I woke early again, 7:30ish local time — sleeping in — and started on the blog while the sun rose through my window. The view had changed. Most of the buildings were now shrouded in white-gray as low clouds swallowed the tops of buildings like an inverted avalanche. Today there was no view of the Empire State or Chrysler Building to enjoy, and the city was shiny with rain and mist. Monday seemed like a surprise to the city, and traffic was down, as if everyone was late for work.
I wrote quickly as I had yet to pack (a process of squeezing random bits back into a small rectangle). Check-out time was a kind morning time of 11, but I like to beat that by an hour. My handwritten notes helped me quickly reconstruct my Sunday, along with the photos I took. Some of the afternoon lectures on Sunday were given by folks who had trouble assembling a narrative to share with slides. I tried to be kind in my recap of Hope 2026 Sunday.
I had to close my bags twice while packing before showering, and I forgot my PJs were on. I managed. I showered, shaved, and all that. I got a knock on my door around 9-ish from housekeeping. “I was not ready to leave yet,” I told the person. Later, I saw them in the hall and told them I was checking out. It seems housekeeping wanted to finish rooms quickly and early. I usually see them run late at most hotels I stay at.
I rolled out, said goodbye to the 33rd floor, and thanked the floor. Tesla’s floor, room 3327. While many would think it silly or spooky to thank an inanimate object, I find voicing my thanks to a hotel makes me feel better about leaving. My home for a week.
Check-out was productive, and I paid $5 per bag to store my two bags for the morning and part of the afternoon. I tried Tick-Tock for breakfast, as I was unprepared to face another bagel with 1/4-inch of cream cheese. The Monte Cristo was not as good, and I ate it by cutting it up. I skipped the syrup, as I like it better with jam.
With my bags in storage, coffee purchased and drunk, and just an average breakfast consumed (bagels all the way next time), I headed to The Strand Bookstore. I used navigation to find a subway. Something went strange, and it walked me around a whole set of blocks in a circle, and not to any subway entrance! I walked almost in a circle and found it was walking me to The Strand, sort of. I canceled that at the Madison Square Garden entrance, two blocks from my hotel, after walking six blocks to get there (?!). I walked to a subway station two stops away from Washington Park, then walked an additional two blocks in a direction not recommended by the navigation app. Ugh!
It was hot and muggy, and soon I was a bit damp from the outside and my own sweat. The subway was oppressively hot, and my joints were not enjoying the steps today. I arrived and was thrilled to be at my target, even after paying $3 for the short trip.
I did not stop to play chess, and I am always shy about looking like a goof in front of a professional, but I did see the same person I played last time. He had a tent over him against the weather and was lightly dressed. I reached the local comic shop, Forbidden Planet, but the next issue of Dr. Doom, #4, was not out yet.
Here, my colon decided it wanted attention. I was surprised, as I had not had any issues on the trip. I finally found a bathroom at The Strand Bookstore next door. The person at the desk was unfriendly and pointed it out. A NYC moment, but the desk was next to the bathrooms; I think the person was already tired of bathroom code requests. The rest of the store staff were a bit more friendly, but still had that NYC edge.
There, I located some NYC gifts to send to people when I am in Oregon. I also found in the “Best of the Best” a book, translated into English, Days at the Morisaki Bookstore by Satoshi Yagisawa, which I could not put down and finished 1/2 before I got on a plane at JFK. It is only 145 pages and easy reading.
With my insides calmer, I stopped at the Max Brenner Restaurant, a chocolate shop and restaurant, for Mexican Hot Chocolate; it was just 11, and time seemed to slow so I could see more of NYC. I also found, from a poster I spotted, that the late Menachem Mendel Schneerson was now a messiah figure. I have followed the movement around this religious figure for a while after receiving instructions from his group on how to be a righteous gentile. I lost track of them after they stopped sending me information when I let them know I was not Jewish. I remember how the community around him was disappointed by his passing. It seems things have changed since I last heard from them.
Deciding not to try chess again, I returned to the subway and took a short trip to the Flat Iron area that I had never been to before. John Wick’s fictional Continental Hotel was undergoing a conversion from commercial to residential housing (expensive housing). The building has been in a bad way for years, I read, and this conversion is seen as a salvage rather than an update.
The Teddy Roosevelt Museum (his birthplace and museum) was closed on Mondays. Next time. I sat in Madison Park and read as the rain had stopped, and I found a mostly dry chair. I passed on many places for lunch on my way back to The New Yorker Hotel. I again had trouble with navigation and walked the whole distance. I was going to ride the 1 Train but missed the entrance. I was warm and damp when I reached the hotel and then got lunch, again, at the Irish place, The Temple Tailors, the next block. I had a red ale and a beet salad. It was good, and I felt better.
I picked up my bags, saw some more folks from the conference, said our goodbyes, and then I rolled my bag to Penn Station IRR for a quick trip to JFK, just under an hour. It was about $8 for the train and another $8.75 for the air train. I did not have to carry my bags except once to reach track 20.
The IRR, with my paper ticket collected by a conductor, was not crowded and pleasant. The AC was mostly working, but the humidity was still heavy. The AirTrain was jam-packed with people and their bags. I did chat with folks, continuing to be my usual social butterfly even in the sardine-like experience (if fish had luggage).
I arrived and went the wrong way, a theme for today that I was not really enjoying, and walked to baggage claim to return to floor four to check my bag. It was a sea of Delta customers, and I passed along my status to use the less-busy First Class process. I did help some folks with the process by asking an agent to rescue the person in front of me. I managed to make a new mistake but did remember my phone. My bag fell off as I was called to check my bag, and my book was left on the floor without me noticing. The janitor brought it to me.
Next was the awful security loop in a poorly AC’d part of JFK, and it took thirty minutes to reach the TSA agents. JFK is a reason to have PreCheck TSA, but I have not done that. My suspenders had to go in their own tray, but otherwise nothing went sideways in security.
My gate was the last one on B, of course, and the concourse splits about at 24, if I remember right. It is a blur now. It took 12 minutes to reach the gate, according to the signage. I was ten gates away when I saw what my watch was trying to tell me. Gate changed to B24, not B55; now noted at B40. F**k. I managed to walk farther than if my gate was the farthest one. Wow!
I walked back and noticed that Wild Buffalo Wings, which I had been tempted to stop at earlier, was next door to my new gate, B24. I found a clean table; the open bar seating, my usual choice, was less clean. Soon I had a large beer, the only size they had left, and waited for ten overpriced wings to appear. Yes, $43 bucks is a lot for a beer and ten wings. I rushed at the end, but discovered that my plane was twenty minutes late. I did make it to the restroom to clean up all the sauce.
We would also spend another twenty minutes waiting for takeoff. I watched Hopper, a cute film from Pixar. I finished half of it on the ground. I found myself seated next to Rosie, whom I saw but did not meet at Hope 2026, is a director in the 44net community (covering Ham radio) and resides in the Portland area. We chatted and talked about the convention and were happy that nobody took the middle seat.
Corwin picked me up at the airport in Air VW the Gray and took me home. The house had been picked up and cleaned. The bed had been cleaned and was ready to use. I also uploaded yet another photo to Brazil, and we will see.
I was soon asleep. Thanks for reading.
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