ny
rough draft. been writing 5 hours straight. will edit later. but read! and enjoy :)
Let's see here...my trip to New York was an adventure to say the least!! It all started back on April 29, when I decided on a whim to buy my tickets to New York to visit my sister at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. It seems like just yesterday I was shopping around comparing ticket prices on orbitz.com and travelocity.com, comparing dates and even locations (I considered flying out of Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio). San Antonio turned out to be the cheapest, coming in at for $254.59 round trip off of travelocity.com. This way I would also be able to park at my parents' place for free-it was a steal! For the next three months I would anxiously count down the days. Now that I am home again, finally showered, shaved, flossed, brushed, plucked, lotioned up, and decompressed, it feels like time flew by. Now I am counting down the days til I can go back, to live for a bit. Up state New York was that breathtaking. One moment while I dump out my backpack, I need to collect my thoughts/menus, business cards, postcards, receipts, wrappers, plane/bus/subway tickets, lint, etc.
OK-let's begin! But I cannot start this adventure without mentioning what ensued a week prior to my departure from San Antonio. Saturday, August 1st, I was awoken by a text message from my father, demanding I cancel my beloved trip because I had no business going up there to see my sister while she was in school. "What in the world are you thinking?" his text shouted. How dare I go see my sister half way across the country! Well, needless to say, there was nothing he could have said that would stop me from going on this trip. I immediately told him there was no way in hell I was canceling my trip, I had paid for it all myself, and he had no right to tell me what I could and could not do. I know first hand what it feels like to be living on your own, making your own way, and having no one come to visit you to participate in your world, even for just a day. I was going to support my sister on her journey to New York, far away from Texas, attending culinary school and growing in leaps and bounds. I was going to see it first hand, and not a moment later. Well, needless to say, my father did not like my response very much. We didn't actually speak til last night when he and my stepmom, Nancy, picked me up from the airport. *Shrug*
Tuesday, August 4th finally crawled around, and the glorious day had arrived! I ran out of work at 4:15, packed up my stuff, including my sister's birthday gifts: cute, vintage apron, Fredricksburg Farm's Habanero Peach Salsa, delicious Ruta Maya coffee beans, and a magnet that read "Two paths diverged in a road, and I took the one less traveled, and it has made all the difference-Robert Frost". Around 5:30 I was on my way to San Antonio where I would spend the night at my parents' apartment, conveniently located next to the airport. I was greeted by a homecooked meal (my stepmom Nancy is an amazing cook, her food is full of love) and it was nice to spend time with her. My dad didn't really say many words to me, other than the occasional grunt. Meh! Nothing could get me down! I would be on a plane headed to "NEWWW YORK CITTTTTYYYY!" in less than 12 hours and I was filled with adrenaline! So full, I could not sleep at all that night. My anxiety left me with less than two hours of light sleep before my 5:45 AM flight, but like I said, nothing could drag me down. Nancy and I left the house around 5. Little did I know, TSA had not only changed my flight to 5:30, but also now required all passengers to be checked in 45 minutes prior to departure, a rule they had installed just two weeks ago. Lucky me, eh?! It didn't really matter anyway, considering I was pulled aside as I tried to pass through airport security with my jar of down south salsa. The allowed amount of liquids is now 3.4 oz, and this baby was a good 6 oz. Already frazzled about missing my flight, there was no way in hell I was leaving this stuff behind, and there was also now way in hell I was paying $15 to check a single bag that contained nothing but a $5.00 jar of salsa. I know it's just salsa, but it's the principle of it!. So, I made a trip to the bathroom, whipped out the ziplock bags Nancy had given me, and split the salsa amongst 3 bags. I then proceeded to ingeniously stuff the bags in my bra and underwear. "I am not a second class citizen and will not be treated as such, thank you!" I indignantly repeated to myself as I held my head high and marched through security for the second time. I was then given shit for having the empty jar. "But, but, pleeeeeeeease!" I pleaded. By this time they were so sick of me they ended up letting me through. "Whew!" I thought to myself, followed by "suckaz!" :) I'm bad, I know. I'm also a tax-paying American citizen, born and bred. Okay, okay, I'll stop my rant. Moving on! My new flight left from San Antonio airport at 8:25 AM. We landed in Atlanta, Georgia an hour and a half later. Luckily I had been sitting by a nice gentlemen who helped me find my way on the right shuttle. Oddly enough he eerily resembled the actor who plays Batman's assistant in the newst Batman movie, The Dark Knight. He had a british accent as well. Hmm. Anyway. I waited patiently at the gate, and ended up sharing my salsa story with a guy next to me named Damel. He was headed to upstate New York for a wedding. The time between my flights was not long at all, and before I knew it I was on a plane to La Guardia airport! The plane trip was really nice. I flew Delta/Northwest and it was the nicest plane I have ever been on, complete with televisions and music stations! I sat next to a girl who was going to visit her dad in Long Island, and a lady who was going to visit her daughter in Long Island. She was definitely a "New Yoika" and if Bette Midler and Barbara Streishand had a baby she would be it. Thankfully the girl to my left gave me the heads up for the sign along the runway that reads "Welcome to New York" and I was able to snap a great photograph for my album cover. Once I was off the plane and out in the open air, I couldn't help but feel like a tiny ant with a hick accent shouting "HELLOOOOOO!" through a microphone. It was a movie moment, and everything I could have hoped for and more. From there I caught the M60 ($2.25 is standard rate), the metro bus that took me downtown to Lexington and 125th Ave. BTW, at this point I had no maps and no idea where I was going. I found that it was really easy to just ask people where to go. From 125th and Lexington I caught the 4 train (subway) to Grand Central Station, located at 42nd and 2nd street. Completely intimidated and frazzled, I desparately needed shelter, so I hopped on the subway to Whole Foods Market in Union Square. I had hoped to feel comforted and safe there and boy, was I wrong! This particular store was crazy packed, stank of rotten fish, and the ghetto employees were not very friendly. It was pretty sad actually! I hurriedly bought some chocolate almond milk and a coconut water and ran out of the store. Can you believe they don't have Jalapeno Cilanto hummus? I was very disappointed, lol. From there I went back to Grand Central station, where I would soon find out that the train to Poughkeepsie would be departing in less than 10 minutes! After several failed attempts at swiping my credit card (let the freak out ensue!) I bought my ticket for $19.95 at 6:11 for the 6:15 train! By the way, ticket prices to Poughkeepsie during on-peak hours are $19.95, and off-peak hours are $14.95. I got to be that person running with their suitcase, and I could not have asked for a better way to do it! I jumped on the train at 6:14 and not a minute later we were off! I whipped out my camera and proceeded to take pictures of everything we passed. I apologized to the man sitting across from me, as I asked him to "forgive me, I'm from Texas and I've never been here before!" He laughed and told me it was okay, that was great actually because he liked chatting on the train, "it makes time go by much faster" he explained. As we rode along the Hudson River, I marveled at the high rises all along the city's skyline. "What are all of those?!" I asked in amazement. "Those are apartments" he said ever so simply. "Holy moly!" I sqeauled. I could not contain my innocent excitement. I had never seen anything like it before. I mean, I'm not from a small town, I grew up in Dallas, but Dallas has NOTHING on New York City. I don't even know if I could say that the size of downtown Dallas is 1/10 of what New York City is. Oops, I mean, Manhattan. You see, New York City is made up of 5 burroughs that surround the island of Manhattan. There's Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan and Bronx. Not to mention all of the different areas of each one (for example: Williamsburg, Long Island City, Astoria, Upper East Side, Little Italy, Chinatown, and many, many more!) Okay so, about 15 minutes into the train ride we were out of the city and coasting along the Hudson River. The view was amazing! All these years I had naively believed New York was nothing but concrete, skyscrapers, taxis, lights, and people. I looked out the window and saw mountains, lush green trees, the Hudson River, steamboats, sailboats, trains, small towns, castles, lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! (Ignore that last part!) I wish I could remember the nice man's name. We'll call him Bill. Bill pointed out the giant nuclear plant, as well as the castle that some man had built who bought up all of the ammunition during some war and accidently blew himself up. Or something. It was neat, nonetheless. I also saw the Yale of military schools, West Point, in all of its glory. Beautiful, MASSIVE campus! We passed several towns along the way to Poughkeepsie, which is about 90 miles north of "the city". By the way, the entire trip I felt so cheesy calling it "the city". I have that stupid MTV show to blame. Turns out the people really do call it "the city." Bill got off the train a stop or two before Poughkeepsie, I thanked him for the nice conversation, and watched as he headed to the ferry that would take him across the Hudson River to where he lived. For the record, he said he was very surprised noone had told him to shut up, because usually, people do. Cranky New Yoikas! :) I arrived in Poughkeepsie around 7:45 and my sister was there to pick me up. Ten minutes later we were in Hyde Park at CIA. The campus is absolutely beautiful. So much greenery, lots of flowers, and the air smelled wonderful. Not to mention the insanely beautiful view we had of the Hudson River. I unloaded my stuff in my sister's tiny dorm at Angell Hall, and we headed to the Rec center next door to her dorm. As we walked in I couldn't help but snap a shot of the pineapple fountain the decorated the walkway. Once inside, I discovered there was a small bar with a group of people around it, all drinking pitchers of Brooklyn Lager, which was pretty tasty if I do say so myself. There was also a small grill that had things like sandwiches, salads, and burgers. Outside I met several of my sisters (drunk) friends. We hung out for a bit and then decided to tag along with a group of people headed to Courtside, a bar down the road. There we had some drinks and just hung out. I felt like I was in a dream. It was so nice to meet new people, be somewhere completely new, and have no idea of what was to come next. I was sitting next to one of my sister's friends, Dave, who I thought was quite cute. My brief flirting soon came to a halt the minute Dave walked away and my sister told me they had history. I've learned we have very similiar taste in men. I'm not sure that's a good thing or a really, really bad thing! Ha! Anyway! We left the bar around 3:30 and headed back to the dorm, where I would proceed to crash on the top bunk of my sister's bed. Luckily she only has one roommate at the moment, so it wasn't too crowded (there's room for three at one time). I was amazed at how much of a trooper my sister was! After only an hour and a half of sleep she was up and headed to her 5 AM class, where she would be preparing lunch for the entire school (of course, with a group of people!) I, on the other hand, climbed out of bed around 9:45 AM, grabbed my camera, and headed outside where I would explore and take pictures of any and everything! The 80 degree weather felt so nice, the sky was a refreshing blue dotted with fluffy white clouds, the grass was various shades of green, and the sun was warm on my face. The view from CIA's campus is like nothing I've ever seen. As I stood on a cliff blabbing with my mom on the phone, I looked from every direction, mouth agape, mezmerized by my new scenery. Down below I could see the railroads tracks running along the Hudson River. In the distance, on the other side of the river, I could see mountains covered in all kinds of trees, some pine and some maple. The leaves on the maple trees were bigger than my head, and were so bright green they almost seemed as if they were glowing. The man on the train, or Bill I should say, told me that most of the mountains were unoccupied by humans because they were unable to build on them. One point for Mother Earth, I say. Unfortunately I was unable to hike, but on the next go round it is going to be a top priority! To my left I could see the bridge that would later take me across to New Paltz, and to my right I could see a barge being pushed by a tugboat. A real tugboat! Eventually I moved away from that cliff, and onto a bench. As I sat and snapped photos, I saw a weird looking animal scamper across the lawn. "What the hell is that!" I shrieked. This creature looked like a chipmunk on steroids. Later I would learn it was a groundhog. Apparently CIA has groundhogs that run around everywhere, and they are cute, but mean little bastards. It's actually gotten to the point where CIA brought in cats to live on campus in order to keep the groundhogs in line. UT has turkeys, CIA has groundhogs and cats. My community college doesn't have any neat animals on campus. Needless to say, I feel robbed. Moving on... CIA has done a fantastic job with their landscaping. There is a beautiful, serene pond in the middle of campus, decorated with exotic (well, to me atleast) flowers, pine trees, and electric green grass. I eventually made my way to the Rec center to get a drink. As I was checking out the maps, I was greeted by a man running the blood drive. "Are you here to donate blood?" he said, reeling me in with his huge smile. "Sure, why not!" I said, before I even had time to realize what I had signed myself up for. I can't remember the last time I donated blood. I filled out some simple forms asking me general health questions, drank some apple juice to prevent myself from fainting, and eventually got to talking with the blood thief, also known as Geoff. I told him why I was in New York and when he asked me what my plans were I told him I was basically flying by the seat of my pants. Moments later I was in another room being pricked and prodded by a young man in scrubs. Turns out he was checking my iron level, because if it's too low they are unable to draw your blood. Unfortunately, I failed both attempts because my iron leve was 11.6 and 11.9, which is healthy, but the FDA requires it to be atleast 12.5. I'm assuming it's because I don't eat much red meat. Note to self: take iron pills. On a positive note, I was able to sign up to donate bone marrow if I'm ever a match with someone in need. I got to talking with Geoff again and he invited me to go to 80s night in New Paltz, a town about 30 minutes away from Hyde Park. I absolutely love 80s night in Austin, so without a doubt I agreed to go. This really was becoming quite the adventure. We exchanged numbers and facebooks, and with that I was off again to seize the day and explore. I trudged up to the main building where the classrooms and administrative offices were and slipped inside, where luckily I would find a gift shop with some much needed AA batteries. I juiced up my camera and proceeded to take pictures of the little restaurants inside, including the quaint bakery called The Apple Pie Bakery. Unfortunately I was only able to get two pictures inside before someone informed me that I could not take pictures inside the school. I politely agreed and hurried out, hastly putting my camera away for another day. Not! I went inside the bathroom and took the essential bathroom picture. I also snapped photos of a glass case that had several different statues of roosters in it. "It's our case of cocks" my sister would later tell me. Brilliant! There were several posters hanging on the walls, one with illustrations of "Classic Apples", another with "Modern Apples." Did YOU know there is a difference? I certainly did not! I also drooled over the Periodic Table of Desserts, complete with latin name and calorie count. I must have one! I walked down the hallway towards the main dining area, surrouneded by swarms of students in chefs coats running around like busy bees with their heads cut off. As I looked in all of the windows at the various "classrooms", or kitchens with students preparing different types of cuisine (American, Asian, Mediterranean, etc) I found my sister with her cute little hat preparing a large vat of mashed potatoes. I quickly snapped a photo and waved. I continued walking towards the main dining area called Farqhaut hall. My sister, Taylor, wasn't lying when she said that it looks like a scene out of the Harry Potter movies, only the students have traded their capes for chef coats. Slightly intimidated by the culinary zoo going on around me, I quietly exited the building and headed towards what looked to be a garden. There I discovered several different plants, including lavender with its soft, sweet scent. I turned and discovered the library, complete with an abundance of rose bushes, and a distinctive statue of a ram. And yes, I DID stop and smell the roses, they were invigorating. I eventually made my way down to another bench where I would stop to rest, and make some phone calls to various hotels in "the city". "Williamsburg" I said to the 411 robot, who then directed me to a La Quinta Inn. (For the record, I knew Williamsburg was outside the city of Manhattan, and figured it would be a lot less expensive than staying in a hotel in Manhattan). From there I made a reservation for Saturday night for a measly $85.00. It was a steal, or so I thought. Shortly after, and much to my dismay, I received a text on my phone confirming my reservation...in Williamsville, New Jersey! "Crap!" I exclaimed. I quickly called back and cancelled my reservation. I decided to figure it out later, and got up to return to my sister's dorm. It was about 2:45 now, and soon she would be out of class. Around 3 she returned to her dorm, where she would do her homework and I would get a good shower in. Around 5:30 we headed to Farq hall to get some grub. All of the food is prepared by the students, and most of it looks really, really good. However, I was craving something clean and opted for the nicely stocked salad bar. By the way, this trip has given birth to my garbanzo bean addiction. Mmmmmm! After dinner we were invited by Dave and some friends to go see the sunset out at Burger Hill, which was about a 20 minute drive going North. We marched up a hill, sipped our $10 bottle of wine, and watched as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, leaving us with a masterpiece of a sky. Rich purples and exotic pinks overtook the clouds and once again I was reminded of my dream-like state. I can only imagine what it looks like during the winter when it snows. Unfortunately, I had made the mistake of leaving my camera's memory card in my sister's computer, so I was unable to capture the moment. Next time, next time. We were kicked off the hill once the sun went down, so we headed back to campus. On the way we stopped by a convenience store to buy some beer. Inside I was greeted by, or should I say grunted by the man behind the counter. He twoiked like this an' he spit as he bitched about woiking too much. I asked if he had anything other than 6% wine, and he said continued to bitch about New York's alcohol laws. Not too keen on 6% wine, so I opted for some Victory Golden Monkey Pale Ale. I tried to pay with my credit card and was surprised to find it was declined. "Sorry sweethawt" he said. "Fuck!" I thought. I then used the ATM, paid for my beer, and we were off. I was actually pleased about the man's New Yoika attitude. It was about time someone was boisterous and rude! I needed my stereotype fulfilled, and I appreciated the splendid job he unknowingly did. Back in the dorms, I changed into my 80s outfit and called up Geoff, whom so graciously agreed to pick me up. About 20 minutes later Geoff arrived and we were off to the races. The drive to Geoff's house in Eddyville was breathtaking. As I filled my lungs with the crisp air, I was captivated by the abundance of trees surrounding us from all sides. All these years I had thought New York was the state of concrete, and boy was I wrong! There were rivers, and streams, and waterfalls. Forests, and trails, and mountains. Flowers, and fields, and deer! Oh my! We arrived at Geoff's house and went inside, where I would meet several different people, some roommates, some not. They were all in the living room playing the infamous Guitar Hero. Oh, America! Ha ha! :) We drank Gin and Tonic, and before I knew it we were in the car and headed to New Paltz, about 15 minutes west of Poughkeepsie, or should I say Po-Town. There were tons of people at the club, known as Cabaloosa. The music was loud, the people were friendly, and the dancing was out of control! You can bet your bottom dollar I was on the tiny stage, dancing the night away. (I picked up this habit from my good friend Bonny when we used to go to 80s night at Elysium regularly). Geoff was very popular with the boys, and for a moment I questioned his sexuality. Not that it matters, I'm just sick of being attracted to boys who like boys! Lol. He would soon prove me wrong. We danced til 4 in the morning, when the club shut down. We went back to Geoff's place and went straight to bed. All I have to say is, why do I have to go half away across the country to get laid? Hmm! We woke up around noon on Friday and the idea of breakfast was all too enticing. We headed back to New Paltz and went to a comfy little hole in the wall called Main Street Bistro. (Of course, after we Googled how to get rid of hickeys...whoops!). I was so happy to see tofu and vegan/vegetarian options on the menu. I am neither of those, and I do enjoy the occasional tofu, but it reminded me of Austin and I instantly felt at home there. Everything on the menu looked so good, and if it weren't for Geoff convincing me to order his usual "Bistro Slam" I would have never been able to choose. My breakfast consisted of two scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, juicy, tender sausage, and two ginmorous slices of walnut citron french toast. When I added cheese to my eggs, I expected it to be grated and mixed in. However, it was so much more than that! When my food came out, I couldn't even see my eggs. The cheese was an inch deep, and completely saturated my eggs. It was beautiful. In the end, we got out of there with two "Bistro Slams", a cup of coffee, and a glass of orange juice for $18, plus a $5 tip because I am nice. I almost had to be rolled out of the place. I wouldn't be surprised if this place has been featured on the Travel Channel or Food Network, it was so authentic, creative, and good quality. Needless to say, we are now best friends on Facebook. From there we headed back to Hyde Park to join forces with my sister. We hung out in the dorms til evening came, and eventually Geoff got hungry again, so we decided to head to Taco Bell in Po-Town. Downtown Po-Town was a little run down, not necessarily a place I'd like to live. But the drive was nice and the weather was charming. Afterwards we returned to campus and I said my goodbyes to Geoff. I really wanted to devote the rest of my time to Taylor. We headed outside to a pavillion where a group of Taylor's friends were hanging out. I met Taylor's friend Jean who was super friendly. It comforted me to know she is surrounded by (mostly) good people. Unsure of what was to come next, we ate Airheads (I had not had one of those since summer camp ten years ago!) and sipped on various spirits (including Starburst infused vodka...oh, the things you learn at culinary school!) . In the middle of our light debauchery, we were scolded by a security officer so I scurried off to hide the evidence. We then decided to go bowling at HoeBowl, a small, local bowling alley down the road. I was so excited when I got my bowling shoes, not only because they were fun, but also because the man behind the counter had not taken my I.D. as compensation, so it was a done deal: I was keeping these shoes. (It's been a life long goal of mine.) The actual bowling was a lot of fun as well. The bowling alley was dark, and disco lights lit up the place. The blacklights made everything glow, and the sight was almost as electric as the adrenaline pulsing through my veins. Thankfully, we used bumpers, otherwise I would have been completely annihilated. We hooped and hollered, jumped up and down, and acted like fools, fools having a great time. I even got a strike! The last time I bowled I got a 42. This time I doubled my score! Hoorah! Despite my great success, Dick Face one. And yes, the scoreboard really did read "Dick Face". (Sadly I was just plain "Whit" and Taylor was "Taylor"). The night was going well until the very end, when some drama ensued. To make a long story short, some feelings were hurt amongst my sister, Dave, and another boy Sam, leaving my sister, myself, and Sam stranded at the bowling alley. We called a cab and were back at campus shortly thereafter. Feeling courageous, I decided to run inside and yell at Dave for leaving us. My sister and Sam headed back to the dorms, and I decided to continue my festivities, so I walked around outside and met random people. From here, my memory seems only to be chock full of snapshots of moments. Like carrying a cherry pie around campus. Or running smack into a wall. Kissing a random cute boy. Falling down and laughing with a group of "Dough Hoes" (aka bakers). And sleeping for a couple hours in some girl's bed with 3 other people. Tara was her name. Around ten I awoke and stumbled back to Taylor's dorm where she was still tucked away in bed, so I decided to get online and upload the mass amounts of photos I had taken so far. (I think it was something like 150 by this point). I was only able to upload about 50 photographs before I got frustrated with Facebook, which was failing me miserably! So I decided to check out this website Geoff had told me about called "Texts From Last Night" or tfln.com. It is probably one of my favorite websites now, right up there with Pandora, Yelp and Craigslist. I think I laughed for a good three hours. Example: "Full bush. Gotta go. Need Ride. Come on bro!" Seriously? Amazing. Around 1 or 2 Taylor sleepily crawled out of bed and we both decided to shower and get ready for the day, for today was the day we were going to New York City! Yeehaw! What we were going to do, we didn't know. Where we would stay, we had no clue. I made a post on Facebook asking for suggestions or couches, but had no such luck with either. I didn't care though. I was going to the city and nothing was going to stand in my way. Luckily Taylor's friend Sam was also headed to the city for a show and a party with some friends, and we had hopes of crashing on a couch somewhere. Showered and dressed, I packed up my things and we drove to the train station in Poughkeepsie. Oops, I mean, Po-Town. It was about 3:45 now, and our train wouldn't be leaving for another hour, so we decided to stroll over to Mahoney's, an Irish pub nearby. Here we would test out one of Taylor's birthday gifts. (I really am the best big sister in the world). We sat and enjoyed our drinks, a refreshing beer milkshake/Guinness for me, and the usual whiskey and coke for Taylor. I say "the usual" like it's boring, and it is! I'm trying to get her to enjoy good beer. It hasn't happened yet, but I have hopes for her. 4:45 (finally!) rolled around, we paid in Sacajawea coins (the train station had given me $20 worth of change in Sacajawea!) and before I knew it we were on the train and shooting towards the city. This train ride seemed to take twice as long as the first one, and we were packed in like sardines. Around 6:30 we pulled into the station. This was it! I was in New York City for the first time ever and we were going to have an amazing time! But first, we had to get rid of my luggage. That morning I had googled "places to store luggage in new york city" and the first thing that popped up was a review on Yelp.com about a place ingeniously called "Luggage Storage". It was located on 36th, between 8th and 9th Ave. After snapping several photos of Grand Central Station (I hadn't had a chance to before), including the miraculous chandeliers and essential clock picture, we headed outside. Taylor hailed a cab like she was born to do it, but myself on the other hand wanted to walk. Plus, I didn't feel like spending money on a cab. I wanted to spend money on having fun! So we walked from 42nd and 2nd to 36th. It really wasn't too bad, despite my suitcase being a pain the ass. Along the way I bought a psychadelic illustration of Times Square for 5 bucks from a street vendor. It is my only souvenir (well, that I officially purchased), and might I just say it fits right in with the rest of my apartment's decor. I probably snapped about 50 photos during our little walk, including Times Square, "the ball", the Empire State Building, the New York Times building, a massive advertisement for Conan O'Brien's new show (love him!) and even the weird parking garages they have that go up and down. We arrived at the luggage storage place and headed up to the 2nd floor, where the closet was. I say closet because it was quite literally a tiny closet on the 2nd floor of a random building. But I'm totally not complaining! It was $10 to leave my bags there overnight, and luckily I was able to squeeze my backpack into my suitcase, thus making it possible to avoid another $10 charge. This place really saved me so much trouble! "What the hell do we do now?!" we asked one another. We decided we would head to Hell's Kitchen, the area of New York Taylor was most familiar with. We passed the Amish Market and I made sure to snap a photo. Next time I'll go in! At this point we were on the prowl for pizza and beer. I was determined to eat some thin crispy crust pizza, the kind I could fold and shove into my mouth like a true New Yoika. In need of some cash, we stopped at an ATM and I attempted to withdraw $100 from my bank account. I had just been paid the day before and knew there was atleast $500 in there. I say attempted because I was soon slapped in the face but the small print that read "UNABLE TO WITHDRAW CASH. TOO MANY ATTEMPTS." My heart sank and I nearly shit my pants. "FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I screamed. I had about $10 in Sacajawea on me, and .33 cents on my credit card. I tried another ATM. No dice. I immediately called my bank's (University Federal Credit Union) 24 hour service and spoke with a representative. I told her of my troubles; basically