New York, Day one

Okay so by now, if you read this blog (and I know some of you DO...see my Puke Fairy post!), you know that this is really just a chronicle of my life.  I often feel that the world spins much too fast and I forget the details of life.  I hope someday I can look back at the words and pictures on this blog and remember.  And smile.

This is my memory of my first day in New York City.

The place is big.  The buildings. The smells. The noise.

Everything is big.

And I am easily overstimulated.

But I'm getting ahead of myself....Let me back up just a bit...

Earl was working in NYC, the stars aligned just right, and I was able to run away for a few days. 

My mom, AKA GrandTone, drove up to watch Grace and Sam while I was gone.  I think they had the time of their lives with her.  It was like "GrandTone camp" and in the days following my return home I have heard such things as "Mom...GrandTone says art is a messy process!" and "But MOM! GrandTone let me sleep on the couch!" 

I have to admit, there is something magical about my momma.  She has always seen the world through a different lens.  I never really appreciated it until I was an adult with children of my own.  And while some women fear "turning into their mother"...

I have begun to embrace it. After all, isn't it inevitable? :)

Sooooo....GrandTone came...I left...and about 6 hours, 2 planes, 1 cancellation, and 1 delay later I found myself in NYC.  Totally out of element and totally overwhelmed.   

Earl came to get me at the airport.  I told him he really didn't need to do that.  That I was a big girl and could find my way to the hotel in one piece.  But he read right through me and knew I all my talk was just talk.  That I was indeed nervous about how to hail a cab and was confused about exactly where I needed to go.  Many times in my life Earl has played a real life "knight in shining armour"...this is one of those times.  His face in that baggage claim area was like lighthouse on a rocky shore.  All my anxiety was gone and the excitement set in!  I was somewhere without kids!!!  My only responsibility was where to find my next cup of coffee and deciding how late I wanted to sleep in!!!!  BLISS!!  Total bliss!!!

  I had taken a late flight into NYC, and by the time we got to the hotel, I was HUNGRY.  So Earl took me to a deli across where I proceeded to eat mashed potatoes and my first ever cannoli.  Have you ever HAD a cannoli?  Well I hadn't...ever...in all my life.  I'm an Oklahoma girl.  Not a lot of cannoli's in Oklahoma.  That's a shame.  Cannoli's are ah-ma-zing. 

So that was really my first day in NYC. 

But the rest of this post and the pictures to follow are from my first full day in NYC.

Earl had to work from 6-2 so I was on my own.  I had these grand plans about being on the Today show.  Do you know how early you have to get up to be on the Today show?  Ummmm....REALLY early.  I rolled out of bed around 8ish...only b/c GrandTone called and said the children were looking for me on TV.  Okay okay okay...so I got dressed, asked the concierge for directions to the Today show, got some coffee and headed out the hotel lobby doors into the big city. 

The picture below is the very first thing I saw...

A front loader dumping snow into a dump truck.  THAT is some serious snow removal folks.  If you'll remember, the day after Christmas 2010 NYC got a ginormous snow storm.  Something like 30+inches.  I arrived the Wednesday after the storm.  I've never seen so much snow.  It was insane.

Then I saw this....

Police barricades.  Lined up along Times Square in preparation for the New Year's Eve event.  Oh...and more snow....

I started walking in the direction the concierge told me to go.  Ummmm...yeh....he. was. wrong.  And I got totally lost.  Finally I found an NYCPD guy and asked him where to go.  It's not tough to find the NYCPD...they're everywhere.  And they know NYC like the back of their hand.  Thank you NYCPD dude...where ever you are. 

I found the Today show.  I was waaaaay late.  But I did see the back of Matt Lauer's head.  And I met the nicest NYC native.  An old man with a fascinating accent.  He gave me a short "class" on the layout of streets and avenues, chuckled at my Oklahoma accent, and then directed me to St. Patrick's cathedral.  But not before I asked him if he would please take my picture.

Here I am...that's the Rockefeller Christmas tree in the background.

