Brooklyn Bridge from the River Cafe in Brooklyn

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Slept in a little this morning. Really foggy and misty this morning. Mike not feeling too swift, so I went down and had breakfast by myself. Then we packed, checked out, and caught a cab back to Grand Central—which is so beautiful. We were back at the KOA by 3:00. Unpacked. Now we have to do some laundry and get on the computer. We had a great time in “The City” though and now we’re back in this beautiful countryside along the Hudson. Doesn’t get any better.

Bad hair day in Times Square

No hair day in Times Square

Saturday, June 9

Walked over to the Columbus Circle subway station and took it to Brooklyn again. This time when we left the subway station we were in a completely different area. A local woman put us back on track and we walked around the historic residential area again and back to the River Café. Had a couple of drinks at the bar again. There was an Argentinian couple sitting next to us. Practiced my Spanish with them. Took the water taxi again and went over to the South Street Seaport and toured a couple of ships there. One was a huge 4-masted sailing ship. The other was a light house ship. Then we walked down to the Staten Island Ferry and took it over to Staten Island. And it’s FREE! Jeeze! Walked around outside a little and then took the next ferry back. Wanted to take the 9 train back uptown (there’s a station right inside the Staten Island Terminal—how convenient is that!), but it wasn’t running over the weekend because of construction. So, we started walking up to the Fulton Street Station to catch the A or C train. Caught the A train back to Columbus Circle. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a neighborhood restaurant (The Flame Diner) on 9th and 58th which turned out to be really great and very reasonable. Picked up some more drinks to take back to the room. My feet are killing me. Actually, my whole body is killing me.

NYC Skyline from Brooklyn...

Friday, June 8

Breakfast again this morning at the hotel dining room and then we were off to the subway station at Columbus Circle. We bought a couple of multi-ride tickets. Planned on getting off at the Fulton Street station, but ended up in Brooklyn instead—at the High Street Station. What a pretty area! The area is a really nice residential area. Beautiful brownstones. Walked around for a while. Great view of lower Manhattan. Ended up at the River Café and had a couple o drinks at the bar. Bartender was really funny. Then we took the water taxi over to the South Street Seaport. Walked up to the World Trade Center site and also to St. Paul’s Church. I never realized how old this church is. George Washington worshipped here after he became President. After walking around there we took the subway back to the West Village and went back and had more cup cakes and walked around the West Village a while. Ate our cup cakes at the little playground where Sarah and Matthew take their little boy. Started walking up 8th to get the subway back uptown and stopped at a neat little Swedish restaurant called Smorgas Chef. I had Swedish meatballs and lingonberries which was delicious. Mike had a steak. It was our most expensive dinner. Took the subway back to Columbus Circle and walked down to Lincoln Center to check on the ballet. They are performing Saturday night, but I’m not sure we’ll feel like going after schlepping around all day. And I don’t have a dress with me. Left there and walked over the Central Park and took a ride through the park on a pedicab. Our driver was Daniel. Getting dark. Walked back to the hotel and stopped at the market on the way and bought some drinks to take back to the room. Tired. Another beautiful day.

Carrie's stoop (Sex and the City)

Cosmos at "Scout" (a bar used in Sex and the City--actually O'Neils)

Thursday, June 7

Had breakfast this morning at the Hotel which was fairly good and pretty reasonable. Then we hit the street and started walking toward Central Park. Walked down Central Park South and stopped at the Pulitzer Fountain next to the Plaza and signed up for the Sex and the City tour. Had a few minutes before the tour started, so we walked down Fifth Avenue and stopped at Tiffany’s. Wanted to look at some earrings. The tour was great fun. Stopped at the Pleasure Chest (where Charlotte bought her rabbit) and looked around. I bought a couple of books (Kiss and Tell) about the show and its characters. Another stop we made at at the West Village where we had cup cakes from the Magnolia Bakery and then walked down “Carrie’s street”. Had picture taken on her “stoop”. Sarah Jessica actually lives just around the corner on Charles Street. Another stop we made was at the bar that was called “Scout” (actually O’Neils) and had Cosmos. At the end of the tour they dropped us at around 42nd street. We walked back to the hotel, freshened up, and walked back to Carmine’s restaurant on 44th to meet a friend, Mike Ryan, for dinner. Was great seeing him again and we had a great dinner—huge portions served family style. After we split, Mike and I walked around Times Square a while then back to the hotel. Pooped. Lots of walking. Everything hurts.

Wednesday, June 6

Left the KOA this morning a little before 9:00. We were hoping to catch the 9:50 train, but we had a hard time finding a parking place and then the ticket machine wouldn’t cooperate, so the 9:50 train came and went without us. We could have gotten on the train and bought the tickets on the train. Oh well… We caught the 10:50 train and arrived at Grand Central at 12:30. Took a cab to the hotel. Thought we were dead for sure. Cab drivers in NYC are dangerous. Changed and then walked around. Walked down to Times Square. On the way we stopped at a hot dog vendor and bought a couple of hot dogs. Walked down to the Winter Garden Theater and picked up our tickets for Mama Mia. Walked over to the Algonquin Hotel. Made reservations at Sardi’s for dinner, then stopped at a little bar near Avenue of the Americas and had a drink. Then walked down to Sardi’s and had dinner. Walked up to the Winter Garden to see the show which was really great—music by Abba. After that we walked around Times Square which is beautiful at night and then headed back to our hotel. Stopped at a little market and bought some snacks and drinks. Pooped.

Tuesday, June 5

Left the Nittany Mt. KOA at 10:30 this morning. The drive through Pennsylvania on Interstate 80 was beautiful. Road good. Got on I84 just north of Scranton and that interstate was not very good. Surprised we didn’t have a blow-out on some of the potholes we hit. I drove for 2 hours and then Mike took over. We put the address for the Newburgh KOA into our GPS and it worked like a charm. Arrived at 2:30. Beautiful KOA. Lots of trees. We pack our bags tonight and head for Beacon, NY, to get the commuter into The City. Mike saw a bear sauntering around just off I84.