The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

There is nothing more American that waking up on Thanksgiving morning and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.  My mom has always been fascinated about the parade, still wondering if it's connected to her devotion to shopping at Macy's as well.  So she came out to New York to make sure she had front row tickets to the most famous (Rose comes in a close second) parade in the US.  I am guessing Mardi Gras has dibs on the most famous parade in the world, but that's a separate debate.

The night before we went out to see the balloons getting inflated so we got a sneak preview of what size the balloons were.

We had to get up at 5 o'clock the morning of the parade and find a spot by 6 am.  The parade didn't start till 9, so we had 3 hours to sit around.  We all got up, got a quick bite to eat and took a cab over to 57th and 7th ave.  2 reasons why we picked this spot.
1.  It was right near food options
2.  Many streets were closed to traffic because of the parade except for this one.

So the 3 of us find out spot at the corner.  It was a great unobstructed spot where we could see up and down the street.  We were right at the corner so we had a very good viewing angle.

We bundled up pretty well in the morning but it was around 30 degrees with a colder wind chill.

As you can tell the whole parade route was packed with at least 5-10 people deep waiting for a view.

I guess it always starts with the Macy's Parade Band.

This was Sonic's first Parade and he got to be the first one!

Homestead High School from Cupertino California!

My friend Lane couches the drum line.

Hi Lane!  Apparently a student couldn't handle the pressure so Lane had to carry his drum for a portion of the parade.

Kinda weird seeing Buzz Lightyear without his friend Woody.

The Pillsbury Dough Boy made an appearance.

Chester did not make the parade, he would have been happy to see dogs well represented.

Who doesn't like the Kool Aid Guy?

Is Sponge Bob still popular?

Once the parade started we felt a little more lively, but we started loosing feeling to our extremities at this point.  My finger seriously swelled to twice its size and I really thought it had to get amputated.  And I couldn't walk as my del were frozen.

Didn't really like the Cruiseship Mickey.  Wish they kept with the original.

Kungfu Panda made it but Shrek didn't...

Snoopy seriously looked old.  You can't tell from this picture, but this might be his last parade, the balloon was seriously worn down.

BEST SURPRISE OF THE DAY!!!

Neil Diamond was singing Sweet Caroline as he was going by.

Another thing checked off the bucket list! 

Though Coming to America would have been nice to hear as well...

My mom got a picture with a traveling clown.

Is Spider-Man the go to comic book character now?

He kept going and going and going and going...

Yup, kid character gets a float.

It was easy being Green today.

Do the Thanksgiving day parade balloons always have to be iconic children's characters?

 Could Biggie, Hulk Hogan, LeBron James, or Dave Chappell not have their own floats?

Inflation Celebration

Well its the day before thanksgiving, and that means balloons are getting inflated for use in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  My mom came to visit Christie and I for the Thanksgiving holiday for two reason mainly: Chester and the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Part 1 was seeing the Balloons getting blown up prior to the parade

It actually was a whole event where NYC closed down the streets around the American History Museum.

This post is more about the photos, so enjoy!

Detours and Tastings

Christie and Raman graciously hosted our NYC trip September 22-25. We had quite a few adventures planned for the weekend but the rain forced us to take several detours, which in turn “forced” us to have a bunch of tastings.

One of the cool things about writing a blog now is that we were able to relive our adventures through our photos. Of course, talking about the trip and writing a blog are two worlds, so when we sat down to write it we realized that it would be endless. So instead we decided to detail our adventures based on our FourSquare check-ins (hopefully you can figure out who wrote each section).

Wednesday, September 22, 2011

Cactus Taqueria: We enjoyed a delicious pre-flight meal with the Lappins; if you haven’t been, try the tacos.

Lark Creek Grill: We had a couple drinks to help us “sleep” on the flight.

Virgin America – SFO: Hands down, the best airline.

Thursday, September 23, 2011

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK): I somehow managed to talk Katie into taking the red eye so we could hit the ground running on Thursday. Flying on the red eye is a great idea unless you don’t sleep…needless to say we didn’t sleep much on the flight. Luckily we had the coolest cabby on the way into Manhattan; we both passed out and slept about an hour while we were sitting in morning traffic.

National September 11 Memorial: We knew the rain was coming so we decided to see as much of NYC possible as fast as possible. We took our first ride on the subway to the 9-11 Memorial. Words really can’t describe the experience. We were both in awe of how well the memorial was designed and how profound of an impact it has on New Yorkers and visitors alike.

Tribute WTC Visitor Center: There is a souvenir shop just outside of the actual memorial. They show an awesome video of the work that is going into the new buildings and the memorial itself.

Charging Bull: Following the memorial we took a walk toward Battery Park and on the way took some great Bull “ball-shots”.

Battery Park Pier: We took some photos of the Statue of Liberty. Tickets to the Crown were sold out so we didn’t head out to the island, we’ll have to check it out on our next trip.  Battery Park is one of the stops for the Hop On-Hop off bus so we hopped on and rode it around for the rest of the day. Here’s a run-down of all the things we saw: Wall Street, Greenwich Village, Times Square, Soho, Chinatown, Central Park West, and a few others that we can’t remember (We didn’t check-in on Four Square unless we hopped off and walked around).

Pier 17

Central Park – Pond

Times Square

Top of the Rock Observation Deck: Katie managed to get reservations right at sunset. It was simply amazing and it was one of our favorite parts of the trip.

