Recap: Abbe Lew’s Whiskeython.

Twas a great day at the races yesterday. The inaugural Whiskeython (hosted by yours truly) was held with a start at The UN Building and finish in South Street Seaport. The winner would win a coveted bottle of Buffalo Trace whiskey, and a lucky raffle winner would win two airplane bottles.

The weather was picture perfect (60 degrees in New York City in January…seriously?), and seven contestants made their way over to the East Side for the 11:00 start. As host, I gave the route and told them my trusty sidekick Amanda and I would be down at the finish taking everyone’s times.

Methinks if you look closely, you'll find the Baker brothers.

Maria asked, “Where is the finish…exactly? Like what cross street?”

“Um… I don’t know…”

Jeff piped up, “I think it’s Wall.”

After the proper, “One, two, three, BEGIN,” they were off heading south while Amanda and I popped into a cab.

(And yes, I said begin. Not go. Had to change it up.)

We got to the finish.. er, the new finish at a park on Wall and South Street. It wasn’t the projected finish of 5 miles, but if that’s where everyone thought they were headed then so be it! This is a fun rogue ops race, after all.

Not long after, Elyssa showed up ready to document the finishers. I looked down at my clock.

“Hmm. 30 minutes… if Christopher was actually allowed to race this and win, he’d probably be coming through the finish…”

“Yep,” E said. “Not the case, today!”

Four minutes later, it was Jeff Baker (who was being paced by his brother) charging down South Street. We all started cheering. Jeff looked up, saw us at the finish and started sprinting. Amanda and I made our best power arch while Elyssa snapped shots of his speediness.

Moments later, photographer number 2—Erica Sara—showed up.

“I got off at the wrong station,” she whimpered.

No matter, as all the finishers started coming through the finish, and our power arch grew!

So bright! Sunshine and 60 degrees in January!

Abbe Lew’s Whiskeython Official Times:

Jeff: 34:06
Chris: 34:10
Maria: 37:42
Laura: 41:00
Jillian: 41:05
Lauren: 44:12
Samantha: 45:37

Much celebration took place at Fraunces Tavern for luncheon and booze.

Thanks to all who came out, and congratulations to Jeff for first place finisher and Lauren for winning the raffle in the first Rogue Runner race of 2012!  Hope to see everyone at the Cardiac Crusher 4 Mile Prediction Run!

Wrap It Up: Christmas in NYC.

Well, I’m happy to report that my second attempt at Christmas in New York with my parents was a success! Last year was an epic failure as the snowstorm from hell whisked my parents back to North Carolina. But! Thanks to mild(er) temperatures, no snow was seen, leaving my parents to be with me for 4.5 fun-filled days in the city to celebrate the holidays.

So, let’s wrap it up holiday style.

Restaurant Recommendation of the Weekend: Saxon + Parole. Oysters. Branzino. Marrow. I was quite upset when I learned that Double Crown was to close earlier this fall to be transformed into something new. I loved DC. But behold, Brad Farmerie brings tidings of great joy with his newest concept. AND as an added bonus, my dear friend Dana graced us with her presence and we ate and drank ourselves into a serious roll-us-out-the-door food coma. And the burger that kept passing by our table (apparently a must-have at S+P)—that goes on the post Derby Marathon to-do list.

Holiday Funtivity of the Weekend: A fun run with His Lordship. Chris and I got up on Christmas morning, wished each other a very Merry and head out the door for a short, brisk run. We made our way to Central Park and down the East Drive towards 5th Avenue. Our goal: the Tree at 30 Rock. I made this run last year on Christmas Eve, and I found myself being the only person in Rockefeller Plaza. This year was a bit different – there were more tourists and people were already skating at 9:00 am. But it’s still worth it to be in the presence of one of such a large tree on Christmas Day.

Stunning.

