now that I am married to a foreigner--a Canadian--I have learned many things. For instance, the word "about" has a different pronunciation '(aboot'), semi-trucks seen on the highway are known as "semmy" trucks and pasta is better known as "paa-stah". While those things I have gotten used to (more or less), its the new findings on this Groundhog Day that I am stiill trying to figure out.

My lovely sister in law Karen made mention that she was hoping Balzac Billy didn't see his shadow this year. I assumed instantly that this unknown name/term was a Canadian anomaly, sort of like Canadian Internet shopping (which dear reader is both a pipe dream and a fallacy).

It turns out that Balzac is a town near Calgary, where Karen lives and where Tom is from.

Here is the problem:
Punxsutawney Phil DID see his shadow... 6 more weeks of winter are on its way (in fact, its snowing tonight here in the NE).

Balzac Billy did NOT see his shadow... Spring is due to come early in Canada.
http://www.balzacbilly.com/

Who should we believe??? Who does Canada believe? We are torn and honestly after some thought... we have to go with Phil because as I said, its snowing right now and if anything says "Welcome 6 more weeks of Winter", its snow. I am sorry Canada. I have to go with my homeland on this one...

the "hip" Borough and some funny

2010-02-01T20:09:00.010-05:00

Grantie and I ended his trip with 2 more awesome days in NYC (and one day in between of Tom and Grant visiting Orange County Choppers (OCC) and seeing Paul Sr., us all watching the Jets lose to the Colts some serious Super Mario Brothers Marathons on the Wii and dinner at our favorite "mafia" Italian restaurant).

After showing Grant the new Highline Park in the MeatPacking District (an elevated Park that runs parallel to the Hudson--see past posts) we walked downtown through Grant's favorite section of the city--Little Italy and then across the Brooklyn Bridge on a perfectly sunny day. We made our way to the Williamsburg section to have some beers, some Mexican food and to shop some of the boutiques. Grant was a good sport on the shopping aspect. He is currently single (girls... he's pretty cute... hello.....) so he doesn't have anyone that makes him shop at "girl" stores or makes him post for various pictures in various picturesque places... so I took advantage. :)

Brooklyn is much different than Manhattan. There are no buildings taller than a few stories and it really feels like a small town, well, smaller than Manhattan. Brooklyn is really in tune right now with the Indie music scene and has produced nearly as many bands as Seattle did back in the grunge era. Some of those bands are excellent-- TV on the Radio, Matt & Kim and Grizzly Bear are my favorites currently. Brooklyn is the type of town where the famous blend in--even more so than they do in Manhattan. The other thing we noticed is the large amount of mustaches on young, seemingly hip men. I am talking BIG bushy mustaches. The thing with mustaches, and albeit this is just MY opinon, but mustaches really only look good on 1) my 60 year old Dad and 2) Tom Selleck in his Magnum PI days. Really-- not on anyone else--- even in the 80s' when it was "hip". I am seriously off subject here. My apologies. Back to the city.

After spending all day in Brooklyn we were excited to plan our last day in the city... heading in for a taping of the Colbert Report. I have been to Colbert once before back in 2008 when Jean visited and so going again was high on my to do list as its a lot of fun to see a taping and Colbert is very funny.

http://www.colbertnation.com/home?xrs=SI_65188063_2812037260_1

Grant had never seen a taping of a show so this was a treat for him as well. We did have to wait in line a bit to get in, but while we did we met a nice architecht woman that lived in Greenwich Village (I was very envious) as well as a couple visiting from the Channel Islands in England (side note: I had JUST read a neat book on life on the Channel Islands during WWII and the Nazi occupation-- check it out.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385340990/ref=s9_simi_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=03MJRMJ8HQ05CXVP4VX9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Colbert did not disappoint. We laughed a ton. I didn't want Grant to leave. Tom and I really enjoyed having him here and I tried to drop not so subtle hints that he needs to move out here. I miss him so much and can't wait to see him again.

Enjoy these pics:

Grant in Times Square on the walk back from Colbert and a wonderful time at a very cool Irish Bar on 10th.

Us waiting in line for Colbert

On the Brooklyn Bridge. A gorgeous day.

At Glen's Pub in Brooklyn

My handsome brother with a very teeny Statue of Liberty to his right.

brooklyn, harlem and a lot of walking

2010-01-31T19:21:00.007-05:00

Grant and I hit the City running the day after getting our historical fix in Philly and we just kept running and running--well, actually walking. The very first day we walked from mid town (around 32nd) all the way uptown (not counting all the zig zags cross town) to Harlem (around 124th). In other words--we walked a hell of a long way! As I have noted before, NY blocks seem and are much bigger than the blocks most of us are used to--especially the blocks I grew up on in Portland, Or and Seattle.
Safe to say-- the days I am in the city, I don't have to worry about a cardio workout at the gym--I get plenty of exercise.

I had never been to Harlem, so it was a treat to take Grant up there and experience it for myself as well. On the way we visited some of the touristy spots that we missed when Grant was here before i.e. Rockefeller Skating Rink [Quote from Grant (and everyone else that has ever seen this rink] "Man, its small!!!!"); the NY Public Library, Bryant Park, Central Park, the Upper West Side (where I called Tom from a neat little restaurant and once again tried to convince him, but to no avail, that we should move there) and of course we visited the best Pubs we could find along the long walk -- shout out to The Pour House!!!

Once to Harlem, I noticed first hand the huge increase of building expansion that has been reported all over the news (real estate tip: buy now in Harlem if you have the $$). Its a gorgeous part of the city and near some pretty gorgeous landmarks including Columbia University and the 2nd largest place of religious worship in the WORLD, second only to St Peter's in Vatican City: The Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

This "church" and by using the term church I feel as I am doing a huge disservice to this gorgeous building/house of God, is breathtaking. Seeing it from the outside and knowing that no picture I could ever take with my camera would do it justice made me feel so small. This building is enormous and once entering inside, it felt like I was Jonah in the stomach of the whale--swallowed whole and just frozen--looking around in shock.

The inside covers more than half a city block, spanning a length of over 600' and over 200' high.
It was designed in 1888 and begun in 1892, but since has undergone radical design changes (not to mention the interruption of the two World Wars). It is still considered unfinished... but due to lack of funding and the recession--the restoration project that has been ongoing for decades has been halted... temporarily. The stained glass, tapestries and small chapels within the cathedral complete with gothic statues, small historical religious mementos with the organ music (which I have to admit seemed eerie) playing in the background gave us a very surreal feeling.

After day one in the city we headed home to tell Tom of all our stories and plan day 2 which consisted of more walking, more pubs and Brooklyn. It was a great day.

Here are some pictures!

Grant in front of the Bryant Park Skating rink

Grant at the Library. GHOSTBUSTERS!!!!

Grant at the John Lennon Imagine Memorial in Central Park

Some shots of the Cathedral

The Apollo Theatre

my little brother visits

2010-01-27T20:59:00.010-05:00

Moving to the East Coast nearly 3 years ago took me away physically from all of my family and pretty much all of my friends. While I love it here and NEVER want to move back to Seattle, moving away of course has had its sad moments. I think honestly, the person I miss the most is my brother. He and I have always had a special bond and well, he is my little brother--I watch out for him. We obviously grew up together and had our share of good times and then as adults, in my late 20's, we were "roomies" for about 4 years or so. In those 4 years some of our adventures together count as some of the highlights in my life. I feel fortunate to say that my brother is one of my best friends.

This week my brother, Grant, came to visit! This was his second trip to the East Coast and a bit different than his first trip a couple summers ago. When he first came out it was over the 4th of July so we spent most of the time at the boat with one day seeing the "must see" tourist sights in NYC. This time, with the temp being slightly cooler than summer (28 degrees or so) the boat was NOT in the itinerary. Instead we proceeded to see more of NYC and the surrounding area than ANY OTHER GUEST has ever seen here, with me, in the same amount of time. Yes, its true.

Grant flew in on a Wednesday night that was COLD and cloudy. I had hoped for some sun--even if it was cold--and sun we got each of the following days.

Thursday we drove about 90 min away to Philly. Grant is a huge history buff so Philly was high on his list of must-see places. We stopped in Princeton, NJ on the way and visited the famous cemetery where Grover Cleveland and Revolutionary War soldiers are buried.

Once in Philly we visited the site of the first Congress and we didn't let a little scolding for touching a chair that was actually used by one of the "main guys" and 200 some years old stop our fun. We saw the Liberty Bell, the Declaration of Independence draft that was delivered to Canada and various other locations proclaiming the legitimacy and standing of the "new United States of America", row houses dating back to the late 1700's and most important---some really cool old bars.
At City Tavern, http://www.citytavern.com/ we actually had a beer from a recipe found in Thomas Jefferson's home cook book served to us by a woman that knew A LOT about history and was dressed in a fashionable colonial wardrobe. After City we ventured to Eulogy, a bar that coins itself as "beer heaven" and has 300 beers on tap. It was here, at Eulogy, that Grant, a self proclaimed (but I am sure a claim that would not be argued) beer guru had his favorite beer ever--and that dear reader, says A LOT.

Here are some pics of us in Philly. The next installment of this blog will follow Grant and me to my favorite city -- NYC.

Grant and Grover in Princeton

Grant at the Liberty Bell

Grant and Diana at City Tavern

Cool very small door in Philly

Grant & row houses, small door frames and cobble stone parks

Panama in video

2010-01-19T14:44:00.001-05:00

We hope you enjoy this little video I put together based on pictures we took in Panama. Turn on your sound and groove with the gorgeous shots.

Peace.

Life in 2010

2010-01-16T21:36:00.005-05:00

One my twitter "friends" had "tweeted" about this and it is TOO good to not pass on to all of you!
The link and the below blip (written by the owner of this website I am linking you too as well as this awesome little blog post you will read) gives you an idea of how life in 2010 was thought to be per a 1972 library book.
What is a bit freaky, is that some of the "future projections" really aren't that far off... maybe except for the following: "In the year 2010 everyone wears a jumpsuit and shoes."

Page through the "book" with the arrows and page down to read all of the text of each page as well as some very humorous side notes/realizations from the blog author.

