cheap thrills. no, for real.

yesterday, for the first time in too long, i travelled outside the city to someplace that wasn't Buffalo. where to?

fabulous, faraway... Hoboken, New Jersey.

wha-waah.

no seriously, though? Hoboken might be the cutestest place around (here). it's quaint, cobbled, and it sits right on the water with lots of adorable parks, bike paths, and greenery. i fell a little in love the second i stepped off the train and realized i'd just emerged from here:

immediately the ipod came out and i went into tourist mode. everyone now...

oooohhhhh!

aaaahhhhhh!

for the record, i didn't just wake up and decide i needed to be in Jersey. i visited my fabulous, often hyper-linked crit partner who'd told me in advance that on Thursdays everything in Hoboken is HALF OFF.

see these drinks? one of which is equal parts sugar and alcohol in a fancy glass?

half off.

and see this appetizer? from a mediterranean/asian fusion restaurant? (yes, that means sushi and hummus on the same menu. please try to suppress your gag reflex.)

half off.

see this hummus, which somehow landed on the floor on its way to my mouth?

oops, nevermind.



considering the whole half-off-ness thing, thursdays are an extremely popular night for Hobokens to go out. now blah blah blah insert your jersey shore/bridge and tunnel comments. i'm telling you that for 80% of the people i saw the stereotypes TOTALLY FIT! sorry, but talk about feeling like a tourist in a foreign land. 

shush. i shall say no more on that fake-boobied, too made-up ladies, obscenely loud males subject because all told, Hoboken is a terrific place to visit. for only a $2 train ride i took lots of deep breaths and realized i gotta do this whole get-out-of-the-city thing more often.

because see this travel-induced smiling?

it ain't half-off folks, it's free.

* i'd have included crit partner's smiling face, too. but we both agreed it might be the worst picture of her ever taken. so here's a better one. and yes, that is another very inexpensive (usually-expensive) glass of sugared alcohol she is sipping. what can i say? the sweety's got herself a sweet-tooth.