Cali

#30: Part 2

This post isn't quite on my 30 Before 30 list, but it’s technically an extension of #30. After successfully seeing the sunrise in NYC and the sunset in SF on the same day, I spent a few days in Napa and San Fran (apparently a term only used by tourists).

Anyone in NYC and the Northeast can understand the brutal winter we've been having. Freezing temps and snow galore. Being an upstate girl this is something I grew up used to, however my last 5 years in NYC have been relatively mild. But not this year! So when the opportunity to go see California sunshine—I was like "hell yeah!"

After flying in on Wednesday and seeing a beautiful sunset, it rained 3 days in a row in Napa! Excuse me!? One morning it was 36 degrees! Meanwhile, a beautiful early spring was hitting the East Coast—getting up to 60 degrees!

So what's a girl to do? Well go drink wine in one of the most famous valleys in the world of course. So my brother Zach and I checked out Bounty Hunter in town and also went to Clos de Val and Black Stallion on the Silverado Trail. We also had to a drive-by of Darioush (see Persian architecture below).

Our cousin Tyler also gave us a private tour of Newton where he works. We got up and personal with the wine making process if you know what I mean.

After lots on vino we decide to switch it up and headed into San Fran to meet up with friends and drink a few beers. Well at least that is what I was doing. We had a good time partying it West Coast style. The bars closed early! No 4am night in SF.

Luckily the weather decided to clear up and get a bit warmer over the next couple of days. We checked out the coast at Lincoln Park, got ice cream at Ghirardelli (it was still a bit chilly for ice cream but I had to have it), walked around Fisherman's Wharf, and went running in a T-shirt and shorts! The first time since November!

Last on the agenda was grabbing dinner with an old high school friend, Kristi. We caught up on our each other's lives and enjoyed some good seafood on the Wharf. Good times.

As with any good vacation, there must be something that goes a bit haywire. Well it turned out my 9-hour red-eye return trip turned into a 14.5 hour trip. Ugh. My flight in SF was delayed which of course caused me miss my connecting flight in Detroit. I finally get on a flight hours later and landed in Newark 3 hours after I was originally supposed. But wait its not over. I wait for the Air Train and that takes forever to come. Then we hang out on that for a while. I finally make it to NJ Transit (within Newark Airport still). Where I just make it on the train. BUT then we hang out in the depths of Jersey for a while. We stop and don't move. And don’t move. And don’t move some more. Then we finally do move and it sounds like we are on the wrong tracks. I thought the train was going to fall apart. Then we move backwards towards Newark. Seriously!? Finally 2.5 hours after I landed at Newark I finally make it to Manhattan. Needless to say I was a bit cranky after that whole ordeal.

But the actual vacation was a lot of fun and for the most part relaxing. Except I’ve brought the cold weather back to NYC.

Now to plan my next trip. Maybe Asia?

P.S. 9 months until my deadline.

Sunrise to Sunset: NYC to SF

#30

So how did #30 become the last goal on my list? Well when I was googling ideas, I saw this and really liked the idea of seeing the sunrise and sunset on two different coasts in the same day. Our country is pretty cool and the two coasts are definitely different, seeing the sunrise in New York City and watching the sunset over the Pacific really appealed to me. Since it was #30 on my list, it actually would have been a really cool way to finish off my list—a grand finale if you will. But my birthday is on Thanksgiving, and spending that day on a plane didn’t sound that great to me. Another thought was to go in June. I mean when else can you guarantee the sun will actually be out on both coasts, but the middle of the summer?

Well neither of those options happened. My brother Zach decided he was going out to Napa to hang out with our cousin Tyler for a bit, and I figured I’d tag along. And that is what I did. Zach made his way from Nantucket to NYC to accompany me on my goal. We would see the sunrise in NYC and then fly to San Francisco to see the sunset.

So as I was thinking about accomplishing this, I was trying to come up with a theme. Do I do ocean to ocean? Maybe skyline to skyline? Or iconic bridge to iconic bridge? I decided Rockway, Jones, and Long Beach was too far to travel and then get to the airport—I was flying out of JFK, and Zach out of Laguardia. I thought bridge to bridge was the best option, but also representative of the 2 coasts.

