Near New York

Last week I was hanging out in beautiful Madison, New Jersey, at Drew University, where the United Methodists have their archive. Madison is one of those towns that used to be a real town, but has since been swallowed up in suburban sprawl. They seem to have done a pretty good job controlling it, though, as there's still a healthy, walkable downtown.

The Methodists keep a good archive, too--their archivists are friendly and amusing, they know not only their own records but also quite a bit about related archives, and they can even find most things that their finding aids claim they have. This, as any archival researcher can attest, is a rare and valuable thing. They even suggested "good" things for me to eat.

This weekend I've been in New York, doing some touristy things, seeing friends, and eating a lot of good stuff. Kathy, Alex, Lisa and I took the ferry to Governor's Island...


...where we took the walking tour, ate a picnic, got a little sunburned, and saw some weird art show. For me, the highlight of the walking tour was learning that what seemed like 90% of the buildings on the island were once military prisons.


I was also reminded of the story I've been telling everyone all summer. Earlier this summer I read Confederates in the Attic, which I highly recommend. The author went to Fort Sumter in South Carolina, where the first battle of the Civil War was fought. He took the National Park Service tour and went up to talk to the tour guide afterwards. The tour guide ends up telling him some of the funny stuff people have asked him on the tour over the years. The best question, by far, was, "Why were so many Civil War battles fought in national parks?"

Yeah.

Also, of course, there was the Harry Potter book release on Friday night. We went to the party at Books of Wonder, where they had REAL LIVE OWLS. It was excellent. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but I'm hoping that someone else will send along pictures. I have not yet bought/acquired/read the book, so please please please don't tell me anything about it. Karrie finished it in my presence tonight, and didn't say anything except that it was great. I like Karrie.

We did get temporary tattoos, though...


Food highlights:
Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches (I had the Classic, Raj had the portobello mushroom)
Pio Pio (I ate at least 3/4 of the ceviche, but Kathy and Lisa did a number on the chicken)
Once Upon a Tart (mmmm I could eat everything)
Shake Shack (I still feel a little bit sick...but that was a mean chocolate shake)
And, of course, the bagel shop across the street from Raj's apartment.

Also, two new (to me) software possibilities, if anyone is still interested:
Mozy (free online automatic backup)
Yojimbo (seems very similar to SohoNotes)

And last but not least, Helen and Dave got a dog, Edie! I'm very jealous.