just hanging out. Sadly, the camera didn't get out too much so here are just a few
pictures.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Family Vaca
A couple months ago my parents were starting to plan their annual summer trip to Arizona (The ONLY people I know that look forward to visiting AZ in the summer). I started thinking, usually when they come to Phoenix they try to go to San Diego for a long weekend. Luckily, this year, it was not only Mom and Dad but my brother Matt as well. So here we go on the first family vacation with my family. We flew in late on a Thursday night..actually I think it was early on Friday morning by time we got in...and met the fam who had driven in earlier that day. We stayed in the Beach Cottages on Pacific Beach and you could hear the roar of the ocean from our room. We spent time relaxing on the beach, walking through Balboa Park, seeing friends and
just hanging out. Sadly, the camera didn't get out too much so here are just a few
pictures.
just hanging out. Sadly, the camera didn't get out too much so here are just a few
pictures.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Snow Camping in May?
This year Melanie's birthday fell over Memorial Day weekend so we decided to escape the heat and go camping in the mountains near Payson. Not only did we escape the heat, but somehow we were also time warped back to January! When we arrived at our camp site it was freezing, rainy and the people setting up camp next to us had to leave behind hundreds of dollars worth of gear further up the Rim because it was buried in four feet of snow! We were indecisive for a while as to whether we should attempt to camp in the cold, especially considering the fire ban that was in effect. (You couldn't have set the forest on fire if you wanted. Everything was soaked!) It seemed the weather was clearing so we decided to try it for at least a night. And as soon as we paid our fees to the camp host, it started hailing and we had to take cover in the truck until there was a short break for us to set up the tent. All in all, we had a great time and were fortunate to enjoy a very rare weekend of fishing in the snow, watching the rain roll off our tent, building makeshift canopies and cooking fish over the fire (once the ban was lifted!). Check out the pictures below to see what Arizona in the winter looks like in May!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
New York: The Final Chapter
Sunday was our last day in New York, the last day of our amazing vacation, and the first day back to real life. We started the morning off with brunch at a tiny Australian hole in the wall called The Tuck Shop. This made Melanie incredibly happy to be able to enjoy some food from her adopted home land and to be able to introduce Ryan to a good ol' meat pie for the first time. One of the things that is so great and unique about NYC is that you really can find almost any type of food from any place in the world. The diversity is so great that an Aussie ex-pat can actually make a living by owning a hole in the wall restaurant dedicated solely to Australian cuisine!
The Tuck Shop was not too far away from Little Italy and China Town so we spent some time just walking around those areas before it was time for us to head back to the studio and head out to the airport. One of the things we had to revisit was this great advertisement we saw our first day in the city. There's nothing better than seeing a big poster featuring your home team in a city on the other side of the country.
This is where our trip sadly came to an end. We headed back to Brooklyn got our stuff and hopped on a train to JFK airport. Thanks for hanging in there with the long and drawn out East Coast trip recount. Hope you enjoyed hearing the stories as much as we enjoyed experiencing them!
The Tuck Shop was not too far away from Little Italy and China Town so we spent some time just walking around those areas before it was time for us to head back to the studio and head out to the airport. One of the things we had to revisit was this great advertisement we saw our first day in the city. There's nothing better than seeing a big poster featuring your home team in a city on the other side of the country.
This is where our trip sadly came to an end. We headed back to Brooklyn got our stuff and hopped on a train to JFK airport. Thanks for hanging in there with the long and drawn out East Coast trip recount. Hope you enjoyed hearing the stories as much as we enjoyed experiencing them!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
New York Part 2
So our 10 day trip to the East Cost has turned into a two month long blog. Sorry if it's been too stretched out but life happens, you know? However, it's been great for us to relive our trip every week!
We're onto our second day in NYC and, I believe, our second to last trip post. On Saturday morning we hit the City at full speed ahead. Our first stop was at the Gershwin Theater on Broadway to enter to (hopefully) win tickets in the ticket lottery for the musical Wicked. Unfortunately we were not the only people to show up and therefore were competing with 200+ others for 25 tickets. The picture below was taken right before they started calling out the names of the lottery winners and everyone was buzzing! Sadly, we didn't win tickets, but I did get my ear drum blown out by the lady next to me who screamed at a blistering pitch when both she and her daughter won tickets.
