My guest book

I have one now. With many friends promising to come visit me in New York City, I thought it would be fun to keep track of my visitors, and also to gve them a chance to write me a thoughtful, meaningful note in exchange for my warm and gracious hospitality.

My first visitor was my own brother, who was in town for only a couple days. The first evening we had dinner at the Boat Basin on Manhattan's Upper West Side. This is a seasonal restaurant situated beneath a solidly constructed roundabout and looks out over the Hudson River.

David's friend Justin, who studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary, joined us, and Carrie met us briefly to deliver a wedding present back to Texas for me.

My second and third visitors were my good friends from college, Emily, and her husband Seth. They live in Maryland where Emily works with the Princeton Rev...wait, no, Kaplan, and Seth coaches football & track as well as teaches biology. I met them in the West Village and planned to ride with them directly to my house where I had a brined chicken* roasting in the oven. However, my plans for a quick trip to my apartment and my intentions to demonstrate my subway prowess disintegrated when the E train didn't take the route I thought it should! We still had fun catching up & visiting on the subway, and Seth even reminded me of the distinction between xylem and phloem.

The chicken was nearly done when we arrived, which we ate alongside arugula & gruyere salad and steamed broccoli. (I need not mention the appetizer plate of smoked gouda, white cheddar, dried apricots, and walnuts in this post, as that would be needless detail.)

Regrettably I forgot to take a picture with Seth and Emily, but I did get a chance to show them nearby Fort Tryon Park just as twilight was easing over the river. Here are a couple pictures of the area during daylight.

* Stuffed, naturally, with carrots, onion, and celery.