Thursday, September 30, 2004
Possible Upcoming Travels:
More on New York tomorrow kiddies. Today I wanted to post on something more current - future travels!
October 29 - 31, 2004: Kansas City, MO/KS
This past weekend my mom invited me to go to KC with her, my sister, and my two oldest nephews. Plans for this trip are still pending though because there may be a Halloween bash that The Englishman wishes me to attend with him.
November 2, 2004: Cedar Rapids, IA (CONFIRMED)
Scorpions/Tesla concert with Steph and two others one of which we first met at the Waterstock gig. I'm not the biggest fan of these two bands who can be found, but I like most of what I have heard by them. Should be good if it is like what a friend of mine told me about when she saw them. Sitting in the fourth row can't hurt either! LOL
Summer 2005:
England/Amsterdam in July for Sensation Black. The Englishman came to me the other day and asked if I would be interested in going to this - well YAH! Not only would I get to attend a really cool hard trance/hard house music gig, I would also get to cross another city off my 'to do' list that I have had ever since about the age of ten and visit my awesome in-laws. :)
England/Ireland with Steph. When we were in New York, I told Steph I was reminded a lot of London and thought she might like it. Because of this and the fact that in all the time I have spent in England, I've never made it over to Ireland (yet another place I have on that list), I told her it is going to have to be one of our next trips. Best start stocking up on those nicotine patches now since we are talking a 7 - 8 hour flight. LOL
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Hey, I'm Anne. How do you like me so far?
Well, what can I say? I've been beaten into blog submission. After my latest gallivanting away from home, I decided that I really needed to start writing my adventures down for all of posterity. Ok, so Steph (my trusty sidekick on most of my adventures) had quite a bit to do with it. Then of course there was also Julie H whom I met in NYC. After hearing these two chatter about this method of sharing daily life, it sounded kinda fun so here I am (Thanks Chickys!). Just hope the blog world is ready for me. LOL
I can't promise I will be here everyday considering that pesky little thing called life is always on my butt, however, I will pop in every chance I have to give a shout out just to let you know I'm still alive if nothing else. Tee Hee
Otay! Enough of the house keeping and on with the juicy details of the latest adventures in NYC.
**Please note, all entries will carry the date of the actual events.
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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Monday, September 20, 2004
It costs how much to park a car for less than eight hours?!
Steph and I had to be down at the car rental place by nine to turn the car in. When we got there, we had to wait for what seemed like forever for them to bring the car down to us on the elevator. When they finally did, I went to pay the bill and just about fainted when I was told it was $30. WHAT?! The car was only there for maybe eight hours at the longest. I checked the rates again and sure enough, it was right. Steph had even said she saw a sign on the wall that said you could get a monthly pass for $400. Holy crapanoly! Guess if I ever move to NYC, I won't be owning a car. Then again, there really isn't a need to with the public transport there. One thing I do know is that I will no longer complain about a $7/day charge in downtown Des Moines, IA.
When we got done with the car, we went back to the hotel (yep, you guessed it a stop at Duane Reade on the way) got our stuff together and checked out. We had the doorman hail us a cab and we off to the airport. It ended up not taking as long as we thought it might to get there nor did it take very long to get checked in so we were really early but I would have rather we were there early than late. It gave us enough time to have some really good pizza and garlic bread rolls which were to die for. :)
The trip home was fairly uneventful. At first we were afraid that we weren't going to make the connecting flight because we had been a little delayed and according to our schedule we were only going to have about thirty minutes between flights to begin with but as it turned out, the gate for the flight to Des Moines was right next to the one we got off at so it was all good. :) When we finally got back to my house, we were both wiped out but it was more than worth it. The trip was great and I can't wait to go back again!
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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Sunday, September 19, 2004
The Broadway Show From Hell:
Steph and I were up and ready to go just before eleven so we could walk over to pick up our rental car and start heading toward New Jersey. The plan was to meet up with a friend of mine named Jonathan who I have been chatting with online for nearly ten years and met once before on a business trip in 2001. He would then take us to the beach and afterward help us find our way to the Starland Ballroom for the Alice Cooper concert that Steph was dying to attend.
When we first started out, I have to admit I was a little nervous about driving in a city the size of NYC because I had never done it before but I also saw it as an adventure and wondered just how much trouble the two of us could get into. LOL We did manage to miss a turn that we were to take according to the directions we had but went up a couple of blocks to the next one way street going in the direction we needed to go and ended up right where we needed to be. Traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be and people were fairly sane (at least compared to some of the Chicago drivers I have come across). Then again, it was a Sunday which I am sure made a difference.
So there we were traveling along in our little Ford Focus (not the car we thought we would be getting mind you and even though it only had 6000 miles on it, it accelerated about as quickly as a dog with no legs) under the river in the Lincoln TunnIl on our way to NJ and I was once again reminded of a place I had been in France. Steph was busy attempting to dial up something good on the radio without much luck. It's too bad neither of us had a CD or two because just about all the stations she came across sucked. Luckily, she did eventually find one that wasn't too bad.
