What's Great About Living in Queens?

You get to enjoy a view like this.

That plain rectangular shape on the right is the UN building.  The two skyscrapers with needles don't need any introduction.  The one on the left is the Empire State Building.  The one on the right is The Chrysler Building.

You can enjoy even more vistas from Hunter's Point South Park.  It's a great little park facing the East River and the east side of Manhattan.  I visited on a crisp fall day when they had an event going on.

First of all they had free food for the first hour.  There was a whole line of food trucks.

And I basically had lunch because I lined up for everything.  I first got a slice of pizza from Eddie's Place, then a mini lobster roll from Red Hook Lobster Pound (so good!), then Shrimp Drunken Noodles from Mamu Thai Noodle, then a Three Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwich from The Milk Truck.  Just as an aside, this grilled cheese is so fabulous; it's three cheeses -- Aged Gruyere, Aged New York State Cheddar, and Wisconsin Blue -- grilled so they melt together, then topped with caramelized apples.  SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD!  I was on line for dessert: a cookie  and a coffee from The Sweetery truck when the hour ended up being over.  Darn!  What got the line held up were all these people wanting lattes and hot cider.  DOES NO ONE DRINK PLAIN COFFEE ANY MORE?

Anyway, I can't complain, I got a free lunch.

So let me now talk about Hunters Point South Park.  It's a smallish park.  It has a nice playground for the kids...

 with plenty of things to climb, swing, or ride.  Of course there are some park benches for the adults and the view for them to enjoy.

There's also a level green field so that kids can run free like maniacs.  That building on the left is the entrance to the ferry that takes you to Manhattan and the docks on 34th Street.  They were giving out free rides, but it was too cold for me.  There were some family-friendly activities being held in the tents but I can't see to many kids wanting to be cooped up.

It was a great day at the park.

Long Island City Partnership Expo

I went to a business expo sponsored by Long Island City Partnership at Astoria World Manor last week.  It's a huge place that people use for big events, like weddings, etc.  I think this was the firs time that the Partnership used the Manor for the Expo in previous times they usually hold it at Terrace in the Park at Flushing Park.  Whosever idea it was to hold at the Manor, it's a great idea.  It's a wonderful venue, they were able to fit all the tables in this great big space and walking around was so easy.  At the Terrace it was cramped and broken up into various spaces.

There were some outstanding presentations.  The Sage General Store, a catering service, always has some great samples.  I had a sample of a delicious salad (sorry I didn't ask what it was but it was good), sausage, and they had kettle chips as well.  Needless to say, their table was so busy.  I also stopped by a table from The Paper Factor Hotel which just opened.  The site was originally a paper factory and it was converted into a hotel.  I've seen pictures of it.  They've kept the old industrial look and still made it look hip.  I'm going to stop by and check out the bar and the decor one of these days.  It looks like an interesting hotel to stay in.  They were giving out those plastic cold drink tumblers with a straw so I took one. There are certain giveaways that you have to have.  I didn't stay for the luncheon because I had so much to do but I think I'm going to check out LICP's events more often.

Great Public Toilet

No one appreciates the public toilet.  There are some that are so disgusting, you know that you're not going near it.  The vast majority are just so forgettable, but when you run into a model that is ideal, you have to mention it.  This public toilet is at the women's bathroom at O'Hare Airport in Chicago.  It's so amazing.  You come in and you are confronted by this great feat of engineering and utilitarianism.  You wave your hand over a sensor and a new plastic cover goes over the rim for your own personal use.  Once you're done and stand up, it automatically flushes.  How cool is that?!

I wish every public bathroom had toilets like this.  My "go" was such a short visit with this kind of toilet.  I didn't have to use toilet paper to line the rim.  I didn't have to use my foot to flush the toilet.  It was so easy.  After I was done, I was a little sad that I had to leave.

Halloween Night

I look at Halloween as the beginning of the holidays.  First off, everyone from toddler to adult enjoys Halloween.  It's not for kids anymore.  During the daytime, you'll see children going around in costumes and in the evening the adults join them.  I spent my evening at Luke's and snapped this pic.

Let's see, there's a flapper, a cab driver, devil, hippie, with Mario being the DJ.  The restaurant was all decked out in cobwebs and there was a scary portrait on the wall.  The food at Luke's, by the way, is so delish.

Now a lot of people go to the Halloween Parade but unless you have one of those great apartments that overlook the parade route, you're not going to see much and it's such a crush that it's not fun at all.  I had more fun walking around 14th Street Square because everyone is still in costume and just came out of the parade.