Here is the blip:
Back when I was a boy, I bought a children's book at my town's library book sale called "2010: Living in the Future" by Geoffrey Hoyle. Written in 1972, it had been withdrawn from the library's collection by the mid-80s, when I picked it up. I've somehow managed to hang onto it for 25 years and now, suddenly, here we are: 2010. I'm reproducing this long out-of-print book here to see how we're doing. Are we really living in the future? |a project by Daniel Sinker

Here is the link:
http://2010book.tumblr.com/post/310745454/cover

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and if you ever find the actual book at an old flea market or garage sale--please snatch it up for me. Thanks in advance. :)

Its so FREEZING--people are taking their pants off!!

2010-01-12T16:17:00.007-05:00

Since moving to the East Coast, each Winter a certain day arrives and it is a day like no other.
A day that, although I know will come, isn't always predictable and its arrival cannot be based on its arrival in previous years.
A day that once it does come I get a feeling that summer will never be here again.

The day I am speaking of has arrived today --- it is the day that I have a desperate desperate desire to wear a full face stocking hat--the kind with just eye holes open-- whenever I have to go outside.

As fashionable as I may NOT be, I do know that these hats would be the final nail in my coffin in terms of fashion... but its SO COLD! The last few days have seemed brutal and today it even warmed up to 35! While I was successful for the 3rd Winter in a row in resisting a trip to the Army Navy Surplus store to invest in one of these hats, I did decide to try and find people who may be colder than I am-- and I did! The Participants of the annual NO PANTS DAY SUBWAY RIDES--- 2010!!

This day happened just last week in NY (and in various parts of the country--even in Mexico I hear). Riders rode the rails with their normal attire, just minus the pants or skirts. Here are some pics I found on the internet as I was not there myself participating in the event.

Enjoy and stay warm! The countdown to Summer is ON!

Panama Canal

2010-01-10T18:12:00.006-05:00

This final installment of our Panama trip focuses on what some people travel to Panama for to see above all other things the country has to offer: the Panama Canal.

Our last day in Panama City, before flying home, was spent touring the "old city" (Casco Viejo) again with Gretchen, Doug and Sonya, having a nice final dinner at one of the best restaurants in the city-- Scena http://www.scenaplatea.com/ and visiting the famous Canal.

Just a background for those of you who have forgotten what you learned about the Canal in your middle school history class (some data below gathered from wikipedia):

The Panama Canal is a 48 mile ship canal that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and acts as a key conduit for international trade. Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in the canal's early days to 14,702 vessels in 2008.

One of the largest engineering projects ever undertaken, the Canal had an enormous impact on shipping between the two Oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco via the canal travels 6,000 miles, well under half the 22,500 km (14,000 miles) route around Cape Horn.

The concept of a Canal near Panama dates to the early 16th century. The first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880 under French leadership, but was abandoned after 21,900 workers died, largely from disease (particularly malaria and yellow fever) and landslides. The United States launched a second effort, incurring a further 5,600 deaths but succeeding in opening the canal in 1914. The US kept control of the Canal until September 7, 1977 when US President Jimmy Carter gave the Panamanians free control of the Canal so long as Panama signed a treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of the Canal.

The treaty led to full Panamanian control effective at noon on December 31, 1999, and the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) assumed command of the waterway.

As with toll bridges, ships passing through the Canal must pay a fee. This fee is based on the size of the ship usually and the most expensive toll to date was a Disney Cruise ship that paid $331K to pass through in 2008. According to the tour guide at the Canal, this fee is around the norm these days for all large ships.

In case you were wondering... it seems that they charge ANY kind of vessel that goes through this passage. The least expensive toll recorded was .36 cents charged to an American adventurer that swam the Canal in 1928.

Tom enjoyed the tour as his engineering background sort of pre-disposes him to that enjoyment. For me--it is interesting yes, but I have been to the Ballard Locks SO MANY TIMES (in Seattle http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/PublicMenu/Menu.cfm?sitename=lwsc&pagename=mainpage) that this to me was just the Ballard Locks, on a larger scale...And no clam chowder restaurants within walking distance :)

I kid, I kid. It is an amazing world wonder and its construction brought a great deal of international presence and monetary gain to and for Panama and for that I am grateful. It is a gorgeous country and as I have said, we cannot wait to visit again.

Here are some pics Tom took of the Canal.

View from our hotel in Panama City--the start of the Canal.

Shots of a ship making its way into the Canal

These little "cars" keep the ships centered while traveling through the Canal; and a shot of the doors/water barriers of the locks.

A website for the Panama Canal for more information
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html

Getting settled back in

2010-01-09T16:54:00.014-05:00

As I write this post the fireplace is roaring, we have multiple layers of clothes on and the throw blankets are at the ready as we watch our NY Jets try and stay alive in the playoffs. Much different situation for us now than compared to last week at this time... for one, its about 75 degrees COLDER now than what we had gotten used to in Panama.
Ahhhh Panama--it seems so long ago now. We came home to snow and very cold temps--but still, it is very sunny so at least it is beautiful. I love East Coast winters.

Now that time has passed, some of Panama feels like it was a dream... could it have really been as wonderful as we remember?

So just to summarize, we met our friends Gretchen and Doug in Panama City (they are our official travel buddies for a yearly Christmas time trip to somewhere warm and tropical). I have written many times about these two--they are very dear friends of ours--as close as family to us-- and every time we get the chance, we love to see them. (By the way, our next long term visit with them (not counting short trips for Gretchen to NY or us to Cali to see them) will be in NEW ZEALAND & FIJI for their wedding! Yay!!!!

Sonya, Gretchen's friend for many years, also flew out to Panama to join us all for diving and fun and I hope she becomes a regular on our trips!

After spending some sight seeing time in gorgeous Panama City (a very modern banking city that was influenced greatly by the build of the Panama Canal) especially in the "old" Panama City where we saw the old ornate churches, the President's house (heavily guarded) and the locals. Panama City also has a large population of the native Kuma Indians and they make and sell their traditional Molas which they use as part of the blouses they wear (but what I will use as a wall hanging in my office with the one I purchased). The Kuma women wear bracelets all over their legs and arms as well as the traditional dress with the colorful Molas being the focal point of the outfit. They also all have a nose piercing and we didn't see one over 4'2". Its funny--we didn't see any Kuma men... I wonder what they do in the day?

A couple posts ago I added a picture of me with the Kuma woman (as well as other Panama City pics) that made my Molas. Later, when Gretchen, Sonya and I wandered over to her part of town so those 2 could purchase Molas, this woman spoke to us in a very fast Spanish that she must have assumed me understood. I take that as a compliment, but in reality we only understood snipets of what she was saying...

After Panama City we headed to the other side of the country, to the state of Bocas del Toro which borders Costa Rica. The island of Bastimentos in Bocas was our destination. We stayed at eco-bungalows that were positioned above the water (Caribbean) and were very ecologically in tune with everything including solar panels that gave us our electricity (but only from 5pm to 9am each day), water conserving showers, sinks and toilets as well as organically home grown food for our delicious breakfasts and other meals we chose to eat at the guest only restaurant. Gretchen found this place, Eclipse de Mar, in Islands Magazine and she could not have picked a better place. We each had our bungalows with decks that led right into the water for our swimming enjoyment.

Our bedroom french doors were never closed and at night we fell asleep in our bed looking at the moon shine off the water and palm trees and woke up to the sun shining on the water and morning kayakers. Kayaks were at our disposal and Doug, Gretchen, Tom and I all kayaked out to a nearby palm tree island (see rainbow pic from our deck. palm tree is off to the left) and Gretchen and I swam back. 10 min after getting back to our bungalows and drying off, we saw three dolphins swimming RIGHT WHERE WE WERE SWIMMING. WOW.

The weather was in the 90's the entire trip and only one day we had steady rain. We spent some of the mornings diving in the very warm (84 degree) Caribbean Ocean (see pics and Tom's video in our previous post) and our afternoons and evenings laying in the sun and finding great local restuarants for dinner.

The Panamanian people were very gracious and as with Mexico, it felt very safe for us "tourists". About the tourists--- all of the people we met for long enough to find out where they were from, were from either 1) New York 2) California or 3) Canada. We found that interesting.

The days we didn't dive, we instead enjoyed and discovered the jungle life in Panama. Tons of birds, frogs, lizards, geckos, cows, horses, roosters, chickens and of course street dogs were all very plentiful (pic below of a local house, a relaxing "street" dog and some wild life).

One of the days, all 5 of us hiked to an organic farm at the top of Bastimentos to visit with a couple (the man from Argentina and the woman from Scotland) and their two young boys who grew all of their own food on their farm and also all of the ingredients necessary to make the organic shampoo, soaps, anti-itch cream (bugs were pretty thick) and oils that they sold themselves and also sold in some of the local markets. This farm was amazing. It was VERY hot that day so we all arrived drenched in our own sweat but happy to have made the trek. We had organic juice to quench our thirst and while Tom and Doug rested some, the girls shopped the locally made jewelry. What a life this couple had. They moved to Panama 10 yrs ago to volunteer on the Turtle Conservation Project (Turtles are near extinct in Panama as the locals eat them---very sad). Anyway, they met and created their dream. It was inspiring to see them live with solar panels, growing their own food and teaching their sons a life that not many people I know would ever choose. A part of me made me want to choose that life--to throw it all in and get myself some sandals made of rope, a surfboard (their house overlooked the best surfing beach in Panama) and some spanish classes...It seemed a very romantic life to me---to be passionate enough to give up many, if not most, modern conveniences yet be totally happy without the modern headaches that come along with corporate life, technology, power, money etc. Those closest to me know that I am semi serious when I say that I could live that way---if given the chance, but of course, my husband is MUCH more important to me and the life we have built.
If given the chance, I wonder if I really could pull it off---I guess I will never know, but its so fun to imagine I could... :)
(Pics of the hike below)

Another day Tom took a hike into the conservatory on the island to witness rare foliage and birds. He got some great pics and got an insider view of some of the behind the scene workings of the island--the water collection and purification process specifically.

Another day, Doug, Gretchen and I hiked to Wizard Beach and witnessed THE most gorgeous beach all of us had ever seen. It was desolate save for a few surfers. The reason: you had to hike through the jungle in ankle (sometimes knee) deep mud to get there.
It was definetly an experience and the mud, when you don't think about the bugs and other creatures embedded in the slop, actually felt sort of soothing to be enveloped in (except when you stubbed your toe on a hiden fallen tree branch (get well soon Doug AND Gretchen) or when you fell on your ass into even deeper mud (I speak from experience). Seeing the beach and knowing we made it there made the walk there (and back) totally worth it!