Once we came out of the tunnel, we hopped on the NJ Turnpike. There wasn't much traffic which was nice, however, when we got to the tollbooth things started backing up a little. Personally I have never been able to understand why anyone thought these things were a good idea. I know they were first put into place as a way to collect money to pay for the road but I see them as nothing more than a way to jam up traffic and cause a few more wrecks on the road. One thing I will say about this particular set up that was different and in a way better than the ones I have been through in Illinois is that rather than paying $.40 at multiple booths set up every so many miles, you took a ticket at the first booth and then you didn't hit another where you had to pay until you left the roadway.
Steph and I were taking our time getting to the planned meeting spot as we didn't need to be there until mid-afternoon but even so, it didn't even take us as long as Jonathan and Mapquest had estimated. With more than an hour to kill, we decided to drive around a little bit before going back to our destination (a Toys R Us in a strip mall off a main drag). We didn't see a whole lot but it beat sitting in a car in the middle of the parking lot. When we arrived back to our meeting place, we still had some time to spare so Steph and I went in and looked around for a bit. Jonathan called me and said he was going to be a bit longer than he expected and asked if we could move the meeting place closer to where he was especially since it was actually closer to the beach he had in mind anyway. The directions he gave me were pretty straight forward so I said sure why not. A little after 3pm, we were on our way again so we could get Steph to the beach that she was just itching to see.
Once we finally hooked up with Jonathan, we were on our way to the beach and arrived there a little less than an hour later. It was neat to see the ocean again, but since Steph was the one who had never seen it before, she took to it like a little kid by ripping her shoes and socks off and wading in the water. She also went on a great shell hunt while Jonathan and I took a walk and talked. Just like the on the Pacific coast, there were tons of little jelly fish that had been washed up on the shore - strange creatures. I freaked Steph out telling her not to step on them because they might sting her but she later found out from a couple of surfers she had struck up a conversation with that as long as they didn't have a red marking on them, they wouldn't cause her any harm - Damn them! LOL. She spent quite a lot of time soaking it in which I can't blame her. There is just something about the ocean that can captivate a person for hours. What I thought was really neat was that Jonathan just so happened to have an empty film container in his car which he gave to Steph so she could take some sand home along with her shells.
After Steph finished her roaming about, she decided to have some ice cream before we took off for the concert. I ducked into the near by Dunkin Donuts so I could use the restroom before our journey and when I came out, I didn't see Steph anywhere. I then looked over to my right and saw Jonathan standing in front of one of the food shops - Steph was inside getting this piece of pizza that looked as though they gave her half of the whole pie! Considering it was $3 and that you can't even find something like that in Iowa for that price, I would say she got a deal (cheapest meal we had seen yet anyway). Since we were on a rather tight schedule to make it back to Sayreville, we jumped in the car once she got her food and took off. Steph had wanted to get there early to be one of the first ones in but obviously as late as it was, it wasn't going to happen.
It ended up taking us not quite an hour to get to the Starland. Jonathan didn't turn where he should have so we had to go back and ask for directions but luckily we hadn't gone far out of the way. When we arrived, there was a rather long line out front and Steph was a little worried we weren't going to get a good spot to stand but when it comes to places like this, never say never. I was a little sad because I didn't get to say goodbye to Jonathan. He didn't want to park in the lot because you had to pay to do so and there really wasn't any place else for him to go. I was going to go back up by the road to see him but when I turned around he was gone. I gave him a call and asked what the deal was and he said he didn't have anywhere to go but told me that he would swing back by since he hadn't given me the birthday card he got for me. This time he was able to pull over to the side of the road where he could get out and we could have a short chat before parting ways. He also made sure that I knew how to get back to the city by writing down directions on the card envelope and everything. I'm sure between Steph and I we could have made it back ok on our own but it was very sweet of him to be so concerned. It was then that the line began to move again and I felt I probably should get back to Steph so I wouldn't lose her or have too many people yell at me for 'jumping the line' so with a hug and words of farewell, Jonathan was off home and I was on my way back to join the crowd.
We got lucky, most of the people in front of us in line decided to get drinks and mingle so Steph and I were able to get a place right up front for the show and what a show it was! I have NEVER in my life seen something so wack. All I could think of while I was watching it was some Broadway musical that had gone severely wrong. Had it not been for the extremely yummy eye candy (the band), I don't know that I could have stayed for the whole thing since it just wasn't really my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, I do like some of Alice Cooper's music but there was something about seeing the guy on stage which just gave me this comical visual of my dad being up there. I don't know if it is because Alice looks aged beyond his years or possibly the outfit he wore which I could have sworn was complete with a hernia belt but it all just seemed WRONG! LOL
After the show, we hung around for awhile in the VIP lounge with some people Steph 'knew' from Metal Sledge and while we were there, one of the guitarists and the bass player from Alice's band (just happened to be the two that Steph and I were smitten with the minute they had taken the stage) along with a couple of the guys from the opener. It was really cool because the guys from Cooper's band had their own little 'postcards' to sign and give out to people so as long as you had a pen, you didn't have to worry about having something for them to sign. Thankfully they showed up when they did because we had these two rather weirdo guys hanging around us that I just kind of wanted to go away.
