New York City Serenade - Part One

New York City and I haven’t had the best relationship over the years.  The first few dates that we went on were rocky to say the least.  I’m fairly laid back, but need structure and an itinerary in such an atmosphere.  The first two times I visited the city, my group walked around aimlessly and rarely left Times Square.  If we ever did venture out, it was only to Canal Street in Chinatown to buy knock-off purses or over to Little Italy to eat.  To say that my stays in the city were stressed would be an understatement.  There is soooo much to see in the city and wandering around tourist traps is not the way to see it.  However, I’m happy to say that my trip last weekend was a huge bounce-back and that the city and I are on good terms again.

The trip started off with a bang when I pulled into Starbucks on the morning we left.  When I drove up to the window to pay, the barista informed me that the lady in the car ahead of me had already paid for my coffee.  Sweet.  Although, I inexplicably ordered a tall bold at the drive-thru (I always order a venti bold), so I didn’t get much coffee that morning.  Alas, it was free, and the awesome lady in the silver Accord made my day, so I would of looked like the biggest jerk asking to switch my order to a larger size.  It was a perfect start to my mini vacation, although I still had to get through a half-day of work.  The plan was to drive to Jersey, stay with family, and then take a train into the city the next morning.

After my half-day at work, I picked up Eileen and our trip was on like Donkey Kong.  It was a rather non-descript car ride, until we stopped at a Sheetz in central Pennsylvania.  Inside the restroom, there was a grown man in furry slippers wearing Superman pajama pants.  He greeted every person walking in by saying “Hi Bob”, and then by taking his 72 oz fountain drink and splashing it on the person.  Yeah, he had something wrong with him.  And yeah, it was hilarious. Like an elusive running back, I weaved in between Superman Pants and the stall door to quickly wash my hands without getting splashed – no time for drying.  Dodged a bullet with that one.  After that incident, the ride was relatively uneventful.  Eileen and I had a great time on the road with each other and before we knew it, we were in Westfield, NJ.  It was great spending time with my aunt and uncle, as we normally only get to see them once a year.  After dinner and six glasses of wine (not recommended when catching an early train the next morning), we finally went to sleep.

The next morning, the three of us arrived at the Westfield train station to catch an early train into the city.  This is an excellent part of this story to stop and introduce our third member of the trip, our suitcase.  To my amazement, the New Jersey Transit Authority did not make us pay for a third ticket for our suitcase.  It was that big.  Like, 75 lbs big.  Oh, did I mention that we were only staying in the city for 3 nights?  I saw a 6^th grader on the train that weighed less than this thing.  Navigating the city with our suitcase would be the first test of my nerves, as subway stairs and train transfers would be tricky. 

My favorite part of day one involved our 75lb friend.  On our train ride into Manhattan, I had to place the suitcase on the bench opposite of Eileen and I due to its size.  A few minutes later, a man in a suit on his way into work noticed the large bag sitting on the bench alone.  He sat down on the bench in front of the bag and had a very concerned look on his face.  He did a quick scan of the train car (looking for suspicious people, I gather), and then high-tailed it to another train.  In a post 9/11 world, everybody is fearful of another terrorist attack.  Naturally, it is widely speculated that mass public transit would be a possible venue for such an attack.  I don’t blame the man for leaving the train in fear, but I just wish he knew that he inconvenienced his day because two Midwesterners couldn’t decide if they should bring summer clothes or fall clothes, so they packed both.

Who brings something this big for 3 days?

After checking in to our hotel, Eileen and I made our way to Rockefeller Center.  Coming into the trip, Eileen’s main goal was to be on the Today Show.  Conversely, my main goal was to convince her that this was the worst idea ever.  Thankfully, I persuaded her that getting up Friday morning to stand outside and hold signs with all of the other yokels was not in her best interest, as I would not be cooperative.  So as we walked into the NBC Store later that morning, we noticed security clearing out a path.  Just then, a star of the Today Show walked over from the studio across the street to film a segment.  Eileen freaked out and yelled at me, “Hey Ry, look….there’s Kathie Lee Griffin, let’s follow her”.  Ohhh, her lack of knowledge of pop culture NEVER gets old.  So we followed Kathie Lee GIFFORD upstairs to where she was hosting a mini-segment on Emmy’s Trivia.  And who got on the Today Show?  Yes, Eileen.  Speaking of Bucket Lists (my last post), this one was on Eileen’s.  Although it was only 30 seconds, she loved every minute of it.  So it was a win-win.  Eileen got on TV (albeit in the background), and I didn’t have to ruin the next day by bitching incessantly that I don’t wait to stand outside in the plaza next to Becky from Idaho.

Eileen to the left of Miss Griffin.  

While Eileen’s focus was getting on TV, my focus from this point forward was seeing where Ghostbusters was filmed.  I must have watched that movie twice a week during my childhood, so I had to at least see something.  We walked down to the New York Public Library to check out the location from the first scene in the movie.  The building is spectacular.  Built in 1897, the building is a National Historic Landmark.  The Rose Main Reading Room, with a 50-foot high ceiling featuring intricate designs and paintings, is the crown jewel of the library.  While Eileen was marveling at the architecture and design of the ceiling, I was hitting her, saying, “Hey – look at those doors.  That’s where the Ghostbusters go to get the ghost out of the basement”.  I think it sunk in with her at this exact moment that this will not be an overly romantic trip.  In a room filled with history and design, I was amazed at the double doors where three fictional characters attempted to contain a fake ghost.

You're right...no human being would stack books like this.

Next on the agenda was a trip down to Ground Zero.  I’ve been to New York 4 times since 2001, and this area has looked dramatically different each time.  We reserved tickets to visit the memorial and it was worth every second.  It’s amazing that in the busiest city in the world how quiet people are at the memorial.  Unfortunately, the museum is still under construction and won’t open for another year.  There was a small store around the corner that had some memorabilia and artifacts from the day.  I nearly lost it emotionally, and this is in the store that sold NYPD pencils and coffee mugs.  I can’t imagine what it will be like visiting the museum once it opens next year.  It’s crazy how fast 11 years goes by, and even crazier hearing the stories of the survivors in the city.  I can’t imagine ever visiting the city without heading down to Ground Zero to reflect on the day.

This picture does not do it justice.

There is a Marriott near Ground Zero that we took a break at to sit down and use the restroom shortly after the memorial.  While in the Marriott lobby, we spotted a lady walking her yellow lab.  We looked at each other and ran, (yes, literally ran) out the doors to go see the dog.  People don’t react that way when De Niro or Jay-Z walks by, let alone a dog.  I wish that this was the most ridiculous moment of the weekend, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.  More to come on this one later.

To close out the evening of the first day in the city, we went to a nice pizzeria for a low-key dinner.  Not much to mention, other than the pizza was delicious.  That concludes our first day/night in New York.  I warmed up to the city and it warmed up to me.  For the first time, I was completely comfortable in New York.  For the rest of the trip, stay tuned for part two of this post – I’ll get to it sometime later this week.  The Springsteen concert was the next night – Epic.  Ciao for now.