Now my next concern was weather. As with any other time I’m going on vacation, I’m stalking weather.com to make sure I’m packing correctly (mostly to make sure I have the proper running gear). Well NYC looked promising… sunny, but cold. Now California, unfortunately, was becoming an issue. I thought NYC was going to pose the problem. I mean it is February. With my luck, there’d be a blizzard. But nope, NYC was cool….however a storm decided to hit the west coast. Not cool. But I was still optimistic.

So Wednesday morning rolled around—5am to be exact. Not an ideal time to wake up on your first day of vacation, but I had a goal to check off. We made our way on the subway and got to the Brooklyn Bridge in record time. The sunrise was beautiful and freezing—29 degrees to be exact. Very quiet. But nice. We enjoyed the sunrise with a few other New Yorkers who were running along the FDR (talking about the upcoming Al Gordon race in Central Park) and doing Tai Chai. After the sun came up and we took a few more pics, we made our way back on the subway with the rush hour crowd and got to our perspective airports.

Many hours later, we find ourselves in San Francisco. Our cuz Tyler picked us up and we made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge. My younger brother and cousin were definitely humoring me, but all in good fun. We went to the south side and the sun wasn’t going to set over the bridge. So then we made our way to the north side. No luck. Well my bridge-to-bridge theme was a bust. Now it was time to readjust. We instead made our way up the hills of Fort Baker to watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. It was actually a nice adjustment. Very pretty views of the ocean, and of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Fran behind us. And I got lucky with the weather. Yeah, it was still a bit chilly—about 20 degrees warmer than NYC—but windy, with no clouds. Just as the sun was setting, a cloud appeared, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

 

I’m happy to say I have successfully checked #30 off my list. Especially now that is has rained in Napa for the last 2 days…

On Target

#16

I have never shot a real gun. A squirt gun--yes. A paint gun--yes. The Duck Hunt gun--yes. A BB gun--I think so. I grew up in a house full of shot guns. Before you think we are a bunch of hicks shooting people off our property, my dad hunted every fall. Come the beginning of hunting season in November, my dad and eventually my brothers we're going out back (in our 100-acre woods). Not sure why my sisters or I did not go hunting with our dad. Maybe mom wouldn't let him. Maybe we weren't interested. Maybe dad didn't think we should. Who knows. I know plenty of women who've hunted in their lives, including my grandma and aunt.

Nonetheless, I have never shot a real gun. When I was coming up with this 30 list, this wasn't initially on it. It’s not something I've always wanted to do. But I saw it on someone's list and my friend Donna had wanted to do it, so I figured, why not?

This past Saturday, my friends Donna, Pam, Elida and Silvia joined me at the West Side Pistol Range in the Flatiron District. We were all a bit nervous about shooting a gun for the first time. When we first entered, we could hear gunshots being fired!  

We took a quick tutorial, where we learned about the makings of the .22 rifle, how to load it, and how to stand when shooting. You know, the basics. Once we were done, we were officially ready to shoot the rifle! We were given 50 rounds to shoot over the course of 2 sessions.

We donned our stylish earphones and made our way into the booths. The gun was definitely a bit heavy to hold, but fun to shoot with. I did alright for the first target, which was about 50 feet away. The second time we went, the target went all the way against the back wall, about 100 feet away. Of course, I was aiming a bit high, when I should have been lower for the first few rounds. But then I aimed correctly and got some right in the middle.

I think most of us were in agreement that shooting a gun at a target was somewhat soothing. Since this was the first time for all of us, we weren’t exactly expert marksman. Except for Pam. Apparently she’s an NRA member. Most of her shots were definitely on target.

And now we can go back for another few sessions in the next few months since we are officially a part of the 3-month Rifle Club. No lesson required. Although next time it would be cool to shoot a pistol and maybe do it outdoors. To do that, we may need to get out of NYC, since the NYPD does not allow that. You’d end up on the 11 o’clock news.

Four Very Cute Firemen

This blog post has nothing to do with my 30 Before 30 list, but I have been getting a lot of encouragement to add this to my list today, and then to check it off immediately. Plus you can all read about my shocking night and I won’t have to explain it a million times.