At first I wasn't going to say anything about it being my birthday but Steph decided to play it up. I have to admit, I'm glad she did because Ryan Roxy (my favorite bit of yummy) gave me a kiss on the cheek. Shocked the hell out of me since that was the last thing I was expecting. The joke for the rest of the night was whether or not I was going to wash my face. LOL Me, being my goofy self, went into the whole 'Valley Girl' type skit when we were driving back to the city over it just because I think people who get that crazed about getting a kiss from a rock star are totally out of their gourd.
Not too long before we left, Steph and I were sitting on some of the stools they had in the lounge by the pool tables and when I looked over to my left, I saw Ryan Roxy, Alice's daughter, and the singer from the opening band sitting right next to me. I whispered over to Steph about the daughter child sitting next to me and just then, a guy came in and told the group that the bus was getting ready to leave. When they got up, Steph asked Calico how she got roped into being part of the show. She laughed and said she didn't really know. Steph also asked if she could have a picture of her and Ryan Roxie and they were very kind to oblige. In fact, they went beyond what either of us was expecting. Steph was just going to take a picture of the two together but Ryan started tugging on my shirt and told me to get in the pic too. Cool! Calico suggests to make it a 'good one' by making a funny face and stuff. I didn't know she was being serious about being goofy so I just smiled - DAMMIT! LOL Ah well, I got a laugh out of it even so. As soon as the picture with me was taken, Steph got one with them too (check her website for the pics). Shortly after that we decided to leave since it was getting late and we knew we had about an hour's drive back to the city.
Thanks to Jonathan's directions, getting back to Manhattan was a piece of cake. What wasn't so easy was finding a gas station (we had to fill the tank back up to full since that is how we got it). We decided since we had the car, we might as well take a little tour while on our scout for the station. It was late enough that the traffic wasn't too bad and we thought that way we might get to at least drive past some things that we just didn't have time to see. One thing I noticed driving along was that cabbies have a little bit of a problem riding the lanes. Normally I am a curtious driver, however, this one cab I came across just pissed me off. First he didn't want to pick a lane, then he thought he needed to pull out in front of me. That was it! I honked my horn and stepped on the gas. I had probably the worst car at the time to be doing that but was enough to get him to move his ass back over in his own lane.
We continued on and after blocks upon block of driving, we weren't having much luck finding a place to get some gas. I knew not to expect that many in the city, but I thought we would have come across one by this point. Luckily, we had come upon a police car so Steph rolled down her window and asked the cop where we might find one (yet our second "run in" with the NYPD......LOL). Turned out it was basically right around the corner from where we pulled in. Had I driven just a little bit further, we would have come across it.
The minute we pulled into the place (think it was a BP) and I got out of the car to pump the gas, this rather scruffy guy came over to me and started pumping my gas for me. I had heard about bums who will want to wash your car windows and pump your gas for you but I never thought I would run into one. Sure enough, we did (Damn rental cars with out of state plates!). What struck me as strange is that this guy saw that I was paying for a credit card rather than cash yet he insisted on pumping the gas and then asking for change afterward. I felt bad telling him that I didn't have any but it was true. I normally don't carry cash on me unless I have to not only because of simplicity but because if it is stolen I am the one in "control" and I can earns lots of points towards Sony brand purchases like my little $300 MP3 player I got for free. :)
Once we got the gas which was expensive by Iowa standards ($2+ if I remember correctly. Iowa is about $1.80 at the moment), we took off towards the parking garage that happened to be located at the same place the rental place was (very handy) so we could park the car for the night. Thankfully it didn't take us long to get to the garage since it was getting kind of late and we needed to be up somewhat early in the morning to officially return the car and then get to the airport. From there it was about a ten minute walk plus a stop at Duane Reade of course (LOL) back to our room.
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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Saturday, September 18, 2004
One Wet And Crazy Day
step and I made a point of being up and about earlier on this day as we had a lot of things we wanted to do.
We first hit Central Park entering at the opening which takes you to the area named Strawberry Fields in memory of John Lennon. Not too far in, there is a fork in the path where there is a tiled circle which simply says "Imagine". There were lots of people around so I thought I would come back later for a pic but I didn't have time in the end. :( One thing that Steph and I noticed which we both felt was a little insensitive I guess you could call it was that people were walking on it. I don't know exactly how to explain it but it just didn't 'feel' right. It's like the zodiac located on the entry way floor of the Iowa State Memorial Union. Even though the idea of walking around it came from a superstitious myth, it was something that just doesn't feel right to do.
