Day 92 and 2 in NYC

Sorry, I was rushed, and the editing is unfinished.

It is Saturday, and we have plans to meet at the subway at 8:30AM, so I am up at 6AM to write the blog. I have two hours to write and dress.

I started Friday here on Roosevelt Island, NYC, at about 7, after rolling over when my 6:30AM alarm seemed insane. The three-hour time change and the recent one, our Spring Forward, means I am facing a deficit of four hours! I could feel it on Friday (and this Saturday when I wrote this)! With all the coughing, I decided to shower again to get some warm, damp air in my lungs, which helped. Clean, warm, and awake, I headed down to The Graduate, the hotel brand and name, restaurant.

The complementary coffee urns were out, so I got a paper cup of DIY coffee and was seated in the restaurant. I sent a note to Michelle but didn’t get a reply, so I ate by myself. I had the stuffed French Toast, which, while good, was what I could get anywhere. I will stick to bagels and lox to taste more of NYC and the East Coast.

While seated there and slowly eating, I was headed to the Empire State Building. I bought tickets online for over $90 (f**k), and that included the new 102nd-floor observatory built in the old Zepplin dock. The new facility is extra and has tall windows; it is not outside like the observation deck. I also handle the transfer of cash between my accounts to savings from my tax returns on my laptop. I next spend time at Max Brenner’s (I said Carl in the previous day’s blog; it should be Max’s) website, arranging Easter chocolate deliveries with the Easter Bunny.

Thus, re-enforced with coffee and French Toast, I take the laptop and hide it in the room. It is on a book-like cover and looks like an encyclopedia when closed. Prefect. Next, I walk to the F line on Roosevelt Island and get in the right one (later, Michelle will take the one to Queens by mistake–an easy mistake). I take the Q in Manhattan to 34th Street, Harold’s Square, and turn the corner to see the Empire State Building.

I managed to take 33rd Street, which meant walking all the way around to 34th Street to find the tourist entrance. I spent thirty minutes in an Art Deco tourist trap, passing through security and a museum packed with people. I found the line for the elevator, and soon, I was packed NYC close in and headed to the 8o-something floor. There was a movie playing on the elevator’s roof to distract us from the slight swinging of the car and the long trip. It shows the tower being made as we cruise to the top. Everything hints at Art Deco and the 1920s.

The platform is another museum, and I soon rush to the next elevator and take a short ride to the 86th floor. Finally, the outside, cold, windy platform appears. It is old school, well-maintained, watched, and excellent. The view through the anti-jump bars is incredible. It is worth the money and the tourist trap. I love the sign not to put children on the ledge and in the bars. I have to push my cowboy hat down on my head. The sweater is just enough to not freeze, and I make the walk around the building, taking various tourist shots and videos through the bars.

I found the 102nd-floor elevator but couldn’t scan my ticket. “Oh, you hold your phone under the scanner,” I am told. You would think a computer guy could get this right, but no. Finally, I got it, and this glass-walled thing showed us the walls of the towers as we rose, and it was the first time I was really scared. It is a tiny chamber all glassed in. The original hand-riveted skeleton of the tower is visible. There is barely enough room for folks, the framework, elivaotr, and glass windows that go to the very edge. The outdoor platform is a whole building away from us. Because the Empire State Building is cement-cored, it does not sway. I would not want to feel that in this suspended room. This is where the passengers would disembark from the Zepplen in the 1930s, but that was discontinued soon–too scary for everyone. There are only a few photos. I encircle this room a few times and admire and touch the overpainted original steel.

I am overwhelmed by the height and the Art Deco—wonderful. It was expensive but wonderful. It is recommended even if heights bother you. Dondrea said that she did it at night, and that would be an experience too. I find my photo (they take the tourist shot for you), buy it, and then head out thinking I would pick it up at the lobby, nope. I am chased down by a gal in an Art Deco uniform (the sales and security folks are all dressed in Art Deco uniforms–I love the look), and I return for my photo. I just pay for it, ignoring all the add-ons.

Another movie that says goodbye via Art Deco animation, and I am back in the tourist trap. I found a book on Art Deco in NYC, a T-shirt for me, and a shot glass with a tiny King Kong glued inside for Corwin.

I am free and happy to be back on the NYC streets. I walk back to the subway, take the yellow (it should have been the Oragne), and walk eight blocks (I went the wrong way twice and found the Orange line entrance closer) to a bookstore to meet Michelle. My feet are tired from yesterday and I have already at noonish got 7,500 steps in!

This is a manga place with all of the statues and matching paraphilia of figures. It’s quite a place. I did not find anything after resisting a 1/700 scale Japanese old-school waterline Bismark model kit mixed in the Gundam models and even a Yu-Gi-Oh puzzle. Resist!

Michelle and Cat (Michell’s daughter who lives here) were on their way (Michelle was headed back from Queens), and I rested and read using my Kindle App in a nice park near the BOOKOFF Shop. I went back into the shop and then discovered the rain had started and found a dry spot while others were eating their lunch. Michelle found the shop and Cat soon joined us. Michelle found a lovely book, SciFi, in a manuscript like make. We then started an odyssey of walking. We never got lunch but found coffee and a snack and walked five blocks to Time Square. There, we joined a huge queue for ninety minutes to get today’s tickets at a discount; we selected, after some folks recommended it, Back to the Future for $120 plus handling fees for seats together.

We had dinner/lunch at John’s, just a few blocks away, and I had a Rueben sandwich with a mix of pastrami and corned beef. Cat and Michelle had turkey Rueben and just a taste of mine. It was good to get back to a favorite like John’s. This is the other newer location I had not tried before. All was excellent.

Cat had to do corporate meetings, so she headed to a quiet place to call in, and Michelle and I tried shopping. We did Disney and Pele pop-up store to remember the late player. Both places were wonderful, and I managed to resist as did Michelle. Soon Cat returned and was relieved that the meeting was just that and not more layoffs (Cat and I both went through that in the last few months).

Soon, we were again in line and then rushed into the theater. The show was incredible, more spectacle than a musical, but grand. We were happy and truly enjoyed the music, with George McFly, the father-kid who has to find his courage with help from Marty, his time-traveling son. The major, in addition to the storyline, also sings and dances into your heart. It’s an excellent show.

We returned to Roosevelt Island without a problem (Q to F), and I was soon asleep after showering. I had 11,000 steps in again.

Thanks for reading!