In ex Chelsey's day yo.

It was a sad day on June 28th when I said goodbye to Paul as he headed out for his Russian adventure.

 

Don't worry, I took good care of myself while Paul was gone, but the humidity here sometimes does really great things with my short whispy hairs and I just need to document that.

 Additionally, running has done a number on my toes! But luckily they don't hurt - they just look real nice.

A few days after Paul left it was Tuba time for me. A community band was in need of a tubist and I was happy to join them for their Fourth of July day concert. I tried to look nice and nerdy to look that part.

 But I still got the comments "YOU are the TUBA player?" which I loved and have always loved.

While waiting for the concert to begin this party boat drove up the Raritan river. I have never seen a boat on the rari as it so close to the ocean that it goes up and down with the tides, but these Pirate friends were worried about no tides.

Since Paul wasn't able to see me play, I had a nice trombonist take a quick picture before we began.

I loved being in a band again! And this Fall when the community group starts back up, I am planning on joining them full time.

A few days later a wonderful visit came my way! Chelsey (my older sister) sporting a pair of dragonfly earrings just to make me happy. I am so glad she was able to come and visit. We had a nice time together.

She even brought me this present from my family who had been to Lake Powell the week before!

The day after she arrived was the Fourth of July! We decided that New York City would be a great place to celebrate. The best luck was that my favorite cemetary around Trinity Church was open!

And Alexander Hamilton is buried there!

Then we visited George Washington...

The New York Stock Exchange...

 Tried on a nice hat.

 And waved to our Lady Liberty!

We were feeling nice and patriotic on the subway uptown.

 We walked the highline...

 And this is a very accurate portrayal of how everyone felt about it. HOT. HUMID. HOTTTTT.

 And I liked this.

And these.

But decided for the betterment of my company that we should go inside where air was conditioned. So to Chelsea(Y) Market we went!

And this felt really patriotic.

And Yelp found us the Pizza place but really the pizza did not look great and there was no AC.

So we continued on our quest for coolness, and enjoyed these houses along the way and then sat in a Starbucks drinking strawberry frappachinos for a good long while.

And saw the puppies in the windows again!!!

Then we decided it was about to be tourists again and we went to the meca of NY tourism - Times Square.

And Chelsey loved it!

And I took them to the delicious John's Pizza. I just wish that someday I can get a picture of the interior of this guy because it's in an old cathedral and it's real nice. But they frown upon picture takers, and I try to be obedient.

Maybe more Times Square or perhaps this is out of order?

Then back to Jersey we went. But not all the way, just across the river to Hoboken because apparently it's prime viewing spot for the Macy's day firework show. We got to wait for a long time.

But we had a nice hot pink sunset and the skyline of NYC to keep us entertained.

Then those fireworks finally began! And we realized that the millions of people packed into the waterfront park were soon to be packed in the streets of Hoboken as soon as the finale commenced, so we walked back to the car while enjoying the show and saved ourselves a few hours. Hooray!

The next day I took them to the Jersey Shoooooore. We went to Point Pleasant which was a new spot for me, but I really loved it.

Maybe I didn't want weird Jersey Shore friends in my picture so I photoshopped them out. haha.

I am just ever so glad this cute sister came to visit me.

This prettiest shore house was a treat on the walk back to the car.

And this bed and breakfast looked like a perfect place for a getaway.

We stopped for a post-beach treat an Magnifico's!

And no one had to ask me to take a picture with Junior...

The next morning (and basically every Saturday) I woke up pre-sun and ran ran ran. This Saturday was my half marathon I believe (not a real race, just a solo 13.1 miles).

I am loving these Brooks so if anyone needs new running shoes, I recommend them!

After watching that days stage of the Tour de France and educating my guests on the various tactics of cycling, I had a brilliant idea. Since Chelsey and Brandon were flying out of JFK, I realized that Coney Island was on the way! So we decided to make the most out of the drive to Queens and make a pit stop on the way to the airport.

Chelsey and I rode the this ride, the Zenobio... which was actually scary but very fun. We had a great view of NYC, Jersey, the Ocean and Queens and Brooklyn when we were up at the top.

  

Nathan's Hot Dogs originated at Coney Island, and maybe even the hot dog itself? So we enjoyed our meal with thousands of others on the busiest beach and boardwalk I ever did see.

The Wonder Wheel!

Best mural wall!

As we were dying of heat we spotted the New York Aqurium and realized it would be air conditioned AND fun. On our way to the gate I noticed that if you dontated blood you got in for free! I do almost anything for free things so I was all for it. I went to the donation center, filled out all the paper work, got my finger pricked and as usual, wasn't able to donate because of low iron. BUT, I sweet talked my way into still getting the Courtesy Pass so to the Aquarium we went!

They even had a sea lion show!!

And I got that sea lion mid-air touching his nose to the globe.

And this walrus friend loved to pose for the camera!

A neat New Jersey native is the horseshoe crab. One of the most ancient creatures on the planet.

And then, we went to the airport. And I was sad to see that Chelsey go. (Come back!)

On Sunday I enjoyed some nice time outside and read on this blanket for a few good hours.

And this deer friend kept me company on my firefly walk and wasn't even scared me or my camera - which made me a little nervous for his mortality rate.

And over the next few days I felt good about myself whenever I had a nice dinner. Cooking for one is just not that motivating.

And, one night I broke out my piggy bank and started fulfilling one of my recent goals to collect all 50 state quarters. Maybe I'm 10 years behind on this? But I just kept finding all these state quarters and keeping them and decided better late than never.

7/11 day came around and I'll have you know that around 3:30 pm I called for an office break and piled my 4 co-workers in my car for some Slurpee time.

They liked it. Thank you best job. www.talksoftonline.com :)

If you don't understand the title of this song I guess you need more Christmas hymns in your life. Chelsey will understand and love it I presume as it is her favorite hymn.

Next up we have my happy Boston weekend! July is going to be blogged in no time.