Biked the Boros!

Bike ride a success!  Yay!  I felt pretty good during most of it.  If I could do one thing differently I would have worn long pants instead of capris and maybe another layer of shirt.  It was on the cold side, especially when the wind kicked in.  But I had fun and feel a great sense of accomplishment from my day.

There were so many great parts of the ride.  It was amazing how fast we made it to Central Park from lower Manhattan when we didn't have to stop at traffic lights.  Blasting through red lights was fun, as was going up 6th Avenue and seeing iconic buildings like the Empire State Building. Central Park was beautiful in bloom for spring. The views of the city were spectacular, especially crossing the Queensboro bridge with the Roosevelt Island tram passing to my left.  I enjoyed when I was approaching the bridge from the FDR and could look up and see all the bikers riding across the bridge instead of the usual traffic.  It was also fun looking down at the FDR from the bridge and seeing it completely packed with cyclists.

There were a LOT of people participating today.  (Maybe too many.  There were several times we got so cluttered we actually had to stop to space out.) I loved when we went onto the BQE and no one could resist the natural urge to "check to see if any traffic was coming" as we merged from the entrance ramp onto the empty highway.  I chuckled when I saw people in front of me do it, but still caught myself doing the same.  The Verrazano bridge was exciting because it was a tough uphill, but it was the very end, so I knew I could give it all I had left and I would be okay.  I loved going over that last hill and racing down to the finish.

I had a great team of friends to ride with and hope we do it again sometime!

Dawning of a Decade

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

...and Dad, and Ben, and Dave, and Adam, and Vanna White, and John Travolta, and even Yoko Ono.  What a day!

Day of Birth

My birthday was earlier this week. Those things just keep coming up, don't they? I remember when I was a kid I always looked forward to my birthday. I could not wait to get a year older! Plus the excitement of having a birthday and getting to have cake and ice cream was great! It kind of looses it's flair as I get older, but I still do everything I can to have a fun day.
Last year I posted reasons why I do enjoy my birthday. I would say they are pretty much the same this year. Last year I got to spend the birthday with Dad. I wish we could have been together this year, but instead I got to share the day with Ben. I still can't get over the fact of how many people I share my birthday with. I wonder if this is common. Do other people have friends and family members with the same birthday? Seriously, I have NEVER had a birthday where I wasn't around someone else whose birthday it was. Well, maybe once I did in Tallahassee. I think so, but 1 out of 28... that's crazy.

Well, this year Ben and I hung out and celebrated our day. We didn't have to work, so we went to a movie in the middle of the day and then met some people for dinner. We had dinner/dessert at this place called Max Brenner. I don't even know how to begin telling you about Max Brenner. It's main dish is chocolate. It's a bit of a chocolate factory. They have pipes running across the ceiling and down the walls of the restaurant that are pumping chocolate around. White chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate. They have an amazing menu of chocolate drinks, desserts, as well as real food. Some of the real food doesn't include chocolate... but some does! They have more versions of hot chocolate than you know what to do with. When you walk into Max Brenner you are hit with the deep, rich smell of the chocolate being made there. Oh my.... sometimes when I walk by I want to pop in for just a second to take in a big breath of chocolately air. The atmosphere of the place is really nice too... it's kind of dark and energetic which makes it like a chocolate factory for grown-ups. Appropriate place for a grown-up birthday, right???

Anyway - the group of us that went split a few different plates of regular food, which was delicious, we had some chocolate drinks, and then split a chocolate pizza for desert! The waiter even put a few candles in it for the b-day! Oh my - this "pizza" was just amazing. The menu describes it as warm thin pastry topped with double melted chocolate chunks, melted marshmallows, and candied hazelnut crunchy bits. We, of course, got it with a side of sliced banana to add to the flavor explosion. Mmmm.... mouth watering just thinking about it. I need to go back some other time to try the waffles topped with fruits, ice cream, and chocolate. Or the chocolate fondue at the table beside us looked fun and delicious too. Okay, I'm going to stop drooling. But you should seriously go over to their website and take a look through the menu. Some very nice pictures and descriptions over there.

Way out West!

Next week Dave is coming for a visit! I am really looking forward to hanging out with him because I have not seen him in about a year! I hate that part of growing up and making friends in so many different places. We get spread out and rarely get to see each other. On the other hand, it makes it nice when I have a chance to travel because I have good friends scattered about, so I always have someone to go visit.
Last year Dave took me to California. It was my first time to California and we had a wonderful time. I got to see his family, meet his friends, and see some friends that we had not seen in a while. Here is a picture of us at Yosemite National Park by a huge uprooted tree.

And here I am under a tree called the "clothespin". You can't see the top of the tree in the picture because the tree is HUGE. But can't you see how it got its name?

Yosemite was so beautiful. I love seeing all the wonderful parks and sights across the country. Even Frisson, my traveling penguin, wanted get a slice of the photo action!

Taking Monday Back in the City

Yesterday I met my friend, Catherine, in Manhattan. Catherine and I went to grad school together and had not seen each other since I graduated in December 2005. We had missed each other so much and were so excited to be able to meet up in the city. We had so much catching up to do, so we spent the whole afternoon eating and talking!

We first met at Lincoln Center, which I hadn't been past since I arrived last week. I thought we would meet at the gorgeous fountain - forget that! - Lincoln Center is completely under construction. I am surprised we found each other at all amidst the jackhammers and forklifts! What is going on???

We ended up walking to a nearby sandwich place for lunch. Then we decided it was time for COFFEE and desert, so we walked over to the adorable Crumbs bakery on Amsterdam Ave. They have locations all over Manhattan, so if you are ever craving a cupcake while you are walking around the city, I highly recommend this place!

After much pondering at the display case, I went for the Reese's Cupcake: "Rich chocolate cake with a peanut butter buttercream center. The cupcake is frosted with Crumbs signature peanut butter buttercream and then rolled in peanuts and covered in chocolate chips and real pieces of Reese's buttercup." Again, I highly recommend this thing, especially if you are in need of a sugar boost. With a fresh cup of coffee - what could be better?

We sat and talked over our coffee and cupcakes for probably a couple of hours before we met her friend and decided to move on to dinner! We ate at a great Vietnamese restaurant even farther up Amsterdam. I wasn't exactly starving at this point, but I had a very good shrimp curry noodle soup. Just the right amount of heat and spice for me on a chilly evening.

Great food, coffee, and conversation. Now that is what I call a perfect day!