i keep a diary

August 07, 2010

34th Birthday Mega Weekend

Saturday, August 7th

matt, meredith
The best thing about having an August birthday is that you can invite people to the beach to celebrate your birthday! A little before noon, we met up with Matt and Karen at the CVS by the 1st Ave subway to stock up on beach supplies...
laugh ˆ shopping ˆ matt ˆ meredith
karen
...and treats!
sunglasses ˆ treats ˆ karen
charles, karen, matt, sarah
We picked up Charles and Sarah and hit the subway.
subway ˆ charles ˆ karen ˆ matt ˆ sarah
...because you never know when the subway of your life is going to, er...
subway
...stop at Wilson Avenue.
cemetary ˆ subway
Just because they're beach treats doesn't mean I have to wait until the beach.
subway ˆ treats
matt
Haha. Mostly-empty subway car means that you can do things like try out your beach chair on the subway.
best ˆ chair ˆ subway ˆ sunglasses ˆ matt
meredith
No better birthday present than perfect beach-weather!
beach ˆ far rockaway ˆ sign ˆ meredith
We chose an isolated location away from any other groups and set up camp!
beach ˆ birthday ˆ far rockaway
Look how much distance we had between us in either direction!
beach ˆ birthday ˆ far rockaway
100% awesome.
beach ˆ birthday ˆ far rockaway
jenny penny
Beach poses!
beach ˆ best ˆ far rockaway ˆ jenny penny
sarah
So relaxed and natural!
beach ˆ sarah
jared
Someone brought a very colorful six-pack of...
beach ˆ beer ˆ jared
...Porkslap Ale. Haha.
beer
amanda, astra, cynthia, katie, meredith, siege
Cynthia, Clayton, Astra, Katie and Amanda!
amanda ˆ astra ˆ cynthia ˆ katie ˆ meredith ˆ siege
amanda
Knit bikini!
beach ˆ best ˆ amanda
astra
Big fan of Astra's beach onsie.
beach ˆ astra
matt
We even got to play beach frisbee! BIRTHDAY DREAM COME TRUE!
beach ˆ far rockaway ˆ frisbee ˆ matt
alex d, ryan m
Alex spent some time masterfully sculpting...
beach ˆ boobs ˆ far rockaway ˆ sand ˆ alex d ˆ ryan m
ryan m
...a sandy cock-neck!
beach ˆ far rockaway ˆ penis ˆ sand ˆ ryan m
Late afternoon sun.
beach ˆ far rockaway ˆ ocean
leigh
Laugh and run.
beach ˆ far rockaway ˆ laugh ˆ leigh
It turns out that sunlight reflecting off of pastel umbrellas is the perfect light...
beach ˆ umbrella
astra, cynthia, katie, siege
...for taking pictures of beach bottoms!
beach ˆ far rockaway ˆ astra ˆ cynthia ˆ katie ˆ siege
astra, cynthia, me
The dreaded birthday ass-vice!
beach ˆ best ˆ birthday ˆ booty ˆ laugh ˆ astra ˆ cynthia ˆ me
me, meredith
I love this picture! Thanks for being my boo, boo.
beach ˆ best ˆ birthday ˆ far rockaway ˆ sunglasses ˆ us ˆ me ˆ meredith
Shake the sand out of your blanket...
beach ˆ far rockaway
...it's time to get going.
beach ˆ far rockaway ˆ wave
I love the sunlight through the clouds.
beach ˆ clouds ˆ far rockaway
Summer comparison.
meredith
Breaking out the beach sweater!
beach ˆ sweater ˆ meredith
ellen
Ellen got really lost on the way to the beach and didn't show up until after 5pm. The only reason this is even note-worthy...
ellen
meredith
...is that she had brought along an ICE CREAM CAKE to surprise me with!
meredith
amanda, cynthia, ellen, katie h, matt, meredith
Instead of ice cream cake, we just had an Ice cream soup party!
best ˆ birthday ˆ cake ˆ ice cream ˆ amanda ˆ cynthia ˆ ellen ˆ katie h ˆ matt ˆ meredith
We still finished the entire thing. Hahah.
beach ˆ birthday ˆ cake ˆ far rockaway ˆ ice cream
ellen, katie h
Thanks, Ellen!
beach ˆ ellen ˆ katie h
matt
Love this guy.
beach ˆ matt
ellen
Oh, there was also a PIE in addition to the ice cream cake. Batting treat-cleanup at sunset!
best ˆ pie ˆ sunset ˆ ellen
Perfect.
beach ˆ far rockaway ˆ sunset
Heading out.
beach ˆ boardwalk ˆ far rockaway ˆ wave
ellen, me
So glad you made it!
boardwalk ˆ ellen ˆ me
amanda, katie, siege
Amanda, Katie and Siete.
boardwalk ˆ far rockaway ˆ amanda ˆ katie ˆ siege
ellen
In addition to delivering an ice cream cake to the beach, Ellen also offered us a ride home!
driving ˆ ellen
matt, me, meredith
Lucky!
driving ˆ matt ˆ me ˆ meredith
Sun setting over the Marine Parkway Bridge.
bridge ˆ driving ˆ far rockaway ˆ sunset
Driving over the very same bridget a few minutes later.
bridge ˆ driving
me, meredith
Pink noses!
us ˆ me ˆ meredith
ellen, meredith
Ellen came over and hung out after.
ellen ˆ meredith

