It was finally here. Sam and Mindy's wedding day! The only good thing about being wide awake at 8am was that's when I had to get up to be at the wedding on time. You see, I was located in upper Manhattan and it was about an hour trip to make it down to the very bottom of lower Manhattan, to then catch a ferry over to New Jersey. I got suited up and reached the ferry at about 9:45am.
It didn't take long for all the other wedding guests to arrive. I was one of the few Cleveland guys who made it for the 10:15am ferry (Sean and Jenny also were there). One problem...they were super strict with their arrival and departure times. Those of us planning on making the 10:15 ferry wandered over as it parked, but since we weren't in the boarding area, it left promptly at 10:16am. Oops. So we waited around and the other Cleveland guys to began to show. This is one of the many reasons I love weddings, they unite old friends for a special day.
As they rolled in, it was a breath of fresh air to see Dr. Love himself a.k.a. Sam Lee. Since his departure to the Big Apple, he is a rare sight indeed. We stood around, chatted, caught up, then made sure we were on the 10:45am ferry. This was my first time on a boat while I was here and making the trip across the harbor was awesome. The sky was overcast, but the view of the NYC skyline was incredible.
When we stepped off the ferry, we were greeted by music and a host of other wedding guests. The venue was beautiful. It was big, had many windows, and the view from most angles was awesome. Before we took our seats, servers offered us a glass of ice tea or water (it was hot) and that's the first wedding I've been to that's done that.
The ceremony began and the bridal party made their way down the isle, including a cute little flower girl who managed to use all her flowers halfway down. And then came Mindy. She was stunning. The whole wedding was beautiful. At one point, Mindy had happy tears and Sam immediately and lovingly wiped them. They exchanged their own written vows (I love these), rings, and finally kissed the bride.
While they went off for pictures after, the cocktail hour began. I don't know if you could even call it a cocktail hour because there was soooo much food. Right as you entered the building the servers were on you with drinks and tasty morsels. There was a tuna bite on a thin flake, fried shrimp, round noodles in an amazing sauce, sausage bites in sauerkraut, a whole table of fruits, garnishes, and other tasty things. A few of us eventually wandered outside to enjoy the air and the view. Not long after everyone had disappeared upstairs for lunch and the reception to which Jenny quipped "Wait that wasn't lunch?" (referring to the cocktail hour).
The upstairs was just as grand as the lower level. There was a balcony that also had an awesome view of the Manhattan skyline and many pictures were taken there. For lunch was a choice of steak or salmon. I chose the steak and it was juicy and delicious. We were entertained by speeches from the parents, the bridesmaid and the best man. Last but not least the cake was cut. Sam ended up with a little cake on his face.
We left the venue at four, where we then took the ferry back to NYC and mad our way to Woodrow's for some after wedding celebrations. We had the whole basement to ourselves. There were couches and I nearly passed out on one. After hanging out a bit, I headed back to the Airbnb for a little relaxation before I headed out again.
I left the airbnb about 9:45pm and took a subway to central Manhattan. Two observations. The first is that because this is NYC, the subways can be crammed with people all day, even after midnight, even parents with young children...at 1am! Second, even though I was alert and aware, I felt invincible walking the streets at night. I didn't have any creepy people approach me and the city was still extremely active.
I made it to the Ganservoort Hotel where there was a rooftop lounge and a pool. This is where Sam Lee's birthday bash was. It was a fancy, upscale, with doormen, elevator-men with earpieces, and security. I also learned something. Never arrive early to a party...especially in NYC. People don't start showing up until later. The guys finally showed up including the birthday boy himself. I hung around until 1am then left to catch some shut-eye. That wraps up day four.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Sunday, June 26, 2016
NYC Day 3: The Masses, The Heights, and The Void
Day 3 started off slower then day 2 due to the fact that I had some early afternoon plans and I got a tad more sleep then the night before, but not much. I was meeting Sean and Jenny for lunch at Ippudo (Ramen place) near Washington Park by NYU. They were taking the bus, so I got to the area first and decided to explore Washington Park for a bit. This seems to be a popular area for street performers because they were all over the park. Most of them were musicians performing individually or in groups. There was a performer covered in yellow chalk and I had no idea what they were doing and never found out because I had to leave as I noticed them.