Other funtivities of note: Chinese for Christmas dinner at Mr. K’s in Midtown, drinks with the always lovely Erica Sara at Bookmarks (my folks were staying at the Library Hotel), and cooking both Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas breakfast for the family (oh yes, recipes to follow). There was much texting (many of it angry) with Claire and Gavin during the Giants game. And let us not forget, the always important Home Alone viewing on Christmas Eve. Hey, I do have to keep my traditions.

Oh, and Lindy Lew got me this for Christmas. Project, indeed.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season, and that the fun continues right into the New Year.

Oh, and fun fact: training has started. How did that happen? Whoops. Time to look forward to that S+P burger.

Now it’s off to sunny Tampa for the remainder of my stay/vacation. See y’all in the Sunshine State.

Wrap It Up: The DeYoung/Millers Invade NYC.

And also my NYC staycation.

And also our NYC cheese-cation (but we’ll get to that later).

Danielle and I have known each other for what seems like eleventy billion years. In reality, I think we’ve been friends since the third grade. She is an engineer, an artist, a musician, and other super cool awesome things that super fun awesome people do. Her and her husband Drew (who is also super fun and awesome and other cool adjectives) decided that they would fly up for Danielle’s 28th birthday for a long weekend, thus making it a staycation for myself and Chris.

After long months and weeks the staycation finally happened. Fun was had, laughter was shared, the itinerary had been printed and cheese was wolfed down by all.

We even saw a saloon for balloons.

"This is where we are in the document. With Bat Cat."

So. Let’s wrap up a weekend of fun in my city.

Restaurant recommendation of the weekend: We took the city by storm and ate some seriously amazing food. I will recommend Danielle’s favorite restaurant in the city (and coincidentally where we ate her birthday dinner): Artisianal. Cheese. Cheese. Cheese. Yes folks, there is a fromagerie and a glorious cheese cave. Oh so beautiful and I hope to own one in my home in the near future. It will also be where Danielle and Drew will sleep when they come to visit.

Staycation recommendation of the weekend: Ice Skating in Wollman Rink. Although I’m quite terrible and afraid of ice skating due to a fractured knee injury I endured from my snowboard catching an edge on ice many moons ago, this was quite enjoyable. Get there at 10:00 AM on the dot to ice skate with minimal child traffic and out-of-towners.

The “Be careful, you’re on video camera so you need to be quick” recommendation of the weekend: The Well in Manhattan Bistro. Should you venture to Soho to do any shopping, take a load off your feet and enjoy a beverage at this quaint pub on Spring Street (sorry to sound like an infomercial). The four of us were joined by the Walkers for luncheon/shopping, and we found ourselves at this bar discussing a ghost story I saw on The History Channel. Back in 1799, a young girl was murdered by her fiance and tossed into the Manhattan Well. That well still exists in the basement inside of Manhattan Bistro, and it is said that strange occurrences happen in the bar/restaurant by the ghost of said young lady. Danielle and I decided to “go to the bathroom,” aka go through the door that is marked “NO ADMITTANCE/STAFF ONLY” and venture back into the room containing the well (which looks like it should be from The Ring). We saw it, shreiked with glee, and ran away. Christopher decided he would go take a look after we told him our tale. The door was locked. “They may have seen us on video camera.” Whoops.

And by the numbers:

Number of restaurants/bars conquered: Lucky 13.
Number of cheeses eaten: 17 (including manchego, burrata and nacho).
Number of Hugh Jackman (aka Huge Ackman) coffees: 3.
Number of hours spent playing with Astor: Not enough.
Number of fun runs in Central Park: 1.
Number of Well-of-Dooms spotted: 1.

Many thanks and Happy Birthday to my dear friend Danielle DeYoung-Miller and her wonderful husband Drew for invading the city so nice they named it twice for guactails, wine, shoppery, and consoling me when the Giants lost. And thank you for enjoying cheese as much as I do. And thank you for letting Astor fuzz all over your clothes and coffee.

DeYoung Hyphen Miller.

Much Love,

Abbe Lew