Romping Around NYC, Act I

We got into NYC a little later than expected which caused me to push back a lunch date with a friend. I met Ben for coffee later on and it was fun to catch up after nearly 6 years. I also walked the trail along the Hudson and around the World Financial Center and the Freedom Tower being built. This entire area was very impressive with all the global power that's concentrated here. I met Steph when she got off work and we hauled our bags through the pouring rain and thunder uptown to a friend Rachel's place. Although we arrived soaking she welcomed us in and proved to be a great host for the next two nights.

After drying off we ventured back out to meet one of my best friends Matt for Ethiopian food. Matt and I had our fair share of adventures in middle school and high school and it was really fun catching up with him over dinner and later drinks.

The next day I made myself busy with the following: eating an amazing bagel with lox, snacking at Chelsea Market, walking Central Park, and exploring the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Central Park was beautiful, perhaps the grandest city park I've ever seen, and the Met was so much fun to explore. I could have spent another several days there but just seeing what I did was enough to make me awe and also inspire me to try some new pottery ideas when I get back.

Steph had a surprise in store for us and she took me to the Frying Pan, a tasty restaurant on a barge docked in the Hudson. After dinner we went to Say No More, a kind of interactive play. I'll try not to give too much away but it was basically a modern rendition of Macbeth which is acted out throughout the many rooms of a mansion. While the actors are running around in their roles, you as an observer can rifle through the prop letters and rooms and follow the actors as they silently act out their parts, all while wearing an anonymous mask and saying nothing. It was a really interesting experience and we both had a lot of fun being a part of it.

Friday morning we went for a run which we both needed. A lot of eating and drinking can be exhausting, especially since I hadn't exercised for five days now. The run gave me a ton of energy but we had to make it quick since I had a meeting. I took the subway uptown to meet Marco and buy his car. I had looked around and decided that if I had to deal with the DMV and such it would be better to buy the car here in NYC when I had a couple days. The '95 Corolla isn't much to look at but after a test drive it seems to roll fine. It has several new components in the last two years and it's almost the same car I learned to drive a stick on so I'm really comfortable with it. We ended up settling at $1200 and I feel pretty good that this beast will get me home! The downside to buying a car here is that in NY the plates belong to the person not the car so Marco took them. Now I'm driving around in a car that has no license plates and it's sure to attract attention. Within the first hour of owning it I had parked in the wrong area and gotten a ticket for that as well as for having no plates. But on a positive note my insurance didn't increase one cent due to a multi car discount and low value, and my insurance lady informed me that since I'd be registering it in CA, which has a 30 day grace period after purchasing the vehicle, I wouldn't need to register the vehicle until I get back!

I was pretty excited and spent the next several hours checking out the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was really interesting to hear the audio tours about how the meaning of Lady Liberty has changed over the years and see the whole process of immigrants entering the USA. My great grandmother entered this country through Ellis Island and it was really exciting to see what she and millions others might have gone through. After this it was time to meet Steph and my friend Armin whose apartment we would be staying at, so I'll leave the coming adventurous nights for the second act.