takin' a bite out of the big apple

the morning came too quickly, yet it meant that i would finally be off on vacation for a few days.

after the quick shuttle flight, i landed at la guardia, hopped in a cab, and was off to deb's. the weather was absolutely amazing, which played right into our plan to spend the day at the beach.

when i got to her place, we both changed into our suits and headed to penn station where we boarded the train to long beach. upon arriving, we found our way to a little spot, where we quickly realized we were overdressed. so we decided that when in rome we should do as the romans do, and we discarded our tops (see pic at left).

clearly, i jest.

in any case, we spent a marvelous afternoon doing a whole lot of nothing. in my mind new york has never been synonymous with 'the beach', so i wasn't sure quite what to expect. but i most certainly did not expect it to be so nice. perhaps i was biased by the sheer perfection of the day..temperature, sunshine, cool breeze, but regardless, i was pleasantly surprised.

the people watching was in full effect, and we were especially entertained by the little family behind us which consisted of mom, dad, and boy. after covering himself with sand, dad took a nap, while mom dozed in her lounge chair, leaving boy to his own devices. for the most part, boy occupied himself quietly, but every once in awhile, his need for attention would override his respect for his parents rest, and he would innocently spray dad in the face with a water bottle, or sprinkle sand on his face. eventually, his objective was achieved and mom and dad were wakened to take their rightful places as boy's playmate.

after a few hours of fun in the sun, we decided to call it a day, and headed back to the train. we got back to the city hopped in the showers, and were off to a fabulous creperie in chelsea, where we met deb's friend jennifer.

i instantly took a liking to jennifer, and the three of us started our leisurely meal with some dinner crepes. after letting our meal settle, we capped it off with dessert crepes. both of which were amazing.

we said our farewells to jennifer, and deb and i made stops at the drugstore and grocery store before packing it in for the night. camped out in front of the tv with haagen daz in hand, the evening could not have ended more perfectly.

for all the pics, click here.