wet wednesday.

Today is a gray day in Philadelphia, and instead of moping and complaining that I'm cold, I'm instead reflecting back to Monday afternoon, when Chris messaged me around noon, and asked if I'd like to spend the afternoon at the beach. I'd just gotten in from yoga, so I took a quick shower, packed my book and a blanket, and we drove to Belmar, NJ to lie on the beach for a few hours. It was heavenly. The September sun is the best-- still warm in the daytime, but with a perfect breeze. While Chris and his brother surfed (or, more like sat on their surfboards hoping for better waves), I fell asleep, drooled on my arm, and soaked up the last of the summer's warmth. We ended the day with a trip to Surf Taco, and I got to have a Brooklyn IPA for the first time... it was deeeelicious. I'm a sucker for IPAs. (And the beach, which is news to me.)

Speaking of beer... today, Foobooz, one of my trusty web-based Philadelphia food & drink guides, released a list of their top 50 bars in the area. I was happy to see a few of my favorites on the list, and I'm looking forward to trying the ones I haven't been to yet! I've only got until January 8th, so I'd better get crackin'. You can find the list here.

It's also Restaurant Week in Philly, so I'm hoping to take advantage-- and new this year is a selection of $20 lunch menus, as opposed to just the dinner options. If I were wealthy, I'd probably have a day of crazy gluttony and do a lunch and dinner out in one epicurean swoop.

And, in closing:

Today I watched a bit of Live with Regis & Kelly as I was getting ready for work, and I awas once again appalled during the trivia segments, which I believe is featured every single day. And every single time I've watched it, this phenomenon baffles me. The trivia questions are most of the time related to the previous day's episode: what movie is our guest So-and-So starring in currently, what did So-and-So say was his or her comfort food, etc.

Keep in mind, I've watched the show maybe once every two months. Yet, I'd say 4 times out of 5, Barbara calling from Spokane or Theodore from Raleigh, for some STRANGE reason, missed the previous show and therefore can't answer that day's trivia question. But not to worry; they always come away with a $500 gift certificate from Lobstergram or some American-made china set. It just blows my mind that people call in to be contestants when their chances of winning are based solely on diligent spectatorship of Live with Regis & Kelly. I think today Regis Philbin felt the same way-- after another loser hung up the phone, he said to the audience, "Well, hopefully next time they'll actually watch the show!"

My sentiments exactly, Reg.

Photos courtesy of NatalieMaynor and Khaz