We can't believe that August has already come and gone! We had quite the busy month, all topped off with a little visit last weekend from Hurricane Irene. I know many of you out there are wondering how we braved the storm. For us in upper Manhattan, it was nothing like what was portrayed on the news: no evacuations, no flooding, no power outages, just a rainy weekend inside the apartment!
We did get out Saturday morning before the storm to go to the temple. You can see by the time we were leaving, the rain had started. Thank goodness we had an umbrella.
Saturday afternoon we went out to get any final "storm necessities".
This included a stop at Shake Shack...
And Levains. We had to secure our food storage :)
We stocked up on water, other food snacks, candles, matches, a flashlight and batteries. Fortunately we didn't use any of it, but unfortunately our stash did not include a 9-volt battery.
Early Sunday morning, during the height of the storm, the battery on our smoke alarm was drained, so we had to suffer through nearly 12 hours of the constant reminder - "BEEP, low battery".
Sunday afternoon the storm had passed and
we went out to get a battery and survey the damage.
This branch and a lot of leaves on the sidewalk was
all we could find in our neighborhood!
So here's a quick re-cap of the other, less-dramatic events of the month.
Central Park Zoo
Who knew there was a zoo right in the middle of this concrete jungle?
So fun to see all the tropical birds...
And monkeys...
the snow leopard...
And maybe some distant relative???
And then on our way to see the polar bears, we looked up and saw this city view!
I just love NYC!
This polar bear was so cute! I think we sat and watched him swim for at least 30 minutes.
But our favorite part was the penguins. I would have stayed and watched them all afternoon. They were SO FUNNY! I asked Greg if he would get me one for my birthday...his response, "We'll see."
And what zoo trip would be complete without a show by the sea lions?
Overall, a great afternoon. And isn't this flower just beautiful!
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Airplane
During the summer, Bryant park turns into an outdoor movie theater every Monday night. The lawn is packed with people, blankets and movie food! Thankfully we couldn't have asked for better weather the Monday night they showed Airplane. This was my first time seeing this Reeve's family favorite. So random and funny (but even funnier to listen to Greg crack up at it).
Jersey Shore
No, we didn't see Snooki, but it is true, life is better at the shore!
We took a train from Penn Station and had such a fun day out on the beach. The weather was perfect, the water was a little cool but refreshing, and you just can't beat a casual walk with lunch on the boardwalk!
FIRE!
Yes, my worst nightmare came true. I woke up to the sound of a fire alarm, sirens, people running up and down the stairs and this scene outside our apartment window (please notice the extended fire ladder, the oxygen tanks and pitchforks)!
I was freaking out because I just knew our building was on fire and that
no one knew we were trapped in our 4th floor apartment. So I quickly
got dressed, while Greg grabbed a few of our "treasures", felt the door
to see if it was hot and then because of the smell of smoke we decided we would have to go out the
window. But when we opened it to yell to the firefighters below, we
realized they were already loading up and getting ready to leave. So what did we do instead? We got up and made breakfast!
Thank you NYFD for so quickly extinguishing the fire in the deli on the first floor of our building so that we didn't have to worry!
Montauk
Another beach day trip in August, this time all the way out to the tip of Long Island. We had a three-hour train ride. I just love trains. Greg used the time to study for the GMAT. I just stared out the window, loving the ride!
The beach was beautiful, and it wasn't crowded like the other beaches near the city. So relaxing!
Greg is just like a little boy when he gets around water. The waves were pretty big out there too, so he jumped at the chance to do a little body surfing!
In between his waves, I did my own little photo shoot.
Lunch was in town at this cute little restaurant. And then a few more hours on the beach.
I'm not sure if I'm ready to admit that summer is coming to an end.
Happy Labor Day weekend everyone. Hopefully we all can enjoy it with friends, family, good food and sun!
