Doing our own Thang and Coney Island

Lance has continued to be busy-busy, and we have continued to have fun-fun. He penciled us in for lunch, and we were able to get a great view of the new building at Ground Zero from Jersey City.

Little lady enjoyed her grilled cheese sandwich. But she enjoyed banging on the metal table even more.

Lancer went into Manhattan while B took a nap, and then we packed up to hit the mean streets of JC with just the two of us. I found a little playground nestled amongst all of the the tall buildings, and B ran around and got her wiggles out.

Which was awesome, because I really needed to spend some quality time at the Newport mall. I've never met a mall that I didn't like.

I'm in desperate need of some new foundation and eye shadow, and I almost dipped into Sephora to get some.

Then I remembered what the stars of Jerseylicious look like--they run a beauty salon for crying out loud. So I decided to just get my supplies back in California.


Today we decided to head over to Coney Island--famous for being the site of the very first Nathan's hot dog stand. And also famous for guidos and women in ill-fitting bikinis. About 99% of the women should have traded their bikinis for a tankini or mumu. Just sayin.

This is also where the famous hot dog eating championship is held every year. Tasty!

The place was PACKED, and everyone was acting as if they had never eaten a hot dog in their life.

We quickly found out why--those puppies were DELICIOUS! I had a cheese dog with grilled onions, and Lancer had a traditional dog with dijon. We're believers. Lancer also gave the lemonade a thumbs up.

After eating atop a trash can (wish I were kidding) we headed up to the boardwalk to take in the Coney Island experience.

It's not the best NY has to offer. But it's super fun, kitschy, and something everyone should do at least once.

I don't who this guido bird is, but B loved him. Good enough.

I took my chances and asked the great and mighty Zoltar my future. Kidding! I didn't want to end up in a child's body, like Big in reverse. 6th grade was insufferable the first time around, thank you very much.

Lance went head to head with this juicehead and came out victorious. He was the 8th grade arm wrestling champion. Ask him all about it next time you see him. He beams with bride when recounting the tale.

I'd like to think the quarter required to gain entry into the bathrooms helped with the quality and cleanliness, but I'm guessing this is not actually the case.

We dropped a twenty (!!) to ride the world famous Wonder Wheel. It gave great views of everything around us, including Manhattan.






After a few hours in the sun, we hopped back on the subway and made our way back to Manhattan to meet up with friends for dinner. We had dinner with them a few years back when we visited the first time. B had skipped both her naps, and was in full meltdown mode. I didn't want to torture poor Lane with another table full of spilled water, so I pushed her around this loud market, hoping the noise and movement would lull her to sleep, and ensure a peaceful meal. It totally worked. While she snoozed, we sat on a stoop and practiced our guido talk. I'm surprisingly convincing.

We enjoyed a nice, peaceful-ish, and delicious Thai dinner at Noodie's Thai in Hell's Kitchen. Lancer and I split the papaya salad, and I had chicken pad thai.

After dinner, we headed over to Grom Gelato @ Columbus Circle. Very tasty! It's very much the kind of dessert Lance would choose. It's all natural and low in sugar. I got the hazelnut and chocolate. He got the raspberry and chocolate with hazelnut pieces.

Gelato in hand, we walked over to Central Park, and caught up with our old friends. I totally suckered Blakely into showering Britton with hugs and kisses. If you're lucky enough to know him, you know why this is funny.

And that's that. If you'll excuse me, I have to go wash the Coney Island off. I think it will call for extra soap.