After 2 days of hanging out in Radnor, PA for a client meeting, I drove back to my office in NYC. I dropped off the car, sent out a few emails, and shut down my computer. A few coworkers and I decide to head to a local watering hole for a little bit, and then move on to another bar in Union Square. We decide to hoof it and made our way to 14th Street and University Place. Well the little white man in the yellow box says we can cross the street, so of course we begin to cross over heading towards the Bank of America on the corner. My friend Leia is in front of me and my friends Geetika, Tiffany, and Helen are behind me.

To give you a good mental picture of the actual scene, I’m wearing boots with heels, a skirt, and of course my winter jacket. To complete the ensemble, I’m carrying my purse (and as you all know, us girls like to carry our life in our purses) and my overnight, bright yellow, Lululemon bag. This obviously isn’t the ideal outfit for what happens next.

I’m halfway across the street and notice this large, black SUV turning towards me. As any other New Yorker, I’m expecting him to stop at the crosswalk. I look at the car and see that it’s getting closer. Ok no biggie, he’ll stop soon. But no he didn’t.

I realized he wasn’t stopping and started to turn to get out of the way, but I couldn’t get out of its deathly path in time. The guy (who shall remain nameless) doesn’t see me and hits me on my right side and I go flying. Luckily he stopped (as if any of this story is lucky) and didn’t run me over. All of a sudden, I’m lying in the middle of

14^th Street

with my friends huddled around me, my bags discarded, and a crowd of New Yorkers beginning to form.

People take immediate action, telling me not to move, calling 911, and taking photos of the guy’s license plate. The guy gets out of his car saying he didn’t see me, so apparently he is either blind or was on the phone. Both illegal.

We hear sirens as my friends are comforting me on the curb and we think that the ambulance is approaching. Instead, a fire truck turns the corner. We assume there must be a fire somewhere, but nope. They were there for me! And lucky me, 4 very cute FDNY firemen get out of the truck to see if I was alright. I tried to flirt a bit, but I was suffering from shock, so was not at my peak flirting potential. In hindsight, I definitely wished I had mentioned #8 on my list so I could get a date. But alas, no date with the hot firemen…

NYPD gets there, the ambulance arrives, and there are now a lot more people hanging out and now blocking off the street. Talk about a quick response! Good thing this wasn’t during the Holiday Blizzard! We were invited to get out of the cold and hang out in the ambulance for a few minutes where we had a mini photoshoot. After the paperwork was filled out, we were on our way. I definitely needed a drink after that!

Unfortunately I’m not a superhero and am feeling a bit sorer today. My new goal #32 of getting hit by a car has officially made it to the list!

Guest Blog

I’ve been blogging about my 30 Before 30 list for just over a month and was just a guest blogger on a new friend’s blog! I'm pretty excited. Yeah, I’m still a newbie and think it’s pretty cool.

Thanks to Suz I’ve had a few more followers and readers, so I wanted to return the favor. I started reading her blog, and of coursed perused her 30 Before 30 list. You will see we have some common goals, like try snowboarding and surfing, and some other common themes like reading and running. I wish her the best in accomplishing them all! I’m hoping I can learn a bit more from her about blogging and will be reading it periodically.

Very Busy Super Bowl Weekend

To begin, I think my body hates me! I put it through a lot over the last few days. The weekend started off with my office party at Chelsea Piers Friday night. We all got dressed up, headed over to Pier 60, enjoyed some dinner and drinks, and danced. I think the wine wasn’t the best way to start off the weekend when you have a jam-packed weekend full of snowboarding, running, and jumping into the Atlantic. Oh but it was fun and worth it. And to top the weekend off, the most watched sporting event in this country was scheduled for Sunday night—yup Super Bowl XLV! It was a very busy, very fun, and very tiring weekend!

#10

I’ve skied a handful times in my life, but recently in the last couple of years I wanted to see what the big hype was about for snowboarding. And since I don’t go skiing very often, the opportunities to go snowboarding have been limited. However, there are plenty of places within driving distance from NYC. And one of those places is Hunter Mountain in the Catskills!

My friend Sandra and her boyfriend Shakir invited me to come along with them this past Saturday so I can check off #10. I have never been on a snowboard and they’ve only gone a couple of times, so we all took the beginner lesson. I tried balancing myself on this contraption before even getting the board on. I then figured out how to put the snowboard on, learned about the turning and stopping. Once we got the hang of some of this (more so for others), we got on the lift!

