365 Project: Days 128-133

128/365: Francesca and I stalked the UES set of The Knick on our lunch break and saw this little guy watching as well  //  It was Mozart's 6th birthday and Auntie Francesca got her a pair of socks (her very favorite toy).

129/365: I took my mom out for an early Mother's Day breakfast and then (as you do) took her on a mini-tour by the old Bellevue Psychiatric hospital and the medical examiner's office.

130/365: Half of our Sunday was lazy but when we finally pulled ourselves out of the apartment we went to lay out in Brooklyn Bridge Park, got pizza at Juliana's and root beer floats at Farmacy. It was a perfect spring/summer day.

131/365: It was Trent's 30th birthday and I cemented a tradition by buying him lilacs (our favorite, and what we imagine Meryl Streep smells like) for the second year in a row.

132/365: I finally put away my recent haul from Dead Horse Bay and filled up a second bone jar. The tiny pewter skull is a souvenir from my first Renaissance Fair(e) experience.

133/365: I came across this locksmith in the West Village that is covered in swirling keys. I'd love to go back when they're open—I bet the inside is just as awesome.

The Northgate Ruins

When we went on our hike through the Hudson Highlands upstate in Cold Spring, New York, it was mentioned that there were ruins scattered throughout the trails. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but as soon as we came upon the site of Northgate (aka the Cornish Estate) I was entirely delighted.

A fire destroyed most of the mansion that stood on the site in 1956 and the property later became a part of the park in the 1960s. Although a majority of the house is gone, you can still get a feel for how it used to look—there are fireplaces, doorways, windows, tiles, a porch and a few outbuildings including what looks like it used to be a greenhouse. It's especially creepy seeing so many fireplaces, knowing that the place eventually burned down, and it's disorienting to see them stacked on one another without discernible floors in between.

After a few more miles, we came across the Dairy—also part of the Cornish Estate—which includes a few buildings that used to house prize-winning Jersey cows. Now the buildings are crumbling, with trees growing through things that trees don't normally grow through. There's a rusty fence, some old pipe and an iron gate, all in various stages of being swallowed up by tree trunks.

We saw a particularly busted raccoon shuffling around the ruins which only added to the creep factor, and some NSFW graffiti. There was an old wood-paneled silo, some rusted antique farm machinery, a milk bucket and a lot of unidentifiable rusty pieces of metal strewn about.

It was fascinating to walk through the open, arched doorways and to squint and imagine the dairy in operation. The hike was pretty long and strenuous, but there were enough things along the way to keep me interested and looking for more. I love how open and accessible the ruins are and I would love to go back and explore them even more.

BBG: Tulips 2015

When I went to check on the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden recently, I was surprised by the incredible tulips that were in bloom all around the garden. I had seen them last year, but this year's seemed even more spectacular and numerous.

They were planted in long rows, mimicking the stripey effect of a mini-flower field. There were classic colors and shapes along with some strikingly somber colors and tulips with sharp-looking jagged edges. Like in the Conservatory Garden, there were a ton of varieties that I had never seen before and it would be hard to pick a favorite.

It's been on my dream list for a while now to visit a legitimate flower field, although I've heard that they are notoriously hard to catch at peak bloom. Until I manage to pull that off, however, I'm so grateful that I get to experience spring in all parts of the city. I'm outside so much more in New York than I ever was when I lived in Ohio, so even small changes to the weather or landscape make a huge difference.

I actually tried to order these photos by color, but I kind of failed. I did realize just now that there weren't any blue or green tulips, which I know are kind of rare colors to see in flowers but if orchids and hydrangeas have it figured out, tulips should be able to get on board.

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Dead Horse Bay: Bottles + Boats

Last weekend my dude and I biked 24 miles—my first time on a bike in a looooong time, and my first-ever experience with city biking. We had planned to go to Fort Tilden, but when he mentioned that we could stop at Dead Horse Bay on the way I immediately agreed.

Trent and I had gone to DHB last year for the first time (read about that visit here and here) and I haven't stopped thinking about how amazing it was and wondering when I would get to go back. This time we spent nearly four hours combing through trash, treasure and everything in between, during which I said "this place is SO cool" so many times that I lost count.