We had some time between when we put our names in the Wicked lottery and when we had to be back at the theater to find out who the winners were. So we headed over to Times Square to check out what the big fuss was about. This is definitely the touristy part of the city. It's the only place where we saw a Chili's, so that tells you something.
After our heart breaking loss at the Wicked lottery we headed over to the TKTS booth to get discounted tickets to another Broadway show. We were able to get great seats for a show called Spring Awakening which won the Tony for Best Musical in 2007. Being able to see a show on Broadway was definitely a great experience. The next few pictures below are from outside and inside the theater.
After the show we walked up to Central Park and spent a couple hours walking around. I'm pretty sure we didn't even cover a fraction of the park; it's so huge! The weather was beautiful and many of the trees and flowers were blooming and it was absolutely gorgeous.
Later that night we met up with our friend Keren and she took us up to a rooftop bar on a building that looks straight up at the Empire State Building. It was an incredible view and was a great place to hang out and wrap up our last night in New York!
We're onto our second day in NYC and, I believe, our second to last trip post. On Saturday morning we hit the City at full speed ahead. Our first stop was at the Gershwin Theater on Broadway to enter to (hopefully) win tickets in the ticket lottery for the musical Wicked. Unfortunately we were not the only people to show up and therefore were competing with 200+ others for 25 tickets. The picture below was taken right before they started calling out the names of the lottery winners and everyone was buzzing! Sadly, we didn't win tickets, but I did get my ear drum blown out by the lady next to me who screamed at a blistering pitch when both she and her daughter won tickets.
We had some time between when we put our names in the Wicked lottery and when we had to be back at the theater to find out who the winners were. So we headed over to Times Square to check out what the big fuss was about. This is definitely the touristy part of the city. It's the only place where we saw a Chili's, so that tells you something.
After our heart breaking loss at the Wicked lottery we headed over to the TKTS booth to get discounted tickets to another Broadway show. We were able to get great seats for a show called Spring Awakening which won the Tony for Best Musical in 2007. Being able to see a show on Broadway was definitely a great experience. The next few pictures below are from outside and inside the theater.
After the show we walked up to Central Park and spent a couple hours walking around. I'm pretty sure we didn't even cover a fraction of the park; it's so huge! The weather was beautiful and many of the trees and flowers were blooming and it was absolutely gorgeous.
Later that night we met up with our friend Keren and she took us up to a rooftop bar on a building that looks straight up at the Empire State Building. It was an incredible view and was a great place to hang out and wrap up our last night in New York!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
New York, New York!
New York City!
We arrived in the middle of New York on Friday afternoon after taking a Greyhound bus 3 hours from Boston. The bus station is connected to a subway station so we were able to start our 30 minute trek across town to the studio we were renting without any problems. Through the wonderful creation known as Craigslist I came in contact with a great guy that rents out his second bedroom to travelers looking for a cheaper, cleaner, friendlier and more personal alternative to the overpriced NYC hotels. We booked our dates and later found out that we would actually have the opportunity to stay in his friend's studio apartment while he was out of town. We got great service, restaurant recommendations, and luxury accommodations for two nights for the price of 1 night at a NYC Motel 6. Can't beat that! (If you're ever planning a trip to the city and want contact info we'd love to share it!)
After we settled in our room, we headed into the city to get some lunch and do some exploring before meeting our friend Keren for dinner. We ended up in China Town and hopped into a busy restaurant (below) after hearing a guy on the street that was walking in say "This is one of my favorite's" to his friend. The food was quite good and the atmosphere was a great introduction to our time in New York.
After lunch we wandered around China town, bought Mel a real Dolce & Gabana purse for only $20 ;), and headed South to check out Ground Zero, Wall Street and the Statue of Liberty.
Ground Zero
The fascinating thing about Ground Zero is that, at this point, there's not a whole lot to see but there's a lot of people there looking at it. It's surrounded by fence and teaming with construction workers working on the new buildings going up in the place of the Twin Towers. There's a small informational center set up where a memorial museum is slated to go but other than that it's pretty much a huge construction site. It was also the quietest place we encountered in the City.
