To celebrate Jordan’s Birthday, we wined and dined in Grand Central Station, our favorite building in NYC. After a drink in the totally cool atmosphere of Campell’s Apartment we headed to Metrazur for a wonderful dinner (thanks Becky). The food and service were excellent and so was the view:

If your looking for a great meal in Midtown, this is definitely a great place to try. Especially on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Wednesdays feature $14 bottles of wine, 20% of the price is donated to City Harvest. Saturday nights offer a $44 three course price fix which includes a bottle of wine per couple. An effort to draw in patrons to a restaurant that normally caters to a weekday lunch crowd, no doubt, but our suggestion is to benefit from this deal! More pictures after the jump.

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We just got back from a great weekend celebrating the wedding of our friends Beth and Ben. Everything was absolutely beautiful, and they looked fantastic. Lots of pics after the jump. (Read on…)

We finally made it out to Coney Island after trying for many years but never getting around to it.  We figured that before they knock it down to build condos, we have to experience it.  Our Coney Island adventure after the jump…

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Our new favorite, secret spot for laying out during the summer months.

It’s hard to believe, but last week was our 1st wedding anniversary.  It landed on a Monday, so we celebrated by going to dinner at ‘Ino which is where we went on our first date.  We them went home, exchanged gifts, popped a bottle of champagne and broke out our one-year old wedding cake that has been frozen in White Plains for a whole year.  Pictures of what we found after the jump… (Read on…)

During what easily became our most active weekend of the summer, we were lucky enough to see the New York City Waterfalls. Waterfalls in New York City… impossible you might think; but thanks to the work of Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, considered one of his generation’s most influential artists, 4 waterfalls can be seen throughout NYC for the next few months. The New York City Waterfalls were constructed using building elements that are ubiquitous throughout New York: scaffolding is the backbone of the structures, and pumps bring water from the East River to the top; the water then falls from heights of 90 to 120 feet back into the river.

The falls are located on Pier 35 in Manhattan, under the Brooklyn Bridge, on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and on Governors Island.  We were able to see the falls from many different vantage points: by boat on Jordan’s Company outing on Friday, by land on our bike ride down the FDR to Governors Island, by ferry on our way to Governors Island and on land once on Governors Island. They are definitely worth a trip to see, either from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Governors Island or if you are lucky enough to see them by boat.

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Way back before we started our blog (about three years ago) we made a trip to Governors Island. It had just opened to the public and there wasn’t much to do besides walk around and look at the outside of some decrepit buildings and look at the amazing view of downtown Manhattan. However a lot has changed in three years. Now you can go into many of the beautiful houses that have been restored, many of which house art exhibits.

It is really easy to get there – just take the FREE 7 minute ferry ride which leaves from right next to the Staten Island Ferry Station.  We rode our bikes there, but you can even rent bikes on the island (and can do so for free on Fridays). While not a challenging ride on the island, it is a car-free environment, which is always a great way to ride.  Read on for more about our journey and more photos…
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We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and drive about 1.5 hours upstate to New Paltz, New York for a day trip with our friends Jon and Tracy. First we had lunch in downtown New Paltz at a great restaurant called Main Street Bistro. Besides the usual brunch items there were lots of great specials and unique options. Some items included Salmon Hash (home fries, grilled salmon, tomatoes, and poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce), Tofu Stir-fry, and excellent sandwiches. The downtown is really just a street with lots of great restaurants and little stores, but there were lots of people walking around.

After lunch we headed to the Mohonk Mountain House located about 10 minutes from town. One of the countries oldest family owned resorts, it offers not only a beautiful hotel, but amazing grounds as well. In addition to a spa, restaurants, horseback riding, boating, ice-skating and swimming there are 85 miles of hiking trails. The hiking trails are what brought us there. For $22 a person we purchased a day pass which allowed us onto the grounds and access to the paths which run through the Shawgunk Ridge. There are many paths which range in difficulty to a gradual incline to the Labyrinth Path which is described as a “rock scramble”. We did the Labyrinth Path which left us very bruised and scratched, but it was definitely the most fun way to get to the top. We were rewarded at the top with this magnificent view!

More and a link to all our pics after the jump.

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After a one year hiatus, our annual camping trip returned this year.  We ventured up to Lake Taghkanic State Park about two hours north of NYC.  Despite a bleak weather forecast on Thursday night, we really lucked out and made it through the weekend without a drop of rain.  The park had a beautiful beach on the lake and real nice campground facilities.  As in past years, the weekend was full of meat, beer, fires and s’mores.  Best of all, when we looked up, we could actually see stars in the sky! Some pics and a slideshow after the jump. (Read on…)

On the southern tip of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of NY, Watkins Glen State Park has a famous gorge trail that descends 400 ft deep with 19 waterfalls. Wayne and I recently hiked the trail which was both fun and tiring.

More pics after the jump…

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