With places like DHB—places so amazing that I wonder how they even exist at all—I'm constantly terrified that they'll disappear, and wary of them becoming too "popular." A major appeal of DHB is its abandoned, other-worldly feel, which is always a precarious thing to maintain—especially in a city as crowded and visible as New York. Luckily, DHB hasn't seemed to change much in the year since I first went, although we did see a lot more people this time.

Dead Horse Bay is alternatively referred to as "Bottle Beach," and it should be immediately obvious why. It's so fun sifting through the bottles to find remnants of sodas I've never heard of, pieces of beautiful typography and colorful graphics. Not wishing to go full-on Collyer Brothers, we did end up sifting through what we had picked up and made some Sophie's Choices before we left—unfortunately none of the bottles made the cut, but I did keep the jar from The F.W. Fitch Co.

One difference that I did take note of was the amount of beached boats we saw—there were at least four new ones from the last time I was at DHB. It's kind of a mystery to me how or why the boats get abandoned, but they are fascinating to look at and really add to the abandoned, post-apocalyptic beach feel.

Dead Horse Bay is definitely in my top five favorite New York places and I still can't believe that it is so accessible and consistently awesome. Knowing how easily (and quickly) I can bike there just makes me want to go more frequently—I'm sure I could go to DHB once a day for the rest of my life and still find something new every time.

The Knick

Two weeks ago as I was walking home from work, I passed signs on east 92nd and 93rd streets announcing that The Knick would be filming in the area. Francesca and I went to check it out on our lunch break and as we hoped the Upper East Side was being transformed into early 1900s New York.

I don't usually pay much attention to things filming around New York, mostly because I feel weird about gawking, but I am pretty much obsessed with The Knick. I have been going through withdrawal ever since I finished the first season and just knowing that they're currently filming the second is making me even more impatient.

The first thing we came upon was a row of trailers, labeled with some names I recognized—Cleary, Dorothy Walcott—and others like "rough female prisoner." The next street over was cleared of cars and four horse-drawn carriages were parked outside of the Synod of Bishops Russian Church, which was being transformed in the New York State Department of Health.

The horses for the carriages were down the next block, accompanied by handlers in period costume. Another set location was also being set up in a beautiful ivy-covered brownstone and gas lamps were being added down the street.

We circled back to the Dept of Health set and watched them for a while—it's fascinating to see how much work goes into filming what will probably end up being fairly quick scenes. My favorite part was when they started laying the "brick" street, which was made of sections of interlocking rubber mat. I also loved watching the people standing around in full period costume as they talked on cellphones or listened to music. It was fun to be able to walk out of my office and spend an hour in 1900s New York and now I'm even more excited for the second season.

365 Project: Days 121-127

121/365: I walked to the park down E. 92nd Street and made plans to come back when they're filming the Knick—one of my favorite shows—later this week.

122/365: I took my annual pilgrimage to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to check on the cherry blossoms and they were spectacular. The lilac had also started to bloom and the whole garden smelled incredible.

123/365: My dude and I biked 24 miles (!!), spent four+ hours exploring Dead Horse Bay, poked around Fort Tilden and shared a cheesy roast beef at the amazing stuck-in-the-'70s Roll n' Roaster restaurant in Sheepshead Bay.

124/365: The Park Avenue tulips have bloomed and they make my morning commute that much prettier.

125/365: I've been blazing through this true crime book—I was initially intimidated by its size when I picked it up from the library, but I'm almost finished and I don't want it to be over.

126/365: Some of my Dead Horse Bay treasures made their way onto my desk at work (look at that jaunty little hat!).

127/365: We soaked up some of the remaining after-work light accompanied by beers and enchiladas in Brooklyn—I'm kind of obsessed with this market sign on Smith/Union Streets.

BBG: Cherry Blossoms 2015

This is my third time being in the city for the blooming of the cherry blossoms and I still can't get enough. Although I'm a member of the New York Botanical Gardens, I've never really seen their cherry blossoms. By now I already feel as if I have a nostalgic attachment to Brooklyn's cherry grove—it was under these trees that I really cemented my resolve to become a New York resident—and now I can't imagine a spring without them.

