Holy Cow! Did I not tell you about my trip to New York. How can that be? It was the center of my universe for weeks – before and after. Naughty, naughty, naughty. Well, let’s not make that trip and its sensational sights be all for naught. Let me share some of those wonderful events with you now. I have to grab my notes (and go back into some of the blogs I started back in October about this trip but never finished). So time to get them done and out so you can see and hear about it. Here we go -- It's Day One of My Big Adventure, 10-11-11.Up, Up and Away. First off, remember me telling you this was my first airplane trip. Well, Tuesday morning brought anxiety before we even hit the tarmac. Nika and I hopped a cab to O’Hare, picking us up at the corner by their apartment. A nice gentleman who, one pressed for conversation, joined in. The one thing he did say that stuck in my mind was “this is the worst I have ever seen traffic” – oh, no!! Oh, yes! He quipped he thought it was all because this was the first business day after a holiday. Monday was Columbus Day and apparently they celebrate that more in Chicago than they do in Madison. Traffic was knee-deep and slowing down every second. The minute we thought we were out of it, back in the thick of it again. Thinking that we were leaving in plenty of time (by Nika’s “watch” as she has driven Casey to the airport many mornings to catch his flights to New York), we hailed the cab at 6:15 a.m., hoping to be at the airport by 7:00. Our flight was leaving at 8:30. Finally breaking through the traffic jams, our trusty driver pulled in and let us off at 8:00. Scramble, we did. And me with all my suitcases! (Evil look from Nika!). I still needed to stop at the bathroom (too much coffee was drank on the ride there), get some water for my cup (to ward off getting dehydrated which pushes me into a low), get some orange juice (to stop a low in case I go into one) and get through — security. Yes, as I mentioned before, my real anxiety was getting through security with my insulin, needles, etc., etc. I had everything packed so it was easily accessible to be pulled out and explained. Needless to say, that went fine. My two suitcases went bye-bye and off on a run we went. I found a bathroom and Nika grabbed our two carry-ons and was off to find me some water and orange juice. I quickly came out of the bathroom but couldn’t find Nika. I ran around looking more for my red bag carry-on instead of her. Ultimately, she found me. She had already deposited our bags with the airport ticket-taker (smart move, Nika! She, of course, travels more than I do!). In through the tunnel we went to board the plane. The last to arrive! Whew! Got our seats and settled in. [Yes, that is Nika in the picture up above making faces at me when I am trying to take her picture!]
Next worry was airsickness. Nope, skip that – next worry was passing out. Once we got into our seats, the overwhelming heat in the plane was almost forcing me into a low. I quickly grabbed my water to make sure I was hydrated and our traveling companion in the third aisle seat assured me it would soon be cold. Once the plane started up and the A/C kicked in, she was right. I hastily unpacked my camera so I could take pictures of us taking off and the sights below and the clouds. Nika made a point of showing me where my air bag was in case I felt the urge to dispel some of my breakfast around the airplane.I was filled with the sense of adventure and having been awake since about 4:00 a.m., it was hard to subdue that feeling. My motor mouth started and I know all Nika wanted at that point was peace and quiet so she could sleep. (She will admittedly tell you she is not a morning person). She impulsively pulled out the headphones. I have since found out that in the “Air Travel Etiquette Book” this is a sign to the person next to you to “shut up.” Haha! No one hands you this book, some things you just have to learn. I mean I already knew about the Golden Rule #1 – never say the word b-o-m-b; never, never, never. Not talking about a Hail Mary pass, a cocktail, or a project that fell apart. Never, never, never. So that wasn’t hard – it was already ingrained in my brain, because I didn’t want TSA throwing me in an airport cell for being a suspected terrorist or something. Nevertheless, I was to still able to keep myself busy by taking pictures of tiny little hills and trees below, the layout of the land, the clouds, and even snuck a few in of Nika (to her dismay -- again see her picture, above). [The second picture above is when we were leaving Chicago O'Hare and I snapped a few of Chi-Town from up above.] I read a little and then she wanted to play with my IPAD. Now this is when she began to get giddy from lack of sleep. She took my IPad and started to take pictures of herself with the photobooth. This app can distort your face, expressions, etc., and can be quite comical to play with. It occupied Nika’s time. I spent some time messing around with my laptop in between taking pictures.
Landing in the Big Apple. Then out of the blue, things seemed to be getting a bit closer and the pilot said we would soon be beginning our descent. I could feel my stomach making leaps – not from the descent but for the thrill of what was in store for me the next few days. A little kid in a candy store wouldn’t even come close to what I was feeling! [The picture to the left is of the Statue of Liberty as we were flying into New York. She looks like a grand old gal from even high in the sky.]Once we hit the airport, we grabbed our bags and set out to get a cab. [Nika got me back and snagged a picture of me standing in line for the cab as proof that I took may bags along -- yes, those are all my red bags. At least I was able to readily identify my bags. Color coordinated--even on a trip! Nika's one bag is the pink carry on. And see the next picture below -- it is called tit-for-tat. I snatched a picture of Nika standing in line behind me. She was boxed in, so she couldn't run from the camera! Hello, pretty girl!]
