NYC-Our legs are going to be so pretty About This Page:

[Kelly66]

Sunday, July 27th Day Three- I think we left at 11 AM as that was as early as I could get my guests going. Linda used to try to get me to stay up to watch the Tonight Show back in college, but I never made it. The first night she said, ‘I am afraid of what will happen at 6AM tomorrow.’ Because that is when I said I get up. So I said, “what are you afraid of a bugle call?” But guess what? At six AM my tiny little dog went running downstairs where they were sleeping yapping and running on top of them. Anyway, they did get going early and well. I drove the George Washington Bridge to the Henry Hudson/9A (which I later found is also 12th Avenue around where we parked) DH said turn left at 44th or 42nd Street. I turned at 44th Street because I was afraid I would pass the next one and end up heaven knows where. So he said pass 9th Avenue then park, so I did. Notice I drove TO the City not IN the city. The parking attendants asked how long I wanted to park and I said, “all day.” They said six? and I said sure.
We walked to Times Square and went to the Disney Store. I had skipped it the night before hoping to get to the visitor’s center. Brittany was excited about the decorations on the escalator-something from Tangled I think. Then we went to the Times Square Information center which was opened. I told them to look around while I sat down to figure out which way to get to Yankee Stadium. I had kind of looked at it before and I knew which train to take, but wanted to see how to walk there from where we were. There was ‘the New Year’s Eve Wishing Wall’ where one could write a wish on a piece (of tissue) paper and it will be dropped from the ball on New Year’s Even in Times Square. {Kel’s Sidebar-was that New Year’s Even when they found the confetti contained people’s names and SSN’s from a shredder at a police station? Did that make national news or only local?} I picked up a couple new maps and brochures. I had trouble finding a light bright enough inside there to read the map-but this could just be my poor eye sight. Send me some virtual carrots. Actually I can’t eat carrots because they give me a sugar rush. I digress. We started walking along a numbered street which was very long and I knew the subway to Yankee Stadium would be at least 25 minutes and I had eaten breakfast at 6 AM and I don’t think my guests had eaten anything at all.
We stopped at O’Brien’s Irish Pub which was pretty much just a bar. There was only one table big enough for three people way in the back almost around a corner. It took awhile to get our drinks. Our server wasn’t very happy. Linda ordered a ‘small salad’ which was $8. The server asked if she wanted chicken and she said yes. I didn’t catch that part, but I did notice when she brought it out it had chicken, so I asked Linda if she ordered chicken and she said yes. I had to flag down another waitress to get a refill on tea and ask the guy who brought our food for a glass of water. I had mentioned when we left that when I go into the city I leave behind a picture ID like my college ID or passport. I mentioned that they would need one to get on the plane to return home so Linda had left her driver’s license at my house. She was upset because she wanted a Margarita and thought she wouldn’t get one because she didn’t have her driver’s license. I said they only have to card you if you look under 30, give it a try. She said they always card her husband. But we didn’t have a problem. Then I couldn’t get the waitress to bring us the bill. Then I said, to Linda didn’t you order the small salad? They charged for the large salad which was DOUBLE the price for the small salad. I asked the waitress and she said that when she asked her if she wanted Chicken that meant she was buying the large salad because only the large salad comes with chicken. She wasn’t pleasant then either. She also took forever to come back with the credit card. So I was debating what to do about the tip because she was a terrible server in general. I ended up tipping 15% based on the meal with the small salad, but I ended up paying for the meal with the large salad. But keep reading the waitress at the Hard Rock Cafe coming up is excellent.

[chezp]

I think that's a really good point about having somewhere to meet if you get separated and I have to be honest, it's something that's never occurred to me, not even after our experiences first hand with bombs in London in the 1980s (not something I ever want to repeat )

[mfirst]

Originally Posted by Kelly66

It is nice to be with someone who directs you and you can kind of not think too much about it. Apparently even if it means you walk a couple blocks out of your way-in which case your legs will be so pretty. And it is and adventure as you said. It is always good to have a positive outlook.
If you are planning a trip over a month in advance there is a service called Big Apple Greeter where you can tour this way even if you don't know a New Yorker. http://iloveny.com/what-to-do/see-an...e-greeter/4764

I have never done this. The one time we were planning in advance we couldn't get the schedules to coincide (because I had to do house hunting in Westchester). I trust them because I found it in I Love NY.
That is so awesome that you found a place to park. I hear on my morning news all the time 'alternate side of the street parking is still in effect' Does that mean you needed to move the car daily?

