Oak Street Ranch

The Big Apple, Day Two

Greetings Gentle Readers,
Its day two in the Big Apple. I'm writing this during our rest break - so, first, let's recap.

Yesterday's blog covered through the flight - which was great. Especially with in-flight wi-fi. Makes the time pass absurdly fast. Its really something, when you're videoconferencing with someone, as you fly over several states. Very high tech. Or... surfing for Lakers news. Whatever.

So, we land - Baggage claim was quick. Out to the taxi stand. Surprisingly, the weather wasn't too bad. Brisk, but only in sweaters, we were fine.
A taxi ride into the city. First - a taxi aside. Not all taxis are scary....but... enough of them are, so that they deserve that stereotype. Our driver, unfortunately, proves the rule. He didnt run anyone off the road, but the constant gunning of the gas, then slamming on the brakes - gave us the sensation of being on a boat. And not in a good way.
We arrived at the hotel, thankful to be alive, and seasick.

What else did I learn? Generally - when you have the opportunity to drive in New York - Pass on it. Its a zoo. The lines, lights, dividers, barriers, etc - All mere suggestions, nothing binding.
Added to that, is the fact that apparently, something in the water makes pedestrians invincible. Crossing anywhere, often actually having full conversations in the middle of busy streets.

The hotel is nice. Upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite. Good sized kitchen - pots and pans, a dishwasher, full sized fridge, etc. Comfy, lots of storage.
But, we're already out on the town. We layer on some jackets, and head out - Walking down to Grand Central Station. Its immense. Amazing, Full of hustle and bustle. People coming and going. Shops, signs, trains, panhandlers, musicians, police, and pets. Its just slightly controlled chaos.
We are on a quest - Criff Dogs. We exit the appropriate station into...well.. into a monsoon. We are SOAKED...but we trudge down to Criff Dogs and slink in. We order the Chiuahua and the Garden State. One is a deep fried, bacon wrapped dog with avocado. One is deep fried, with sliced ham, pepperoncinis and cheese. Good lord, this MIGHT not kill us, so we get the large tater tots. The tots are so good, we work out a potato exchange program with the three guys in suits next to us, enjoying some PBR with their dogs, and some waffle cut fries, covered in cheese... Help me... I might lose consciousness...

We start walking, thinking a cocktail or bar might be in our future - but honestly, we're drenched. We grab a cab and high tail it back to the hotel, to finish unpacking and plan for Day Two.

Catching up - Day Two.
Beautiful day. Rain has stopped (for now). Sunny, and around 60. We walk down the block to Ess-A-Bagel. Jen makes friends with the counterman, who decides that she should let me go back to LA, and she should stay here.
She is inclined to agree.
Coffee and bagels accomplished, we start down 5th Avenue. Tree lined medians, exquisite shops, hustle and bustle of people. Its exactly what you'd expect. Stands selling costume jewlery and fake purses share the corners with the Sabrett's hot dog carts and halal food stands.
We check out Trump Tower (lots of travertine); FAO Shwartz (honestly, not as snappy as I was led to believe); the monolith of Apple (giant glass cube with giant Apple logo inside - yep, pretty cool); etc.
We make our way to Central Park. Its amazing, how very quickly, once inside its borders, much the city fades away to skyline.
Ducks in various ponds, enough squirrels to form a gang and take over the city, and plenty of little nooks and crannies which you might recognize from various CSI or Law and Order Episodes.

We pass through many of the landmarks within the Park - a skating rink, The Pond, The Lawn, Belevdere Castle (sadly, it is NOT where they make the vodka. I was sorely disappointed) ; and others. We walk up, past the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but decide to take advantage of being outside while we still can. Perhaps Museums on Saturday, when its supposed to snow.

Some walking and subway rides later, we're back around the hotel. We head back over to the Amish Market (no, not actual Amish people. I don't know WHY its called that, but they have good stuff). Two crazy sandwiches and snacks later - its time for blog updating, photo uploading and checking of mail. And, honestly, resting up from all the hiking around the city!

After the break - could be Empire State Building. Definitely looking forward to Scarpetta for some italian food tonight!

We hope everyone is doing well! More later.
Some nice photos - Miles of walking. Whew!

posted by Mitch @ 12:45 PM