Weekend with my Dada

It's nearly another weekend, which will surely be eventful as well as the last, but I wanted to share the adventures I had with my dad last weekend before they are swept away by the evil forgetfulness that plagues me.

So my dad was visiting last weekend, which I was excited about but hadn't really had time to plan anything for. So he got here in the middle of the day on Thursday, and I was able to leave from work early and then had taken the day off Friday.

We went back to my apartment, settled in a bit and looked for a place to eat. Looking around, there were several places in my awesome new neighborhood, but I happened upon Caracas, of which there is also a location that I'd been to in the East Village and immediately was thrilled about finding it and eating there. Immediately. They are a Venezuelan restaurant that has arepas (which are fried corn stuffed with deliciousness). So we went there, and it truly was amazing.

Friday we decided to head down to Downtown Brooklyn and ended up at the Transit Museum, which was remarkably awesome and fascinating. Plus you get to go into all the old cars!! Definitely one of the coolest museum experiences I've had in New York. We found a cheap but delicious Mediterranean place and then went to get some ice cream by Brooklyn Bridge Park, and sat in the park as the sun set, talking into the night and counting trains pass with the incredible, fantastic view of both the city and the Brooklyn Bridge. It was pretty magical. We got back to my neighborhood and ventured to Barcade (where they have tons of arcade games and lots of local beer, along with hordes of young people) to say goodbye to my dear friend, Ryan, who left to begin grad school in Nashville. I was quite proud of my dad for being so adventurous, as he was really by far the oldest person there.

Saturday, we actually made it out of Brooklyn. We woke up late and went into the city to check out the Museum of Art and Design, which was interesting and cool, but I was exhausted. Definitely the most visit-worthy part was the exhibit with pieces all made out of feathers, dead bees, dandelion seeds glued to LEDs, etc. That was pretty stellar. The rest was interesting, but for some reason I wasn't really drawn in. They also had huge touch screens where you could see all the pieces they had as a part of their permanent collection, and that was at least a pretty cool idea.

Then we went to see The Secret in their Eyes, a Spanish film that was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Artful, but also entertaining, riveting and appropriately distracting. Then, however, we made a terrible mistake. We went to Coney Island at night.

I had been to Coney Island before, but only in the day, and one of the times, I was mostly at Brighton Beach, which is just down the beach, and just walked through Coney Island. Another time, it was a concert. So I guess I hadn't really been to Coney Island. But it (I found out later) is one of the most dangerous areas in Brooklyn. Good job, Shannon, for taking your dad to the most dangerous area in Brooklyn. But whatever. We did end up surviving, despite seeing a fight (not physical) wherein a dude couldn't keep his shorts up and flashed us, as well as a woman, who appeared inebriated, be arrested. Without a doubt, it was an experience. Just not one I want to re-live.

Sunday, we decided to hang out in the morning, just around the apartment, and get some brunch. We went to a place down the street that was french, Le Barricou, which was delicious. And then we went to BargeMusic, chamber music on a barge. Quite cool. It's right by where we were Friday, the Brooklyn Bridge park. It's definitely one of my new favorite areas--beautiful and some cute restaurants.

Then Monday, dad left and I had to go to work. All in all an adventurous weekend. This weekend, I get another 3-day weekend, again with a friend, Matt. Fireworks from the roof! That's pretty much our only plan. Should be fun.