Daily Archives: December 9, 2020
Hot Chocolate and Hot Dogs . . .
Our Last Full Day in NYC in 2019
December 9, 2019
Frrrozen Hot Chocolate . . .
Waking up to the expected rainy day,
after another nice breakfast here at the hotel, we laid around the room for a couple of hours, waiting for The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) to open. Then we Ubered over to the other side of Central Park to The Met.
There we made a beeline to the 2nd floor and the Nineteenth Century European Paintings area, Vincent Van Gogh, in particular.
Some of the display paintings we had seen before, in the traveling exhibit that visited Houston a while back. Others we had only seen as reproductions in museums in London and Paris.
And of course, one of our two favorites, the other being Starry Night, Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat.
Starry Night is part of The Met’s 16 work Van Gogh collection, but is out on loan right now.
Unfortunately Jan forgot to bring her T-Shirt, that pays homage to Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait, his Sunflowers, and of course Jan’s love of cats.
Then after spending more time just wandering through other exhibit halls, we again took an Uber, this time over to Serendipity, a restaurant on Jan’s long-time Bucket List.
The place has a kind of eclectic, whimsical feel to it, with fun things to read and look at in every direction.
Since we were saving room for dessert, Jan just got the Chicken Tenders,
which she said were really crispy and delicious. And she especially liked the dipping sauce.
I went with the Foot Long Chili Dog,
thought it looks like the bun shrunk somewhere in the process. But really, really good.
Then it was time for their signature dessert, which you can’t eat at Serendipity without trying, or in this case, splitting one of their World-Famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolates, the Peanut Butter version.
This thing is enormous, about a foot tall, delicious, and both hot and cold at the same time.
WOW!
And after we took a group photo for the family at the next table, they took one of us.
Tomorrow we’ve got about a half day left before we head back to Houston about 4:55, getting into Hobby a little after 8pm.
We’ve had a blast!
Thought For The Day:
What has 32 actors, 16 scripts, 3 directors, and 1 channel?
624 Hallmark Christmas Movies.
A Day in Our Life with Our Late, Much-Lamented Mister.
December 9, 2010
What a Difference A Day Makes . . .
Today we woke up to great weather and a beautiful day. A big change from yesterday’s cold and rain.
Even Mister decided to catch some rays in the front window.
And with the great weather, it was time to get our walk in again. Since it had been several days since we had walked, we only did a mile.
Later Jan was rearranging things behind the TV in the bedroom, and when she turned her back, Mister jumped from the bed up in to the cubbyhole.
He’s always like to get as high as he can.
I came out early one morning and found him sound asleep on top of one of the kitchen cabinets. That’s a jump of over 3 feet, and he’s a 25 pound cat. How he got up there I don’t know.
About 12:30 we drove up to Webster to have lunch and a movie at the Star Cinema Grill. As I’ve mentioned before, Star Cinema Grill is a movie theatre where they’ve taken out every other row of seats and put in small tables. There is a menu on the table and a button that will summon your waiter. The food is very good, and much like what you find at Chili’s or TGI Friday’s.
The movie we saw was ‘Tangled’, the new Disney version of the Rapunzel fairy tale. And it was very good, with a lot of laugh-out loud humor, and I dare you not to have a tear in your eye at the end. Very recommended.
After stopping off at Kroger’s, we got home about 4:30 and were in for the night.
Thought for the Day:
When life gives you lemons, throw them back and demand chocolate.
December 9, 2012
Sunflowers and Ferris Wheels . . .
Today was a “Get Up and Head Out Early” morning, but it was worth it. We got more Landon time.
We left the rig a little before 8am to meet Lowell, Brandi, and Landon at The Sunflower Café down in Galveston.
Landon really loves the fresh fruit they have here, and was scavenging off everyone’s plate.
Jan and I are really proud of the great job Brandi and Lowell are doing raising Landon. He’s always so good when we’re out with him, even with other screaming kids seated around him.
After a great breakfast at The Sunflower Café (we’ll definitely go back) we got our goodbye hugs from everyone and all headed out. But before we went home, Jan and I decided to drive along the Seawall to check out any new additions to the area.
One place we were interested in checking out was the new Galveston Island Pleasure Pier. Basically it’s a amusement park/restaurant complex built on an 1100 foot pier out in the Gulf of Mexico.
Originally built as a recreation area by the military during WWII, it was turned over to the city after the war and called the Pleasure Pier.
Up until 1961, it was a well-known family entertainment destination on the Gulf of Mexico. Top dance bands played the enormous ballroom, while an open air movie theater, concessions, rides, and even an aquarium added to the fun. But Hurricane Carla damaged it beyond repair in 1961.
Then in 1965 the Flagship Hotel opened in its place.
Earning a place in history as the only hotel in North America built entirely over the water, it lasted until 2008 when it was severely damaged by Hurricane Ike.
Then in May 2012, a new Pleasure Pier opened. Developed by Tilman Fertitta, CEO and owner of Landry’s, a corporation that owns and operates over 35 restaurant chains, it’s now a prime tourist attraction in Galveston.
With a 100 foot high Ferris Wheel,
and a 1250 foot long roller coaster that features a 100 foot high vertical climb, a 100 foot high over-vertical drop, and 4 full inversions, it’s a real thrill.
But the one I’m looking forward to riding is the 230 foot high Texas Star Flyer, the tallest swing ride in Texas. Each spoke holds two open chairs that let you see in all directions as you turn.
I can’t wait.
It finally looks like our winter weather is finally coming in. Today’s high was 80, and tonight’s low is supposed to be 50. And tomorrow’s high is supposed to be 50 too. And tomorrow night’s low is going to be 35. Nice.
For most of the last couple of weeks, the low at night has been in the high 60’s, so this will be a nice change.
Thought of the Day:
Self-respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious.
