Tues, August 18, 2009
Monday was a blast in NYC, although my feet were killing me and it was too hot. That is typical with my family, it is either the coldest day on record or sweltering whenever we go site-seeing. I headed out on the #1 train, only to find out that the roof caved in at one of the stations, causing all the passengers to disembark and get on a bus from Dykeman (is that an oxymoron?) St. to 168th St. Extra 30 minutes to get to 42nd St. This was apparently a big deal, ‘cause on my way home there were news crews filming everywhere. I took it in stride as hey, this is NYC, ya gotta go with the flow of humanity.
As I walked up the steps at B’dway and 42nd St, I stepped into a surreal world and had to take a moment and just take it in. I’m guessing Vegas is somewhat similar with all the lights and signs everywhere. Had to walk three or 4 blocks to find my Auntie Carol and her friend Lenore at a fancy bank with super high ceilings and huge chandeliers. There were not one, but two doormen at the bank entry. This was no Wachovia branch in Lawrenceville GA, that is for sure. We headed over to Grand Central (it has wonderful air conditioning) and took a cut-through to the Chrysler Bldg, where I was informed that my father was the head elevator operator. It was beautiful in the lobby! The outside was built with white marble from Georgia. From there we headed back to Times Square to find a restaurant for lunch called Duke’s. That was complicated as we snaked around many blocks and Avenues until we found it. Everyone we asked said it was on a different corner. Lesson of the day, find out where you are going before leaving for a trip to the city, and write it on your hand.
After lunch we headed to the Empire State Bldg. Again not in a direct route, but we got there. Awesome! Well worth the $20 to check it out. It is amazing to think of how much engineering and sweat equity went into building this city. It is an island, so it makes me wonder about the geology of the earth and how it can support such massive structures. Turns out the bldg is only a couple of blocks from Macy’s on 34th St. We were all hot and tired, so we went to the shoe section to sit and cool off. Made friends with the high-end shoe sales guy and loitered around for a bit. They don’t sell Chacos! Can you believe it, the world’s biggest dept store and they don’t carry my designer brand? So we wandered around for a while up and down the 7 floors of original wooden escalators. Never have I seen anything like them. Finally we headed back up to Times Square, and low and behold, the Naked Cowboy was out and about. I won’t lie, I’ve never heard of him, but apparently he is an extra special huckster. Got my cheap thrill, and said goodbye to my Auntie and her friend. We were all exhausted from the heat.
As I headed to the subway, a piece of cheesecake whistled at me, so I picked up this extra special treat as the “icing on the cake.” It was heavenly and well worth every penny of the $7.50 I forked over. Hard to imagine my dad used to bring home whole pies for free from the bakery in the bldg where he worked at 274 Madison Ave as the super for almost 20 years. The brain cells were popping all over my brain from my childhood. I do miss him in my life, as he left this world before I turned 17. He was quite the story teller about life in NYC... he grew up in Greenwich Village, the son of Spanish immigrants in the 1930s & 40s.
Monday was a blast in NYC, although my feet were killing me and it was too hot. That is typical with my family, it is either the coldest day on record or sweltering whenever we go site-seeing. I headed out on the #1 train, only to find out that the roof caved in at one of the stations, causing all the passengers to disembark and get on a bus from Dykeman (is that an oxymoron?) St. to 168th St. Extra 30 minutes to get to 42nd St. This was apparently a big deal, ‘cause on my way home there were news crews filming everywhere. I took it in stride as hey, this is NYC, ya gotta go with the flow of humanity.
As I walked up the steps at B’dway and 42nd St, I stepped into a surreal world and had to take a moment and just take it in. I’m guessing Vegas is somewhat similar with all the lights and signs everywhere. Had to walk three or 4 blocks to find my Auntie Carol and her friend Lenore at a fancy bank with super high ceilings and huge chandeliers. There were not one, but two doormen at the bank entry. This was no Wachovia branch in Lawrenceville GA, that is for sure. We headed over to Grand Central (it has wonderful air conditioning) and took a cut-through to the Chrysler Bldg, where I was informed that my father was the head elevator operator. It was beautiful in the lobby! The outside was built with white marble from Georgia. From there we headed back to Times Square to find a restaurant for lunch called Duke’s. That was complicated as we snaked around many blocks and Avenues until we found it. Everyone we asked said it was on a different corner. Lesson of the day, find out where you are going before leaving for a trip to the city, and write it on your hand.
After lunch we headed to the Empire State Bldg. Again not in a direct route, but we got there. Awesome! Well worth the $20 to check it out. It is amazing to think of how much engineering and sweat equity went into building this city. It is an island, so it makes me wonder about the geology of the earth and how it can support such massive structures. Turns out the bldg is only a couple of blocks from Macy’s on 34th St. We were all hot and tired, so we went to the shoe section to sit and cool off. Made friends with the high-end shoe sales guy and loitered around for a bit. They don’t sell Chacos! Can you believe it, the world’s biggest dept store and they don’t carry my designer brand? So we wandered around for a while up and down the 7 floors of original wooden escalators. Never have I seen anything like them. Finally we headed back up to Times Square, and low and behold, the Naked Cowboy was out and about. I won’t lie, I’ve never heard of him, but apparently he is an extra special huckster. Got my cheap thrill, and said goodbye to my Auntie and her friend. We were all exhausted from the heat.
As I headed to the subway, a piece of cheesecake whistled at me, so I picked up this extra special treat as the “icing on the cake.” It was heavenly and well worth every penny of the $7.50 I forked over. Hard to imagine my dad used to bring home whole pies for free from the bakery in the bldg where he worked at 274 Madison Ave as the super for almost 20 years. The brain cells were popping all over my brain from my childhood. I do miss him in my life, as he left this world before I turned 17. He was quite the story teller about life in NYC... he grew up in Greenwich Village, the son of Spanish immigrants in the 1930s & 40s.
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