I was stranded in New York City with no money, no transporation, and no place to stay. After pleading with her, I was told there was absolutely nothing she could do. "Seriously?" I had just given her my full name, address, phone number, birth certificate, blood type and shoe size (okay, so not really) and there was no way for her to lift the ban? Needless to say I was livid. So Taylor and I freaked out for a minute before heading to an ATM where Taylor could try out her card. Thankfully she was able to withdraw $80 and we were back in business. We came across a place called Cosmic Diner and decided to go in and order something small to eat. We ended up splitting a chicken salad sandwich which was actually quite good, accompanied by two glasses of white wine (we had ordered red, but we forgave the mistake. I mean, we are conossieurs and all, but we understand these things happen.) We were even so brave as to try the stuff that looked like coleslaw, but was totally NOT coleslaw. We are assuming it is saukeraut. Bleck! In total we spent $25, including tip, and were on our way shortly. We continued to stroll the streets and I took random pictures as Taylor walked 10 feet infront of me as to avoid looking like a tourist. The place looked like an ant pile that had been stomped in. I used to say that about Whole Foods' salad bar area during lunch, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to justify that again. There were people from all over the world, tall ones, short ones, black ones, white ones. Spanish, English, Jamaican, Egyptian, Italian, Canadian, Amish, you name it they got it. During brief bouts of honk-free moments, you could hear different languages buzzing in the air all around you. The intense energy was in your face, under your shoes, and completely unavoidable. The streets were dirty, the trash was abundant, and the lights were flashy and bright. It was surreal. It was like China, U.S.A. A girl could totally get lost in the mix, and this one did, in a good way. I saw the steam coming up from the potholes in the streets, and Taylor gently let me know that "it's shit from the sewer." Yum! We were waiting on Taylor's friend Sam to call us in order to meet up, so we dipped into a swanky bar called Gossip, located deep in the heart of Hell's Kitchen (which is an area of Manhattan by the way, not a restaurant). We ordered two Cosmos, and they would be our first Cosmos ever, and Taylor's first martini. Fancy! At this point, my phone had died, and Taylor's was castly approaching death. That would happen, huh! After sipping on our delicious $5 martinis, we decided to each enjoy a Jack and Coke. While doing so Taylor received a call from Sam and he and his friends were on there way to meet us. Sweet! About 20 minutes later the group had arrived, we all introduced ourselves, and Taylor and I closed our tab, coming in at $20, with a $4 tip. Our money was dwindlingy at an alarming rate, so we decided to go to a "cheap" bar. They weren't kidding when they said "cheap" is all relative. We landed at The Snug, a bar right next door to the Amish Market, and were welcomed by a round of shots from Sam. The tension between Taylor and I started to flare up once our money situation began to stress us out. I decided to give an ATM one more try, so I ventured next door, took a deep breath, crossed my fingers, and tried to withdraw $100. Cha-Ching! Jackpot! It worked! I almost want to jump up and down as I relive the moment! Okay, so I just did. As I was saying... I graciously let Taylor know of my success by handing her a smooth shot of whiskey. All was well in our worlds again. However, the drinks were not "cheap". They were $5 each, and I always tip atleast a dollar per drink. I even made it a point to tip well by asking the bartender what the tipping standard was in New York. He told me it was like everywhere else, and I confirmed "20 percent?" He smiled and told me I was "doing awesome". From that point our drinks suddenly became $4 each. Note to self: ask bartender what tipping standard is, whereever I go. Muahaha. We ended up leaving around midnight with plans to catch the subway to a party. Along the way we stopped at a street vendor and all ordered gyros. It was the first gyro I've ever had, and it was definitely what the doctor ordered. I made sure to record the man as he prepared 8 meals at once. The smell of the cooking meat was hypnotizing, and the spicy cucumber mayo nearly lifted me off the ground. Mmmhmm! And it was only $4! After we devoured our food we made way to the subway, with plans to head to the party Sam had mentioned earlier. We ended up getting lost, and then for some reason were unable to go to the party. "Fuuuck!" was pretty much the all around chorus. My mood went from a hit to complete shit. I had no idea where I was going to stay, and I didn't want to spend another $40 for a roundtrip ticket to Po-Town only to return the next morning. A dark cloud took over and I felt hopeless. Taylor's friends apologized profusely, but it wasn't their fault and I knew that. I had fucked myself. So we walked around the city some more, I saw Central Park, the Time Warner Center, Trump Towers, and the hotel Home Alone was filmed at. We also passed the Sony store that had the coolest displays in the window. They had a neon green bench and a neon green bicycle, both glowing like the light was infused with alien's blood. There was also another display in another building that contained old Asian historical artifacts, and I was told by one of Sam's friends that they hold auctions there and change it every month. I wonder how much a Japanese warrior suit goes for these days. The time was now about 1:30 AM, and Taylor and her friends needed to catch the last train back to Poughkeepsie so we made our way to Grand Central Station. At this moment I had about $40 in my pocket, no phone, and no place to stay, but I was determined to stay in the city and enjoy New York. It was sad, but we said our goodbyes and I wrote down a few phone numbers with a pen I had grabbed in the bank next to us. With some advice from Geoff I decided to make my way to the village, where I was told people would be up, walking around, and there would be things to see and do. I went down to the subway and asked a man named Ronny how to get to the village. He had a deep accent, Egyptian actually, and it was hard to understand what he said. (By the way, he had never heard the phrase "BFE/Bum Fuck Egypt"...I made sure to ask). The jist of it was he was headed to Little Italy to meet up with some friends and I was welcome to join him. Hallelujah! The subway roared down the tracks, and about 10 minutes later we were in Chinatown. We then walked to a bar that was Egyptian themed and had hookahs. Ronny was really nice and paid for me to get in. He introduced me to his friends, three guys who totally fit my stereotypes for New Yoikas, and four girls from Joizee (Jersey) who did the same. You know, loud, blunt, boisterous, have money, talk fast, live fast. A guy named Vinny was one of Ronny's friends, and he apparently owned Puglia, an Italian restaurant in Little Italy. We decided to leave, so we hopped in Vinny's Cadillac and made our way to some random Japanese restaurant/bar/karaoke bar. We were waved on in like celebrities and given the biggest booth in the house. Drinks rolled in, laughs bellowed out, and the conversation was good. At one point I snuck downstairs to catch a glimpse of karaoke, the real deal, and was fully satisified when my eyes met a booth of Asian people singing their hearts out. It was exactly as I had always envisioned it to be. By this time it was getting way late, I'm talkin' 4 AM, and the bar was closing. We all got up and left, and Vinny invited us back to his condo on Long Island City, which is in Queens. So we jumped in his car, he drove like a madman, and moments later we were crossing the bridge to Long Island City. Just before arriving at Vinny's we stopped at a convenience store and he was somehow able to buy beer at 4:30 AM. 30 minutes past the cut off. Hmm. We parked in the garage, the doorman waved us in, and soon enough I was on the balcony on the 17th floor overlooking Queens. To my right was Manhattan and to my left was all of Queens. The view was absolutely insane. I felt like Sarah Jessica Pawkah, except I don't know if she's ever smoked hookah. It was my first time and I said "sure, why not!" I passed on some of the other festivities; I didn't want to be a zombie the next day, or tell these people my entire life story. I watched the sun come up over New York City and it was everything I could have hoped for and more. It was like a scene from a movie. I hung out there til about 10 in the morning, and then decided it was time to go. So I grabbed my belongings: phone (which I was able to charge with Vinny's charger by the way!), camera, wallet. I walked to the subway in Long Island City, asked for directions, and made my way back to Manhattan to retrieve my suitcase. I was worn out, but somehow still managing to function. On the way to the storage place I grabbed banana and some water. I looked over the black and white cookies and decided against. I'm not sure how many blocks I walked that day, or the entire time for that matter. Enough to completely destroy my tennis shoes, so much that I ended up throwing them away at the airport. Dunzo! I picked up my luggage and walked back to Grand Central Station. As I was walking to the subway I couldn't help but stop and gaze at the black and white cookies in a nearby bakery. "Fine!" I said to myself. I bought one for $2.05 and tucked it away in my backpack. Remembering how I got to Grand Central from the airport, I traced my steps and took the 4 Train to 125th and Lexington. Now on the street, I was unsure of where exactly to catch the M60. Looking lost, I'm sure, a man sitting on the corner directed me where to go. I thanked him and parked it by the bus stop. I was so ready to go home. Before I knew it, I was sitting in bed, looking over photos, and munching on my black and white cookie. It was a trip.
I had a fantastic time in New York, and I feel re-energized and more motivated than ever to travel and write. Seeing my sister up there, doing what she loves, has fully inspired me to earn my Journalism degree and take on the world. I want to get lost in cities all over the world, meet all kinds of people, eat all kinds of food, and write it all, every. little. detail. Who knows, maybe I'll be attending S.U.N.Y.-New Paltz next year and you can come visit me.