Battery Park
Next we headed down to Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty. Can't you see Her in all Her glory behind us? Yeah, it was totally fogged in. The good thing is that I hear She looks pretty much the same in person as in movies.
We also saw this sculpture which used to sit in the World Trade Center and, though damaged, survived 9/11. It's been temporarily relocated to Battery Park while they are rebuilding the WTC site and will be moved again to the memorial museum when it's finished.
We then headed back up town towards Little Italy anticipating meeting Keren there for dinner. We ended up taking her suggestion and going to a her favorite restaurant instead and, WOW, it was amazing. If you're ever in New York, you MUST go to The Corner Shop Cafe.
It is familiar food done unfamiliarly well. I (Mel) think of it often and am still trying to de-construct the gorgonzola-walnut ravioli so I can recreate it at home.
After dinner we headed to the famous Magnolia Bakery for dessert. Again, this is a must visit place if you're in the City. Neither of us are big fans of cake, or cupcakes for that matter, but nothing has melted in your mouth like a cupcake from Magnolia's.
That pretty much wrapped up our first day/night in New York. We wanted to get a good night's rest because we knew we were hitting the pavement hard the next day.
We arrived in the middle of New York on Friday afternoon after taking a Greyhound bus 3 hours from Boston. The bus station is connected to a subway station so we were able to start our 30 minute trek across town to the studio we were renting without any problems. Through the wonderful creation known as Craigslist I came in contact with a great guy that rents out his second bedroom to travelers looking for a cheaper, cleaner, friendlier and more personal alternative to the overpriced NYC hotels. We booked our dates and later found out that we would actually have the opportunity to stay in his friend's studio apartment while he was out of town. We got great service, restaurant recommendations, and luxury accommodations for two nights for the price of 1 night at a NYC Motel 6. Can't beat that! (If you're ever planning a trip to the city and want contact info we'd love to share it!)
After we settled in our room, we headed into the city to get some lunch and do some exploring before meeting our friend Keren for dinner. We ended up in China Town and hopped into a busy restaurant (below) after hearing a guy on the street that was walking in say "This is one of my favorite's" to his friend. The food was quite good and the atmosphere was a great introduction to our time in New York.
After lunch we wandered around China town, bought Mel a real Dolce & Gabana purse for only $20 ;), and headed South to check out Ground Zero, Wall Street and the Statue of Liberty.Ground Zero
The fascinating thing about Ground Zero is that, at this point, there's not a whole lot to see but there's a lot of people there looking at it. It's surrounded by fence and teaming with construction workers working on the new buildings going up in the place of the Twin Towers. There's a small informational center set up where a memorial museum is slated to go but other than that it's pretty much a huge construction site. It was also the quietest place we encountered in the City.
Battery Park
Next we headed down to Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty. Can't you see Her in all Her glory behind us? Yeah, it was totally fogged in. The good thing is that I hear She looks pretty much the same in person as in movies.
We also saw this sculpture which used to sit in the World Trade Center and, though damaged, survived 9/11. It's been temporarily relocated to Battery Park while they are rebuilding the WTC site and will be moved again to the memorial museum when it's finished.
We then headed back up town towards Little Italy anticipating meeting Keren there for dinner. We ended up taking her suggestion and going to a her favorite restaurant instead and, WOW, it was amazing. If you're ever in New York, you MUST go to The Corner Shop Cafe.
It is familiar food done unfamiliarly well. I (Mel) think of it often and am still trying to de-construct the gorgonzola-walnut ravioli so I can recreate it at home.
After dinner we headed to the famous Magnolia Bakery for dessert. Again, this is a must visit place if you're in the City. Neither of us are big fans of cake, or cupcakes for that matter, but nothing has melted in your mouth like a cupcake from Magnolia's.
That pretty much wrapped up our first day/night in New York. We wanted to get a good night's rest because we knew we were hitting the pavement hard the next day.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Boston Part 3
Sorry it's been a while since the last "real" post. Here are some more pictures and comments from Boston. Enjoy!