We moved on from there to a bridge which Steph said is rather famous (it's been in a bunch of flicks). Along with the bridge, we stopped at a fountain or two, a walkway under one of the streets which was closed due to restoration of the mosaic ceiling tiles, a bandshell which was also being restored, and The Dairy House welcome center. I did see Tavern On The Green (really pretty at night when all the lights in the trees are lit). Unfortunately, that was another thing I just didn't have time to get a picture of. :(
As we were making our way out of the park, we came across a view with a small bridge and lots of flowers. There was just something about it that reminded me of Monet's Garden in France. Steph and I both stopped to take some pictures. While doing so, I noticed a squirrel hunting for food along the walk. It was almost as if he came to pose for me. Once I got the shot of the landscape, I then aimed the camera at the critter. You see for nearly the duration of the time we were in the park, I was trying to get a picture of one of these little guys because they appeared to be grey rather than Red (the only other place I've seen grey ones is in England). Anyway, the little guy/girl sat up munching a nut it had in its paws. Cool! Perfect shot! Well, it would have been had I been able to snap it quicker. Something spooked the animal and the little tyke ran before the picture 'took' so I ended up with a pic of squirrel ass! Just my luck. Ah well, I decided to keep it anyway just because of humor value. Thought I might call it something like "KMA" or "Booty Call". LOL
When we left the park, we came out on the corner by where the horse and carriage rides load up and were 'solicited' by at least two drivers to take a ride. We politely declined and headed towards an FAO Swartz we saw in the distance. We walked around the whole building only to discover unfortunately, it was one that wasn't yet open. Worse yet, it had started to rain - DRAT! We noticed a rather interesting department store type shop across the street and decided to go in so we could at least get out of the rain for a bit. Bergdorf Goodman. Yet one more place that reminded me of London (Harrod's in particular) not only by the atmosphere but the floor plan to some extent. For those of you who aren't familiar with either of these places, I shall give you a description.
As you walk through the doors there is a security guard standing watch and looking people over as they come and go. I can only imagine what the guy thought when we entered since we were dressed down for a casual day out and rained soaked. The rest of the store is somewhat of a maze. Unlike most of the departments stores designed in today's buildings that have an open plan, this store was more like a bunch rooms off hallways. Everything in this place was designer and wouldn't you know over half was leopard print. Steph was in absolute heaven! I can't say I was overly impressed with much of the stuff there. Just was a little to far on the side of 'uglytown' for me. After a quick scout about, we left so we could start heading back towards the Shops Of Columbus Circle so I could make my purchases. It was probably a good thing we left when we did as Steph already had a want list totaling somewhere close to $150,000.
As we were walking, the rain started to pick up so we ducked into a Duane Reade (imagine that! LOL) to get some snacks. Steph also decided to get an umbrella too but it turned out to be nearly useless. First of all, it was smaller than all get out, and second, the wind caused some havoc with it. When we were getting close to the shops I wanted to stop at, we came up behind a couple of NYC finest and I noticed that even though they didn't have an umbrella, it looked like they weren't getting wet at all - NO FAIR! I of course made a comment to Steph about it and she being who she is yelled to them and asked them what the deal was. I'm sure at first the two of them thought they had a couple of mad women following them since we did sort of get a strange look from them but as soon as they realized we were kidding with them, we got a chuckle in the end.
I was glad to finally see the mall we were headed for so we could get out of the rain. We had a walk through the Sephora make up store. I saw a lot of funky bits that I would have loved to take home with me but I knew more than likely that it wouldn't get used enough to justify the purchase. Besides, I didn't have a lot of room for "souvies" to take back and I already had my eye on other things. From there, it was on to Armani. Ooh lots of lovely gems there! Unfortunately a couple of the things I picked out which looked good on the hanger, just didn't do anything for me once I put them on. I did, however, find a couple of things that would not let me out of the store without them so I kissed $150 away there. Next up - Hugo Boss to purchase THE shirt. It's a long sleeved T made of a heavier lycra sort of material, black (although they did have blue and pink too) with a wide grey strip on the top of the sleeve and the word ROCKSTAR in raised letters across the front. When Steph and I had seen that shirt the day before, we both knew at least one of us would be coming home with one. I ended up picking up a sweater too for the Englishman while I was there. It was only fair as I had worn one of his others through in the elbows. I told Steph I would get her a Rockstar shirt as an early Christmas prezzy but the silly girl decided to run outside for a smoke before I could talk to her about it so I didn't pick one up for her. $250 later, I was walking through the door to meet Steph so we could take a walk through the grocery store that was downstairs. Very intriguing place to say the least although it was a total madhouse with a never ending check out line.
Thankfully when we walked outside, the rain had stopped. It was colder than hell but at least not wet. We had walked across the street and were passing Trump Tower when we had a rather sureal experience. There was this guy standing out on the steps with some people huddled around him. As we were walking by, Steph asked me if I knew who the guy was. I looked up and said, "It looks like Slash from Guns N Roses." (yes, I do realize he is now in the band Velvet Revolver but I know him best from GNR). Steph had this priceless look on her face and asked me if I was sure about who he was. I said that I was completely certain but that it definitely looked like him. It was at that point Steph was making a B line back to the guy (surprise surprise - LOL). She stood there patiently waiting while the kids asking for autographs got done. They each had about five to ten things which was a little irritating (I think Slash thought so too). As the guards were about to take him back inside, Steph asked if she could have a picture. Slash was very nice about it and gladly took the picture with her. I was so happy that he did so as I was afraid he might take attitude just because of the previous hounds. He was very gracious about it and thanked Steph when he was done. I probably could have gotten a picture with him to, however, I'm not that big of a fan so I wasn't that fussed about it especially since I knew he was trying to get out of there. I was just glad Steph was able to get one as I know it meant a lot to her.
