Nobody Knows The Trouble They've Seen

Jailed for Halloween to prevent them from eating any Trick-or-Treaters, scary beasts that they are.

Of Coming Home

Madison and Tara. It was hard to get a better shot, they were all running around so much. I couldn't even bribe them still with treats.

The Best Part

Bringing the puppies home from Abby's. Mystic.

Had To Be Done

Of course, before we left I had to get my pretzel. Or rather my sweet wife got me one because I hadn't managed to yet.

Historic(ly expensive) Breakfast

We didn't have a lot of time time before our flight and my folks' train so we decided to go have breakfast and look around the famous Waldorf Astoria. The inside is impressive and the breakfast they offer is good but holy hell was it shockingly overpriced. Like more than we paid for dinner, and we really splashed out for dinner, overpriced.

Luna Piena

Another repeat. This was so good last time we had to go back. If possible it was even better this time. The staff, the food. I think this is my favorite restaurant in the world. We were a little worried it was empty when we got there, but it was Sunday night and we think New York people eat later than we do because it filled up as we were finishing.

Central Park

We did the full tour through the entire park, it was peaceful with the sound of the horse's steps adding a nice touch. It looked a little different than last time.

One Horsepower

After the river tour we headed to Central Park. My mom had always wanted to do the carriage ride. So we did.

Land, Sea, And Air

The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. Aboard the air craft carrier the Intrepid and home to a SR-71 and the space shuttle Enterprise.

Liberty

Back to the Water Taxi to complete the "hop-on hop-off" guided tour. We stayed for the rest of it, which included them taking us right to the shore of Liberty Island for a great view of the Statue of Liberty. I will also always remember the tour guide's tip for remembering the order of the bridges on the East River. BMW. Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg.

Local Cuisine

After the memorial we were standing on a street corner checking our phones for some place to eat when a very nice local woman stopped and asked if we needed any help (who says New Yorkers aren't friendly?) She pointed us to George's.The food was good, but the best part was eating here felt like we were acting like locals, surrounded by locals, instead of tourists. Sounds weird but I like that kind of thing. Also I used the word local a lot in this post. Local.

Pools

The 9/11 Memorial. While I deeply respect what happened that day I'm not big on clinging to this event myself, I find those that do tend to lean towards hatred and paranoia and we need to move on. That said I still wanted to go to the spot it all happened and see the memorial because it's a keystone event in world history. Once you get inside it's very peaceful and pretty and well done. Unfortunately I think it's still under construction, or at least I hope it is, because right now getting in is a mess. We didn't have much of a crowd, so I can't imagine the chaos on a busy day.

Balls

...well, you know, to be ensured luck in your future. And yes, I know it's made of bronze.

Brass

Then on to the Charging Bull, where you must rub the nose, the horns and...

No Relation

First stop, Castle Clinton in Battery Park. Not much to see really, just a quick walk through.

Skyline By Water

Here's a shot of the city with the new One World Trade Center standing out in the middle.

Water Boarding

We took a chance on the Water Taxi tour given Mari's dislike of boats, but it was the only tour package we could find that included timed entry to the 9/11 Memorial. It turned out to be no problem, the crew was excellent and made it fun, we didn't have any problems.

Magic Pavement

After the Guggenheim we just walked around a while, the streets of New York are the only place I know where I actually look forward to wandering around on foot for block after block. We ended the night with a forgettable dinner at Dos Caminos. Probably the only restaurant in the city I've been underwhelmed by so far.

Pulled The Wool Over

Kandinsky was only a side gallery this time, the main attraction was an artist named Christopher Wool. Now the point of art is that it's subjective, and I admit to not knowing a lot about the intricacies of the art world, but nobody in our party could figure out how the hell this guy became a major attraction at the Guggenheim. It was mainly stenciled letters or the same thing over and over, only sometimes he'd paint a few black lines over a section, or take a bad black and white picture then spray paint squiggles all over it. One of his stencils said "If you can't take a joke, you can get the fuck out of my house." So maybe that's the point, it's a joke I'm not in on. Anyway the part that made me laugh at the pretension of it all was a piece called "Beer on the Wall #34" where he just threw stuff on a canvas, which is fine Pollok made a career of that, but they called the process "random procedural fallout". So from now on instead of saying shit happens I'm going to say random procedural fallout occurs. (Mari took this picture and let me use it, so credit goes to her.)

Reguggitate

With so little time we got right to it, first stop was the Guggenheim. Given New York's bounty of options it might seem strange to do something we've already done, but as it happens they were having another Kandinsky showing so we had to go in honor of our previous visit. Besides, the Guggenheim is just a great place, it's hard to get tired of it.

Ketchup Hat

I know I'm easily amused, but I enjoyed the fact all the ketchup came in little top hats with Sir Kensington and his monocle on them.

Lex or Lexington

First stop, random lunch choice called Lexington Brass. Turned out great, that's out waiter standing there he was a character. But then it seems like a lot of new Yorkers are.

Kimbernott

We're staying at the Marriott on Lex instead of the formerly favored Kimberly because they've gotten a little full of themselves and more than doubled their prices. Not a bad trade, it's a nice place with a good location.

Out

Heading to New York and meeting my parents there for a short vacation.

Slip Up

Took Tara to our vet, just to get her on their books and update the medicine she is on. Realized as I'm waiting, I walked out of the house wearing my slippers. Doh!

King Ryman

At the legendary Ryman to see Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.

The Claw

It's not all glamor around here. Now that we have three dogs and one of them is 70 pounds, some cleanup is required in the ol' back yard. It's like playing one of those claw games at the arcade, only you really, really don't want the prize. In the words of Ron Burgundy, stay classy Snicker Snack.

Obligatory Sleeping Dog Post

Had to happen.

Sainted Again

Things have been fairly quiet so far this month, even in the gaming world. Finished Saints Row 4, which was just as crazy as the first three. This time you're elected the president of the US after disarming a nuclear missile in flight with Aerosmith's "I don't wanna miss a thing" playing who then gets superpowers during an alien invasion. Oh, and you have a Dubstep gun which basically makes everyone dance until they explode. At one point a giant can of energy drink named Paul is summoned like the marshmallow man in Ghostbusters and runs amok in the city. I think the third one was better, you can tell it's getting harder and harder for the developers to top the insanity of the one before it. Obviously this is not a series that takes itself too seriously.

WOTM

October, containing Ghost Brothers of Darkland County and New York. Should be a good month.