More NYC

What a fun trip we’re having — the walking is exhausting, but it is probably good since I am also eating my head off, trying different foods and such. We found a lovely Belgian cafe we have been eating breakfast at, Le Pain Quotidien, where they have wonderful baked foods, bread and danishes and other delicious things. 

We’ve tried a NY Bagel, of course, at Grand Central Station. Grand Central Station is very cool – somehow both bigger and smaller than I’d imagined. It is  just a train station, after all, but the work that went into it is amazing, the sculptures, the carvings, the stone, wood, marble. Just stunning. The famed ceiling is much lighter than I’d imagined, a kind of turquoise night sky with constellations in gold. 

We saw a play on Broadway, Mamma Mia, which was uplifting and cool – They did a fantastic job, of course, and we enjoyed it very much. Afterward when we went to leave the theater it was pouring down rain, but we’d brought umbrellas and went to have pizza while we waited it out. (Have not had good NY Pizza yet…) Times Square, of course, is right on Broadway, and again, it was much bigger and also somehow smaller than I’d imagined. It is hard to describe what it is like to see things in person that you’ve seen all your life, larger than life, in movies or news, and though I KNOW New York is a gigantic town, and trust me, there were hundreds of thousands on Times Square, somehow, it all seems smaller, more intimate, than I had imagined. Even WITH the 2 story electronic billboard that goes across half a city block… Still. 

We’ve visited Macy’s (twice) and have walked around the outside of the Empire State building. We’ve been on Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue for shopping and Rockerfeller plaza. And we’ve met some fun and interesting people too. We were resting our feet on Sunday, sitting in Bryant Park and met a man who was chatting with us. He’d lived in both our home towns, (Phoenix and Orange County) and had come back home to NY. He is out of work, but has hopes of work soon. We discussed current events and the weather and people and other things, and finally went on our way, but it is so funny that even in a big place like this there are individual people who like talking to other people and making friends. 

Last night we had a tour on a clipper ship — we pre-purchased the tickets at half price on a NY deals website — and it was amazing. We went into the harbor at twilight and cruised around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We saw New Jersey, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, all the sights. Met a musician (Steven) from Liverpool – his lovely girlfriend (Wheelchair bound) and had so much fun. My friend is a photographer, so hopefully, eventually, I will be able to share some of her lovely work with you, but in the meantime, here are a few I snagged with my cell phone. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manhattan

Okay – we’re here now, finally, after many airplanes and terminals and travel. It is really exhausting to travel, and the only “up” side to all that travel is that you only have to deal with the TSA goons once, then you’re home free past the grope-stations.

We played crossword puzzles on my nook for much of the flights. The only puzzles that made us cross were the “Hard” ones because the answers always seemed so counter-intuitive.

We had delicious hamburgers in the Midway terminal at Illinois Bar & Grill – great french fries, too, in case you’re ever stuck waiting for a delayed flight. ^_^

Our taxi driver from LaGuardia was an Indian man (Mr. Gata) who had a namaste sticker on his dashboard. He was very nice, and drove us down Madison Avenue to our great delight. We ventured out for dinner and were taking pictures in front of the NY Public Library, when we did something we had been warned NOT to do. (Repeatedly.) A man and woman came up to us and offered to take our picture if we would then take their picture. Of course we helped out, but warning voices, be aware they were a perfectly adorable Aussie couple who did NOT run off with our camera, and who were very happy to finally have a picture together.

Now to bed. My internal clock is terribly confused –my head is saying it’s only 9:14, but the clock in our room says it’s 0:18. Morning and adventures await. We will try to mostly stay out of trouble.

Full Moon

The second day of November’s Poem a Day prompt brings a Full Moon theme.

I love this prompt. Let’s see where it goes:

Midnight Date

Luney
moony
lunatic.

Full moon risin’
on horizon,
happy
sappy mid-
night addict.

Night bird calling
kissing
falling
don’t go home,
see what you’ll miss.

