GoofyMom's Even Greater American Road Trip - 2008 - Updated 11/14 - Page 22 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Sounds like you had a fun outing. I too think NYC is too big-city for me. I would love to see all the sights, but I wish there was a way to do so without all the hustle-and-bustle. I know, that's a part of the city life! Loved your pictures from the Disney store, and the ones that "Tourist Sue" took for you on the drive in. Central Park looks like my kind of place.
Donna, I've spent the last week or so (in my spare minutes at work) reading your TR from last year & this one. Your road trips sound like so much fun! I think it's so cool that you have met so many people here that have become such good friends of yours! Thanks for sharing with us! Do you have another road trip planned for next year? Looking forward to hearing the rest of this one!
I don't think I could handle NYC. And $51! That's insane. I was going to say $27. Yikes. Going to miss this TR while you are gone. I'll have to go see if you did a PTR for the next trip. ~ If not, safe journeys!
__________________
ºOº ~*~
Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
Hey, Donna. Great update! I NYC and being a Broadway fan, you were walking on my home turf. I've been to WOD 3 times and never seen Firefighter Dinald or Liberty Minnie; how you got to meet them! You are braver than I to try a dirty water dog. They smell great, but my friend told me a horror story about the cleanliness of the carts, and while I don't know how true it is, I'm not taking any chances!
You were on the east side of Central Park, I think. Did you get over to Strawberry Fields to the Imagine medallion? There's a part of the pavement almost directly across from The Dakota building where John Lennon lived. A mosaic that says "Imagine" is inlaid into the pavement. The day we were there, someone had laid flowers all around it-very pretty. Hard to believe that peaceful park is in the middle of such chaos.
I'm sorry you missed Top of the Rock; it's a great experience, better than the Empire State Building, IMO. ESB takes at least 2-3 hours with the crowds and the security checks, etc. When you buy your ticket to TOTR, they tell you when to return to go up, much like a FastPass. They only allow a set number of people up at a time. There are 3 observation decks there and you are mostly behind glass, so you have an unobstructed view, but you feel safe, too. The elevator ride up (and back down) is ; they show a mini movie! But the best part is the views. It's not as high up as the ESB, but you can see both the ESB and the Chrysler Building from TOTR., plus you get a nice view of Central Park.
Glad you got a taste of NYC. You did a lot for one day. Can't wait to hear of your further adventures!
__________________
-Lisa
The World is a book. Those who do not travel read only a page." - Augustine
Hi donna! I'm new to your reports but really enjoying this one. Parking's crazy around here, but it's not always that bad. They always sucker tourists into paying the high prices, but lots of deals can be found. You can usually park for around $10 a day as long as you can provide a theater ticket, or restaurant/store receipt. I'm glad you had fun regardless!
Excellent Photo That cloud is called a "Pileus Cloud" or "cap cloud" That puff or layer forms when the top of the cloud pushes up thru a layer of moisture in the atmosphere. I have many pictures of these clouds, We get them quite a bit down here in the tropical south. Grumpy the weatherman gives you for this photo
I have caught up with your ever so wonderful trip report. Wonderful photos, love the new camera. I have laughed all the way thru this trip report, so hurry back my friend I can't wait to see what happens next
What a great day you guys had. I really need to go back to WOD. I think it's been a couple of years since I've been. Pretty said considering I'm not all that far away. About a 1 1/2 hour train ride away. Too bad you didn't do TOTR. It's really nice. But it is expensive and I can see how people that have problems with heights can have an issue with it.
Can't wait to hear more.
Just catching up!! You certainly had some magical times at WDW and fabulous times with some PassPorter pals! That drawbridge you encountered brings back memories. Over 20 years ago, my dad & I were driving back from a visit to my brother (who was living in SC at the time). We got stuck in traffic for hours, and only found out from the CB radio & some hysterical truckers, that it was because the drawbridge had expanded in the heat and they couldn't get it back down! We had already past the last exit and there was no where to go. I even remember my dad getting out to take a picture of the traffic winding all over the place. Looking forward to hearing more about your road trip!!
Excellent Photo That cloud is called a "Pileus Cloud" or "cap cloud" That puff or layer forms when the top of the cloud pushes up thru a layer of moisture in the atmosphere. I have many pictures of these clouds, We get them quite a bit down here in the tropical south. Grumpy the weatherman gives you for this photo
I have caught up with your ever so wonderful trip report. Wonderful photos, love the new camera. I have laughed all the way thru this trip report, so hurry back my friend I can't wait to see what happens next
Cool! Glad I got a 2-thumbs-up for the pic from the expert!
I guess it's time for me to get a move-on and try to finish this TR, eh?
Ok, sorry I very rudely left everybody hanging after our day in NYC. I have some time now, so here’s what I did the next day:
Friday, October 3
I believe I left off saying that it was going to be a really early morning. Well, we woke up at 4:30 because today was the day I was joining Sue at work. For anybody who doesn’t know, Sue is a paramedic and works 12 hour shifts. Today’s shift started at 6 am. Steve got me all prepared by making me repeat “Standby One” over and over. Why? I am not sure! I never once heard those words all day long…
I had to dress similarly to Sue – blue shirt and pants and boots, and Steve loaned me a jacket that, although it didn’t say Paramedic on it, did have some EMS-ish logo on it. I totally looked the part. Unfortunately there are no photos to prove it.