Yes - it got to be quite a pain because on certain days you could park on the left side of the street, but not the right. Depending on the neighborhood, it could be a "full day ban" from 8 am to 5 pm or a half day ban from 8 am until noon. We stayed on Dean Avenue and our portion of the street was a full day ban. Matt's street was a half day ban. Both times, "double parking" was an alternative - as long as your car was not the one being parked in against the curb. The alternate days are Mon - Saturday.

[mfirst]

Having a plan like that is important. I was really surprised by the subway announcements - reporting suspicious behavior and/or unattended packages, etc. It caught me off guard because I didn't remember it from my previous visit. My s-i-l admitted that she kind of tunes it out now because they are played at specific intervals. I never did feel unsafe there though because there was a large police presence everywhere.

[Kelly66]

Originally Posted by chezp

I think that's a really good point about having somewhere to meet if you get separated and I have to be honest, it's something that's never occurred to me, not even after our experiences first hand with bombs in London in the 1980s (not something I ever want to repeat )

Thanks. I like to think I am being prudent instead of paranoid. I am so sorry about your first hand experiences.

[Cam22]

Great updates! I really appreciate the tip to have a meeting place. Good advice!

[Kelly66]

Originally Posted by Cam22

Great updates! I really appreciate the tip to have a meeting place. Good advice!

It's good to know it came across well. In case you are wondering I chose the public Library in Ossining, NY (Hudson Line) and the Westchester Mall in White Plains (Harlem Line) both walking distance from the Metro North.

[Kelly66]

