Ashley and I went to the Hamptons last weekend with the Wagners and the Harbers (the Harbers being Steve, Lana, and Oliver.) We spent Saturday at Steve’s parents’ summer house. It was a perfect day for swimming, fishing, and hanging out.
west hamptons @ sunset
Originally uploaded by dnorton.
Although the inside of our apartment is not quite ready for prime time viewing, I thought I would share some pictures of the apartment and views from the roof. I tried to take some night pictures from the roof, but it’s really hard to do without a tripod. But you can imagine what it really looks like… you can see all of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and both rivers.
brooklyn bridge at night
Originally uploaded by dnorton.
the Woolworth Building and the Hudson River
Originally uploaded by dnorton.
2 Gold from Ashley’s Office
Originally uploaded by dnorton.
Ashley took this picture when she and the Wagners went to Belmont Park last weekend
Introducing Katie Bin! She is the newest member of the Wagner family and extremely cute.
We are at the Belmont Racing Horse Track where I lost $3. The one thing I learned from the day: don’t bet on a horse just because the jockey is wearing pink with teal diamonds.
I don’t mean to ignore updating this site. For the last three or four days, I’ve been staying up late working on a project that is overdue. I enjoy working at WebMD, but man, everything moves so fast. I already have 3 projects in my queue. And the next two after this one are going to be a lot of fun… but this project just keeps dragging on.
I did take several hours off work yesterday to go on my bike ride (see post bike to the beach.) It was 30 miles round trip which was a little longer than I was anticipating, but it was very worthwhile. I was really impressed with Brooklyn overall. There are several beautiful, historical neighborhoods, and I am looking forward to exploring the Brooklyn Museum.
We saw a very funny movie on Friday, although I’m not allowed to mention the name because of it’s questionable content and someone does not want us associated with such filth. But despite the “filth”, this movie was enjoyable. It wasn’t crass like the American Pie movies. I would describe it as an offbeat raunchy comedy with heart. I think that putting Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson together was a great move. Vaughn usually plays wired up, fast talking, neurotics while Wilson balances that with his laid back surfer vibe – think Zoolander. (Note: this section may not be on the site long)
And one more thing. We (mostly Ashley) have finally finished unpacking the moving boxes. We had an area of the apartment we labeled the miscellaneous stuff section, and we had two boxes of dishes left unpacked. Well, now we can say we have officially unpacked. This doesn’t mean that we have found a place for everything… far from it. But we do have everything out of boxes.
Also, I know some of you (Taylor for instance) want to hear more from Ashley. Well, you need to convince her that there is nothing scary about posting on a blog. She’s a bit nervous about writing on here because it’s out there for anyone to see. But really it’s just like writing an email to your family. I doubt there are 5 people (include me) who check this site regularly. Plus, you can always remove the post later. So, if you want Ashley to write on here, add a comment and let her know.
I am really excited about trying this bike ride. I just mapped the trip from my apartment to Rockaway beach, and it’s only 15 miles one way. Of course, I doubt this route will work for cycling, but it can’t be too much farther taking back roads.
I biked up the Hudson to Central Park on Sunday for my frisbee game, and it was a fun ride. But this should be awesome. I love New York! I’m 15 miles away from good mountain biking, 15 miles away from the beach, and 6 miles from Central Park. All I had in Atlanta was a bike ride to Stone Mountain… just not the same.
If you are wondering, this image was created using Google Earth which is my new favorite Google app.
The Fulton Fish Market is moving to the Bronx after 170 years in the same location. It’s the end of an era, but honestly I don’t mind. The greatest thing about the fish market was the abundance of fish… every day, the warehouse is filled with the latest catch from the Atlantic. The worst thing about the fish market was the overabundance of dead fish… on a breezy day, we can smell the aroma from just outside our apartment. The smell only intensifies as you walk down to the South Street Seaport and is generally nearly unbearable.
So, while holding our noses, we bid you a fond farewell. Maybe we will come visit you when we need to buy 80 lbs of salmon… 
Read the NYTimes article about the end of the Fulton Fish Market
From the roof of our apartment building, we have a 360 degree view of the East River as well as lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. On a clear day, you can see the ocean beyond Coney Island to the east and the mountains of the Adirondacks to the west. On the Fourth of July, hundreds of people from the apartment crammed onto the roof to watch the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks, and the show was amazing.