I arrived at Ippudo and Sean tried to sneak up on me, but I saw him from a block away. For lunch we had these delicious buns with pork in the middle and bowls of ramen noodles with bamboo and pork. It was better than Superior Pho here in Cleveland.
I parted ways with Sean and Jenny and headed south to Times Square. I've seen it on TV many times, especially the early mornings for high school when I watched some of the Today Show. But to experience live was sheer joy. All the giant advertising screens, the hustle and bustle of everyday New Yorkers trying to get from point A to point B, the street performers, the stores, and the organized chaos. When I say organized chaos I mean that cars are nearly gridlocked, thousands of people are in and out of buildings, crossing streets, construction, people trying to sell you stuff at every turn, bikers and skateboarders are zipping in and out, etc. And as you watch, you're almost expecting a car to hit someone, or traffic to never move, or a fight to break out. But everything flows in it's chaotic way and life continues on.
The first two stores I entered in Times Square were the Hershey store and the M&M's store. The Hershey store was cool and probably would've wowed someone who had never been before, but I grew up an hour from Hershey, PA so I've been spoiled by the original itself. The M&M's store was awesome. It has giant M&M statues and three levels of store to shop. There was an entire wall of different flavor and style M&M's so you could mix and make your own bag. And the smell was so tantalizing. I thought about buying something, but it was all over priced and a bit too touristy for me. I then decided I was going to sit on the red steps in the dead center of Times Square and just take it all in. The crowds, the traffic, the performers, the vendors, the big screens, everything. It was a grand sight to see and actually added to my perspective of daily life. You hear about these things on TV, in the news, and from your friends, but you have to truly experience NYC for yourself to understand it all.
Another interesting occurrence in TS was that everyone standing around was trying to get you to buy or donate to something. One guy's opening line was to ask me where I was from and upon finding out I am from Cleveland to then relate to the Buckeyes, then ask for a charity donation. The one that took the cake though was a dude with a bunch of his CD's with his music that he was trying to sell. He greeted me with a friendly fist pound. Then he explained his CD and asked me my name. Upon hearing it, he said he was going to call me J-boogie (horrible name), signed the CD cover J-boogie, placed it in my hand without letting go, and asked if there was anything I could "donate" for it. I told him I'd give him a buck, but he said he couldn't let it go for less then $5. Since I don't usually carry cash, I didn't have $5 on me. He said he accepts donations. I felt a little sorry for the guy so I gave him the buck and moved on.
I'm not really the shopping type, so I checked my phone to see how far away from the Empire State Building I was. Oh look a fifteen minute walk. So off I went. This trek was truly the greatest experience of the NYC masses. There were two types of people: the ones who walked if the way was clear and the ones who waited for the light. Well at some points, crowds just started walking and didn't care if cars were coming and if cars had the green, they slowly rolled as close to jaywalkers as possible and blared their horns. One guy stepped into the crosswalk before he had a walk signal and a taxi was stuck in the intersection trying to get through the light. The walk like came on as the guy was in the center of the intersection and the taxi was inches from him. The taxi driver blared his horn, the guy got startled, pounded on the taxi's hood, pointed at the walk light, and flipped the taxi driver off. Welcome to a standard day in NYC.
I finally reached the ESB and knew right away I was going straight to the top. I didn't care about the cost and I love heights. They mass packed the elevator and it shot 80 floors up in a matter of minutes. But you had to get on a second elevator to go to the 86th floor and they gave you the option to take the stairs six floors up. I took the stairs. When I finally got out on the roof, I had to dodge the large crowd and find a spot on the wall to see the view. It was spectacular. To be able to see the whole city, the harbor, the brooklyn bridge, new jersey, and the statue of liberty as a tiny spec was incredible. If I could've and there were no other people, I would've stayed all day.
