Crop Dusting New York City

Hi Bloggy Friends,

Last Saturday I took an overnight trip to New York City with my friends Julia and Holly. Things have been hectic for all of us lately, so we thought a nice getaway would do us worlds of good.

We were carted there on the second level of a double-decker MegaBus, which dropped us off on the corner of 7th Ave. and 28th St. in Chelsea. From there we didn't waste any time before hitting up a few galleries in the Village, a smelly anarchist book fair in Greenwich and finally the latest exhibit at one of my favorite contemporary art venues, the New Museum. We covered a lot of ground within the first few hours of our arrival, but after trudging from neighborhood to neighborhood wearing heavy backpacks, we decided to hop on the Metro for our resting place in Brooklyn.

Julia's friend Ashley (or Shlee) was kind enough to let us crash at her spacious, three bedroom apartment in Clinton Hill. She's busy finishing up her second semester as a grad student at the Pratt Institute, but that didn't keep her from being a fantastically attentive and gracious host. We were all so grateful to have a cozy place to stay.

Despite feeling a bit weary, we didn't wait three seconds before tearing into two bottles of wine - one for Julia and one for the rest of us. When the buzz started to kick we started thrashing through our bags for what we were going to wear out on the town that night. We were supposed to go to a Baroque party in the Village where everyone would be dressed like Marie Antoinette, so I put on something Parisian and hairsprayed the holy hell out of my hair until it looked like I had stuck my finger in an electric socket. Holly twisted buns on each side of her head and wore something totally mismatched, Shlee threw on a dress that could have come from the Golden Girls wardrobe department and Julia, being the smooth operator she always is, just kept it simple and cool.

The night unfortunately didn't get as wild as we planned. I blame starting with red wine. The Baroque party was as lame as an outgoing President and the next bar we went to, Double Down Saloon, was decent at best. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of great moments, but things just didn't reach that pinnacle of crazy you tend to expect from a night in the Big Apple. My favorite part of the evening was spent chatting in a diner over pistachio milkshakes and three open-faced reuben sandwiches. This was the first time I'd eaten meat in ages. I loved every single chomp, but it may explain the nonstop crop dusting. Whoopsie!

That night I slept rather comfortably on a blown up air mattress in Shlee's living room. In the morning we had a magnificently priced brunch in Williamsburg - $12 for an entree, a mimosa or bloody mary and all the coffee you could stand. I opted for the eggs benedict, a mimosa and a single cup of java. Good brunch with the best of company equals heaven - and a few more dusted crops.

Afterward, we thrift shopped in Williamsburg before heading to Central Park to kill time until our bus departed. While there Holly, being the adventure-seeker she is, joined a team of potheads for a hilarious game of kick ball. Julia and I watched from a bench like a couple of lazy bitches. Our bus pulled out around 7 p.m. from Penn Station. A great time was had by all.

I hope you have a great night.

Love, Josh