I also haven't ever actually been to the Sakura Cherry Blossom festival, but I seem to be able to catch the blooms at their peak without paying the $25 ticket price. The garden is free on Saturday mornings, and is never as crowded as I think it should be—especially when the weather is as perfect as it was last Saturday.

No matter how many times I see the cherry blossoms, I still marvel at their insane beauty and intricate blooms. They seem completely unreal and as perfect as if they were crafted from tissue paper. The only downside to cherry blossoms, if you can call it that, is that they don't have a scent. It's almost disorienting to see such beautiful blooms and have zero fragrance attached to the visual, but no scent is definitely preferable to those white cat-piss-scented trees that sneak up on me every year.

Cold Spring Cemetery

The weather has finally been appropriately spring-like and warm, so we've been trying to get outside every chance we can get. Two weekends ago my dude and I decided to go 1.5 hrs. upstate to Cold Spring, NY for a hike. Of course when I did a little bit of research, I found a cemetery about a mile from the Metro North station, so we added it to the itinerary.

Cold Spring is an adorable town on the Hudson River, with a Main Street containing a few antique stores, a bar, a deli, and a coffee shop. The cemetery was established in 1862—it wasn't as historical or as crumbling as I prefer my cemeteries to be, but there were a few highlights that made it definitely worth seeking out if you're ever in the area.

My favorite section of the cemetery was a seemingly-abandoned portion set off from the main area. The majority of the cemetery was very well-maintained, but there was a mausoleum and a handful of graves up a hill that looked strangely out of place. The first thing I noticed was the mausoleum because the door was wide open. This isn't something I'm used to seeing so I was super excited to check it out. Disappointingly there wasn't anything inside of the mausoleum, but it was still super creepy with its rusty door inexplicably propped open by a rock.

The oddly-placed graves were covered in leaves and mostly belonged to the Young family. Some of their headstones were quite intriguing, with my favorites being "Annie Weir Young, Student and Mystic," and "J. Henry Weir Young, Asst. Physician Bellevue Hospital, Died of Disease Contracted in the Discharge of Duty."

Another feature of the cemetery was a row of elaborate mausoleums (and an excellent receiving tomb), which I'm not really used to seeing in more rural, smaller cemeteries like Cold Spring. I noticed that while none of them were completely open like the one on the hill, a few of them had gates instead of full, solid doors. It was mentioned that it might have something to do with the fact that we weren't in the city anymore, so security was less of a concern, but whatever the reason it made spying inside that much easier, which I always appreciate.

I really started to notice some great typography towards the end of our walk, which is always one of my favorite parts of any cemetery visit. There is a remarkable amount of variation from stone to stone in style, technique and materials which I find endlessly fascinating. I love sneaking cemetery visits into my trip itineraries—in East Hampton or Philadelphia or Sleepy Hollow—and I'm so grateful to have found someone who is game for a creepy little detour every now and then.

365 Project: Days 114-120

114/365: Jim and I went to a release party for the Human Being Journal on the LES and while I was waiting for him I picked up some cat-shaped macarons at the Meow Parlour Cafe.

115/365: Francesca and I met so many new friends at the Dachshund Spring Fiesta in Washington Square Park.

116/365: My dude and I had a very excellent day exploring the upstate town of Cold Spring and hiking up a pretty legit mountain. We saw a ton of these rock sculptures along the paths and they started to look like little cities and creatures.

117/365: Chubby, singing penguin socks just for fancy.

118/365: I explored the beautiful blooms at the Conservatory Garden in Central Park and soaked up the sun on my lunch break.

119/365: Francesca and I went to Chelsea Market only to find out the shop we wanted to see had closed 3 minutes before we got there. But it was a beautiful night so I walked across town, spying on the ESB and found some great shadows.

120/365: After being stuck inside all day, I had my first Mister Softee of the season—a very melted chocolate milkshake that was exactly what I dreamed it would be. I think this might actually be the first of my 365 posts to not include a single iPhone photo. It's been a goal of mine to use my "real" camera more often and to always try to take better quality photos. The year might be a third over, but better late than never, huh?

