by laura beth

Today we went to Manhattan, just for the afternoon. Pat, our camera shy friend, was our guide. He drove us to New Jersey, where we hopped on the train, and in no time at all we arrived at Penn Station. We hit the streets and took in a few of the main free touristy sites. Hi Empire State Building. Hi Macy's. Hi Times Square. Hi National Debt Clock. Helllooooo pizza. On to Toy R Us and FAO Schwartz and all the wonder they behold: stuffed animals, amazing Lego creations, and The Big Piano. The Big Piano, by the way, is sort of lame. Lame because you can have your very own for only $250,000,000. No joke. Or maybe it is a joke. Either way, lame. Hi Central Park. I'm really glad we went, and a day spent with good friends is always wonderful, regardless of where you are. That being said...

I don't think I like Manhattan. Admittedly, I've spent only one afternoon there-I didn't scratch the surface of what there is to see and I don't think I have a grasp of what it's all about. And it's not that I don't like cities, because I do. Just not ones this big, I guess.

Everything is outrageously expensive, traffic is deplorable, it's smelly, it's polluted, it's gritty, crime is bad, housing is cramped and rent is through the roof. Those are the givens, and those are the things that people look past because there is something about the place they love. There are other things that I just don't enjoy, but I get that other people do. There's the buzz, the vibe, the rhythm, the noise, the excitement, the options, the shopping, the going-bankrupt-for-fashion's-sake, the food, the entertainment, the action, the looking-out-for-number-one, success-driven lifestyle. I realize there is opportunity, but there is always opportunity. Dreams come true in Denver and Cheyenne and Albuquerque and Olympia.

Maybe I'm a wimp (well, I know I'm a wimp). I love nature, and community, and people working together and loving each other, and growing things, and fresh air, and escaping into the mountains for a hike, and quiet peaceful mornings. Smiling at your neighbor, and good deals at second-hand store, and farmer's markets, and yard sales. I don't care about fashion because it doesn't matter in the big scheme of things. I don't think jackhammers and car horns are charming. I don't like being stressed out all the time. And I'm not sure that I would feel different about any of the other boroughs. I realize a lot of good comes from New York, culturally. But for now I think it might just be a good place to visit. I have no need for it otherwise. And how often do you really want Thai food at 2 am?

by laura beth

Hot....hot. Hot. We walked around Center City Philadelphia today like hot, sticky, tourists with swollen fingers. We parked and walked Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which was closed. We walked up and down the "Rocky steps" and took a photo with the over-sized Rocky statue. I really felt like a zombie the whole time cause it was so hot. And Kenny was like a zombie cause his allergies were really acting up. We had a picnic lunch in the lawn in front of Julie's nourishing mother, Moore College of Art and Design. After a refreshing nap, we walked to Rittenhouse Square, which is my new favorite park. On the way there, Julie and I stopped in this adorable shop that sells my favorite incense at a bargain. Hoorah! Later we grabbed some water ice and Gelatis at Rita's (I had watermelon, fell in love, and wept inside at the fact that I can't get one just anywhere), and cooled off in the Kimmel Center, home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. I loved the Kimmel Center, other than the vertigo-inducing levels, and the stairwell banisters that were on backwards and ergonomically incorrect (Bill, can I get an amen?). It had an indoor roof top garden, and reminded me a little of what the cities of the future might look like. Plus they had really comfy chairs. It was then on toCity Hall with it's fun acoustics and lovely statues, Love Park, and Logan Circle (Square) with it's projectile vomiting frogs and turtles. We also stopped by Saint Peter Saint Paul Albanian Orthodox Church. The couple there spoke broken English and could not understand why we would want to come look at the church. They were very hesitant to let us in, but eventually they did. We had a nice conversation with them and the church was beautiful and really old. We then drove to Standard Tap for dinner: awesome beer, awesome chicken pie, awesome salad, awesome creme brulee. Local produce. Local brews. Awesome. At this point, with thought to myself that I wouldn't mind living in Philadelphia. It's pretty great as far as a largish city goes. We stopped by a beer distributor before heading home and I picked up some cute little Japanese owl beers. They were expensive and not super great. Oh well. It was a good day in Philadelphia.

by laura beth

Today Kenny and I walked to Holy Ghost Orthodox Church down the street from Julie and Bill's apartment. HGOC is part of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic diocese. I'm not completely sure what that means, but it was a pretty church and nice service. They celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrystostom like other Orthodox Christian churches, but it was interesting to observe the little differences between Holy Ghost and Saint Barnabas. I am totally biased because I love Saint Barnabas, but I did notice that there seems to be more interaction and singing at Saint B. So I left HGOC feeling a little meh.


After church, we went to the shore with Julie and Bill. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Neither Kenny nor I have ever spent time on the east coast (other than a trip I took Boston in 1996), and we probably don't have much a feel for what it would mean to live here, but without a doubt I tell you that I would trade the California beaches for the Jersey shore any day. Maybe it was the weather or the company or the particular beach we went to (Julie grew up spending the last few days of summer in Ocean City and said it's nicer than other beaches), but I soooo enjoyed our day at the beach.

First on the list was Mack & Manco's pizza. Best ever. Shhhh. Don't argue. Best ever. After, we just walked the beach for a long while, nicely exfoliating our feet. We saw Bill's brother Dave's doppelganger on the beach and tried to sneakily take a photo of him. Bill saved a lady bug from the tide. He held her most of the time while she dried out her wings. We walked the boardwalk keeping our eyes out for the most terrible tattoos. Green, white, and red Italy-on-a-shoulder? Barbed wire cross? Silly chest tattoo accentuating male nipples? Nope, I think the pair-of-eyeballs tramp stamp won. Kenny and I slurped up a Banana Whip from at the Bashful Banana-a couple frozen bananas, frozen blueberries, and frozen strawberries ran through a juicer, topped with all-fruit fudge! Amazing. It's pretty much the consistency of frozen yogurt. Dense, sweet, 100% fruit! Then the four of us got yummy fries and lemonade at Curly's Fries. Oh, and we ran into Mr. Peanut. He's a lot shorter than I imagined. Also, I think he might be a woman. As the shadows grew long, we made whooshy sounds with our feet in the sand. I love friends and beautiful days.

by laura beth

Each Friday I would like to post one item-a video, photo, poem, story, etc-just because it makes me smile. Hopefully I will be diligent at keeping this up. And hopefully it will help me be more consistent in my other posts. Here's to Fridays!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Ira Glass
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor

by laura beth

This American Life is my favorite radio program (there's also a television version of the show, on Showtime). TAL did a live taping of the show titled "Return to the Scene of the Crime" on stage in Chicago, and beamed it to theaters across the nation. We were able to watch it at a local theater with Julie and Bill and it was AWESOME. Hosted by Ira Glass, guests of the show included Dan Savage (I actually cried during his piece. He's been a long-time favorite), Starlee Kine (cute as a pair of homemade shoes!), Mike Birbiglia (his piece was so humbly-what a incredible & brilliant human), Joss Whedon (who doesn't love Joss?), among others.

Be sure to listen to the full radio episode podcast (free to download and listen)-when you get to the episode page, just click on the orange link labeled "full episode" under the photo.