When I wrote my 28 Things To Do While I’m 28 list, several of the items on the list were meant to be ongoing. I didn’t intend to only go to one brewery, or to only go on one interesting photo-taking excursion. This past weekend, not only did I visit another brewery (the first one was Defiant Brewery in Pearl River, NY), but I had two days in a row of interesting photo-taking excursions! (It’s not the first time I’ve packed a weekend chock-full of photo-taking, either.)

On Friday, I went into New York to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Pookie and Schnookie. They go on trips like this every few months, and I’ve long been jealous of the amazing photo opportunities. I was a little nervous about the art museum factor, because I was having trouble visualizing how long I’d stay entertained taking photos of sculptures and paintings.

Well, as it turns out, there’s a lot of really interesting stuff at the Met. (Understatement of the century? Perhaps.) A lot of the pictures didn’t turn out how I wanted them to, but for all of my test shots (hee), I got a few photos I’m really, really pleased with.

What was also interesting was the fact that despite being surrounded by priceless, historic works of art, I was taking pictures of gratings, geometric patterns, and the architectural details of the museum itself. I’m okay with that. Maybe it’s just my style.

But it was an adventure kind of day, with some time spent on a random NYC street waiting for the real business of the day to conclude (some of my favorite photos are from that hour, actually!), cupcakes, and the chance to stretch the way you look at what’s around you. I can’t wait to see the pictures I took with the film camera that day.

I got a few items on my Scavenger Hunt, and this one shot on an ugly NJ Transit train that might be one of my favorites from the whole day. How crazy is that?

Did I mention the cupcakes? I had another one on Saturday and it was, if possible, more mindblowing than these ones. And I just realized I never posted the photo of that cupcake, either. I think that means I’ll have to go back for another one, and SOON.

Saturday was the first photo meetup I’ve organized, and it brought together work friends, a college friend, Dan, and a flickr friend in a way that I was nervous about beforehand. What if they hated each other and it was all my fault? Okay, well, I didn’t really think that would happen, because I know all of these people and if *I* think they are all awesome, it just follows naturally that they all think the same about each other. Turns out? We all had an awesome time. It was so cool.

We first walked around campus taking pictures of details, buildings, and dead plants. There were a lot of test shots. We took a break for coffee to rest our feet and quench our thirst, and then visited not one, but TWO paper stores. The boys entertained themselves with a book about farts, while everyone else enabled me as I bought paper, a stamp, another e for my wall of Es, oh and a little dandelion card that’s so small and adorable that I’m sure I’ll never use it.

By that point we were hungry and starting to get chilly, so we headed over to Triumph Brewery, which I’ve been hearing about from friends and coworkers for a long time. They have quite a few beers available, and most of us got samplers of all seven beers. I got to try the Honey Blonde (very good, very light), Amber Ale (loved it), Bock (also loved it), Irish Dry Stout (stouts are never my favorites, but I liked this one a lot), Bengal Gold IPA (not as crazy strong as most IPAs, but still an IPA. I’d have to be in the mood for it; the sampler size was perfect), Winter Wonder (totally awesome, and such a high alcohol content that Dan’s came in a snifter rather than a pint glass. When he asked for a man-style glass for it, they refused because the high alcohol content means they have to serve it in smaller glasses), and the Gothic Ale (an English style ale that was a little warm on purpose. Good but not my favorite). The food was pretty awesome, too. I’m so glad we went, and I’m glad I got to go with so many people, and I still can’t believe how much we laughed.

After the brewery, we were all craving something sweet, so we proceeded to the Bent Spoon, where a few of us got shakes, a few got ice cream, Dan got some intense hot chocolate, and I got another cupcake. We all wished we’d gotten what the others had gotten and the only reasonable conclusion was that we’d all need to visit again, and often. We’re already concocting plans for a warmer-weather, more beachy type of meetup.

But more than anything else, both days were everything you want a photo excursion to be – fun times full of sparkling wit, embarrassing admissions, tasty food, realizing that other people take awful photos half the time too, and above all being inspired by people who love photography as much as you do. I can’t wait until the next time we do this!