Boats and beers.

For a day that started out much like 1993, it ended with 2010 feeling more authentic than the previous 23 days.

My father and I had plans to check out the NY Boat Show at the Jacob Javits Center. For those of you who have never been to a boat show, wellllllll. Hmm, yeah. I don't know what to tell you. Most people attend boat shows because - as Eddie the Boat Guy will tell you - it's a great place to buy a boat. But when my father, brother, and I attended boat shows back in the day, we never had the intention of actually buying a boat. We went for the boats. To see the boats. Jump on them, check 'em out, maybe schmooze the salesmen for their nifty handouts and brochures. Yes, we would go home to mom with bags of boat handouts.

And we loved it. I'm pretty sure she didn't.

So my dad and I spent our Sunday morning checking out the boats; Whalers, jets, luxury. We collected a few handouts (can't go wrong with the Salty Dog) while wondering aloud whether the show was always this small.

Maybe it's the economy.

Maybe it was always this tiny.

But if that was the case, how did we ever spend all day here when we were kids?

After an hour and half we were done perusing the Big Kid Toy Show and decided it was time for lunch. The Javits Center is in the middle of nowhere, so we trekked to Foley's Pub on 33rd, positioned across the street from the south side of the Empire State building. Passing the time with talks of my unemployment and his budgetary maneuvers, we were soon enjoying cold Yuenglings and hot food. The food beat out anything found around the Penn Station area, and the much-needed conversation topped any handouts we could have possibly collected.

We parted ways back on the Hudson at the ferry; it was the same way we used to travel to the Boat Show as kids. Dad headed west cross the river to Jersey and I hiked east towards Manhattan civilization.

Good day.

"It might be hard to see this from Manhattan, but it's there."

CJ's mother is in town from Oklahoma this week so we hit up the Celestial Highlights at the Museum of Natural History's planetarium. The AMNH is quite possibly my favorite museum but this was my first time experiencing the Hayden Planetarium.

The Highlights lecture series takes place every last Tuesday of the month; describing what will be viewable in the evening skies in the upcoming month. The lecturer was a professor from a local university, and he fit the bill of quirky science guy quite nicely. He was locked in a pattern for most of the evening - describing some planet or constellation with honest vigor; once worked up to the likeness of Ralphie talking about his BB gun, he would remind us city dwellers that the wondrous sights in the night sky were not visible from Manhattan. Soul crushing.


Lovely little place, but I'll take the Safari room next time. Please and thank you.

Go back to Canada!

No, not you. The geese.

I received another contribution this weekend, this time coming from the Hudson River Park. These "Canadian" geese were surrounding the contributor while she took in the sun's rays and some free kayaking at Pier 96. What were these poop factories doing on the West Side? My guess is hiding from their inevitable NYC-funded death.

Has anyone tried coaxing these liabilities back to Canada with some Poutine?!

Go home.

Free!

Thanks for the contribution, KW. Keep them coming!