Delaware River Water Tubing Fun

If you want a relaxing and fun summer day trip, try leaving the city and going to NJ for some water tubing fun. I signed up for this through MMA but it was another combined trip with Outdoor Bound. About 30 of us took part in this outing.

After meeting in Manhattan, our bus headed out for approx 2 hours to get us to our Water Tubing destination. After all the bathing suits were on, sunscreen applied and our tubes selected we were ready to go! We were packed into a bus with our tubes and were driven to the river drop off spot. Getting yourself onto the tube and on the water was a bit comical. There were a couple of funny wipe outs. But once on the tube it was the height of relaxation. The weather was hot enough that you were thankful to have the water underneath you and it was quite refreshing. With the company we used, you float down the river for 2 hours or so and then you come across the famous Hot Dog Man. We all stopped for a delicious BBQ lunch. They had veggie burgers for people like me who don’t eat meat, chicken sandwiches and the regular burgers and hot dogs all fresh off the grill. It was a great way to make more friends in the group and find out more about your fellow tubers. Essentially, this was the half way point so once lunch was finished you got back on the water and floated towards the final stop point. There were some fun tiny rapids that I kept trying to paddle towards whenever I could and the rest was more relaxation on the river. Afterwards, we took our bus back, changed, and were on our way back to the city. It was a delightful way to spend a hot summer day. 🙂 I have heard there is also white water tubing for a more wild adventure so I plan to try that sometime too.

Another Way You Can Explore Your Neighborhood

Want to dine out in your neighborhood and try new places? Check and see if there is a Dining Meetup for your area or think about starting your own. Since I live in Astoria, I am a member of the Dine Out Astoria Meetup Group. Each month the organizers schedule a date for people to get together and enjoy a new restaurant. For the Astoria group we usually take a poll on what location to try next. And there are so many fantastic choices you can’t really go wrong. Then at the meal, you get to know some new neighbors and try some local delicacies. Our June dinner meetup was a lot of fun – we started at 7:30pm and ended up hanging out till 11pm. So try something different and get to know more about where you should be eating by sampling a new place with some new faces.

To join this or any other meetups go to http://www.meetup.com/

Sailing Adventure Aboard the Ventura

It was a Sunday in June and the NYC area had just gotten through a day of thunderstorms and downpours the day before. When I arrived at North Cove Marina (after getting slightly lost – thanks nice police officer for pointing me in the right direction so I could get there on time!), I saw our beautiful sailboat for the day. It has a single sail and we were informed that this boat was built in the 1900’s and still had most of the original parts and wood. It was made with great craftsmanship and has been well taken care of. There were about 25 of us on this MMA adventure. We began by learning about different parts of the ship and then divided into groups to learn more specific and hands on knot tying and sailing prep. The crew was kind enough to hand out orange ponchos when a light shower passed over us. Little did I know how much we would need them later!

We proceeded to leave the marina and our sailing fun began. We headed out towards the Statue of Liberty and got pretty close. It was a great photo op! Then we headed out towards Governor’s Island. You could see the new Ikea store and how massive it is on the Brooklyn shoreline. Up until now the skies had been partly sunny and a bit overcast. However, once we turned back towards Manhattan, a looming black sky was directly over where we were headed… Not a good sign. We continued on for a bit but then the ship captain said to his crew “Get everyone settled. We are going to see some action”. Shortly after, we were bundled in our ponchos, trying to avoid getting drenched by the monsoon upon us. Believe it or not, it was rather fun! I kept laughing at how crazy the weather was. Some people were still taking pictures even in the pouring rain. The storm seemed to pass quickly and when we got back it had pretty much stopped. Needless to say, no one was dry when we arrived back in the marina.

This was a great way to get out on the water and go for a ride on a beautiful ship. The Ventura offers sunset sails on Friday evenings and other weekend outings. They can also book for private parties. I highly recommend going on your own sailing adventure with them!

Ventura Website: WWW.SAILNEWYORK.COM

Delicious Eats

If you are in the mood for fresh and delicious sandwiches or fabulous burritos I know of just the places! On 9th Avenue between 57th and 58th streets, you must try the Burrito Box or Lunch Box depending on the mood you’re in. Both are owned by the same people and are across the street from eachother. They use the freshest ingredients and even have lots of delicious vegetarian options. Here is the website which has their menus. Check em out! I highly recommend them and since my office is very close I am a frequent customer.

http://www.burritobox.com/