As we were walking back to the hotel, Steph had to make a couple of phone calls - one I believe to Matt and another to Rhonda (she and I had quite the chat about England and her future travels to Russia - lucky girl). We stayed outside the hotel for probably a good half hour to hour in the cold and damp talking on the phone - Steph to Rhonda and me to Jonathan planning the next days activities since he decided not to come to the city that night and go to the club. When we finally got done, we had just enough time to go up to our room, have a short breather, and get ready to go back out.
We had planned to meet up with Julie about 8pm then go eat and hit a club afterward. We were trying to decide on what to eat and I had remembered Steph said she wanted to have Chinese before we left the city so I suggested we go for that since it sounded good. Because Julie's boyfriend lives quite close to where we were staying, she was familiar with the area and knew of a quaint little Chinese place only a few blocks from the hotel. It was really busy so we had to wait twenty or so minutes to get in but the food was worth it - was really good. We were even surprised by a visit from Rick (Julie's boyfriend) and his youngest daughter. Decent chap Julie. Steph and I give our approval. LOL
After dinner, we hit Duane Reade yet again so we could get some cash from the ATM. I was surprised I only got whacked with a $.99 charge. I've used some ATMs where the fee was as much as $2.50. From there we went back to the hotel to freshen up and catch a cab to the club - Avalon located in Chelsea. I thought that was kind of cool since I lived in Chelsea when I was in England. The club itself was brill and the tunes they played were absolutely crackin'! I loved it and it reminded a lot of a place I visited in Reading, England the last time the Englishman and I went to visit his family. Steph was convinced that we were going to burn in hell because it was located in an old church but I thought it was great and the unisex bathroom complete with DJ just made me laugh. Now there is something I have NEVER seen before. Steph wasn't into dancing but Julie and I gave it a good effort before we left. I mean the hell if I was going pass that chance now that I was in a real club after nearly three years of withdrawal (can you tell the clubs in Iowa are absolute shit?). The only thing I was a little miffed about was the fact that I was going to miss some of my favorite DJs - Tall Paul on 10.16, Ferry Corsten on 10.23, and Felix Da Housecat on 10.30. Ah well, maybe I can catch them or some of the others I really like some other time. The last time I was in England and we went to the Matrix, I got to see Brandon Block that was awesome so I can only imagine that these three shows would be just as good or better.
One humorous happening at the club was when we had gone out to the patio with Steph so she could smoke. We were all just sitting around talking when these two guys approached us. The one guy said his name was "Effie" and he called his friend "The Backstabber". I guess Effie's friend was playin the woman he had his eye on the week before so he wanted our opinion as to whether or not we thought his friend was a creep. LOL What can I say, the guy didn't speak up and tell his friend he liked the girl so it was his own fault his bud put the moves on 'his woman'. LOL It also gave me a chuckle because he thought we were all twenty-three and was convinced that we were all from the East coast. He was such a funny guy that I demanded that he let us get a picture with him just for the silliness of it all.
About 1am another day in the city had come to a close for us and it was back to the hotel for a rest before the "big" day of meeting with my friend Jonathan, beach going, and seeing Alice.
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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Friday, September 17, 2004
Our First Full Day In The City!
We ended up getting a much later start than either of us really wanted to but with the VERY long day before, we needed the sleep. I'll admit, I held us up a bit too getting ready. I think Steph was starting to climb the walls a bit needing her caffeine fix especially since she had to settle for a Coke as that was all the gift shop at the hotel had.
About 2pm we started out from our hotel and walked down toward Times Square this time along a street which was a block down from the one we took the night before. There were lots of little interesting boutique type shops and plenty of food places to make us hungry. We were going to stop at a pizza place but alas no Pepsi for Steph so we kept on walking until we ended up at - you guessed it, a Duane Reade! LOL We ended up getting something to drink and a snack (I wasn't overly hungry anyway especially after that big dinner the night before).