Momofuku Bar Bar & Momofuku Ssäm Bar: We met Raman and Christie for pre-dinner drinks at Bar Bar and had dinner at Ssam Bar. All of the food was phenomenal and we really couldn’t do it justice by trying to describe it. We definitely recommend it!

Urban Outfitters: Christie and I decided to stop in as we were walking by. Nothing like some post-dinner perusing!

Bua: This place was cool, quite a few interesting drinks on the menu. On our way there we tried to stop by a speakeasy called Please Don’t Tell (enter through the phone booth in Crif Dogs). We didn’t get in because we didn’t have reservations but it’s definitely on the list for the next trip.

16 Handles: Froyo!

Finnerty’s Irish Pub: NYC’s SF sports bar. The coolest thing is that you can reserve a private table with personal beer tap.

Artichoke Basille’s Pizza & Brewery: Late night pizza, crazy delicious!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Shake Shack: Raman had to work on Friday so Christie took us to Shake Shack for lunch. Ray was finally able to complete the trifecta (i.e. In-N-Out, Shake Shack, Five Guys) and he says that In-N-Out is still the best. The Concretes are AMAZING!!!

Eataly: While we were eating, it started pouring rain so we sought shelter at Mario Batali’s Eataly. Not only did the store have everything you could possibly need to make a great meal but also the rooftop restaurant/bar was a bonus.

Birreria at Eataly: La Birreria has a good beer selection and Dogfishhead was holding a special event for NYC Beer Week. Somehow, Katie and Christie managed to talk the bartender into sharing a few tastings.

Shake Shack: Raman met up with us after work and since he was hungry I accompanied him to Shake Shack for the second time in 4 hours (Katie and Christie decided to go shopping while we went to eat).
ABC Carpet & Home: An awesome and unique home store…Christie and I were able to get some pretty cool two sided oven mitts.

Fishs Eddy: An eclectic collection of house wares….LOVE IT!!!

Union Square Greenmarket: After lunch we stopped by this farmer’s market; we enjoyed some cider tastings and ended up buying some cider. Once the tastings started we basically couldn’t stop.

Good Beer NYC: This is one of Raman’s favorite craft beer shops and most importantly they have beer and cheese tastings!

Grand Central Terminal: We had tickets to the Red Sox vs. Yankees game, but MLB kept delaying making a decision on whether the game would be played. Since no decision was made, we took the subway out to the stadium. On arrival we saw a hoard of people leaving the stadium. The game ended up being postponed so some quick decision-making led us to check out Grand Central Station.

Magnolia Bakery: These cupcakes are not only beautiful but they are DELICIOUS!!! 

The Ginger Man: Christie and Katie did some impromptu shopping while Raman and I checked out a couple bars. This place has an extensive whiskey and beer selection. 

Mé Bar (Closed): The drinks were cheap, the bartenders were hammered, and Raman realized that he had made a terrible fashion decision. Sadly, the bar lost its lease and is now closed. 

KyoChon: We ended the night by having some late night Korean chicken.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

East River Ferry Terminal East 35^th Street/Midtown: We had tickets to Oktoberfest on Saturday via a boat cruise, but the event was cancelled due to the rain. We took the ferry to Brooklyn instead.

Smorgasburg: This is place is right off the ferry landing in Brooklyn; it’s kind of like a farmer’s market with all sorts of different types of food.

Artists and Fleas: Basically a high-end flea market with a lot of amazing stuff.

Brooklyn Brewery: We didn’t take the brewery tour but we did get to taste almost all of their beer.

Barcade: After lunch we “worked off” the calories by playing 80s arcade games and drinking more beer.

Fette Sau: My 2^nd favorite establishment in NYC…Fet Sau. Katie and Christie ordered an assortment of BBQ meats while Raman and I ordered a half-gallon of beer. Bryan and Jane joined us for lunch and we promptly ordered another gallon of beer.

DUMBO Arts Festival: An art festival that was REALLY interesting and sometimes a little odd. The location provided for a cool photo op.

Lightsaber Battle 2011: Katie and Christie thought that Raman and I were huge dorks, but we couldn’t help ourselves. It was definitely the dorkiest moment of the weekend.

Rocco’s Pastry Shop and Espresso Café: Christie and I stopped in to try some mini éclairs. YUM!

John’s of Bleecker: More pizza!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Jade Asian Restaurant: As Wang would say, “Dim sum, the breakfast of Asians”. This place was out in Queens and the food was delicious.

Highland Park: Raman and Christie’s local sports bar. Katie ordered the taster but it wasn’t available due to the football rush so we ended up ordering pitchers instead.

MTA Subway 161^st & River Ave: This check-in give us the opportunity to talk about one of the coolest subway stations in NYC, 14^th Street and 8^th Avenue. This station has bronze statues by artist Tom Otterness all over the place. The exhibit is called “Life Underground”.

Yankee Stadium for Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees: I dislike the Yankees as much as the next guy but Yankee Stadium is a “must-see” place for any baseball fan.

Highland Park: Twice in one day! And this time we got the taster…this place is MONEY!!!

Monday, September 26, 2011

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK): Sad to leave NYC and even sadder to leave Ristie but we had an AMAZING vacation. We really can't thank Christie and Raman enough for their hospitality and we can’t wait to come back!!!

San Francisco International Airport (SFO): Home sweet home…