Summer lovin'

What time is it? Oh yeah. 8:20pm. But it's light enough to be 3pm. And I don't think we've even had the longest day of the year yet! I love summer.


Long day today of being outside. It went from hot, sticky and hazy (11am), to hot and windy (2pm), to rainy (4pm), to hot and sticky (5pm) and then finally tonight, a bit cooler (8pm).

Have a great week, y'all!

Mi casa es su casa (violeta)

Today's bike ride was a repeat of last Saturday's ride. Different day, different crowd, same ride. I knew what to expect in terms of topography, geography and scenery. My favorite part of the ride is the (approx.) three mile stretch of River Road in Grand-View-on-Hudson, NY (pop. < 300). It's a straight, flat street on the edge of the Hudson River, just below the Tappan Zee Bridge. This street has the most character of any I've ever seen. The architecture is overwhelmingly eclectic. There's Victorians and Colonials, ranch houses and haciendas. This one is my favorite:


Don't adjust your monitors. The house is, indeed, a very bright shade of purple. But that's not uncommon on River Road. There are several unconventionally hued homes. There's a blue one with green shutters. There's a white one made to look like a ship, complete with port-holes. But this purple house, standing tall and proud on the hill overlooking the water, is my favorite. Maybe that's why it's best that I stick with apartment-living. There's no telling what color I'd paint the exterior of a house I owned...

Fashion Faux Pas Friday

Unfortunately this picture doesn't do the faux pas justice. Please take my word for it that it was bad. With a capital B.


The shoes were too high. The skirt was too short. The hem was too frayed. And the owner was too "vertically challenged." This pot never calls the kettle black.

Kaboom!

I was watching something on cable this afternoon when I saw this commercial for Kaboom. What a miracle cleaner! Look at the way that it cuts through dirt and soap scum without leaving a residue! And the best part, there's no obnoxious fumes!


But my real question? Where does a shower this filthy and disgusting exist? If I ever saw Kaboom in someone's cleaning cabinet, I'd haul a$$ out of that house like a fat kid running for cake.

The Bridal Path

There's this great running path in Central Park called The Bridal Path. It's just inside of Park Drive and it runs just about the entire perimeter. It's easier on the legs because it's dirt, not concrete. Whenever I run along there, I always picture spring weddings. Blushing brides under the blooming trees, bridal parties posing for pictures along the reservoir at sunset, white gazebos set up near Strawberry Field. I thought it would be a great place to have my own wedding one day.


I ran with a new group today and as we ran, I was kind of thinking out loud. I said, "I just love the Bridal Path. It's so romantic!" And the girl next to me looked over and casually said before running off, "I know. I just love horses!" Turns out it's the Bridle Path not the Bridal Path.


*Photo courtesy of CentralParkNYC.org.

Josh and "The Brain"

Obviously I stumped you all! Or you just chose not to guess. Or you guessed but didn't tell me. But I know y'all read about yesterday's mystery adventure in the Hudson. Ready for "the story?" Here it goes...

Erinn and I were biking along the Hudson River and I yelled back to her, "How about biking to Hoboken?" And at the same time, she called up to me, "How about going for a kayak?" I followed her gaze to the sign that said, "FREE KAYAK RIDES" and we pulled over. We borrowed locks for our bikes, signed a waiver, shoved our shoes in a locker, pulled on some life preservers and hopped in the Hudson. Or into the kayak. That was filled with Hudson water. And we paddled away. After getting the hang of things and figuring out how to make the boat move and turn, we saw a boat carrying two strapping young lads so we (I) challenged them to a race. They were a little too competitive and beat us. Actually, they creamed us. But it was all in good fun. Until the splashing started. Then we got yelled at by numerous lifeguards for our childish behavior. Whoops!

At one point, we pulled up alongside Josh and "The Brain" (so-called because he was definitely the smarter of the two but we never found out his name) and asked them to take a picture for us. While "The Brain" was aiming my iPhone at us, Erinn pointed out to him that he was covering part of the lens with his finger. "NO I'M NOT, I KNOW HOW TO USE THE IPHONE," he fired back. Unfortunately, his finger was in every shot. Here's the best of the bunch.


And our racing buddies/photographers, Josh (in the back) and "The Brain" (in the front). "The Brain" is/was very, very pretty.


And then we decided to try out the Map App and that's how the pin ended up in the middle of the Hudson River. The prize will go to Angela D. for her verbal guess this evening after our steamy run in Central Park. Angela, please see me to claim your prize.

For more information on kayaking in the Hudson, visit www.downtownboathouse.org.

The Great Map App Mystery

As everyone iPhone owner (or person with iPhone envy) knows, the map app has this great feature where users can "drop a pin" to indicate their exact location. It uses GPS technology. Or something like that. So how did I end up here?


Add your guesses in the comments section of this post or shoot me an email, tweet or FB message. The winner will get a special (TBA) prize! The answer will be posted tomorrow.