Let's see here...my trip to New York was an adventure to say the least!! It all started back on April 29, when I decided on a whim to buy my tickets to New York to visit my sister at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. It seems like just yesterday I was shopping around comparing ticket prices on orbitz.com and travelocity.com, comparing dates and even locations (I considered flying out of Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio). San Antonio turned out to be the cheapest, coming in at for $254.59 round trip off of travelocity.com. This way I would also be able to park at my parents' place for free-it was a steal! For the next three months I would anxiously count down the days. Now that I am home again, finally showered, shaved, flossed, brushed, plucked, lotioned up, and decompressed, it feels like time flew by. Now I am counting down the days til I can go back, to live for a bit. Up state New York was that breathtaking. One moment while I dump out my backpack, I need to collect my thoughts/menus, business cards, postcards, receipts, wrappers, plane/bus/subway tickets, lint, etc.
OK-let's begin! But I cannot start this adventure without mentioning what ensued a week prior to my departure from San Antonio. Saturday, August 1st, I was awoken by a text message from my father, demanding I cancel my beloved trip because I had no business going up there to see my sister while she was in school. "What in the world are you thinking?" his text shouted. How dare I go see my sister half way across the country! Well, needless to say, there was nothing he could have said that would stop me from going on this trip. I immediately told him there was no way in hell I was canceling my trip, I had paid for it all myself, and he had no right to tell me what I could and could not do. I know first hand what it feels like to be living on your own, making your own way, and having no one come to visit you to participate in your world, even for just a day. I was going to support my sister on her journey to New York, far away from Texas, attending culinary school and growing in leaps and bounds. I was going to see it first hand, and not a moment later. Well, needless to say, my father did not like my response very much. We didn't actually speak til last night when he and my stepmom, Nancy, picked me up from the airport. *Shrug*
Tuesday, August 4th finally crawled around, and the glorious day had arrived! I ran out of work at 4:15, packed up my stuff, including my sister's birthday gifts: cute, vintage apron, Fredricksburg Farm's Habanero Peach Salsa, delicious Ruta Maya coffee beans, and a magnet that read "Two paths diverged in a road, and I took the one less traveled, and it has made all the difference-Robert Frost". Around 5:30 I was on my way to San Antonio where I would spend the night at my parents' apartment, conveniently located next to the airport. I was greeted by a homecooked meal (my stepmom Nancy is an amazing cook, her food is full of love) and it was nice to spend time with her. My dad didn't really say many words to me, other than the occasional grunt. Meh! Nothing could get me down! I would be on a plane headed to "NEWWW YORK CITTTTTYYYY!" in less than 12 hours and I was filled with adrenaline! So full, I could not sleep at all that night. My anxiety left me with less than two hours of light sleep before my 5:45 AM flight, but like I said, nothing could drag me down. Nancy and I left the house around 5. Little did I know, TSA had not only changed my flight to 5:30, but also now required all passengers to be checked in 45 minutes prior to departure, a rule they had installed just two weeks ago. Lucky me, eh?! It didn't really matter anyway, considering I was pulled aside as I tried to pass through airport security with my jar of down south salsa. The allowed amount of liquids is now 3.4 oz, and this baby was a good 6 oz. Already frazzled about missing my flight, there was no way in hell I was leaving this stuff behind, and there was also now way in hell I was paying $15 to check a single bag that contained nothing but a $5.00 jar of salsa. I know it's just salsa, but it's the principle of it!. So, I made a trip to the bathroom, whipped out the ziplock bags Nancy had given me, and split the salsa amongst 3 bags. I then proceeded to ingeniously stuff the bags in my bra and underwear. "I am not a second class citizen and will not be treated as such, thank you!" I indignantly repeated to myself as I held my head high and marched through security for the second time. I was then given shit for having the empty jar. "But, but, pleeeeeeeease!" I pleaded. By this time they were so sick of me they ended up letting me through. "Whew!" I thought to myself, followed by "suckaz!" :) I'm bad, I know. I'm also a tax-paying American citizen, born and bred. Okay, okay, I'll stop my rant. Moving on! My new flight left from San Antonio airport at 8:25 AM. We landed in Atlanta, Georgia an hour and a half later. Luckily I had been sitting by a nice gentlemen who helped me find my way on the right shuttle. Oddly enough he eerily resembled the actor who plays Batman's assistant in the newst Batman movie, The Dark Knight. He had a british accent as well. Hmm. Anyway. I waited patiently at the gate, and ended up sharing my salsa story with a guy next to me named Damel. He was headed to upstate New York for a wedding. The time between my flights was not long at all, and before I knew it I was on a plane to La Guardia airport! The plane trip was really nice. I flew Delta/Northwest and it was the nicest plane I have ever been on, complete with televisions and music stations! I sat next to a girl who was going to visit her dad in Long Island, and a lady who was going to visit her daughter in Long Island. She was definitely a "New Yoika" and if Bette Midler and Barbara Streishand had a baby she would be it. Thankfully the girl to my left gave me the heads up for the sign along the runway that reads "Welcome to New York" and I was able to snap a great photograph for my album cover. Once I was off the plane and out in the open air, I couldn't help but feel like a tiny ant with a hick accent shouting "HELLOOOOOO!" through a microphone. It was a movie moment, and everything I could have hoped for and more. From there I caught the M60 ($2.25 is standard rate), the metro bus that took me downtown to Lexington and 125th Ave. BTW, at this point I had no maps and no idea where I was going. I found that it was really easy to just ask people where to go. From 125th and Lexington I caught the 4 train (subway) to Grand Central Station, located at 42nd and 2nd street. Completely intimidated and frazzled, I desparately needed shelter, so I hopped on the subway to Whole Foods Market in Union Square. I had hoped to feel comforted and safe there and boy, was I wrong! This particular store was crazy packed, stank of rotten fish, and the ghetto employees were not very friendly. It was pretty sad actually! I hurriedly bought some chocolate almond milk and a coconut water and ran out of the store. Can you believe they don't have Jalapeno Cilanto hummus? I was very disappointed, lol. From there I went back to Grand Central station, where I would soon find out that the train to Poughkeepsie would be departing in less than 10 minutes! After several failed attempts at swiping my credit card (let the freak out ensue!) I bought my ticket for $19.95 at 6:11 for the 6:15 train! By the way, ticket prices to Poughkeepsie during on-peak hours are $19.95, and off-peak hours are $14.95. I got to be that person running with their suitcase, and I could not have asked for a better way to do it! I jumped on the train at 6:14 and not a minute later we were off! I whipped out my camera and proceeded to take pictures of everything we passed. I apologized to the man sitting across from me, as I asked him to "forgive me, I'm from Texas and I've never been here before!" He laughed and told me it was okay, that was great actually because he liked chatting on the train, "it makes time go by much faster" he explained. As we rode along the Hudson River, I marveled at the high rises all along the city's skyline. "What are all of those?!" I asked in amazement. "Those are apartments" he said ever so simply. "Holy moly!" I sqeauled. I could not contain my innocent excitement. I had never seen anything like it before. I mean, I'm not from a small town, I grew up in Dallas, but Dallas has NOTHING on New York City. I don't even know if I could say that the size of downtown Dallas is 1/10 of what New York City is. Oops, I mean, Manhattan. You see, New York City is made up of 5 burroughs that surround the island of Manhattan. There's Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan and Bronx. Not to mention all of the different areas of each one (for example: Williamsburg, Long Island City, Astoria, Upper East Side, Little Italy, Chinatown, and many, many more!) Okay so, about 15 minutes into the train ride we were out of the city and coasting along the Hudson River. The view was amazing! All these years I had naively believed New York was nothing but concrete, skyscrapers, taxis, lights, and people. I looked out the window and saw mountains, lush green trees, the Hudson River, steamboats, sailboats, trains, small towns, castles, lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! (Ignore that last part!) I wish I could remember the nice man's name. We'll call him Bill. Bill pointed out the giant nuclear plant, as well as the castle that some man had built who bought up all of the ammunition during some war and accidently blew himself up. Or something. It was neat, nonetheless. I also saw the Yale of military schools, West Point, in all of its glory. Beautiful, MASSIVE campus! We passed several towns along the way to Poughkeepsie, which is about 90 miles north of "the city". By the way, the entire trip I felt so cheesy calling it "the city". I have that stupid MTV show to blame. Turns out the people really do call it "the city." Bill got off the train a stop or two before Poughkeepsie, I thanked him for the nice conversation, and watched as he headed to the ferry that would take him across the Hudson River to where he lived. For the record, he said he was very surprised noone had told him to shut up, because usually, people do. Cranky New Yoikas! :) I arrived in Poughkeepsie around 7:45 and my sister was there to pick me up. Ten minutes later we were in Hyde Park at CIA. The campus is absolutely beautiful. So much greenery, lots of flowers, and