Walk the dirt road
talk the night code
never tell what
all we’ve done

Full moon lighting
midnight water
swimming in the
blue-dark liquid
made serene by
silver light.

What a night.

What a harum-scarum
dizzy, lazy
languourusly
beautifully
moony- luney
night.

 

 

Trespassing (with Gooses)

The prompt yesterday was to write a poem about trespassing. Can you believe it, this was the first opportunity I’ve had to write this! Sometimes my life is full!! ^_^

***

 

Trespassing (with Gooses)

Summers in the country
were filled with enough chores
most of the time
and enough lazy days
in the tire swing
or rambling in the little piece of woods
but sometimes
wanderlust would strike
childish heels
and we would wander the
roads and lanes
(unpaved until 1978)
on quests of discovery.

Once we found a wide-open field
with sunflowers,
(so many it was like the field
of poppies in
the Wizard of Oz)
and we were simultaneously
possessed of a notion
to bring some home
to grandma.

And so, over the whitewashed
split-rail fence we avidly climbed,
ready for plunder,
and right back over we
scurried as we discovered
a full gaggle with accompanying
gander
all fully loaded with
vicious beaks,
hissing,
tails wagging
furiously;
and they chased us
home.

They are WAY meaner than they look.

Snowflake, Arizona

We’ve come to Snowflake Arizona for a retreat planned by my law firm. Almost everyone from work is here and it is strange to see everyone so relaxed and in casual dress. The drive here was gorgeous. Coming up over the Mogollon Rim felt like we were driving into the sky, so bright was the day and so blue was the sky.

Overlooking the Rim

The bed and breakfast we are staying at is called the Heritage Inn, and it seems that Heritage is what Snowflake is all about. We’re here for the Pioneer Day celebration, and it has been interesting, to say the least. Last night’s dinner was at Sank Flake’s Party Barn, a shrine to Western kitsch if there ever was one; if you can think of any type of western souvenir, you would find it in the barn, I’ve put a few photos below to show you what I mean. ^_^

Sank’s “Pet” Steer

 

Another view of a steer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guest room with coyote furs

 

Antler Chandelier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we’ll be attending a parade, going on a plane ride over the Meteor Crater and the Painted Desert, and perhaps going to a craft fair. ^_^ Must be off—parade is going to start soon! Expect horse pictures later!

Southern Cooking, Part III

After visiting Myrtle Beach we had no recourse but to drive through state highways in South Carolina to get back to Charlotte, North Carolina, in order to leave from Charlotte the next day. It wasn’t that far in miles, but it was endless in traffic. I am surprised there are no interstates that go to Myrtle Beach, but perhaps that is part of the charm? We drove forever at slow-traffic speeds in the tree tunnels (see previous post for reference) and we weary travelers when we made it back to the hotel that evening.

But we still had to eat and we went (on the advice of the hotel clerk, Ferlandos) to a soul food place called “LuWan’s.”

La’Wan’s Soul Food, Charlotte, NC

The waiter was hilarious, he loved talking, and when I told him I was going to post the food on my blog, he insisted in holding up my dinner for me to take the picture. (I had catfish, collards, and mashed potatoes and gravy.)

Mmm, yummy catfish!

T had whitefish, and okra instead of collards. (The collards were PERFECT, by the way!! Just a little spicy and a little bacony and a little sweet. Yum!)

Whitefish, Okra, soul food is fantastic!

T likes okra much better than fried pickles. ^_^ He says it doesn’t need any sauce to make it palatable, but I just say ewww, okra is slimy. :p

And for one last picture, a picture of a boat we saw in Georgetown, SC. Its name was funny, to me at least.

Not such a bad “Plan B” I’m thinking

 

Myrtle Beach, SC

Our last day in the south was spent on Myrtle Beach. It was really hard to find a place to even SEE the beach, there were so many trees and so many beach homes. It was kind of disappointing because I was raised in California and it was always easy to see the ocean. (We called the highways “tree tunnels” because though we LIKED the trees, that was not all we wanted to see.)