While at the beach, we took off our clothes and hung them on a makeshift clothes line made out of driftwood we dug into the sand then went swimming in the warm ocean (we had suits on under our cothes in case you were wondering). It was only one of 2 times in my life where the water temperature did not cool me off when going in-the water was THAT warm.

After some swimming and walking along the empty beach, Doug plucked us a coconut and actually--I swear this happened-- cracked it open on some lava rock. Seriously. After drinking the refreshing coconut water we tasted the soft gel of the coconut (that hardens when exposed to air long enough). We were on a natural high and I for one, did not have a better day in Panama. I wish Tom were there to enjoy it with me, but for some reason he opted out of the mud hike? Wonder why? :)

Sadly, we do not have any pics (except for this one I found on the internet of Wizard Beach).

We were told to beware of the banditos that are known to hold people up at gun point on the mud walk and rob them of their valuable possessions. With that little tip-- we decided to leave cameras, jewelry, pretty much everything but water back at the bungalows. Turned out we saw some locals on the mud trail, but I don't think they were bandits and all probably would have been fine, but--better safe than sorry. I will never forget that walk or that beach. Or that coconut.

Our days were filled with adventure, relaxation and gorgeous sites. We can't wait to go back.

There is even more stories to tell but for now, I will sign off, but I promise to write again about our adventure to the Panama Canal! :) Enjoy the pictures!

watch this video!

2010-01-06T21:07:00.004-05:00

Tom compiled some of our pictures from the trip and made them into a video! He did such a great job--and the music it is set to is so tranquil... like our trip--especially the diving part. If you have a chance to get certified in Scuba diving--do it, you will not regret it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UQDvd8b-7s

some panama pics

2010-01-04T18:30:00.006-05:00

Our internet connection is a smidge better now that we have ventured back to Panama City as we get ready to go home so I thought I'd post a few pictures! These few were taken in Panama City and there will be more to come... but we still have some vacation fun to get to so look for more pics maybe later tonight or later this week! By the way--it was 94 here today and at home, its snowing and 25. Ugh.

"New" Panama City seen from the old city and Diana purchasing a Molas from a native Kuma Indian woman.

A small Diana in front of a very large church in the "old" Panama City.

We found the local shopping area in Panama City-- no other tourists to be found here--we love that. Gretchen, Doug and I scored on some shoe purchases! Half price compared to what we'd pay for at home... and yes, they are real, not knockoffs. Shoes, I know. :)

Tom getting local knowledge from a local; one of many balcony scenes that I cannot seem to get enough pictures of and the view from our hotel room in Panama City (near the beginning of the Panama Canal).

paradise found

2010-01-02T17:42:00.004-05:00

hello dear readers and let me apologize for my absence in writing--altho you must admit that it doesn't happen often! This time, unlike last time where I had a touch of the flu, the absence can be blamed on something much more wonderful... vacation!

Tom and I are in the beautiful Latin American country of Panama.
When we told people we were coming here to celebrate the holidays many people said with a nice smile: "Oh Panama. Nice. What is there other than the Canal?" Well, until we got here, we didn't have much of an answer for those people except that we knew that we were going to get some diving in. Now that we have spent a good deal of time in both Panama City as well as the state of Bocas del Toro we can easily and I think convincingly say that there are SO many things in Panama to see/do/experience--an amazing amount actually.

It is places like this that both make me want to be a writer but also terrify me for wanting to be a writer as I fear that I could never possibly describe in words what my eyes see and my body feels. I of course, will try--in fact, I am working on a piece right now on diving in Panama as well as a short piece depicting a lifestyle that I feel is thought to be reachable by many but must be beyond desired by those who seek it. Stay tuned.

Anyway-- in short, it is paradise here. When casually and seriously comparing Panama to other like countries in environment and peoples, Panama wins out each time as the favorite (altho Gretch and Doug do encourage us to wait on making that statement officially official until we visit Fiji next year for their wedding).

Mexico has always been my favorite place to spend time and I proudly can say that I have been to many different parts of that great country-so for me to say that Panama is the "favorite" is actually a really big statement for me and it took much thought. :)

I am going to write more at a later time--and post pics---- so I can give each area we have experienced its due respect... and also because the eco-bungalows we are staying at are shutting down the wi-fi for the evening.

Happy Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-25T11:30:00.009-05:00

We hope all of you have enjoyed this wonderful holiday season as much as Tom and I have. Each year this time is so magical for us! We had a wonderful time with friends last night for a traditional Italian Christmas Eve Dinner (love you Marc and Donna and your white clam linguine!!!) and wonderful conversation. Today Tom and I enjoyed our present opening and once again we feel spoiled and blessed-- so blessed.

Here are some pictures from all the snow we've had that (a foot fell last week at home and 2' at the boat) has led up to this beautiful White Christmas! Tom captured some of Ollie frolicking in the snow. So funny to have seen in person. Where is Frank you may ask? He barely ventured off the deck--even though I shoveled a path for him in the grass.

Enjoy your day, your families and friends and have a joyful 2010!

for all my friends...

2009-12-23T11:15:00.004-05:00

who love NY as much as I do (Steph, Bev, Marin, Ang, Rachel, Jean, Melissa and more)--- enjoy this little video by dailycandy.com
It gives a great view of the city and what there is to love about it! I just wish the video was longer! :)

http://www.dailycandy.com/new-york/video/78982/Empire-State-of-Mind

let it snow let it snow let it snow

2009-12-18T19:22:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow we are supposed to have our first HUGE snowstorm of the year and the forecast is calling for 8-14" OR MORE for the Tri-State area! YAY! I love it!! I went to the store to stock up on the essentials in case we get snowed in! Tom laughs at that, but being from Seattle---I have always hoped to be snowed in... like that famous Little House on the Prairie Christmas episode where the Ingalls are completely snowed in (not the one where Mary and Laura both got the same dress and they were actually happy--that one sucked)... and if you don't know what I am talking about, well, that is just sad. Youtube it--in fact, here is the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6clU0xMEUkE

Or, if you have the opportunity, ask my sister, my mom or my aunt Renee or Aunt Cindy as they all know what I am talking about (even my brother knows, but he'd NEVER admit it... Poor Grant, 2 older sisters did him NO favors). ANYWAY-- since this post was NOT intended to be about 70's television but sortof ended up being so, I will close this post up with the old TV sign-off of "Stay Tuned"... we'll update you on the snow later!!

Picture courtesy of nbcnewyork.com

one hand in the air for the big city!

2009-12-17T15:04:00.005-05:00

There have been many songs written about my favorite city but this one I am really liking right now. Alicia Keys was a guest on the Colbert Report yesterday to perform her song Empire State of Mind 2 and Stephen Colbert questioned why the song focused on the city only and not the 'burbs (like NJ and Conneticut--Stephen lives in Conneticut). I am pasting the lyrics of the original song but also a clip of a "remake" of the song Alica and Colbert did featuring Colbert's customized rap solo (that follows just a 15 second commercial).
Its classic!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/115500/the-colbert-report-alicia-keys-and-stephen-perform

Lyrics:

Ooohh New York x2

Grew up in a town that is famous as the place of movie scenes
Noise is always loud, there are sirens all around and the streets are mean
If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere, that's what they say
Seeing my face in lights or my name in marquees found down on Broadway

Even if it ain’t all it seems, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New Yoooork!

On the avenue, there ain't never a curfew, ladies work so hard
Such a melting pot, on the corner selling rock, preachers pray to God
Hail a gypsy cab, takes me down from Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge
Some will sleep tonight with a hunger for more than an empty fridge

I'm gonna make it by any means, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These street will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New Yoooork!

One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty
No place in the world that can compare
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

In New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New Yoooork!

Hey--so what is happening with the rebuild at the World Trade Center site?

2009-12-15T18:44:00.003-05:00

The answer, if you ask most New Yorkers, is "not much". Its been a frustrating time since the attacks on our country in regards to the rebuild. It has been postponed for multiple reasons (some considered good, others not) and is years behind schedule.

I have been down there countless times and if you didn't know better, you'd think it was just a regular construction site. The site itself is fenced off and the fences are covered (initially they were not) so seeing into the construction zone is impossible from the street. However now, The Port Authority of NY and NJ have added views (pictures and videos) from the site to flickr.com and youtube.com.

Check it out.
Picture is courtesy of Joe Woolhead found on nbcnewyork.com

New Endeavor- Sports Writer

2009-12-14T20:48:00.005-05:00

Hello readers! This post is not meant to be a toot my own horn type of post, but it is to notify you to check out Empire Sports Now! It is a NY-area Sports blog that I am now a writer for! As you know, I love to write and while travel writing is my passion---I am a huge sports fan and a huge NY area sports fan which led me to this site and this fabulous opportunity!!

Being their newest writer, I have been assigned the New Jersey Nets. For those of you who do not follow sports or the Nets-- tell everyone they are your favorite team and that you love them and that you never miss a game!!

For those of you who know a bit about the NBA (National Basketball Association) will know that the Nets have THE WORST record in the NBA right now (2-22) and they just can't seem to catch a break. While it is difficult to write about them in a positive way that keeps my readers engaged----its great fun for me to be involved in basketball again-this time as a journalist rather than a coach or a player.

If you know me well, you know that I am not a fair-weather fan. I do not jump on bandwagons (never have, never will like or have faith in the Seattle Seahawks or Seattle Mariners) nor do I become a hater when "my teams" have an off season or two (GO UW Huskies!!! Its just a re-building year (or 4)!!) so while it may be a difficult job writing about the Nets right now-- I am in it for the long haul and I am waiting for when they turn the page on this season!! :)

Enjoy the website. It covers all NY area sports. Please do leave a comment or, if you are so inclined, follow us on twitter! As always, thanks for reading this blog and I hope you have a moment to check out my new undertakings at
http://empiresportsnow.com/

Birthday Hot Dog

2009-12-12T17:00:00.003-05:00

Our little Franklin Delano Ellefson (Frank to most people) is 3 today! Yay Frank! You are 3! PARTY!!

Here he is at his party.

And here is the aftermath... too many dog treats for the boy (and his sister)!

**(disclaimer: tom and I are officially "those people" who treat their dogs like many treat their kids...)

Have a laugh

2009-12-09T11:14:00.001-05:00

Leave it to Saturday Night Live to always make us laugh! Here is a classic to get you in the mood for the holidays!
Its a bit long, 5 min (after the ad at the beginning), but worth it!

