Three day pass, $199 a head, giddy up!
Day 1 and we were rubbing shoulders with the stars at Madame Tussaud’s before jumping on the Big Bus tour of New York. Normally I love these bus tours - they are a great chance to familiarise yourself with the city, work out where to get on and off and generally plan your days. We did both the blue and the red route on day 1 but today, of the three live tour guides on board, two added no value whatsoever as they complained about everything from taxes to big business to the port authority. Even the third one spent more time name dropping celebs he has met rather than telling us anything useful about New York. I ended up flipping over to the recorded commentary to take a break from all of them!
We visited the USS Intrepid as part of the pass today too - a retired aircraft carrier moored in the Hudson River at the end of 48th St. ironically this is just about where “Solly” landed his plane in an emergency landing 10 years ago. Not only can you explore the inner workings of the Intrepid but you can also explore a submarine, browse an impressive collection of jet aircraft tethered to the decks (I loved seeing the Harrier Jumpjet) and finally you round out the trip with a viewing of the space shuttle Enterprise. Interesting facts - the Enterprise was meant to be called the Constitution but was changed after a write in by many Star Trek fans. It also never went into space. Enterprise was used to rehearse landings and the piggyback return method on the back of a Boeing 737. We’ve now seen two of the retired fleet on display - there is a third in LA but not sure we will make that one too!
The bus loops ran really long and late today - the holiday traffic and crowds have meant long times standing in line that Jordan and I didn’t experience last time. With the colder weather it has also been bitterly cold in the open top buses, because, let’s face it, with all the skyscrapers here, the sun rarely breaks through and when it does, it is a light, not a heat source!
Dinner on night one at Red Lobster where I have foolishly encouraged Hayden’s (expensive) love of lobster! Great meal, excellent service and at this point I sent the boys home to meet Julianne and Maddie for my one and only off-off Broadway show. I saw Puffs the Play in Melbourne earlier this year and loved it, so was excited to see it again here. Never thought I’d say this, but the Australian production was so much better. Not sure if it was because of the great venue, awesome casting or better blocking, but while I loved it, I think we did it better. Go figure - because Jordy hates it when I tell casts that I’ve seen the show on Broadway and they are just as good - but I could honestly tell them they were better!
Day two and the weather gods were smiling on us. First stop Madison Square Gardens for the Harlem Globetrotters “game”, followed by a subway ride to the American Museum of Natural History. Of course we had to head to the third floor to see Dumb Dumb - or at least the statue that inspired the character in Night at the Museum. Of course that also meant visiting Rex on the fourth floor as well. Plenty of interesting stuff to see and could easily spend a whole day wandering through the many halls and exhibits.
Took the boys through the neighbourhood where Jordan and I stayed when we were here in 2015. Walked up to 89th and then back to our local pizza place on 86th (Mama’s Pizza) where, for $26 we easily fed our family with one pizza and three drinks.
Now one interesting thing about NYC - not a lot of public rest rooms in the city. They tell you to just use the hotel lobby toilets, but that only works when there is a hotel! We were in a heavy residential area, so had to Navigate our way through a very dark Central Park to the public loos. Even in the dark of night, the Park is a beautiful place to see, with plenty of activity even after dark. Walked about half the length of the park and then a further 30ish blocks to put ourselves in line for the Observation Decks at the Empire State Building. Lining up is an institution for this city and I still haven’t gotten used to being happy to line up to get in, then line up to get through security, then line up to buy your tickets and then line up for the elevator to go up! But line up we did and after about an hour and a half, we were rewarded with the clearest, most beautiful view of NYC after dark. First stop 80th floor, then the 86th.
Cold out on the open decks, but worth the chill to see the city by night. Even Brendon braved the heights for a minute or two and Hayden has no problems checking out the view. Back to MSG for our Path train home with a not so quick checkin to Modell’s - a sporting clothing and shoe company where they had one shoe attendant to look after 20 customers. The long wait meant I spent a good 30 minutes outside fuming while the boys bought new shoes. Finally Day 2 done.
Day 3 and the rain has come in - not too heavy but enough to make visibility low, but the temps have risen somewhat (11 degrees today). Not ideal conditions for going to the Top of the Rock but still interesting to find ourselves at the top of another of the big buildings in the City. Hayden helped us get to Grand Central Station, which is one of the most majestic buildings in New York - it just seems a shame that it’s just a train station! Sadly I couldn’t locate the bakery where I got my crumb cake last visit, so I’m still yet to enjoy that delicacy again.
Onto the subway and down to the 9-11 Memorial, where the line up meant we wouldn’t get in until 4.30 - which is no good as we have tickets to the ice hockey at 7. So we will save that one for another day!
We did manage to explore the World Trade Centre 1 Occulus this morning where Hayden and I had a nice Japanese curry before making our way back to the apartment for a rest before our ride to Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre to watch the Islanders play the Senators in the NHL.
And that is where I am writing this, so you just know how enthused I must be by this game too. Once again we have organised ad breaks (3 per period at dedicated times in the match). It’s an interesting game to watch, but it’s not something I’d bother watching again. Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate the skill involved and I’m enjoying it more than the football, but I’m kinda over the hype. Truth be told, it’s the “u-S-a, u-s-a” chant that has put me offside so tonight I’m cheering for the Canadians.
One thing I have noticed at events here is that people just rock up whenever - we are always here early and in our seats ready for the first whistle. But people just filter in whenever which is super annoying as you have to stand to let them pass you, which blocks your view as they go past and blocks the view of those behind as you stand. And then there are the people who come down the row only to find they may be in the wrong row and then spend minutes standing in front of you to check their tickets again. Nothing more frustrating than hearing an “ooooh” and knowing you’ve just missed an exciting piece of play because some boofhead is arriving late to the game.
Those same people will, no doubt, also get up multiple times to get beer, snacks, toilet and leave early. However one thing I’m loving at the basketball in particular is that no alcohol is sold after the final quarter has started and only one drink can be bought at a time so drunken louts are ata minimum!
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