There’s something to be said about man’s desire to build and create and destroy, and if there is any place that I have been, recently, New York represents opportunity for each one of these. It really is a concrete jungle, an immense grouping of people bundled all into a small plot of land; creating and buying and selling and walking quickly with places to go; for travelers to marvel at its vastness, adventuring from around the world to get in on the chaos. A strangely beautiful chaos, that is.

Never having been to the city, it was nice to be traveling with some city veterans, finding the easiest route around town was easy. This trip was spent enjoying time with new friends and family, celebrating the union of two amazing people, and then touring the city and shooting everything imaginable (with our cameras). What we got was a day of adventure and exploration, true love, and a solid group of photographers galavanting around in an architectural paradise.

I’d say a love like this could bring sunshine to a cloudy day –

“New York is the meeting place of the peoples, the only city where you can hardly find a typical American.”

– Djuna Barnes

New York is a powerful place –  It was truly amazing to see Tiffany and Lucasz so in the moment that the city seemed to just twist and move around them, while they simply strolled along. I am glad I was able to be a part of their celebration, to say the least.

I’d stretch to say that I’m much of a city personality, my mind seemed to become overloaded with options and street corners, so many variations in every aspect of life that it can become overwhelming to try and plan the course for the day – so we lent much of the trip to exploration; the stumblings upon new waterholes becoming some of my favorite aspects of the adventure as a whole. From Brooklyn’s parks, which consisted of four walls of chain link fence enclosing a concrete parking lot, where groups would meet to play softball and yell and run and enjoy the warmer hints of spring – to the subway station welcoming you with all different walks of life on a mission to start in one place and end in another – there was very little downtime for the mind to soak it all in and process truly what this place had to offer.

There is always an underlying goal in mind, wherever I end up, that begins with the letter F and ends with ‘ood’ – so it only goes to say, that being in New York, my options for eating where endless. Cafes and hole-in-the-wall pizza joints every 20 feet make for yet another form of paradise – foodie paradise. It doesn’t matter what you are into, literally no-one cares, because there’s a place for you here. Welcome, sit down. Some places are inviting, while others are strictly on-the-go options for the commuter on the move. It was great to envelope myself within this type of life – surrounded by people who do this every day, whereas I take my time to simply think – here you may feel rushed, which in some aspects assists you to make decisions quickly and from the gut, and in other aspects can drive you crazy because, dammit, I want to look over the menu another 18 times.

Yelp is a godsend when hanger takes ahold of people. This is fact, debatable by no-one. Not sure what it is that you want, or need? Don’t worry, other people have been there, too, and have survived to leave a review on Yelp. And I trust those people, most of the time. As fate would have it, sometimes a stroll in the rain will bring you to the most desirable of locations – you just have to be willing to go.

It’s almost as if these cafe’s consult instagram for design techniques; what will make this location photograph well for people who take too many photos of their food? Excuse me, you are wearing joggers with vans and a NY flat bill hat – are you impressed by the layout of this cafe? have you seen the refurbished steel and old barn doors we use against the original brick to add warmth to the cold tones of steel? So many details, so many textures – the food is a byproduct of the cafe’s design, priorities set in the ambiance of the experience that you might be concerned the menu can’t deliver. This is where New York delivers in spades. Food. Everything you order from any of the places we stopped was surreal – offering fresh options you tend to promise yourself you’ll start to make at home. “This time around, I’ll put some effort into it. I’ll get fresh EVERYTHING and make it all from scratch, and it will be wonderful..” The lies we tell ourselves do make us feel good, though. Maybe it’s a sign that I need to step up my diet and start putting more effort into a brunch meal? Regardless, it’s doubtful you will find better pizza any where else. Maybe Italy? I plan to find out eventually. But for all the food options available to humans, none are more influential that a slice of pizza in New York. The state is renowned for it. Asian people travel from god-knows-where to photograph a slice of pizza, and show their friends they finally made it to pizza-Mecca.

Understandably.

Have you ever had pizza in New York? Maybe you have, and if you did then you know what I mean when I say it’s the best piece of pizza I have ever had – not to be taken lightheartedly of course, because that’s a pretty big fuckin’ deal, man. They say the secret is in the water they use to make the dough. I wouldn’t deny that, but then again I have no idea about making dough for pizza, or the properties of the water in New York that might differentiate it from the water that I drink at home every day.

Welcome to the very first documentation of The Captain’s Blog. Here it is intended to not only reserve space for the creative outlets found within writing, but to document the adventures, people, food, love and loss that is the world around us. I am by no means a ‘writer’ by trade.. however I do find the simplest joys in expression through the art. My daily life consists of finding joy in the complexities of nature and the human experience, listening to the stories of others and building stories of my own. Though a simple one, my life never ceases to amaze me; I have found a fantastic recipe for happiness that lies within well rounded friendships, love for a beautiful woman, a connection with the ocean and all it has to offer, and the upbringing of some pretty wild animals. I guess the introduction post within a blog does require (though not indefinitely) an ‘about the author’ section, so I presume this will be that and then we can move on to whatever it is I am doing here.

My home base is Cocoa Beach, Florida, where I spend most of my time running the PR and social media / event coordination aspects of my retail store. Much of this journey will most likely reflect aspects of owning and operating said retail store, and in future documentation I am sure there will be some announcements of where you, too, can get involved should you desire.

I have lived in and around the water my entire life, raised by a gentleman of a father who did everything he could to raise a gentleman himself. Whether that mission was successful, we will leave to the opinion of those who know me well. My mother is within the top three most important people in my life, and I love her dearly. You could say that I am a family man, and prioritization of family is paramount to me.

As for the name, the title of Captain was given to me throughout the years, even though I have not been certified as a Captain, but it is surely on the list of future aspirations. To put it simply, the name was earned by being someone people could rely on to get shit handled when shit hit the fan – whether that was from an accidental night of partying too hard, and needing someone to maintain the chaos and redirect the path of those less fortunate in terms of alcohol overload, or guiding the unlucky few through a bad trip that couldn’t quite guide themselves; I find it warming to be someone people can rely on for almost anything.

So here we are, living within the human experience and choosing to love every minute. Welcome to The Captain’s Blog, where the intent is to write when I feel like writing, and to share the adventures and experiences that go along with the path I am on.

Captain