Enjoy!

living in the city continued...

2009-12-08T20:19:00.011-05:00

Our regular readers know that we, mainly I, love to read about property in the city and the good deals and not so good deals we find and/or hear about. I have much of our future brownstone or highrise condo on the Upper West Side already decorated in my mind and really am just waiting to move... (now we just have to win that elusive lottery).

My friend Rachel, who visited over Thanksgiving, has now hopped onto this bandwagon and looks for shockingly good (or bad) deals for Tom and I in the city. Rach lives in Texas where houses are seriously a FRACTION of the cost of NY pads and these Texas homes are mansions in comparison.

Here is a great example she sent me:

Exhibit A: House #1.
This house Rachel wants is on a LAKE in Texas, about an hour from Dallas. Texas is challenged with water and this lake is actually quite nice (per Rachel).

The house was built in 2008 and not yet lived in. It is 1600 sq ft, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and again, ON A LAKE.
The cost: $155K but Rachel is sure it will go for way less with this economy and I agree.

Exhibit B: The comparison house...well, condo, well... "micro-studio" is the actual term.
This micro-studio is in a neighborhood known as Morningside Heights--the way Upper West Side past Columbia University. A bit out of the way, but still a quick subway ride from anywhere.
I have attached the link below to the article from the NY Post (that Rachel sent me), but here are the specifics that will seriosuly make you shake your head.
-It is 175 sq ft. Again, 175 sq ft. WHAT???

-The married couple, who are the tenants claim they love it (some people will say anything to get in the news).
Their queen sized bed takes up 1/3 of the living space. Their 2 cats have it pretty good-- the couple has put up a cat tower. I wonder if the couple sits on that as well when they have company over. Wait, what am I saying?? Company? hahaha

-They keep their clothes in the kitchen cupboard, or the fridge (mini-fridge) as they claim they do not cook. Fine--lots of NY'ers don't cook--doesn't mean you don't like a cold beverage now and then.

-Their stove (read: hot-plate) gets put away each morning as the counter space is needed to feed their cats. (Ew, is anyone else grossed out by that??)

Here is the best part:
They jog to their jobs in Manhattan (gotta respect their workout routine) and they pick up their work clothes each day ON THE WAY TO WORK that are stashed at various dry cleaners along their jog route (and smartly--in case the cleaners are closed, they each keep an outfit at their office).

This article caused me anxiety. That is just crazy that a small space like that can cost $150K. Yes, this space is $150K. Is location really worth that much? Apparently.
Here is a shot of the micro-studio (as seen in the NY Post) and a link to the article.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/cozy_crazy_couple_makes_tight_studio_R15ToNFTaJE3c17zkw4efP

we love christmas time in the city!!

2009-12-07T20:58:00.007-05:00

Tom, Michele and I headed into the city the day after our Christmas party. We still had a bunch of snow--which I LOVE--and the sky was perfectly blue, the temp cold and NYC perfectly festive!! The city had no accumulated snow so it was easy maneuvering around there (well, if weaving through the crowds is easy). Michele had never been to the city at this time of year and Tom and I go every year, at least once, so it was a necessary and desired trip for all of us!

We showed her the tree at Rockafeller (all lit up), the windows at Saks and the ice rink and bazaar at Bryant Park. After a nice lunch at Dos Caminos on Park Ave we headed home to watch the Giants win. Michele had to head back to Philly but it sure has been nice having her around. We are still so happy she was able to come to the party!

Here are some pics in the snow at our house as well as in the city!!

In the snow!!!

crowded 5th Ave

Rockafeller Center

In Times Square and my very handsome husband

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

2009-12-07T20:42:00.008-05:00

If Tom and I didn't already feel in the Christmas spirit--we surely do now!! Friday night was our long awaited, much anticipated Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!! The rules were simple-- you had to wear an Ugly Christmas sweater which at one time was surely a sweater someone loved and wore proudly--and you had to wear it PROUDLY!

Many of our friends came--nearly 30 in all-- and most had on either an ugly christmas sweater, an ugly christmas-esqe sweater and in one case, christmas underwear (Marc!)-- but don't worry, it wasn't that kindof party.

We had holiday music, lights and decorations, wonderful food and beverages and the best "help" ever! My best friend Michele from Seattle was out East again for work so she drove up from Philly to spend the weekend with us and help at the party. Her only demand was that she didn't have to wear an ugly sweater. I agreed but didn't understand why! I had an extra one for her depicting the 12 days of Christmas in its crocheted 3D glory... oh well, maybe next Christmas. It also snowed about 4" that day so it was PERFECT!!

I am attaching some pics from the party. There are many more that people took so I may add some later as well.
For now--enjoy!
:)

The winners of the Ugliest Sweater!! Jerry and Frank

The finalists!!

Boat friends! Laura, Anthony & Lisa

Crowded kitchen!

Isaac, Bridget, baby Oliver and Diana

Family picture!

Go Elf Yourself!!

2009-12-03T16:32:00.000-05:00

Its that time of year again! Sound on!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanksgiving adventures!

2009-12-01T18:51:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone and let me be perhaps the first to remind you that there are only 24 shopping days left until Christmas!!! Wow--has time gone by quick or what?

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends (who really are like our family) as well as my great friend from way back to my high school days: Rachel!

Rachel was in Philly for a conference (she lives in Texas now) and I made the short jaunt to pick her up so she could come up and visit Tom and I for Thanksgiving. I hadn't seen Rach since '94 or something like that, but we have been in touch over the years. It was great to see her and she and Tom of course got along great! We had tons of laughs and crazy memory moments-----and Tom being the wonderful, easygoing husband he is, just turned up the tv a bit louder when our cackling got too loud (of course that made us laugh even harder!)

After tooling around Philly some and seeing the important historical attractions (such as the Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin's grave, ...the Rocky statue...) we headed back to our house and enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends and neighbors Frank and Patti and their family.

After Thanksgiving Rach and I had a fun day touring the city seeing all the Christmas windows and decorations. It was the perfect way to put us in the mood for the season. As I have said before, there is nothing more fabulous than NYC at Christmas time. Tom and I will go in next week to see the tree at Rockafeller Center all lit up as well as the other sights. This is one of our many east coast traditions now and we LOVE it!!

Attached are some pictures from the weekend!

Us at the Rocky statue!

Liberty Bell

Pictures from the City! The ice skating rink is in Central Park.

Thanksgiving at Frank and Patti's and our tree with our little Christmas Elf Ollie making a wish!
Patti and her son-in-law Don; Tina and Brandon, Nick chowing down and some of the guys watching football after dinner!

The New York Football Giants!

2009-11-25T23:35:00.006-05:00

... which by the way IS their official name so labeled to distinguish them from a baseball team of the same name back in the '20's.

Our friends Jerry and Michelle have season tickets and were gracious enough to invite us to the game on Sunday. We started out the day with some fun tailgating which got us totally into the football mode. We sat in the sun most of the game and it was a gorgeous day so we got quite warm but after the 3rd quarter we remembered that it was mid November and out came the hats and gloves.

Here are some pics and by the way--they won in OT! Yay! :)

Tailgating

The field

In action

Eli

Us after the game!

Just when we put the summer clothes away...

2009-11-15T19:17:00.006-05:00

... today we had to pull them out again!! It was WARM and SUNNY --70 degrees!! Amazing! Honestly though, it doesn't surprise us here. When we first moved here and went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade it was 70 degrees. This area gets some wacky winter weather and we are ok with that--well, most of it--Hurricane Ida's remains sent some major flooding to the majority of counties in NJ and other coastal states, but further north where we are, we were spared except for some light rain. Our boat was ok too... but the sandy beaches that we just hung out on as recently as mid Oct near our boat are under major repair as the wild waves and rain did some damage.

With the weather so nice, Tom, the dogs and I went hiking. About 20 min from our house is Pyramid Park. While the elevation gain on "mountains" here may be laughable to our West Coast friends and family, this hike did have its challenging moments with lots of steep up hill scrambles. The elevation gain was only 220 ft though... so not too daunting.

At the top we had views of Manhattan. WOW. That is all I can say. Where else can you hike and then see the best city in the World just over the tree-tops? That was a cool moment.

After the view point we descended a bit to Tripod Rock. Tripod Rock is a natural "spiritual, energy vortex" that dates back at least two glacial cycles. According to legend, it has a great energy that is intensified on the summer solstice each year (of which draws hundreds of people to watch the sun set between the rocks).

Whether or not you buy into the spiritual aspect, it is pretty dang amazing to see these enormous rocks balanced on other smaller rocks. We were amazed.
We snapped some photos and then hiked back down -- total of 4 miles!

--Climbing to the top and then a skyline shot of Manhattan in the distance.

--the rocks

sometimes its hard to update the blog...

2009-11-12T21:15:00.004-05:00

The dogs don't really like it when the laptop takes up the coveted "lap space" and they wait semi-patiently as I post. It is too much pressure! I can't work with them staring at me!!!! :)

the Holidays are upon us...

2009-11-08T17:43:00.004-05:00

... and that means getting caught up, hopefully in a good way, in the sights and sounds and BARGAINS to be found!

All the shops here, as I am sure where you are, are already bursting with holiday decorations and the towns and NYC have all the decorations either up or going up, probably as I write this.

Being in SOHO this past week (by the way, for those of you who are not from around here, SOHO stands for South of Houston Street. And Houston is pronounced HOUSE-TON) I saw so many great shops that had SUCH cute stuff--but a lot of it was way out of my price range--even after applying the cost per wear formula Marin taught me...

One boutique stood out to me. It was SO cute! It featured unique make-up products and accessories for women but it was SO expensive that I was only a window shopper. The mistake some of these boutiques make is that they don't carry cute affordable items along with the more pricier items. Maybe that is a bad business plan, but I think it would bring in a variety of more customers and in this economy--that is essential!

One item I had in mind for this boutique to carry was my friend Veronica's newest creation. You must check this out!! Its a very cute cosmetic and/or accessory bag that may become the LAST bag of its kind you will ever buy. EVER. She has invented replaceable liners for her bags (we all can relate to the grossness that is our make-up bags after really not that long--especially if we travel a lot) to just zip in and out when a new one is needed.

And one of the best things about Veronica's bags aside from them being affordable, is that they can be used for SO much more than a cosmetic bag.

