Happy Halloween! What are your plans for Today? Is it taking the kids out for trick-o-treating, attending a costume party or having a haunting party yourself.
Carved out Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin greating you by the front door and welcoming trick-o-treaters. The neighborhood just comes to life as many of the homes are decorated with paper skeletons and scare crows. Let the fun begin. It’s always such joy to see children in the neignborhood in their latest costume and being anyone they want for the day. From fairy princesses to ghouls and gobling. Not to mention the scary ghosts. It’s the perfect day to watch horror movies which has been on since Friday. Sipping apple cider and eating candy corn.
If you are in NYC, do not forget to stop by the New York’s Village Halloween Parade. This is one of the nation’s largest Halloween parade. Attended by 2 million people. What I love about the parade are the artistic costumes.
Below is a You Tube Video by Local Big Wig with information on the 38th year of the parade.
How well do you know your city? What we are referring to is the historical landmarks, museums, parks and where the locals hang out in the neighborhood. As a native New Yorker, I am still uncovering so many places in Manhattan as well as the outer boroughs. New York City is comprised of 5 boroughs which one of them is Manhattan. The other four boroughs include the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. New York City is the most expensive city to live in and it is the city that never sleeps. The Big Apple with all the hustling and bustling. One can find something open 24/7. The city is popluated with the most diverse ethnic groups. You will find every ethnic culture and cuisine here. One subway line (MTA- Metropolitian Transit Authority of NYC) the #7 it’s like the United Nations, every country is represented. NYC is also the financial center of the world with Wall Street. The reality is if you can make it in NYC you can make it anywhere. It’s definitely life on the fast lane represented by the yellow cab that are visible every where you walk or see in NYC.
Most tourists come to NYC to catch a broadway show, go on the circle line, walk around Central Park, go shopping at Herald Square or visit the Empire State Building. There is so much to do and not enough time in the day to see all the major attractions. That’s why people love coming back to NYC.
Have you considered venturing out of Manhattan and visiting one of the outer boroughs?
Here are some of places to visit;
Brooklyn
Taking a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn Promenade- Breath taking spectacular view of the Manhattan Skyline.
Brooklyn Botanical Garden- Especially around May when all the Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom.
Brooklyn Museum- Right next store to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. First Saturday of every month, free entrance to the museum. Lots of great activities to bring your children and family to.
Brooklyn Prospect Park- If you love visiting Central Park. You are going to enjoy Prospect Park.
Queens
Flushing Meadow Park- Shea Stadium and the US open is coming up next month in September.
New York Hall of Science- also found in Flushing Meadow Park.
Bronx
Yankee Stadium
Bronx Zoo
City Island
Staten Island
Staten Island Zoo
Historic Old Richmond Town
Riding the Staten Island Ferry
What are some of your favorite places that you visited while you were in New York City? For those who are making a trip to New York City, what are some of the places you plan to visit.
Recently, completed a 30 day blog challenge back in June 2010 which was not an easy task trying to keep up with the Jones. There were times when I just did not have the energy to write aside from all the other distractions. It takes time to build the momentum. Very pleased that I was able to complete both the 30 day and 7 day mini blog challenge using two different sites. A Facebook Fan Page “Continuity Blogging Community” was created to continue with the relationships that were form from the challenge.
Now, there is the Ultimate Blog Challenge coming up in August hosted by Michele Scism and Michelle Schaeffer. The original 30 day blog challenge was created by Connie Ragen Green and the one this past June was hosted by Jeanette Cates and Connie Ragen Green. So are you ready for another 30 days?
Here are some tips to make blogging easier when participating in a 30 day blog challenge.
1) Preparation is important. Just like running a marathon, going on a diet or blogging being prepared is key. Get all your materials ready.
2) Do you have a game plan? Are you going to repurpose your material or what are some of the new articles you will be posting?
3) If you have difficulties coming up with a blog post every day or will be on vacation, write a batch of articles and then schedule them for publishing at a designated time. I will definitely, be using this method more frequently.
4) You do not have to blog and come up with materials all by yourself throughout the 30 days. Why not interview others in your field? Have a guest blogger post on your blog. Conduct a blog exchange. What about doing a video blog for the day? There are so many ways to create content.
5) Have fun with it. Write materials that are targeted to your niche market.
Everyone comes out a winner from a blog challenge. The blogger provides valuable content and the reader finds you as a resource. This in turn makes you a credible source –expert and you engaged your readers. Who knows maybe a sale or a joint venture. Just think of the possibilities.
Share you comments with us of your experiences with a blog challenge.
Hope you all had a good 4th of July. After blogging for 30 days plus a 7 day mini challenge, I needed a vacation. Want to share with my readers that it is always a good thing to take some time off.
This past weekend we traveled to Block Island, RI. Took the ferry from New London, CT to Block Island, Rhode Island. Just being on the ferry with the wind blowing in your face/hair with the sun shining and greeting you with a big smile. You can smell the fresh salty sea air. It’s a hidden destination getaway. Perfect place for some rest and relaxation. Block Island is a small little island. If you are a sun worshiper, surfer, sailor, hiker or biker, this is definitely the place to visit. There is a little something for everyone. Quaint shops to purchase tee-shirts, sun dresses, and other unique items.
Once we arrived at the port. There are places to rent bikes and mopeds which is the best way to travel the island. We decided to walk around town a bit, grab lunch and then bike the rest of the afternoon. Ending the day with dinner and heading back to Connecticut on the last ferry.
We started by walking up Spring Street, passed by an Inn and further up the path is Abrams Animal Farm which is an exotic petting zoo. There were Camels, Kangaroos, Emu, Yak, Llama, Lemurs, Minature Horse, and many other animals. The most exciting one was the Zee-Donk- see if you can find their photo in the video below. Amazing animal and very friendly too, it is a mixture of a Zebra and a Donkey. If you see the photograph, the lower part of the body has stripes like a Zebra. Too bad, I was not able to get a photo of the ringtailed Lemurs for they both swung away.
Next we headed back for some lunch. Talk about the food and the New England coast has some of the best seafood from lobster, mussels to clam chowder. Not to be missed is the Lobster Roll. Yummy.
Have not ridden a bike for over 30 years. It’s all muscle memory. Once, you are on the bike it is a little akward but after a while it’s a piece of cake. So here are some of the breath taking views.
-The beautiful pristine beaches and the tourquiose water that just reminds me of the Carribean.
-Walking the Mohegan Bluffs- where you can see Montauk on a clear day.
-The Southeast Light House-Built in 1875, located on Mohegan Bluffs and it’s lights can be seen 21 miles away at sea.
-Great Salt Pond & New Harbor
-Old Harbor
Posting a video of my trip with two of my gal pals. We have been having these getaways for the past 4 years. It’s great to leave the family home, work and just spend quality me time with your girlfriends.
Share with us what you did for the 4th of July or your plans for the Summer.
Great news. After posting up my first blog, I was asked by Joao to be a guest blogger for their Travel Blog. The travel destination that I picked was Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City. I had so much fun with this assignment. Listed below is the link.
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