And here is St. Patrick's. I found it quickly.  The old man's directions were fool-proof.

Wow.

As soon as I walked through the doors of this place, the busy NYC world melted away.  It was warm, and quiet, and absolutely reverent.  It was the strangest clash of sensations.  From the crowded, hectic streets to the hushed calm of the Lord's house.  I have to say, it just might have been my favorite place out of all the places I saw during my time there.

I lit a candle and took a deep breath. 

Wow.  Pictures don't do the place justice.  Neither do words.

Just go there...you'll get it...

It was special to me to see the church all "dressed-up" for Christmas. 

This nativity scene was life-sized.  I know it's difficult to tell from this fuzzy picture, but it was breath-taking. I was wishing that Grace had been there to see it.  She loves nativity scenes.

Then it was back outside.  I found more coffee and a cannoli.  The breakfast of champions.  Went to the American Girl store.  Went to Saks 5th Avenue.  Did you know that place is ten stories?  Ten stories of clothes and shoes and fashion.  I went to floor 4...then I left.  Didn't buy a thing. Totally not my cup of tea...but I can say I've been there.

The shop windows were really cool though. 

See?...

Little animated girls and animals.  Kinda freaky...but cool.

Then I headed to the MoMA. Museum of Modern Art.  On the way I found this...

St. Andrews.  So headed inside.  That's the beauty of sight-seeing alone.  You can make as many "detours" as you like...

It was gorgeous inside.  I don't think it was catholic.  No candles to light.  No crucifix.  But beautiful all the same.  The organ was a sight to behold.  I wish I had snapped a picture of it.  Honestly though, when I go into a house of worship like this...I simply forget where I am.  And I totally forget to take pictures.

Then, on to the MoMA.

I knew they had Monet's there.  They. were. huge!!! But I didn't know they had VanGough's "Starry night"...rather surprised me!  It was so small!  When I first walked up on it, I didn't really notice that it was the "Starry Night"...reminded me of when I saw the "Mona Lisa".  All this hype over this small work of art. 

 I also saw Picasso's "The Three Musicians"...that was my favorite above all.  Thinking of getting a print of it for my house.  They also had an Andy Warhol exhibition.  That guy was all kinds of cah-razy!!!! 

Not a lot pictures from the MoMA.  No flash photos allowed.  Even if I did take pics, it wouldn't do any of those works of art any justice...

After the MoMa...my little legs were tired.  And my over stimulation meter was off the chart...

I decided headed back to the hotel room, only to be greeted by Earl!!!.... 

He took me back to Times Square.  I sorta had just wandered aimlessly through it that morning, and I'm not sure if I really realized I was in Times-freaking-Square.  So he took me back so I could be 100% sure I got the full experience.  And boy howdy...what an experience.  The preparations were under way for the big New Year's Eve event and it was neat to see all the barricades and stages and lights...

And the people!  Oh my goodness!  The people!  Everywhere!!!

And then there was this guy...

"The Naked Cowboy"  Isn't he a site to behold?  Nice...butt...errr...boots....

Earl and I had both heard that the top of the Rockefeller building was a great place get a stunning view of the city.  They call it "The Top of the Rock"...That's where we headed next.  The crowds were insane.  See the pic below?  We're in a sea of people.  But I just had to get a pic of us in front of the famous tree.  Side note: that's a real tree.  Like grew from the ground tree.  Living.  They cut it down.  Cut it down to decorate a city with no trees.  It's not alive anymore.  In fact we saw it after Christmas.  And it was dry and sad and dead. This big fantastic tree.  Dead.  I have issues with this...but that's an entirely different post.  Let's just leave it at this: if you feel like you just have to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller center...don't.  Go out into the forest and breathe in the trees around you. 

ANYway...here's the tree...and Earl and me...and about 3,000 other people.