Check out her website:

http://www.vemayca.com/index.php

You can't shop for them in the boutiques yet, so don't go out on a major shopping excursion. Its much easier than that---buy online!

Here is a blip from the website:

Vemayca cosmetic bags are designed to be multi-functional. They can be used not only as make-up bags, but also as accessory bags to organize a long list of personal items. Women love these bags to transport their electronics, pack delicate undergarments or carry hobby supplies. Because of the unique removable Soft Pearl Liner, the uses are endless. Used as a cosmetic bag, there is no need to spend time cleaning out bags with caked-on mascara or spilled nail polish. Simply replace the Soft Pearl Liner and, in a snap, you are good to go. It doesn’t matter if you are buying for your superstar wife, mod grandmother, your fashionable teenage daughter, your picky sister or your mother who has everything, there is room in everyone’s life to be beautifully organized.

In addition to the innovative removable Soft Pearl Liner, the Vemayca cosmetic bag features:

Generous central compartment for your favorite beauty and personal items
Two large zippered side pockets for additional storage and organization
Light-colored silver satin lining, making the contents highly visible
Custom metal zipper pulls that are easy to grip
Flat bottom so the Vemayca bag stays upright
Super soft and and lightweight
Size: measures approximately 9 inches wide, 6 inches high and 2 inches deep

when fashion came to town

2009-11-07T22:01:00.008-05:00

My friend Marin from Seattle came to visit Tom and me recently for a long weekend.
No offense to any of my other friends, but Marin is by far, the most fashionable friend I have. Now, compared to me--most people are more fashionable, but Marin is like the shopping role model for me and most of my girlfriends at work (Marin works in the same building as I did in Seattle).

She had been to NY before a couple times, but never in the position she was now---totally able to shop 'til she dropped as she had nothing else on the agenda and believe me, I was a very willing participant!! We didn't hit the "regular" stores, but instead the designer boutiques and quaint shops that make up the areas of NY known as SOHO, NOHO and of course, Greenwich Village. We of course ventured out to 5th Ave as well as seeing many other cool "staple" sights such as Washington Square Park, Wall Street, St Patrick's and the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink.

We also spent one of the days in Williamsburg (Brooklyn). Williamsburg is one of my new favorite hangouts. The shops rival those of SOHO, but there doesn't seem to be a building taller than 5 stories and even at rush-hour its quiet and maneuverable; much different than Manhattan.

We had to refuel from all of our shopping so we dined at some hotspot restaurants including Butter, Spice Market and Nobu 57 (Tom drove out and he met us for dinner at Nobu as did Tom's brother Fred who was in town for work from Dallas) but also at some small neighborhood cocktail lounges where our drinks never seemed to make it onto the bill at the end of the night...

One of the highlights of the visit was the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade! You may recall that I went last year with my sister-in-law Kim and like last year, it was warm, about 70. BUT this year--- it POURED rain on us for about 20 min so we got all nice and soaked. It was still fun and what was more fun than the parade was just meandering through the Village afterwards seeing all the costumes and people. A very fun night. A very fun trip.

Here are some pictures:

Marin and Madonna and Madonna--in the Meatpacking District

Halloween decorating Brownstone style (in Chelsea)

View of Manhattan from our walk on the Brooklyn Bridge

Marin, me and friends we met just that night at the parade

Us getting our "party" on with a Zombie after the parade

Some Brooklyn shots. Note the whiteboard outside of this awesome bookstore. Advertising a reading with the friendly reminder-- "No Heckling".

Chef Dave

2009-11-07T21:37:00.005-05:00

Our favorite Italian restaurant here, Il Giardino is FAMOUS. We loved it before it became famous, but we love it now even more since the head chef, Dave Levey, is the most recent winner of the cooking reality show Hell's Kitchen!!!

I honestly hadn't seen the show, only heard of it, but when our dear friends and neighbors Marc and Donna told us this fact---we were elated! Marc and Donna arranged for us to have a nice dinner shortly after Dave returned to Il Giardino before he heads to HIS new restaurant (the prize from the show)-- Araxi Restaurant-- in Whistler BC.

We met Dave and visited with him. Donna and I even got to see him in action in the kitchen and get pics (Tom and Marc weren't nearly as excited as Donna and I--but they thought it was cool)!!

Twice since, we have eaten there with friends and both times Dave has come out to our table to visit and meet our other friends.

Dave is a young guy with a bright future ahead and we can say we knew him when!! All my friends in Seattle and Canada--get over to Whistler this Winter and tell him I sent you! ;)

http://www.araxi.com/index.html

Here are pics of Donna and Dave in the kitchen and Dave sitting down for a glass of wine with us. The lighting is low in the restaurant and we just had camera phones, so pardon the quality of the photos...

real estate craziness

2009-11-07T20:59:00.005-05:00

Every now and then I post a little something about the real estate market out east here. Now of course Manhattan and some of the surrounding boroughs are perhaps pricier than most areas in the country, but even so, the NY Times Real Estate section, each week caters to all levels of income generators in this great area who are looking for a new place to call home.

Today's "steal" for 250K or under is as follows:

A studio Co-op (note: vs a condo or apartment, a co-op by definition is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder (read: tenant) in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. The occupancy agreement specifies the co-op's rules (side note: which often there are MANY and you have to usually be voted in before you can move in).

In a Pre-war building (note: as are TONS of buildings here. Pre-war means built prior to WW II and while many have been restored--some have not meaning no elevators and definitely no air conditioning or even dishwashers/garbage disposals).

Located on the Upper West Side (note: totally cool area, not too uppity but for sure a classy cool area... one I would LOVE to live in... but I digress. Sorry).

With an elevator in the building and a marble bathroom in the unit.

There is no doorman, which is a negative. Doormen add much more safety... but also much more $$.

No washer and dryer in the unit (note: this is common)
------------

All of this can be yours, for the price of $250K PLUS $425 a month maintenance.
Oh wait, I almost forgot----the size. its 200 SQ FT.
THE ENTIRE THING!!

Now that marble bath doesn't seem so fancy huh?

To give you a visual, the NY Times ran a piece last summer on small living areas and featured this place owned by Rose (posing in the picture on her Murphy bed). The only thing not visible is the toilet and small shower which are behind the door behind her head--otherwise, this is her entire living space and its 320 sq ft--- nearly double the size of the one I describe above.

still here

2009-11-04T22:15:00.002-05:00

hey everyone-- I know its been an unacceptable amount of time since my last post but I came down with the flu (not quite swine, more like piglet) and then had a friend visit and we pretty much lived it up so I had zero energy to post. BUT--I have SO much to say and report on!! Here is a preview:

Hell's Kitchen's newest winner is the Chef at our fave restaurant
Soho and the Meatpacking District were completely worked over in a shopping frenzy
and
the Greenwich Village Halloween parade came and went... what a great night that was.

Pics and info to come... but I gotta go now to watch the Yankees win the World Series.

I apologize for the delay and I will NEVER let this much time pass again!
:)

Time to pause for a moment and reflect on our geographic location

2009-10-17T18:30:00.007-04:00

Living in this area-- we literally have the world at our fingertips. If we want Ethiopian BBQ at 3 30 in the morning, we can get it. If we want to see an up & coming band at a "word of mouth" rooftop concert long after we would normally go to bed, we see that band. If we want to go dancing at a club deep underground that has no name and some very questionable patrons and dance "contests", all we'd have to do is get changed and go. But the crazy thing is, on this cold Saturday evening, I am choosing to sit under a down blanket with my dogs watching football while Tom installs some accent lights highlighting some artwork in our dining room while all the while--we look forward to Chinese take-out (I could have made at least that part interesting and said Ethiopian BBQ) and watching Saturday Night Live.

So what does this mean? Are we old---even though we tell ourselves we aren't? Possible.
Are we boring? Some may say yes.
Are we wasting what the best city in the World has to offer us-- taking for granted the gems that are all around us there for the taking/seeing/doing? Sometimes, maybe.

The reality though dear reader-----are that the possibilities for action are nonstop and never ending in this great city and even in our 2 years here, we have experienced so much--but still so very little.
Its hard for some of our visitors to fathom that really, anything we want to do we can do and anything we want to experience we can--there are no limits if you have the desire.

But tonight, the thing we want to do is build a fire while admiring the lights Tom installed, cheer on my football team, eat some egg drop soup and relish the fact that if we WANTED to go dancing at that rowdy new "no name" club on the Lower East Side, my favorite pair of outrageously sexy boots are just a few steps away in my closet and in NY--it is never to late to go out.

WOW! SNOW!

2009-10-15T17:31:00.005-04:00

Today was the first day for snowfall in our area! Although it was unexpected... it was not completely surprising when it happened. Let me explain.. apparently, if the acorns fall off the trees early, like in August, as they did this year, a harsh winter is sure to follow. I learned about this curious tale from our neighbor and friend Donna (thanks Don!!) and I think she is right! Hunker down!!!

Its a strange sight to look outside and see red and yellow leaves falling along with giant snow flakes.

The dogs are not fans, but I am--I love it!

Here are a couple pics (camera phone--sorry if a bit hazy).

the dogs after a necessary trip outside

Ollie hiding

ahhhhh family

2009-10-13T20:26:00.000-04:00

Hotdogs & Pumpkins

2009-10-11T17:29:00.006-04:00

Its that time of year again when the leaves start to change colors, football is on the tv and our fireplace comes on in the evening... its Autumn!

On the East Coast, Autumn has got to be the prettiest season. With all of the deciduous trees here (vs. the high volume of Evergreen trees on the West Coast), its a joy driving down otherwise boring highways-- the colors are gorgeous!

Today--as traditionally we do each year-- we hit the Pumpkin Patch with Frank and Ol. Its a U-Pick Patch near where we live and we all enjoy (well, mainly Frank, Ollie and I enjoy--Tom is a good sport and agrees to snap photos & lug Pumpkins) going and carefully treading over all the vines, giant leaves and Pumpkins to find the perfect future Jack-o-Lantern. Its usually a short trip as Frank and Ol really aren't much help in choosing and Tom seems to have a 12 minute P Patch limit... but it was a gorgeous day--perfectly sunny and about 60 degrees!

Here are a couple pics:

mom and the kids

farm house at the patch-- one of the oldest working farms East of the Mississippi.

hay rides to take pickers to the BEST part of the patch

It has been a Broadway kinda month so far--and its only the 7th!

