reporting on a long long weekend
A Tale of Travel
Day 1 - Wednesday
Snowstorms in New York cause a two-hour delay to my flight, so I sit in the airport in Houston and read until we finally get to board the plane. The flight is not crowded, so I have room to get out the laptop and my writing folder and spread the evidence of my writing all over two seats. Also, I eat my bag lunch and read more. I have brought the entire His Dark Materials trilogy with me in paperback. I remember reading the first one when it came out, but I didn't stay engaged all the way through the publication of book three.
Arrival in New York is interesting - the plane seemed to have a bit of trouble braking on the tarmac, but we arrived at the gate in one piece. Having collected my luggage, I purchase tickets for the bus to Grand Central and proceed to sit inside the terminal to wait. I think that we missed one bus because the ticket agent left his post (he said he would hold it and come get those of us waiting inside), but my fellow bus-goers and I did finally climb aboard.
I arrived at Grand Central at 6:40, a little over three hours later than my initial estimate to E. Since she has one more client before she goes home, I opt to just wait in the Starbucks until she finishes up at work, then we take the train together.
Finally, finally, at just about 9pm, we are home and having dinner - mmm, homemade soup! - and making plans for tomorrow.
Day 2 - Thursday
We slept in, then set out after a leisurely breakfast to the far north (also known as 103rd Street) to the Museum of the City of New York. I had never been to this museum, and it was supposed to have dollhouses, so we went. To E's dismay, there was only one dollhouse. It was extremely impressive, though, with works of art by famous folks of the time (1920s maybe? I forget.) and lots of gorgeous details. Also at the museum were exhibits of historical toys, a display of costume design sketches, a series of exhibits about the history of Broadway, an exhibit about Robert Moses, and a really excellent short film called "Timescapes". Timescapes takes the viewer through the physical history of New York, from wilderness to modern day, through maps, illustrations, and photos. It was really excellent, and as I told E when we were leaving, "I could have sat through another hour or so of that." Fascinating stuff. New York really is a unique and wonderful place.
After the museum, we headed downtown on the 5th Avenue bus, seeing the sights of the Museum Mile and admiring (or hissing at) various gorgeous mansions left over from the early days of the city. We grabbed some snackage and found a cafe to hole up in for a bit, and I once more spread writing materials all over creation, this time to scribble on a few postcards and notes for friends.
E left me to go find her dad for her basketball game, and shortly afterward I went in search of dinner and Lisa at Penelope on Lexington Avenue just up from the pub.
Lisa and I caught up over some fantastic (but expensive) grub, including some of the most amazing apple cider I have ever had. Yum!
Then we met Jaye at the pub. We thought we were going to be a three-person dray that evening, but Stephanie showed up as well. We made a pretty good showing at the quiz, although Lisa, Jaye and I couldn't drink, for one reason or another (generally health/meds or Lent).
E arrived very late after an intense game, just in time to have a beer and converse with the winning team before we headed out on the walk home. It was so cold my knees ached by the time we reached her place. I'd forgotten how cutting that wind could be.
Amusements from the day:
Keri: Look at that Latin. I wish I had a camera. (pause) Ah, well - some things in life are meant to be experienced, not photographed.
E: Spoken like a woman with a broken camera.
New t-shirts to be made for Jaye and Lisa: "Ask me about the eightsix wives of Henry VIII."
Jaye: We've broken my wife with this talk of our post-marital sex life.
Day 3 - Friday
I spent the morning lazing about reading E's graphic novels and repacking my things for the short jaunt to Paoli. Had a brief lunch then caught the trains, from subway direct to NJ Transit, as I stepped into the hub right as an express was boarding. I did not make it to Paoli as quickly as I'd hoped, however, because I always misjudge how much time it will take to make it from Trenton to Philadelphia to get my connection. I did arrive, though, and shortly after Sam picked me up.
I was re-introduced to a shy, tired Maya who then pretty promptly went to bed. Then there was much fun and talk while Sam played video games and Keet and I looked over crafty projects. Fun times in the new studio!
