(Photo courtesy of Giovanna Maselli)
Peace and quiet is hard to come by in New York City. Even trying to zen out in a yoga class can prove quite difficult with all the sirens, shouting and nondescript music perpetually playing in the background. On the other hand, leaving the island will cost you. You can rent a mini cabin in a mystery location for $165 per night, or you can take the A train down to the Rockaways for a free, all-inclusive meditation retreat.
Bicycle Fetish Day attendees. (Photo: Nick McManus)
(Photos: Daniel Maurer)
When I first caught wind that Getaway, a startup that rents out tiny homes in upstate parks, was bringing its pop-up cabins to the Gateway National Recreation Area, I assumed they would be in the park’s crown jewel, Fort Tilden. In the name of adventure, the house rental service keeps the exact location of its mobile “handcrafted cabins” mysterious until about a week before you check in. Still, they did offer the clue that the cabin would be on a beach, near a boardwalk, and off of city transportation. Fort Tilden, right??? Wrong. That city transportation turned out to be the Staten Island Ferry.
(Photo: Dylan Sirgiovanni)
Who needs a screening of Jaws on the water when you can see a real, live shark in Rockaway Beach?
No, it’s not a great white, but Instagram user Dylan Sirgiovanni spotted this sizeable, bug-eyed fish, which looks like a dusky shark, at 136th Street. He said he saw it on Tuesday evening and after snapping a picture, he did what any person with a healthy disregard for their hands would do – helped it back into the water.
A cult LA cacti store now has a location in New York — at least for the season. So, while the sun shines, check out Cactus Store’s Lower East Side popup site and admire its collection of exotic cacti — which run anywhere from $30 to $4,000, if you’re interested in taking one home and making it your own.
Most of the cacti on display are rare, including a few that are part of a private collection and not for sale. All the plants were shipped from California, but drawn from across the world, especially South America and the American southwest. “True cacti,” as distinguished from related flora, are always from the New World, explained manager Han Wang.
Cactus Store’s collection includes several “mutations” — cacti that have grown into strange shapes — and “grafts,” where two plants fuse together and one plant draws its water and nutrients from the other.
Incredipole at Williamsburg Walks (Photo courtesy of Incredipole)
Biking is having a moment. Citi Bike is expanding, Andy Samberg just released his Tour de Pharmacy trailer, and Bicycle Fetish Day is quickly approaching. Which makes it a great time for the Bicycle Film Festival to roll into town. The fest will bring a week of screenings, live performances, exhibitions, and even a new animation program to Anthology Film Archives.
(Courtesy of Max Brenner)
What, you thought we were going to leave it at the fried-chicken donut sandwich? Oh, hell no. We have still more blechtacular food to hip you to, starting with the Churro Taco Waffle that’s now available at Max Brenner. The Union Square chocolatier just launched a new dessert menu, and the star of the show is this self-described “Mexi-Waffle creation.”
Yurt at Evangola State Park.
Earlier today, Governor Cuomo hyped the opening of camping season, this weekend, by announcing that the state has added some new facilities to its 119 campgrounds. Among them are six new cabins at Moreau Lake State Park, in the foothills of the Adirondacks, and– yes– two new yurts, located right off of Lake Eerie at Evangola State Park. Now, that park is located some seven hours from the city, so it’s not the most viable weekend trip. But, hey, it’s good to know the state is invested in #yurtlife. The wood-floor, fabric-walled yurts come equipped with cots, a refrigerator, and a microwave, so bust out the Hot Pockets. You can book them for about $84 a night.
It’s been a while since we saw something worthy of This Is Why You’re Fat, but the blog may just have to relaunch for this one. This weekend, West Village bakery The Doughnut Project is serving up a Maple Bourbon Tabasco Glazed doughnut, which is curious enough on its own. But here’s the blechtacular part: At the same time, Root & Bone will be using the orbs for fried chicken sandwiches.