The Good,The Bad and The Ugly, New York City

I'll start in reverse order and get the yucky stuff out of the way.

The Ugly


I arrived at my hotel about 10 PM, on Sunday night.  Monday morning it was raining, a lot.  My plan for Monday was to walk the High Line, something I've been wanting to do and and never got around to on my previous trips.  There's so much to do in NYC, it's always hard to decide what adventures to have. Monday was High Line Day, NOT.  Since this was an 100% outdoor activity, it went on the back burner.

I decided to walk to the diner where I eat breakfast every morning I'm in NYC, Skylight Diner, on 34th and 9th, then to Penn Station and get my Metro Card; a girl has to have her Metro Card, if she's in NYC.  I also needed to pick up some stuff at Duane Reade, that I didn't want to pack.  Add an umbrella to that list!  I was hoping the rain would let up.  (I did bring my fuchsia Eddie Bauer Rain coat, so I was styling.)

On my way back, I fell - flat on my front.  I was stunned, I must have tripped.  Two young men rushed to my aid.  They helped me up and asked what happened and if I knew why I fell.  Did I have a medical problem, was I OK?  They were such nice young men, probably in their late 20's.

I limped back to my hotel to check the damage.  I was already colorfully bruised and had a small gash above my left ankle and a deep gash on the other knee.  Talk about being balanced.  I was really bleeding; I patched myself up.  I always carry band aids because Bob is on blood thinners.  My patch job didn't last long; back out to Duane Reade for some super-duper bandages and peroxide.  I spent a lot of time changing my wound dressings that week, and the next week, too.  I have to say, thank heavens for Advil.  I don't think I would have made it thru the remainder of the week, as well as I did.

The Bad

The bad isn't all that bad, but I'll stick with the post title theme and tell you.  Saturday morning my last day to enjoy NYC, I woke with a sore throat.  After breakfast I went to Duane Reade and bought some salt to use to gargle with.  (Living in a hotel has it's challenges.)  I gargled and figured I was good to go.  I went about my day.  I took the M34 to 5th Ave, the M5 to Water Street in Lower Manhattan, so I could take the free ferry to Governors Island.  By the time I arrived at Governors Island it was about 11 AM; I started wandering, visiting the museums and gift shops.  There was an alternative art festival happening, Figment NYC.  All of it was new to me and very exciting.  THEN, a full blown cold hit me.  Yuck.  I decided to head back to the hotel, and stopped at Duane Reade, on the way, of course.  Bob was due late Saturday, and we were leaving for Bermuda the next day.

The other bad news is, in two weeks I re-gained the five pounds I've been working so hard to lose!  Bummer.

The Good

I did have a great time in NYC, despite the Bad and the Ugly.

Being a tourist.

New York is such a great town for walking and riding the bus.  I avoid the subway, because you can't see much underground.

Old Street in SoHo.

My three special tourist efforts this year, were to see Grants Tomb, Visit Hamilton Grange and visit Governors Island, mission accomplished.  Grants Tomb at Riverside Drive and West 122nd Street and Hamilton Grange National Memorial is in Saint Nicholas Park in Manhattan, at 414 West 141st Street, between Convent Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue.  I had planned on two days for these visits and lots of extra exploring; but I improvised and saw them both in one day.  They are both in the South Harlem area; it was very easy to combine the two.  Bus transfers with the Metro Card are automatic, as long as you're going in the general direction away from your starting place.

Taken at Grants Tomb

Sitting on a bus bench, on Broadway, ready to head home, I asked a woman how I could get to the nearest Barnes and Noble.  She wasn't sure of the cross street, it was down in the 70's, but she told me to take the M4, instead of the M5, and transfer to the M104, down near Columbia University, and the bus would go right by the bookstore.  I did.  It was perfect.  I think this B&N is the original location.  It was pretty small, but they were very busy.

The last day of the BEA is pretty much a half day.  After walking back to the hotel and catching some lunch, I made my trip to the High Line.  It was so cool.

taken from the High Line.

Then I trekked to the two famous quilting fabric stores in NYC, City Quilter on W. 25th, and Purl SoHo on Broome Street..  They've always been on my must do list.  At City Quilter I may or may not have purchased some FQ's for a future project; and I may have shipped them home, so I didn't have to take FQ's on the cruise.  Purl SoHo is beautiful, but the prices are higher, and their in-store selection is limited.  I may not visit them next year.

Being a Bookseller.


Attending Book Expo America is a bookseller's dream  An expensive dream, because it's NYC.  This is my 9th BEA, and the BEA comps my ticket, which is cool.  There are other expenses, but it's nice to be a VIP!  It's like a three ring circus, there are always 3 things, at any given time, that you want to do.  I spent a lot of time prioritizing.  I shipped home 80 pounds of books; still to be unpacked.


For you readers, here's a list of the authors I saw, not in order of importance:

Stephen Colbert
 Barbara Kingsolver
 Jo Nesbo
Junot Diaz
Elizabeth  Hartman >- Modern Patchwork-12 Quilts to Take You Beyond the Basics <
Lawrence Block
Dennis Lehane
Chris Colfer
Walter Dean Myers >
 John Green
 Kadir Nelson
Lois Lowry
Patti Smith
 Neil Young
Richard Ford
J.R. Moehringer
Lee Child
Victor La Valle 

I had a great time attending the BEA.  I'm use to all the hub bub and know I can't be everywhere I want to be.  My only regret is that when Patti Smith interviewed Neil Young, he was so poorly mic'd, I could hardly hear him.

This is a long post for me, and I'll be posting more, about Bermuda and some more photos, soon.  I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my life with me,