Wednesday, September 05, 2007

I'm baaaack!

Howdy Howdy. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. The weather sure was great on the East Coast, that's for sure. Hot and sunny during the day and cool at night. Just perfect in my book and so far this week has been pretty much the same.

My trip to Jersey was good. The drive went pretty well until I got to New York City. Of course I tried my best to get there before rush hour traffic but I should have left home an hour or so earlier because everyone seemed to have the same plan and I got stuck in traffic several times along the route, particularly in the Providence, Rhode Island and New Haven, Connecticut areas. I also missed a turn somewhere on the highway in the NYC area and ended up going over 4 of the 5 Borough bridges which were also quite congested. That wonderful screw up added another hour to my travel time. I did figure out on my return trip what I did wrong and made the trip home in 5 hours instead of 6.5. I won't make that mistake again, I can assure you. I thought driving in Boston was bad but getting through the NYC area is pure HELL. I didn't even venture off the highway and go into the city. That would be insanity. Even staying on the highway I went past the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. The only place I didn't get a view of was Harlem, which I am really all set with.

I've been to Jersey before but not this part of Jersey. My friend lives in Elizabeth which is right across the the Goethals Bridge. Once I made it out of Manhattan, I was at his apartment building in less that 15 minutes. I could have kissed the New Jersey soil but I really had to use the bathroom. I had already been on the phone and told him to open the door and clear a path cos emptying my bladder was my number 1 priority. We could hug and all that fun stuff after I went pee. :-)

After a tour of the apartment, we sat down and talked for hours. I hadn't seen Kenny in quite a few years and had never met his room mate, Ron, so we had a lot of catching up to do. Kenny is a friend from school and he's lived in and around NYC for over 25 years. He's done all kinds of interesting artsy things like acting in several small stage productions and he's played in a couple of rock bands, he's worked in a museum, waited tables and worked in a deli. He also helped an ex girlfriend get started on her freelance sculpting and painting career by introducing her to some key people and setting her up in Central Park sketching, painting and displaying her art for sale.
Before we knew it, it was after 8pm and we were all getting hungry. Kenny got started on his delicious homemade mac and cheese and Ron kept me company by showing me a photo album filled with his family's pictures and photos of his vacation last winter in Mexico.
After dinner it was really warm in the apartment so Kenny and I went for a walk around town. I was ever so grateful since I am not a fan of the heat. They have a small 2 bedroom apartment and the heat from the kitchen really warmed up the entire place. By the time we got back it was almost midnight and had cooled off quite a bit.
Ron was kind enough to give up his bed for the weekend and he had already made up the futon in the living room and was just about asleep by the time we got back. I headed off to bed myself...but of course I was in a strange place with lots of city noises and I had a hard time falling asleep. I think it was well after 2am by the time my eyes closed.

We were up around 8 and Ron headed off to work. Kenny wanted to take me down to the open air market before it got too hot so off we went. It was crowded but a lot of fun and wow soooo much food. We bought all kinds of veggies for a salad for Saturday night's dinner and had fresh bagels and cream cheese at a little bakery for breakfast. I also bought a fresh loaf of bread. It was right out of the oven and still pretty hot. Oh Lord it smelled sooooo good. We went back to the car and loaded it up, then took a walk to the park down by the river. He's used to walking everywhere and riding the trains and subways. I am used to sitting my fat ass in my car and driving everywhere. I have to admit, it wasn't long before my legs were ready to fall off. I would never survive in the city.

Saturday afternoon we watched the New York Yankees baseball game on television. (Yuck) LOL OK I love baseball but I am a Red Sox fan and Red Sox fans HATE the Yankees. It was very difficult sitting through that and watching the Yankees win and listening to Kenny brag about how wonderful they are compared to the Red Sox. We will see who wins the World Series next month and I will bet it won't be the Yankees!

Saturday night we made up the salad and Ron brought home steaks and grilled them for dinner. They were delicious, and I have to admit, I was liking the thought of two men doing all the cooking for me. I definitely was Queen for the weekend.

Sunday Kenny and I went back to the park by the river because they were having a Riverfest type of thing and a free concert going on that afternoon. There were a couple of local bands set to play and several booths were set up selling crafts and food and some of the local businesses were promoting their services. Definitely a party atmosphere and we stayed most of the afternoon walking around and listening to the music. There's nothing like really good cheap entertainment. Before going home, we met Ron and his friend Gina and her 2 girls for pizza. Gina said I looked like I was ready to drop. I have to admit, I was exhausted but I had a blast.

Monday morning I had a quick breakfast and hit the road by 11am. I got detailed written directions out of the city without having to go through Staten Island and I was grateful for that. The drive home was actually quite uneventful but I was really happy to see my exit. I was more happy to see my puppy, who greeted me with lots of kisses when I walked in the door. (Eric was sweet enough to come over every day and feed him and take him out for a walk.) I got home around 4pm, took a shower and got the laundry started. I slept like a baby Monday night and hated to get up Tuesday (and today for that matter) to go to work. I hope to get to bed earlier tonight so I can catch up on my sleep.

Oh and while I was gone, someone took a baseball bat to my mailbox. There is a nice dent on the side and I had to bend part of the door back into shape so the door would stay closed. My dad bought me this mailbox last Christmas after my old one was beaten to a pulp by another bat. A few years ago I had to replace my original mailbox because someone hit it with their car and destroyed it. I don't know which is worse...the mailbox vandals or the egg throwers. Either way, it ends up costing me money. If I ever catch one of those little so and so's...I will use their bats on their own heads.

Ok Time to make some dinnah!

Have a good evening, everyone and enjoy the wonderful weather!

5 comments:

Kerry said...

New York/Manhatten is my next dream getaway weekends! We've said that for a long time LOL..... you made it sound exactly like our dreams!

AliceKay said...

Wow..sounds like you had yourself a fantastic weekend. So glad you had that opportunity.

LadyStyx said...

Sounds like you had a great time! What gal wouldnt with two dudes cooking and entertaining her? I understand all the walking though. It's safer especially with the idiot cabbies they have in NYC (some of them like to make a left hand turn from the righthand lane across 2 additional lanes of traffic...). Wouldnt mind being there this weekend though. Got an email from this band my friend occassionally plays in and they'll be in NYC on Saturday. Also playing at the same venue will be George Benson and Chuck Mangione. Damn I'd love to be there.

As for the mailbox, have we tried bricking the bugger in? At least it might save it from the Louisville Sluggers if not the vehicular slaughter...

Lainie said...

I thought about filling my mailbox with cement and hoping the lil shits break an arm or something but I am sure the Postmaster would have something to say about that not being regulation or something. I know I am not alone because there are several mailboxes in the same or worse condition than mine up and down the road.

I did have a good time in Jersey and have been ordered not to wait so long to go back. Now that I know the better route to get there I may take them up on that.

ChicagoLady said...

I'm so glad you had a nice time in Jersey. Can't say I blame you about not kissing the Jersey soil though, who would want to? lmao