Coney Island

july 21

Having always wanted to swim in the warm Atlantic, my second morning was spent down by the beach. It only took like 25 minutes on the nearly empty subway train until I could see the water. It was a gorgeous hot morning and the water felt perfect. Frolicly kicking and diving backwards, I tucked and rode in wave after wave. I walked from one side of the boardwalk to the other finding fishermen on this jetty struggling.

Later I found out that tests in 2007 found high levels of bacteria in 24% of the samples taken from nearby waters. It feels a little like home now. Don and I have been planning to hit the beach first thing in the morning, but it's easier said than done with long summer nights in the city.

When I got back to Brooklyn, I wanted to visit this coffee shop called Beaner Bar. A friend of a friend owns the spot and I'm trying to meet some cool people. So I jumped on the F -train to the L -train to Williamsburg. The shop was so rustic and quaint, which when combined with a good house brew makes for the perfect neighborhood hole to meet buddies.

Ryall served me up a refreshing iced coffee and added by a few locals, began to give me a long list of must see bars and eats in the city. Rudy, the owner responded quickly to my voice mail and came down the block to meet up with me. He was busy but invited me to a bar in Manhattan which sounded like a great idea for my Friday night.

I had plans to see Burning Spear at seven, so I left after a short while only to stop at this Italian joint for a slice. When I got all the way to Battery Park City, they were just about to start and crowds were pouring into the area fast. There was a beautiful view of Jersey city with the sun setting behind it.

They led us all into rhythmic dance for almost two hours and by the end my muscles need a break.

Philly cheese death.

July 18th

Philadelphia has a lot of history on it's soil. It's fun for the whole family seeing folks dressed in garb from the era ready push you off the ledge into the deepest sleep of your life with long winded stories about our nation's history. Some guys were sitting on park benches with signage above their heads saying story time. We were too smart not to get sucked in. Instead we approached them and asked them where to find things.

Most of our day was spent walking around and seeing the sights. The Liberty Bell, original congress halls, the stairs Rocky ran up in 1982..you know, the important stuff. All of the guys wanted to try a Philly cheese steak sandwich. I was eager to watch and judge. Right after parking in downtown, we asked this nice plump young lady where the best Philly cheese steaks are. After all, that plump didn't come from salads. She was quick to tell us that the best steaks are in south Philly.

After what seemed like a five mile hike in hot sun, we were ready to get our grub on and went to the 'best' steak places we'd heard about from a few people. Two of these joints were right across the street from each other in a small Mexican community. It sounds odd because it was. There was only fatty steak sandwiches and even fattier fries so I went to one of the over-priced Mexican food place.

When I got back, these guys were far from impressed. One guy tried one sandwich from each place and gave them both two thumbs down. He is from San Diego and said he knows a place to get better cheese steaks there! I guess they got better when they left Philly.

More DC

July 17th

My Auntie was able to get 4 passes on the amphibious duck tour from one of her local city council candidates and it was the perfect opportunity to take Carlos along. Coincidentally, he was completing some training in Baltimore and we had made plans to hang out in the District. I was worried about the availability due to the popularity of this tour and after a dramatic evening, the inability to take some friends on a complimentary tour would've crushed my spirit.

We were able to reserve some seats but the tour wasn't all it was 'quacked' up to be. After checking out more monuments and revisiting other with them, I decided to take them up on their offer to got to Philadelphia the following day. So we left for Baltimore after it got dark, and I was able to see some of the city lit up for the first time. Sheer magic!

With the greatest fatigue, we set out for a midnight romp around Baltimore's Inner Harbour to find a few intoxicated folks and loud party-goers. I had a bit of the boxer rash from a full sweaty day of walking and was ready to crash. TMI alert!

Freedom is not FREE

The petty restraints put on women and minorities in our country's not so distant past and history, reminds me of all the struggle that has put us where we are today in our position of power and influence. We have defined what civil liberties are and though I don't agree with war and many of the decisions made for us by our ruling elite, we have done a lot of good for our world. We are so blessed to have had much of the fight for liberty done for us and now we stand so ignorant to the world at large. Many natural and man-made disasters lay forgotten by the masses as we care more for 'idol' and 'jerseylicious'. As the population of the species draws nearer and nearer to 7 billion, what will come of our pestilence and misuse of our resources?

Lincoln Memorial

July 16th

My second day of trolley tours confirms how familiar I am with the central downtown DC area. I've been so fortunate to see as much as I have. But this is one of those overwhelming tourist destinations where you can never see everything your first trip. My original idea of eating my breakfast sandwich in the midst of Lincoln's memorial was potentially thwarted by signs saying no food or drink. So I ate right outside on the super-sized steps facing both the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge and the Arlington Bridge over the Potomac River.

Upon entering the Lincoln memorial restroom, the amount of water on the floor was shocking as I easily could have slipped and fallen if it hadn't been for the grip on my fairly new tennis shoes. In addition to the thousands of paper towels being saved by hand dryers in restrooms these days, one funny thing is the fart sounds you can make if your hands are clasped together just right. Old Abe never imagined the possibilities that technology could bring.

Visiting many of the museums here in our nation's capitol, I've come to reflect on the power of the human imagination and the ability to create that lies within us.

Sixteen Candles

July 15th

'Trolley Tours' has been the highlight of DC! This city is truly built around symbolism. At every turn, there is proof of painstaking structural details made with the utmost significance. They gave everyone 2 day passes for the price of one so I can take my time with the memorials and stuff.

Afterwards, I met with my Auntie so we could handle some dinner. She knew I had been craving sushi and I guess her friend owns a place. On the way, I found a nice barber shop and had to run in for a trim. Most expensive trim ever. Boy do I miss the 6 dolla holla shop I go to in Echo Park.

Her friends restaurant had a great selection and their like family to her. It was right down the street from UM (university of Maryland) and all the betties were out in their short shorts. Maybe my friend will pull through and take me out for 1.50 beers near the campus tonight. if not c'est la vie.

By that time is was about 9 oclock and I hadn't heard from Irina about going out with her gf's. It was cool cuz there was this 80's movie thing happening and Better Off Dead was on followed by Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller all un edited with commercial interruptions. God said, "Let there be 80's movies." And it was good.

Georgetown

July 14th
Giving the Portrait Museum some good ole quality time was exactly what I cold have imagined but better. I mentioned in an earlier blog that seeing some of the images of the people who helped make our country what it is now was cool because I didn't know what they looked like before. I spent around 2 hours in the joint and planned to meet my friend Irina shortly after.

Walking around near the capitol, I wandered into an Inuit exhibit at the Canadian Embassy. It featured a works celebrating nature and was similar to a large detailed exhibit within the Natural History Museum I saw a day earlier. The heat was getting bad and I was craving a brew or 2. Aimlessly bewildered, I came across Hamilton's, a 3 story restaurant pub with a sign claiming the best clam chowder in the district.

I figured I could grab a drink and wait for Irina to meet me there. I texted her the address and continued to test the chowder. We indulged in pleasant conversation and drinks after she arrived and proceeded to go to Georgetown after a bit. The trendy spot of town is pretty hip with hidden enclaves and tons of shops and eateries.

In a small alley I found this gallery space where the owner was moving stuff out. After hearing a story from him how he once made a 150k sale in one art deal, his friend told us he had the most comprehensive art collection in all of DC! I was on cloud nine after the brief interaction and felt that it was fate that I met that guy. Irina and I then continued searching the alleys of Georgetown for more fun and ended our night with plans to meet again the next day with some of her friends and do some bar hopping.

How could I say no?!