I spent the Labor Day weekend in Syracuse, New York. I was in the area for the New York State Fair. Over the weekend Third Eye Blind and American Idol both had concerts in town. The first Syracuse University football game also took place. Needless to say, there was a lot going on.
I didn't make it backstage at either concert. Stephen Jenkins, the lead singer for Third Eye Blind did come by the go-go to check it out. I am happy to report I did find a way into the exhibitor's area at the State Fair. I knew you would all be jealous so I took some pictures for you.
There is always someone who is 'that guy', here he is-
The words 'Off site meeting" are now music to my ears. I recieved word last Wednesday to stay in New York and not to hit the road as planned. I was told we were going to have a team meeting and it would take place on Fire Island. I was familiar with the island off the southern coast of Long Island as I had been there once before. It is beautiful and this was such a great mid-week suprise.
Thursday morning we hopped into a van and headed to the water. A few hours and a great boat ride later we were there. We spent the day at a beautiful home and got to know each other a bit better. It was a perfect day and a nice way to kick off the long weekend which most of us would spend working.
I hope you all had a great Fourth of July. It was a little rainy here in New York but that didn't seem to matter. I was stationed at Jones Beach, on Long Island, New York. I am not familiar with Long Island or any of the beaches out there. I was excited to go.
In the true spirit of the holiday I got up at the crack of dawn to get to the beach and get the best spot. Once I finally navigated through the treacherous New York truck routing system, I arrived at Jones Beach. The whole area is designated as a State Park and seems to be well maintained. The event was organized with a ton of parking attendants. I was one of the first to arrive. I bought my parking pass and was all set for the prime beach front spot. I thought to myself, Not a bad was to spent the 4th, especially since I was working. Well, things didn't go as planned (They never do). I found the best lot and drove to the ticket booth. The attendant informed me that no RV's would be allowed on the beach side today. I was pretty bummed, especially since I was the only one there.
Moving on, I found another good spot on the other side of the highway. I was setup right by the tunnel which everyone must walk through to get to the beach. It was by a nice park and proved to be a popular spot.
Since the Jones Beach fireworks were canceled due to rain, here is a look at the New York City display:
Thanks to all the people I met and whom were so kind on Independence Day.
The W Hotels of New York were the official hotel of Gay Pride N.Y.C. As a part of the W Hotel's support for Pride and diversity they had a float in the parade this past weekend. I was asked to drive the aloft Jeep and tow the float. I had heard the Pride parade was the best in New York so I was excited about the opportunity.
So I showed up at the cite to get the float and start the parade early Sunday morning. We were hanging out, checking out the other floats, and killing time a bit. We decided to get out the bracelets we were going to throw to the crowd and noticed a problem. The bracelets were all individually wrapped! There were 10,000 individually wrapped bracelets. We were no longer killing time. We spent the next few hours frantically unwrapping the bracelets. It was really pretty funny. Everyone was helping out, even the dancers. We got them done in time and they were a huge hit.
This was my first Pride parade and will be a hard one to follow. It was a great day. The parade path cut all the way down Manhattan and ended in the West Village. It was so neat to see the huge turnout. Over a million people came out to see the parade. Everyone was just there to have fun and enjoy the day.
Thought I hate to do this, I guess I am obligated. I was caught and have been posted to You Tube. Here's all the shamefully footage:
As expected, the Mermaid Day Parade at Coney Island, NY, was a bit bizarre. The crowd was huge. Everything was shut down for the parade. Coney Island is an old amusement park on the beach on the southern tip of Brooklyn. Each year they have a Mermaid Parade to celebrate the start of summer. The parade mostly consisted of people dressed as mermaids, lighthouses, sea creatures, and random unrelated homemade costumes.
The main staple of Coney Island is the Cyclone, an old wooden roller coaster. I decided to take the ride and try to get a video for the blog. Great idea... right? I have not been on a roller coaster in a while and didn't remember how rough they really are. I spent the whole ride clinching my camera and sunglasses while trying not to fall out of the darn thing. It was so fast and rough! To make the experience a bit more surreal I had heard rumors of the ride closing at the end of the year due to safety concerns. Man, the things I do for this blog!
Since I lived in the mountains of Colorado I have not been a huge professional sports fan. When in that part of the country I was consumed by actually doing the sports. Things have changed, I'm in the big city now. As a part of that, I can enjoy professional sports again.
I was invited to go to a Mets game last week. I knew of the rivalry which exists between Mets and Yankees but wow, it's intense. We were wearing Mets clothes as to try and look like real fans. My friends let me borrow a button. It might have been the first button I've worn since I was 7 years old. On the way to the game it was amazing to experience the response from people. We got a lot of "Go Mets," and obviously some less enthusiastic comments from Yankees fans. The Mets were playing the Diamondbacks and we were able to buy tickets for 10 bucks when we got there.
We had a great time at the game. I need to go to a Yankees game now to establish where my loyalties will lie.
Soho, or south of Houston, is one of the trendiest places in the world. There are really cool shops, galleries, and yes... people. I was invited to take the go-go to an event called gathering on Greene." This was a block party to celebrate the success of the businesses in the area. We teamed up with City Magazine and threw a great party.
We were so busy I didn't get a lot of pictures but here's a few.
The day finally came, the one I had been dreading yet knew would happen. I was asked to take the go-go to Manhattan. I was scared to death. Now that I had been driving in the city for a few days I was getting more comfortable but never would I be ready to drive an RV in one of the busiest cities in the country.
I knew it would take a while since I had to take the truck route and it was Friday afternoon. IT TOOK 5 HOURS!! I'm not kidding nor am I exaggerating. It was horrible. Jill took me way out of the way and traffic was horrible. I saw two stalled 18 wheelers, two ambulances and a car fire.
Eventually I made it there and the event went really well. Union Square is a great location and tons of people came by.
So I am back in New York. This is my home base and I will be stationed here for the next year whenever I am not out on the road. It feels nice to be in one location for more than a few days. I actually unpacked my car (this took a while!). Being back in the city I have been able to settle in. I have done some of those normal people things like... go to the gym. I've been joking with my coworkers that I should start a pool to see who can guess how much weight I will gain this year. It's going to be tough- there's a lot of fast food out there.
I went to Central park last weekend. It was a beautiful day and we went to an area called "Sheep's Fields," I think. It's a really large open field surrounded by trees. It was so relaxing- I thought I had forgotten how to so that. One of the reasons I love New York is because people feel so free to be themselves. This guy felt like blowing bubbles, so he did.
I've had the chance to spend time in a real office while I have been here. Can you believe some people do their work at some piece of crazy furniture called a "desk?" Apparently not all people use their laptops while stuck in traffic or their spare hotel bed to get their work done. How crazy is that?
Here are a few pictures of the W and aloft headquarters and a few suckers who agreed to be in the blog (I mean...thanks guys).
These pictures were taken last Friday (maybe that's why everyone looks so darn happy). Yep, Martha and Tommy- In the House!
So the office is in a pretty swanky location. No one seems impressed- but I've been scouting the lunch area and keeping my camera close by. I haven't had any luck yet but look who I parked next to:
So, here's the plan. I will be on the Martha Stuart show wearing Tommy Hilfiger by the end of the year. I don't care how much I have to hang out in the lunch area, I'm going to make this happen.
Martha, Tommy- Were neighbors, let's make this work.
Here's a few more random shots from this week in NYC:
I will be around the W Union Square the rest of the week. Come by and say hi, I'll give you a free ride in the Jeep. Also, I will be at the W Union Square with the go-go on Thursday and over on Green Street Sunday. See you there.
