Just Engaged (and now bragging about it)

Just want to officially announce that I got engaged this past weekend to my wonderful girlfriend of 10 years, Leanne. To be more specific: at Genesee Beach in Atlantic Beach, NY on Friday, July 1, 2011 (7/1/11) at around 6-7 p.m.

Here's the story. Leanne is from Syracuse and I'm from Atlantic Beach / Long Beach. We met while attending the University at Albany (State Quad baby!). The summer after our freshman year, I was life-guarding in Atlantic Beach and she was teaching cheer-leading for UCA (toured east coast). The one location where her and I were close enough to "hang out" was near Albany, so I decided to pick her up there after her cheer-leading camp. I drove for at least 10 hours that day; all to be with my love.

Upon arrival in Atlantic Beach, I was so excited to show her around. I took her to my job location...Genesee Beach. We walked into the dunes, I put a blanket down, opened up a bottle of wine, and we watched the sunset. It was beautiful. But for the details, I'll stop there. What you should know is that a few days later, Leanne and I were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.

Fast forward a few apartments, job changes, quarrels, and many meals to July 1, 2011. We've been going out for 10 years. I arranged to stay at my buddy Sloan's place for the holiday weekend. Within an hour or so of arriving at his place, he let me borrow his Audi S4 (ridiculous car) to take Leanne to Genesee Beach to enjoy a bottle of wine (as we've been accustomed to doing).

It's almost 10 years to the day, full circle, that we're doing the same thing at the same spot. We walk into the dunes. I lay down a blanket. I take out a bottle of Moet Imperial [in an insulated case] and ask Leanne to open it. As she's doing so, I reach into my bag and grab the ring box. I start my speech. I ask her to marry me while opening the box to reveal her ring. She's stunned and asks if I'm kidding. I said, "no." She's speechless. I'm still on my knee. She finally says, "Yes." Tears of happiness.

We enjoy every minute moving forward...plus a nice cold bottle of Moet. Couldn't have asked for better weather. God must have approved, because he threw down sun rays at a perfect time.

Here's a picture about 30 minutes into our engagement.

Leanne and Mark [me]

Allegria Hotel

The arrival of the Allegria Hotel is bittersweet for Long Beach. It's the only hotel in the area, but it's overpriced. $500+ minimum for a room, $15 for a beach umbrella (for guests) and $8 for a beer. It's a nice place, but God forbid if you order a martini at the bar...we're talking at least $14. I guess the owners are trying to repay their loan in record time. These prices are ridiculous, especially when it's accompanied by horrible service. The twist of the "up yours" dagger hurts for the everyday consumer/Long Beach resident. I'm not sure how much longer this hotel will last. I have a bunch of complaints, here's the tip of the iceberg.

My father and his girlfriend visited Long Beach for the weekend and stayed at the Allegria Hotel. They have a list of complaints that were never addressed by management during their stay. First off, management tried to put them in a room with broken air conditioning. Given, this weekend was one of the hottest and most humid to date. Then we met at the bar for a drink. Big mistake. I guess because there was a wedding going on, not one staff member cared that guests needed attention/service. We stood at the bar for about 20 minutes. Not one bartender looked our way. So I'm thinking, why they hell are the six of us waiting 20 minutes for an overpriced, watered-down drink that'll cost an arm and a leg? So we decided to leave, and walked to Sutton Place.

The next day (Saturday), we head to the beach. Chairs and towels are complimentary for guests, but umbrellas are not...they charge us $15. Bastards! Then we walk inside to watch some of the World Cup (USA vs Ghana). There's one tiny TV located at the service bar. Absurd! We walk to the hotel room to actually watch the game. Guess what, no ESPN in guest rooms. Are you serious? I buy a Heineken and Red Sangria = $18. F*** you! That was the first and last time that I'll recommend this place.

Here's a look at the room:


Here's a short video of Landon Donovan's goal vs. Ghana at the Allegria service bar: