may 2010
Finally had time to pull down some photos (though a bunch of Rhys' are still on my other computer), so... picture dump from the weekend trip to New York with Rhys and the visit to San Fran with the crew a while back!
Ended up driving all the way there and back... approximately 1600 miles there and back and not a ding on the rental! (Whew)
No real problems at the border, probably because we weren't driving the Dodge Charger that Avis initially wanted to give us.
We ended up staying in Staten Island since it was easier to take the ferry and not actually drive around downtown NY.
The said ferry just coming into Staten Island -- it was pretty foggy Saturday morning, but the trip across was pretty nice.
The ferry station also had a green roof, which was pretty forward thinking (not shown here).
Everyone packing onto the ferry. Wasn't really as packed as this picture would lead you to believe though.
The NYC transit stations are pretty nasty (had to be said), but their system is fairly decent. Manhattan is actually small enough that you can walk from one end to the other (laterally) which was not apparent from looking at the map, so I ended up taking the subway down to the ferry point and back up another line... doh!
Chinatown! (Actually not that different from any other chinatown, just larger). It's like someone took the clone tool in Photoshop and stamped out a bunch of NYC souvenir shops there.
A NYPD buggy!
A little market that I stumbled upon that was literally under a bridge. Personally, I do not trust under-the-bridge fruit.
NYC is really nice in that all the parks are always brimming with street performers. Especially the improve guys who just grab an instrument and start playing along with the beat. Wish Toronto had more of these!
This guy was painting with sand. Pretty wild!
Old asian guy rocking the guitar; he was actually pretty good.
Sneak shot of the Empire State Building.
Rhys misread this initially. As did I.
Damn, the tree is actually covering the sign which said '9 shirts for $9.99!' which is almost cheap enough to buy them and not wash. I am now convinced that a large portion of NYC's economy is actually supported solely by the billions of souvenir shops in the city.
Chocolate Empire State Building. Deliciously tall.
As far as we got to going up the Empire State Building... lines were long and the prices were absurd.
Nintendo World!
People just sitting around playing Pokemon all day.
Some old school Nintendo gear.
I remember my cousin have something very similar (Donkey Kong) growing up.
LOL, the cafe where Liz Lemon busts Josh for trying to join The Daily Show.
I actually have all the pictures to make a pano of 30 Rockefeller, but don't have the app installed (so this is just the base).
(and the top... I'll try and fix this later!)
Atlas guy on the other side of 30 Rock.
We actually landed on the very Saturday that the iPad was launching!
We got to play with it a bit, and it's pretty slick!
Just walking down to Broadway. We would've tried to stay and get tickets for one of the late night shows, but Monday was a holiday :(
Ended up going to Promises, Promises instead, which was surprisingly good (first show I've been to and Sean Hayes/Kristen Chenoweth [Pushing Daisies, which I also liked] were pretty good on stage). Even better were the reactions of the girls just behind us -- the story gets a little dark at parts, and they were totally into it.
Missed Times Square since we had to grab the ferry back.
The requisite picture of the Statue of Liberty that every tourist must take (I think it's law now isn't it? :)
Helicopters or perhaps ROFLcopters taking off. Today is Easter Sunday (totally not planned though).
Got burnt at the Sony Technology Lab since it was closed easter Sunday... boooooooooooooo!
The atmosphere on 5th ave was pretty awesome though! People dressed up for Easter Sunday, and some people had hats made of metro cards!
More metro card art
Also got burnt at the MOMA... personally, I was banking on more people going to church this particular Sunday (leaving the museums empty), but it was genuinely packed.
And there was a Tim Burton exhibition there too :( (though we had to pre-book tickets, which we didn't)
Ran into more people dressed up on the way back.
Stopped off at Momofuku, which Rhys recommended, which was frickn' awesome. They do this asian-inspired cuisine and everything was really, really good. Probably my best meal there.
We ended up going to the Guggenheim instead, which was surprisingly good. Some very cool pieces in there.
Inside the Guggenheim -- the exhibit with the designs for the Guggenheim that people submitted were pretty cool.
The Guggenheim is just across from Central Park, so we ended up traversing that maze afterwards. It really gives the city another vibe, Toronto needs something like this in it's downtown core.
Cherry Blossoms blooming
Some high-end apartments on the right there; and a look at the lake.
The obelisk of doom
Fuzzy leaves
About to pounce
People just chilling on a Sunday afternoon
More street performers
The classic Central Park pathway that you always see in movies. I believe it's actually called 'The Mall'.
Creepy robot guy
Just playing some volleyball (Central Park is crazy!)
More people chillaxin'
A good view of the skyline from Central Park
And that's about half the photos I have, not including Rhys' photos that I need to upload sometime. Whew.
And the random pics from San Fran with the rest of the team:
Walking by the Google headquarters! It's a frickn' android robot!
Apple headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop. Awesome.
Also home to the Company Apple Store. I may or may not have installed BumpTop on one of their 24 inch iMacs. :)
Stanford is downright beautiful. The vibe you get on campus is amazing.
You can't see it in this picture, but there are people biking everywhere. It's like a little city just beyond those arches.
Flowa-Powa
Got to go to Facebook headquarters too for one of the meetings. They have like a normal-layer and an under-layer. I guess some developers don't like the sun :)
Marin Headlands
Frickn' Amazing view
The Full-House house, haha.
Caught this on the way to catching the Canada-Russia game during the olympics.
We caught this lady reading while driving (though you can't really tell from this image), hah!
