|
        |
While we attended wedding festivities we had stayed in a hotel nearby. We returned to our campground on Sunday afternoon to get out of our 'good' clothes and return to camping-mode. When we got there, we encountered a nice couple who had managed to lose their car keys somewhere near the bathrooms, and were thus marooned for the night. We gave them blankets and pillows to make their forced stay more comfortable, and then the next morning Kenny and Jordan brought them over coffee and bagels. They were effusive in their thanks, and visited with us for a while on Monday morning. Below you can see Tony Torres giving us his phone numbers while his wife, Felicita looks on. They offered us their beach-front condo in Puerto Rico if we are ever in the neighborhood. You can be sure that we have filed away the numbers in hopes of taking them up on their offer, although it clearly won't be anytime soon.
We began the long drive down Long Island, towards Queens. The next night we were to stay with Mike and Amira in Mardi and Maria's apartment so that we could get in and out of Manhattan more easily. We found their place and dropped off Kenny, who had stayed the night with us. Michael drove us to the nearby subway station, and we rode in to the city for our rendezvous with my parents and grandmother. We exited the subway, bought some street vendor goodies, and walked across town to 12th Avenue. On the way, Jody smelled a familiar smell, and we came upon a building displaying this sign:
Somehow, none of us had managed to bring a watch with us that day. So, even though we had allowed plenty of time, our various dallyings nearly made us miss our meeting: my dad was waiting for us at the Circle Line docks, and our boat was to leave in 10 minutes. We all got quick 'hello hugs', and boarded the boat for a 3 hour tour all the way around Manhattan, which we all found fun and interesting. The tour was accompanied by a lively narrative which gave us lots of the history of Manhattan and the surrounding areas. Here we all are, enjoying the weather and the views.
Of course, we made a mandatory loop around the Statue of Liberty.
And here are my folks, Joe and Jackie Thomas, as we chatted and looked out of the windows. It was really great to see them again.
And this is my maternal grandmother, Beverly Kunkel, whom I have called 'mam�n' (French for mother and pronounced 'Maah-Mah' by our family) all my life. It was truly a huge gift she gave us by traveling all the way out to New York from her home in Orange County, California. We are so appreciative that she was able to make the long and tiring trip back East to see us.
Here is one of the many great Manhattan skyline views we got as we traveled around the island -- this view is of Lower Manhattan and the Financial District, for those of you who are New York-a-philes.
While we circled Manhattan, we encountered nearly every type of bridge imaginable: drawbridges, suspension, and even a bridge that could be raised and lowered on pylons, like an elevator. The one pictured below was oddest of all: it operated like a record turntable, pivoting out of the way to allow ships to pass. You see it in mid-pivot.
When we had first arrived at our campground, I met a nice man in the bathroom. No, really. His name was Mike, and he was a retired Manhattan Garbage man. He now had 3 homes and was decked out in lots of gold, so I guess trash collecting in New York pays pretty well. Anyway, we probed Mike for New York information, and among his interesting stories, he told us Luna's in Little Italy (pronounced Litl It-Ly) was good. So, when my parents asked me where we should eat, I told them about Mike's recommendation, and that's where we went, in two cabs since there were so many of us.
Since we were dining early we had no trouble getting a table. The restaurant was fabulous -- exactly what I'd hoped. Excellent Italian food, large portions, and reasonable prices. Apparently it was quite the hangout in former times, since there were dozens of autographed black and white photos of celebrities hanging on the walls, thanking the proprietor and praising the food.
We departed with over-full bellies, and my dad and I went out to Canal to hail cabs. Despite hearing that this could be tough, we never waited more than a few minutes, despite needing 2 cabs whenever all 7 of us went out and about. Maybe being 6'2'' helps.
Here is the scene outside the restaurant -- quintessential New York. Marvelous!