"The Top of the Rock" is 67 stories straight up.  In this freaky elevator with a glass roof so those that want to watch our perilous assent can...I am not one of those people.  I took one look at that glass ceiling, immediately grabbed Earl's hand, took a deep breath, and looked at my shoes.  Heights and crowds are NOT my thing.  Did I mention the elevator had about 20 people crammed into it?  No?  Well it did...soooo out of my element.  So THEN when you get to the top...you have the option of going up 2 more stories.  Via an escalator and then a flight of very narrow stairs.  I may have some freaky fears, but I'll try anything once.  And I've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower so this was chump change.  I'm going to the top baby!

And boy was it worth it!

Once I got to the tippy top, I was totally fine.  Earl?  Mr. "I wanna watch the glass ceiling as we fly up 67 stories" guy?  He was a bit queasy!  

And often he gets much too serious.  That's just who he is...and that's why he has me...

Cause I make him do silly stuff like this...

"EARL!  Act like you're squishing the Empire State building!!!  I'll take a picture!"

Hee hee...

It was a gorgeous view.  We were a bit worried that going up at night we wouldn't have as good a view as if we did if we went during the day.  But we were wrong!  It was amazing to see all the lights!! And buildings...as far as the eyes could see!

You tired yet?  Hope not...this day isn't nearly over :)

After our decent from "The Top of the Rock" (and no, I did not look out that stupid glass ceiling!) we met up with one of Earl's co-workers.  They were in training together and were now working together on the assignment in NYC.  His girlfriend had come to join up with him as well so it was the perfect "double date".  We found them in the sea of people flooding Rockefeller plaza (after Earl's buddy's girlfriend managed to scare holy heck out of him...but that would make a long story, even longer) and headed to Little Italy.  Earl's buddy used to live in NYC so it was like having a personal travel guide.  Once we got to Little Italy the atmosphere completely changed.  No more busy crazy crowds, no more incessant honking...it was much more peaceful and the snow was much deeper!!!

These are BICYCLES!!  Buried in the snow!

Seems like the news was right...the clearing of the snow was a quite lax in the outer parts of NYC.  Times Square to Central Park was cleared quickly in anticipation of the New Year's crowd.  Little Italy and the outlying areas not so much....

See?  Not gonna be riding these bikes anytime soon!

We ate at a little Italian restaurant that served okay food but good wine.  Then we headed to McSorley's....

A bar.  It was incredible.  Established in 1854.  Serves only ale.  Dark or light.  Pay only in cash.  Be prepared to get beer all over your jeans...and like it. 

You can go to their website and read more.  Do it.  Read more....there's no other place in the world like this place.

The above picture was taken after I had lost count of how many of the below pictures I had drank (drunk? dranken? ah...whatever)...

It was--excuse my language--damn good beer.  I dream of it some nights...I smelled my jeans as I was doing laundry when I got home...they smelled of McSorley's.  I almost didn't wash them...Do you understand me?  I'm trying to tell you how delicious it was...how absolutely amazing...I want to go back...now...

And now for the story behind this above picture.  This is the reason I wanted to go to the bar in the first place.  In the 1940's during WW2, soldiers would go to McSorley's and throw a wishbone on the light fixture.  When they returned, they would removed their wishbone.  Fast forward to 2010...there are still wishbones on that light fixture.  And no one will touch them.  The dust is at least 3 inches thick.  It is quite a tribute to the men who lost their lives so that we may live in freedom.

I think at some point Earl may or may not have cut me off...I can't say for certain. We did eventually leave...but not before I made Earl take a picture of me by a snow-buried car parked outside the bar.

We took the Subway back to the hotel.

The below picture is titled "The guys try to figure out which train to take after consuming a lot of McSorley beer while I take pictures of us in the

subway cause it's so cool that we're actually in the subway in NYC"
Earl was not impressed.

So that's NYC...day one.  I coulda left after that one day and been totally fine...but I didn't.  I stayed 3 more days...and if you're willing to hold on for a few more lengthy picture-filled post, I'll show you what I did...

Want a teaser? :)

I marked something off my "bucket list"...ya know, that list of stuff you wanna do before you die?  Yeh...that one.

Good night NYC.