Oh my did we have good times on Wednesday. A very long day, and we are still recovering, but what fun.
On Tuesday night, Jocelyn and Brooke and I drove down to my friends Donna and Neil's place in CT. The plan was to get there late Tuesday, which we did, in great part to an error made by yours truly. I missed something somewhere, and we ended up nearly in Boston before turning around and backtracking. When we stopped for directions to the Mass Pike, the guy who helped us laughed and said, "From here?!" (We were at Alewife, for those in the know.)
But we got there safe and sound, and went to sleep pretty quickly. I remember laughing real hard about something, can't remember what. Oh! We ate like pigs on the way down, voracious, unspeakable quantities of snack crackery. Someone said they could feel their belly laying on the mattress as they were on their side. Someone else said to name their baby Candy, and we all busted up. You might've had to have been there.
Next morning Donna was so gracious and took us to the Norwalk train station, where we boarded a train to New York City! It was great to sit and watch out the window as we got closer and closer to the city. Got out at Grand Central Station and immediately began to shop, spend money, search out places to pee, and soak up the atmosphere. Jocelyn got this great combination tissue box cover/photo display opportunity, where you can have the tissue spout out the photo's nose or mouth or whatever. And I got a tape measure to keep at my sewing table. and Brooke picked up a cute shopping bag.
And water, and energy drinks, and potty breaks and out onto 42nd street I think it is. The day was gorgeous, and the wind on the long avenue blocks was brutal. We began shopping for hats and mittens quickly. But no luck, not until later that is...
So right around Grand Central Station is mid town Manhattan. You can walk towards Times Square or you can hit Rockefeller Center, or you can do both. We had pizza at Rockefeller Center, then walked to Times Square, and then hit the subway. We wanted to buy some fake handbags on Canal Street, so that's where we went.
Almost as soon as we reached the street, a small Asian woman in a black puffy jacket whispered to Jocelyn, "Coach? Gucci? Prada?" We said yes, and she set off, indicating we should follow. She took us into a tiny backroom storage thing, a hidden door almost, at the mouth of the subway station. A kind of dirty storage room, no frills, but gorgeous bags lining the walls and garbage bags and other modes of transporting goods on the sly littering the floor. The guy was selling the bags for about $30 - $35 a piece, and while we were there another guy (in another black puffy jacket) swept in and dropped off a garbage bag, which carried that mornings stock update. It was a little crazy.
We didn't want to shoot our wad on our first stop of the day, so we decided to keep looking. We just walked up and down the street and popped in to teeny tiny little store fronts, all operated by friendly Asian folks who would usher us into hidden back rooms and storage closets concealed by T-shirt displays and fancy Chinese gowns for sale. Wild.
We ended up getting six bags, and most of those from one guy whose wife works the streets, escorting customers to the tiny stairwell off Canal Street that they rented for $1,500 a month come to find out! He was a great guy, very friendly and informative. Described how the whole thing sort of worked, that there are people with walkie talkies or cell phones, who stand on the street and radio in to say whether the coast is clear of cops, if it's safe to send the customers out the door or not. And how one time customers were inside shopping and there were two cop cars parked outside, on unrelated business. The guy had to keep the customers inside for so long that their families (who had been waiting for them down the street) panicked and called the cops! "The police they sweep in, take all the bags!" the guy said. Here is a picture of Jocelyn and Brooke with this nice fellow.
So we just shopped and shopped all up and down the street, then took the subway back up to Times Square. Found a warm place to sit down and have a few drinks, and that was really restorative. The plan was to meet up with Neil (who works in the city) after he got off work, but he didn't know exactly when that would be. He advised us to walk over to the East Side, find another bar or pub near his office and wait there.
Here are some pictures from our walk to the East Side. By the time we got out of the resteraunt in Times Square (where we were served by Skye, a guy who had moved to the city just six months ago from Cincinnati. He declared it 'exhausting' to live in the city, but seemed happy.) it was evening, so of course I got some great shots for you to enjoy:
From here on out, the evening takes a bit of a hazy turn. Went to another bar, drank and laughed and chummed it up with the waitress and the Irish bartender. The place we went to was called "The Black Sheep", and we were all pretty tipsy when Neil showed up, I won't lie to you. Real good times, however, make no mistake.
Neil threw our drunk asses into a cab and hauled us up to a place called "Cabana", where we had several more rounds of drinks and fantastic dinner and great conversation, etc. etc. etc. Our waitress' name was Anna (cue me bellowing, "HANNAH?!?") and she was terrific. And Neil was a champ, totally up for being the responsible, capable guy who was up for handling the details and knows all the tricks.
Here are some pictures of us hamming it up in Grand Central Station, so silly and tipsy that Neil basically told us to just stand there and wait for him. He returned with tickets for all and herded us onto the train. Got us back nice and safe, around 11:30. When I went downstairs at around 4:30 in the morning to get sick (ahem!) I heard him getting ready for work! That guy is a workhorse, I've said it before, I'll say it again...
The ride home was a little rough. The bright sunlight and the sour tummy and the long day before it, made things difficult. It was great to finally get home and relax. And of course examine all our new treasures, play with Wii (Jocelyn and Brooke have serious Wii envy) and hang out with the kids.
Tonight we were supposed to go to You You's Japanese Bistro in Nashua with a bunch of my friends. But the weather has decided to take a terrible turn. We are in the middle of a freezing rain sleet storm, which forced us to cancel our dinner plans. It sucks how the weather can force you to have to do that once in awhile, but what can you do. We have been having a lot of fun hanging around the house, and Jocelyn's made lasagne, so it's all good. Now we just have to get Jeff home safely! His car is terrible in weather like this and he is currently stuck at work! We're supposed to call him when the plow truck goes down our road, then he'll give the commute a try.
So that's it! The girls go home tomorrow afternoon, and it has been so great to have them here. I always laugh so hard, and I just love to do that. Can't be beat.