Once we finished up, we stopped at the Shops Of Columbus Circle. Basically it is a three story mini mall where you find some of the better designer shops that you won't find in Iowa. I ended up falling in love with a few items from Hugo Boss and Armani which I put on the shopping list in the back of my mind in case I didn't find something elsewhere that I wanted more. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of space in my suitcase to take items back with me. Now that I think about it, that may have been a good thing as I could have very easily melted some serious plastic in that city! LOL
From there we walked over to Rockefeller Center and visited the NBC store. I'm not a big tv watcher so there wasn't much there which I found appealing although I did give up $60 for a cool yellow windbreaker and an SNL hat which will come in handy for my running adventures. Steph was overjoyed to find a SNL shirt with the cheerleaders on including a couple of their cheers. I vaguely remember those skits but that was about the time I stopped watching the show so I have a feeling some of the humor was lost on me. LOL
We exited the building out into the courtyard area where the ice rink is in the winter (restaurant in the summer from the looks of it) and stopped for a bit to have a rest and get some pics of a sculpture of people walking toward the sky which was there. Julie H called while we were there to say she was only a couple blocks away and we could meet up. From what I understood, Julie had seen a pic of Steph but Steph had no idea what Julie looked like and neither did I. Hmmmm this could be interesting. LOL Not long after the phone call, I was standing against the wall up above where the rink is watching Steph take pictures when a red headed woman approaches me and says, "Anne?". I'm sure at that point I had a somewhat quizzical look on my face and said, "Yes." It was Julie. She said that she found us by Steph's purse which I happened to be keeping an eye on while she took pictures. Leopard print - gotta love it! LOL
For the next hour or so we wandered around and backtracked a couple of times attempting to find a Ticketmaster outlet (they like to hide in NYC) so that Steph could get the Alice Cooper tickets. I've never seen this woman so focused on a mission! She had missed him both times when he was in Iowa so she was hell bent on makinig the NJ show since we were so close. I didn't care one way or another as I wasn't that big of a fan, however, once I saw the guys in the band, I'm really glad we went! :) - more on that later. After we finally found a place to get the tickets (an f.y.e of all places), we decided to go see Battery Park and Ground Zero. Because it was quite a ways from where we were, we decided to take the subway. Steph was a little funny about going on it, but I thought, "Hey, what's a trip to NYC without riding the public mass transit system." LOL Although it was older looking, a bit more dirty and dark, it reminded me of the Tube in London - oh the memories. LOL If nothing else, I liked it for that aspect. When we got off, I think Steph was still a little unsure about it but I don't think she found it as terrible as she was thinking it might be.
When we came out of the subway, it was a short walk to the park. One of the first things we saw when we got there was a sculpture that used to sit outside the World Trade Center which was damaged but not destroyed on 09/11. It was placed in the park with a flame in front of it as a memorial. It was kind of strange, we all tried to take pictures of it and it took all of us more than once to get a decent shot. I'm not sure if it was just the time of day or what but it was a little strange regardless.
From there, we walked over to the shore and off in the far distance you could see the Statue Of Liberty. I tried to take a picture of it but unfortunately it was dark and a little foggy so it didn't really turn out. On our way to Ground Zero, we got rained on - Grrrrrrr! but at least it was only a short shower and it wasn't coming down too hard. It was kind of funny Julie had an umbrella with her and every time she would open it up, it seemed to stop raining. Isn't that just the way? LOL Oh yeah, we also ran into the Merrill Lynch bull. Steph and Julie took pictures of him but I just couldn't bring myself to do it after looking into his evil glare. LOL
Ground Zero was a VERY sobering experience. Even though everyone around the world felt the pain and horror of 09.11, standing there where it all happened brought about a whole new form of realism to that day. Living in Iowa and being so far away, I don't think the impact of what went on really hit until the moment I stood up to that fence and looked down into the hole where two high rise buildings which thousands of people would grace every day once stood. I can remember looking up to view some of the pictures with copy that were posted along the fence and seeing notices from the Port Authority pinned up every so many feet stating regulations to be abided by when on the grounds all the while thinking how sad it was that such things had to be done because of people's lack of respect. An example of this included the people standing along the walk selling pictures of the towers which, in itself wouldn't be so bad, however, the pictures of the towers they had were those in which the planes were crashing into the buildings and when they were burning. I was absolutely appalled! One of them approached me and I just ignored him. He then asked me what my problem was and again I ignored him. I was afraid that if I said anything, I would completely go off on him and possibly end up being the one who was hauled down to the station rather than him. Steph, however, was much more bold than I. A guy approached her with the pictures and when she told him he was sick, he laughed at her. That was it! She went off on him. I can't say that I blame her. When we were leaving, we happened to pass by a security guard who Steph talked to about the man with the pictures. The guard told us that they had already picked up five of them earlier in the evening and most likely the cops would be back later to pick this one up too. Good!
By the time we left Ground Zero, it was getting late so we decided to head on over to the Hard Rock to get something to eat. We had about a twenty minute wait so we went 'touring' through the place looking at all the memorabilia. Was really neat to see some of the things that were once used by some of the top musicians and their gold/platinum albums. We were all rocking out to Another One Bites The Dust which was playing when we were seated and then Steph just about went ape shit when she found the Fat Bottom Girls album in the hall leading down to the restrooms. Once we had a look around the shop and Steph bought her shot glass, we then took off for our hotel, and Julie for home.
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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Thursday, September 16, 2004
Times Square Here We Come!
After Steph and I arrived at the hotel, got checked in, and settled a bit in our room, we decided to take off on a walk down towards Times Square to find something to eat - we were both starving by that point.
On the way, Steph pointed out the building where John Lennon lived and where he was shot along with the Strawberry Fields area of Central Park. I was rather surprised since I always had the impression that his residence was more on the outskirts of the city and kind of tucked away from things rather than off a main drag. When we got close to Times Square and I saw the Sony Megatron billboard television, I couldn't help but be a little disappointed. When you see those sorts of things in pictures and images on a television screen when you haven't ever seen them in person, the pictures and images tend to give a 'larger than life' sort of impression. I noticed this same phenomena with many of the places I visited in France and England too. Sure I was impressed by them, just not as much as I thought I would be.
