Each year the Sly Fox Brewery in Phoenixville, PA hosts a goat race during its Bock Fest. It’s best to ride a bike from Philly (30 miles each way) to fully embrace the return of spring. I rode with Tommy, Chris, Matt Hops, Jared, Ray, Tom, and another Chris, in addition to a few of the Standard Tap gentlemen. Great times were had by all.

Brad visited sunny Philadelphia from far away rainy Seattle.

South Street.

T.Rex and Sara. And also Tim in the background.

Emily and Chelsea helped organize a session beer tasting (only 5% abv or less allowed) over in West Philly. Great times — a methy pirate poet even climbed the fence to try to join the fun.

There are times that I swear the UK has been picked up, and plopped down in Philly. This corner is on Girard Avenue, though it probably belongs somewhere in the outskirts of London.

The Caribbean has some of the best colors, even with abandoned structures.

And inhabited structures. In Old San Juan, it felt like you’d be kicked out of town if you painted your building the same color as someone else’s.

Des.

Kite flying day in San Juan.

Carl.

Joe’s luggage was sent to Brussels rather than Puerto Rico, strangely. It arrived the day he had to leave.

The official beer is Medalla (pronounced “meh-DIE-yah”), and most beers are only available in smaller, 10 oz. cans. The top three drinks, however, aren’t beer: rum & piñas, margaritas, and piña coladas. There’s a lot of coconut to go around.

Hans was instrumental in organizing the trip — about 16 of us rented two houses on the island, and four other friends visited during the week as well.

• We saw all sorts of animals: poisonous lionfish while snorkeling, many iguanas, skinks, geckos, flying roaches, large spiders, small tarantulas, packs of stray dogs, lots of stray cats, snakes, hermit crabs & land crabs, colorful fish, termites, jungle fowl (wild chickens and roosters), hummingbirds, parrots (in San Juan), and more. Plant-wise, there’s lots of cacti, huge coconut palms everywhere, agave, many invasive mesquite trees, and lots of grasses, among other plants. Everything seems to love the tropical climate.

A labor union’s truck blaring a speech during a protest in San Juan, back on the main island.

Brava beach is only accessible via a hike through the maritime jungle, so more than likely you’ll have the place to yourself when you arrive. The beach is bound on either side by mountains, and it tends to have some of the larger waves on the island. I had never been around so many coconut palms before — and I found out that it’s super handy to travel with a machete in the group for a quick drink & snack in the heat.

Johnny G.

The power happened to inexplicably go out on the entire island three times during the course of a week. Luckily dominos don’t require electricity, but headlamps, LED candles, and many margaritas help.

While the weather is so perfect you can leave your doors and windows open year around, stray cats kept sneaking into our kitchen. The stray dogs mainly keep to the streets where the old oil drums hold families’ trash for pickup.

To be continued…

Avan Lava performing at the same venue, during a benefit for the Gowanus Canal Conservatory. Check out their video for “Sisters”: http://vimeo.com/54545072

A disco boulder hanging above our head.

Des and Jes.

Quick shoot in Cheslea.

Jenn, Clay, and Linda.

The Whitney Museum during the Kusama exhibit last year.

The legendary FDR skate park under I-95 in South Philly.

Porter in Fishtown.

Linvilla Orchards in Media, PA.

Boiling some fresh hops (from none other than Matt Hops) in a modified keg, in Tommy & Lauren’s backyard, as part of a huge batch of hard cider.

Sarah and Chris during a street fair on South Street.

Tim’s Gears for Gifts ride — supporting Toys for Tots. Each rider donated at least one unwrapped toy for children in need. Not a massive turnout, but good folks, good times.

A Fishtown Ice Tea starts with a carton of Arctic Splash (about 100% high fructose corn syrup, sold at all corner stores in the area), and then you add a handful of different types of liquor, and it requires  a certain spirit to drink.

Cranksgiving, an alleycat race, a few weeks back. Chris and I finished about halfway through the pack, at 35th and 36th place.

A pool table’s worth of food was collected for charity on the ride, and Tattooed Mom’s generously doubled the haul, all benefiting Philadabundance.

Nick representing North Philly.

“THANK FOR DESTROYING MY 4 year olds pumpkin!”

Jenn and I bought a house a week or two ago. The view from the third floor roof deck reminds me of Brooklyn.

“THE BEST FOOD ON CAMPUS!”