My last stop for the day was Ground Zero. It's located all the way at the bottom of Manhattan. I wasn't missing this stop even if the world caught fire. Being at the memorial and seeing the crater where the towers stood, the names of those who gave their lives to save others, and remembering the thousands that died here, let's just say I nearly cried. 9/11/01 lives in my mind as clear as crystal. I was too young to really know or care about what happened that day, but as the weeks went by, my heart ached for what happened, my patriotic pride and voice found itself, and that day has never ever left my mind. This was a major highlight of my trip.
I arrived at Ippudo and Sean tried to sneak up on me, but I saw him from a block away. For lunch we had these delicious buns with pork in the middle and bowls of ramen noodles with bamboo and pork. It was better than Superior Pho here in Cleveland.
I parted ways with Sean and Jenny and headed south to Times Square. I've seen it on TV many times, especially the early mornings for high school when I watched some of the Today Show. But to experience live was sheer joy. All the giant advertising screens, the hustle and bustle of everyday New Yorkers trying to get from point A to point B, the street performers, the stores, and the organized chaos. When I say organized chaos I mean that cars are nearly gridlocked, thousands of people are in and out of buildings, crossing streets, construction, people trying to sell you stuff at every turn, bikers and skateboarders are zipping in and out, etc. And as you watch, you're almost expecting a car to hit someone, or traffic to never move, or a fight to break out. But everything flows in it's chaotic way and life continues on.
The first two stores I entered in Times Square were the Hershey store and the M&M's store. The Hershey store was cool and probably would've wowed someone who had never been before, but I grew up an hour from Hershey, PA so I've been spoiled by the original itself. The M&M's store was awesome. It has giant M&M statues and three levels of store to shop. There was an entire wall of different flavor and style M&M's so you could mix and make your own bag. And the smell was so tantalizing. I thought about buying something, but it was all over priced and a bit too touristy for me. I then decided I was going to sit on the red steps in the dead center of Times Square and just take it all in. The crowds, the traffic, the performers, the vendors, the big screens, everything. It was a grand sight to see and actually added to my perspective of daily life. You hear about these things on TV, in the news, and from your friends, but you have to truly experience NYC for yourself to understand it all.
Another interesting occurrence in TS was that everyone standing around was trying to get you to buy or donate to something. One guy's opening line was to ask me where I was from and upon finding out I am from Cleveland to then relate to the Buckeyes, then ask for a charity donation. The one that took the cake though was a dude with a bunch of his CD's with his music that he was trying to sell. He greeted me with a friendly fist pound. Then he explained his CD and asked me my name. Upon hearing it, he said he was going to call me J-boogie (horrible name), signed the CD cover J-boogie, placed it in my hand without letting go, and asked if there was anything I could "donate" for it. I told him I'd give him a buck, but he said he couldn't let it go for less then $5. Since I don't usually carry cash, I didn't have $5 on me. He said he accepts donations. I felt a little sorry for the guy so I gave him the buck and moved on.
I'm not really the shopping type, so I checked my phone to see how far away from the Empire State Building I was. Oh look a fifteen minute walk. So off I went. This trek was truly the greatest experience of the NYC masses. There were two types of people: the ones who walked if the way was clear and the ones who waited for the light. Well at some points, crowds just started walking and didn't care if cars were coming and if cars had the green, they slowly rolled as close to jaywalkers as possible and blared their horns. One guy stepped into the crosswalk before he had a walk signal and a taxi was stuck in the intersection trying to get through the light. The walk like came on as the guy was in the center of the intersection and the taxi was inches from him. The taxi driver blared his horn, the guy got startled, pounded on the taxi's hood, pointed at the walk light, and flipped the taxi driver off. Welcome to a standard day in NYC.