Day 4 - Saturday
After a breakfast of yummy waffles, we planned our day. I tried reading some of Maya's books, but not to her, because she was reading other books thankyouverramuch, or playing with her other toys. Keet and I spent a couple of hours at fabric stores, Keet seeking color matches for her projects and me mostly drooling and examining patterns. I did end up buying a few patterns from the sale on Simplicity. Yay costumes.
When Keet and I returned, the group packed Maya up and set out for our afternoon adventure: music store and Aunt Julie's house.
This was the moment of Ultimate Maya Cuteness, as we left the house for our adventure. She took her little Santa doll that she loves, and set him next to her on the car seat, and said, "Hold on tight! Hold on tight, Santa!" It was so cute we must have been laughing for miles. The music store was fun, but I did not buy anything. It was a close call, though.
Once the music store tasks were done, we headed out to scenic eastern PA where the weather was nice enough for us to hang out in Julie's backyard for a bit before going inside. Maya loved the birds.
We also watched some children's television and some wacked-out Star Wars fan videos, and had delicious Italian dinner. Great was the laughter.
The post-Julie evening was mellow, and I used some time to make copies of my lines for the wedding.
Day 5 - Sunday
We missed the time change but did not miss our breakfast meeting in Paoli, so I was able to spent just over an hour in company with a truly astonishing number of our local buddies. It was a tremendous send-off, and I hope to be able to go back for a more extended visit very soon.
After breakfast, Sam drove me to the train station in Philadelphia, and I began my long trek back to NYC. I spent most of the trip reading my books. (By this time I had long finished The Golden Compass and The SUbtle Knife, and was beginning The Amber Spyglass.
Upon arrival in New York, I immediately got into a cab to go to the former Brooklyn Navy Yard, now Steiner Studios, where the wedding was to take place. I chose the wrong cab. This guy was afraid of other cars on the road. He did not know the width of his vehicle, nor trust his judgement for passing in a narrow lane. He left most of the length of the Manhattan Bridge between us and the car ahead because the guy in the right lane was riding close to the center line. Not on the line, or even over it, just near it. The cabbie kept hitting the brakes every time we got within three feet of the other car's rear bumper, and this car is in the other lane. I swear, even off the bridge, he was paranoid and slow, hitting the brake at every intersection, even when we had a clear line of green lights and no traffic at all in any direction. I wanted to tell him to pull over and let me drive!
Finally he manages to find the place, and I have to tell him three times, "Yes, straight ahead through the Studio gate, this is where I am going." Rar.
In any case, I got there, and ahead of the other officiants, even though I was terribly paranoid I would be late.
I got changed, got myself to the correct place, greeted the girls from Entelechy and various consorts, and found Rabbi Roger and Father Giles. They had a script of the entire ceremony for me - yay Rabbi Roger!
We worked out the bits we weren't sure of for staging, and after a small delay the wedding got started. I cast the circle in the beginning, then sat down in the audience, getting up to do my reading, the blessing of the hands, the closing of the circle, and the final blessing of the Lord and Lady. It was a lot of fun, actually, and many people told me during the cocktail hour or reception that they loved what we had done.
I danced at the reception, enjoyed a fantastic dinner, caught up a little with the girls, and at the end of the night the bride announced she was going clubbing in Manhattan.
I allowed James to persuade me to come along, burdened with luggage though I was, and ended up having quite a nice time. We went to a dive bar in the village, the kind that you have to know is there because the entrance is an unmarked black door between two storefronts. They had a room that was totally plush, with two floors of crawl space and cushions, like a giant cat house. They called it, appropriately enough, the "Love Room". In the back there was a dance floor populated mostly be locals, but they seemed pretty welcoming to the bridal party (in full regalia) and guests. It was quite fun. I left shortly after midnight, and since I didn't have a ride the bride and groom very kindly arranged for the limo to take me back to E's. Woohoo!
Even then the night wasn't over, because E and I stayed up late talking. It was a long, long day, but a lovely one on the whole.
