Yesterday I got on the bus and went to New York City. I love New York and I haven't been in awhile, other than a quick trip in to see the orthopedist. So when my uncle and his girlfriend invited me to join them for a show, I said SURE!
Sadly, it turned out they were unable to go, so here I was with 3 tickets to "Jersey Boys". Well, my friend Barbara has been DYING to see the show, so I said "come with me!"
I arrived in the early afternoon, with suitcase in hand. (well, on wheels) I immediately started looking for a place for lunch, since it was past 1:00 and I was hungry. I checked my navigator on my cell phone (gotta love these nifty gadgets!) and it told me there was a Wendy's right on my way to the hotel. Cool! A known entity--Wendy's Chili. I found it--2 flights down in a subway station! Hmmmm, carrying a suitcase down those steps and back up again... Well, I decided the chili was worth the effort, so down I went. My suitcase was farily light, since it was only 1/2 full (more on that later). I enjoyed my lunch and then trudged back up the steps to the street.
It was a gloomy, grey day, but fortunately not raining yet, so I didn't have the hassle of the umbrella to deal with. A good thing, since I walked about 15 blocks. I got to the hotel, checked in, and went upstairs to drop off all my stuff. Then I headed back out for some adventure.
My first order of business was to see Ground Zero. In all the times I've been in the city since 9/11, I've never gotten down there, and I was determined that this was the time. I sure wish I'd done my homework. Since lower Manhattan was a long way from my hotel on 53rd street, I took a cab. The driver looked at me kind of funny when I told him where I wanted to go, but I figured maybe it was just a language barrier thing. I was wrong. We got down to where the towers stood. I recognized some of the landmarks from TV, so I knew we were in the right place. And what did I see? A construction site, blocked off on all sides by a tall fence. That's it? Yup, that's it. There was a place you could walk alongside the construction site, but as it had started to rain, it hardly seemed worth it to walk past a fence, not to mention the trouble of finding another cab to get back uptown!
So, where to next? I decided to start my shopping and headed for 34th Street, home of Macy's. I was looking for a couple of specific things, most importantly a white, fine gauge sweater. I looked at Gap. No luck. Daffy's. No luck. H&M. No luck. I figured, Macy's has EVERYTHING, so I went all through 5 floors of the world's largest department store. Nothing. I gave up.
Back out on the street, it was raining harder. And my umbrella? Back in my hotel room! I tried to get a taxi, and had no luck. But then a guy on a pedicab asked if I needed a ride. This is the coolest thing. A bicycle, and on the back is a little trailer with a seat, and a roof, and even a plastic covering to keep you dry! I figured, "why not?" and told him where I was going. It was about 20 blocks, and if it wasn't raining, or if I'd had my umbrella, I would have walked, but under the circumstances, I decided to ride. It was fun weaving around cars that weren't moving. I think we actually made better time than a taxi would have!
Back at the hotel, I fired up my mini-laptop and read email, caught up on Sparks, and did some web surfing, until it was time for dinner. I had checked on Mapquest and Yahoo to see what was nearby, and found nothing interesting. So I decided to stay close and try the restaurant in the hotel lobby. At least I'd stay warm and dry.
I ordered my favorite kind of salad--greens with slices of apples, walnuts and Stilton cheese, with a light viniagrette (on the side, naturally), and a seafood entree that sounded yummy. The waiter brought the bread basket, and I marveled at the huge quantity for just one person. I took a piece and buttered it, and it was good. And I was starving. So I took another piece. And it was good. and I was still hungry. So I took ANOTHER piece. And asked the waiter to please remove the bread basket from the table.
The salad was delicious. I used barely any dressing, since it really didn't need much. The seafood was so-so. The shrimps (3) were good, but the lobster was sort of gummy. The scallops looked gross, and there were 2 other kinds of mystery fish that I decided to leave on the plate. I asked the waiter to wrap the leftovers. I thought I might see a homeless person on the way to the theater, and then the food wouldn't go to waste.