Steph and I ended up stopping at a TGI Fridays to eat (I swear they were on every corner - about as plentiful at the Duane Reade drugstores). The one thing I really liked was that it was in an older building and built up rather than out as they are here where we have lots of space. This was one thing in particular (other than the traffic) that reminded me of the time I lived in London. I told Steph NYC was what I would call London on steroids and uppers since some of the shops like the Virgin Mega Store (one of my favorite places) doesn't close until midnight even on weekdays whereas in London 9 or 10pm brings about close at most places (or did when I was there last).
Our meal ended up costing almost double what it would in Des Moines but boy was it tasty! The portion size also justified the price too. One would have to work to eat that much food in one sitting. Although we ended up sitting in a bit of a draft, the waitstaff was friendly and our bellies were happy and full. :)
Once we were done eating, we wandered about some more going into the Planet Hollywood boutique and Virgin Mega Store then Steph got some pics. We both got thirsty and went to find something to drink. Now for those of you who don't know Steph, she is a total Cherry Pepsi addict. Unfortunately said drink was not overly plentiful for some reason so she found herself having to settle for regular Pepsi more often than not. Thankfully there was a Duane Reade close as the first stop we made didn't have anything which was cold.
When we came out of the shop, we decided it was time to start heading back to the hotel as it was getting rather late and we were kind of tired after traveling all day. At first we were just going to walk up the street which was just a couple of blocks down from the one that brought us to the area but once we noticed the street we were on was full of peepshow parlor type places, we decided we would just go back up to the other street. LOL We could have picked a better side street to get back up there though. The one we walked had trash bags piled over three feet high lining it and it smelled like a mixture of spoiled milk and fish - YUCK!
Steph and I finally got back to the hotel around one and according to her pedometer, we had walked between five and ten miles just in the few short hours we were out. WHEW! What a day!
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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We're Off!
I got up around 7:30am in order to have enough time to get ready and do some last minute packing before Steph arrived at my house at 11. At five to the hour she was to arrive, she hadn't shown up yet which I thought was rather strange since she is usually a bit early. I decided maybe I should give her a call just to make sure everything was ok. As it turned out, she got caught up with a couple of problems before leaving town and was running rather late - EEK! Since we were flying out of Des Moines, I figured even if she didn't get to my house until noon (the flight was to depart at 1:30), we would probably still be ok for time but you never know since there are occasions when this airport can be rather busy. She told me that she was hauling ass down the interstate trying to make up time and when I heard that, I knew come hell or high water, we would be getting on that bird bound for Chicago to make the NYC connector flight. LOL
Steph arrived about a quarter of noon. After tossing my baggage in the car, we were on our way to the airport. Luckily, it wasn't too busy and they have since installed electronic ticketing systems after I was there last which ended up being to our advantage. Many of the people there still had paper tickets and didn't know how to go about using the automated system. Thankfully, I knew what I was doing due to having used this method several times before when on business trips and we were able to jump to the front of the check in line. In less that ten minutes, we were checked in and our checked baggage was on its way through security.
The flights (one hour to Chicago and then approximately two from Chicago to NYC) we non eventful for the most part. We did get delayed slightly and there was some turbulence but nothing more than you would expect from any flight. On the flight to Chicago, we sat by a woman who was visiting Des Moines and managed to trip on a concrete block, and couldn't believe she managed to break her leg as a result. On the flight from Chicago to NYC, we sat by a little girl who looked to be maybe ten years of age. She told us that she comes out to visit family fairly regularly and loves the city.
At about 7:30pm EDT, we touched down at LaGuardia Airport in NYC. Because Steph had basically gone half the day without her nicotine fix, we were walking as fast as our legs would carry us toward the door. Of course it wasn't fast enough judging by a sight I got glimpse of as I took a look off to my left just to see what was there. A food stand - looked rather good as I hadn't really eaten anything since breakfast. What I saw parked next to the food stand managed to put me off wanting food for the next hour. There was a rather large young woman wearing low-rise jeans who was bent over showing her purple g-string and buttcrack. I don't care how big or small someone is, that is just a sight NO ONE should ever display in public. I feared that I was going to have to seek therapy to help deal with the image that was burned to my brain at that moment .
When we made it down to the baggage claim area, Steph went out to smoke and I stayed inside on the off chance our luggage came through. As it turned out, the belt didn't start up until Steph had returned which was probably for the best because that was one of us could stay by the carry ons and the other could grab the checked luggage.
Once we picked up the rest of our stuff, we went over by the door and were trying to decide if we should get a cab, take the bus, or call the hotel and see if they had a shuttle that could pick us up. At that moment, a guy walked up to us and asked in some foreign accent (possibly Italian), "You need cab?". We responded by saying, "Well, yes, maybe." We thought we might just take the bus so Steph asked the guy how long it would be until the next one came along. He told us 45 minutes. Whether that was true or not we didn't know but I knew I didn't want to possibly be stuck waiting there that long. The guy said he would charge $35 to take us to our destination and since we knew to expect to pay that much for a cab, I told Steph we should just take it. The guy lead us outside but rather than stopping where the cabs were, he lead us across the way to the parking ramp. I looked back at Steph and said, "Where the hell is this guy taking us?". It was at that point I was beginning to wonder if this was some sort of sham knowing what I do about some of the cabbies in places like London. Once we got to where the guy wanted us to wait, he went back into the airport to get a couple more people - again, that really had me wondering. When he returned with another couple, he told us to wait where we were and he would go get the car. Steph and I just stood there talking to the other couple speculating about what was going on and having a laugh.