Day 6 - Monday
Since I slept so late, this day was mainly breakfast with E, packing, repacking, and then departing to catch the bus to the airport. I was late getting out the door, so I was very afraid that I would miss my flight, especially when I saw the insane line for security screening. Egads! It was actually a very simple process once I got up there, I didn't need to have anything examined, but the line, oh heaven, the line!
In any case, I was bookin' it down the terminal with my laptop bare in my arms because I was so worried about making my gate, and lo, I see such a crowd in the bottleneck of gates at the end of the terminal. (This terminal, by the way, has the look of an Emergency Temporary Terminal, made of legos and tinker-toys, and is arranged in such a way as to make waiting, exiting, and boarding of any aircraft at the end gates an exercise in frustration and crowd control.)
The flight is delayed because of (wait for it...) bad weather in Houston. So then I just stand around until a flight boards and a seat opens up, and then my gate ends up boarding a flight for Chicago because that plane got in first, so the Houston people all have to wait around to see what our new gate will be.
Once we get the info on the new gate, we still have to sit/stand around for over an hour while the plane empties, is cleaned, and re-crewed. When we finally board, I can see that this one is very crowded, and most of the plane is the MacArthur High School Belles, a dance and/or cheerleading team that has won trophies in some contest in New York. They all have on red shirts with their team name and "New York, New York" printed on them. They are actually very lovely plane neighbors, including staying in their seats when the plane is emptying in Houston so that all the people crazed to make connections can get off first.
The flight is pretty uneventful - my seatmates are occasionally talkative but mostly read their magazines. I finish The Amber Spyglass halfway through the flight and have to take a moment to recover. Then I just doze off for the rest of the flight.
When I got home at the end of the long day, there was more excitement waiting - we are having the floors tiled in three of the most-used rooms of the house and one bathroom, so there was furniture standing on its side in every other room, and some out on the patio, and some in storage. Fun with home improvement. I ate dinner and regaled my parents with tales of my trip during the commercials of Silent Witness, Dad's show of the moment. Then I unpacked and went to bed. Whoosh, I was tired, and had to work on Tuesday!
And that was my trip.
Day 1 - Wednesday
Snowstorms in New York cause a two-hour delay to my flight, so I sit in the airport in Houston and read until we finally get to board the plane. The flight is not crowded, so I have room to get out the laptop and my writing folder and spread the evidence of my writing all over two seats. Also, I eat my bag lunch and read more. I have brought the entire His Dark Materials trilogy with me in paperback. I remember reading the first one when it came out, but I didn't stay engaged all the way through the publication of book three.
Arrival in New York is interesting - the plane seemed to have a bit of trouble braking on the tarmac, but we arrived at the gate in one piece. Having collected my luggage, I purchase tickets for the bus to Grand Central and proceed to sit inside the terminal to wait. I think that we missed one bus because the ticket agent left his post (he said he would hold it and come get those of us waiting inside), but my fellow bus-goers and I did finally climb aboard.
I arrived at Grand Central at 6:40, a little over three hours later than my initial estimate to E. Since she has one more client before she goes home, I opt to just wait in the Starbucks until she finishes up at work, then we take the train together.
Finally, finally, at just about 9pm, we are home and having dinner - mmm, homemade soup! - and making plans for tomorrow.
Day 2 - Thursday
We slept in, then set out after a leisurely breakfast to the far north (also known as 103rd Street) to the Museum of the City of New York. I had never been to this museum, and it was supposed to have dollhouses, so we went. To E's dismay, there was only one dollhouse. It was extremely impressive, though, with works of art by famous folks of the time (1920s maybe? I forget.) and lots of gorgeous details. Also at the museum were exhibits of historical toys, a display of costume design sketches, a series of exhibits about the history of Broadway, an exhibit about Robert Moses, and a really excellent short film called "Timescapes". Timescapes takes the viewer through the physical history of New York, from wilderness to modern day, through maps, illustrations, and photos. It was really excellent, and as I told E when we were leaving, "I could have sat through another hour or so of that." Fascinating stuff. New York really is a unique and wonderful place.