2009-10-07T20:17:00.005-04:00

Not only did Tom and I see In The Heights, (see a few posts back) I was also lucky enough to see The Toxic Avenger AND Rock of Ages on Broadway this last week.

Toxic Avenger is actually an off- Broadway show (for now) that originally was a movie but got its theater start at Rutgers University here in Jersey. David Bryan, the keyboardist from one of the BEST GROUPS EVER, Bon Jovi, did all the music for the show. Lisa won tickets for us and we LOVED it! I feel lucky to have seen it before it hits Broadway... which is its next step. I can say "I knew it when..."
It will give you an appreciation for Jersey you never knew you had. Seriously.

By the way, Li and I had a great night in the city. She pretty much grew up there so she was able to take me all over to some of her old haunts from back when she was in her band and touring with such groups as the Bangles and the Go-Go's.
It is a great time whenever we are together!

And just last weekend when Michele was here, she and I got AWESOME seats to Rock of Ages. This show is a heartwarming story of a rocker wannabe and the girl he falls for. What makes this show so good, aside from the 5 TONY nominations it received, are the 80's songs that are sung IN THEIR ENTIRETY throughout the show! Bon Jovi, Journey, Night Ranger, Poison, Europe--the list goes on! IF it comes to your city or if you come here and you LOVE the 80's-- you must go.

BFF

2009-10-07T19:55:00.005-04:00

My BFF from college came out to visit this past weekend. Michele lives in Seattle and you will surely recognize her from our recent post while in Seattle. She happened to be in Philly for a business trip and she was able to extend that trip and come and visit Tom and me!!

We did the city right! Michele had never been so we lived it up!! We wined and dined ourselves at all the hotspots in NY as well as got $159 rate at a $400 a room boutique hotel AND got $130 tickets to a Broadway show for $26!!

Everytime someone comes to visit we of course hit the main tourist spots (Top of the Rock, St Patrick's, Central Park, Greenwich Village, Little Italy (Michele's fave--even though it POURED rain on us--see pic)) but I always seem to see something(s) I have NEVER seen before--LOVE THIS CITY.

This time those new things were the famed NYC Library (see the movie Ghostbusters?) as well as Wall Street. I have never been down that way and it was neat to see the glorious Trinity Church as well as the spot that George Washington was Inaugurated---right across the street from the NY Stock Exchange.

We had so much fun and Michele loved the city as much as I do! We also spent Sunday with Tom and the dogs down at the boat hitting the surf shops and even stopping by a Longboard Surf Contest at the Shore.

Happily--Michele will be back this way again for work and not only will she extend her trip(s) to last the weekend--hopefully her husband Geoff (who is like my brother as I have known him FOREVER) and their sweet little girls (Emily and Ashley Renee) can come out as well!

This has got to be FAKE!!

2009-10-05T17:47:00.007-04:00

If its real... who is with me to go to Paris to BOYCOTT this horrible, horrible idea?????? Please tell me this is fake.

"McDonald's invades Mona Lisa's lair, will open eatery inside Louvre"

-headline and picture courtesy of the NY Daily News (nydailynews.com)

So busy!

2009-09-27T20:33:00.009-04:00

Hello everyone! Its been a crazy last couple of days and we have scrunched in SO much that I almost don't know where to start... but I will give it a try!

Our great friends Gretchen (someone I am sure is my long lost sister) and Doug came to visit from Santa Monica for a long weekend. Gretchen has some business in the city this week but they came early to visit with us and some other friends of theirs. Tom and I drove into the city to meet up with them Sat and Sunday and the time flew by TOO fast!

After meeting for some cocktails Sat night and then a fab dinner at Bar Americain (a Bobby Flay restaurant for you "foodies" out there)

...we headed to the Tony Award winning show In The Heights. Last year this show won Best Musical, one of the highest honors a production can receive, Best Score, Best Choreography as well as Best Orchestrations.

Instead of me writing a review, I figured I'd post what the In the Heights web page has down for detail on this wonderful show!

WELCOME to the show that won Broadway’s highest honors by first winning its heart. WELCOME to the next chapter in the classic American story on stage. WELCOME to the kind of musical that comes around once in a generation. A musical that builds on the best traditions of theater while forging into fresh new territory. A musical about the importance of home, family and finding where you belong.

In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in Manhattan's Washington Heights – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

This synopsis describes the feel perfectly. The set was so creative with life like bodega's (corner stores), car service companies and hair salons complete with apartments above the businesses where the residents of this neighborhood lived and worked and flew the flags from their original countries off their rod iron fire escapes.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Manhattan area, Washington Heights is way uptown, past Central Park, past Columbia University and up to 181st street right near the Bronx. The subway can take you all the way... its definitely a different feel for the visitor compared to the "run of the mill" Times Square, Empire State, Greenwich Village tourist spots, but very much part of NY in history as well as in our modern day.

It was a great show and we left feeling fortunate for being able to experience a show that is very different from anything playing right now. Above are a couple pics from the In The Heights website and one of us getting ready to see the show!

Today Tom and I headed back out to the city and had plans to hit some museums with G & D as it was very rainy... but instead, we ended up hunkering down at an Irish Pub near Central Park to watch some football!! It was awesome! Doug and Gretchen had already been to a couple museums on this trip and since Tom and I can go to one any time, we felt our time was better spent visiting, laughing and cheering for the Jets, Giants and Vikings (well, Gretchen cheered for the Vikings :)

Such a good time with friends and as always, I LOVE NYC--I love every bit of it. Maybe a post is due that just lists the things that make NY so perfect in my mind... :) Wait for that.

Go West Young Man... and Woman!

2009-09-18T18:54:00.009-04:00

We went. We visited. We laughed. We enjoyed. We are home.

Our trip to Washington (State) went off without a hitch, complete with 84 channels of real time tv via Direct TV on our flights for $6 (BEST $6 I ever spent) and no airline delays.

We were pretty much on the go the entire time. We started out in Yakima, Wa (home of my grandparents and...place of my birth for all of you factmongers out there) for a family reunion! It was sunny and hot and we had so much fun visiting with all of my relatives. Some pics of the reunion are attached... but my photoshop gifted uncles have taken SO many more, so... stay tuned for more "creative" pics.
SPOILER ALERT:
There may be some Karaoke pics...

After getting back to the West of the Mountains after the reunion (and did I mention how wonderful it was to see mountains again--- Tom and I both miss that out here in the East) we spent a bunch of time with my immediate family. It should come as no surprise that the stars of that show for sure were Zane and Chloe--our nephew and niece. So CUTE. Auntie and Uncle treated them right as always with presents and kisses and Uncle even had a chance to go "camping" (in the living room) with Zane.

We spent the rest of the week visiting with my folks, seeing TONS of friends---TONS---- and actually having some time for Tom and I to play tourist in Seattle which was nice---actually have never done that before! :)

We made it home late last night and picked up our babies first thing this morning from the Doggie Spa. We missed them so much!!

Also-- side note-- having moved to the East Coast we have made some great Jewish friends and the Jewish presence, being very prevalent out on this side of the country, the Jewish holidays are very well known among all faiths and acknowledged equally to all other holidays (what a breath of fresh air that is!!).
With that said-- Happy Rosh Hashanah!

*My home town!

*Two of my oldest and BEST friends and I: Geoff, Michele & Diana

*Group dinner at Icon Grill in Seattle!

*Our dear friends Deb, Chris, Lauren and baby girl due Nov 6.

*Friends: The "guys" and the "kids". Our friend Jack holding Chris and Deb's toddler Lauren, Chris holding Jack and Cathy's baby Melina and "Uncle Tom" holding... the toy we brought for Melina. Where are Frank and Ol when we need them!!??

*Dad teaching Tom the finer points of B Ball

*Bocce ball "Dream Team"

*Zane & my cousin Ryan climbing the tree

*Di & Caitlin

*Tom, my brother-in-law Jesse and my brother Grant

*Di, Mom, Steph, Chloe and Zane

*Uncle & Zane

*Auntie & Chloe

8th Anniversary

2009-09-10T23:04:00.006-04:00

You know, I hesitate to use the word "anniversary" for the heart-wrenching events in our lives... but I guess there is no other word.

The 8th anniversary of the September 11th attack on our nation is upon us and its a very solemn day of remembrance for Tom and I--as it is for most I assume.

For the past few years, to mark this day in history, I post the following information and website. Take a look.

http://www.911dayofservice.org/

As the website states, please take a moment to post your personal plan to perform a good deed, volunteer or engage in another charitable activity in observance of the newly established September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. Help create a wonderful legacy that honors the victims and those who rose to service in response to the attacks on America.

Reflect. Thanks.

over the hill and through the woods...

2009-09-10T22:54:00.004-04:00

... to grandmother's house we go. Isn't that how that song goes?

Tomorrow Tom and I set out to Seattle for our first trip back together since moving out East and with NO work or office visits on the agenda. It will be nice to visit with my family and our friends. We miss everyone so much. Of course we won't see all the people we'd like to--we have to visit in shifts it seems, but we'll get to see a few on the list! One stop is in Yakima, WA where we are having a family reunion. My mom's side of 8 kids, most with kids and some of those kids with kids will be there and we will of course be visiting with my grandparents who still live in Yakima (see how I tie this in with the blog post title?-- haha).

We are looking forward to seeing everyone and I will post pictures for sure. Be prepared for cheesy family fun pics that when you see them you will surely think to yourself "I guess you had to be there".

:)

Just for fun--here are some very vintage family reunion photos to get everyone in the mood!

little known fact...

2009-09-03T21:59:00.003-04:00

My mother-in-law Bev notified me that the US Open is the SINGLE largest sports revenue generator in NYC--that means more $$ than the Yankees, Mets, Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and the NFL Football teams that make their home here.

Thanks Bev!

Also-- there was a huge upset in the Open today with the women! The Americans are holding their own.
Tonight is Andy Roddick! Am I addicted?? Yes!! :)

love-roger, wait---I mean love-nadal, wait, wait---love-roddick?

2009-09-02T21:13:00.007-04:00

This folks, is tennis lingo , well the love part--of course meaning a score of "0" in the game.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick (as well as Venus Williams, Serena Williams etc) are also tennis terms: the names of some of the greatest players to ever live and--------- I SAW ALL OF THEM!! So exciting!!