Conservatory Garden

The Conservatory Garden in Central Park is one of my very favorite places. Three years ago, the tulips there changed my life and it's been awing me in every season since. The flowers and trees around the city have been struggling a bit this year, however, with the cold weather lingering on ... and on and on.

I thought it was about time to check out what was blooming in the Conservatory Garden a few days ago during my lunch break, and I wasn't disappointed. The main circle of tulips—usually packed with multi-color flowers—was mostly filled with white daffodils. Daffodils aren't my favorite flowers, but en masse they really were beautiful.

The southern half of the garden is much more colorful and filled with tulips of all different colors currently in full bloom. I think I must have a sort of flower amnesia because every spring I'm amazed by the varieties and feel like it's my first time ever seeing most of them. I'm usually drawn to the darker, more somber colors but this time I couldn't get enough of the pale peach and yellow tulips.

The lilac trees (my favorite) are just barely beginning to bloom but they still smell incredible. The cherry blossoms are also a few weeks from peak bloom, but the pink magnolia trees are spectacular. I've already forgotten what it's like to feel desperately cold while dodging piles of frozen trash that covered the city this winter, which is certainly no small feat.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival: Part Three

When my sister first mentioned that there was a Renaissance fair(e) near her, I looked it up online and immediately knew that we had to go. One of the first things that sold me was the Mythical Monster Museum: "This walk through attraction is filled with all manner of monsters, from tiny fairies to mighty dragons. See the equipment and weapons used to slay and capture monsters!"

The fact that admission was only $3/person further sealed the deal. It appealed to my sister's love of monsters and mythical creatures, in addition to my love of all things ridiculous and it didn't disappoint on either front.

It was surprisingly packed and thorough for how small of a space it occupied and we spent a good amount of time going from room to room. Each mythical creature had a description and illustration on parchment, accompanying a specimen of some sort—we saw a unicorn skull, a siren skeleton, the tentacle of a kraken, a house elf that looked very much like a certain Harry Potter elf, a few gnomes, a Gru ("Sometimes, they kill people"), a yeti, various trolls, some werewolves and one horned, bearded creature that looked unnervingly like John Travolta (John Troll-volta was one of my best jokes of the day).

We joked as we walked through the museum about how disappointed we were that none of the specimens were real—but I guess any museum lucky enough to secure a real troll or vampire specimen would charge a lot more than $3 and probably wouldn't be located in a Renaissance fair(e) in the middle of Waxahachie, Texas.

Dachshund Fest 2015

Sometime last week the Lord planted a photo in Francesca's Instagram feed that mentioned the upcoming Dachshund Spring Fiesta in Washington Square Park. She showed it to me, we immediately made plans to go and on Saturday we met up prepared to see more wiener dogs in hot dog costumes than we could handle. Unfortunately we ended up seeing exactly zerodachshunds in buns—we squealed with joy upon thinking we had finally found one only to realize it was an impostor (chihuahua).

Other than the bun fiasco, however, the two-hour event was a complete and total delight. I kept repeating over and over "my mouth hurts from smiling so much," and there isn't a better way to describe how the gathering of so many dachshunds in one place made me feel.

I was surprised by the variety of colors and sizes on display, although I will always prefer my dachshunds miniature and short-haired. We did see some really unique color combinations, including the new-to-me "Isabella" (hi Big Al!) and a few all-black dachshunds that were really beautiful.

The weather was really beautiful on Saturday, and since the event started at noon the direct sunlight was causing the most amazing shadows. I became slightly obsessed with capturing the perfect wiener dog shadow—is there anything better than the classic shape of a dachshund?

Although not as perfect as buns, there were some pretty wonderful outfits—a Pope, a skunk, a reindeer, a three-headed, three-eyed dog, a motorcycle dude in a Harley jacket and jeans, and a variety of really adorable sweaters/sweatshirts.

