Bring your straight jackets...

... 'cause we're gettin' married at the LOONEY BIN!

S E R I O U S L Y.
(you just can't make stuff like that up!!!)

So yeah. Our reception place? Very nice. People are great. Food was fantastic. The view? Beautiful. The buildings on the way in were very interesting, and in varying states of disrepair, which was intriguing for a curious and adventurous couple.

The sign at the exit lists a place called "Letchworth Village." I have now come to know that this is also referred to as "Letchworth Village for the Feeble-minded and Epileptics." So before we go further, I know that feeble-minds and epilepsy do not "looney" people make. But you get the gist.
It has not been active for over 10 years, and the pictures on the sites at the bottom are pretty amazing.

I'm itching to go with my camera... I got a teatnus shot less than a year ago...

Take a look:
Still Mirrors: Photography by Stephen Miller
Opacity: Letchworth Village
Hudson Valley Ruins: Photography by Rob Yasinac
Designed Breakdown

BackPost 7/01/08: Corning Museum of Glass

I've been meaning to get up the pictures from the trip we took right after school let out, but they have been on the back burner... at least here's a start!

Matt and I went to the Corning Museum of Glass while in upstate NY with Matt's parents. It is an AMAZING museum! We spent the good part of a day there - seeing exhibits, wandering, having lunch, and my favorite thing - making a blown glass ornament! What a fun, fun place. I totally recommend it to anyone and everyone. Truly something for all can be found there!

Blowing my brains out?

TD looks Jumbo-sized!

Beware! Scientific content!

Lots and lots of cool exhibits to see.

The photos from the day are here.

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Strauss!

On Sunday, I got to witness two of our friends tie the knot. Unfortunately, Matt wasn't able to make it - we were up until 4am the night before, visiting the hospital... he got awful, awful food poisoning! So while he slept and recuperated, I traveled down to the Berkley Plaza to see Marisa and Eric become Mr. and Mrs.

The wedding itself was beautiful. I'd never been to a Jewish ceremony before, and found it to be touching and very personal. They both looked so amazingly happy - and I cried! The reception was very nice as well - so much amazing food at the cocktail hour (kudos to Marisa for choosing hummus - a must have when we get together!) and the dinner was lovely, too. Overall, just a sweet and wonderful time. May you have a lifetime of happiness and joy!

My pictures are here.

BackPost 7/30/08: Annie's House!

First thing I should say - Matt is awesome. He remembered that this was a place I wanted to go and made it happen. So cool. Major brownie points. :)

On our last day at the shore, we took a little drive over to Monmouth University, the school where Marisa spent her undergraduate years. Years and years before I ever met her, though, I knew this place. I just knew it as Daddy Warbuck's house in the movie Annie.

Wilson Hall, as it is known at Monmouth, is the actual house (interiors and exteriors) that were used for the film. The house is in the midst of being refurbished, but it is still the same on so many levels. We walked into the great hall, I looked up at the ceiling, and had a moment of awe - my childhood dream come true! So so beautiful. Despite the oppressive heat, we rambled throughout the entire building (including sneaking into original and amazingly beautiful bathrooms!) and I took tons of pictures, all of which you can see here.

Of course, I wanted to play the organ (see it next to the stairs?) but it was locked.

I was an Annie fanatic as a kid.... I knew the movie by heart, could sing and dance my way through the songs (on vinyl, baby!) to the point where I thought I was Annie for about a month! How my parents put up with me refusing to respond to my name (and referring to them as "Miss Grace" and "Daddy Warbucks!") is a feat of parenting I didn't know was possible!

Me... Then. Is this why I still go through times of wanting to dye my hair red?
I especially love the shining, glowing locket around my neck!

Me... now. Can I tap-dance down the stairs, now, Matt?

So yeah. This was a bit of a big deal to me. :) So, so cool.

BackPost 7/26-30/08: A few days at the shore

After the craziness of the workshop I attended (and a lot of other things, too), it was time for a little R&R. We spent the weekend - plus a few more days - down at the shore, and it was WONDERFUL.

On the rainy Saturday, we went bowling, and experienced four power outages while there! Lucky for us, though, the guy in charge was hanging out near us and he was persuaded to take us on a tour of the pin setting area! SO COOL! (Pictures)

Bowling with my "Male Harem" :)

Matt and I also went to Jenkinson's for a bit one day - to play skeeball and eat boardwalk foods, not burn in the sun!

TurtleDuck loves the ocean!

On the last day of our trip, we got up super early to see the sunrise at the beach - something I've wanted to do for a long time. It was hard to get up so early, and was cloudy and hazy, but still beautiful. Well worth it, and something I'll do again!

The calm before the craziness of a hot summer day!

It was a fun time, and I hope I'll get back again once before the summer is over. The ocean calls to me! (more pictures)

BBQ Family Fun!

On June 1st, we went to a family barbecue at my sister's house. We hadn't seen anyone in a while, so it was good to see everyone and catch up. I had a chance to take a few pictures, especially of the youngest ones. It's not comprehensive, by any means, but several pics in the album were taken by my niece, Kaela. Enjoy!

BBQ at the Donovan's

Prom Queen?

We enjoyed the prom on Friday. It was loud and crazy with kids dancing up a storm. We were going to do the traditional prom thing and head to the shore, but it didn't quite work out, which ended up being fine. If you're interested in pictures they are in my online album along with the few pictures I took on our anniversary when we went to the opening night of the NJ Shakespeare Theatre's production of Comedy of Errors. (It was excellent, and a great surprise from my sweetheart!)

A Vacation Walk

Whilst here at the shore, enjoying some alone-time, I decided to take a walk to the water yesterday. It's not far, and was nice to get out and enjoy some nice weather. Here are some photos from my journey.....

The album is here if you're interested in seeing the captions.