The US Open is going on right now in NYC (to be specific--in Flushing Meadows in Queens). Tom and I have really gotten into tennis since we've moved here and this is our 3rd US Open (well, watching on TV or on the big screen tv's they set up at Madison Park in the city as well as playing)... but this year also marks my first IN PERSON visit to the event!

Our friends Cora and Brian belong to a tennis and golf club out here and Cora was able to get free tickets to day 2 at the US Open. I took the day off work and she and I (and about 10 others from their club) hopped into a limo coach bus and we were on our way to Queens.

I can honestly say that this was THE best sporting event I have ever been to--and I have been to what I think are epic sporting events. It was extremely organized, clean, open and felt like a festival of sorts. We had tickets to the day matches at the Arthur Ashe stadium (the main arena there) but the tickets also allowed us free roaming ability to walk the grounds to shop, see Tennis auctions, eat, visit, sight see AND see all of the constant action on the other 15 courts on the ground. Aside from the "official" courts--there are practice fields on each side of the grounds and these turned out to be my favorite part of the day.

Our tickets allowed us to see the 2 main afternoon events (televised) and these matches were amazing---but in between the matches and even during, we'd walk around and visit the practice courts. Here, all of the players, ranked and unranked, are practicing for their matches-side by side-just like at a park or high school.

We were elated to see Roger Federer (#1 in the world), Andy Roddick (#5), Rafael Nadal (RAFFA!!! #3), Venus (#3) and many others practice just like they were having fun--which I am sure they were. We were front row watching them (and they rotated out and in all day depending on their personal play schedule). To get a front row seat to see any one of these players, not to mention all of them, play a real match would be amazing--but hard to get. Here, at the practice courts--we saw them all and up close!!

My fave is Roger Federer followed closely by Nadal and Roddick---and in case you are wondering, it just happens to be a coincidence that I like them and that they are all gorgeous -- seriously, purely a coincidence.

Anyway, the US Open goes until I think the 12th so turn on ESPN 2 and check it out-better yet, plan to come out for the 2010 Open--you will see us there for sure! I have to bring Tom next year! I added the US Open link too! Get addicted!!

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/index.html

Here are some awesome shots we got while there. The weather was also PERFECT. 77 with zero humidity.

*me & cora
*me and Roger
*RAFFA. Nice.
*Roger Federer leaving practice
*Venus practicing with Roddick in the background (nice backhand)
* the globe art form originally constructed for the 1961 Worlds Fair. Gorgeous setting.
*some of the other courts
*view of NYC from the arthur ashe stadium (and a couple of the practice courts)
*andy roddick sweaty and shirtless. Its hard work being 5th in the world.

seriously? Its nearly September? Good Lord.

2009-08-29T20:28:00.006-04:00

WOW-- summer is just about over and we can't believe it! We are going to keep it alive for as long as we can and did our part this last week by living it up on Long Beach Island (LBI). We had the week off work and we headed down Monday am. We had originally planed to go to Ocean City, Maryland in the boat but Hurricane Bill (although much weaker than his reputation) and Frank deciding to eat some saran wrap and take a 24hr visit to the Vet ER (see prior post) changed our plans some.

LBI is one of our most favorite spots on the NJ Shore. You may recall that our last trip here included a 35 mile bike ride. This one, I am happy to report, did not! Tom did ride 15 miles while Lisa and I (John and Lisa came down for 2 nights in their boat) ran 6 miles to the end of LBI and back. It was HOT--90 with I'd say 80% humidity! Too hot to run was the consensus that we ended up at---after we were done running. Most of it was on the beach though and it was gorgeous, beautiful, spectacular and whatever else you can imagine. There is just something cool about running in a natural environment that makes the treadmill seem even more awful than it truly is...

We enjoyed our hot days by taking dips in the ocean and hanging out at a Pool in town. We had some great meals and some good tennis matches at the local court.

Hurricane Danny is now upon us, but like his buddy Bill---he is a wuss and even though it rained a bunch today, it will be gorgeous again tomorrow!

Back to work Monday for Tom and me so I am going to sign off now to enjoy the rest of our weekend!!

Happy last days of August!

Attached are a few pics from the week!

* John and Reeses

* Donna, Lisa and Di

* Di and Ollie

* Tom relaxing--wait, who is driving the boat???

* Mom and the babies (how cute are Frank & Ol?? SO CUTE!!)

crazy nyc

2009-08-23T20:42:00.011-04:00

Living in this area and touring around NYC has made me witness to many things that I shake my head at and think, sometimes out-loud, "Only In NY".

After looking up some pictures for a new tour guide website I am starting, I found some that are just too good to NOT post.

Enjoy... and please know, that I have posted the PG & PG-13 versions only...and regardless of what you see below---there are MANY more bizarre things (I can tell you some stories) and we STILL love living here!! New York City is the best city in the world.
--------

* this first picture seems tame... its our friend John and I at a VERY FAMOUS Deli SEEN IN MANY MOVIES LIKE WHEN HARRY MET SALLY on the Lower West Side whose floor was COVERED with rat poison ------all over the floor (and its a big place). Side note: we did not realize this until halfway through our DELICIOUS corn beef sandwiches. It was delicious there. A true NY deli-- in more ways than one obviously.

* a guy in a foliage covered/colored full body mesh suit frolicking in the thick ivy near the ball fields in Central Park.

*Some guy with a star wars helmet playing an accordion in Union Square. A week later I saw him featured in the local Time Out New York Magazine.

*A Santa Pedi-cab driver

* What we thought was a happy clown at the San Genero Festival in Little Italy, only to be accosted by him yelling obscenities at anyone that passed him by...

* Some live music high up on a rock in Central Park.

* Very interesting sculpture Kristen and I saw at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) hanging from the ceiling.

* Only in NY would there be a billboard in Times Square for Dog Perfume.

* Live Models. Need I say more. Wait--yes I must say more: whats crazy is, HOW DO THEY KEEP THOSE SHORTS ON!!??

* Yes the Hollister Live Models are hot (see above pic)... but this store just a couple doors down wanted to make their impression too! Check out his high heels. This guy worked the crowd too! Yes, he is on a treadmill in a storefront window.

* This crazy violin playing meditation opera singer guy in Central Park was in a post not long ago---but he for sure belongs in this post. He has earned it.

* During the All Star Baseball game last summer, there were Statue of Liberty replicas all over the city painted in the different teams' colors. This one Jean and I spotted near Union Square and the guy was saying what looked like a prayer while holding onto Lady Liberty's woman parts. Very odd. Maybe more odd that we took a picture.

Dietary Indiscretion

2009-08-22T22:56:00.007-04:00

Medical Definition:
Dietary indiscretion is the tendency of a certain animal eating unusual items. These are frequently relatively small items not encountered in a natural habitat and thus sampled because of mistaken identity, a familiar flavor, or simple curiosity. This includes modern manufactured items such as shiny metal foil or plastic objects, as well as foods harmful to health. Domesticated animals such as dogs and goats, and even circus animals like Ostriches are even more prone to the effect due to their contact with people.

Plain Term Definition:
Frank went dumpster diving and this time it wasn't the smorgasbord he had hoped for.

The medical definition was actually given to us by the ER Veterinarian when we took Frank in at 3 30 am the other day. He woke up with stomach spasms and was clearly uncomfortable. Poor boy. After a series of tests and xrays and IV's and some not so fun doses of Barium... Frank is back to his "regular" self, so to speak.

Of course, Daddy tells him he needs to get a job now to work off the medical bills... but of course, we are just SO happy he is ok.
Child locks have been applied to the garbage cabinets (that Frank had learned how to get into) so hopefully this is the only incident that we will have to deal with on this topic.

Poor Ollie was heartbroken without her brother. She was mopey and melancholy ALL DAY. I even took her for a car ride & bought her some doggie ice cream to try and cheer her up.

We are all hunkering down here this weekend (not at the boat yet). Hurricane Bill has caused the beaches to close with waters all the way up to the docks and sidewalks in NY and NJ. 5' and 6' swells still brought out the surfers---but most people stayed away.

Hopefully by Monday, Summer will be back and we will no longer be water logged (high tide, lots of rain and flood warnings in the Tri-state area).

Pics: Frank feeling good & sad Ollie missing Frank.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous... and us

2009-08-19T16:48:00.007-04:00

Hi everyone! Sorry its been so long since posting. Work has been nutty busy and its hard to find anytime latley when we are not working! BUT--I found some time now...

Last weekend we had ZERO visitors! Now, the fact that I used capital letters to emphasize the number of visitors we had and the exclamation point at the end in no way reflects that we do not rejoice when we do have visitors---it was just the one weekend of the year when we really had nothing going on! Its nice--no plans!

So what did we decide to do--- hang out with our friends John and Lisa and Mark and Donna who also had NO VISITORS therefore putting us all in the catergory of having visitors. Oh well--we are all Shore people so it was pretty low key.

The general consensus was that it was the best weekend of the year in regards to the weather! Perfect blue skies and 100 degrees in the shade.

Saturday we headed to Tyces Shoal where we often go for the warm (84 degree in the bay, 78 in the Atlantic) water. We closed the day with bbq'ing on the boat at the Marina!

Sunday we all jumped on our boat and headed to Donna and Mark's house on Silver Bay. Silver Bay is actually a favorite spot of many... well it used to be. Let me explain. The water is super warm, the boat ride close and the atmoshphere is fun and safe to be out swimming and just hanging out. Sadly, in the last couple years Silver Bay has been nearly TAKEN OVER by Jelly fish. If you have never been stung by a jelly fish you are lucky. They hurt and more than the sting, the thought of floating around in the warm water and the premonition that WILL come true--- having one of these clear monsters wrap their sometimes 2' long tentacles around your arm or leg (it feels like hair)--- the water loses its appeal.

Well, when its 100 + you have to have the water as an option, so we killed two birds with one stone: Visiting our good friends Mark and Donna who live in a finger inlet off the Bay (they are our neighbors up near our "real" house) and HANGING OUT IN THEIR POOL ALL DAY!! It was perfect. Perfect. I think I overuse that word.

Anyway--we all had a great time and got a lot of sun. Saw some breathtaking sunsets too which we never get tired of!

Now--for the title of this post:
Before we all leaped into Mark and Donna's pool, we took them for a boat ride down Tom's River in NJ. That is really the name of the river, not just my Tom's favorite river...

