Southstreet Seaport

If you want some shopping mixed with historical structures, waterfront views and really big boats, go to the Southstreet Seaport, a 12-block area on New York's original port of entry.

I'm attracted to waterfronts. I love the smell of the water and long-legged birds that dip down to the water's surface looking to pluck away a little something to eat. But my goodness, the ships are awesome! Getting up close to these beautiful floating museums almost takes your breath away. They are a privately owned fleet of historic ships, the largest such fleet in the United States.

It was a cold day, and I didn't stay long, but I'll go back and explore more. I have heard there are ways to get rides on those ships.

Non-Sign II

I have seen this sculpture on the internet, but I didn't know that some day I would drive right by it! It's located at the border between Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC. (I vacationed in Vancouver recently.) The art is by the U.S. firm Lead Pencil Studio. I found this explanation of the piece:

"Borrowing the effectiveness of billboards to redirect attention away from the landscape... this permanently open aperture between nations works to frame nothing more than a clear view of the changing atmospheric conditions beyond."

If you want to see better photos of this amazing structure, google non-sign II or check out this person's blog.

Here is the napkin of the place I dropped into yesterday for a bowl of soup. As you can see, it boasts of being the original "SoupMan, Yeah, it's that SoupMan."

I thought this was surely a ploy to get attention by referencing the Seinfeld episode about the Soup Nazi where you are sent to the back of the line if you take too much time ordering. But I looked it up when I got home, and sure enough, this is the guy.

According to this Wikipedia article the soup chef was terrifically insulted by the episode, and when he actually met Seinfeld, he told him it had ruined his life. But the guy has since opened a chain of his soup restaurants called The Original SoupMan. Just don't reference the "N" (Nazi) word if you meet him. Can't say that I blame him.

I had no trouble ordering the jambalya which was sooo good. In fact, the soup bar looked like it was closed and I had to ask if they had hot soup at that time of day -- it was 3 p.m.

New York City seems to pride itself on its soup. I have never had a bad soup here. I think that living here makes you crave it. The environment is so industrial and hard-edged with all the concrete, steel and glass. A bowl of soup is soothing and kind of smooths away the rough spots of your day.

Back in the Midwest!

Back in Cincinnati for a change of scenery...GRASS! Long strips of lush spring grass along highways, in front lawns, in fields and medians. The trees are in bloom and some have sprouted leaves. It's such a contrast to the city and very beautiful to behold. If you're living in the Midwest, take a look at all the expanse of green around you today. Smell the air and the fresh-cut grass. Go barefoot. Notice the difference as you walk under the shade of a maple tree. Look up and cherish the expanse of sky!

A dog walker waits outside my building while his co-workers fetch more customers for their daily walk. Dog walking services vary from 1/2 hour pack walks to individual walks guaranteed to find grass.

Spiderman

I saw Spiderman with my husband last week. The best parts of the show were the acrobatics with characters actually battling out scenes above our heads. Spiderman and the bad guy were independently suspended on 3-way wires, and they were all over the place. It was magic.

The worst part of the show was the stage design, or lack of. I've seen better sets at high school plays. Further, the stage presence of the rest of the characters was disappointing. They looked amazing, especially the group of cartoon bad guys, they were just too static for a Broadway production.

I got my tickets at the TCTS Booth at the South Street Seaport. The line was short, like all the brochures said it would be which was a plus. I haven't found the trick to getting cheap tickets for current shows, yet. I still paid a lot for these, only 30% off, not 50% like you might expect at "the booth."

If Your Car Has Been Relocated

This is a notice from the NYPD that a film crew will be at this location on this date, and your car had better not be. It looks like an episode (or two?) of Law and Order will be shot here. This was in Chelsea. Today I saw these same type of flyers in my neighborhood (Long Island City)! On Wednesday, a film crew (and maybe Tom Selleck) will be creating a new episode of Blue Bloods. I'll be there, so stay posted.