After the museum, we headed downtown on the 5th Avenue bus, seeing the sights of the Museum Mile and admiring (or hissing at) various gorgeous mansions left over from the early days of the city. We grabbed some snackage and found a cafe to hole up in for a bit, and I once more spread writing materials all over creation, this time to scribble on a few postcards and notes for friends.
E left me to go find her dad for her basketball game, and shortly afterward I went in search of dinner and Lisa at Penelope on Lexington Avenue just up from the pub.
Lisa and I caught up over some fantastic (but expensive) grub, including some of the most amazing apple cider I have ever had. Yum!
Then we met Jaye at the pub. We thought we were going to be a three-person dray that evening, but Stephanie showed up as well. We made a pretty good showing at the quiz, although Lisa, Jaye and I couldn't drink, for one reason or another (generally health/meds or Lent).
E arrived very late after an intense game, just in time to have a beer and converse with the winning team before we headed out on the walk home. It was so cold my knees ached by the time we reached her place. I'd forgotten how cutting that wind could be.
Amusements from the day:
Keri: Look at that Latin. I wish I had a camera. (pause) Ah, well - some things in life are meant to be experienced, not photographed.
E: Spoken like a woman with a broken camera.
New t-shirts to be made for Jaye and Lisa: "Ask me about the eightsix wives of Henry VIII."
Jaye: We've broken my wife with this talk of our post-marital sex life.
Day 3 - Friday
I spent the morning lazing about reading E's graphic novels and repacking my things for the short jaunt to Paoli. Had a brief lunch then caught the trains, from subway direct to NJ Transit, as I stepped into the hub right as an express was boarding. I did not make it to Paoli as quickly as I'd hoped, however, because I always misjudge how much time it will take to make it from Trenton to Philadelphia to get my connection. I did arrive, though, and shortly after Sam picked me up.
I was re-introduced to a shy, tired Maya who then pretty promptly went to bed. Then there was much fun and talk while Sam played video games and Keet and I looked over crafty projects. Fun times in the new studio!
Day 4 - Saturday
After a breakfast of yummy waffles, we planned our day. I tried reading some of Maya's books, but not to her, because she was reading other books thankyouverramuch, or playing with her other toys. Keet and I spent a couple of hours at fabric stores, Keet seeking color matches for her projects and me mostly drooling and examining patterns. I did end up buying a few patterns from the sale on Simplicity. Yay costumes.
When Keet and I returned, the group packed Maya up and set out for our afternoon adventure: music store and Aunt Julie's house.
This was the moment of Ultimate Maya Cuteness, as we left the house for our adventure. She took her little Santa doll that she loves, and set him next to her on the car seat, and said, "Hold on tight! Hold on tight, Santa!" It was so cute we must have been laughing for miles. The music store was fun, but I did not buy anything. It was a close call, though.
Once the music store tasks were done, we headed out to scenic eastern PA where the weather was nice enough for us to hang out in Julie's backyard for a bit before going inside. Maya loved the birds.
We also watched some children's television and some wacked-out Star Wars fan videos, and had delicious Italian dinner. Great was the laughter.
The post-Julie evening was mellow, and I used some time to make copies of my lines for the wedding.
Day 5 - Sunday
We missed the time change but did not miss our breakfast meeting in Paoli, so I was able to spent just over an hour in company with a truly astonishing number of our local buddies. It was a tremendous send-off, and I hope to be able to go back for a more extended visit very soon.
After breakfast, Sam drove me to the train station in Philadelphia, and I began my long trek back to NYC. I spent most of the trip reading my books. (By this time I had long finished The Golden Compass and The SUbtle Knife, and was beginning The Amber Spyglass.
Upon arrival in New York, I immediately got into a cab to go to the former Brooklyn Navy Yard, now Steiner Studios, where the wedding was to take place. I chose the wrong cab. This guy was afraid of other cars on the road. He did not know the width of his vehicle, nor trust his judgement for passing in a narrow lane. He left most of the length of the Manhattan Bridge between us and the car ahead because the guy in the right lane was riding close to the center line. Not on the line, or even over it, just near it. The cabbie kept hitting the brakes every time we got within three feet of the other car's rear bumper, and this car is in the other lane. I swear, even off the bridge, he was paranoid and slow, hitting the brake at every intersection, even when we had a clear line of green lights and no traffic at all in any direction. I wanted to tell him to pull over and let me drive!
