Happy Birthday America

My first (but Becky's like eighth!) three day weekend of the summer has come and gone, sadly, but we did a good job at enjoying it.

Saturday we mostly business, doing errands and putzing around the house. We did make time though to finally visit a new ice cream shop that opened a few weeks ago about a block from our apartment. It has a huge selection of gelato-ish ice cream with a selection of flavors that I think could only be found in New Jersey. They range from tiramisu to flan to sambayon to guanabana. And pretty much everything in between. I got nutella, Becky got Reese's Pieces and vanilla chocolate chip. Verdict: Yum. After our errands we decided to trek to the bottom of the cliff and try out P.F. Chang's for dinner as well. Verdict: Tasty but over-price. And at the bottom of the cliff. However, on the way there we did both get a good chuckle out of the Mexican restaurant fully decked out to celebrate the fourth.



Sunday we got up "early" and made it into Manhattan for an 11am showing of Toy Story 3. Yes, we got to a movie theater by 11am. Shocking, I know. With a one-day-only coupon printed from the internet and the pre-noon matinee price we actually managed to get two popcorns, a large soda, and two 3-D movie tickets - in Manhattan - for only $23 TOTAL. TOTAL. I kid you not. Movie theater popcorn is so evil and yet so delicious, and I want that coupon to come back.

For the fireworks we walked to the our-town-only viewing area. Which meant that we walked past crowds of people jammed together to get a decent view into front-row riverside seats with hardly anyone there. (Admittedly it was pretty full by the time the fireworks started.) We laid out our lovely Air New Zealand blanket and enjoyed a picnic while watching the sunset reflected in the side of Manhattan.



And finally the fireworks came! We had a perfect view of all six sets being shot up and pretty much felt like we were in the middle of it all. A little kid behind us kept saying "This is the best fireworks EVER!" I agree, little boy, I agree.


Monday we figured the only logical thing to do on a holiday in almost 100 degree heat was to go to the beach. Becky and I and two friends loaded up the car with another picnic, slathered sunscreen over every inch of ourselves, and drove to the shore. There were hardly any waves, which was a bit disappointing, but I'm still superly excited for our upcoming vacation. Only four more work days (and enough work to fill an entire month) left...!