Friday saw the commencement of a short-notice trip to New Jersey/New York for a bachelor party, so things were quiet here over the weekend. The limited photographic evidence is now available.

The bachelor party itself was in a trippy little town called New Paltz, New York, which is probably most famous for being close to the Woodstock site and for performing same-sex marriages. I’ll remember it for the $800,000 weekend house that the party was held in and the associated stinking-rich party-goers. It certainly wasn’t the usual crowd that I run with, but they’ll be a source of good stories for years to come.

The Manhattan portion of the trip lasted less than four hours and consisted mostly of speeding around (as much as taxis would allow for, anyway). Consequently, most photos were taken by sticking my camera out a car window.

Though time was limited, I did manage to pack in the important bits — a New York hot dog, a subway ride, watching a junkie freaking out over a garbage can, and a conversation with a nutjob taxi driver. Within seconds of entering the cab, our bandanna-wearing driver notified us in a slurred voice that he couldn’t speak due to recent hair transplant surgery. After providing the relevant details ($10,000, an 8-hour operation, 3 months of preparation), he ripped off the bandanna and asked how things looked.

I told him it looked fantastic. I was somewhat drunk, but everything looked so real that I began to doubt the story altogether. He still seemed genuinely appreciative of the kind words and further advised us: “If you’re going to get the surgery, don’t do it in New York. Go to Pennsylvania… Much cheaper.” Who says New Yorkers aren’t friendly?

Plans are already being formulated for a return trip. The short visit was nothing less than a tease, and I really need to spend more time snooping around town. After all, when you have friends that leave their swanky Madison Avenue apartments vacant all weekend, it’s the least you can do to offer house sitting services.