New York Summary. pt 1

Friday night, we drove up to Portland and stayed at a motel.  The bed was hard, and the walls were thin.  We  didn't sleep well, and Mark commented that it was the most amount of money wasted in a long while.  (Next time around I think we should just leave the house at 2 AM.)   This is is a usual problem with flying from Portland or Eugene to New York:  the flights either leave at 5:30AM or they're red eyes.

Saturday morning at 4, The Child, after sleepwalking and sleep-whispering to the bathroom half the night, turned on the light to make coffee for Mark.  I think he was excited to see everone in New York, and that made his sleep odd.  We drove to the airport, found pakring, and then hung out in the concourse.  Our flight was uneventful.  I sort of napped; The Child passed out 20 minutes away from Newark.  (He did this about three years ago when he willed himself to stay up all night so he could watch the sunrise over New York from our flight.)

In the past, we've either had someone pick us up from Newark Airport or else we've taken trains.  This time around, we rented a van, and Mark drove us to Suffern.  It was shockinglly easy (and not exactly cheap).   When we arrived, Mark's mother had been busy frying chicken, and we had a nice dinner with Melora, Melissa, and Christina.   Veronica joined us a little later. 

Sunday, I helped Melisa replace the kitchen sink's faucet.  I'm not sure how the old one broke, but the super-glue fix only lasted about two weeks.  Replacement involved several wrenches, a screwdriver, and shears.  And a trip to the hardware store.   Later, we made a trip to downtown Suffern to photograph historical landmarks.   I think the Laffette Theatre was my favorite landmark because it had all sorts of curley-cues on it; but the old bank building was a close second.

In the evening, we atteneded a Rockland Boulders baseball game.  We met Veronica's husband, Joe; and his dad, Joe Senior; and son Joey.  Our seats were behind and a little above home plate.  I tested the camera by taking a picture of the family from the opposite side of the stadium.  What struck me was how much the Boulder's game was like an Emerald's game:  people in food costumes raced, someone in a birthday cake outfit led the fans in a round of "Happy Birthday," the local high school cheerleaders shook tinsel pompoms, small children had eating contests, and the MC was a big guy.   The home team was shut out by The Jackals.  

 Monday, Mark, Arthur and I took a train to New York, where we met LGL for lunch in a Kosher Deli (no bacon cheeseburgers for us!)   Our waiter was hilarious (and kicked out of Hebrew School).   I managed a few gargoyle and building shots -- Mark and The Child were very tolerant of my stopping  as we walked our way to the United Nations.  (We passed by "Africa House," which The Child reminded me had been renamed "Wakanda House" in the recent Black Panther movie.)

I hadn't realized that the U.N. is neutral territory, so visiting was like visiting another country.  Mark had to be our contact person and get profiled; The Child and I got special bracelets but no fancy ID stickers like the one Mark had to wear.   We made our way across the sculpture courtyard and into a visitor's center, which was a little like going into an airport concourse.  There were folks of various ethnicities mostly wearing suits and clutching folders and briefcases as they walked between meetings.  Our U.N. tour was interesting -- our guide spoke about the U.N.'s mission to prevent wars, remove active landmines, and promote education.  There was a lot of inspirational art inside, and I tried not to get too distracted by The Things as our guide led us through the building.

 We hooked back up with LGL, found a yarn store (Mark is knitting socks for LGL) and found a pizza place in Greenwich Village (more photos).  Then we took the train back to Suffern.  We listened to a British family speaking about table-top games and American movies.  Someone in the lower deck was singing AC/DC's "Big Balls" which meant I got to tell The Child how his Aunt got into big trouble for singing the lyrics over the telephone to a friend when The Grandfolks listened in on the line.

Tuesday started out slowly.    I still felt a little bit like I was on West Coast time; sort of awake, but tired at the same time.  

Megan and her sons came to Suffern in the afternoon and everyone except Grandma and Melora went to Playland (where they filmed "Big").  I'm trying to think when the last time I went to Playland was -- at least five or seven years.  It was smaller than I remembered it... I think seven years ago we spent a lot of time in Kiddie-Ride area, but all the kids are 13 years or more old now, so that cut out about a third of the park.  Which is a little too bad, because some of the more old-timey signage and figures are there.

I had hoped to photograph some of the old carousel horses there -- there are some from the early 1900's -- but the carousel was completely shuttered up.  I don't know if there was a fire or a hurricane or what:  all the metal garage doors on the carousel's shack were down.   



Most of the rides bother Mark's balance, so he took some pictures while the rest of us whirled about.  I rode the Dragon Coaster (which I'm always convinced is going to decaptate me because I'm taller than the average 1920's person).  

I think my favorite thing about PlayLand is the light tower, which looks like it should be the lair of some mad scientist, or the citadel to a Utopia from Yesterday's Tomorrow.