I'm still trying to find out who took this picture of me (and with my phone to boot!) as I have no recollection of this taking place :P
I think I'm going to miss Toronto.
Ended up driving all the way there and back... approximately 1600 miles there and back and not a ding on the rental! (Whew)No real problems at the border, probably because we weren't driving the Dodge Charger that Avis initially wanted to give us.
We ended up staying in Staten Island since it was easier to take the ferry and not actually drive around downtown NY.The said ferry just coming into Staten Island -- it was pretty foggy Saturday morning, but the trip across was pretty nice.The ferry station also had a green roof, which was pretty forward thinking (not shown here).Everyone packing onto the ferry. Wasn't really as packed as this picture would lead you to believe though.The NYC transit stations are pretty nasty (had to be said), but their system is fairly decent. Manhattan is actually small enough that you can walk from one end to the other (laterally) which was not apparent from looking at the map, so I ended up taking the subway down to the ferry point and back up another line... doh!Chinatown! (Actually not that different from any other chinatown, just larger). It's like someone took the clone tool in Photoshop and stamped out a bunch of NYC souvenir shops there.A NYPD buggy!A little market that I stumbled upon that was literally under a bridge. Personally, I do not trust under-the-bridge fruit.NYC is really nice in that all the parks are always brimming with street performers. Especially the improve guys who just grab an instrument and start playing along with the beat. Wish Toronto had more of these!This guy was painting with sand. Pretty wild!Old asian guy rocking the guitar; he was actually pretty good.Sneak shot of the Empire State Building.Rhys misread this initially. As did I.Damn, the tree is actually covering the sign which said '9 shirts for $9.99!' which is almost cheap enough to buy them and not wash. I am now convinced that a large portion of NYC's economy is actually supported solely by the billions of souvenir shops in the city.Chocolate Empire State Building. Deliciously tall.As far as we got to going up the Empire State Building... lines were long and the prices were absurd.Nintendo World!People just sitting around playing Pokemon all day.Some old school Nintendo gear.I remember my cousin have something very similar (Donkey Kong) growing up.LOL, the cafe where Liz Lemon busts Josh for trying to join The Daily Show.I actually have all the pictures to make a pano of 30 Rockefeller, but don't have the app installed (so this is just the base).(and the top... I'll try and fix this later!)Atlas guy on the other side of 30 Rock.We actually landed on the very Saturday that the iPad was launching!We got to play with it a bit, and it's pretty slick!Just walking down to Broadway. We would've tried to stay and get tickets for one of the late night shows, but Monday was a holiday :(Ended up going to Promises, Promises instead, which was surprisingly good (first show I've been to and Sean Hayes/Kristen Chenoweth [Pushing Daisies, which I also liked] were pretty good on stage). Even better were the reactions of the girls just behind us -- the story gets a little dark at parts, and they were totally into it.Missed Times Square since we had to grab the ferry back.The requisite picture of the Statue of Liberty that every tourist must take (I think it's law now isn't it? :)Helicopters or perhaps ROFLcopters taking off. Today is Easter Sunday (totally not planned though).Got burnt at the Sony Technology Lab since it was closed easter Sunday... boooooooooooooo!The atmosphere on 5th ave was pretty awesome though! People dressed up for Easter Sunday, and some people had hats made of metro cards!More metro card artAlso got burnt at the MOMA... personally, I was banking on more people going to church this particular Sunday (leaving the museums empty), but it was genuinely packed.And there was a Tim Burton exhibition there too :( (though we had to pre-book tickets, which we didn't)Ran into more people dressed up on the way back.Stopped off at Momofuku, which Rhys recommended, which was frickn' awesome. They do this asian-inspired cuisine and everything was really, really good. Probably my best meal there.We ended up going to the Guggenheim instead, which was surprisingly good. Some very cool pieces in there.Inside the Guggenheim -- the exhibit with the designs for the Guggenheim that people submitted were pretty cool.The Guggenheim is just across from Central Park, so we ended up traversing that maze afterwards. It really gives the city another vibe, Toronto needs something like this in it's downtown core.Cherry Blossoms bloomingSome high-end apartments on the right there; and a look at the lake.The obelisk of doomFuzzy leavesAbout to pouncePeople just chilling on a Sunday afternoonMore street performersThe classic Central Park pathway that you always see in movies. I believe it's actually called 'The Mall'.Creepy robot guyJust playing some volleyball (Central Park is crazy!)More people chillaxin'A good view of the skyline from Central ParkAnd that's about half the photos I have, not including Rhys' photos that I need to upload sometime. Whew.
And the random pics from San Fran with the rest of the team:
Walking by the Google headquarters! It's a frickn' android robot!Apple headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop. Awesome.Also home to the Company Apple Store. I may or may not have installed BumpTop on one of their 24 inch iMacs. :)Stanford is downright beautiful. The vibe you get on campus is amazing.You can't see it in this picture, but there are people biking everywhere. It's like a little city just beyond those arches.Flowa-PowaGot to go to Facebook headquarters too for one of the meetings. They have like a normal-layer and an under-layer. I guess some developers don't like the sun :)Marin HeadlandsFrickn' Amazing viewThe Full-House house, haha.Caught this on the way to catching the Canada-Russia game during the olympics.We caught this lady reading while driving (though you can't really tell from this image), hah!I'm still trying to find out who took this picture of me (and with my phone to boot!) as I have no recollection of this taking place :PI think I'm going to miss Toronto.