nyc summer: unexpected palm trees

I felt like I was seeing them everywhere. But maybe just at a few places, like at the pier next to the East River:



And on the beach at Governor's Island:





And then, for flavor, a real palm trees, on a fancy roofdeck:

put your make-up on, put your hair up pretty . . .

Atlantic City: sometimes it glitters, sometimes, it's just grim. It's the kind of place where even when you're walking along the boards, sipping a milkshake and humming along to whatever the beach bar bands are singing, part of you is acutely aware that the shadows are deep and sometimes full of terrible things.



Other times it's just beautiful, sunlit, and full of fun, rollercoasters, and deliciously awful food. The boards will always be my favorite place to have icecream for breakfast.



One last one, essentially because fancy elephant + imperious seagull makes me giggle:



. . . meet me tonight in Atlantic City . . .

Nathan's, Original and Best, Coney Island, July 3, 2010

Taken on the way to the train, after a baseball game. It was 4th of July weekend, hotter than the surface of the sun, and the sidewalks were packed. Nathan's is one of those places I gravitate towards when I see an outpost on the road, a gustatory touchstone, if you will. Simple. Uncomplicated. Delicious.