New York State of Mind (pt3)

Saturday morning, we slept in (to a whopping 10am, which is 9am our time, much earlier than I usually get up on a Saturday), and took our time getting ready.

Here is a photo of the Dorothy Parker quote on our hotel door:

We hopped across the street to a coffee shop for a small coffee and a pretzel croissant (it was good--dryer than a regular croissant, but good) and then started walking. We walked through Times Square and the bazillion tourists and then on down to the Village. Erica had told me that the restaurant she works at is near the Magnolia Bakery, so we "hit up Magnolia and macked on some CUPCAKES" and banana pudding. The pudding was awesome and the cupcake was amazing--even Fuzzy liked it, and he doesn't like cake! Then we strolled on down to Hudson Street, to Fatty Crab. It was so exciting to see Erica, and she totally treated us like rockstars with amazing food and cocktails. Just look at this menu! I think the Watermelon Pickle and Crispy Pork salad almost did us in with awesomeness. When Erica was here at New Years, we gave her a bottle of Malort to take back with her. The moment we got there, she poured us a couple of Malort cocktails that the bartender had made especially for us, along with the recipes for when we want to make them at home. They were really good!

Fuzzy at Fatty Crab.

After we had been there for a while, Andrew, Ariel and Chuck showed up, so we moved to one table and just started the party. We hung out until Erica was done with work, and it was so nice to just laugh, eat, drink and relax for hours at the restaurant. I met some of Erica's wonderful friends and we all had a great time.

Erica in Action

Of course, we had to make our friends try Malort. That's just what we do.

Chuck

Devin

Chris (this one cracks me up.)

After Erica got off work, we split off from the pack. Fuzzy, Andrew, Chuck and Ariel went to Coney Island, and Erica and I jetted off to see a one-man show written and produced by John Clancy. While I can't say that I enjoyed the show, it was worth every second for the time I got to spend with Erica. Erica and I met a couple of weeks before our first year of college--we were both theatre majors in the Honor Program at our school, and of course, we were both named Erica. At first, we thought the other was weird and wanted nothing to do with each other, but we had so many classes together and were in the same crowd, finally we just talked to each other to see what the other was about, and the rest is history. Insta-best friends! Over the years, we've done shows together, worked together, lived together, and for the whole time we lived in Jackson, we were inseparable. Sadly, I don't get to see her nearly as much as I would like, so the little time we had to talk and catch up was priceless and a blessing. Amazing.

We met back up with the fellas and Ariel at Coney Island. I had never been, and it was quite the experience.

We had some hot dogs, lemonade and beer from Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, where they do the hot dog eating contest. I am no Kobayashi.

This photo needs no caption:

Then we saw the most amazing thing in the whole world. A Tshirt booth. Oh how we could barely contain ourselves! Erica and I ran to an ATM to get cash, and then the magic happened.

Are you ready for the world's greatest Tshirt? I don't know if you are. Ok, here goes:

Let's get a closer look at that.

That's right. It is the Ericas in front of a cartoon Coney Island backdrop, with a rainbow, pot of gold, 2 unicorn pegasuses and the phrase "What dreams are made of." Indeed. It goes without saying that I will treasure this shirt forever and ever. Erica said that we need to wear it when we are old so we can remember when we were young and had good boobs. I agree.

You might think at this point that it would be impossible for our night to get any better, but you would be wrong.

Erica Shot the Freak.

Then we went to the ocean. It was 10 or so at night, and the beach was a messy disaster, but we walked out to the water. Ariel was fearless and went out in her jeans up to her thighs. I hadn't seen Ariel since she was a little girl and now she is a full blown teenager--it was wonderful hanging out with her and catching up. When she resurfaced from the water, I realized that I was wearing a dress and could easily hike it up without getting too wet. Ariel said she would run in with me if I did it, and we could hold hands! How could I turn that down?! We took each other's hand and ran into the water (me up to my butt), shrieking into the dark night, afraid of nothing. It was a once in a lifetime moment that took at teenager to get me to do, and I am so thankful I did. I will never forget it.

Once we were back on the boardwalk and Andrew danced with a drag queen, Erica mentioned that at the end of the boardwalk there was a historical building that had been turned into a roller rink, and she loves skating there. Seriously?! A Roller Rink! Oh my God--it was the cutest thing I had ever seen. So pink and cute! Lola Staar's Dreamland Roller Rink. Lola Staar is this adorable redhead who makes amazing Tshirts and has lights on her skates. Though it was 21 and up, they let Ariel skate since her parents were there, and I don't know if it was fate or what, but it was Prince Purple Rain Night. (some of you may or may not be aware of the significance of this fact. Let's just say it is significant.) I am a crummy skater, but it was so much fun. Here are the photos to prove it.