A Sunday Walk

Strolling by a sunny lake.

We saw a Brown Thrasher.

Two Northern Water Snakes.

A geocache from 2002.

We added our mark to the inside.

Robin's Eggs!

On the western side of our apartment building.

Exploring Gotham

I finally took the non-stop bus into Gotham City. RGBisMe had a few things to do this week but was driving into the city to meet me on May Day - yay! Before he joined me I had a few interesting experiences and did quite a bit of exploring. I have had little time nor reason to be in the city on my own before and this was my chance to check out personal points of interest and be a tourist. Not everything I was most interested in is in any tour book but in the future I do plan on taking a walking tour to check out Gargoyles sometime. I might not buy into a package deal but probably seek them out on my own.

I wanted to start to explore the moment the bus let out in Chinatown so I decided to pack light, micro-light. I paired down my luggage to stuffing my purse full. Granted I planned on staying with with Asrai and Ravenboy so I could count on them for a few things but I could have stayed in The Pod and been just as fine with what I had packed. This included a change of clothing for 2 days, toiletries, money and letterboxing supplies. It was supposed to rain on and off for the whole time I was going to be in the city so I also wore a rain coat.

I did a little exploring around Chinatown right off. I didn't have time to go to the arcade to play any DDR but did find a letterbox and also hid one in that general area of the city. I don't think the one I hid will stay for very long but stranger things have happened.

I started navigating the city in the MTA. I got pretty good at knowing where to get on, transferring and navigating the underground pilgrimages from stop to stop. My first of many trips last week was to get myself to Union Square by 2pm to meet Asrai at nearby 890 Broadway. I made it by 1:30 and had time to take in the Farmer's Market. Just as I was grabbing an organic vegan carrot raisin cookie, Asrai appeared. We took advantage of the extra half hour to shop in a couple of nearby stores. She bought a back brace for teaching in her circus arts classes and I looked at the cool catware at Fishs Eddy. We soon met Ravenboy and had some lunch at Whole Foods.

Every moment I spent with Ravenboy and Asrai reminded me of how lucky I was to know them. Generous in every with kind spirits, they loved sharing stories, ideas and opened their home and lives to me completely. Being with them makes the time without them around feel very superficial and without depth. I actually have to forget just how special they are until I am with them again or I would be very lonely most of the year. I know I can speak for RGBisMe as well, we love them very much.

We spent Ravenboy's break exploring from Union Square to Washington Square and back. They showed me where they went to go hear Dieselboy spin at club Love. Like many clubs in Gotham, there is no indicator or sign of the nightclub inside, you have to know the address and boldly venture into the unmarked door. They were given the wrong address and went to the wrong location. By the time they realized and corrected their error, they were too tired to go to the performance.

There are so many cool nooks and crannies around Greenwich Village. Washington Mews, MacDougal Alley, Patchin Place, Cherry Alley, Fat Cat jazz club, and many other locations make this area a must to explore. Ravenboy once cut through the local pizza/pita place about 1AM on his way to Fat Cat and saw the late Heath Ledger grabbing a slice there. Greenwich Village, a very cool area.

After spending a completely chill evening with my family and resting well, I started out the next morning experiencing Ravenboy's typical morning commute. I promised not to slow him down and road the express subway down to Union Square with him. I bid him a good day of rehearsals and about 9:45 AM set off on my own to board the N train to Coney Island. The ride ended up taking close to 40 minutes and I was glad to have taken a book to read. The last 20 minutes were in Brooklyn. The train came above ground as it left Manhattan and I was able to enjoy looking out and around. I could see the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance as we crossed the East River and about 10 minutes later I was able to smell the sea in the air each time the train cars opened.

Not many people will understand my wanting to visit a place like Coney Island when it is not open. I think there is an amazingly spooky charm to amusement parks when there is no one around. I am am also quite intimidated by large crowds of people so this allowed me to enjoy a few attractions without the added stress of so many people being around. The boardwalk had very few people on it except for around the entrance to the New York Aquarium where bus loads of children lined the path the entire way to the board walk. Their excited chatter filled the area as I walked the boardwalk and enjoyed the view of the Atlantic Ocean before finding my way back to the Metro stop.