Top of the Hub
Towards the end of our week in Boston we splurged and went to dinner at a restaurant called Top of the Hub. As you might imagine from the name, the restaurant is located on the top floor of the second tallest building in downtown Boston. We were fortunate to have a relatively clear evening and had great views of the city. Unfortunately, our pictures didn't turn out the greatest because of the lighting. Hopefully you can still get a feel for the great views we had with these shots.
BoSox Game
We were lucky to be in Boston for the Red Sox opening home stand. We were also lucky to get tickets to a night game. Even though it was only the 4th game of the season against the Detroit Tigers affordable tickets (or any ticket for that matter) were not easy to come by. We finally got into Fenway in the 3rd inning and it was so worth it! The ball park is legendary and the fans are crazy! Phoenix is such a fair weather sports town, to be at a game where the fans have been loyal through thick and very, very thin was a lot of fun. We walked around the park for a while to check it out and get a close up look at the Green Monster and later in the game found some seats to steal. It was such a great time and definitely a highlight of our time in Boston!
Well that pretty much wraps up our time in Boston. Next up is NYC where we had a GREAT time, so check back soon for some fun pictures and stories.
Top of the Hub
Towards the end of our week in Boston we splurged and went to dinner at a restaurant called Top of the Hub. As you might imagine from the name, the restaurant is located on the top floor of the second tallest building in downtown Boston. We were fortunate to have a relatively clear evening and had great views of the city. Unfortunately, our pictures didn't turn out the greatest because of the lighting. Hopefully you can still get a feel for the great views we had with these shots.
BoSox Game
We were lucky to be in Boston for the Red Sox opening home stand. We were also lucky to get tickets to a night game. Even though it was only the 4th game of the season against the Detroit Tigers affordable tickets (or any ticket for that matter) were not easy to come by. We finally got into Fenway in the 3rd inning and it was so worth it! The ball park is legendary and the fans are crazy! Phoenix is such a fair weather sports town, to be at a game where the fans have been loyal through thick and very, very thin was a lot of fun. We walked around the park for a while to check it out and get a close up look at the Green Monster and later in the game found some seats to steal. It was such a great time and definitely a highlight of our time in Boston!
Well that pretty much wraps up our time in Boston. Next up is NYC where we had a GREAT time, so check back soon for some fun pictures and stories.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
How to leave us comments!
Before it starts sounding like we're fishing for compliments, quite a few of you have mentioned that you haven't been able to leave us comments on the blog. Well a few setting changes later, and everyone should now be able to tell us what's on their mind. If you played "Oregon Trail" in elementary school, or had any computer lab for that matter, this is the end of the blog for you. If you're still wondering what a computer is, read on for a short tutorial.
Step 1. Find the comment link at the bottom of the individual blog post you are reading. (Not just the bottom of the page when you can scroll no further. Each entry has a comment link)
Step 2. Type your comment in the box where it says "Leave your comment".
Step 3. If you do not have a Google/Blogger ID or are associated with one of the other affiliated sites you can choose the Name/URL option. Type your name or website into the box. If you want to be sneaky you can also choose the Anonymous option.
Step 4. You're ready to publish your post! If you would like to take a second look at it you can click the blue "Preview" button or if you're good to go just click the orange "Publish" button.
Once you hit the orange "Publish" button your comment will appear on the left of the screen.
Now you can see that the number of comments has changed on the comment link. Congrats!
Happy commenting everyone!
Step 1. Find the comment link at the bottom of the individual blog post you are reading. (Not just the bottom of the page when you can scroll no further. Each entry has a comment link)
Step 2. Type your comment in the box where it says "Leave your comment".
Step 3. If you do not have a Google/Blogger ID or are associated with one of the other affiliated sites you can choose the Name/URL option. Type your name or website into the box. If you want to be sneaky you can also choose the Anonymous option.
Step 4. You're ready to publish your post! If you would like to take a second look at it you can click the blue "Preview" button or if you're good to go just click the orange "Publish" button.
Once you hit the orange "Publish" button your comment will appear on the left of the screen.
Now you can see that the number of comments has changed on the comment link. Congrats!
Happy commenting everyone!
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