Example of the “tree tunnel”

Turtle Safety Tips (click to enbiggen)

So we drove a long time and finally found a public beach. I loved the little sign we found at the beach entrance:

Beach entrance

 

 

 

 

We took a long walk (I had a hat and sunscreen, of course). There were many shells, I picked up a lot of them! (There were different shells than on the west coast, which was cool.)

Shells (and a couple of toes)

One other thing I found in the surf: a wet bee. I picked him up with my shoe to let him dry off, and by the time we were done with our walk, he was free to fly away.

Half-drowned bee

He seemed very happy to be out of the brine. And that way some little kid wouldn’t accidentally step on him and get stung.

It was nice to be on the beach, but I am not a person who wants to bake in the sun—I just fry, burn, peel, repeat—so we left not long after the bee rescue escapade. Here is one last pic of the surf. It was a beautiful day.

Myrtle Beach

Southern Cooking, Part II

Friday we drove from Columbia, SC through Charleston, and saw many bridges – here is one photo because it looks kind of cool:

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, Charleston, S.C.

It was pretty from a distance, and also really cool driving under it. The point, of course, was to travel south east from Charleston so we could go to Myrtle Beach. I had a yen to dip my toes in the Atlantic…

Toes in the sand of Myrtle Beach

…which I did.

But in the meantime, we had to drive to Myrtle beach along I-17 from Atlanta. And along the way we stopped at the “SeeWee.”

SeeWee Restaurant

SeeWee – Bikers Welcome! ^_^

I could smell the ocean (though couldn’t see it) so wanted seafood. We ordered Stone crab legs. And I entered heaven for a little while. (You can also see collard greens in the little bowl. They were good, though a little too salty.)

Stone Crab Claws at the SeeWee

This was followed by Key lime pie. Of course, this was the main meal that day…I think we had PBJs for supper.

Key Lime Pie at the SeeWee

I will have more food in a post soon, and an update dedicated to my son’s Army graduation. ^_^ Still sorting pictures!!!

Charlotte, North Carolina

Downtown Charlotte, NC

Still rainy weather, but isn’t this pretty? ^_^ I love the clouds, we never get nice rain like this in Arizona. ^_^

Crosswalks outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame

The NASCAR Hall of Fame is in downtown Charlotte – aren’t the crosswalks cool?  (See, they’re checkered, like a checkered flag!!)

Old, old race car

We spent hours at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I watch with T, but he’s the real fan, as he pointed out to me when I said, no, I would not be willing to try out all the pit crew stations to see which one I’d be best at. ^_^ (I have a suspicion I’d really be best at being team mom – baking cookies and putting on bandaids.)

This was my favorite car. Apparently NASCAR got started because bootleggers needed fast cars to escape police during the prohibition! Who knew? Anyway, off to sleep!

Tomorrow: more adventures!

Southern Cooking

Went to Sauceman’s BBQ in Charlotte last night for dinner. I had the Shrimp and Grits, T had a bbq sandwich and fried pickles. (Okay, he didn’t pick those, I urged them on him because it sounded weird and fun.)

Here are some pics:

Shrimp & Grits at Sauceman’s BBQ in Charlotte, NC

I like grits, but these were heavenly! The texture was creamy and delicious. The only thing I didn’t like was that the shrimps were too salty. I liked the cajun spices on them, but there was just too much salt. Thankfully, the cheesy grits helped compensate for the salt. Yum.

Fried Pickles; Sauceman’s BBQ, Charlotte, NC

The fried pickles were good by themselves, if a little harsh. But once they were dipped in the ranch dressing, it was an explosion of flavor. Even T got to like them after he dipped in the ranch dressing.

Sauceman’s BBQ, Charlotte, NC

Sorry for the blurriness of this picture – it was a cell phone. My REAL camera is charged now!! Hopefully any more pictures will be much better.

And yes, it was rainy when we arrived. It is rainy as I type this in our hotel room in Charlotte. We hear the weather will be clearing up a little later in the week.

Until next time!