A bit worse was the loss of the pictures I took last night, and the camera that I took them with.
The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I headed out to Coney Island to have beers and hot dogs at Peggy O'neil's. This was an event sponsored by my friend Sean Murphy and it was a lot of fun. We never did get hamburgers though because they started the coals too late and never really got them hot enough. Oh well, hot dogs and ball games kind of go together anyway.
Before going to Peggy Oneil's we stopped into the Freak Bar which in the past never seemed to be open when I was around. Quite frankly, it isn't much. Kind of like an unfinished basement, lots of cement and exposed wiring. I think they are remodeling, but who knows.
The bar is fairly small and adjacent to, you guessed it, a freak show. As a result they wouldn't let you take pictures even though the show itself was behind closed doors and you had to pay an admission to get in. Well, the picture thing really didn't make much difference anyway, as it turned out.
Just about everyone in the bar had tattoos, lots of tattoos. In fact one of the customers was a tattoo artist. The woman who was with her didn't have any visible tattoos and I mentioned that she seemed a bit out of place. Then she pulled up her shirt and showed me her back. Believe me, she fit right in.
We had great seats for the game, right on the third base side just a short distance from third base itself. You got to love minor league baseball, these seats sell for just ten bucks.
The game itself was fun too. The home team, the Cyclones, jumped out to an early lead but then the Staten Island Yankees roared back in the top of the ninth to pull within one run and give everyone heart attacks. But, the Cyclones prevailed.
We headed back to Peggy O'neil's for a post game beer and the place was jammed. It is a fairly large bar too with a big outside area. There must have been several hundred people jamming the place. It is a great location, literally built into Keyspan Stadium so it is a natural place to go for a post-game drink.
As we headed back to the subway I decided to stop into a place for a nightcap. Nice bar on the main floor and they said there was another one upstairs as well. This place was also full, but a lot of people, couples and families, were eating dinner even though it was kind of late. The Mysterious Chinese Woman said she was a bit hungry so we ordered a Codfish Cake appetizer. Really good with quite a bite to them. We decided to go back again one day and have a full dinner. The menu has a Jamaican feel to it and the goat looked interesting.
I had ordered a Maker's Mark Manhattan, straight up. Something must have gotten lost in the translation though because I ended up with a healthy slug of Maker's Mark in a small brandy snifter. The bartender looked like he knew what he was doing though, making fancy drinks and pouring out of four bottles at a time. I don't think he heard the Manhattan part, but that was okay, I wasn't going to bother complaining.
Unfortunately I don't remember the name of this bar and restaurant. I took a picture of it with the name but, alas, that isn't helping me now.
We got on the subway and here is where I think my mistake, if you can call it that, occurred. I took a picture on the subway and I think my camera caught someone's attention. I put the camera back in my pocket and as I switched trains at the Atlantic Avenue station someone must have picked my pocket as I walked through. Bummer. I ordered a new camera today and I have a backup so it is really the loss of the pictures that bugs me, and my own carelessness. It is funny because I usually keep my left hand in or touching the pocket where I carry my money and credit cards. I guess I wasn't thinking about the pocket with the camera in it. Whoever got it must have been fairly slick though, I didn't feel a thing and the camera isn't as light as a billfold. What also bugged me is that the Mysterious Chinese Woman had made a neat cover for it out of fabric from an umbrella and that, of course, is gone too. She said she would make me another one though.
Well, that is my sad saga. I had promised Sean that I would post pictures of his party too, so I apologize for not being able to do so. Also, apologies to Danielle, the bartender at Peggy O'neil's who graciously posed for me. A real cutie, too. I had some really cool pictures of the fireworks after the game as well.
I am heading out to the Equally Mysterious Sister's house then heading to Princeton for dinner. We are spending the night and then tomorrow we are going to Lambertville for a champagne brunch to celebrate another sister-in-law's birthday. Her big five-oh, but I don't think I am supposed to mention that.
With a bit of luck I will get her copy of the European pictures and will be able to resume posting about my trip soon.
Both my brother and his daughter, my niece (of course) have started blogs. My brother lives in Brainerd in Northern Minnesota and is heavily into kayaking.
My niece, Katie, is big on adventure camping and that is what she wants to do with her life. She is heading to Alaska where they have a two year graduate program in this field, supposedly the best one in the United States, and probably the world.
My niece, as you can see, sometimes writes on subjects similar to the ones that I cover, namely bars. I have been trying to dissuade her, or at least get her to drink something other than things like Key Lime Coke (Absolut Vanilla, Coke and two lime wedges) White Russians, and Peppermint Schnapps. Not all at the same time though. At least I hope not. She did try an interesting beer, South Shore Herbal Cream Ale.