Still Sunday, July 27th Day Three -After lunch, Yankee Stadium & the Empire State Building. After lunch the long walk down the numbered street to the train to Yankee Stadium felt good. We were planning on getting a tour, but I should have known there was a game because I had gotten an email from Autism Speaks saying I could get discounted tickets to this particular game, but when I went to put in the code, it said it wasn’t valid. So we get there and were going to walk around the outside of the stadium while the game was going on, but I had to go to the bathroom. There was a Hard Rock Cafe pretty much attached to the stadium. They checked our bags & we went inside. There was a person handing out towels in the restroom-the kind with a tip jar, so I paid a dollar to dry my hands. The game was being shown on the TV screens in the bar and I could see that it was the top of the 8th Inning, so I suggested that we get drinks and watch the rest of the game and then we could walk around. The waitress was so cute and gave us so much time to decide what we like, but first she brought us water. The game was tied. This could be exciting! I said we would wait until after the game and all the crowds left to walk around the stadium so the subway won’t be so packed when we try to go back. Linda said we may be there awhile if the game stays tied. Linda had studied the drink menu and now knew what she wanted. She ordered and the waitress asked if she wanted ‘happy juice’ and she asked ‘what is that?’ The waitress said that is liquor. So Brittany ordered the specialty lemonade without the happy juice. I asked for a little bit of Maker’s Mark in a tall coke glass with coke. The waitress was so perky & cute.
Linda noted that it was Derek Jeter’s first game back. I went to the bathroom yet again and now in the middle of the ninth inning, I noticed they were letting people through that door without a ticket. I told Linda and Brittany to go look around and I would sit with the drinks. They came back pretty soon saying the crowds were big. The cute little waitress let us sip our drinks. She asked me how mine was an I said I liked to drink it as the ice melted. She told me the bartender thought she was nuts when she asked for it but she told him to make it happy, but not too happy and asked if it was too happy. I said no it was perfect. I asked her how long she thought it would be before the subway was manageable. She said -‘you have an eye there where you can see. I will go check it out and tell you when it is good.’ SHE got her tip in cash that was 20% of our bill PLUS the other five percent that I WOULD have given the waitress at O’Brien’s if she had done a good job PLUS the extra $1.20 I didn’t tip her based on the small salad instead of the large salad. Even though we only got drinks, the bill was as much as our whole meals at O'Brien's though. Still I hope our perky little waitress was pleased. She came back and said the crowds had died down.
We started to walk around the outside of the Stadium. They wouldn’t let us in the stadium saying once you left you left you had to stay out. I asked my guests if they wanted to stop at the kiosk selling stuff, but they said maybe after we walked around. I didn’t think it would even be there then, but I didn’t want to burst the bubble. (It works out well-being optimistic) As we walked past the parking garage, I was thinking I am glad I hadn’t driven. There was a park with a playground over there. Then on the way back there was a street with a deli and a Yankee’s Gift Shop type place. We were in there for quite some time. Linda is a huge sports fan, so I am sure she enjoyed it. I took the opportunity to plan what to do next. I was aiming for the Empire State Building, checking the time. Empire State Building is still considered in Midtown, but that lower part, below Times Square (42th Street) kind of closes up earlier than Times Square. The superfluous stores close around 6 PM while the Empire State Building itself stays open until 10 PM. I had discouraged the Empire State building the two previous nights because it was mentioned at 8 PM and walking downtown from where we were didn’t feel fight then. I figured we should be able to get to it by 5:30 and then we could walk Uptown. I am not sure what time we really got there but I think it was well after 7 PM by the time we headed uptown. Before we got on the subway to leave Yankee Stadium I wanted to go to the little girls’ room again at the Hard Rock Cafe. The attendant was no longer inside, but I asked an outside door attendant who wasn’t letting anyone into the stadium about the subway. I had seen an entrance across the street. The steps went down below the street. Some places in Manhattan, you go Uptown on one side of the street and Downtown on the other side of the street, but I didn’t remember if this said that. When I asked him how to go back to midtown, he pointed to the raised platform and told me to go over there. I said that goes downtown? I saw one across that street. He said ‘you don’t want to go to that one, the other one is uh....closer to here.’ I wasn’t sure if he hesitated because English isn’t his first language or some other reason, but that is all he had to say to me. It didn’t really seem closer to me but I was going to take his advice.
It was a long subway ride, we waited a while for a train too, but that was ok because it was dry while we were walking around the stadium and raining hard now. We got off the subway and started walking toward a tall building. I said, ‘I think that’s the Chrysler building,’ I think we walked two or three blocks and I decided for sure I was going the wrong way-but our legs are going to be so pretty. No one ever complained. It was raining too. I stopped under an awning and checked the map. We walked back along a numbered street. When you are walking along an avenue the blocks are short and you are passing numbered streets. When you are walking along a numbered street the blocks are much much longer-so much so that Brittany posted on her FB page under things I learned about NYC-‘Avenue blocks are actually 29 miles long.’ This really messed me up timing wise several times because it takes so much more time to walk a block that way. In my mind the map i deceptive that way.
We passed Macy’s and Brittany took a pic of the outside, but I said we will come back another day. Did I mention though-the larger city-guide or Official Visitor's books at the Times Square information center have a 'coupon' for Macy's so be sure to take that with you?
We went on to the Empire State Building. Now we went through all these lines and security and shopped at the gift shop (and I went to the restroom) but we opted not to buy a ticket to the top. They thought it was well worth the wait through security. I bought a large coke in a souvenir cup that said NY SkyRide. I was trying to figure out what it was-as best I can figure it’s a virtual reality ‘ride’ that takes place right there in the Empire State Building? Anyway-don’t expect to take drinks in there or maybe even up to the top. There were multiple signs everywhere that said -NO REFUNDS for ANY reason!!!! Oh there was also a cell phone charging station and tables there. I thought I had remembered there being ‘art’ on the walls at the bottom of the building, but there were just billboard things on the first floor, so maybe I am wrong. But there were exciting details about the restoration of the ceiling which was worth noting and seeing. Apparently in the 70’s in an attempt to ‘modernize’ it, the beautiful artwork was painted over and drop ceilings with Fluorescent lights were installed. The shops down there were closed now (bummer) and it was about 7:20 PM. We walked around and around the bottom of the building so many times and I was trying to figure out which door to go out and which way was uptown, so I finally asked. It was dark by the time we came out, but we were still comfortable in the streets.