Sunday, August 8th

On Sunday morning I decided to start my birthday with a pain au chocolat from Ninth Street Espresso. Mmmmmm.
croissant ˆ treats
matt, meredith
A little after noon, Mer and I met up with Matt, took the subway out to Brooklyn...
sunglasses ˆ walking ˆ matt ˆ meredith
cynthia, matt, me, meredith, pauly
...joined forces with Pauly & Cynthia and drove out to Queens for a day at...
birthday ˆ driving ˆ sunglasses ˆ cynthia ˆ matt ˆ me ˆ meredith ˆ pauly
cynthia, matt, meredith, pauly
So excited to check it out after hearing about it for so many years!
spa castle ˆ cynthia ˆ matt ˆ meredith ˆ pauly
Spa Palace is this huge Korean spa in Queens. They do all sorts of things differently there. Like, uh, publicly shame the people who leave without paying. Yes!
poster ˆ spa castle
cynthia, meredith
They also require men and women to wear uniforms while at the spa! The women's uniforms are orange and pink.
best ˆ birthday ˆ spa castle ˆ wtf ˆ cynthia ˆ meredith
matt, me, pauly
The men's are grey and blue!
birthday ˆ spa castle ˆ matt ˆ me ˆ pauly
There are all sorts of different levels to the spa. Then up on the roof are a bunch of outdoor pools!
pool ˆ roof ˆ spa castle
Check out the touch-activated massaging jets!
hot tub ˆ pool ˆ spa castle
I spent a bunch of time going from the 181F sauna...
sauna ˆ spa castle
...over into the ice sauna!
ice ˆ sauna ˆ spa castle
View of one of the floors inside Spa Castle.
sauna ˆ spa castle
Driving home through Queens.
driving
Dramatic clouds and rays of sunshine over Manhattan in the distance.
clouds ˆ driving ˆ nyc ˆ skyline ˆ sunset
Kept getting better.
best ˆ clouds ˆ driving ˆ nyc ˆ skyline ˆ sunset
Driving over the Williamsburg Bridge...
bridge ˆ driving ˆ sunset
...is really pretty...
bridge ˆ driving
...the sun is setting over the city.
bridge ˆ driving ˆ nyc ˆ skyline ˆ sunset
Sun aligned down Delancey.
driving ˆ nyc ˆ sunset
I hopped out at Delancey and walked over to the Soho Grand to to celebrate Leigh's belated-birthday! (Everyone else headed home to crash after Spa Castle!).
crosswalk ˆ nyc ˆ sunset
ellen, me
En route I ran into Ellen on the street!
ellen ˆ me
leigh
Soho Grand backyard pool.
birthday ˆ party ˆ pool ˆ leigh
leigh, me
Birthday buddies!
best ˆ birthday ˆ leigh ˆ me
freddie, leigh, ryan m
Peekin!
freddie ˆ leigh ˆ ryan m
karen, sarah
Karen's mantable.
karen ˆ sarah
leigh, randy
Randy and Leigh!
leigh ˆ randy
Sometimes what's need to get a pool party started...
graffiti ˆ pool
...is a little old-fashioned coercion. Let the pants-wrasslin begin.
wrestle
leigh, ryan m
Swan belly flop!
best ˆ man ass ˆ pool ˆ leigh ˆ ryan m
leigh, sophia l
Leigh & Sophia.
leigh ˆ sophia l
ellen, karen, quinn, ryan m, sarah
Quinn, Ellen & Sarah!
ellen ˆ karen ˆ quinn ˆ ryan m ˆ sarah
amanda, astra, siege
Siege, Amanda and Astra came together!
the bird ˆ amanda ˆ astra ˆ siege
Later that evening we headed back to...
xmas lights
amanda, astra
...our apartment and ordered food!
amanda ˆ astra
siege
Siege's shirt color matched my chair and turned him into a FLOATING HEAD!
camouflage ˆ siege
amanda, cynthia, matt, meredith
I had such an amazing weekend. Thanks, everyone! I love you!
e9th apt ˆ living room ˆ amanda ˆ cynthia ˆ matt ˆ meredith

2 comments

  • callofcthulhunovember 14, 2012

    Damn, exactly which beach is that? Is it so deserted because there's no non-resident parking around there?

    • brian battjernovember 14, 2012

      It was at Beach 67 St in Far Rockaway, Queens. It's mostly that empty because it's a really long stretch of beach and there are other more-accessible areas with more stores and snack shops around. Unfortunately, Sandy decimated this whole area. The people who live near this beach are still totally without power, heat and water.