I transferred to the 2 train in the middle of Brooklyn so that I could get to a station where I could catch a train to Battery Park. It was a number of times this week which I traveled through the area where the World Trade Center stops used to be open on the red line. I am sure it is not my imagination that everyone on the cars seem a bit more subdued as we travel under that area where the two towers used to stand. Almost a decade has passed but few who live in Gotham, or care about the city, have forgotten that day.

The day never produced any rain and by the time I reached Battery Park it was quite nice. I was back to dodging camera wielding tourists again. Every one's focus was either the ferry, Lady Liberty or some of the memorial sculptures in the park. I pulled my camera out a few time but my focus at one point seemed to be of little interest to anyone else. It turns out that I was able to photograph Zelda the wild turkey!

I was able to find a letterbox in Battery Park before getting back onto the metro to go uptown again. I made a few stops, here and there and planted another letterbox before making my way upper east side. Partway along this commute I decided that I wanted to transfer to the local train and jumped off at the next stop. Unlike the express stop before, I realized the local platform was two flights upstairs! I ran up a flight and then ran up a flight that was also an escalator that brought me out near the platform. I heard to departure announcement being made on the local train that stood on the tracks just a few steps down. On fatigued ankles I sprinted down the steps and through the doors of the subway car just before they closed. I was able to understand and share that smug little smile of satisfaction I had seen on the faces of other breathless commuters. This was a genuine NYC moment for me.

The next morning, RGBisMe was able to join us. We wandered around Central Park for a while. We passed where the Red Tailed Hawk, Pale Male, regularly nests and walked by the boat pond. We played on the Alice in Wonderland sculpture and marveled at the many tulips that were at their peak around the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After successfully finding a letterbox in Central Park, we met Asrai after her art class and she showed us a spectacular piece of work she had modeled for. Also an avid knitter, Asrai showed us a colorful wall of yarns in a local shop.

We spent the afternoon exploring different areas of the city. We checked out Grand Central Station during rush hour and I finally had a chance to take RGBisMe into the Chrysler Building to show off it's amazing deco style and architecture. We looked at the ceiling painting and all of the chrome stairway fixtures and even wandered into an area where we shouldn't have been. It was all very beautiful.

Across the street from Grand Central Station was the old Bowery Savings Bank that had loads of imagery on it. The typical beehive image was repeated a few times but what surprised us was how many times squirrels were represented. They always had acorns and in one image a man was pulling a squirrel's tail as it was running away with an acorn. I took so many photos of that bank it's ridiculous. I have at least 5 different squirrel images. Now, with Tracdc in mind, I am wondering just how many images of squirrels are in the city! I want to do a NYC squirrel tour just for her!

The day I rushed from the express train to the local train was so that I could make reservations in person at the Candle Cafe. I think I got it mixed up with Candle 79 which is also nearby and both are vegetarian restaurants. No regrets because the four of us had a very nice meal that night.

On our last day in the city, RGBisMe and I rose early and prepared to depart to find some letterboxes and get out of the way. Although Ravenboy had to work it was Asrai's day off and we wanted her to be able to sleep in. She got up early and asked if she could tag along with us. We were thrilled!

That morning we wandered through a completely different part of Central Park and failed at finding the two letterboxes we sought upper west side. After washing off our grubby hands, Asrai treated us to lunch at the famous Pomodoro Rosso. Everything at this quaint little restaurant was delicious. We can't wait to return for some pasta some evening.

We all caught the subway to look for one of the best letterboxes in the city, A Lovely Light. I had failed to find it TWICE before in the same number of days because my research was faulty. Never mind I walked past the exact location probably 10 times, I groped all of the wrong final locations. I was glad to have Asrai and RGBisMe along for the final attempt. I refused to look for it because I thought I had jinxed every other location. Asrai was quite clever in pretending to get into her back pack and quickly made the successful grab! We walked down a block, well away from the location to stamp into the little letterbox. Awesome carving! As we were logging in, a tour formed right around us and the guide started spouting off information that RGBisMe had successfully researched just that morning. It was hard not to crack up as they walked by us and we followed them to listen a bit. They walked right past the hiding place, totally distracted with their tour, as Asrai slipped the letterbox back into place.

We met Ravenboy on his break one last time before we set out for home. The time together was all too brief but they assured us that they would be coming to visit in August. They are more than welcome and I can never thank them enough for such a great time in their city.