I headed out to the theater to meet Barbara and her daughter, Amy. No homeless people, so I tossed the bag in a trash can. I sat in the theater lobby peoplewatching until the girls arrived. Up the steps we went to the theater to find our seats. I can remember so many times I've gone to a show and been so uncomfortable in the tiny theater seats. But these seats seemed quite roomy. Maybe they were bigger than others, maybe it's just that I'm so much smaller, but I was certainly comfortable. Except for the tall man who sat right in front of me, and leaned so far to the right to see around the tall man in front of HIM, that I was practically falling out of my seat trying to see the stage! Fortunately, Barbara pointed out that they had cushions you could sit on, so I asked the usher for one. It helped alot, and I was able to see pretty well.
I'd been in a pretty gloomy mood all day, but the music, the action, and just hanging out with Barbara and Amy, made me much cheerier. When the show ended, we walked back to the hotel. Barbara had gotten me a CD of the soundtrack as a thank you for inviting them. (Hey, the tickets were free--my uncle gave them to me!). We had a nice chat while we walked through the falling mist (not quite rain yet). They got a cab at the hotel and I went out in search of a snack. I was very happy to find a healthy grocery store just a block and a half from the hotel. I got a bag of granola (the same kind I have at home), 2 cups of greek yogurt with fruit, and some organic apples. By this time it was raining pretty hard, and the wind had picked up quite a bit, so I hurried back to the hotel.
I ate my nice snack, and put the rest away for breakfast (nice that the hotel provides a mini-bar, but it wasn't cold enough for the yogurt, so I filled the ice bucket and stuck it in there). I calculated my intake for the day and...uh oh. I was over by 327 calories! YIKES! And WAY high on fat. Well, there was nothing I could do at that point, I'd already eaten!
I didn't feel tired, but a little after midnight I went to bed. It took a long time to fall asleep. I woke up once to use the bathroom and was afraid I would be unable to go back to sleep, but I did. When I woke up, it was 9:28!!! I can't remember when I last slept that late! I got up and dressed and ate breakfast, packed up my few thngs, and checked out. I was able to check my bag at the bell desk so I didn't have to lug it around with me.
Then it was time for the highlight of my trip--Talbots!! I walked the 2 long blocks and one short one to the 4 story building, carrying just my umbrella. It was drizzling, but not too hard. This was the first time I've been there that I wasn't limited to just the one floor of Women's sizes. Today I had 3 entire floors to choose from!
I still had no success in my quest for a white sweater, but I hit pay dirt on all other fronts. They were having a store-wide sale--buy one, get one half price. Woohoo! I just LOVE saving money! I left 2 hours later with 4 pair of much needed pants, and 5 equally necessary tops. And the most exciting part was the sizes. A Misses size 16 blouse, and a pair of size 14 Womens Petite pants!! WOW! I haven't been a 14 since 1992! The other pants were cut slimmer in the leg, so I had to go with a 16, but the waists would have been better in a 14. Oh well...
The rain had picked up a bit, but I walked back anyway, since it was so close. I stopped on the way and went into the Gap, becuase I needed a nicer black top to go with the size 14 pants (I have a Memorial service to go to on Saturday). I found 4 and tried them all on. They were all nice, but I chose the last one, which seemed to classiest. The XL was too big, so I got a Large! WooHoo!!!
I collected my suitcase from the hotel, and fortunately everything fit inside. (Remember, it was only half full on the trip up!) I was quite warm, so I took off my coat and put it in the shopping bag, and hooked that on top of the suitcasee. The rain had stopped, so I didn't need my umbrella as I started back towards the bus station. I knew I didn't want to deal with steps again, but I really wanted to do lunch at Wendy's again since I knew it was a healthy choice (gotta love that chili!) I checked and found one only about 2 blocks out of the way, so I went there. No steps!! I had my lunch, and headed south. Only 12 blocks this time, and no rain!
I just missed the 1:20 bus, so I had to wait for the 1:50. The ride passed quickly as I read my book, and before I knew it, we were back in Freehold. I got off the bus and headed for my car, and noticed that my legs hurt. Alot! I guess it was all that walking.
So now I'm back home. I had a nice healthy dinner, and my calories are in the lower end of the range, so that offsets at least half of yesterday's excess. And I have a new "Master Card Commercial":
Bus trip to the big city: $11.75
Dinner at a swanky restaurant: $50
Tickets to 'Jersey Boys' on Broadway: $117 (paid for by my nice uncle!)
A pair of size 14 pants: PRICELESS!
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