Dec. 07, 2008 – Middleton, N.Y.
...Irish cooking, suspect weather, and the Big Apple
I arrived in Middletown, N.Y. late at night. I stayed with JoEllen, Tony, and their two beagles; they are the sister and brother in-law of Allison, who is the person (along with her husband and longtime friend Jim) I lived with in Tampa before starting this trip.
I have met JoEllen and Tony before and we always got along rather well so I was thrilled to hear that I was welcome to stay with them as long as needed.
Tony, JoEllen, Wally, and Buster
I only planned on staying a few days because I was so pressed for time, but between their hospitality and the threatening snow, it ended up being a week.
My original plan was to eat Wendy’s ONLY for the entire trip, but those of you who have been following this trip are well aware of the changes I have made. While staying at a person’s home, I decided to eat if they wanted to cook. I got tired of trying to explain to people what I was doing and I figured it would be good for the host and myself. The people I was staying with were able to feel like good host and I got great cooked meals in exchange. How could I argue with that? Besides, I didn’t stay with people very often. I usually slept in my car or a hotel. I didn’t get many chances to eat anything other than Wendy’s on this trip so it was a nice change from what had become my very routine meal. I have eaten Wendy’s in every state and haven’t eaten anything else with the exception of when I was with family or friends.
Tony is from Ireland and it is always interesting to get the viewpoint of an immigrant. He moved to America in his mid 20’s and met JoEllen while they were both in the Coast Guard.
Tony and I stayed up late almost every night talking about anything and everything you can imagine, but most of it centered around philosophical issues, such as; religion, politics, and life in general.
Having been born and raised in Ireland with a father in the British Army, he is very familiar with the Western way of life. He wasn’t a poor immigrant seeking America to escape political or religious persecution, nor was he trying to escape a war torn country or a dictator’s oppression.
He fell in love with America while visiting friends and family that had moved to the states years before him.
While I can sense his homesickness for “The Old Side” (as he called it,) he left no questions as to his viewpoints about the U.S. He told me often “It’s the best country in the world!” I heard him speak higher of our country than most natives and definitely spoke higher of this country than the many who have escaped persecution. Shouldn’t the ones who left a terrible life behind to find freedom be more appreciative of America than a person from the very western lifestyle of Ireland? This amazed me every time it came up. He could speak for hours about everything “wonderful” about this country and never once said anything derogatory. The worst thing he could muster up about America was “..sure it’s not perfect, but it’s the best damned country in the world…” Sometimes, he left me so inspired I wanted to run out the back door into the frosty night air waving Old Glory while singing “God Bless America..”
Rockefeller Center
Aside from the deeply philosophical conversations we had, he and JoEllen greeted me with great cooking. I was able to eat homemade Shepherds Pie cooked by an authentic Irishman. It was delicious. One might think that the prior four weeks of Wendy’s without a break of any kind, left me delirious, but trust me…this was good stuff.
There is nothing better than the smell of fresh vegetables cooking and the sound of potatoes being peeled. Listening to Tony and JoEllen prep the food was as harmonious to my ears as the Boston Pops.
On day three, the weather seemed fair and it we decided it was good day to head into “the city.”
Middletown is about 45 minutes north of the city and we had a couple of options in front of us, we could take the train, the bus, or drive into town. I have driven in every major metropolitan area so far, yet I still had a little fear of Manhattan.
Ok, I’m driving…
On the way into New York City, you could see the occasional parking lot full of hundreds of cars. These were the locations where bus and train riders would dump there car off for the work day. The concept of this is foreign to me. It must be the only place in America where tens of thousands of cars make their way every morning to a meeting point just short of their destination, only to be abandoned in favor of the bus or train.. You would think that there wouldn’t be much traffic in Manhattan since all of the traffic is parked on the sides of the highways leading into it, but you would be completely wrong if you were to think this.
Where the Twin Towers used to stand
Luckily, we missed morning rush hour, but it sure didn’t feel like it while we had four lanes of traffic bottlenecking itself in an attempt to thread the Lincoln Tunnel. Oh yes, the Lincoln Tunnel. I have been to New York a couple of times before, but I wasn’t so fortunate to be sitting behind the steering wheel while ravaging my way through a staggered wall of cars with my horn in an attempt to submerge myself into this underwater tube. What a nightmare! Tony just kept saying “Oh, this is flowing pretty well today” If you can imagine hearing the pleasantries of the soothing Irish accent talk about how well things are going while my knuckles are white, with the exception of the middle finger, which seems to have adapted to the New York culture faster than the rest of me, then you can clearly see what was going on that morning.