I finally reached the ESB and knew right away I was going straight to the top. I didn't care about the cost and I love heights. They mass packed the elevator and it shot 80 floors up in a matter of minutes. But you had to get on a second elevator to go to the 86th floor and they gave you the option to take the stairs six floors up. I took the stairs. When I finally got out on the roof, I had to dodge the large crowd and find a spot on the wall to see the view. It was spectacular. To be able to see the whole city, the harbor, the brooklyn bridge, new jersey, and the statue of liberty as a tiny spec was incredible. If I could've and there were no other people, I would've stayed all day.
My last stop for the day was Ground Zero. It's located all the way at the bottom of Manhattan. I wasn't missing this stop even if the world caught fire. Being at the memorial and seeing the crater where the towers stood, the names of those who gave their lives to save others, and remembering the thousands that died here, let's just say I nearly cried. 9/11/01 lives in my mind as clear as crystal. I was too young to really know or care about what happened that day, but as the weeks went by, my heart ached for what happened, my patriotic pride and voice found itself, and that day has never ever left my mind. This was a major highlight of my trip.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
An Epic Journey Through the Big Apple: Days 1 and 2
NYC was the #1 American city on my bucket list to see. So when I got the invitation to Sam and Mindy's wedding taking place in Jersey City, I knew I couldn't pass a New York adventure up. I meant to blog this trip as I went, but being super busy and the wifi being so unreliable, I'm doing it all now but I'll break it up so it's not one long exhausting read. And here we go!
The first day was all driving. Yes I drove 7ish hours to Manhattan. That's probably something I won't do again. Not because of the long drive but because driving and parking in Manhattan is a nightmare. Driving through Ohio wasn't and issue. Many long, flat roads, steadily moving cars and the occasional 18-wheeler wall or two.
The majority of the drive was spent going across the state of PA, end to end. This is where the trip go sluggish because when you drive through different states, the roads, the scenery, the whole atmosphere changes. But driving a state like PA end to end can get boring. Especially when you hit all the construction because you're driving one highway the entire time. The worst of it came in the central part of the state where they were doing construction for 15 miles and had only one lane open. That extended my travel time by 45 min. I was not a happy camper.
Once I finally exited PA, New Jersey was a breath of fresh air. The overcast skies were gone, the road became four lanes of freshly redone, well constructed asphalt with lush trees and exotic rock formations to drive through. I felt kinda like I was driving in California.
Finally, I saw the NYC skyline and my heart jumped for joy. I can't describe how excited I was. But as quickly as it came, it had to be put on hold. I was now entering NYC and had to deal with dense traffic, aggressive driving, horns, and chaos. I learned to drive rough real quick. When I reached the neighborhood of the Airbnb I was staying at, I thought I was finally in the clear...nope. Now came one of the world's most difficult tasks: trying to park in NYC. The first challenge is finding a spot. After you spend a half hour doing so, the next challenge becomes making sure whether or not it's legal. Oh look a spot! Nope. Hotel loading zone. Maybe here? Nope. Fire hydrant. Here? Garage entrance. How about here? Only up to this sign, anything past that get's a ticket. Here only certain times of the day and days of the week. It goes on and on and on.
I had one more funny experience that day. I called my Airbnb host to let her know I was going to be there soon. The thing is, she's only been in the country 7 months from Russia and speaks basic English. She couldn't understand most things I was saying and hung up on me. I thought "this week is going to be interesting indeed."
Day 2: Some things you have to experience for yourself. I don't know how anyone sleeps in this city. I fell asleep at 1am or so and was woken up at 4am by blaring music, random fireworks, and the very melodious car horn. I phased in out of sleep until finally getting up at 8am. I'm almost never up this early in the summer, so I decided to grab breakfast. I left the apartment and wandered around upper Manhattan. In a city like this, signage seems to be more popular then ads. "No parking", "No standing", "No house trash or business trash $100 fine", "One Way", "Photo Enforced" "No parking Mon and Thurs 11am-12:30pm", and it went on and on. Then I saw a McDonald's and went in. I entered a room of mild chaos. Two people were trying to order, an old woman with no teeth was shouting and talking like a teenager and barely comprehensible, and an impatient man was barking for some jelly. Welcome to New York.