After much anticipation, Fette Sau, our old favorite barbeque shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn recently opened up in our new neighborhood, Fishtown, Philadelphia. We happened to stumble into a soft opening, and Mr. Starr himself was kind enough to let us in for complementary dinner and drinks. Highly recommended to stop in when you’re in the area.

“It’s Dangerous to go Alone. Take This!!! Free.”

With Clay & Linda currently on their honeymoon in Mexico, plus having a chat late last night with some new friends about travel, bear with me for a few minutes as I reminisce about my honeymoon two years ago, also in September. A few previously unpublished (apologies if a repeat snuck in) shots of scenery in Spain:

A small food spot in Barcelona appears to no longer offer 2 of their choices.

Windy roads through Costa Brava.

Eixample neighborhood in Barcelona.

Inside of the under-construction Sagrada Familia. Likely the most awe-inspiring building I’ve seen in person.

Sexe Drugs & Catacombes.

This malfunction unfortunately sent her to the hospital.

Spring Garden, Philadelphia– the looming industrial area that inspired David Lynch’s Eraserhead (1977).

Made it out to the beach one last time this summer: Atlantic City, Labor Day weekend.

Careful not to “buy the farm” out there.

On a very hot Sunday afternoon in late August, Jenn and I took a tour of her studio in North Kensington, Philadelphia. She showed us many samples, her impressive work table, a large, kinda-robotic exposure unit, and even demonstrated blind printing (if I’m recalling that name correctly, it refers to applying ink without an actual screen in place).

Only part of the large studio space. There’s no shortage of space in Philly, if you know where to look for it.

Lighting test.

I’m always curious to see what supplemental items people have in their work spaces. Tucked away in a corner, I spotted a copy of “The E Myth Revisited,” a must-read for small businesses. Also, I was happy to see the little gray guy from “My Neighbor Totoro,” a classic Studio Ghibli film by Miyazaki.

An impressively-large exposure unit for making the screens to be printed. It’s housed in a cool, DIY darkroom within the same studio room.

Be sure to check out Lauren’s work or drop her a line at boutiquetextiles.com.

This is my favorite alley in Philadelphia thus far. It’s only a few blocks from my current apartment, and it’s amazingly overgrown and jungle-like during growing season. Dirt and weeds have reclaimed most of the once-driveable area. Many of the adjacent back patios and small yards are equally overgrown, despite this area having high real estate values. Hidden spots like this will eventually go away — but for now, they’re still here.

Hampden, a neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland.

A vacant lot in Philly’s Old City neighborhood.

Clay.

Hard to believe it’s now been over a year since Jenn and I left Brooklyn. Time flies.

Getting vertical. That’s Thom on the right. Tim (not pictured) had a bunch of people over during his block’s party, and was quite generous with the beverages. I owe you a few.

Earlier that day (this past Saturday), the annual Bastille Day event was going on over at Eastern State Penitentiary. Huge turnout, lots of French flags, crazy costumes, drag, etc, as they tossed things onto a massive guillotine.

• The massive old furniture warehouse near Girard and Front streets in Northern Liberties/Fishtown that Rich, Robin, and I checked out a few months ago (here), mysteriously burned to the ground last week, sadly. Luckily only one firefighter was injured, compared to Philly firefighters losing their lives in similarly-shady burnings of prime real estate. These gigantic structures have so much character, and it’s unfortunate when they disappear.

There’s this moment where you hit the edges of Port Richmond in Philadelphia, where the pavement gives way to plentiful urban weeds and dirt trails, and you’ve reached a kind of Mad Max environment.

I can’t get enough of oversized (and illegal) dirt bikes in the city. The temporary noise pollution is worth watching them buzz around and do wheelies.

Oh, and street racing. I was instantly taken back to the days on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh, NC, about 14 years ago. Pre-Fast and the Furious, etc.

Thom.

In the grass with the chickens. Jen and Rich recently built a chicken coup for the newest additions to their farm in Asheville, North Carolina.

While in Asheville over July 4th (with a bunch of friends in town from Seattle and Cincinnati), I met this UK gentleman, who was doing a cross-country bike tour, having flown with his custom Bob Jackson into San Francisco initially. Looked like a great setup, between the internally-geared rear hub, Brooks saddle, full fenders, and beefy tires. He was impressed with how lively downtown Asheville was, when compared to the “historic downtowns” everywhere else that he had just passed through.

I’ll never get tired of mountain waterfalls off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We went swimming under an even-larger waterfall later in the day, just before a summertime thunderstorm.

