On Labor Day we drove up to the New York Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo NY, about an hour-ish north of here, way up on Route 17. It was beautiful out and the Faire is a great way to spend the day with so much to see and do there. Inexpensive too, they had a downloadable coupon on their website for that weekend bringing it down to only $10 a person to get in. The $5 premium parking lot filled early, so we parked in one of the free lots and took the free shuttle bus to the Faire’s entrance, only about 1/2 mile apart.
Young suburban wenches with muddled fake Old English accents tended to our needs for not-too-historically-accurate grub and grog. My first snack was iced coffee and a huge hard churro that I think they used to use to herd sheep or beat carpets clean. Joe took a loud crunching bite out of it and then coughed for 7 minutes and 22 seconds. Death by Ye Olde Churro – what a way to go! Read more »
Good for a few laughs, cruise over to www.yearbookyourself.com to upload your mug. See how you might have looked had you been a member of a different graduating class. Too silly. CARLOS
The Memorial at Harbor View Park in Bayonne NJ remembers the victims of the September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 bombings of the World Trade Center. It was on our list of local things to see, and we finally got a chance to this past Sunday. It was another beautiful day to spend along the Hudson River, albeit a melancholy one given where we were headed.
About a 20 minute drive south from home, the memorial is way at the end of the old Military Ocean Terminal, a two-and-a-half mile long man-made peninsula that juts out onto the river. It’s been closed by the military and reacquired by the City of Bayonne for commercial redevelopment and is now known as the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor. As you drive down towards the memorial park, you can see new construction and the old military buildings as well. The park seems out of place, but with a bird’s eye view of lower Manhattan, it’s easy to see why it was chosen as the site for it. Read more »
I spent most of the day on Saturday at the Pride Festival volunteering as a Floater (no one specific job, helped out wherever was needed) but also got to enjoy it as a spectator along with Joe and Ryan. Couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day weather-wise. The turnout was great! Downtown along the riverside at Exchange Place in Jersey City is such a great venue too. Big wide open urban space with a backdrop of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline.
Saw lots of friends, and a few others I’ve noticed online on BEAR411 and such. The after-party at the Hard Grove Cafe was a blast too. I love that this pride event doesn’t take place in June – just before Labor Day, it’s a nice way to bring in the end of Summer. CARLOS
This week is Pride Week in Jersey City, organized by JCLGO for the 8th year in a row. A series of events are scheduled, culminating in an outdoor festival at Exchange Place (on the Hudson River facing downtown Manhattan) on Saturday the 23rd. On Saturday evening, the closing party will be held at Hard Grove Cafe, a popular bar and Cuban-fusion restaurant, where there’ll be partying and dancing on the streets. I hope this great weather in the area makes an appearance here on Saturday!
City Hall, just down the block from us, was the site of a rainbow flag raising this past Monday to commemorate the week. It was at 6pm and Joe wasn’t back from work yet, so our man-child Ryan joined me for the gathering and reception later in City Hall. A couple of dozen people showed. Some pictures above. I walk by City Hall daily and have always admired its architecture, but had never been inside until Monday. It has a beautiful historic look with a spectacular glass rotunda. The council chambers are being restored (big fire in 1979, never fully restored until now,) and it too will be quite a sight. Read more »
