Asbury Park & Ania!

Well yesterday was an awesome day. I woke up and decided to drive to Asbury Park, NJ to take some photos. This resulted in me having the old standard "At Long Last Love" stuck in my head the entire day (and again as I write this) because of the line "Is it Granada I see, or only Asbury Park?" I had never been there before, but was somehow drawn to it's history, and the Americana/Kitsch factor is pretty high, so that's always a good thing. Oh, and there's a beach, too, so that can't be too bad. Once I got there I parked near the beach, right across from The Stone Pony and walked up to the boardwalk. All the stores were closed, but there were a few people out for a morning jog or walking the dog. I walked out on the beach and took some photos, and then walked down toward the old convention center and then noticed Wonder Bar across the street, which had a great sign, good colors and some nice peeling paint. I took a few shots with my digital, but I'm looking forward to seeing what comes out from the Holga.


So the thing about Asbury Park is that it's in the process of renewing inself. It has a great beach and a boardwalk, so it shouldn't be too hard to lure folks to town. But currently there is a clear line between the old and the new. There are condemned buildings across the street from brand new, ritzy condos. But I have to say, it's way more fun to photograph the condemned buildings.

The sign says "A Bright Future for Asbury Park," but I think the current economy might have something to say about that:

And on my way home I passed this great sign:

In the afternoon I met up for coffee with a woman I met while volunteering for the Obama campaign and we had a great conversation. We seem to have a lot in common and I hope that we'll actually meet up again at some point.

Then I went home to make risotto and wait for ANIA stop by! She is visiting her mom in PA for Thanksgiving and came out to Princeton to meet half-way with a friend who lives in NYC and then to spend the evening with me! It was SO great to see her and so nice to have someone come and visit my house. It made it feel more like a home to me than just some place I'm hanging out for a while. Ania and I were photo students together at SU, so we took a ton of photos in the short time we were together on Sunday, both in my house with my new mirror from IKEA...

and at the Bent Spoon, where we went to get ice cream even though it was freezing out. I ended up getting a mini cupcake instead of ice cream.

A true sign of the inner photo geek. I love hanging out with Ania because I never feel self-conscious about taking photos in the most random places with her, and we always end of laughing about it.

It was a fabulous day and really put me in a good mindset to think about the things that I'm thankful for (including in no particular order): Old friends, new friends, hugs, a warm home, cameras, and good food (among many, many other things).