My Big Adventure Starts to Kick Into High Gear. In the cab and heading to our hotel, we unfortunately hit a snag – caught in a traffic jam in one of the tunnels (I think it was the New Jersey tunnel). Darn! No good views here. After a few frantic phone calls from Casey (as we were supposed to be meeting up with some of his coworkers to go out to lunch), we finally made it to the hotel. Casey popped in just in time to get us up to the room, dump off our stuff and out into the streets of New York we went.
Lunch at Frankie & Johnnie's. We were meeting his co-workers at a place Ron (co-worker) picked out called Frankie & Johnnie’s Steakhouse. My kind of place, too. I absolutely loved the architecture of the inside of the building. [See picture to the left of us at F&J's. You can even see in the mirror the waiter taking our picture.] As many may know, Frankie & Johnnie has been the longest running show on Broadway, and this restaurant is also one of the city’s oldest continued dining establishment, having first opened as a speakeasy in 1926. Ron noted that this was also at one time the home of late actor Douglas Fairbanks. I did a little extra reading on this establishment and found that legend has it that to gain access to the original speakeasy, patrons knocked on the unmarked door and used the password “Frankie” when a small peephole was opened. If it was business as usual, a confirmation reply of “Johnnie” was heard and admittance was gained. Hence, the Frankie & Johnnie moniker. And now you know the rest of the story. Following the repeal of prohibition, the restaurant became a steakhouse and an institution famous for its steaks and chops. Gotta love a place with lots and lots of history. It almost wanted to quietly utter the word “Frankie” to see if I would receive a ghostly reply. If you ever make it out to New York City, you have to schedule a visit there. Big kudos to Ron for being such a fine host!After devouring a delicious lunch of burgers and fries, we all sauntered up the street a few blocks to their office building. While the others went back to their respective offices, Casey took Nika and I on a tour. Nika had been there before, but this was my first time, so he had to introduce everyone to Momma. Here I was introduced to Casey’s creative world at the office. His office buddies were super fantastic people.
Planning Strategy Session. After that, Nika and I strolled back to our room where we unpacked, rested for a moment and then tried to do some planning for the coming days. When we our master laid out, I hooked us up with tickets for the Grey Line tour and we mapped out our days.Times Square Here We Come. With that completed, Casey returned after work and we headed out to Times Square do some sightseeing and shopping. [Picture to the left is Casey and I in Times Square.] Nika was looking for a dress to wear to the play the next night, so we headed to Forever 21. I had always avoided the store before, because, well frankly, pushing 21 was a little hard for me to pass! Haha! But I quickly found out that is not necessarily true. I bought a shirt and sweater and a couple pairs of shoes. 21, huh! Maybe I can be 21 Forever.
We also took a little stroll through the famous Times Square Toys R Us. I wanted to ride the three-story high Ferris wheel, but couldn’t get anyone else to join me. Since I didn’t want to look the senile, old Momma, I opted to stay off it, too. Instead, we headed to the other side of the ferris wheel to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory store. Mmmmm, mmmmm! Lots of chocolates there. Nika, having a sweet tooth, made Casey buy her some chocolates and I decided to do the same for Bob. (I was just hoping that they would survive the rest of the week and the trip home before some little mouse --me-- would start nibbling on them!)Where's Waldo & the Dancing "Wanna-Be Cowboy." Next, we roamed around some more taking in the sights and sounds and faces of Times Square. Outside Forever 21 we crossed the street to other side so we could see ourselves up there on the big screen plectron in front of God and everyone. That was neat, so I took pictures of us on the screen.
[Picture to the left is the close-up shot of us sitting across the street from the plectron where the camera picked us up. The next picture is the "far away" version, what we liked to call sort of a "Where's Waldo" type of pic. Can you find us?]
Right behind where we were sitting was an insanely funny guy who thought he could dance along with the girl in the advertisement on the plectron (that was for real on the plectron in an advertisement) so he jiggled and swayed to the loud music. Quite hilarious!
[See the picture to the right. Remember, this is October and he is half-naked. Kind of funny how he was shaking his arms so to the music that in this pic, it looks like he has none. And no, this was not the naked cowboy -- just a poor imitation of it.]It's 10:30 -- Time to Eat. Following that we headed over to (attempt) to eat supper at the Hard Rock Café but it was a 40-minute wait and it was now getting to a point after walking (and shopping) for four hours and so many blocks, that I soon needed to eat. We shopped a bit at the Hard Rock and then sauntered over to Planet Hollywood. The wait there was much shorter, and since it was already getting to be around 10:30 p.m., it was definitely time to eat. (Not in terms of NY time, though. People out there eat late and go out late). This supper time was beginning to crouch in on my usual bed time. [See the picture below of Casey and Nika eating at Planet Hollywood.]
Day 1 Winding Down. Again, we enjoyed great food and what more could you ask for. A safe trip, time with my family, I was having the time of my life. We arrived back at our hotel room around 12:30 a.m., Casey headed right to bed since he had to work again the next day. Nika was tiring out also, and so was I. At least I thought, I was. Instead of heading underneath the covers though, I pulled out my laptop and started downloading my pictures. Once downloaded, I quickly started transferring them over to my Facebook page. I had told family at home that I would try to keep them up-to-date daily and I wanted to make good on my word. When the last of that was done, it was after 1:30, so it was definitely time for me to hit the hay. (And, remember, we were now an hour ahead of time from what I was used to, so come morning, that was going to be a shocker, too.)So much for Day 1 of My Big Adventure. Stay tuned for Shari Hits the Big Apple – Day Deux.
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