Big Apple Report - Friday/Saturday

Beth and I left for NYC on Friday evening, and everything went really smoothly - our flight was on time, etc. However, we did have a pretty bumpy flight and a crazy hard landing (the pilot even commented on it). By the time we arrived at LaGuardia Airport, I was of course air sick. I don't know what happened to me, as I never used to get motion sick, but these days car and air travel can be a real challenge for me, especially when either is jerky/rocky. Oh well, I love to travel so I have to suck it up. Random note from the flight- our flight attendant seriously might have been Oliver Twist. Very odd looking/acting dude. I really wanted to shout out, "please sir, may I have some more," but I didn't think that was a good idea since we were trapped in a plane with the guy. Oh well.

Once we arrived, B's cousin Joey picked us up and I soon became car sick too. We headed to a hole in the wall diner in Flushing, Queens, (Joey promised it would have the best burgers), and we ate a sick amount of bad food (idk why I ate when I was already feeling a bit ill. Not the smartest move). We then got back into the car and headed into Manhattan to see Times Square at night. First thought: holy electricity! Second thought: wow! After driving around a bit, it was quite late, so we headed back to New Hyde Park on Long Island, where we spent the night with B's grandparents. Funny story - the door was locked when we arrived at about 2 am, as B's grandpa had looked into the guest room and thought we were in bed...not sure how he thought the two empty beds contained people...good thing he does not drive!

The next morning, we had breakfast with B's grandparents in their tiny little house. It was cute, but I swear it was made for little people! Seriously. Also, B's grandpa was basically deaf. I guess he already has bad hearing, but to make things worse, he recently used some sort of ear drops, and he literally could not hear us unless we shouted directly into his ears. However, he could somehow hear B's grandma, or at least pretended to. Is that a form of selective hearing? ;) After breakfast, we went to say hi to B's Aunt Doris, who lives about 2 blocks from her grandparents. For some reason, her house seemed more normal sized. We then went back to her grandparents' place and after a little more visiting, it was time to leave.

B called a cab to take us to the Long Island Railroad, and from there we caught a train into the city. Once we arrived at Penn Station, we caught another cab to our hotel, which is near Rockefeller Center, dropped off our luggage, and headed out to explore the city. We caught the subway and went south to explore the southern tip of Manhattan. We wandered through the various neighborhoods, eventually eating a delicious Indian lunch at a random hole in the wall joint. For some reason, we decided to risk using the bathroom at the restaurant, and as we ventured into the basement (of course it was in the basement), poor Beth was scared to death by a random cat. It had been all dark and she saw it when she flipped the light switch. I think she thought it was a rat at first, which makes sense. The entire basement bathroom experience was sort of creepy after that, so we hurried and got out of there.

After lunch, we continued walking, and as we turned a corner, I knew instantly that we had come upon the WTC site. It is absolutely huge, and I don't think you can understand that without actually being there. I literally got the goose bumps, and we both became quiet. It really feels like a sad place, and both B and I felt pretty emotional being there. The Freedom Tower is already under construction, so you cannot get super close to the actual site, but you can still see the absolute devastation that occurred there. Plus, it's hard not to think of the place as a giant tomb, as that is basically what it is. Sad, but I'm glad I saw it.

After the WTC site, we walked through Battery Park City, an area along the Hudson River. I really liked that, as I love being by the water. Plus, there were random little park areas all around, and I enjoyed those. From the water's edge, we could see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and that was neat. Also, we found Beth's favorite childhood friend, Spiderman. B said she didn't want to pay $5 to have her picture taken with him (the Statue of Liberty performers were charging that amount), and he quickly said, it's not $5. I asked him how much it was and he said we needed to make a donation. I asked for what, and he said, "my rent." I laughed at his honesty, gave him $2, and took B's picture with him. I would say it was a fabulously spent $2.

We then made our way to the Staten Island Ferry, which is a free and fabulous way to see the Statue of Liberty fairly close up. We got to ride on the front portion of the boat, which was outside, and that was awesome. The wind felt great (we had fabulous weather all day), and I love being on the water, so it was a cool way to see things. Once the boat docked, we raced through the station (there was weird peer pressure to run as tons of other people were doing so, and we caved and joined them) and got back into line for the return trip. On the way back, we got to be by an open window, and that was great too.

After the ferry ride, we decided to catch a cab back to our hotel so we could actually check in and rest a bit before meeting up with Beth's friends/family for dinner. B napped and I played around on the inet and eventually took a much too short nap as well.

That night, B, her cousins Liz and Josh, Liz's fiance Justin, their friend Joanie, and I all caught the subway to Little Italy, where we had dinner outside at a nice Italian restaurant. I love to eat outside when the weather is nice, and we had a nice meal. However, I really should let B order for me, as I've liked everything she's ordered more than what I've ordered since we've been here. Perhaps I should just become a copycat. After dinner, we continued wandering through Little Italy, and we eventually found this fun little street fair. We of course had to play some carnival games, and Beth managed to win a stuffed Elmo. Also, even though we were all full after our huge meals, we just HAD to eat a crepe (how does one say no to nutella and banana crepes?), and it was delicious.

After the street fair, we said good bye to Liz, Josh, and Justin, as they had to catch the train back to Long Island. Joanie, B, and I decided to go to Times Square to look around and have a drink. It is Fleet Week in NYC, and Joanie wanted to find some sailors (or so she said). We found an Irish pub and had a drink. Elmo had a little too much fun, and he was quite popular with the other patrons, one of whom offered to buy us shots if we would give him to her. She then assured Joanie that she wasn't a "dyke." She was lucky B and I didn't hear her say that, as I believe there would have been words. Seriously, who frickin' says that? Also, I think it's pretty obvious that I'm gay, but I guess not to her. Anyway, Elmo returned safely with us to the hotel, and hopefully he will make it home to B's nephew Charlie. We'll see.

After we finished our drinks, we decided to call it a night. Joanie caught a cab, and we took the subway, where I saw my first NYC rats. Lots of them. I had no idea they were so big. Pretty gross, yet I was sickly fascinated by them. I couldn't turn my head away. Odd, I know. Once we arrived at our stop, we decided to quickly walk by Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral, and I enjoyed that. St. Pat's could seriously be in Europe, which is a bit odd, considering it's located in a very modern, gigantic city. Finally, after we bought some sodas for the morning from a street vendor, we called it a night and crawled into bed to fall fast asleep.

All in all, it was an awesome day! I like it here a lot, even if the number of people overwhelms me. I am not sure I could live here because of that, as I need space, quiet, and solitude at times, but perhaps there are ways to get that here too. I just don't know how, as most places we go to are filled with people. I would also need to become much more aggressive, and I'm not sure that's me. Also, the city really is quite dirty. There is garbage everywhere, which might explain the rats... Regardless of the negatives, I think NYC is a fantastic place to visit. The city really never sleeps, and I dig that. As B says, it's like a giant time warp - it could be 3 pm or 3 am and you won't know it and it doesn't really make a difference. Also, you can find any kind of food you want - literally any kind, and probably at any hour of the day. Pretty cool.

Tomorrow, we head off to the Yankees game, and I'm quite excited for that too. Stay tuned for more!

Pictures:
1) Sign for New Hyde Park station
2) Set of stairs that survived the WTC attack
3) WTC site
4) Me and Beth in Battery Park City
5) Statue of Liberty
6) Beth and Spiderman
7) View of Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry
8) View of Bridges from the Staten Island Ferry - the brown bridge is the Brooklyn Bridge
9) Near our hotel at night - Radio City Music Hall
10) Radio City Music Hall sign - near our hotel
11) Times Square at night
12) Times Square at night