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May. 29th, 2010 09:54 pm
New York New York New York : Monday
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dustinprewittMonday, I decided to sleep in... on account of the busy day and stressful night of finding the hotel, and jetlag as well I suppose. Didnt get to sleep in too late though. I forgot to put the "do not disturb" thing on my door, and was awoken by cleaning. They quickly ducked out when they realized I was still there, so it was just as well. Sadly, I also slept through the complimentary continental breakfast. Ah well... So after a brief rest and organization, I headed out the door. I asked the person the way to the closest subway station, and headed in that direction.
It was a beautiful walk. The neighborhood really reminded me of a more busier and ethnicaly diverse and grafitti-filled crossroads KC. There was a car wreck on the way to the station where the turn signal was knocked out. I was a bit surprised that there was sparse enough traffic to allow for a wreck and not send the traffic into gridlock. The subway station was below an old church, across from Brooklyn's main train station, and its Bank tower building. It really was an experience, taking in the sounds of the people, everyone scurrieing about in a rather busy fashion, streetcorner newspaper salesmen, arabs in their subway magazine stands, etc. It really was just like the movies/tv/pop culture/etc depictions. I ended up getting a week-pass unlimited metro card for about 37.00. Not a bad deal.
The subways were... well, just as grimey as one would expect. Not filthy to the point of being unsanitary, but definitly had a funk about them. Trash and water collected in the subway, graffiti, etc. The subway train itself, was remarkably clean though. I found it odd though, that there was Nurse Jackie-themed subway safety tips. Strange.
So, the 1st destination was Coney Island, the furthest I was to go from NY. The subway ride was pleasant enough. Except I got off at the wrong stop. I missed the stop by thinking that my stop was not the end of the line. So I had to go back to the previous stop. There was an asian girl who left an asian magazine on the train. I picked it up and handed it to her. She gave me a strange look (not quite an offended or ungrateful look, but definitly a confused look) as she took it. But I suppose it makes sense, Im sure most people in NY are too busy to bother with such courtesies as returning dropped items. The station that I did get off on was under construction, and thus, I was not able to turn around and take the train the other way (which I embarrassingly found out the hard way). So I had to hoof it to the beach, which really wasnt that bad of a walk, and the feet didnt start attacking me at that point yet.
I got down to coney island, and it was the right place. The subway station was almost like a mini-mall. I was looking forward to getting a Coney Island Hot Dog, and as luck would have it, I found the right place for it, being Nathan's Hot Dog Stand. It was busy, but not insanely busy. And the food wasnt too expensive. And, I have to say, they served the best goddamned hot-dog I have ever tasted.
So I started walking down to the boardwalk. There was definitly a faded glory feel to the place. Abandoned fields. Negelected landmarks. And a creepy logo featuring what looked like Harry Houdini gassed with Joker venom. But it wasnt all dilapidation. There were pleanty of sideshops, souvinier stands, food places, and this cute little "shoot the freak" shooting gallery where you would try to shoot live person with paintballs. It was closed that day, but looked like great fun. I started making my way to the aquarium. Being from Kansas, I really havnt been to any real aquariums before, so I thought this would be as good a time as any. It was a small, but remarkable squarium. They had giant sea turtles, average-sized sharks, walruses, and creepy looking jellyfish. There was also a really fun sea lion show, which demonstrates what they can do (in silly sorta trained ways), and also gave a good explination that training them to do stupid pet tricks keeps them fit, their brains active, and keeps them from being lazy, fat, and depressed.
I did want to stay a bit longer, but by then I began to see all there was to see, and the grey skies were darkening. I was hoping to at least make it to the subway station before the rains started, but no such luck. Down came the downpour. And was I ever drenched. I did have a free promo newspaper that managed to help a bit in holding off the rain, but it didnt last too long. I did manage to get an umbrella at a cheap shop, but by then the rains mostly stopped. I also wanted to get some coney island ice cream, but I was too soaked to walk too much, so I settled for Dunkin' Donuts. So it was back to the hotel for a dry pair of clothes.
There was still some daylight left, and not wanting to waste any of it, I decided to make for Manhattan proper. The main itenerary was to start at the south tip, and work my way north. So, with that in mind, I decided to head to what was left of the WTC site. Exiting the subway, it was really a bit of a shock. The tall buildings so close together, and the massive amout of people and the busyness of it all. The site, just to look at it, didnt really look like more than a glorified construction site. But, being able to touch history, was somewhat of a subtle experience. And I was a little sad that I couldnt see the place before 911, see what it was like, etc. Seemed like such a nice place to visit, really. And, with the average indifference of the average new yorker to the place (as well as the halariously failed bomb attempt in Times Square that day), I learned that the new yorker is too busy to pause for such reflections. Life goes on, and there's no point in pausing too long to soak it all in. But, with me being the tourist that I am, could afford the luxury. Also of note, I found the fire hydrants with flags placed on them so that new yorkers too busy to look where they were stepping could avoid tripping over said fire hydrants amusing.
Getting somewhat lost in the area, I decided to head south towards battery park. A walk here, a subway ride there, and it wasnt long before I reached it. Just in time for sunset. And what a beautiful sunset it was. Cool breeze, orange skies, boats drifting around, the statue of liberty, and little kids playing around while some old guy laughing and commenting in what I can only assume to be spanish. Hot chicks jogging by. And oddly enough, a turkey. What a great evening. Except for all the splinters I was getting in my pants from the wood benches. I ate dinner at a staten island ferry sandwich shop (which, was not good enough for the money I paid), and went home.
