May 24, 2005

"Getting AWay"
4:35pm

I'll be 'away from the computer' May 25 through May 30, for I will be soon heading off to NYC for the museums, the 'lady' and the other enlightening endeavors. I'm smiling, nervous but happily excited. I finished every single item on the job line, the bar is bare! It's a little thing, but it enables me to relax more, knowing I'm not leaving in a busy time.

Although away from the computer, I shall be keeping a handwritten journal while gone.


May 25, 2005

"Up, Up and Away"

9:50am

The plane sits, we're not moving. We must wait for clearance.

9:55am

Slowly, we begin...

1:45pm

The pilot informs us we're over Lake Michigan.

7:20pm - Yuma Time
10:20pm - NYC Time

I'm so glad I had read the "Trip Advisor" site, or the shock might have been too much. I expected a public toilet, but did not expect the lack of phone in the room, no elevator, and lack of general cleanliness in some areas. The four flights of rickety stairs are very steep, especially hauling heavy suit cases. There is just a bunk bed set, a sink, one folding chair, and a bare ringed overhead light that turns on with a pull string. I'd thought myself silly to bring one small stainless steel cup and some soap. I was not silly.


really rustic...


rather tenement like view out room window...


view out the hall window...

The water, however, out of the tap is potable, pleasant tasting, even, and there's a cheap taco diner three doors over. A tasty chicken/guacomole taco and a bottled fruit punch drink was less than four dollars. I expect to hear a foreign language in a taco diner, but not Vietnamese. (At least I think it was Vietnamese.) A calender with a golden image of Buddha was front and center.

The streets in this crowded city are very narrow, and I did not expect to see so many dry cleaning establishments within a small area. I counted seven. One of the fellow passengers on the shuttle bus said there is a high demand for cleaning services as there isn't space for everyone to have a washer and dryer. "You either have a bed or you have a washer and dryer. Most choose a bed!" one passenger informed me.

I'm getting a feel of the vibes of this gateway to the nation. All of my ancestors no doubt stepped on this land before they migrated inwards. So many came here with such hopes for the future. With some, the hope never lost their rawness.


May 26, 2005

"First Day Out"

view down the street of the hostel...

11:50am

Oh my gawd, this city is so big, you cannot imagine it unless you have been here. What looks so small and easily walkable on a tiny web image of a map, isn't.

However, I discovered the Museum of Natural History is indeed within walking distance of the hostel. (It is on the western side of Central Park.)


along Central Park West...


a little farther down Central Park West...


entrance to Natural History Museum...

My next mystery will be figuring out how to get to the Metropolitan Museum. But meanwhile, back to BIG. Dinosaurs are BIG and I can envision that so much better after I've stood underneath one of their skeletons stretched across a large lobby:

I found more Big dinos further on in the museum:

However, not all dinosaurs are big. I photographed some fossils of small ones, maybe 7 inches high at the max:

Another special feature of the dinosaur exhibit was an animated dinosaur skelton. (Though this feature doesn't show in my two pictures.)

Museum food is pricey. I didn't know a hamburger, fries, a salad and two bottles of apple juice would set me back nearly 20 bucks. (And the salad tasted funky, and I couldn't eat it.)

But I am fed, and this part of the adventure is done. The dinosaur exhibit is cool. There is so much in this museum alone, that I cannot see it all.

Meanwhile, there awaits the mystery of how to get to the Met Museum.

Until next time....

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