When the guy brought the car around, it was a limo to our surprise. Whoohoo! Obviously someone forgot to tell this guy that there is a big difference between a cab and a limo. LOL Steph and I got a giggle out of it and certainly weren't going to turn it down for a regular cab. The driver loaded our stuff into the trunk and Steph got in. Before I got in, the guy then changed his story from $35 to take us to $35/each - figures! At that point, I just didn't care as I wanted to get to the hotel and I would cover the extra if Steph couldn't. Once I was in, the guy then asked for about the fifth time where we were going (guess he was having trouble understanding English). Once again Steph said W 81st Street. I don't know what the deal was but he ended up getting another car for the other couple and then pulled us around closer to the door at the airport to go get someone else. The only thing I could figure was the couple was headed in the opposite direction or something. He came back with a family of five! The limo was only meant to hold four in the back so it was a little tight but Steph and I along with the other family were good sports about it and had a laugh over the matter on the way to our destination. I did know I would be taking up the rate with the driver as soon as we got to our destination though since we ended up getting the old switcheroo pulled on us.
When we arrived at the hotel (about 40 minutes later), Steph and I piled out of the limo and the driver got our luggage out of the trunk. I handed the guy $40 - $35 for the trip plus a $5 tip which I thought was more than generous given the travel situation. I was just waiting for him to start asking for more money but he never did. Cool! Steph and I got what we thought was a bargain (which it was compared to what I have seen paid for limo service when on business trips) and an unexpected 'stylish' arrival to our hotel to boot.
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Pre-trip Celebration:
I realize we didn't actually take off for NYC until Thursday, however, on 4:30pm on this day, my holiday time started. Besides, I took a mini adventure to the mall that I thought was worth mentioning just because the interaction I had with a clerk in one of the shops was so strange.
A little after 6pm I set off on my walk to the mall. It's only a mile away from my house if that so I thought it silly to drive there especially since I run anywhere from four to eight of them a day. Although this mall which just opened this past August was hyped up to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, I can't say that I agree. I hear that it has been said to be the biggest mall in Iowa now and there are a few 'new' shops but I can't help but see it as "same dung/different day".
Anyway, when I arrived, I went into Victoria's Secret to purchase the pair of hose I was after. The first clerk I spoke to was very polite and helpful. The second one (the one who actually rung up the sale), I can't speak so highly of. Her bubbly, I'm trying too hard attitude was enough to put me off but I chose to just nod and smile thinking all the while of how much I just wanted to get the flock out of there.
The jaw dropper to this whole interlude came when the chic offered me a VS credit card. I politely declined yet she felt the need to keep going on about it and the oh so wonderful benefits I could gain from it like getting three bras for a discounted price and receiving the catalog. One, how is buying three bras at a discounted price saving me money if I only need/want one? Two, I already get the catalog three times over because of the online orders I have placed. I certainly don't want a fourth! I try to explain to the woman that I already get many of the benefits that she mentioned and I really don't want the card. She then proceeds to tell me that I don't. What?! (For any of you who have seen the cat litter commercial where the kitty has a shocked look on his face, I'm sure that was the expression I was wearing at that moment.) When did this shrew start pilfering my mailbox? All I could do was look at the floor, shake my head, and giggle to myself. When I raised my head back up, I looked her straight in the eye and said, "Really, I'm not interested. I've got more credit that I will ever use as it is. I don't want to apply for more." Her reply, "Well, just keep it in mind." Good gawd woman are you that hard up to push those wicked little pieces of plastic or what???
Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. After she swiped the credit card I used to pay with (Sony Visa - a card with REAL and WORTHWHILE rewards!), she asked for my phone number - GRRRRRR! I hate that demographics bull that stores (especially new ones) run. Sometimes I will make up false information to give them because I don't want any "survey" phone calls nor do I think it is any of their business. By this point, I was so worn out by this chickyboo's sales pitch, I wasn't in any mood to play so I simply said, "We don't have a land line, only a cell." Granted that was a fib but I thought it would be enough to get her off my back. Wrong! She actually had the audacity to ask me for the cell number. Ok honey, time to jump off the blond wagon and buy a clue. It was at this moment that I informed her that I didn't wish to give that information out. I guess that must have really frosted her cookies in some way because she just kind of threw the bag and receipt at me. When I cheerfully said thank you to her, she replied with, "Yah". LOL I just love snotty store clerks who think they can beat me with their snobbery and do such a poor job at it.
It was when I left the shop with an evil, satisfying grin on my face that I knew the trip I was going to set off on the next day was going to totally kick ass!
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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