Finally he manages to find the place, and I have to tell him three times, "Yes, straight ahead through the Studio gate, this is where I am going." Rar.
In any case, I got there, and ahead of the other officiants, even though I was terribly paranoid I would be late.
I got changed, got myself to the correct place, greeted the girls from Entelechy and various consorts, and found Rabbi Roger and Father Giles. They had a script of the entire ceremony for me - yay Rabbi Roger!
We worked out the bits we weren't sure of for staging, and after a small delay the wedding got started. I cast the circle in the beginning, then sat down in the audience, getting up to do my reading, the blessing of the hands, the closing of the circle, and the final blessing of the Lord and Lady. It was a lot of fun, actually, and many people told me during the cocktail hour or reception that they loved what we had done.
I danced at the reception, enjoyed a fantastic dinner, caught up a little with the girls, and at the end of the night the bride announced she was going clubbing in Manhattan.
I allowed James to persuade me to come along, burdened with luggage though I was, and ended up having quite a nice time. We went to a dive bar in the village, the kind that you have to know is there because the entrance is an unmarked black door between two storefronts. They had a room that was totally plush, with two floors of crawl space and cushions, like a giant cat house. They called it, appropriately enough, the "Love Room". In the back there was a dance floor populated mostly be locals, but they seemed pretty welcoming to the bridal party (in full regalia) and guests. It was quite fun. I left shortly after midnight, and since I didn't have a ride the bride and groom very kindly arranged for the limo to take me back to E's. Woohoo!
Even then the night wasn't over, because E and I stayed up late talking. It was a long, long day, but a lovely one on the whole.
Day 6 - Monday
Since I slept so late, this day was mainly breakfast with E, packing, repacking, and then departing to catch the bus to the airport. I was late getting out the door, so I was very afraid that I would miss my flight, especially when I saw the insane line for security screening. Egads! It was actually a very simple process once I got up there, I didn't need to have anything examined, but the line, oh heaven, the line!
In any case, I was bookin' it down the terminal with my laptop bare in my arms because I was so worried about making my gate, and lo, I see such a crowd in the bottleneck of gates at the end of the terminal. (This terminal, by the way, has the look of an Emergency Temporary Terminal, made of legos and tinker-toys, and is arranged in such a way as to make waiting, exiting, and boarding of any aircraft at the end gates an exercise in frustration and crowd control.)
The flight is delayed because of (wait for it...) bad weather in Houston. So then I just stand around until a flight boards and a seat opens up, and then my gate ends up boarding a flight for Chicago because that plane got in first, so the Houston people all have to wait around to see what our new gate will be.
Once we get the info on the new gate, we still have to sit/stand around for over an hour while the plane empties, is cleaned, and re-crewed. When we finally board, I can see that this one is very crowded, and most of the plane is the MacArthur High School Belles, a dance and/or cheerleading team that has won trophies in some contest in New York. They all have on red shirts with their team name and "New York, New York" printed on them. They are actually very lovely plane neighbors, including staying in their seats when the plane is emptying in Houston so that all the people crazed to make connections can get off first.
The flight is pretty uneventful - my seatmates are occasionally talkative but mostly read their magazines. I finish The Amber Spyglass halfway through the flight and have to take a moment to recover. Then I just doze off for the rest of the flight.
When I got home at the end of the long day, there was more excitement waiting - we are having the floors tiled in three of the most-used rooms of the house and one bathroom, so there was furniture standing on its side in every other room, and some out on the patio, and some in storage. Fun with home improvement. I ate dinner and regaled my parents with tales of my trip during the commercials of Silent Witness, Dad's show of the moment. Then I unpacked and went to bed. Whoosh, I was tired, and had to work on Tuesday!
And that was my trip.