[Colexis Mom]

More great updates!

[chezp]

Wow, you certainly packed a lot in! How great that you got such an amazing waitress at the stadium.

[Kelly66]

I’ve been saying Sunday,is July 27th, but it is July 28th -Day Three continued-heading home. - We were heading uptown around 7:30 PM and many of the shops downtown of Time Square were closed. It was raining and I was probably walking too fast for my guests. As my DH says, NY city is probably more safe than the little town in KY where Linda’s husband works. Used to be there were parts of Manhattan where one shouldn’t go (the Bowery, Alphabet City) after dark, but I think now days they say you can go anywhere safely in Manhattan. We walked uptown about ten blocks to 44th Street and 8th Avenue. It was raining and very wet in the street. Linda had worn crocks because of her blister and said certain kind of tile was slippery. She pointed out this beautiful marble looking stuff on the curbs-I never would have noticed that. This is why I like hanging out with Linda, she notices stuff like that. In retrospect we probably could have taken the subway, but I am thinking-it is only ten blocks.... We walked behind the Library past Bryant Park. I mentioned that Kara clothing store right there (which was closed) by Bryant park was my favorite place in the city to buy clothes (when I am skinny). They asked if Bryant Park is where they have the concerts and I said I don’t know. There is one building there I wanted to show them that looks Ghostbusterish, but I was tired and they were tired so we kept heading to the car. It was around 8:00 PM by the time we got to the car and after I paid through the kiosk with a credit card, they asked Brittany if that was our car and pointed to it. Way to go Brittany, she recognized it. I don’t think I would have remembered what it looked like if I hadn’t ridden in it that much. Usually they take awhile to get the car out, but I guess I said I would be there until 6 and now it was 8. I gave the guy a $2.00 tip and we started driving home.
There were emergency vehicles headed to Times Square and I had to wait for them to go by so I hit ‘go home’ on the GPS. It did the same thing it tried to do the night before to Chris, drive us THROUGH time’s square to go to the Lincoln Tunnel. I ignored it, circled the block and got back on the Henry Hudson to the GW Bridge.
GPS Still kept wanting me to drive through Times Square and I said Forget About it!!!
We were practically ON the GW bridge before the GPS wasn’t telling me to turn around. The drive home was nice and I wasn’t too tired to drive, but I don’t think we got home until 10:30 PM. On the HH there were two different broken down or stopped or wrecked or stalled -but completely sitting still cars in opposite lanes before we even hit the GW bridge. But it was clear sailing after that. We did not hit the traffic on I-80 due to construction that we had hit the night before when DH was driving. I came home and crashed, but I suspect my guests stayed up very late. The next day they said, ‘we can sleep late.‘
No plan to go to the city Monday, we just have an appointment for a Massage at a new place in Morris Plains.
Nike+ FuelBand stats 6.11 miles, 14,883 steps, 1,145 calories, avg. nike fuel/hour 189.19 total Nike Fuel 4,539, 13:24 active time (WOW)!

[4Disney2]

Great Update!

[chezp]

Wow, that was a lot walking!

[Cam22]

You all are definitely on a walking tour! But sounds like you all managed to have lots of fun in the process.

[Kelly66]