We cabbed over to the their hotel, The Wyndham, in midtown around 58th. They had been upgraded to corner suites with kitchens. It was really remarkable -- each of their suites was larger than our house back in Santa Barbara. We said good night to my grandmother, and visited for a bit with my parents in the living room of their suite. They offered to pay our cab fare back to Queens, as opposed to our plan of riding the subway; as it was after 10 PM we took them up on their offer, and $20 later were back at Mardi and Maria's apartment, visiting for a bit with the Elgans before retiring. The next day we again took the subway in to the city, this time rendezvousing for breakfast at The Wyndham. After breakfast, we all had quite a scare: my grandmother fell in the ladies room, and was quite shook up as a result, although nothing was broken. This day we separated into 3 groups: my mother and grandmother went to Saks Fifth Avenue; Jody and the girls went shopping, while my dad and I toured the Museum of Natural History. The plan was to meet up back at the Wyndham sometime around 3:00 or so. My dad and I had a great time at the museum. We both like the same types of exhibits, and so spent the bulk of our time at the planetarium, and looking at the dinosaur exhibits. It was really special for me to spend one-on-one time with my dad -- I cannot recall the last time I had the opportunity. The planetarium show was spectacular -- something like "powers of ten", if you have ever seen that, but projected onto a planetarium dome that completely filled our field of vision. Meanwhile, Jody and the girls made a bee line to F.A.O. Schwartz, where they spent two hours looking at the Limited Edition Barbie stuff, the "Eloise" exhibit, the candy department, and trying out all sorts of wondrous toys and such, like the pair of roller-skate tennis shoes that Joya is whizzing along in, below. Joya and Jordan each bought only $10 worth of merchandise -- all candy. Such restraint.
Our homeschooling friends, the Stufflebeam family, started a toy business a couple of years ago, and lo and behold: the girls found their product, the Beamo, on display at the pre-eminent toy store in the world. Congratulations Stufflebeams! This girls did a small demonstration for some customers while they were there. (Note to Stufflebeams: you can send their commission check to our Florida address).
Next stop for the girls: Tiffany's, where they ogled the 4 stories of amazing and expensive baubles that a few tens of thousands of dollars can purchase there.
They snapped this photo before one of the clerks asked them to stop -- photos are not allowed. Apparently they fear jewelry-design espionage, as if a competitor bent on copying their designs could not simply walk in and take a look. Brilliant.
The ladies also shopped at the "Gap", where the highlight was seeing a pregnant Jody Foster shopping for red sneakers for her toddler. My mother and grandmother were also successful in their shopping expedition. My grandmother purchased a lovely scarf a Saks Fifth Avenue. That night for dinner we opted for a nearby fusion restaurant, featuring hybrid French and Japanese menu items. It sounds weird, but it worked really well. I had an inside-out style tuna roll with lots of wasabi, and a Caesar salad. Below, Joya tries dipping her french fry into my wasabi/shoyu sauce, with mixed results. WAAASSSABBIII!
Dinner was excellent. At its conclusion, we all said our goodbyes and headed off in separate directions. I steered us into a nearby subway tunnel that looked promising, and we boarded what looked to be the perfect line, only to have it stop at a station halfway to Queens -- end of the line. We rode it back to Rockefeller Center and got on the right train, and then walked back to the Queens apartment. The next day we left New York, headed for Annapolis. On the way down we stopped at Teddy Roosevelt's country home, Sagamore Hill. Gorgeous home, dreadful decor, as measured in contemporary terms. The house was literally filled with dead stuffed animals of every type. Animal skin rugs were in every room. Mr. Roosevelt was quite the big game hunter, and proud of his kills. He was also the first conservationist president. It made for an odd combination: a conservationist who shot down everything that moved. The girls could barely stand being in the home, as it was so full of dead stuff. The park ranger told us that at least once a year someone stormed back into the visitor's center demanding their money back because they were so disgusted. This is the house from the outside.
This phrase was over the door lintel. None of us recall what it means. It was something like "You reap what you plant". Any Latin speakers out there?
And then we drove South, off Long Island, into rush hour traffic at 4:00 PM. It may sound insane to intentionally take a 43 foot 10,000 pound rig into the menacing New York rush hour traffic, but either I am getting inured to such, or it was better than average. At any rate, it took us only 6 hours or so to get down to Annapolis, and I did not have apoplexy en route.
|
Horses!
Lots of them, all beautiful animals. We stopped and watched one of the
officers groom for a bit, while another officer told us that they were
preparing for a Yankees baseball game happening later that day.
Little Italy is a slowly-shrinking neighborhood in Manhattan, as it is being
encroached upon by Chinatown next door. At the heart of Little Italy is
Mulberry Street; Luna's is at Mulberry very near Canal, again for those
of you who know Manhattan. As we neared the restaurant, the streets
became packed with people of all colors. Street vendors were everywhere, all engaged in the
hustle-bustle that characterizes the best of Manhattan's neighborhoods.
My grandmother looked out the window at one point and said, "My, Douglas,
this is an interesting neighborhood" as she reached over and locked the
cab's door.
