The Oculus (May 1, 2022)

Sharon and I were in NYC in 2015, the year before the Oculus opened.  The subway station is next to the Freedom Tower and is designed to resemble a dove (of peace) leaving a child's hands.  My photo is from the wrong angle to show that.  Until this visit, Sharon and I thought the Oculus was a prehistoric animal of some sort. I seriously learn something new every day.

In 2015, Sharon and I wandered inside the unfinished structure, empty except for us and a few security guards. Now, busy, as it is meant to be.

Last day in NYC (May 1, 2022)

Connie had to fly back to Las Vegas on Sunday morning. Sharon and I were supposed to leave at 1 p.m. but American Airlines bumped us to a 9 p.m. flight.  We spent the morning at the City Winery on the Hudson with a Beatles cover band that starred in Beatlemania on Broadway. 

"John Lennon" is a retired NYPD detective who's played the part for something like 30 years.

Sharon and I call this "high heel" island but it's actually Little Island, a floating park with winding pathways, green spaces, and an amphitheater.

The amphitheater.  From the highest points, the Statue of Liberty is visible.

Happy dancer on the musical squares.

A sea of tulips.

 

World's #1 Indian vegetarian restaurant (April 30, 2022)

Connie and I noticed families from India taking selfies in front of this restaurant. We asked about it and found out this is a very popular restaurant chain in India. We had to give it a try.

OMG!  When will the chain open in Austin?  Closest locations are in Katy and Houston. Worth the drive??? I had steamed semolina and veggies with incredible sauces. Connie had a thin crepe stuffed with veggies. We had mango lassi for dessert. 

Eataly, a row of Italian food eateries next to the famous flatiron building, was nearby.  Indulged with a chocolate chip canoli.  They don't fill the shell until you place the order. The shell is crisp, the inside is creamy and sweet. 
 

THE New York Public Library (April 30, 2022)

We've all seen the front of the New York Public Library for years in films.  The lions are Patience and Fortitude.  I'm not sure which one I'm standing beside. Connie and I took in the Treasures exhibit while Sharon rented a CityBike to ride along the Hudson River.

The original Teddy Bear that inspired the Winnie the Pooh stories. Yes, author A. A. Milne's son was Christopher Robin Milne, and the bear on display is the very bear owned by Christopher.  He donated the bear to the book publisher who then donated it to the New York Public Library. I had to see the bear for three reasons: (1) When Mya was 2, she lost Papa Bear at this very library but Brandy got him back. So Papa Bear has his own adventure to recount. (2) Tom and I were supposed to celebrate Eeyore's Birthday with Jim and Jan Roberts on April 30; instead, I sent Jan a photo of the exhibit, complete with Eeyore. (3) We got to meet the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.

We saw so many treasures: an original page from Mozart's composition; a lock of Beethoven's hair; rare books and letters dating back to the 1500s and earlier.  The architecture itself is a treasure. Had to admire the woodwork in the ceiling.

Patience or Fortitude? Human's head, lion's head, pigeon's head.
 

Springtime all over the city (April 30, 2022)

Brandy's favorite: hydrangeas. Had to send her the photo.

T. Rex among the tulips on Park Avenue.

Wooly mammoth and tulips on Park Avenue.

 

Broadway shows (April 29-30, 2022)

Hadestown, set in jazzy New Orleans, is a modern take on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Hades and Persephone. The Wikipedia synopsis of Hadestown is that Eurydice, a hungry young girl, goes to work in a hellish industrial underworld to escape climate-change induced poverty before her poor singer-songwriter lover Orpheus comes to rescue her and together show others the way to escape.  I think the play unnecessarily addresses current political issues when the lesson of the Greek myth is timeless and enough by itself.  My takeaway: Basically, keep your focus on the goal. Do not deviate!

I was interested in MacBeth for two reasons: (1) Daniel Craig starred as MacBeth (2) when we studied MacBeth my junior year of high school, English teacher Papa C. J. MacMurdo said he was typecasting me as Lady MacBeth. Did he think I was cold, calculating, murderous? Seeing the play more than 50 years later, I still see no redeeming qualities for Lady MacBeth. 

After the play, the audience crowded outside in hopes of catching a glimpse of Daniel Craig leaving the theater. We didn't wait around as we are all too short to see over the crowd. Ja vel.

 

Botanical Garden orchid rescue (April 29, 2022)

Next Spring, I'm going to try growing tulips in pots for our deck. The bulbs I planted in the flower bed come up every year but only bloomed that first year, 11 years ago, in March, when Fox was a newborn. 

The Haupt Conservatory at the Botanical Gardens is a giant greenhouse filled with room after room of orchids and other plants. 

Did you know orchids are an endangered species, no thanks to destruction of the orchids' natural habitat and overcollection by orchid hunters? Illegally imported orchids are confiscated when possible and sent to Plant Rescue Centers such as the Haupt Conservatory. The New York Botanical Garden, a Plant Rescue Center since 1990, has rescued thousands of plants.

I had never before seen aqua-blue orchids. Are they originally from Australia? India? I couldn't find them on the internet. 

I believe these are lady slipper orchids.  The pouch traps insects so they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollen, fertilizing the flower. 
 

New York City Botanical Gardens (April 29, 2022)

At Grand Central Station for the 22-minute/9-mile ride to the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx.

Tulips! Irises! Daffodils! Cherry trees!  Spring has sprung!

Within the Botanical Gardens is the Edible Academy, a place for school children to learn how to grow edible plants.  Children were tending their lettuce plants when we were there. Hopefully the very hungry caterpillar leaves their harvest alone! 

Sharon, TOS (The Other Sharon), and Connie

I'd never before seen cherry trees in bloom. So beautiful! Wondering who will get to pick the cherries.
 

What does it take to run a city of nearly 9 million people? (April 29, 2022)

So many rooftop water tanks were visible from our 22nd floor room at the Hilton Fashion District. City water pressure was too weak to pump water to top floors. The city requires buildings six stories or taller to install a rooftop tank with a pump.  The tanks typically hold 5,000-10,000 gallons of water. 

We walked A LOT of miles but covered many more and saved time thanks to the subway system, for a mere $2.75 per ride. With 472 stations, 248 miles of route length, and speeds up to 55 mph, it's not surprising that during the week daily ridership is 5.6 million.

We met up for dinner with Texas friends Jack and Viv.  Jack worked with us at the Williamson County Sun in the late 1980s. 

 

First trip to the City since pre-COVID times (April 28, 2022)

Former Williamson County Sun colleagues (but more importantly friends for nearly 40 years) Connie and Sharon and I took our first trip back to NYC since 2018. Our first stop was the Woody Guthrie exhibit to pay tribute to the musician/poet who grew up in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. I love his recognition that Life goes on.

Serendipitously Woody's daughter Nora was there and took the time to visit with us.  A very "salt of the earth" person.  Friend Sharon admired her white hair and confided that she plans to go gray in the coming year. Nora assured her she "lost no friends or lovers" when she went natural.

That's Nora on the far right, in the late 1950s. We met her because Connie and Sharon observed that Arlo (of Alice's Restaurant fame)  looked "dorky" (luckily before Nora was within hearing range) then wondered who else was in the photo. That's when Nora tapped Connie on the shoulder to say, "I can answer questions about that photo." 

 Woody's New Year's resolutions one year during World War II.  At the time, he was in hospital for the genetic Huntington's disease, which would eventually take him like it took his mother.