Observations Poolside

Someday I will write the books that have already been written in my head.

One of those books will be about the beauty beheld in a confident person.

In a confident woman to be exact.

I'm not sure why, as women, we feel so compelled to judge each other so harshly.

We should stick up for each other.

We should be kinder than we are.

We all walk around with things that we don't like about our physical appearance.

But it's like we can't help ourselves when we people watch to notice all the imperfections of others.

As if we aren't boldy aware of them already.

I'm guilty as charged.

So, the observation we've made at the pool this summer:

People are white at the beginning of summer.  It's not because we aren't in California.

Kids seem a little more punk-ish in New Jersey than in California.  We could be wrong about this one.

Guys have it much easier when choosing what to wear poolside.

Women who walk with confidence can pretty much wear any modest bathing suit.

I've only had my camera at the pool twice and these are the only people I've taken pictures of:

We love summer!

Summer Streets

Last Saturday we took Heath and Jenna into Manhattan to experience "Summer Streets." 

Alec and Ammon were on a white water rafting trip with the boy scouts.  They were having their summer fun and we decided to have some too.

Scott was living in the city last year and he heard about the Summer Streets event but I don't think he really enjoyed it as much as he did this year.  Obviously things are much more fun or interesting when I'm around and there are kids around! 

After not being able to find a brilliant parking spot in Hoboken.  Yes, we saw the line for Carlo's Bake Shop that was two blocks long.  We drove right on past those crazy people.  We parked the car in a lot that charged us more for being an over sized vehicle?  The car isn't a Mini or a Smart car but, seriously, over sized?!  We made it onto the PATH without any problems because the PATH was empty.

We began our journey getting off at Christopher Street and making our way through Greenwich Village.

A street we needed to go down was Waverly Place.  Jenna, and other people in our house who will go unnamed at this time, watch "Wizard's of Waverly Place." It's on the Disney Channel if you want to check it out.  It's about a wizard family who lives in New York City. 

We found Waverly Place without any problem and Jenna was very happy.

This picture is harmless enough.  However, when I crossed the street to join those cute people, I almost threw-up because of the smell that was wafting down the street.  I don't know what it was but it wasn't good.  At all.  Scott laughed at me and Jenna was worried I was going to make her throw-up!  I was fine after we left that corner.

 

After the horrid stench episode we hung out in Washington Square for awhile.

This is another one of those city sites that I've seen on television many times but there's just something magical about seeing it in real life.

There are things that surprise me about this city.

The two pictures below are neighbors. 

Scenery like this makes for a very cool walk through Greenwich into Midtown.

Some where along the way, after taking a short walk through Union Square and seeing this very cool wand and these numbers that constantly change we switched over to Park Avenue.

I still need to investigate these numbers and what it all means.

The Summer Streets event is pretty cool because Park Avenue, from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, is closed off to any cars.  Only people are allowed on the street.  They have a lot of the streets coming into Park Avenue closed off too. 

The city solicits or maybe the businesses solicit the city to be a part of the event.  So, you have people repairing bikes, exercise classes going on in the middle of the street, bike and roller blade rentals for free, art lessons, dance lessons, and runners having a great time in the middle of the street. 

And then there's the dumpster diving... I mean swimming.

I wasn't sure what to expect. 

Swimming in a dumpster brings all kinds of unwanted images to a persons mind.  The dumpsters sit right outside Grand Central Station and it is very unusual.

The three dumpsters are refurbished and transformed into sanitary swimming pools. 

Yes, people were swimming in them.

People were laying-out on lawn chairs in the middle of Park Avenue.

If you want to swim in a sanitary dumpster, Summer Streets is going on for just one more weekend!

Bring your suit!

We wanted to take a cruise on the Hudson so we walked through Bryant Park, sans the ice skating rink, and through the fashion district.

Unfortunately we were unable to ride The Beast. Apparently this is not your average boat ride because there is a height requirement if you want to enjoy it.  It's a 30-minute fast ride across the Hudson.  You plan on stepping off that boat very wet.  The tickets for The Beast were sold out for the time we needed so we opted for the Water Taxi. The Water Taxi is no "beast" but it gave the kids time to play in another fountain until the taxi arrived.  We also enjoyed watching The Beast on the Hudson and listening to its passengers scream.

We had a slow paced. non-screaming ride on the Hudson over to Battery Park.

After walking passed all the people in line for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, we made our way to the the World Financial Center to hang out in the Winter Garden.

The Winter Garden sits between building two and three of the WFC.

Scott works in building two and I don't know if he appreciated us hanging out here on the weekend.

We didn't stay long. Just long enough to have a treat from Godiva.

The picture doesn't do this
garden justice.
It's a beautiful place.

We ended our day in the city much like it began.

We got onto the empty PATH and made our way back to Chatham.

How were we going to sleep tonight thinking about people swimming in dumpsters, The Beast screams, and don't forget about the unbearable smell on Waverly Place?

We were going to sleep very well.

In fact, Scott fell asleep in the church parking lot waiting for the boys to get home from their day!

Bikes and Garbage

Being in a city with nearly eight and a half million people you can't help but to people watch a little bit.  Sometimes even a lot a bit.  I've noticed a couple of weird things during these watching events: bikes and garbage.

I really wouldn't want to be a bike messenger or someone who delivers food in the city.  I wouldn't even want to ride around the city for exercise or even for leisure on a bike.  I believe the bicyclists, much like the people who drive cars here, take their lives in their own hands when their tires hit the road.  The traffic and the obvious disregard for lane lines is much like living in a third world country.  Despite what I think, there are many people who ride in the city and we have noticed them.  We notice them and we admire them too.

I sort of want to meet the person who rides this bike.
I'm thinking Mary Poppins!

Clearly this person rides with humor on their side.

These two bikes seem like they are still rideable.

I don't think they need to lock this one up anymore but it appears to have two locks on it.

I know why people take the seat with them when they chain up their ride.
But I think you're asking for trouble when you chain your bike right in front of the door like that.

I hope this bike survives the pole because it's obviously not in the safest of areas.

As you can imagine eight and a half million people can and do generate large amounts of garbage.  The garbage collection is a nonstop activity that goes on in the city.  It is literally garbage day everyday.  You figure this out really quickly because there are always piles of garbage bags where ever you are.  The good thing about garbage pick up in the city and even in Chatham is that you can put anything out on the curb and sanitation picks it up for you. 

I don't have a solution to their garbage collection.  I just find it really strange.

I know there's a toilet in there, but is that the kitchen sink too?

This is the trash from our neighbors yard.  He was getting rid of their swing set and trampoline -
the santitation picked this up too.  Trash in this town is picked up twice a week.

This is just a typical gutter.
Mind you, there's a trash can on every corner.

Those are garbage bags waiting in the hot and humid air just waiting to be picked up.

Ah, bike riding and taking out the trash.  It's a beautiful thing.