It was a beautiful walk. The neighborhood really reminded me of a more busier and ethnicaly diverse and grafitti-filled crossroads KC. There was a car wreck on the way to the station where the turn signal was knocked out. I was a bit surprised that there was sparse enough traffic to allow for a wreck and not send the traffic into gridlock. The subway station was below an old church, across from Brooklyn's main train station, and its Bank tower building. It really was an experience, taking in the sounds of the people, everyone scurrieing about in a rather busy fashion, streetcorner newspaper salesmen, arabs in their subway magazine stands, etc. It really was just like the movies/tv/pop culture/etc depictions. I ended up getting a week-pass unlimited metro card for about 37.00. Not a bad deal.
The subways were... well, just as grimey as one would expect. Not filthy to the point of being unsanitary, but definitly had a funk about them. Trash and water collected in the subway, graffiti, etc. The subway train itself, was remarkably clean though. I found it odd though, that there was Nurse Jackie-themed subway safety tips. Strange.
So, the 1st destination was Coney Island, the furthest I was to go from NY. The subway ride was pleasant enough. Except I got off at the wrong stop. I missed the stop by thinking that my stop was not the end of the line. So I had to go back to the previous stop. There was an asian girl who left an asian magazine on the train. I picked it up and handed it to her. She gave me a strange look (not quite an offended or ungrateful look, but definitly a confused look) as she took it. But I suppose it makes sense, Im sure most people in NY are too busy to bother with such courtesies as returning dropped items. The station that I did get off on was under construction, and thus, I was not able to turn around and take the train the other way (which I embarrassingly found out the hard way). So I had to hoof it to the beach, which really wasnt that bad of a walk, and the feet didnt start attacking me at that point yet.
I got down to coney island, and it was the right place. The subway station was almost like a mini-mall. I was looking forward to getting a Coney Island Hot Dog, and as luck would have it, I found the right place for it, being Nathan's Hot Dog Stand. It was busy, but not insanely busy. And the food wasnt too expensive. And, I have to say, they served the best goddamned hot-dog I have ever tasted.
So I started walking down to the boardwalk. There was definitly a faded glory feel to the place. Abandoned fields. Negelected landmarks. And a creepy logo featuring what looked like Harry Houdini gassed with Joker venom. But it wasnt all dilapidation. There were pleanty of sideshops, souvinier stands, food places, and this cute little "shoot the freak" shooting gallery where you would try to shoot live person with paintballs. It was closed that day, but looked like great fun. I started making my way to the aquarium. Being from Kansas, I really havnt been to any real aquariums before, so I thought this would be as good a time as any. It was a small, but remarkable squarium. They had giant sea turtles, average-sized sharks, walruses, and creepy looking jellyfish. There was also a really fun sea lion show, which demonstrates what they can do (in silly sorta trained ways), and also gave a good explination that training them to do stupid pet tricks keeps them fit, their brains active, and keeps them from being lazy, fat, and depressed.
I did want to stay a bit longer, but by then I began to see all there was to see, and the grey skies were darkening. I was hoping to at least make it to the subway station before the rains started, but no such luck. Down came the downpour. And was I ever drenched. I did have a free promo newspaper that managed to help a bit in holding off the rain, but it didnt last too long. I did manage to get an umbrella at a cheap shop, but by then the rains mostly stopped. I also wanted to get some coney island ice cream, but I was too soaked to walk too much, so I settled for Dunkin' Donuts. So it was back to the hotel for a dry pair of clothes.
There was still some daylight left, and not wanting to waste any of it, I decided to make for Manhattan proper. The main itenerary was to start at the south tip, and work my way north. So, with that in mind, I decided to head to what was left of the WTC site. Exiting the subway, it was really a bit of a shock. The tall buildings so close together, and the massive amout of people and the busyness of it all. The site, just to look at it, didnt really look like more than a glorified construction site. But, being able to touch history, was somewhat of a subtle experience. And I was a little sad that I couldnt see the place before 911, see what it was like, etc. Seemed like such a nice place to visit, really. And, with the average indifference of the average new yorker to the place (as well as the halariously failed bomb attempt in Times Square that day), I learned that the new yorker is too busy to pause for such reflections. Life goes on, and there's no point in pausing too long to soak it all in. But, with me being the tourist that I am, could afford the luxury. Also of note, I found the fire hydrants with flags placed on them so that new yorkers too busy to look where they were stepping could avoid tripping over said fire hydrants amusing.
Getting somewhat lost in the area, I decided to head south towards battery park. A walk here, a subway ride there, and it wasnt long before I reached it. Just in time for sunset. And what a beautiful sunset it was. Cool breeze, orange skies, boats drifting around, the statue of liberty, and little kids playing around while some old guy laughing and commenting in what I can only assume to be spanish. Hot chicks jogging by. And oddly enough, a turkey. What a great evening. Except for all the splinters I was getting in my pants from the wood benches. I ate dinner at a staten island ferry sandwich shop (which, was not good enough for the money I paid), and went home.
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