Off to the Big Apple

Hey everyone. I'm not on my motorcycle this time but I thought some of you might be interested in my trip to New York City and Washington D.C...part business, part pleasure.

My trip started on Monday morning about 6:00am when the airport shuttle picked me up at home for a ride to Bush Intercontinental in Houston. The trip was fairly uneventful...thankfully. The driver this time was very patient and took his time getting to the airport. It helped me stay calm, especially since I had plenty of time before my departure time. Actually, I had about 3 hours to blow. This was the only shuttle that would work with my takeoff, thus the wait.

I landed in NYC about 5:30pm and by 6:00pm I was in the shuttle headed for the hotel. The drivers in New York are much as I remembered from a few years back. Our driver...perhaps Hispanic...was very casual as he weaved in and out of traffic...honking here and there...but never getting mad. He dropped off 4 other passengers before finally pulling up in front of the Best Western about 7:00pm...see picture. I was not impressed by the hotel...still not. However, the staff working the desk were very helpful with information.

I dropped my bags in the room and walked about 2 blocks to a small deli where I bought a sandwich, chips and a drink and went back to the room to eat and watch Monday Night Football...boring game however.

The Jacob Javitts Conference Center is only a block away...it's huge...so that's good. However, the street...37th Avenue...isn't one of the city's nicest. Check out the carriage house next door to the hotel. They even keep the horses on the second floor of the place. Early in the morning the smell of you know what being washed into the gutter is really nice. Every morning they get the carriages and horses out and every evening they put them back in...all through one narrow door. Across the street...a yellow cab maintenance facility. Late in the afternoon and early evening the street is filled with yellow cabs waiting to enter the garage.

Although my room is on the 10th floor, I can hear almost everything down on the street...especially the fire trucks as they zoom down the street, sirens blaring. It turns out there's a station only two blocks away. I set the alarm for 8:00am...don't need to be at my class until 1:30pm tomorrow...and went to bed.