it's a hellava town

Perhaps you've seen the movie, On The Town? Like latter day sailors on a similar 24 hour leave in New York the Vacation From Home team was back in full force yesterday! Trailing behind me and Janet were three hillbillys from Downingtown for a whirlwind excursion into NYC. Meant to be a high school graduation gift for one of the girls, the trip took on a manic life of it's own as we hurtled through Manhattan with several stops in mind. I work, that is WHEN I work, in NYC, and for me the touristy route is different and I actually had some fun. Because of my familiarity with the city I was the tour guide, although I mainly facilitated their wishes. First it was trip to Canal Street so they could shop as they dodged all the Chinese people hawking us for "Rooie Viton". Then it was a brief stroll through SOHO, though the ladies were more interested in shopping than about the history of the area. We boarded the subway again; we each had a day pass; and got off on Wall Street. After using the statue of the Wall Street Bull as a lucky charm for my lottery ticket, we walked down to Battery Park City and again slalomed our way through the hordes of tourists to take in a view of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. It was the subway again, up to Union Square and a needed visit to the Whole Foods Market on 14th Street for some snacks. The pace was eased somewhat here. We strolled finally through the Farmer's Market and settled into some out door seats at Heartland Brewery for very necessary beers. It was extremely hot and humid this day and sometimes it rained very heavily. We then took the subway up to Rockefeller Plaza where I used to work. I was a freelancer with NBC for 13 years. We marveled at the beauty of the cavernous halls of 30 Rock and then ran across the street in the pouring rain to visit St. Patrick's cathedral. We then walked through the rain to the MOMA. We spent a number of hours there until closing walking through the galleries. Of course, I lingered over The Starry Night by van Gogh. The rain had stopped enough for us to stroll up a typically crowded Fifth Avenue and the Plaza Hotel where I showed the unimpressed hillbilly trio the painting of Eloise. After a quick stroll through Central Park we headed for Seventh Avenue and into Times Square. By this time the trio was dragging and each hobbling step was announced by laborious cries. Don't worry, your favorite Home Vacation Team knows how to endure such trips!

We finally sat down for dinner at Virgil's Barbecue for some very good food before rushing through Times Square and the subway back for an 8:35 back to Princeton!

I slept well last night....

Sadly, the bull did not help.... Again, I missed hitting the lottery by five numbers.