Brooklyn and the Doctor Who Bar

Today I went into Brooklyn.

I was still pretty tired from last night, so I didn't get to do as much as I would have liked, but I had a great time.

I started out at the Prospect Park Zoo. It's a smaller midsize zoo - bigger than Central Park, but much smaller than the Bronx. I was able to see everything in less than two hours.

They did have some neat exhibits, and some that were put together in different ways. For example, they had some animals as part of an "art" display - either noticing the art that animals can make, or the art that they actually are, like with pretty scale patterns and whatnot.

I'm always a little amused when I see "mundane" exhibits like turkeys and domestic cows. Ooh, look, a wild turkey! Back in Michigan, we call that dinner ;)

They also had a bearded dragon exhibit, which amused me to no end, considering that I own one.

After that, I bought a salad and walked down to the Soldiers and Sailors Arch and park. The statues here are beautiful, and lots of people use the park. There were many people walking their dogs, and more than a couple of brides getting photos taken.

I walked around near the public library and  the art museum, which were both unfortunately closed. However, the outsides were very pretty, and it was fun just getting to sit and people watch.

The crowing jewel of my night was FINALLY getting to visit the WayStation, a Doctor Who/Steampunk themed bar.

Obviously, I loved it.

They do live music every night, and the three bands I got to listen to were very good. More importantly, the drinks were strong (I had the Rose Tyler and the 10th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver, of course), the decor was excellent (the TARDIS is the bathroom - made it very funny during some photos ops), and the people were awesome.

This is why I love steampunk and my fellow nerds. About an hour into my visit there, a group of Brooklyn steampunks arrived in full costume. Even though I was in muggle wear, as soon as I told them I was a Michigan Steampunk, we started swapping costuming ideas and they invited me to an event in September (which I unfortunately can't make).

THe Intrepid and the Museum of Sex

In case you couldn't tell by the title, today I went to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum and the Museum of Sex. As with the other museums, I'll do a separate post with all of the photos from each.

The Intrepid so far is my favorite museum I've been to on this trip, if not my favorite museum of all time. It's a retired aircraft carrier that originally served in WWII, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War, and was part of the NASA space craft recovery program. The ship has a beautiful history, and the museum staff do her and her past crew great honor with the program they've created.

You can tour almost the entire ship, which as been preserved to almost the exact condition that it served in. Glass panels are the only thing that separate you from the crew's quarters, the galley, and the satellite equipment. The flight deck is covered in restored war planes, and there is a covered space pavilion that houses the Enterprise space shuttle. You can also tour a submarine and ride on several different flight simulators. There is a heavy focus on education, as well as honoring our veterans, which kept it from feeling too touristy or gimmicky.

The day that I went honored the Fire Department of NY, so they had some special extra exhibits going on featuring and honoring firefighters. They had all of the different emergency response vehicles, CPR training, and best of all, an all-firefighter battle of the bands.

I stopped for lunch/dinner at an amazing mac and cheese place called S'Mac. Literally all they serve is mac and cheese, albeit some daring and gourmet varieties. They also have a decent beer selection, although I opted for their draft root beer instead. There were simply too many good options, so I tried their sampler platter, which comes with a small scoop of 8 different kinds of mac and cheese. I couldn't even eat half of it, so I boxed up the rest and took it home with me.

I also happen to spy the Empire State building on my walk about.

I ended my day at the Museum of Sex. I was sort of sent here on a mission by a good friend of mine to track down a limited edition lipstick, but the museum was very well done. It was comically small after visiting the MET and the AMNH (it's only 2 floors, and more of a art gallery), but it was worth the price of admission. It's definitely not for prudes - lots of penises and vaginas and porn everywhere, albeit tastefully done.

I was successful in my hunt for lipstick, and I took home a delightfully useful but inappropriate souvenir for myself.

(It's a mug, you bunch of pervs! A mug that says "Sex makes me thirsty", but just a mug)

All in all, a very fun weekend. Back to the grindstone tomorrow!