offManhattan

Living in one of the fashion capitals of the world has numbed many of us to the idea of shopping outside of New York City. Until now, New Yorkers have had little reason to. About an hour north of the city is home to one of New York’s most undiscovered fashion centers, Woodbury Common Premium Outlets.

Woodbury Common features 220 stores with a wide selection of products: designer fashions and sportswear for men, women, and children, shoes, fine leather and luggage, accessories and jewelry, housewares and home furnishings, gifts and specialty items. If you are a bargain hunter or have high tastes for your limited budget this is definitely the place for you! Some of my favorite stores in New York City have outposts at Woodbury Common, like AG Adriano Goldschmied, American Apparel, Barneys New York, Betsey Johnson, Diane Von Furstenberg, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Theory.

Madison Square Garden isn’t the only game in town any more. Across the river in the oft-maligned Newark, The Prudential Center is nearing completion. A $375 million dollar project long in the making, the center is scheduled to open on October 25^th with a concert stint by Jersey boys Bon Jovi. For those seeking a sports game or a big-ticket concert, it’s an easy train ride to an arena with all the amenities for a night of spoiling yourself.

It was one of the last warm weekend days of the year. We had plans to travel to the northern most point of Long Island, taste regional wines, learn about the harvest. But instead of rallying and getting out early, we dilly dallied. Brunch, a run, and the BBC took up those precious morning hours so that by 2:00 o’clock, we were just leaving the house. Our pace quickened and the question was on our minds: could we still salvage the day?

Liberty State Park was the new destination. On a mile of the New Jersey waterfront, the historic stretch of land is within close proximity to Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the Central Railroad of New Jersey, the terminal where my grandparents arrived during World War II. For the second time that day, our agenda would change. Partly due to the spontaneous actions of two people without a map, and partly because we had nothing to lose by getting lost, none of the next seven hours went according to any plan.

James Sibley, in a recent offManhattan article (From Grinding Intensity to Green Tranquility), describes Brooklyn Botanic Gardens as “An oasis of tranquility that is unmatched anywhere in the greater New York area.” I challenge your claim, James. Have you visited Wave Hill in Riverdale? The idyllic landscape hugs the Hudson River and provides magnificent vistas of the river and the Palisades as Henry Hudson had seen it in 1609.

What: The 26th Annual Fall Festival

Why: Wine Tasting, Clam Chowder Contest, Oktoberfest Style Food and Beer, Pumpkin Carving, Cash Raffle, Live Music, and Fireworks by Grucci at Umbrella Beach

Where: Main Street in downtown Montauk, Long Island

When: October 6th-7th, 12-5 p.m.

George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord is wafting through a speaker that is camouflaged as the shape of an unsuspicious rock. The peaceful melody is in stark contrast to the hulking metal monster looming just ahead. Six Flags New England Theme Park in Springfield, Massachusetts has just the thrills that will have you screaming, ‘Oh God’ on your very first run.

What: The 15th Annual Chile Pepper Fiesta

Where: Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

When: September 30th, 12 – 6 p.m.

Cost: Free with admission

Herman Melville’s opening paragraph of Moby Dick contains the sentence: “Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off — then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.”