Trippin': New York City - Staten Island Ferry

1 Bay Street
Staten Island, NY 10301

We're coming close to the end of all my NYC fotos! I've prolly got about three or so more posts after this. For those of you who want to see the Statue of Liberty without really having to go up close and personal, a great option is to hop onto the Staten Island Ferry which will cruise you right pass Miss Liberty herself. The best part of doing this is that it's FREE! Make sure you get on the correct side and snag yourself a good spot cos it'll get crowded real quick. My shorty self had a bit of trouble trying to get a good shot without people's heads and camera's getting into the frame. All the while, the locals were sitting inside, most likely laughing at us tourists.

Restaurant: Crave Sushi

2900 Travis Street
Houston, TX 77006

For big poppa's actual b-day, I took him to eat at Crave Sushi. Cos you know, I had a gift certificate and all. The food was okay. Nothing to rave about. Haha. I'm not a big sushi connoisseur, but I can tell you what I like and what I don't. I don't like sushi places that are overly modernized in decor. Instead, I prefer those sushi restaurants that have the more authentic and homey and inviting feel to it. I abhor, the decor. But that's just me. We arrived with no reservations to a bit of a slow night and thus were seated promptly. Big poppa and I decided to order a smattering of appetizers and just skip the entrees. I was built to tapas! Our server seemed like he was kinda new. A little hesitant here and there but was always really nice. Being a former server, I truly empathize with what they have to go through so I'm generally really easy going with them. At the end of the meal, I was fishing through my giganto bag filled with the contents of a 99 cent store and found a fortune cookie that I took and never ate from some other restaurant. I decided that I no longer wanted this fortune cookie so I set it on top of the guest check holder. The server came by to pick up the holder thing and remarked to his fellow server, I didn't know we had fortune cookies. Haha! Jokes on you server guy!

Hot rock with angus beef. It's a lot better at other places. The type of beef they give you makes all the difference.

Miso soup. Just your average miso soup.

Salmon ceviche. Big poppa liked it. I thot that it was a bit too acidic and the salmon tasted a lot fishier than I expected it to. Also, by the time it came out, the salmon was more on the done side. The good thing is that they gave about six to seven chunks of salmon.

Spare ribs. The meat was very tender with asian flavors.

Gyoza. The wrapping was very thin and so they easily ripped. Very under-par overall.

Chicken skewers. Don't order this.

Spicy tuna roll. This was good. It was perfectly spicy. I hate it when it's not spicy enough.

Big poppa and I both agreed that our favorite was the tuna poke. The marination was just yums.

I know it seems like my review is more on the negative side, but for some reason, I feel like I wouldn't going back. I have another gift certificate. Maybe that's why! But if anything, the happy hour looks like it could be worth it. And they supposedly have a kobe beef burger that sounds promising!

Trippin': Keystone - Snowmobiling

One of the first activities that big poppa, the sistars and I did together was SNOWMOBILING! It was sooooo much FUUUUNN! I booked the two hour guided ride through White Mountain Snowmobile Tours. The folks there were super friendly and very helpful and patient with my gazillion retardo questions. From the main Keystone resort, it's about a forty minute drive to the site. Driving around and through these mountains is my least fave thing to do cos it is scary. Icy roads with no guard rails in some areas. Oy! Upon arrival, they have heavy duty boots and snowsuits for you to wear or you can wear your own stuff. Of course, helmets are a must! And goggles too. And a neck gaitor. And thick gloves. We started off with a brief safety and operations instructional talk from this ruggedly handsome guy who would also be our guide. Seriously. If I were not already with the perfect 'white' asian guy, this would be the type of real white dood I would want to date. Super out-doorsy and adventurous. During the winter, he does this snowmobiling thing, and in the summer time, he's a white water guide. How cool is that?!? And yes I asked him. Haha. I can feel big poppa's eyes burning holes through me right now even though he hasn't read this yet. The tour takes you allllll the way up the mountain. There are several stops: a wide open space where everyone can get a feel of the snowmobile, another near the top of the mountain at the continental divide, and then another stop to get some hot chocolate! It was such an amazing experience and the views were breathtakingly gorgeous. My sistars shared a snowmobile and big poppa and I shared one. It's like $160 for each snowmobile for two riders. Big poppa drove most of the time. I took the wheel at the practice track but for some reason, I preferred to have big poppa do most of the driving. On the way back, I was ready to give it a go again but big poppa steered us into deep snow and our snowmobile got stuck. Hah! The guide managed to get the snowmobile out but I was mos def not gonna drive it after that! If it weren't so expensive, I would love to do it again and again and again. I really recommend everyone trying this at least once in their life.

Musik Mundi: Spoon

My best c/w buddy told me this morning that a doc asked her if she knew any songs with her name in it. She told him she maybe knew one that was in Spanish. I tried to think of a song that had her name in it and drew a blank. Later in the afternoon, we went to go get a cuppa at Starbuck's and as we were waiting in line, I grabbed a Spoon album that was at the counter and took a look at the back. Lo and behold, track number eight, Goodnight Laura. Now how do you like them apples? Unfortunately, the song isn't that good. Jaja!

*photo courtesy of amazon.com*


Spoon
Album: Transference (2010)
Song: Goodnight Laura


*Edit* The web sheriff has come a searchin' and has requested that I remove the song. Sorry readers and listeners! When money and power come into play, everyone loses.