Weird and Wacky Walking Tour

Tim and I love showing off NYC. And we love the opportunity to play tourist because we always find something new and amazing. This past weekend, we played tourist with T's brother and his lovely wife. Taking advantage of a bit of sunlight and some 40 degrees (practically tropical!)the four of us laced up our sneakers and put together a wacky and weird NYC walking tour.

We took the Highline downtown. Next time, I'd like to walk the whole thing. A raised platform that once carried freight trains, it is now an elevated walkway, designed with meandering walkways, indiginous plantings, seating, and fabulous views of the West Side of Manhattan.

The first stop on the list was the Ghostbusters Fire House. Located at 14 N. Moore St, this was the exterior of the Ghostbusters HQ.

Just in case, you weren't sure...

We goofed around here for a while and then headed on to this oddity.

141 Wooster St. The Earth Room. Really, it's just what it claims. A room. Full of dirt. 280,000 lbs of it to be exact. It resides on the second floor and there are no tenants underneath. The man at the desk informed us that they water and rake the dirt 1-2 times per week. Oh, and it's been there since 1977. Say what?

After escaping the humidity in the Earth Room, the four of us wandered through the fresh markets in Chinatown. My sister in law was on a quest for a Chinese bun so we ducked into a local bakery which was an adventure all in itself. I picked up a bun filled with bean custard and ate that on the way to our next stop, The Giant Buddha.

This was an illegal photograph but it had to be captured. This is a Buddhist Temple that used to be a porn theater. Located at 133 Canal St, this 16 foot tall Buddha guards the building that used to be the Rosemary, which ran porn movies through the mid 90's. Nowadays it watches over a mix of tourists and worshippers.

We continued downtown to Wall Street to check out the pockmarks in the original JP Morgan Chase building. It took us a little while to find them in the dark, but were finally successful. The marks were left there by a bomb explosion in 1920 that killed 38.


This one isn't weird or wacky, but it is one of my favorite buildings in New York, the NYSE.

We woke up ridiculously sore on Sunday morning but we had a lot of fun!

Psstt...

I have a tip for all of you. For whoever is actually out there in blog land and may have stumbled on my humble little blog. I found a new site that has me drooling on my keyboard. Move your eyes over to the right and find my list of Inspirations. Click on the link for "How sweet it is." Here, I'll help:

www.howsweeteats.com

You will find recipes for things you never thought you would have to have. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip. Better than Crack Brownies. Double Fudge Oreo Crunch Cookies. Rootbeer Floats with Homemade Hot Fudge. Can I get an Amen?

Here's the site again: http://www.howsweeteats.com/

You're welcome.

Last Weekend

Last weekend was the Writer's Guild Awards in NYC. You may have noticed that attending the show was on my To-Do List for 2011. We'll have to check it off the list as not being done. S and I decided to skip the show this year for a couple of reasons. We did plan a fantastic weekend full of our NYC favorites in it's place. We had a delicious lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. They make it at the table and it is to die for. I swoon.
We followed lunch with a complete salon splurge featuring a jelly bath for our feet.

www.jellybath.com
If you see a salon around you that offers this, please do your tootsies a favor and go for it. Or you can purchase the goods from the website and do it yourself!

We had a wonderful pampering weekend and even though we skipped the fancy dresses, red carpet, and celebrity eye candy, we had a great time.

But in memory of last year:


Happy weekending!

Official Fan Photo

My parents bought it and it arrived via certified mail yesterday! Two funny things about this photo:

1. We hung it on the fridge with a cable car magnet. Not on purpose.

2. I didn't realize until we got the photo but my darling husband is thoughtfully wearing his Sox beanie in our Giants moment of glory. It was freezing that day so I'll let it slide. :)

We sure grow them big out here

Icicles that is.

This is a northeast first for me this year. Tim has a big day planned of knocking them off the gutters with a shovel. I guess if you leave them there, they get heavier and heavier aand will break the gutters.


Even our bushes have them!

Hibernation

We have had a very un-adventurious beginning of 2011. Tim and I have been doing a lot of hibernating from the frigid temperatures and constant snowstorms.

Yesterday however, we managed to pry ourselves off the couch and make our way down to NYC for a big event. The World Champion (I never get tired of hearing that!) San Francisco Giants brought their trophy to their old stomping grounds in NYC to give their East Coast fans a chance to see it for themselves. We braved an icy zero degree day to wait in line at Finnerty's for our chance to see history.

Finnerty's is a Giants themed bar. Who knew such a thing existed? I certainly didn't. And the funny part is that it's right next door to a Red Sox bar called Professor Thom's that we have been to many times. This block of 14th Street is made for Tim and I.

Once we got inside( and into the warmth) it was a short wait to the trophy. This man was there to greet us and welcome us to the event. I definitely recognized the bowtie. Bill Neukom, the owner of the team! Holy crap! He shook my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Bill." That's kind of like Brad Pitt introducing himself. "Hi, I'm Brad." Yes, I know. :)

He was so nice and I told him that I grew up a fan in the East Bay and thought I would marry Will Clark. He laughed, thanked me for my support and told me to go and see my trophy. Mine?

I love that attitude. They truly believe that the trophy and the championship run belongs to the fans. It's amazing.




Here she is. This is the best photo I could manage as the large man guarding the trophy encouraged us to keep moving. I'm (stalking) waiting for the official MLB photo of Tim and I to be posted. Stay tuned!

The Big Giant To Do List, 2011

Learn to really use my camera

Tile the kitchen floor

Learn to use my sewing machine and make couch pillows

Basement renovation

Refinish the deck

Build a patio and fire pit in the back yard

Run (5) 5k's

Run (2) 10k's

Train for and run a half marathon

Make a Project 365 Blurb book

Finish wedding scrapbook

Attend the Kentucky Derby

See Billy Joel in concert

Go cross country skiing

Try snowshoeing

Tour the White House

Eat beignets in the French Quarter

Break in our new passports

Go to a brewery festival

Complete Tim's 10 year anniversary present

Attend the WGA awards

Go white water rafting

Take a trapeze class

Take photos at the Bronx Botanical Gardens

Ride in the 5 Boro Bike Tour