On the way down, there were a lot of not-so-glamorous falls. I mostly fell on my butt (which luckily has some cushioning), and one time I slammed my head into the packed in snow. Good thing I had a helmet! But after a little while (and a few more falls), I started to get the hang of it. Since this was the first time I was attempting this, thankfully my frustration was nonexistent. I want to do things well and do it well very quickly. But the first time I do something, I give myself a pass.

We did a few runs and had fun, but of course the weather wasn't ideal. It was pretty warm, and therefore it was raining on and off instead of snowing! When it started pouring, this was our hint to head back to the city. But we did get an upgrade where we can come back 2 more times for only $40! I will then determine if I like snowboarding or skiing more. I did have a lot of fun learning how to snowboard, although my tailbone may disagree!

#9

Next on the agenda was attempting to lower my race pace to 7 minutes/mile. My official best is the Firecracker 5k on Nantucket last 4th of July weekend. I ran that race the morning after running over 10 miles throughout the island and hanging out at the Chicken Box. Waking up slightly hungover, and running a 7:16 pace was a pleasant surprise.

To attempt to bring my pace down further, the first race I signed for was the Gridiron 4-miler in Central Park Sunday morning. Well this wasn't the best weekend to attempt this goal since I have been battling a couple colds and am slightly out of shape, the ridiculous amount of snow NYC has been getting hasn’t helped my running, and of course going snowboarding the day before wasn't the best idea. So with all these challenges, it’s not surprising that I only ran a 7:44 pace (total time of 30:56). Still pretty respectable, but nowhere close where I need to be. No worries, there will be more 5k’s and 4-milers over the next 10 months to try again. My friend Steve came along, rocked the race, and got a 6:39 pace. Next time I will have to try to keep up with him!

#22

Next up—jumping into the Atlantic Ocean. Yeah you read it right. Polar Bear Plunge in Long Beach! My sisters, Ambreleah and Alysia, along with my friends Pam, Donna, Sara, and Randy also jumped in for support. Luckily the weather had changed dramatically from Saturday! It was a high of 44 and clear, blue skies! Much better weather than what we’ve had in the last couple of months. If you didn't know better it almost looked like it was July. But the water told a different story—it was about 40 degrees, so slightly colder than the air temp.

So how do you try ease the shock of jumping into the Atlantic in February in the Northeast? Why drinking a few beers of course! So with a little alcohol in us, the 7 of us and a few hundred of our closest polar bears made the plunge. We quickly run by all the people that had already jumped and make our way into the ocean. In order for this to count, everyone had to dunk. Which is what we did. With wet swimsuits, wet hair, and wet clothes, we left the water as quickly as we came in. I think the coldest body part for us all were our feet. They got the brunt of the cold with the snow packed into the sand.

The plunge was cold, kind of refreshing, and definitely fun! I would totally do it again.

If you are reading this, feel free to visit the site and make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

To wrap up the weekend (after taking a hot shower), I watched the Packers beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl. If I had been at the game (and it was closer to Long Beach), I would have checked off 3 goals, instead of 2 off my list. The NFL game will have to wait. Overall, a very successful weekend!

Next weekend: gun range!

Not looking for a husband

#8

It is February 1^st and I unfortunately did not have a date for the month of January. NYC dating—fail. Apparently none of my friends know any date-worthy guys. I guess I need to find new friends.

Just so we are clear here I'm not looking for a husband. At least not in the near future. I want it to happen some day, but I am in no rush. Unless #31 proposes. A girl CAN make exceptions. ;)

When my parents were my age, they were married (to each other) and had 3 kids (and pregnant with Zach, the 4th). I love my parents and they did a fantastic job of raising us (except for a few quirks here and there), but I am not ready to do what they did…. yet.

Even though I’m in no rush to settle down, I figured I’d better give this dating thing a go. As with everything else in life, you gotta practice, so I’ll practice dating. And since I’ve only gone on a handful of dates I better get moving.

On a better note, I do have a bunch of things planned in the upcoming weeks to start checking off my list. This weekend, I hope to snowboard, make an attempt to improve my race pace, and jump into the Atlantic. The following weekend I will be shooting a gun in Manhattan (legally) with a bunch of girl friends. And #30 is booked for President’s Day weekend.

Now to go find a February date….