Saturday, December 17, 2016

Trips to the East Coast, Chapter III

Statue of Liberty from hotel
Yesterday was a NYC day in all its confusion, crowds, and fun.  It began with a trip on the A train from Hoyt-Schermerhorn station to Chambers station with an 11:00 reservation at the 9-11 Museum.  Somehow we missed our stop.  Maybe the express train never stopped at Chambers.  We got off at W4 (West 4th) and back--tracked on the E train which was labelled World Trade Center.  As that was the end of the line, we couldn't go wrong!

We were late and the security lines were long but the line moved quickly.  Jim had to remove his belt; everything had to be screened.   It was sobering considering what we were visiting.  The whole museum was sobering.  It reminded me of the visit we made to Dachau many years ago.  So many people and yet so quiet.  Seeing bent beams and melted fire trucks; hearing voices from last phone calls from WTC Building 2, watching the "breaking news stories" with a younger Matt Lauer and Katie Couric, walking next to the Vesey staircase which many took to survive--it was an amazing experience.  We didn't spend much time in the grounds.  The trees were bare, the ivy covered with tarp, and the fountains were off.

We had a more successful subway ride to the Franklin Street exit in Brooklyn and a pleasant walk past the Medgar Evers campus of CUNY to the site of Ebbet's Field--a request on Jim's list.  We walked past a huge housing project first and then had to double back to pay homage to "yesteryear" at the site of the project.  We shared a Subway sandwich and then another subway ride back to the hotel for some down time.

After several communications by text with Dan, we settled on meeting at Otto Enoteca Pizzeria (which I found through Open Table) and then an improvisational comedy performance at 8 pm in Greenwich Village.  We took yet another subway ride to W4 (Washington Square) where we had been in error earlier in the day--and a cold walk to the busy restaurant.  My glass of wine cost $1 less than my $16 pasta but both were great.   So was a taste of the olive gelato that Dan ordered.

Improvolution
We met Dan's friend John who does improvisation and had assured him that this performance would be PG13--suitable for Dan's mother who is not crazy about scatalogical humor.  We walked up two flights of old stairs into a very small and dark performance space and laughed for the next hour and a half.  The first group was essentially a class performance and they were great.  The second group was the pros and they were even crazier.   Dan is thinking of taking a class there.  For me, it would be a nightmare but John told us that you learn a skill like you do in a sport.  Again, Dan went on another engagement--drinks with the performers; we headed back to the hotel.

Over 16,000 steps--many of them on subway or museum stairs--and my leg ached all night.  But what a day for New York memories!

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like a fabulous day in NYC; thanks for sharing.

    Nancy

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