I have always heard that dachshunds tend to be mean, but that wasn't our experience at all. Every dog we met was extremely friendly, happy and maybe just a bit overwhelmed by all the new friends in the park—which also does a good job of further explaining how Francesca and I felt when we left.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival: Part Two

Probably my favorite part about my first Renaissance Fair(e) experience was the incredible amount of hand-painted signage that covered every inch of the fair grounds. I'm a total sucker for hand-painted signs and there were so many good ones that I was constantly overwhelmed.

The directional signs were especially epic and we relied on them quite a few times since we cheaped out on buying the program that contained an actual map. The first sign we encountered upon entering the grounds let me know immediately that we were in for an entire day of fun—with things like falconry, a joust and living chess it was hard to pick what to do first.

The amazing food signs were definitely my favorite. Pretty much any type of food you wanted was available at the fair—sausage, chicken and even macaroni all came on a stick, including the slight variation, Steak on a Stake. Bonus points to the signs that included illustrations of the food, like the delicious-looking turkey legs, Medieval-Texan jalapeño and the unfortunately-named pork pocket.

There were so many great shops at the fair and each one had a unique sign. I love anything to do with magic, so the wand shop, fortune teller, mystic stones and apothecary signs were all favorites. The Fantasy Latex Ears were very intriguing and very expensive, although to be fair(e) I'm not really up on the current market-price of Elf Ears.

After being bummed out about missing the last turtle races for the day (buy the program, kids) my sister and I cheered up when we spotted the "Mawster of Turtles" sign and we couldn't stop saying it outloud in our best formal medieval accent (that's totally a thing) for the rest of my trip.

Part One

365 Project: Days 107-113

107/365: We took a leisurely stroll across the park as the sun was setting and it was pretty much perfect.

108/365:  We enjoyed the most beautiful Saturday with brunch at a great diner and walked and lounged in the sun in Prospect Park—with every single other person in Brooklyn.

109/365: I made it to the NYBG on the last day of the always-spectacular Orchid Show and caught some early cherry blossoms as a bonus.

110/365: I'm almost finished with Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory—Plum Island is right off the North Fork of Long Island—and it's such a good book I'm sad that it's coming to an end. Good thing I have a never-ending list of contenders for my next book (I also recently finished the New York Grimpendium—so good!).

111/365: The trees in my neighborhood suddenly burst into bloom and every street is a dream.

112/365: Jim and I checked another place off our list and met for dinner at Bamonte's, an Italian restaurant that has been in Williamsburg since 1900. It was delicious and we felt like we had wandered into a Godfather movie.

113/365: My hair is longer than it's been in years so I've been putting it in absurd little pony and pigtails // When I mentioned to Francesca that we had found a bone in Dinosaur Valley Park, she replied "But where will you put it—isn't your bone jar full?" I love that my friends know me well enough to casually reference my bone jar and I also love that in less than a year I've managed to collect enough bones—from Dead Horse Bay and East Hampton—to fill it.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival: Part One

When I visited my sister in Texas recently, we decided to go to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival, which is about an hour away from where she lives. Neither of us had ever been to a Renaissance fair(e) before, nor are we the type of people that would be particularly interested in participating in such events, but we were super excited to go.

We went mainly for the cultural observation of it all—and maybe partly so we could walk around gnawing on a turkey leg, day-drinking, yelling out things like "Huzzah!" and adding an extra "e" onto any word we felt like. We ended up doing all of those things and so much more—the fair covered 35 acres and even though we stayed until it closed for the night we still didn't see everything.

We missed the turtle races, the live chess and a few other shows because we never did cave and buy a map (by the end of the day we agreed that it probably would have been worth the $2.95), but we did see a joust, met some mermaids, watched half of a falconry show, rode an elephant (Hi Jean!), ate lunch and dinner (and dessert), drank some mead and still found ourselves surprised when it was closing time.

Magic wands, flower crowns, velvet-and-leather-everything, horns, furs, jewelry, pewter figurines and pretty much anything else you can think of was available at the fair. We didn't buy much but we could have browsed for days, imagining ourselves in chain mail, lace-up-boots and floor-length sleeves.