Monday, July 29th Day Four-(no city) massage, planning for our overnight in the city. But first- Stuff I forgot to mention
On our first day there a few things surprised my guests that didn’t make me blink. First while we were driving through Uptown, or should I say while DH was driving through up (very up) town, there was a person lying on the steps of a church. What surprised my guests is that he had a pillow and a blanket. I forgot to mention on our first night there the naked cowboy was walking around and shocked our guests. I barely even noticed him. I didn’t notice our guests noticing him, but DH did. Not to worry, there will be more naked people in Times Square later in the trip report. Another thing was the people walking around Times Square with signs that said something like ‘Why lie-I need money for pot, pizza and beer.’ There were several variations of that.
There are ‘characters’ like Cookie Monster and Elmo that walk around and take pictures with tourists. We had heard on the news a while back that they were being belligerent and aggressively seeking tips. We also saw Batman, the Incredible Hulk, The Statue of Liberty, a very short Chewbacca....let’s call it a Pink Mouse because we all know that Minnie Mouse would never raise her ‘head’ to cool off. I guess I neglected all of those things because they just seem normal to me now.
Monday, July 29th Day Four -On the fourth day we rested. Not much happened. However, DH learned that he needed to go into the city Monday and Tuesday for work anyway and could drive us. But we already had an appointment for each of us for a massage. My guests slept late. Although I had brought up my coffee maker, my coffee was in the basement where my guests were sleeping, and sleeping, and sleeping. I am thinking, I have been up for 6 hours, did they really go to bed 6 hours after I did last night? I felt like I was on Wife Swap. I worked out, made the bed, tried to quietly clean the kitchen, made cinnamon rolls hoping the aroma would wake them up. Finally I took my daughter to Target, fed the dog, dust mopped up all the dog hair....you get the point.
By 11:00 AM I decided I probably wouldn’t see them until about three minutes before 1:00 when we had to leave. So I did some research on the internet. I had thought they were leaving on Friday, but they were leaving on Thursday, so I checked out Wicked Tickets on ticketmaster.com. You can see the seating chart and which seats are still available for what price. I saw three seats in the second row for $91.25 each. It was strange because on the other side, that third seat was $115, so I decided it was a sign and went ahead and bought them online with my credit card. They were in the second row, but were listed as ‘partial view.’
Then I used DH’s points to book a night at the Hilton in Times Square for Tuesday. DH could drive us into the city and we would figure out something later for getting home on Wednesday. I had transposed the number of points he had and thought we could get a deluxe room which was on a higher floor (with a better view) and about 30 square feet larger, but when I sent it through it was going to cost $429 to pay with points!!! So I opted for the ‘normal’ room, but I did put in the comment box, ‘this is my friends’ first time staying in New York City and this week is the first time they have visited.’ The hotel starts at the 22nd floor (wonder what is below that?) and the deluxe rooms are floors above 33. There is a much touted (on their own website) bar an restaurant that says it is ‘high above Times Square’. Well let me tell you. The view of the restaurant is of the Carter Hotel. Now the last time I checked The Carter Hotel was $35 per night. I did notice that each room had different colored drapes-kinda strange for a hotel. THERE IS NO LONGER any talk of bed bugs in NYC. It seems as though that problem was solved a while ago. But when it was happening I definitely heard about it on my morning ‘local’ news. However, when we checked out of the Hilton Times Square, the person at the desk told us that the building next to the Carter Hotel used to be the New York Times headquarters and it has a bowling alley in the bottom. He said the view from here is very pretty. It had several copper (now green) dormer windows on the top floor and the stonework is exquisite. He also said you can’t really see it much from the ground. There was also a view of a huge clock. I don’t know what building that was but it was cool.
The Hilton website also said it had a workout facility (which at that time I anticipated using while my guests slept), a ‘laptop size safe’ and robes. However, once they found we were spending the night, I think Brittany even picked which hotel from the list I gave her of all the Hiltons in NYC, they decided to go to Good Morning America the next morning. It was (a little bit after) the youngest child’s birthday. She was at the Ohio State Fair with Dad and her brother. I had done some research and it looked to me like we needed ‘tickets‘ to stand on the street, but I went through the process and never really ‘got‘ a ticket. Quite often my ability to do things on the web isn’t up to par, so Brittany tried and explained that you need tickets for the studio tour but not to stand there. She said that people who show up at 7:00 AM get front row seats inside the studio and that 7:30 people are on the street to see the show. They tried to tell me about the celebrities who are on the show, but I never watch, and I kind of wasn’t terribly interested. But I did have a big poster board at home with balloons around the border and a HUGE, I mean giant, enormous marker. So we wrote ‘Happy Birthday (late) .......’ and another note to someone who Brittany told we would be on the street. And by we wrote it, I mean Brittany who has great handwriting and is not left handed. Doing something huge like that in marker is a recipe for disaster for someone like me who is left handed because it is hard not to drag your hand through the ink. Anyway-she made it beautiful. More on our day of rest coming up.