Caracas Arepa Bar, Beach 106th St., Queens

Pat and I have made a cool new friend, Erin. I was e-introduced to her by our mutual friend Shimon. She came to our party last weekend, and this weekend she invited us to join her and other friends for a day at Rockaway Beach in Queens. In June, the New York Times had an article on how the hipsters are all flocking to Rockaway, and I wondered whether we were cool enough, but when we got there it turned out you had to look hard for that sort of thing. Sure, a couple Manhattan hotspots have outposts on the boardwalk, and yes, a few bearded, fedora-wearing twenty-somethings were among the crowds on the sand. But other than that, we could have been at Virginia Beach or the Outer Banks, when we were down by the water. And once you are away from the water, Rockaway is downright ugly.

Being on the beach was really, really pleasant though. When I'm not at a beach, I find it hard to believe that I can really feel so relaxed as when I'm on the sand, taunting the sun with my sunscreen-slathered bright-white body, feeling the ocean breeze, hearing the waves, gazing at the dazzling blue of the sky. But it's real. Ahhhhhhh. Erin's friends were all fun and we spent a happy few hours. We also enjoyed really excellent arepas from Caracas Arepa Bar. Mine was beef. Pat's had avocado, queso, and plantains.

Last night I participated in Improv Everywhere's latest stunt. All I knew beforehand was that I had to wear a black t-shirt, bring various items that light up or glow, and be at a certain part of Battery Park City at 8:30 PM, with a downloaded recording of instructions, not to be played before precisely 8:30. I would say there were maybe a thousand participants. It turned out that the premise was that there were two tribes (black t-shirts and white t-shirts) and we were to meet and greet each other, then celebrate a festival of lights. It was a riot! For about 45 minutes, we performed silly bows and handshakes with strangers, danced with glowsticks and masks, had light-sabre battles, played freezetag, high-fived mystified onlookers, and took pictures on cue - all this and more according to the directions on our mp3 players. I loved it because of 1) the silliness, 2) the mystery, and 3) being part of a massive event. It was also a perfect summer night.