My first destination was Central Park. I was 50 blocks away so I took a subway. Thirty-Two dollars for a week long unlimited pass was an amazing deal. I made that money well worth it. Once I finally saw the vast amount of green amidst all the steel, concrete, and asphalt, I began to wander. I headed south and made my way towards a geocache. This was more of a challenge than the ones I find in Ohio because people are everywhere. But my expert stealth skills allowed me to climb the rocks and down to where it was hidden. I signed my name and moved on. As I meandered on I came across the elegant Shakespeare gardens and the Belvedere Castle. The castle isn't that big, but it is a castle nonetheless and gives you a sweet view of part the Manhattan skyline.
After I took those touristy pictures, I kept wandering with no particular spot in mind, but each time I came across a sculpture, I went to admire it. The first was Alice in Wonderland. I had to wait for a hoard of kids to take a group picture and dismount it before I got my poorly taken selfie with the Mad Hatter (I hate taking selfies but I was in NYC so what the heck?) I ran into Hans Christian Anderson next (creator of the Little Mermaid). The third sculpture caught me by surprise, but when I saw it, a swarm of childhood memories came back to me. The statue was of the legendary sled dog Balto who delivered much needed medicine in a snow storm across Alaska that saved many children. I saw the movie as a kid and loved it. At the end of the movie, they have the main character in real life visit this exact statue in Central Park. I was in awe.
I only made it through the lower half because I left to meet Sam Chen for lunch at Shake Shack. He then gave me free tickets to the Metropolitan Museum. Holy cow batman! That place is huge! I spent 3ish hours in there and still didn't see it all. There was an entire room that contained an almost complete Egyptian temple, and entire wall dedicated to a massive George Washington crossing the Delaware painting, and an entire rooftop with a garden and bar. It's a must see museum for sure.
To end the day, I hopped on a subway and headed to the Bronx to see a ball game at the historic Yankee Stadium. The Stadium is beautiful and I had front row bleacher seats. The fans, however, don't have heart like Cleveland fans do. They were heckling more than cheering. Half of my section left before the game ended and the Yankees were winning! The fans didn't even stand up or get into it until the very last strike. They let out a 30 second cheer then left the stadium. Besides them, the game was worth it. I had my doubts about taking a subway for 20 min and then walking five blocks after midnight. But there were so many people and I didn't get approached, harassed, or bothered once. Not that I wasn't careful and alert, but my nerves were eased for the week. And this is just the first full day folks.
The first day was all driving. Yes I drove 7ish hours to Manhattan. That's probably something I won't do again. Not because of the long drive but because driving and parking in Manhattan is a nightmare. Driving through Ohio wasn't and issue. Many long, flat roads, steadily moving cars and the occasional 18-wheeler wall or two.
The majority of the drive was spent going across the state of PA, end to end. This is where the trip go sluggish because when you drive through different states, the roads, the scenery, the whole atmosphere changes. But driving a state like PA end to end can get boring. Especially when you hit all the construction because you're driving one highway the entire time. The worst of it came in the central part of the state where they were doing construction for 15 miles and had only one lane open. That extended my travel time by 45 min. I was not a happy camper.
Once I finally exited PA, New Jersey was a breath of fresh air. The overcast skies were gone, the road became four lanes of freshly redone, well constructed asphalt with lush trees and exotic rock formations to drive through. I felt kinda like I was driving in California.
