The Halloween Parade

There is an annual parade in Greenwich Village (NYC) that is rumored to be the best Halloween party on this coast. So, I decided I had to check it out. There were people spilling onto every sidewalk and street - I could not believe it! I saw some pretty cool costumes, but this guy definitely won my "best makeup" award.

Washington Crossing

Teej and I visited Washington Crossing while he was visiting. Thie is where Washington crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776. It's a beautiful park, especially in the fall. We crossed the river into Pennsylvania, where we enjoyed hot spiced cider and I annoyed Teej by asking silly questions like "The river isn't that wide - why didn't they just swim across?" This incensed TJ, as he pointed to the exhibitions of cannons in the visitor's center: "With those?!" he replied.

























The next day we went to the Brooklyn Museum for an amazing exhibit on Edward Burtynsky recommended by Daniel. It's there until January, so if you can - go check it out! Afterward we took a quick spin around Prospect Park, and it was a really beautiful time of day, where the leaves were absolutely glowing.

Liberty and Cheesesteaks

I awoke on a rainy Saturday morning and decided to hop on the train and visit Philadelphia. I had been there once, about ten years ago, but didn't see much except the University of Pennsylvania and taste test Geno's and Pat's (rivals that are across the street from each other) cheesesteaks. Of course, I no longer fancy real cheesesteaks, so an entirely different itinerary was planned for the day. I started off at the Independence Mall, where I saw the Liberty Bell live and in person!










The Liberty Bell







After touring Congress Hall, I also saw Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written (but only from the outside, as all the tour tickets were gone for the day).





Independence Hall

I then proceeded to JFK Plaza ("Love Park") to see Robert Indiana's "LOVE" sculpture. It was cool that I could see the reflection of the sculpture in the slick concrete (see picture).









Love Statue







JFK Plaza is kitty corner to City Hall, so I also saw City Hall, looming into the gray foggy sky.



City Hall









On my way to have some dinner, I passed by a Tower Records. If you know me well, you know I couldn't resist popping in and having a listen to some CDs. Of course, I can lose myself for quite some time browsing about and listening here and there, and I did just that. I also didn't get out of there without buying something. Saturday's purchase was a double CD, Paul van Dyk's "The Politics of Dancing 2". I then headed over to Gianna's Grille for a killer vegan cheesesteak (eat your heart out, Geno & Pat!) and picked up some cupcakes to go.









Gianna's











Cupcakes

Turn! Turn! Turn!

Though the leaves have already turned in New England, the buggers are just beginning to catch fall fever here in New Jersey. Since I'm a native Californian, I'm observing the color changes with wide eyes.
I thought I'd share the beginning of the color change with everyone. I'm going hiking this weekend, so I hope to have some more dramatic pictures to share with you soon. These are just from my walk to work this morning.






The color is just beginning to lick the fingers of the tree branches here.








I like this little tree because it shows a lovely progression of red, amber and green...you can really see the transition of colors nicely.











This tree is across the street from my work...this red looks really lovely in the mid-day sunlight. This shot was taken at about 8:30am.

The Village on a Thursday

Last night I decided to hop the train to New York to catch a musician, Mike Errico, I've been wanting to see live since I saw him live in Los Angeles. I decided to grab some dinner at Kate's Joint in the east village, a place with lots of good vegetarian and vegan eats. My dessert was an AMAZING "cheesecake." On the way to the Living Room to catch Mike's set, I saw this on Ludlow Street. It caught my fancy, so I took a photo (I borrowed Teej's digital camera for a little while, so I can document my life).













In fact, there's actually a website about this Shampoozled business. Weird... I'm not totally certain what it is.
I got to the living room and caught Mike's set. Mike has this amazing HUGE soulful voice. Stream his music at his website, www.errico.com.













Mike Errico - sorry the picture is blurry. I never said I was a great photographer!

Brunch

On Sunday, Keri hosted a brunch for me and her friend from work. I was in charge of the hash browns, and Keri made vegan biscuits and "sausage" gravy. Delicious! Coffee and orange juice completed the hours-long brunch, which was perfect for a chilly Sunday morning/afternoon.


Keri with her rockin' gravy boat, and me with the plate of biscuits (believe it or not, these were the leftovers - the three of us ate about that much before the picture was taken!).







My empty plate, after a large serving of hash browns, and 4 biscuits and gravy (I overloaded my poor tummy!).

Cousins are friends

I love this drawing. You can find it on a kids shirt at www.feelgoodtees.com




















This is Anita (my cousin) and I's version of this: "Cousins are friends!"

Washington D.C.

Teej and I wanted to participate in the anti-war demonstration that was to take place on Sat Sept 24, so we headed down on Friday morning since neither of us had been to D.C. We got there shortly after noon, and headed to Java Green, a vegetarian/vegan coffee shop and lunch place. We then walked from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capital, (2 miles) stopping at the Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, the new WWII memorial, the National Gallery sculpture garden, and the Washington Monument. It was a hot day, so we were pretty tired at that point.



Teej and I, Washington Monument in background

Washington Monument with an awesome sky

For dinner we went to Soul Veg, a vegan soul food place near Howard University. Mac N'Cheese is their speciality, and man, it is GOOD! We then headed up to the Baltimore area to visit with Bill, a friend I hadn't seen in 5 years (and Teej had never met). It was great to catch up. If only Bill's wife Amanda (also a friend I haven't seen in 5 years) was around, it would have been perfect. But I'll get to see her soon.

The next day was the protest, which was so inspiring. 100,000+ people out there with their energy and belief in a better and more peaceful world. Afterward we went to Ella's woodfired pizza, whereyou can get any of their pizzas with vegan soy cheese. We had some yummy pizza, and decided to be mellow for the rest of the day, but first stopped by Sticky Fingers, a totally vegan bakery, to pick up vegan soft serve, a delicious ding-dong type treat, and sticky buns for the next morning. We also picked up cupcakes for Amanda and Bill to enjoy.




















This was one of my favorite signs - revived from the Vietnam war protests.
















Anyone recognize Teej's sideburns? :)

Sunday was spent exploring and volunteering at the Green Festival, an annual festival that started in San Francisco (this was its 2nd year in D.C.) dedicated to social justice, sustainable living/economy, and ecological balance. This is an amazing event!