Anyway-- Mark was the tour guide and pointing out homes of the stars: Ann Taylor, Tony Soprano (of course he'd have a house here), Heather Locklear and a few more.

We got some pics but most are still on the camera at the boat--so I will load them this weekend. For now--here are some from Tom's excellent T-Mobile myTouch which I highly recommend all of you get!

*Sunset from the boat on our way back to the Marina
*Mark and Donna's place

15K and 2 years

2009-08-13T22:38:00.001-04:00

Well, its officially been 2 years since Tom and I moved to the East Coast and every second has been AWESOME! From day 1 we have loved it here and I know we will continue to love it.

Also-- we have surpassed the 15K hit mark on this very blog! Thank you to ALL that read the blog and those that choose to leave comments--thanks! Let us know what you'd like to see more of or hear more about! Please!!!

We enjoy keeping the blog and we enjoy our life out here on the right coast (read that how you will...)

THANKS for reading!!!!

D & T

Central Park at its best

2009-08-12T21:31:00.010-04:00

While in the city, Karen and I pretty much did the entire city top (Central Park) to bottom (Brooklyn & Battery Park). We saw the legit tourist spots and then we saw the "local" spots that make the locals feel like tourists---at times.

Dear readers, you have seen many of the hotspots of NY on this blog and regardless of the beauty and repetition of those pics on this blog, I LOVE those spots (the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, Central Park etc) and I still continue to post them!

However, this trip with Karen brought some new sights I chose to take shots of. Its not that I have not seen things such as these before, but I think it was the first time visit to NY influence Karen brought that made me open my eyes and see some things that maybe I have overlooked before--mainly in Central Park.

Of course, we hit the Top of the Rock and it was gorgeous as always. For the first time I noticed sun bathers relaxing in the park from that high view. It was very cool and made the park seem so real. Once we walked through the park and went right by the same sun bathing place we saw from above----it all came together and the pride I felt for living and being in this city must have been obvious to Karen--it just bursts out of me!

At the entrance of the Park on 5th Ave, we went by the Pond and enjoyed our street bought hot dogs (delicious). until we came across the Tavern On The Green--a Central Park staple and a place I have been to once before in the winter months. (Side note: The Tavern was shortlisted as our reception spot if Tom and I had decided to get married in Central Park--its very quirky eccentric classy cool). Anyway----visiting in the summer months allowed Karen and I to sit in the outside patio surrounded by paper mache lanterns hung above our heads and large zoo animals carved out of bushes to surround us and shelter us from the rest of the park.

After Karen fully got the jist of the "Tavern", including the full tour of the restaurant, gift shop and being refreshed by the $15 cocktails (that would be $7 anywhere else), we headed on through the Park.

Attached are some normal pics of what we saw in the Park and also some different sights that are ever-changing----which is just another reason I LOVE this city!!

More to come--this visit of Karen's is somewhat of a mini-series! Enjoy!! Tivo it!
:)

Karen climbing rocks in the Park

Di and Karen in front of the Dakota (where Lennon was shot)

Crazy opera singer at Bethsada Fountain in the Park

Our pedi-cab driver Madison waving from one of the many bridges in the Park (all of which are different--one architect per bridge to ensure variety)

The Lake and rowers in the rental boats from the Park Boathouse

Strawberry Fields--Imagine. John Lennon Memorial

Roller Disco in the Park

Diana and Will Shakespeare on the 'Literary Walk'

Big Gorilla/Sasquatch at the Tavern

Top of the Rock shot (note the sunbathers in the field)

Those same sunbathers up close

Karen under the lanterns at the Tavern on the Green

Canada in the house!

2009-08-10T21:51:00.005-04:00

This weekend we had the pleasure of hosting our sister-in-law and our friend, Karen! She is married to Tom's younger brother Ted and lives in Calgary, Alberta. Karen and I met for the first time a few months after Tom and I started to date and we hit it off immediately!
I am very lucky to have 2 great sister-in-laws on Tom's side-- and now both have visited us out here (you may recall that Kim and I took in the Greenwich Village Halloween parade last year).

Karen flew in late Thurs night and we spent the next 3 days going non-stop!! Tom and I had Friday off work so we headed to the boat Thurs night after the airport and spent the night there to prepare for a day of fun and sun on the Shore. It was SO nice out-- but windy--so we opted not to take the boat out and instead, Karen and Di headed to the Boardwalk at Seaside Heights to look around and roam the beach. Karen had never been to the East Coast so this was her first time in the Atlantic Ocean! She loved how warm it was!

After the boardwalk we met up with Lisa and the three of us laid out on the boat at the Marina and visited and relaxed--so fun!

Even though it was too windy for a pleasure cruise and ocean/bay swim off the boat, it wasn't too windy for Tom and John to head out fishing on our friend's boat with a fun group of guys. They went for Fluke (makes great sashimi)---but Tom ended up hooking a 4' Shark!! YES!! Really!!! Just as he reeled it in, the Shark bit through the line and got away. I'm sure Tom would have released it anyway, but wouldn't have that been an interesting sight--freeing the hook from a live shark...

Of course, no one expected a Shark to be on the other end of the line so none of the guys were ready for a photo op... so fair warning: without a picture, that 4' shark may grow to 6' or more the next time you hear this tale :)

After hearing this tale and seeing how hot and tired the guys were, a bunch of us went to dinner and called it a night! Great day!!!

Here are some pics from the Shore and my next post will detail Karen's and my exciting 2 days in NYC... with pics!!

*Diana and a possible summer job??? I think SO! :)
*Karen in the Atlantic
*Karen on the boards
*Karen meeting Zoltar from the movie "Big" from the 80's
*Part of the amusement attractions at Seaside

save yourself some $$

2009-08-04T19:56:00.009-04:00

Tonight on the news my favorite and the most trustworthy newscaster ever, Brian Williams, reported that the cost for a middle class income family to raise a child born in 2008-- for the child's first 18 years (NO COLLEGE TUITION INCLUDED)-- has been calculated at $291,570.

Holy cow. HOLY COW. I am sure our dogs are just a fraction of that cost and now that I know this fact, even though children are no where on our life plan at all, I don't feel so bad about spending what some may feel is WAY too much money on name brand work-out gear (its worth it Honey!!) or wanting a new car...

That got me thinking on other ways, aside from not having kids, that one can save money in this horrid economy and especially in this part of the country.

That thought naturally led me to my friend Angie's blog. Ang and I were friends in high-school but lost touch after graduation. Come to find out, through the wonder of online communication sites, that we both moved to the East Coast the same month of the same year. I am sure you are recalling her name as you read this--she has been in many of my posts in the last year or so as we have had many NY adventures together--and more to come!!

Anyway-- Ang started a blog on how to live and live well on a Seattle budget, but in NYC.

Check out her site and even if you don't live in NYC--her info is timely, helpful and humourous---and releveant to all parts of the country!
http://seattlegrl.blogspot.com/

"just wait, the cool factor goes waaaaaay up"

2009-07-30T20:17:00.010-04:00

For those that think NYC is a concrete jungle--well, they are sort of right... but as you can see from past posts of mine--the city has many many parks spread throughout not just Manhattan, but also through the other boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx). One of the newest parks to hit the city and definitely the one getting the most press these days is High Line Park.

High Line is on the lower West Side of the city starting in the Meatpacking District (very trendy area full of restaurants and in general just a neat place to be) around 16th Street note: for those of you familiar with NYC but not super familiar, Madison Square Garden and the Macy's store are around 33rd/34th so to walk, briskly, from 33rd to 16th it'd take about 40 min) This isn't just a regular park--its an elevated walkway that allows you to traverse the West Side above the city streets with sweeping views of the Hudson river on one side and the city on the other.

Tasteful food vendors are scattered around selling Gelato and pretzels while sunbathers and those wanting to escape for a while with a book or a friend take a seat in one of the oversized teak lounge chairs that are plentiful (but I hear get pretty full on a sunny weekend day). Currently the park is just in its first phase of completion. Once all phases are completed, the park will be a mile-and-a-half-long running through not just the Meatpacking District but also through the neighborhoods of West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen.

I discovered the High Line with my friend Angie. Earlier in the day, we had celebrated our birthdays which are separated only by a few days by having a wonderful lunch at a very cool restaurant --5 Ninth in the Meatpacking District (I had possibly the best Cobb Salad I have ever had). After we walked the park and marveled at the views and how it felt like such an escape from the streets below. By the way, Angie is credited for the title of this post--as I was commenting on how way cool the park was she stopped me during my "ooooh's and aaaaahs" and told me "just wait---the cool factor goes waaaaaay up". She was correct!

You may be wondering, as I did, how this Park was dreamt up considering the fact that its elevated and how much work that must have been to get it built and up and going with this economy and NYC's budget issues...

Well, it actually was a pre-existing structure constructed in the 1930's to lift freight trains up off the streets of Manhattan. As you walk the park you see the beautiful landscaping planted in and around the old existing railroad tracks. Pretty neat.

Check out the website if you have time www.thehighline.org

Here are some pics I snapped (and one from the website showing the park in the "old days" with the freight train and the Chrysler Building in the background).

Pics of the High Line and the views, the Meatpacking District, the restaurant, Ang and I lounging on the teak chairs

summer summer summer time... summer time

2009-07-29T20:35:00.007-04:00

Altho today... in the NE... you prob wouldn't know it----not at least in the Tri-State area (NY, NJ, Conn). Aside from the INCHES of rain accounted for today---there were also 5000 lighting strikes that hit the ground within a period of 60 min!
Of course its still warm with very high humidity, but the heavy rain and cloudy skies makes it seem like winter when you look out the window.

As my friend Jean in Seattle tells me---we have switched summers with you! She is RIGHT.

Today was the HOTTEST DAY EVER RECORDED in Seattle. My home city has not had a break in weeks--actually months---when it comes to 80 degrees and above temps! This is what a Seattleite dreams of.... until it happens. The complaints are pretty much full blown now as one can understand... pretty much no one has a/c in Seattle and all stores are sold out of air-conditioning units---even fans are hard to get.
I can go on and on and on and describe how hot it really is, but I think this picture says it best:

My friend Andrea's son Kaden (also in Seattle) taking his nap in front of the fan. 82 degrees in her house and 103 outside was what she reported earlier today. I love this picture and to me---it exemplifies summer perfectly!
Stay cool Andrea!! :)