NYC Days 1 and 2, plus misc pics from before the trip, and a book review

{ed. note: no pics were photoshopped for this post}

 The future's so bright, THB has to wear shades

yep, another root canal, in the modern world this time: lasered!

Days 1 and 2: NYC

veggie lunch on Alaska Airlines

polar route?

maybe not

THB and DB are staying at the Mandarin Oriental at Columbus Circle, it is Asia week and part of the  stay is 50% off an expensive room rate

Day 2: THB goes walking with Matt Green, a guy that is just a few blocks short of walking every street in NYC. He's got a documentary from 2018, The World Before Your Feet, and a blog with a mere 13.5K+ entries (and it is not up-to-date!), Imjustwalking 

THB takes the 1 line from 59th to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal at foot of Manhattan. Subway = $2.95, ferry free during non-rush hours

Is the hotel next to the ferry terminal related to Cipriani in Venice?

Matt is an expert on all and THB means ALL) things NYC. He is also very gracious in keeping his info sharing to the point and succinct, a great combo. New courthouse on the island

THB also has a keen eye: this is a SI Cult tree

Matt recognizes this fetish: something from Sponge Bob (no relation to Trail Head Bob)

Note the End sign: this street used to have a giant tree at the bottom of the street in the middle of street

A local preservation area turned into a mini-park by some nearby residents

A view if the Verrazano Bridge (which allows cars to drive over to Staten Island from Brooklyn) and where THB slipped and fell. Only Matt was hurt as he got slapped (inadvertently) in an unsuccessful attempt to keep THB from making contact with the ground. 

there's another more famous American flag painter from Staten Island

our lunch spot: Lakruwana, Sri Lanka fare

buffet is a big hit on weekends (n/a on weekdays)

these menus have become obsolete: during Covid Lakruwana switched over to QR code menus)

all veggie dishes for us, Matt has been a vegetarian since he was 17 and THB has been one since just now)

along the waterfront back to the ferry

Matt's girlfriend noticed that a local bread store (which carries bread from a number of local bakeries) was discarding their leftovers at the end of thee day. After some maneuvering, they figured out how to move the "day olds" to either a community distribution site or a local pantry (like a food bank?) using friends if they weren't available for the nightly pick-up. Of course, Matt had to sample the leftovers to ensure quality, and decided Amy's semolina, raisin, and fennel loaf won top honors (it is in one of the blue wrappers; all the bread comes wrapped from the manufacturers)

Dinner at Momofuku's Noodle Bar, in the same building as the Mandaring Oriental (51 floors down from our room). We've wanted to eat here every time we came to NY and this time DB made it happen.

Draft beer stopped working "yesterday"...yeah,  right!

hamachi crudo...very good

cucumber salad

mushroom bun: terrific

pork belly bun: not real fatty taste, pretty good

chicken garlic noodles with cold toppings, a dish too far, no room for the soft serve dessert

communal tables accommodate many a walk-in

Book  Review

The Great Oklahoma Swindle: Race, Religion, and Lies in America's Weirdest State, Russell Cobb (narrated by Lloyd James): recently, THB has read about the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, the Killing Flowers Of The Moon retelling of the white "guardians" stealing and killings of Indian to get their head rights, and the running into the ground the health and education budgets of the state by government officials. Does that make Oklahoma weird or just plain racist in the mold of the Deep South states? THB thinks it makes them racists. 

Emeryville's largest parking garage: 1000s of spaces, no public parking

Storm damage: this tree was left on its side, a number were replanted

J (age 6) vs THB (age older than 6)

And for a more risque chess match photo between the sexes: 

Eve Babitz and Marcel Duchamp playing chess

LB ordered groceries' on-line at the Prunedale Safeway: a few minutes go by

no bags come out from the back

the online ordering dept hasn't got the message

this guy calls several times: no response

how much later? 20 minutes or so, 2 small bags on a big cart

More Baja pics, taken by expedition team 

snorkeling with sea lion pup

More like the bored and the whiners

J in hip hop class, at least 3 boys also there

Carmel beach has no sand and none expected back for several seasons. This is beach just north of Monterey, a bit convoluted to get to through a development

THB is afraid to press the buttons to access his smart phone because he can't tell if the fact that that he sees some numbers and not others is an Emergency