New York City has become a favorite place of mine and I have only been there twice. There is so much to keep you interested and so much to see just walking down the street, I can't wait to go back. I suppose if you were born and raised there it might not fascinate you as much but no matter, I am easily entertained.
My daughter, K and I left bright and early last Saturday and after an uneventful drive arrived at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum around noon time. Parking was only $30 (gasp) but it was a short walk to the ship and we could even see the car from the deck. The line to get into the museum was a bit long but since it was Saturday and free museum day we expected it. Once on the ship there was plenty of room to roam around and look at every thing.
Daughter K and myself on deck of the Intrepid
There was a short wait to go up the "tower" but it moved quickly and was worth the wait. The stairs coming down were VERY steep and a bit scary. My knee didn't care for it much but oh well. On the deck of the Intrepid were many different airplanes, spanning the years and from a few countries. I appologize that I cannot tell you what kind of airplanes they are but enjoy the pictures.
The main deck also housed some planes and helicopters. It was interesting how the wings could fold up to fit inside. There were many men looking around that had been on the Intrepid and had interesting stories. There are also a few short films that you can watch that are fascinating. One details the history of the ship and other recount some of the battles told by members of the crew. Those were particularly moving.
After touring the ship we stood in a long line to go aboard the submarine, The Growler. It was worth the wait. The technology is fascinating to see as it is certainly "old fashioned". It is unbelievable how cramped the space is and what sacrifices the men went through to serve on a sub.
Periscope
torpedoes I think
There is also a British Airlines SST parked on the dock and part of the museum. We did have a look at it but opted not to wait to go on board. It was smaller than I thought it would be. At this point we had been on board over three hours and were tiring out. (I was at least)
We headed to the hotel and after getting a bit lost in Manhattan found our way and relaxed for a bit in our room. It was nice enough although after several swaps of remote controls we never did get the tv to work and the phone by the bed had to be swapped out as it didn't work properly either. I did "complain" at check out, asked for compensation asn was give 15% off which about covered the tax. (yikes)
We found a nice shushi place for dinner
Sushi Damo and had
Tuna Tataki and
Scallop roll and tempura ship then wandered off to explore. Chocolate covered strawberries was our dessert on the go and very yummy. We went into a Coach flagship store and drooled over the purses, wallets and shoes. Why couldn't I be rich? We wandered more and headed to Times Square. It is like being a kid with all the lights and people, very cool. (can you tell I live in suburbia) We spent hours in the M&M store that night and again the next day.
That evening we went to a comedy show
Broadway Comedy Club which was very funny. We left after the show to be greeted by a fine drizzle and headed back to the hotel on foot. We hadn't gone far when I felt something squishy under my foot and .... you guessed it .... I fell. At least it wasn't on my "bad" knee and now I have matching skinned knees. After I got up and looked at what I stepped on I had to laugh, it was a banana peel. Pratfall is my middle name. Two men behind us kicked it off to the curb hopefully saving someone else from the same fate. There was also another witness to my gracefulness, and he kindly commented "I do that all the time". It was a homeless man huddled up next to the building. He seemed to quite enjoy my mishap. Nice to know I have something in common with the homeless of NYC.
We stopped at a shop and bought some desserts (stores are open forever it seems) and had a midnight snack in the room before crashing and sleeping very well..... although that is a matter of opinion. Apparently I woke my daughter by snoring... I blame it on the cold.
The next morning it was raining even harder but we wrapped up and walked a million blocks to find Dylan's Candy Bar, owned by Dylan Lauren daughter of Ralph Lauren. My daughter had seen it on tv so we thought we would have a look.
I wanted to go to Ground Zero but it was on the other end of Manhattan and with the rain decided to wait for another day and took a cab back to Times Square. I did manage to get some, very little, Christmas shopping done and after taking another cab back to the hotel we headed back home. I must add, be sure to speak clearly to the cabbies. The last one thought I said W 47th Street but we wanted W 57th Street. He did turn off the meter early so I guess it was okay. We wanted to find the Cash Cab [link] but alas had no luck.
Can't wait to go back..
David Letterman Studio
gazillions of M&Ms
Times Square...friggin awesome
We took a lot more pictures but I won't bore you anymore.
NYC Rocks
The next morning was more relaxing and I must admit I snuck in a couple of short naps. Rushs sister kindly drove us back to Indy the next day to pick up the car. With the parking fee paid we went to the mall and Rush treated me to lunch and I counted all the Colts shirts invading my space..eekkk.
Following a scary-ish drive through back streets and drying corn fields we arrived at Indiana Live my very first trip to a Casino. It was like going to Santa's Wonderland when I walked inside, all the lights and bells and whistles. Fascinating. Our first stop however was a bar [go figure] and we asked for a Hypnotic Martini and an X rated Fusion Martini....the waitress came back saying they didn't know how to make them or charge for them. Rush explained and when we got our drinks we were appalled. The poor waitress [who was just adorable] felt so bad and even embarassed to serve them. We drank them and moved along. We went into a restaurant at the casino and the manager came over and we had a nice chat about the disasterous drinks we just had and we ordered our drinks again. I went for the standard "extra dry Grey Goose Martini" and Rush had a real "Hypnotic Martini" in fact we each had two.
