New and Old

New York is full of contrasts such as old and new. It struck me as were walking down Fifth Avenue, the contrast of the new skyscrapers and the St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Of course, our trip to New York wouldn't be complete without a stop at Joe's Shanghai, Jamba Juice and J&R Camera!

Here are a few more pictures.

The City that Never Sleeps

We flew to New York on Friday evening. Even at 9pm, there was a line out the door for soup dumplings at Joe's Shanghai. Nevertheless, after a brief wait, our reason for New York was complete. (kidding)

On Saturday, we visited J&R (every imaginable electronic device you could imagine). There was browsing; no purchasing. In between eating our way through New York, breakfast at the Soda Shop and lunch at Mon Petit Café (recommend the La Soupe a L'Onion Gratinee and Le Croque Monsieur), we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Of course on the way to see "White Christmas" on Broadway, and despite temperatures in the 20's (and wind chills even cooler) I couldn't pass up the Pomegranate Paradise at Jamba Juice.


We went to church at Redeemer Presbyterian with our closest 2500 friends at one of their five services. Truly amazing. Dr. Keller is doing a series, Bible: The Whole Story - Creation and Fall, which includes passages from Genesis, Romans and Revelation. We walked by Rockefeller Center, and saw the ice skating rink and huge Christmas tree, but no lit lights yet. We arrived at B&H, which can only be described as a photographer's heaven. Brian found a new tripod and camera bag. With new tripod in hand, he took some fabulous photos of the World Trade Center construction area from the hotel, which looks directly over the site and Times Square. We closed out the evening by seeing Stomp (go on-line to see/hear clips). What an entertaining show and well worth seeing!

Jamba Juice for Her; Camera Accessories for Him

So to wrap up our weekend in New York, we visited the Museum of Modern Art on Saturday. You will probably remember my parochial view of art from previous posts. I did enjoy several pieces, particularly works by Alexander Calder, Vincent van Gogh and Vasily Kandinsky.

But what was my favorite thing about New York? Jamba Juice. On our way to Little Italy for a late dinner, we chased Jamba Juices, only to get to there just after they closed. (We were successful on Sunday!) Okay, so maybe it wasn't my absolute FAVORITE, but Jamba Juices are far and in between in the DC area, so it's a treat!

On Sunday, we went to electronic (and of course, camera) mecca, aka B&H. It's quite amazing. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it. There's a constant hum of bins whizzing to and fro along a system of conveyor belts. You are "processed" through a series of steps similar to the Seinfeld soup nazi experience. Select product to buy. Proceed to the cashier. Pay. Proceed to merchandise pick-up where the bin-whizzing culminates with your purchase.

San Diego

What I enjoyed about San Diego:

• Visiting my aunt and uncle
• Running into a cousin whom I hadn't seen in nine years and his wife, whom I hadn't met before
• Playing golf at Aviara
• Staying at the Four Seasons (what's not to enjoy!)
• Jamba Juice (it's always a treat when I visit New York or California)
• Gaslamp Quarter
• Walking the streets of San Diego while Comic-Con is in town - I've never seen so many light sabers in my life! (who are these people and where do they find the time!)
• Seeing the Mexico border
• There's nothing like coming over a hill and seeing the vast Pacific coast