Long Island Fun

Went on a super fun but exhausting day trip with Tiffany yesterday to Long Island! Started off by going to Five Pennies Creamery to get some ice cream! It was just alright, but refreshing nonetheless. Then we went to Fire Island Lighthouse and it took quite a while to get there because the GPS directed me to the wrong place, but the drive along the shore was really nice so I didn't mind! The lighthouse, well it's just a lighthouse. The climb to the top was 182 steps, not much more than the Clock Tower, but those steps were so much higher. The breeze at the top felt so good though, and we got to see really far out and saw the NYC skyline in the distance. Pretty cool. And then walked along the shore back to the parking lot, and haha saw people skinny dipping even though there was a sign saying clothing required. Interesting.. Chilled at the beach for a bit and then headed to Tanger Outlet, but didn't get anything just walked around. Then hunger called, so we went to Olive Garden in Westbury and got dinner! 2 for $25 so worth it and it was yummidelicious. Final stop at IKEA to get some home goods, but I didn't end up getting anything and Tiffany got a hamper for her apartment. And then met up with Evelyn, Oscar, and Sisi at Coney Island to hang out a bit. The beach was disgustingly gross, such a downgrade from Fire Island beaches haha. But it was nice chilling at the Boardwalk. Such a fun day and then came home and crashed.. haha

At the top of Fire Island Lighthouse!

Ginormous, not really..

Who is this kid?

^___^

So crowded here at nightttt.

Heh, we took a photo like this last year at Coney Island too. Repeating it again this year!

Smorgasburg & Brooklyn Brewery

Reunited with the 305 Eddy crew!! Missed hanging out with them and it was great to meet up in the city even if it were just a few of us. Met up with Sally, Steve and Mui at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The new location at Pier 5 is so nice because it's so big and there's so much more activities to do by the water there. There were BBQ grills, kayaking which I think were free, and sports activities. It just seemed so much more lively there than the other place. We got brisket sandwiches from Mighty Quinn and it was yummidelicious. But it was way too hot to eat anything else so we got popsicles and lemonades, and the headed to Brooklyn Brewery. While waiting for the tour we had 2 beers and just caught up and chatted. The tour itself was alright, but our tour guide was super enthusiastic and funny so she made it more interesting. After the tour we went to IKEA to scout out potential furniture that we need to get since we'll all be moving to our own apartments in a few weeks. :( Got lots of ideas and will go back next time to buy them. Kinda scary that we're all off on different paths now and that we won't be doing things as a group anymore. But anyway, they went to the city to eat mussels and I went back to get dinner with the QCC crew.

Kayaking in the East River by Brooklyn Bridge Park. I wanna go.

Sorachi beer. Pretty good!

The big logooo.

Tap room where everyone waits!

The iconic logo again.

Carnival Cruise

Came back from a 7-night cruise on Carnival! My second cruise in 2 months haha, but this time with family. We left from Laguardia Airport last week and flew to Orlando! Then took a private cab to Port Canaveral, all looks sooo familiar since I was just here 2 months ago with Royal Caribbean haha. Carnival's ship seems smaller and not as elegant, and so many little children running around it was like a huge floating playground. We got the oceanside room so there was a window and we could actually tell what time it was!

The sea days were kinda boring, and the most interesting part of the day was going to the pool with Evelyn and playing with her in the water, and it wasn't even that fun. Too many little kids the pool is so packed. Actually the best part is the naps that followed, quite comfortable sleeping in the sun. We went to Cozumel, Mexico first, where we took a ferry to Playa del Carmen to see the Mayan ruins. Everything was so rushed because we didn't have that much time and we kept getting delayed. Breezed through the ruins in less than an hour and then rushed back to catch the ferry. Plus it rained the whole day which made everything gross and humid and uncomfortable. Then the next day we went to Belize! Which was much more interesting, we got a private tour from a cab driver and he was so cool and friendly. Took us around the rural areas and downtown and told us about Belize's history. Belize and Taiwan are on good terms and Taiwan donates a lot of money to them, so there were Taiwanese flags everywhere hehe, and apparently there's a lot of Asians there and a bunch of grocery stores are owned by Asians. Go Asians! The driver took us to this rum store and we tasted different types of wine, at 9am local time haha. The next day we were supposed to go to Honduras, but because of rough seas the ship couldn't dock so we ended up spending another day at sea. Such bummers. And then the next day we went to Costa Maya, Mexico, our last stop. We just went to a private beach and there was an open bar! Didn't drink all cruise so I indulged a little bit hehe, but the drinks were so light and they were alright. But there was this huge floating inflatable playground and it was so fun! There was a trampoline and lots of obstacle courses and I was doing flips on the trampoline and off it into the water. And then another sea day and then we came back! On the way back I learned a lot about alligators in Florida from the cab driver. Very very interesting. Overall the trip was much more relaxed and laid back, and sober, than the Royal Caribbean trip. But I didn't expect it to be as fun because with family everything's very tamed haha. I've mastered how to entertain Evelyn and Chloe when they're whining and crying hehe. It's so tiring to entertain them, they're like bipolar when they're sleepy or hungry, or just agitated. Now back to the normal lifestyle in New York for a month before working in DC. :O

Evelyn and Chloe are super fun when they cooperate, but when they fight...

Hehe yoga on the windowsill.

Goofballs.

Took Evelyn to the waterslide but she was too scared to go alone and we couldn't do two people, so I went.

Mexicoooo.

More Mexicoo.

These are bar seats, so cool!

Mayan ruins! Forgot the name of it.. lol.

More half standing buildings!

And more...

 Belize!

Place where we docked.

First stop was a rum store lol.

He looks scary, but he's actually so nice and cool.

Their 1-street flea market.

Beach at Costa Maya and the giant inflatable playground!

Blue water, so niceee.

More beach.

Such colorful drinks. Taking advantage of the open bar. :D