After the 1/4 mile 20 minute bottlenecking into the entry was finished, we made our way through 1.5 miles of one of the busiest underwater tubes in the world. It isn’t all that bad once you squeeze your car into line, it’s the getting into line that is the real pain.
We entered from New Jersey and exited in NYC. Driving around the city wasn’t all that bad, but I guess it helped having someone guide me through it. Tony worked in Manhattan for years and knows these streets much better than Lola (my GPS) does.
While the driving itself isn’t so bad, the parking is a nightmare. Finding a parking spot in the street is less likely than winning the lottery.
Many of the “parking lots” consisted of large metal frames. You drop your car off and they drive it for you up to a open metal framed disaster which consists of an elevator device to raise your car upwards. It must take some getting used to because I can’t imagine dropping my car off in a lot and later seeing it four stories up in the air. This makeshift parking platform resembled a trailer used to haul new cars. The only difference is that this is square, taller, and uses an elevator to raise your car up to the top.
Bird's eye view from the top of Empire State Building
We opted for a more traditional parking garage. The kind where you drive 20 feet below ground, drop off your car, and let the worker manipulate your four door vehicle into a spot fit for a moped. Yeah, space is that hard to come by in this city.
We dropped the car off and walked up to the streets of New York City. Ahhh yes, finally I was on foot and in the city. Now, it’s time to check out the sites.
We passed the legendary Radio City Music Hall on our way to Rockefeller Center to visit the infamous Christmas Tree and ice skating rink, oh yeah…. NBC is there too
After taking a few pictures and people watching, Tony and I headed to the Empire State Building. The view from the top is a must see for anyone who visits New York City.
On an overcast day, the view wasn’t as spectacular as it could have been, but it was still worth seeing. On a clear day, it is said that you can see five states; New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. This kind of view wasn’t going to happen on this day.
It’s amazing how much noise exists while walking the streets of New York City. If you just stop for a few seconds, close your eyes and listen, you will hear many languages being spoken amongst the laughter and conversation, the beeping of commercial trucks backing up, construction, and of course the army of taxis honking their horns. On the 86th floor observation deck, all of these sounds are converge together to form a buzz echoing upwards. It was on this outdoor deck that I absorbed the humming of the city mixed with the slight breeze blowing in my ears while looking off in the distance with a bird’s eye view of lower Manhattan. It is lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center Towers used to stand.
Times Square
While I never saw the towers in person, I am still accustomed to the mental visualization of the towers being there. Almost 30 years of seeing the skyline on every media outlet you can imagine has left the image of the towered skyline engrained in my head forever. It is here and now, at the top of the Empire State building that I look to Lower Manhattan and see a skyline that feels a bit ominous. I’m not sure if this feeling is a result of the gray clouds blanketing the city or if it’s from the memories of watching two of the mightiest guardians crumble beneath a sucker punch of evil on a Tuesday morning while getting ready to drive across town to my 9:30 class. Either way, seven years later, it still doesn’t look right.
After leaving the Empire State building, we made our way to the Neon Nerve Center of the world, Times Square. While standing here, one can’t help but look around and think of how New York City has been the Media Mecca for generations. The up to the minute news crawler illuminates loudly over the heads of the hypnotized billboard gazers and lounging lunch eaters while the natives seem oblivious to the visual marvels as they walk with determination and blinders to their next destination. It is very easy to differentiate between the tourist and the indigenous here. The tourist are mesmerized and the natives are desensitized.
With the threat of perpetual traffic congestion trying to squeeze their way out of the city during the looming rush hour, we decided to call it a day. I had to stop at Giants Stadium (number 23 out of 31 NFL Stadiums) on the way home and the day was complete.
Tony and I spent most of the daylight hours in Manhattan and barely scratched the surface. As I have said in prior blogs, some cities need days to explore. I have a feeling New York needs weeks, if not months to explore it.