the air smelled wonderful. Not to mention the insanely beautiful view we had of the Hudson River. I unloaded my stuff in my sister's tiny dorm at Angell Hall, and we headed to the Rec center next door to her dorm. As we walked in I couldn't help but snap a shot of the pineapple fountain the decorated the walkway. Once inside, I discovered there was a small bar with a group of people around it, all drinking pitchers of Brooklyn Lager, which was pretty tasty if I do say so myself. There was also a small grill that had things like sandwiches, salads, and burgers. Outside I met several of my sisters (drunk) friends. We hung out for a bit and then decided to tag along with a group of people headed to Courtside, a bar down the road. There we had some drinks and just hung out. I felt like I was in a dream. It was so nice to meet new people, be somewhere completely new, and have no idea of what was to come next. I was sitting next to one of my sister's friends, Dave, who I thought was quite cute. My brief flirting soon came to a halt the minute Dave walked away and my sister told me they had history. I've learned we have very similiar taste in men. I'm not sure that's a good thing or a really, really bad thing! Ha! Anyway! We left the bar around 3:30 and headed back to the dorm, where I would proceed to crash on the top bunk of my sister's bed. Luckily she only has one roommate at the moment, so it wasn't too crowded (there's room for three at one time). I was amazed at how much of a trooper my sister was! After only an hour and a half of sleep she was up and headed to her 5 AM class, where she would be preparing lunch for the entire school (of course, with a group of people!) I, on the other hand, climbed out of bed around 9:45 AM, grabbed my camera, and headed outside where I would explore and take pictures of any and everything! The 80 degree weather felt so nice, the sky was a refreshing blue dotted with fluffy white clouds, the grass was various shades of green, and the sun was warm on my face. The view from CIA's campus is like nothing I've ever seen. As I stood on a cliff blabbing with my mom on the phone, I looked from every direction, mouth agape, mezmerized by my new scenery. Down below I could see the railroads tracks running along the Hudson River. In the distance, on the other side of the river, I could see mountains covered in all kinds of trees, some pine and some maple. The leaves on the maple trees were bigger than my head, and were so bright green they almost seemed as if they were glowing. The man on the train, or Bill I should say, told me that most of the mountains were unoccupied by humans because they were unable to build on them. One point for Mother Earth, I say. Unfortunately I was unable to hike, but on the next go round it is going to be a top priority! To my left I could see the bridge that would later take me across to New Paltz, and to my right I could see a barge being pushed by a tugboat. A real tugboat! Eventually I moved away from that cliff, and onto a bench. As I sat and snapped photos, I saw a weird looking animal scamper across the lawn. "What the hell is that!" I shrieked. This creature looked like a chipmunk on steroids. Later I would learn it was a groundhog. Apparently CIA has groundhogs that run around everywhere, and they are cute, but mean little bastards. It's actually gotten to the point where CIA brought in cats to live on campus in order to keep the groundhogs in line. UT has turkeys, CIA has groundhogs and cats. My community college doesn't have any neat animals on campus. Needless to say, I feel robbed. Moving on... CIA has done a fantastic job with their landscaping. There is a beautiful, serene pond in the middle of campus, decorated with exotic (well, to me atleast) flowers, pine trees, and electric green grass. I eventually made my way to the Rec center to get a drink. As I was checking out the maps, I was greeted by a man running the blood drive. "Are you here to donate blood?" he said, reeling me in with his huge smile. "Sure, why not!" I said, before I even had time to realize what I had signed myself up for. I can't remember the last time I donated blood. I filled out some simple forms asking me general health questions, drank some apple juice to prevent myself from fainting, and eventually got to talking with the blood thief, also known as Geoff. I told him why I was in New York and when he asked me what my plans were I told him I was basically flying by the seat of my pants. Moments later I was in another room being pricked and prodded by a young man in scrubs. Turns out he was checking my iron level, because if it's too low they are unable to draw your blood. Unfortunately, I failed both attempts because my iron leve was 11.6 and 11.9, which is healthy, but the FDA requires it to be atleast 12.5. I'm assuming it's because I don't eat much red meat. Note to self: take iron pills. On a positive note, I was able to sign up to donate bone marrow if I'm ever a match with someone in need. I got to talking with Geoff again and he invited me to go to 80s night in New Paltz, a town about 30 minutes away from Hyde Park. I absolutely love 80s night in Austin, so without a doubt I agreed to go. This really was becoming quite the adventure. We exchanged numbers and facebooks, and with that I was off again to seize the day and explore. I trudged up to the main building where the classrooms and administrative offices were and slipped inside, where luckily I would find a gift shop with some much needed AA batteries. I juiced up my camera and proceeded to take pictures of the little restaurants inside, including the quaint bakery called The Apple Pie Bakery. Unfortunately I was only able to get two pictures inside before someone informed me that I could not take pictures inside the school. I politely agreed and hurried out, hastly putting my camera away for another day. Not! I went inside the bathroom and took the essential bathroom picture. I also snapped photos of a glass case that had several different statues of roosters in it. "It's our case of cocks" my sister would later tell me. Brilliant! There were several posters hanging on the walls, one with illustrations of "Classic Apples", another with "Modern Apples." Did YOU know there is a difference? I certainly did not! I also drooled over the Periodic Table of Desserts, complete with latin name and calorie count. I must have one! I walked down the hallway towards the main dining area, surrouneded by swarms of students in chefs coats running around like busy bees with their heads cut off. As I looked in all of the windows at the various "classrooms", or kitchens with students preparing different types of cuisine (American, Asian, Mediterranean, etc) I found my sister with her cute little hat preparing a large vat of mashed potatoes. I quickly snapped a photo and waved. I continued walking towards the main dining area called Farqhaut hall. My sister, Taylor, wasn't lying when she said that it looks like a scene out of the Harry Potter movies, only the students have traded their capes for chef coats. Slightly intimidated by the culinary zoo going on around me, I quietly exited the building and headed towards what looked to be a garden. There I discovered several different plants, including lavender with its soft, sweet scent. I turned and discovered the library, complete with an abundance of rose bushes, and a distinctive statue of a ram. And yes, I DID stop and smell the roses, they were invigorating. I eventually made my way down to another bench where I would stop to rest, and make some phone calls to various hotels in "the city". "Williamsburg" I said to the 411 robot, who then directed me to a La Quinta Inn. (For the record, I knew Williamsburg was outside the city of Manhattan, and figured it would be a lot less expensive than staying in a hotel in Manhattan). From there I made a reservation for Saturday night for a measly $85.00. It was a steal, or so I thought. Shortly after, and much to my dismay, I received a text on my phone confirming my reservation...in Williamsville, New Jersey! "Crap!" I exclaimed. I quickly called back and cancelled my reservation. I decided to figure it out later, and got up to return to my sister's dorm. It was about 2:45 now, and soon she would be out of class. Around 3 she returned to her dorm, where she would do her homework and I would get a good shower in. Around 5:30 we headed to Farq hall to get some grub. All of the food is prepared by the students, and most of it looks really, really good. However, I was craving something clean and opted for the nicely stocked salad bar. By the way, this trip has given birth to my garbanzo bean addiction. Mmmmmm! After dinner we were invited by Dave and some friends to go see the sunset out at Burger Hill, which was about a 20 minute drive going North. We marched up a hill, sipped our $10 bottle of wine, and watched as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, leaving us with a masterpiece of a sky. Rich purples and exotic pinks overtook the clouds and once again I was reminded of my dream-like state. I can only imagine what it looks like during the winter when it snows. Unfortunately, I had made the mistake of leaving my camera's memory card in my sister's computer, so I was unable to capture the moment. Next time, next time. We were kicked off the hill once the sun went down, so we headed back to campus. On the way we stopped by a convenience store to buy some beer. Inside I was greeted by, or should I say grunted by the man behind the counter. He twoiked like this an' he spit as he bitched about woiking too much. I asked if he had anything other than 6% wine, and he said continued to bitch about New York's alcohol laws. Not too keen on 6% wine, so I opted for some Victory Golden Monkey Pale Ale. I tried to pay with my credit card and was surprised to find it was declined. "Sorry sweethawt" he said. "Fuck!" I thought. I then used the ATM, paid for my beer, and we were off. I was actually pleased about the man's New Yoika attitude. It was about time someone was boisterous and rude! I needed my stereotype fulfilled, and I appreciated the splendid job he unknowingly did. Back in the dorms, I changed into my 80s outfit and called up Geoff, whom so graciously agreed to pick me up. About 20 minutes later Geoff arrived and we were off to the races. The drive to Geoff's house in Eddyville was breathtaking. As I filled my lungs with the crisp air, I was captivated by the abundance of trees surrounding us from all