LIC Piers in Winterstorm Hercules

My adventure to the piers after the massive snowstorm last night.

View from my bed in the middle of the storm.

LIC Piers.

Caught the sunset at the piers.

Lower Manhattan.

2013 365 Project

Can't believe I actually finished the 365 Project. It started off really well in January 2013, and as I got busier during the spring semester there were times I thought of giving up because I just didn't have enough time. I though to myself, if I already put in a couple of week's effort, then it's too much to give up so I might as well keep going. I'm really glad I stuck to it till the end of the year. It was a fun experience, sometimes challenging when I don't go out with my camera much, but worthwhile nevertheless. I plan on doing it again for 2014 and hopefully it'll be more interesting than 2013. Also gonna start the 1 second a day video for 2014! Excited for all these new things I'm trying out!

New Year's Eve

Today instead of sitting at home and watching New Year's Eve broadcasts on TV, I went exploring around the city. First stopped by Brooklyn Bridge thinking it'd be a nice idea, but it was way too cold, and it was even colder and windier on the bridge. Around midnight, I went to Prospect Park at Grand Army Plaza for the fireworks. A low-key celebration, but better than waiting hours in line for the ball drop. People there were still festive and there was a live concert, so it was still pretty good and not a bad way to celebrate the new year. Afterwards, we decided to go to 53rd and 6th to get some Halal Guys. It was a great decision. While we were there, we walked to Times Square to see the mess and all the confetti. At Times Square, this guy asked the workers there for the '4' of the '2014' balloons. And we asked for the rest. We wanted a picture with all the numbers, so we asked the guy if we could borrow his '4.' It turned into everyone asking us if they can borrow our number for a picture, and in the end, the guy just let us keep the '4' since he didn't know what he'd do with it. So we got all '2014' numbers! Walking around Times Square with them made us look like we were actually there for the ball drop. Hehe. It was such a great way to spend New Year's Eve with spontaneous adventures and great company. 

Empire State was very pretty tonight.

Too cold for the bridge!

Time Square aftermath.

Confetti everywhere!

Can't believe we actually got the numbers!

Great way to end 2013 and start 2014.

City Adventures

City exploration today! Went to the Wafels and Dinges store at 2nd Street and Avenue B! It looks fancy inside, and there was this Groupon deal that was really worth it; got 2 savory waffles and 1 dessert waffle. Then afterwards went to City Bakery by 18th Street for supposedly one of the best hot chocolates in the city. It was literally melted chocolate with a huge marshmallow for $7. Too thick, but the marshmallow was good. Next, looked at all the Christmas decorations at Time Warner Building, then walked down 5th Avenue to the tree at Rockefeller Center. A bit too cold to be walking so much in the city today, but it was worth it.

WMD Waffle with Nutella, strawberry, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream!

Liiiiights.

Pretty interior!

Time Warner Building

Christmas lights randomly outside FAO.

Tree!

Lights at Rockefeller Center.

Christmas Adventure

Went on a mini adventure around Brooklyn and Queens today. I picked up Tiffany from Brooklyn and we went to Prospect Park and checked out the new ice rink. Pretty cool how it's two rinks, one covered and one not covered, connected, but it was way too cold to be strolling in the park. Then we went to Williamsburg and walked around Bedford Avenue and looked at random shops there. There were several toy shops that had pretty fun stuff, but slightly too immature for me... At night, we went to see the really decorated house in Whitestone. So many lights and so many people were there to see the house and take pictures as well! Stopped at Cafe de Cupping for a bit before heading back to Brooklyn. On the way back, we stopped by Dyker Heights to see the decorated houses there. There weren't any one house that was especially decorated, but all the houses in the neighborhood were really festive with lots and lots of lights. Pretty fun day doing all the festive stuff after Christmas.

Ice rink at Prospect Park.

Mini mall at Williamsburg

Cheese Shop!

Mario!

Really like the houses in Williamsburg

Festive house in Whitestone!

Snowman family!

So many people...

Wheeeee!

Ice Sculptures

Today I had an impromptu idea to go to the Ithaca Commons to check out the ice sculptures from the ice sculpting competition yesterday. It was cold, but I thought it was well worth the trip down there. A lot of the sculptures were really cool and they're so detailed. Ithaca isn't so bad in the winter, just pretty cold but there are stuff to do in the Commons and it's pretty there too.

Hunger games sculpture.

The Princess.

Sitting on the ice throne.

There is beauty in the frigid Ithaca winter.

Ice bar!

So many ice sculptures scatter around the Commons.

Pretty pretty.

9 day still Christmas!

First Snow

It's been surprisingly warm in Ithaca this winter. Today was the first snow, or the first time snow actually stuck to the ground. It snowed all day and coated the floor with several inches of snow before stopping in the evening. On my way home, I took a detour and went on a trail that loops around the gorges to take some photos. Feeling kind of black & white today.

Fluffy chairs and tables.

This tree looked like a Christmas tree.

I love the layer of the snow on top of different shapes.

More bikes outside Rhodes Hall.

Took a detour through the woods.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ithaca Beer Company

Visited Ithaca Beer Company today for my friend's birthday today! The place is really nice and it's not too far from campus either. We got food in the Taproom first and I split a sausage pizza and mushroom swiss burger with someone and it was delicious. The weather also happened to be very nice today and warm enough for us to be sitting outside. The tour itself was alright. I didn't find it all that interested since it was just about how beer is made and the whole process, but the free beer sampling at the end of the tour was good. In the end we all bought these beer mugs as souvenirs.

Ithaca Beer Company.

Mushroom and Swiss Burger.

Not a big fan of IPAs.

Beeeeeeer.

True Ithacan suburban.

Beer on tap.

Beautiful day to be sitting outside.

Artsy.

New York City Fall Break

Last weekend I went back home to New York City for Fall Break. Stocked up on lots of good food and caught up on some much-needed sleep. I also got to hang out around Long Island City Piers and Brooklyn Bridge Park the night before I came back up to Ithaca. I never get tired of going to those two places because the view is just so pretty the environment there's great.

View of Midtown from Long Island City.

Colorful Empire State Building!

Sunset!

:)