A day trip over to Tennessee was the first time I had set foot in the state, despite having grown up next door, in North Carolina.

Can’t forget to return back home after a long week away. I am glad I don’t have to drive 10.5 hrs on a weekly basis.

About a month ago, the annual Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby took over Kensington, in North Philly. Shane and Echo (not pictured) also happened to be visiting over the same weekend, and got to check it out as well.

Tall bikes are welcome, but some people go all-out when it comes to absurd bikes.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be Kensington without some sort of mobile meth lab.

I mistakenly thought this girl had a tattoo of wheat or some type of grass, but in fact they’re southern pines, she told me, referencing growing up in the south. One of my favorite tattoos I’ve seen in Philly.

I’m only realizing now that the rabbit on the right is carrying a chainsaw.

Last but not least, don’t forget about the solid food trucks & stands at all outdoor Philly events. Photo includes: hotdog with macaroni & cheese on top (The Dapper Dog), iced tea with fresh mint (x2), asparagus salad, and a falafel sandwich (A Full Plate). We were sitting in an overgrown lot that had just been mowed for the event.

Jenn and I made our first voyage out to the Jersey Shore from Philadelphia this past weekend, which also happened to be Memorial Day Weekend.

We had been warned that Wildwood could be trashy, and moments on the boardwalk did feel like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but overall it was a blast — and very affordable (free public beach access everywhere, unlike the majority of NJ beaches, and also free parking). We didn’t have a chance to ride any of the rollercoasters yet, but the season has only just begun.

South Philly.

A street tree in front of the Philly AIDS Thrift.

Big Joseph in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, November 2006.

14th Street in Manhattan’s East Village, May 2006.

An overgrown, yet charming, trailer in Olde Kensington, Philadelphia.

Natalie, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

If you’ve never been to Cincinnati, you might be missing the city’s official food: Skyline Chili. Note the ratio of unmelted cheddar cheese to chili (plus the buried onions and spaghetti). You won’t win any health awards eating Skyline, but it still somehow feels worth it.

Tumbleweave in Philly.

A few weeks back Brooks decided to leave town (Brooklyn), heading back home to San Francisco.  Naturally it made sense for the Philly folk and Brooklyn folk to meet in the middle: Dirty Jerz, where Jim and Hans hosted a party. We set fire to a large, not-safe-for-work effigy of Brooks to send him off properly. In the photo you can see that some of the private parts have ignited.

Ghent, Belgium, August 2011.

Bleeding Rainbow performs at Johnny Brenda’s at the edge of Fishtown.

West Philly.

Kyle, visiting from Brooklyn.

North Philly.

Mac in the Italian Market.

Tread lightly and carry a big stick.

Rich (left), Robin (not pictured), and I checked out an abandoned wood furniture factory on the edge of Northern Liberties, Philadelphia.

Princess Trees had started to colonize the space a few years back. While they’ve their leaves over winter, they’re far from dead. Here they’ve taken up residence in a “fixer-upper” automobile.

A sleeping mummy in the Louvre in Paris, October 2011.

If it weren’t for the newish Gatorade logo, I wonder if this could pass for 35 years ago?

•Also: do a Google search for “illegal dumping,” and check out the locale of the first three results. Illadelph representing.

Last summer, for Hans’ (center) birthday, DLISH (left), made light pink t-shirts for everyone with Hans’ likeness on them, and we ambushed him on the High Line in Manhattan. Even some bystanders joined in, donning the shirts. Needless to say, he was speechless.

The Divine Lorraine Hotel is one of the most recognizable and high-profile abandoned buildings in Philadelphia. There was a small fire on the roof the other night that brought the authorities out, but it was quickly extinguished.

• Thanks to Terry & Molly for hosting a great, weekend-long party in South Philly (the annual event is colloquially known as “Thrilladelphia”). It brought a bunch of folks in from NYC (including Kyle and Lisa that crashed with Jenn and I), as well as gathering up the usual North & South Philly undesirables. Good times. I will say, it’s dangerous (cholesterol-wise) to spend that much time about two blocks away from Pat’s & Gino’s with drinks in hand at all times.

Eastern State Penitentiary had been decaying for decades in the middle of Philadelphia, and someone brilliantly decided to reopen it to the public, but in a state of perpetual, controlled decay. Unfortunately this meant the removal of most of the plant matter, but still a decent place to wander through.

Frankford Ave near Girard, where Northern Liberties meets Fishtown.