sides. All these years I had thought New York was the state of concrete, and boy was I wrong! There were rivers, and streams, and waterfalls. Forests, and trails, and mountains. Flowers, and fields, and deer! Oh my! We arrived at Geoff's house and went inside, where I would meet several different people, some roommates, some not. They were all in the living room playing the infamous Guitar Hero. Oh, America! Ha ha! :) We drank Gin and Tonic, and before I knew it we were in the car and headed to New Paltz, about 15 minutes west of Poughkeepsie, or should I say Po-Town. There were tons of people at the club, known as Cabaloosa. The music was loud, the people were friendly, and the dancing was out of control! You can bet your bottom dollar I was on the tiny stage, dancing the night away. (I picked up this habit from my good friend Bonny when we used to go to 80s night at Elysium regularly). Geoff was very popular with the boys, and for a moment I questioned his sexuality. Not that it matters, I'm just sick of being attracted to boys who like boys! Lol. He would soon prove me wrong. We danced til 4 in the morning, when the club shut down. We went back to Geoff's place and went straight to bed. All I have to say is, why do I have to go half away across the country to get laid? Hmm! We woke up around noon on Friday and the idea of breakfast was all too enticing. We headed back to New Paltz and went to a comfy little hole in the wall called Main Street Bistro. (Of course, after we Googled how to get rid of hickeys...whoops!). I was so happy to see tofu and vegan/vegetarian options on the menu. I am neither of those, and I do enjoy the occasional tofu, but it reminded me of Austin and I instantly felt at home there. Everything on the menu looked so good, and if it weren't for Geoff convincing me to order his usual "Bistro Slam" I would have never been able to choose. My breakfast consisted of two scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, juicy, tender sausage, and two ginmorous slices of walnut citron french toast. When I added cheese to my eggs, I expected it to be grated and mixed in. However, it was so much more than that! When my food came out, I couldn't even see my eggs. The cheese was an inch deep, and completely saturated my eggs. It was beautiful. In the end, we got out of there with two "Bistro Slams", a cup of coffee, and a glass of orange juice for $18, plus a $5 tip because I am nice. I almost had to be rolled out of the place. I wouldn't be surprised if this place has been featured on the Travel Channel or Food Network, it was so authentic, creative, and good quality. Needless to say, we are now best friends on Facebook. From there we headed back to Hyde Park to join forces with my sister. We hung out in the dorms til evening came, and eventually Geoff got hungry again, so we decided to head to Taco Bell in Po-Town. Downtown Po-Town was a little run down, not necessarily a place I'd like to live. But the drive was nice and the weather was charming. Afterwards we returned to campus and I said my goodbyes to Geoff. I really wanted to devote the rest of my time to Taylor. We headed outside to a pavillion where a group of Taylor's friends were hanging out. I met Taylor's friend Jean who was super friendly. It comforted me to know she is surrounded by (mostly) good people. Unsure of what was to come next, we ate Airheads (I had not had one of those since summer camp ten years ago!) and sipped on various spirits (including Starburst infused vodka...oh, the things you learn at culinary school!) . In the middle of our light debauchery, we were scolded by a security officer so I scurried off to hide the evidence. We then decided to go bowling at HoeBowl, a small, local bowling alley down the road. I was so excited when I got my bowling shoes, not only because they were fun, but also because the man behind the counter had not taken my I.D. as compensation, so it was a done deal: I was keeping these shoes. (It's been a life long goal of mine.) The actual bowling was a lot of fun as well. The bowling alley was dark, and disco lights lit up the place. The blacklights made everything glow, and the sight was almost as electric as the adrenaline pulsing through my veins. Thankfully, we used bumpers, otherwise I would have been completely annihilated. We hooped and hollered, jumped up and down, and acted like fools, fools having a great time. I even got a strike! The last time I bowled I got a 42. This time I doubled my score! Hoorah! Despite my great success, Dick Face one. And yes, the scoreboard really did read "Dick Face". (Sadly I was just plain "Whit" and Taylor was "Taylor"). The night was going well until the very end, when some drama ensued. To make a long story short, some feelings were hurt amongst my sister, Dave, and another boy Sam, leaving my sister, myself, and Sam stranded at the bowling alley. We called a cab and were back at campus shortly thereafter. Feeling courageous, I decided to run inside and yell at Dave for leaving us. My sister and Sam headed back to the dorms, and I decided to continue my festivities, so I walked around outside and met random people. From here, my memory seems only to be chock full of snapshots of moments. Like carrying a cherry pie around campus. Or running smack into a wall. Kissing a random cute boy. Falling down and laughing with a group of "Dough Hoes" (aka bakers). And sleeping for a couple hours in some girl's bed with 3 other people. Tara was her name. Around ten I awoke and stumbled back to Taylor's dorm where she was still tucked away in bed, so I decided to get online and upload the mass amounts of photos I had taken so far. (I think it was something like 150 by this point). I was only able to upload about 50 photographs before I got frustrated with Facebook, which was failing me miserably! So I decided to check out this website Geoff had told me about called "Texts From Last Night" or tfln.com. It is probably one of my favorite websites now, right up there with Pandora, Yelp and Craigslist. I think I laughed for a good three hours. Example: "Full bush. Gotta go. Need Ride. Come on bro!" Seriously? Amazing. Around 1 or 2 Taylor sleepily crawled out of bed and we both decided to shower and get ready for the day, for today was the day we were going to New York City! Yeehaw! What we were going to do, we didn't know. Where we would stay, we had no clue. I made a post on Facebook asking for suggestions or couches, but had no such luck with either. I didn't care though. I was going to the city and nothing was going to stand in my way. Luckily Taylor's friend Sam was also headed to the city for a show and a party with some friends, and we had hopes of crashing on a couch somewhere. Showered and dressed, I packed up my things and we drove to the train station in Poughkeepsie. Oops, I mean, Po-Town. It was about 3:45 now, and our train wouldn't be leaving for another hour, so we decided to stroll over to Mahoney's, an Irish pub nearby. Here we would test out one of Taylor's birthday gifts. (I really am the best big sister in the world). We sat and enjoyed our drinks, a refreshing beer milkshake/Guinness for me, and the usual whiskey and coke for Taylor. I say "the usual" like it's boring, and it is! I'm trying to get her to enjoy good beer. It hasn't happened yet, but I have hopes for her. 4:45 (finally!) rolled around, we paid in Sacajawea coins (the train station had given me $20 worth of change in Sacajawea!) and before I knew it we were on the train and shooting towards the city. This train ride seemed to take twice as long as the first one, and we were packed in like sardines. Around 6:30 we pulled into the station. This was it! I was in New York City for the first time ever and we were going to have an amazing time! But first, we had to get rid of my luggage. That morning I had googled "places to store luggage in new york city" and the first thing that popped up was a review on Yelp.com about a place ingeniously called "Luggage Storage". It was located on 36th, between 8th and 9th Ave. After snapping several photos of Grand Central Station (I hadn't had a chance to before), including the miraculous chandeliers and essential clock picture, we headed outside. Taylor hailed a cab like she was born to do it, but myself on the other hand wanted to walk. Plus, I didn't feel like spending money on a cab. I wanted to spend money on having fun! So we walked from 42nd and 2nd to 36th. It really wasn't too bad, despite my suitcase being a pain the ass. Along the way I bought a psychadelic illustration of Times Square for 5 bucks from a street vendor. It is my only souvenir (well, that I officially purchased), and might I just say it fits right in with the rest of my apartment's decor. I probably snapped about 50 photos during our little walk, including Times Square, "the ball", the Empire State Building, the New York Times building, a massive advertisement for Conan O'Brien's new show (love him!) and even the weird parking garages they have that go up and down. We arrived at the luggage storage place and headed up to the 2nd floor, where the closet was. I say closet because it was quite literally a tiny closet on the 2nd floor of a random building. But I'm totally not complaining! It was $10 to leave my bags there overnight, and luckily I was able to squeeze my backpack into my suitcase, thus making it possible to avoid another $10 charge. This place really saved me so much trouble! "What the hell do we do now?!" we asked one another. We decided we would head to Hell's Kitchen, the area of New York Taylor was most familiar with. We passed the Amish Market and I made sure to snap a photo. Next time I'll go in! At this point we were on the prowl for pizza and beer. I was determined to eat some thin crispy crust pizza, the kind I could fold and shove into my mouth like a true New Yoika. In need of some cash, we stopped at an ATM and I attempted to withdraw $100 from my bank account. I had just been paid the day before and knew there was atleast $500 in there. I say attempted because I was soon slapped in the face but the small print that read "UNABLE TO WITHDRAW CASH. TOO MANY ATTEMPTS." My heart sank and I nearly shit my pants. "FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I screamed. I had about $10 in Sacajawea on me, and .33 cents on my credit card. I tried another ATM. No dice. I immediately called my bank's (University Federal Credit Union) 24 hour service and spoke with a representative. I told her of my troubles; basically I was stranded