We caught a ride to work with Steve at 5:30 and when we got there, Sue introduced me to a few people including her partner for the day, Margo; then she took me upstairs to the… hm, I’m not sure what to call it. Lounge? Common room? It’s where they hang out while they are waiting for a call, where they do their paperwork, and where they can sleep if they have an uneventful overnight shift. The first thing Sue told me is that you never ever say “Gee, it’s quiet” and you never ever make a pot of coffee first thing in the morning because that would guarantee you’re going to be busy. Well, we got upstairs to find a freshly brewed pot of coffee. We dumped our stuff off and headed down to the garage where the ambulances are and Sue started to check and refill the supplies when all of a sudden… yep. The alarm went off.
We climbed into the ambulance and off we went! When we found the place, there were dogs running all over the place. Note to everybody: if you have to call 911, lock up yourpets. Emergency people shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not a dog (even the most friendly and docile dog) will be discombobulated by all the activity and strangers and become aggressive! Anyway, they finally convinced the people to put the dogs away and we were able to enter the home. It was a young girl who couldn’t move when she tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. Eventually, they were able to get her to the bathroom and woohoo! I got to watch somebody pee. We did end up putting her on a stretcher and taking her to the hospital and I hope she’s ok.
We stopped at a bagel place to grab a real quick breakfast. And I mean quick. We brought our food back to the station and just started digging in when we got another call. It was a call to a rest stop. There had been a collision and one woman was reporting minor injuries. So off we went. The lady didn’t really require treatment, seems she was only going to end up with a bruise or two and be pretty sore for the next few days. So back we went to the station.
Margo and Sue finishing breakfast
We finished our breakfast and guess what? Yep. Another call. By this time Sue was blaming me for being a jinx. I was like no way! I wasn’t the one who made the coffee…
On our way to the call
My view from the back of the “bus”
Sue telling me she’s going to have to hurt me for taking her picture while she’s working….
Anyway… We found the house we were looking for and went in to discover an elderly lady who had fallen in the bathroom. Margo and Sue helped her go to the bathroom, and woohoo! I got to watch somebody pee again. Sue has a very exciting job. Ok, I really shouldn’t be so glib about this because this lady was experiencing mini strokes. This one took a bit of time to figure out how to handle it because her left side kept getting weaker and weaker and soon, it was my job to hold her on her chair so she wouldn’t slip off. They had to call for assistance because we weren’t going to be able to get a stretcher in due to stairs and a very tight turn; so Linda (remember Sue’s friend Linda from the WDW portion of our trip) and another EMT came with a special chair to take her out of the house. We transferred her to the stretcher and Sue had the lights and siren going as we headed to the hospital. Margo impressed the heck out of me as I watched her nonchalantly and very smoothly start an IV on some pretty nasty rough roads. My job was to support the woman because even though she was strapped onto the stretcher she was falling off the side of it. Periodically I asked her if she was ok, because she didn’t look comfortable. She started out saying “yes” but by the time we got to the hospital, her responses were “yesssssshhhhhh” and I watched her face fall. I had never seen anybody having a stroke before and I consider it to be a very valuable lesson for me because now I know exactly what it looks like.
Anyway, we got her in the hospital and I watched the American medical system at work. I was impressed. After we left the hospital, we stopped briefly to buy some groceries for lunch. Margo cooked sloppy joes for us.
The afternoon was spent waiting around for calls that never came. What do EMTs do while they are waiting for calls? They watch TV. They mess around with other EMT’s heads…
They do paperwork….
And they hide from the paparazzi…
I had woke up this morning with a scratchy throat and it had been getting sorer and sorer as the day went by, so I headed next door to a very conveniently located ice cream stand and pigged out! Hey, it was medicinal ice cream!
Eventually Sue’s shift ended and it was time to go back home. We got back to find out that Dan had spent the day sightseeing some of the waterfalls and scenic areas of the Poconos, rather than golfing like we had thought he would.
Resica Falls
Sue ordered pizza for dinner. I don’t remember if we did much that evening. My throat was getting sorer and sorer and it was starting to feel like I was swallowing shards of broken glass. I kind of have a feeling that I pooped out early and tried to get some sleep.
The weather today was… sunny and nice The best thing today was… hanging out with Sue and Margo The worst thing today was… starting to get a sore throat Today I tried… going to work with Sue And the result was… we had 3 calls, 2 of them serious enough to require trips to the hospital
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I know, that's a part of the city life! 
ºOº ~*~ 
NYC and being a Broadway fan, you were walking on my home turf. I've been to WOD 3 times and never seen Firefighter Dinald or Liberty Minnie; how 
you got to meet them! You are braver than I to try a dirty water dog. 
They smell great, but my friend told me a horror story about the cleanliness of the carts, and while I don't know how true it is, I'm not taking any chances! 
Boston isn't much better!! 
That cloud is called a "Pileus Cloud" or "cap cloud" That puff or layer forms when the top of the cloud pushes up thru a layer of moisture in the atmosphere. I have many pictures of these clouds, We get them quite a bit down here in the tropical south. Grumpy the weatherman gives you 
We had already past the last exit and there was no where to go. I even remember my dad getting out to take a picture of the traffic winding all over the place. 
We dumped our stuff off and headed down to the garage where the ambulances are and Sue started to check and refill the supplies when all of a sudden… yep. The alarm went off. 
Margo and Sue helped her go to the bathroom, and woohoo! I got to watch somebody pee again. Sue has a very exciting job. 
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