This past winter break, I decided to take a day to spend in NYC. The following are journal entries and photographs documenting my escapade.
12/29/09 Narberth 9:50 PM Bitterly cold night 27 degrees with strong winds. Clear skies, but bone rattling cold.
My New York City Adventure
Tomorrow I set off for a day's adventure in NYC. I ambitiously booked travel aboard Mega Bus leaving tomorrow morning from 30th Street Station @ 6:30 AM. To make this bus I'll have to catch the 5:46 AM R5 train to Center City from Narberth. I don't have any significant plans for tomorrow: only eating Arepas at a great Venezuelan restaurant for lunch and meeting up with Dan at 4 PM and hopefully Stephen Czech for dinner. I return on the 9:15 bus arriving at 30th Street Station at 11:15 PM. I hope I can still catch an R5 train to Narberth that late. What are my expectations for this sojourn to the Big Apple? I think I'll be somewhat cold. Tomorrow's high is 35 degrees, but the wind should only be 10 mph. I want to wander the streets and just take in the City. James suggested I see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. I'd like to see a Christmas display at Macy's. Too bad it after Christmas because I'd like to see Santa Claus there - The Miracle on 34th Street is one of my favorite Christmas stories. I might see a museum or go to the top of the Empire State Building. I'll definitely wander about during the day. I'll bring a guide book to New York and read it on the bus ride there. For now, I'd better get some rest ... I have a big day tomorrow!
12/30/09 Phildelphia 30th Street Station 6:30 AM Cold morning, no wind, cloudy skies. It is so cold that after walking around for 8 - 10 minutes outside with my hands exposed, they began to burn from the bite of the bitter cold. My adventure to NYC has begun. The Mega Bus left promptly at 6:30 AM from a side street across from the 30th Street taxi cab stand. It was difficult to find because there are no signs only a giant blue bus with yellow lettering to look for. The bus travels down Market Street right past my school - Constitution High School - at 7th. Many times I've left school walking to Market East train station and I've seen the Mega Bus pass by and thought to myself "they are off to NYC, I'd like to go too." The bus stops between 6th and 7th street to pick up more passengers. This is good to note for future travel if I want to leave right from school. Mega Bus is a double decker bus with seating similar to any normal charter bus - just a little tighter. I like riding in the upper deck toward the front. There is a giant window to look out the front of the bus. Also, you can see over the trees and road dividers. I really like this new vantage point for seeing the beautiful sites along the New Jersey Turnpike. I do feel a little queasy as the higher elevation in the bus excentuates the slightest turns. I'll stop writing now and take in the view from above.
12/30/09 Lincoln Tunnel 8:12 AM Sunny, slight overcase cloud coverage / smog near the horizon. It is very warm on the bus.
We've arrived at the one ramp to the Lincoln Tunnel with a long line of buses. After being stopped for about 5 minutes we are moving along now about 20 - 30 mph. I initially thought it would take at least 40 minutes to get to the tunnel but now I am more optimistic. I've read a little from the Fodor's 2009 guide to NYC I gave Julie last year for a Christmas present, but I'm not overly inspired. I may look for signs of rioting in Battery Park or try to find Alexander Hamilton's grave but my main goal is to wander and ramble about. We are now stopped at the entrance to the tunnel. I like the Lincoln Tunnel's Art Deco spires that stand at the entrance. They look like the tower atop the Empire State Building.
12/30/09 NYC Public Library Reading Room 6:16 PM Clear evening. Cold. 30's. Full Moon. Warm in the library.The Dead by James Joyce
The Arrival of Gabriel Conroy and his wife. They are greatly anticipated and welcomed by the hosts of the party.
"A light fringe of snow lay like a cape on the shoulders of his overcoat and like toecaps on the toes of his goloshes; and, as the buttons of his overcoat slipped with a squeaking noise through the snow stiffened frieze, a cold, fragrant air from out-of-doors escaped from crevices and folds." p 120
I really like this passage because it beautifully articulates howold man winter drapes himself upon us.
Description of Julia:
"Her hair, drawn low over the tops of her ears, was grey; and grey also, with darker shadows, was her large flaccid face. Though she was stout in build and stood erect, her slow eyes and parted lips gave her the appearance of a woman who did not know where she was or where she was going." p 122
I like this description because it includes a description of physical and well as character traits.
Description of freddy Malins:
"His heavy-lidded eyes and the disorder of his scanty hair made him look sleepy." p125
I like this description because it is so vivid. I can picture it in my mind's eye and it makes me think of people I know who look like that.
Gabriel reminiscing about his dead mother's attitude toward his wife:
"Some slighting phrases she had used still rankled in his memory; she had once spoken of Gretta as being country cute and that was not true of Gretta at all." p 127
I like how poetical this passage sounds.
12/30/09 On Board Mega Bus - leaving Madison Square Garden 9:20 PM Clear, cold. No wind. Temperature in the 30s. Biting cold but not bitter and burning.
My adventure in NYC today has come to an end. The only leg left is the journey home. I am confident that it will go well. I have ample room with an open aisle seat! Probably one of very few. What a great day! I feel exhausted now. My legs ache, knees are in fits of pain, feet hurt as well - but it is all a good hurt. The day began with the Mega Bus drop off on 7th Ave and 28th Street. I walked down 7th Ave toward Madison Square Garden and then the Empire State Building caught my eye. (As I write, I see it now lit up in green and red for Christmas.) I mad a turn toward the Avenue of the Americas and a possible trip to the Observatory. I took the escalator up to the ticket line. It was already quite long by 8:45 AM. I didn't know the cost and quickly decided that if it was more than $10.00 I wouldn't go - I'd save it for a time when I could share the experience with someone else. I asked a worker and he said $20.00, so I quickly turned around and left. As I was leaving, I heard a guide giving directions for security - it seemed like an extensive process.
I walked down 32nd / 33rd street back toward 7th Ave and Macy's. The famous department store was decked out for the holidays with white lights shaped like a tree and others spelling out the word Believe in cursive writing.
I am having difficulty publishing pictures for this post. :(
