I rose at 6:30 after sleeping well, but with non-remembered vivid dreams. I was still getting in 7,000 steps during the conference, which made sleeping easy, even with the time changes. I do run late, as it is after 11 before I pack it in for the night. I do the usual run of Quicken downloads to check all the transactions and balances. I often, if your are wondering, dear reader, check my balances at US Bank; I don’t totally rely on Quicken. I read my email and news on CNN and NYT, and drank my industrial room coffee, which I ran through the hotel-supplied coffee machine. I once again discovered that we liberals have an endless opportunity to improve the world by bringing Justice with Compassion. There is hope, and if you can ignore Trump’s headline baiting, and despite the damage from DOGE, we are still able to forecast hurricane paths — it will miss me.
I got a text that friends I met at HOPE_16 cannot join me in NYC, they are too tired (they have been doing back-to-back computer conferences). I had breakfast down in the lobby. It was less busy on Monday morning, but the US Open was still going on, and many people at breakfast were heading to the event. There is even an ESPN bus that takes folks from these hotels (the Courtyard is next door) to the tennis event.
I wrote a postcard for Mom Wild, a NYC-themed one, walked to the mailbox (it still amazes me that there is one, slightly graffiti-ed, here), dropped it in, and then found a local MTA bus to get me to NYC. I connect the bus, as before, with the E train, and then start to read on my iPhone using the Kindle App. I have taken the trip a few times, and I think I can read now instead of watching every station. I just realized at the last moment that I am already at my transfer. I have to do a few short hops/transfers to finally get to the A train, which runs to the extreme uptown, where the MET Cloisters museum is.
There are a lot of steps. So many that I have to stop a few times. A few bemused young people walked past me as I rested a few times. The stairs suck. I am getting my workout today. My balance isn’t an issue when going up the stairs, but later, I am challenged, and it takes some moxie to descend those sharp-edged, irregular, cliff-like stairs. I reach the top winded and my back hurts, which makes the trip less pleasurable since I am in pain the whole time I am in the museum. The M4 MTA bus pulls in as I walk to the entrance of the MET Cloisters museum. F**k, I will take that next time! I may have condemned the authors of the Maps software on my iPhone to eternal torment and damnation for not including the M4 in my trip.
There are more stairs. I have to wait on steps while folks buy their tickets. I am given a Senior discount, and after the steps, I do not object. I grabbed a physical map, and that was a good idea (though I just got lost over and over and discovered the map was vague). Later, there are more stairs because the bathrooms are a floor down!
The MET Cloisters museum is a built showcase of medieval and some Renaissance architectural pieces, now built into the museum. All reflecting a religious element, the building’s stone construction makes it seem as though the monks and nuns will appear at any moment to show us away. Stone-sculptured doorways from the 1100s are mixed with modern wooden, older-style doors. Pillars, everywhere, are built into the wall, suggesting a religious cloistered community building, and are often reused, with nearly a thousand-year-old original stone carvings. Stained glass that is five hundred years or older is incorporated into modern lead and glass work. To say this is a permanent display is not quite getting it. This is a built museum.
The unicorn tapestries have been here since the 1960s, when the Billinares families still built museums to take their loot and display it. The Museum of Pop Culture, built in a more recent time, is one of the few exceptions, founded by Paul Allen. The herb garden was recommended by a docent, and it was lovely and a mix of useful and often dead plants (all carefully marked). I found the cafe, and a friendly gentleman recommended the chocolate croissant with coffee, and it was excellent.
I spent a few hours and then dared the steps again. And while I survived without injury, my left knee actually started to fail once after the stairs, and I am grateful that I did not have that on the stairs, though I held the railing for most of the walk. I am also thankful that the honey bee that I somehow got in my bag of goodies (mostly postcards) did not sting me when I inadvertently pulled it out of the bag! I had not squeezed it as I did not know what it was (thinking a bookmark was added to my bag). That was a moment between staircases, which I am also grateful for.
I rested for a while and called Deborah, and we chatted about how lovely the Cloisters museum was. I then walked on Arden Street and then a block to the 1 train. I was wondering how much an apartment here costs. It was lovely ($1800 rent for a 350 sft studio on the third floor, a million for 2-bedroom condos). I found the 1 train and took it back to 79th and Zabar’s (Zay-bars to pronounce it) and ordered a bagel. I also bought a few easy-to-pack items (except for the coffee).
The bookstore across the street was great, and I found three cheap books on history and for $6 had them shipped. I paid no tax as I was making an out-of-state purchase of something being mailed. That paid for half of the shipping!
On the way back, I met a young woman and her son. He was sporting an A Train T-shirt and loves the subway. They take different trains based on what her son wants to see. An excellent plan, I thought. I will try to ride them all on one of these trips. Just keep transferring until you have them all!
I met friends I met at HOPE_16 (now rushing as I am out of time to write) for dinner, and we tried another kabab place, and it was terrific. We talked about programming, computers, and the upcoming trips. We ate fast, and I was back at the hotel. Deborah and I planned and built a trip to Michigan for me over Labor Day. All booked and added to TripIt. I also booked part of the November trip.
I finally slept, but woke often from dreams. My usual travel day reaction.
Thanks for reading, and sorry for rushing the last bit.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 