The turkey leg was everything we wanted it to be and more, and by the end of the night I was still carrying it around, photographing it in front of various Renaissance Fair staples—"Here's my turkey leg in front of the sign that says turkey legs!"—so very much worth the price of admission.

NYBG: Orchid Show 2015

Sunday was the last day for the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Gardens and I had been meaning to go for some time. I renewed my NYBG membership last Christmas and I try not to miss an opportunity to go. This was my third consecutive year seeing the Orchid Show, which is—in my opinion—their best show.

This year's show was set up a bit differently than the past two. The theme was "Chandeliers" and a lot of the orchids were arranged in large baskets dangling from the conservatory ceilings. It was also organized differently and took you through the entire conservatory space clockwise instead of counter-clockwise.

I was initially disappointed by the sparse and kind of shriveled up orchids, and I was afraid that waiting until closing day had been a mistake. But the reverse layout meant that they saved the best for last and it wasn't until the end of the show that I was as wowed as I had been the previous two years.

The orchid show is my favorite because it's a spectacular show, but also because after such long and brutal winters in the city, it is a very welcome jolt of color and a great way to shake off any residual winter blues. Very suddenly the entire city seems to be in bloom and I couldn't be happier that it's finally starting to look and feel like spring.

2013 Orchid Show / 2014 Orchid Show

365 Project: Days 100-106

100/365: I arrived at my sister's for a four-day visit with her, my brother-in-law, niece and their incredible dog Penny. I already miss smushing my face into her adorable, wrinkly puppy cheeks.

101/365: My sister and I went to our first-ever Renaissance Fair(e) and it was so much fun. We watched a joust, sipped on mead, shared a turkey leg, rode an elephant and stayed until it closed for the night.

102/365: We went hiking in Dinosaur Valley State Park and saw relics from the World's Fair as well as tracks from actual dinosaurs—we even found a bone for my bone collection (see below) and stopped at Sonic on the way home (aka a perfect day).

103/365: I got home late Monday night and couldn't help but take inventory of my souvenirs, including a bone (possibly from a coyote?), smushed penny, floaty pen, pewter skull and gummy chicken feet.

104/365: Speaking of souvenirs, I received this amazing gator-toenail keychain from an equally amazing dude after he returned from a trip of his own.

105/365: Francesca and I found a strawberry that was too cute to eat, so we stuck googly eyes on him. Then shoes. Then gave him a party hat, a balloon, a shortbread cake (with Q-tip candles on a jam jar table with a napkin tablecloth), two presents and a birthday banner—because it seemed like the thing to do.

106/365: My hair is getting longer // I love this sweater.

World's Fair Dinosaurs

I spent last weekend in Texas visiting my sister, brother-in-law and niece and on Sunday we took a trip to Dinosaur Valley State Park. My sister had been telling me about the park for a while, mainly because they have two of the fiberglass dinosaurs from the Sinclair Oil "Dinoland" exhibit at the 1964/65 World's Fair (held in Queens). It would be an understatement to say that I'm interested in all things World's Fair-related—and I'm especially obsessed with visiting pieces and buildings that had once been a part of the fair (see previous posts about the World's Fair here).

The Dinoland exhibit included nine life-sized dinosaurs in total, all of which were barged down the Hudson River on their way to Queens—what I wouldn't give to be able to watch that happen. Dinosaur Valley State Park has the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Apatosaurus, the latter being the dino featured prominently in the Sinclair Oil logo.

It was so amazing to finally meet these two cool dudes in person after hearing about them for so long, and they were even better than I expected. They were really large and intricate, but felt surprisingly light when we touched them (if touching is allowed... if not, then they just looked really light).

I do think it's funny that I had to go all the way to Glenn Rose, Texas to see another piece of a World's Fair that took place in New York. After the fair, the dinosaurs went on tour—including an appearance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade—and then they all went in various directions. I now have an unbearable urge to go visit all the others—except the Ornitholestes, which was apparently stolen. Although it disappoints the completionist in me, anyone who manages to successfully steal a life-size dinosaur probably deserves to keep it.

And if these photos of me and my sister and niece are any indication, we learned that I'm probably the last person you would want with you during a sudden dinosaur attack.