Night lights, pp in NYC, last hurrah
It gets dark earlier significantly earlier in NYC than it does in Naples, meaning heading over to the Empire State building around 5:15 meant we had complete darkness to view the NYC nighttime skyline. We were glad that 5:15 on a Tuesday is apparently a good time to go, we had very minimal lines to deal with. This was the first attraction on our “Explorer Pass” that didn’t work smoothly. You were supposed to just scan it at the turnstile and walk in. Instead we had to get walked over to the regular ticket window to get conventional tickets.
The view up top was cold, windy and awesome. I was glad that we did the Top of the Rock tour during the day to contrast what we saw at night. Even though the daytime view gives a better scope of the immensity of the greater NYC area, the nighttime view is definitely visually more interesting. A number of the buildings, including Empire State were lit up in a holiday appropriate way which was very cool to see.
There are two observation decks in the building, one at floor 86 and another at 110. After seeing all of the stuff at 86 we figured we would hop on the elevator to go up to 110. I was a bit annoyed to find out that the 30 bucks plus per head you pay does not include a ride up to 110, that costs extra. I thought it was sort of bullshit. It is also something that is not well communicated. I saw numerous people like us, assuming their ticket got them all the way to top, only to be told they would need to open their wallets again to get there. Cindy and I agreed we saw what we wanted to see and headed back downstairs.
They had a lot of displays regarding the recent retrofitting they did to the building to make it dramatically more energy efficient. They actually removed every single window in the structure and replaced the glass with a variety that is 4 x more energy efficient. They made a ton of other changes that add up to energy savings of over a million dollars a year, impressive. The entire building is impressive. Everywhere you look there are expensive surfaces and intricate attention to detail. There was much more marble on the walls than paint.
I got the idea to head up to the Bryant Park area which was only 4 blocks north of us. I recalled they transformed the park for Christmas the last time I was there and it was very cool. I was happy to see the transformation was once again in place.
They fill the park with a bunch of temporary structures that are filled with unique food and crafts vendors. They also construct a giant ice skating rink in the middle of the park that is heavily utilized, even when the temps are up in the 50’s.
Cindy and grabbed some very tasty veggie burgers from one of the stands for dinner. I also showed Cindy the two outdoor ping pong tables that I found so intriguing in my past trips to NYC. We were sitting there watching a game when a nice black guy came over named David who filled us in on how it works. He said after a certain point in the calendar they don’t have free paddles available for people to borrow to play with, you have to bring your own. Cindy and I were both surprised when he offered to let Cindy borrow one of his to play with.
I told Cindy I was in no shape to play with my painful, swollen knees but she should play anyway. David and her got to play once the in progress game finished up.
The outdoor tables are funny with a metal “net” that is suitable to outdoor conditions. The lighting also is not fantastic so I imagine it makes play a bit tougher. David was surely a very good player but Cindy did well once she adjusted a little bit to the conditions. She lost but they had a lot of good rallies that were entertaining to watch.
We thanked David for his generosity and for playing a game with Cindy. He was just one of the examples of the bizarre dichotomy I find in New York. When you are on the subway or walking the congested sidewalks it seems like the city is filled with nothing but stoic sour pusses. However when you actually open up a line of communication with most people they are actually some of the friendliest and interesting you can find anywhere.
I also commented to Cindy how the obesity rate in NYC has to be incredibly below the national average. Nearly everyone you see appears to be walking around at a healthy weight. I can only assume the hustle and bustle of New York which requires copious amounts of walking is the major factor in this healthy trend. It is really a dramatic difference from most places I have been.
I stumbled across an impromptu juggling lesson they also had at the park. There was a decent rectangular plot of grass filled with juggling balls and clubs along with lots of people juggling them. I did a couple quick standard juggling sessions while Cindy recorded it. It was totally random, totally unexpected, and totally cool. We walked around Bryant park some more before calling it a night. Cindy and I still were feeling pretty beat up from the Sunday workout compiled with all the walking we had done the last few days.
This morning we grabbed breakfast at a different cafe on the other side of the street. Just like every dining experience we had during the trip, it was great. When we got back to the room we worked on getting all of our luggage consolidated and ready to go. We had a couple hours to kill so I thought it would be neat to take Cindy to the southern end of Central Park, we only saw a small portion of the northern section the other day.
The temperature was very pleasant for walking, right around the mid-50’s. We saw just a small portion of the numerous awesome treasures housed inside the park. The coolest was the the Bethesda Fountain and Terrace. Wow.
The ornate architecture in every square inch of this area is amazing. Cindy was open mouthed at just how beautiful it all was. I never saw this area myself. I felt quite lucky that we just happened to stumble across it as we walked along, what luck. You could easily spend an entire day doing nothing but exploring the park, there is just so much beauty in there.
It was also cool seeing all the runners and bikers snaking through the park. We actually packed stuff to run but there was just no way I could do it with the swelling going on in both of my knees. I felt bad because I know Cindy would have loved to get a couple miles in around the park.
We kept an eye on the clock, making sure we got back to the room before the noon checkout time. We made it with time to spare since at this point we were more adept at utilizing the subway system effectively. After checking out we took advantage of the hotels bag hold service where they will keep an eye on your bags until you are actually ready to leave.
We walked up 35th street in a different direction than we had so far. We wound up eating lunch at a very cool chain called Pret A Manger. The staff there was incredibly nice and the place does an incredible thing. Each and every night they use any of their left over food to provide free meals for others instead of reusing it or throwing it out. They even gave Cindy a free desert, just because they felt like giving it to her.
We decided to make one more trip up to Bryant Park to see whatever we missed the night before. Despite the constant light rain we circled around checking stuff out. We watched the people skating for a little while. Cindy and I both zoomed in on an older guy in a full suit that was circling the ice with ease. Cindy said she bet the guy used to be a hockey player.
About 15 minutes later we decided to head back. Who did we happen to run into but the old guy in the suit with his skates in a bag. Cindy told him he was a great skater and asked if he played hockey. The guy smiled and said he did indeed play hockey. He was quite appreciative that we noticed his skill out on the ice.
When we got back it was time to start the long haul back to the airport. My large, soft sided duffel bag with wheels is great for stuffing shit into but a royal pain in the ass to pull for long distances. I had to switch arms repeatedly on our way to the Herald Square station. To get back to the JFK airport required two subway rides and a trip on the Airtrain. The contrast in difficulty level to make this commute between when we arrived and when we left was dramatic. Unlike the first time, we had no confusion or anxiety at all, we knew exactly how to get there.
When we got off our last subway ride Cindy offered our unlimited 7 day MTA passes to another couple that was headed into the city. The passes still were good for unlimited subway rides until Christmas day so we figured somebody could get use out of them.
We got to the airport super early which is fine. It is allowing mt to do stuff like get this blog entry completed. Cindy had an embarrassing incident where she accidentally walked into the toilet stall side of the MENS room while no other men were in the area. She only realized her mistake after coming out of the stall and seeing a man looking at her awkwardly. Oops.
Our flight takes off in an hour, returning us to our comfortable and familiar south Florida home base. As always it will be great to get back home but Cindy and I both really enjoyed putting a distinctly different spin on our holiday season this year, giving ourselves a truly meaningful gift. Clothing wears out, electronics break, and alcohol is consumed, memories like this last forever.
Adios NYC, we will be back.