in New York City with no money, no transporation, and no place to stay. After pleading with her, I was told there was absolutely nothing she could do. "Seriously?" I had just given her my full name, address, phone number, birth certificate, blood type and shoe size (okay, so not really) and there was no way for her to lift the ban? Needless to say I was livid. So Taylor and I freaked out for a minute before heading to an ATM where Taylor could try out her card. Thankfully she was able to withdraw $80 and we were back in business. We came across a place called Cosmic Diner and decided to go in and order something small to eat. We ended up splitting a chicken salad sandwich which was actually quite good, accompanied by two glasses of white wine (we had ordered red, but we forgave the mistake. I mean, we are conossieurs and all, but we understand these things happen.) We were even so brave as to try the stuff that looked like coleslaw, but was totally NOT coleslaw. We are assuming it is saukeraut. Bleck! In total we spent $25, including tip, and were on our way shortly. We continued to stroll the streets and I took random pictures as Taylor walked 10 feet infront of me as to avoid looking like a tourist. The place looked like an ant pile that had been stomped in. I used to say that about Whole Foods' salad bar area during lunch, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to justify that again. There were people from all over the world, tall ones, short ones, black ones, white ones. Spanish, English, Jamaican, Egyptian, Italian, Canadian, Amish, you name it they got it. During brief bouts of honk-free moments, you could hear different languages buzzing in the air all around you. The intense energy was in your face, under your shoes, and completely unavoidable. The streets were dirty, the trash was abundant, and the lights were flashy and bright. It was surreal. It was like China, U.S.A. A girl could totally get lost in the mix, and this one did, in a good way. I saw the steam coming up from the potholes in the streets, and Taylor gently let me know that "it's shit from the sewer." Yum! We were waiting on Taylor's friend Sam to call us in order to meet up, so we dipped into a swanky bar called Gossip, located deep in the heart of Hell's Kitchen (which is an area of Manhattan by the way, not a restaurant). We ordered two Cosmos, and they would be our first Cosmos ever, and Taylor's first martini. Fancy! At this point, my phone had died, and Taylor's was castly approaching death. That would happen, huh! After sipping on our delicious $5 martinis, we decided to each enjoy a Jack and Coke. While doing so Taylor received a call from Sam and he and his friends were on there way to meet us. Sweet! About 20 minutes later the group had arrived, we all introduced ourselves, and Taylor and I closed our tab, coming in at $20, with a $4 tip. Our money was dwindlingy at an alarming rate, so we decided to go to a "cheap" bar. They weren't kidding when they said "cheap" is all relative. We landed at The Snug, a bar right next door to the Amish Market, and were welcomed by a round of shots from Sam. The tension between Taylor and I started to flare up once our money situation began to stress us out. I decided to give an ATM one more try, so I ventured next door, took a deep breath, crossed my fingers, and tried to withdraw $100. Cha-Ching! Jackpot! It worked! I almost want to jump up and down as I relive the moment! Okay, so I just did. As I was saying... I graciously let Taylor know of my success by handing her a smooth shot of whiskey. All was well in our worlds again. However, the drinks were not "cheap". They were $5 each, and I always tip atleast a dollar per drink. I even made it a point to tip well by asking the bartender what the tipping standard was in New York. He told me it was like everywhere else, and I confirmed "20 percent?" He smiled and told me I was "doing awesome". From that point our drinks suddenly became $4 each. Note to self: ask bartender what tipping standard is, whereever I go. Muahaha. We ended up leaving around midnight with plans to catch the subway to a party. Along the way we stopped at a street vendor and all ordered gyros. It was the first gyro I've ever had, and it was definitely what the doctor ordered. I made sure to record the man as he prepared 8 meals at once. The smell of the cooking meat was hypnotizing, and the spicy cucumber mayo nearly lifted me off the ground. Mmmhmm! And it was only $4! After we devoured our food we made way to the subway, with plans to head to the party Sam had mentioned earlier. We ended up getting lost, and then for some reason were unable to go to the party. "Fuuuck!" was pretty much the all around chorus. My mood went from a hit to complete shit. I had no idea where I was going to stay, and I didn't want to spend another $40 for a roundtrip ticket to Po-Town only to return the next morning. A dark cloud took over and I felt hopeless. Taylor's friends apologized profusely, but it wasn't their fault and I knew that. I had fucked myself. So we walked around the city some more, I saw Central Park, the Time Warner Center, Trump Towers, and the hotel Home Alone was filmed at. We also passed the Sony store that had the coolest displays in the window. They had a neon green bench and a neon green bicycle, both glowing like the light was infused with alien's blood. There was also another display in another building that contained old Asian historical artifacts, and I was told by one of Sam's friends that they hold auctions there and change it every month. I wonder how much a Japanese warrior suit goes for these days. The time was now about 1:30 AM, and Taylor and her friends needed to catch the last train back to Poughkeepsie so we made our way to Grand Central Station. At this moment I had about $40 in my pocket, no phone, and no place to stay, but I was determined to stay in the city and enjoy New York. It was sad, but we said our goodbyes and I wrote down a few phone numbers with a pen I had grabbed in the bank next to us. With some advice from Geoff I decided to make my way to the village, where I was told people would be up, walking around, and there would be things to see and do. I went down to the subway and asked a man named Ronny how to get to the village. He had a deep accent, Egyptian actually, and it was hard to understand what he said. (By the way, he had never heard the phrase "BFE/Bum Fuck Egypt"...I made sure to ask). The jist of it was he was headed to Little Italy to meet up with some friends and I was welcome to join him. Hallelujah! The subway roared down the tracks, and about 10 minutes later we were in Chinatown. We then walked to a bar that was Egyptian themed and had hookahs. Ronny was really nice and paid for me to get in. He introduced me to his friends, three guys who totally fit my stereotypes for New Yoikas, and four girls from Joizee (Jersey) who did the same. You know, loud, blunt, boisterous, have money, talk fast, live fast. A guy named Vinny was one of Ronny's friends, and he apparently owned Puglia, an Italian restaurant in Little Italy. We decided to leave, so we hopped in Vinny's Cadillac and made our way to some random Japanese restaurant/bar/karaoke bar. We were waved on in like celebrities and given the biggest booth in the house. Drinks rolled in, laughs bellowed out, and the conversation was good. At one point I snuck downstairs to catch a glimpse of karaoke, the real deal, and was fully satisified when my eyes met a booth of Asian people singing their hearts out. It was exactly as I had always envisioned it to be. By this time it was getting way late, I'm talkin' 4 AM, and the bar was closing. We all got up and left, and Vinny invited us back to his condo on Long Island City, which is in Queens. So we jumped in his car, he drove like a madman, and moments later we were crossing the bridge to Long Island City. Just before arriving at Vinny's we stopped at a convenience store and he was somehow able to buy beer at 4:30 AM. 30 minutes past the cut off. Hmm. We parked in the garage, the doorman waved us in, and soon enough I was on the balcony on the 17th floor overlooking Queens. To my right was Manhattan and to my left was all of Queens. The view was absolutely insane. I felt like Sarah Jessica Pawkah, except I don't know if she's ever smoked hookah. It was my first time and I said "sure, why not!" I passed on some of the other festivities; I didn't want to be a zombie the next day, or tell these people my entire life story. I watched the sun come up over New York City and it was everything I could have hoped for and more. It was like a scene from a movie. I hung out there til about 10 in the morning, and then decided it was time to go. So I grabbed my belongings: phone (which I was able to charge with Vinny's charger by the way!), camera, wallet. I walked to the subway in Long Island City, asked for directions, and made my way back to Manhattan to retrieve my suitcase. I was worn out, but somehow still managing to function. On the way to the storage place I grabbed banana and some water. I looked over the black and white cookies and decided against. I'm not sure how many blocks I walked that day, or the entire time for that matter. Enough to completely destroy my tennis shoes, so much that I ended up throwing them away at the airport. Dunzo! I picked up my luggage and walked back to Grand Central Station. As I was walking to the subway I couldn't help but stop and gaze at the black and white cookies in a nearby bakery. "Fine!" I said to myself. I bought one for $2.05 and tucked it away in my backpack. Remembering how I got to Grand Central from the airport, I traced my steps and took the 4 Train to 125th and Lexington. Now on the street, I was unsure of where exactly to catch the M60. Looking lost, I'm sure, a man sitting on the corner directed me where to go. I thanked him and parked it by the bus stop. I was so ready to go home. Before I knew it, I was sitting in bed, looking over photos, and munching on my black and white cookie. It was a trip.
I had a fantastic time in New York, and I feel re-energized and more motivated than ever to travel and write. Seeing my sister up there, doing what she loves, has fully inspired me to earn my Journalism degree and take on the world. I want to get lost in cities all over the world, meet all kinds of people, eat all kinds of food, and write it all, every. little. detail. Who knows, maybe I'll be attending S.U.N.Y.-New Paltz next year and you can come visit me.