Finally, I saw the NYC skyline and my heart jumped for joy. I can't describe how excited I was. But as quickly as it came, it had to be put on hold. I was now entering NYC and had to deal with dense traffic, aggressive driving, horns, and chaos. I learned to drive rough real quick. When I reached the neighborhood of the Airbnb I was staying at, I thought I was finally in the clear...nope. Now came one of the world's most difficult tasks: trying to park in NYC. The first challenge is finding a spot. After you spend a half hour doing so, the next challenge becomes making sure whether or not it's legal. Oh look a spot! Nope. Hotel loading zone. Maybe here? Nope. Fire hydrant. Here? Garage entrance. How about here? Only up to this sign, anything past that get's a ticket. Here only certain times of the day and days of the week. It goes on and on and on.
I had one more funny experience that day. I called my Airbnb host to let her know I was going to be there soon. The thing is, she's only been in the country 7 months from Russia and speaks basic English. She couldn't understand most things I was saying and hung up on me. I thought "this week is going to be interesting indeed."
Day 2: Some things you have to experience for yourself. I don't know how anyone sleeps in this city. I fell asleep at 1am or so and was woken up at 4am by blaring music, random fireworks, and the very melodious car horn. I phased in out of sleep until finally getting up at 8am. I'm almost never up this early in the summer, so I decided to grab breakfast. I left the apartment and wandered around upper Manhattan. In a city like this, signage seems to be more popular then ads. "No parking", "No standing", "No house trash or business trash $100 fine", "One Way", "Photo Enforced" "No parking Mon and Thurs 11am-12:30pm", and it went on and on. Then I saw a McDonald's and went in. I entered a room of mild chaos. Two people were trying to order, an old woman with no teeth was shouting and talking like a teenager and barely comprehensible, and an impatient man was barking for some jelly. Welcome to New York.
My first destination was Central Park. I was 50 blocks away so I took a subway. Thirty-Two dollars for a week long unlimited pass was an amazing deal. I made that money well worth it. Once I finally saw the vast amount of green amidst all the steel, concrete, and asphalt, I began to wander. I headed south and made my way towards a geocache. This was more of a challenge than the ones I find in Ohio because people are everywhere. But my expert stealth skills allowed me to climb the rocks and down to where it was hidden. I signed my name and moved on. As I meandered on I came across the elegant Shakespeare gardens and the Belvedere Castle. The castle isn't that big, but it is a castle nonetheless and gives you a sweet view of part the Manhattan skyline.
After I took those touristy pictures, I kept wandering with no particular spot in mind, but each time I came across a sculpture, I went to admire it. The first was Alice in Wonderland. I had to wait for a hoard of kids to take a group picture and dismount it before I got my poorly taken selfie with the Mad Hatter (I hate taking selfies but I was in NYC so what the heck?) I ran into Hans Christian Anderson next (creator of the Little Mermaid). The third sculpture caught me by surprise, but when I saw it, a swarm of childhood memories came back to me. The statue was of the legendary sled dog Balto who delivered much needed medicine in a snow storm across Alaska that saved many children. I saw the movie as a kid and loved it. At the end of the movie, they have the main character in real life visit this exact statue in Central Park. I was in awe.
I only made it through the lower half because I left to meet Sam Chen for lunch at Shake Shack. He then gave me free tickets to the Metropolitan Museum. Holy cow batman! That place is huge! I spent 3ish hours in there and still didn't see it all. There was an entire room that contained an almost complete Egyptian temple, and entire wall dedicated to a massive George Washington crossing the Delaware painting, and an entire rooftop with a garden and bar. It's a must see museum for sure.
To end the day, I hopped on a subway and headed to the Bronx to see a ball game at the historic Yankee Stadium. The Stadium is beautiful and I had front row bleacher seats. The fans, however, don't have heart like Cleveland fans do. They were heckling more than cheering. Half of my section left before the game ended and the Yankees were winning! The fans didn't even stand up or get into it until the very last strike. They let out a 30 second cheer then left the stadium. Besides them, the game was worth it. I had my doubts about taking a subway for 20 min and then walking five blocks after midnight. But there were so many people and I didn't get approached, harassed, or bothered once. Not that I wasn't careful and alert, but my nerves were eased for the week. And this is just the first full day folks.
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