NYC checklist

Four things are mandatory for a trip to NYC: eat a bagel, eat a pizza, sing karaoke and view the city from a rooftop. On that count I would consider my trip to NYC a great success.

As I clearly detailed in my last post, my welcome to Brooklyn was a bit jarring as I found myself at S 5th St., Williamsburg (1 on subway map above), not 5th Ave, Park Slope (2 on subway map above.) Gretel's apartment is in a sweet location! The picture to the right is a view from her veranda.

5th Ave is a hot spot for fantastic restaurants and bars and all are snuggled together on the street, so we didn't have to walk far. As a matter of fact, one morning we went to brunch at a bakery that was literally next door to her apartment - so when we sat outside ordering scones, drinking coffee and playing scrabble for nearly four hours, it felt like we were in Gretel's backyard.

My first day in the city I got to see a live taping of the Late Show with David Letterman. I got a ticket from my second-grade crush, Zack Levin. We met up in the Barbie Dream House in Times Square. (Zack pictured below with a Ken doll.)

The audience handling on Letterman is huge deal. I dressed "preppy" (per Zack's request) and was overly excited when I got my ticket, so I was fortunate enough to get seated 3 rows from the stage, right in front of Dave's desk.

Prior to the show, the audience was crammed into the lobby of the Ed Sullivan theatre (3 on subway map above), in efforts to stay dry from the flash-flood rain outside. Zack jumped up on a chair besides me and gave a funny, overly excited and extremely loud run-down of what to expect on the show. Zack instructed us to laugh at anything and everything - so when the show began EVERYTHING was funny. Yes, it was a tad artificial, but with the energy of the crowd and the mere presence of Letterman everything was funny - I even laughed at a few sports jokes.

I returned to Manhattan the next day and met up with two of my cousins near Gramercy Park/Union Square (4 on subway map above.) My cousin Eric works for EMI, which is a huge music publisher, managing labels such as Columbia Records. My other cousin, Lisa, and I got to visit him up in his office and were invited to take a few CDs home with us. I got Gorillaz D-Side and Kenny Rogers 42 Ultimate Hits - some definite jams for my long drives in the south.

Next I went to the MET (5 on subway map above.) I don't know how it happens, but I always get lost in the European art wing of Museums. I enjoy European art, don't get me wrong, but after about 10-20 paintings it all starts looking the same to me. Finally I found the Eastern art collection - a few of my favorites are below.

There were two exhibits that I particularly enjoyed: "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion" and "The Pictures Generation, 1974–1984" I wasn't allowed to take photos, but some of the exhibit can be found at the MET's website: http://www.metmuseum.org/special/index.asp

On my way home I made a stop in Queens (6 on subway map above.) I got lost.

I spent my last day walking around Brooklyn - it was beautiful (7 on subway map above.)

(Prospect Park)

(Cherry Blossoms at the Botanical Gardens)

Later that night I checked the two remaining things off my checklist: sing karaoke and view the city from a rooftop. We went to the Old Carriage Inn in Brooklyn, which was a dodgy mix of aspiring Susan Boyles, metal guys who clearly flat-iron their hair (see video below), little people and yes, Fultonians. I ran into a couple of Fultonians - Jill Reobor and Susan Ely (see picture below.)

We ended the night on Gretel's rooftop, where the wind nearly swept us off the roof in a dramatic Mary Poppin's fashion. Incidentally, Gretel and I share the same "Best NYC Story" which involves a rooftop. This story also involves drunkenness, a 6-story fire escape, a model named "Trendz", an orange, a thunderstorm, 911, a flood light and twelve firemen... But everyone has already heard that story, right?

NYC was an incredible stop on my epic adventure, one full of nostalgia, a new found peace, randomness and friendship...

What's in a street name?

My navigation skills were immediately put to the test once I entered Brooklyn. I dutifully found my friend Gretel's address, or so I thought, and waited for her to come home. In any other situation I would have gotten out of the car and walked around to take in the local sites. I was so frightened by the neighborhood however that I sat glued to my car seat, with my doors locked and my knife at hand. I tried to ignore the Hispanic couple that was yelling and pushing each other around right outside of my car. I watched a man dump two cans of cat food into an abandoned gated-in driveway and watched the cats swarm. I examined the local graffiti flavor and the different types window barricades. As I sat in my car I thought of all the things I wanted to bring inside with me to be safe from car theft.

Nearly two hours later, provoked by the onset of having to pee and the sun setting I tried desperately to get ahold of Gretel. As I waited for her reply I decided to compare the address from one of Gretel's text message to the address I had entered in the GPS and sure enough, there was a discrepancy. I was sitting in Williamsburg at S 5th St (see ghetto photo below.) I left in a hurry and when I rolled up into Gretel's actual address on 5th Ave in Park Slope (see nice photo below) a huge wave of relief washed over me. Phew. She didn't live in the ghetto after all. Apparently, in NYC there is A LOT in a street name.

(S 5th St., Brooklyn, NY - Williamsburg)

(5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY - Park Slope)

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Stop #1: Brighton, MA

Stop #2: Clinton, CT

Stop #3: Brooklyn, NY

My stop #1 elicits so many emotions that it is difficult to write about. Hopefully later when I've had some time to reflect upon leaving Boston I will have more to say about my first stop.

I arrived in Clinton, CT on Sunday, May 3rd. I stayed with Joanna and her two-year-old son Elijah (unfortunately her husband was in Newfoundland for work, so I missed him.) I offered to watch Elijah on Monday while Jo was at work. I didn't think I would be changing diapers on my road trip, but I did. We had fun - I did sign language with him, I let him sit in the driver's seat of my car while I organized stuff in the back and I walked him down to the river where he threw rocks in the water for nearly an hour. The following day Jo got off of work and we spent all day catching up. It's amazing how different Jo and I have grown, yet I couldn't be happier for her and her family. Someday I'll get to experience that joy...

(Jo and Elijah at Chatfield Hollow State Park)

Yesterday, on my drive to Brooklyn I made a stop in New Haven, CT to visit a hamburger place that Jo had told me about. This place, Louis' Lunch claimed to be the original birthplace of the hamburger, so naturally, on a road trip such as mine, I had to check it out.

[ABC World News covered Louis' Lunch in this "news-worthy" clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O0iH-_c7zQ&feature=related ]

(Louis' Lunch - vertical gas ovens and emblem from the bread toaster)

I sat at the counter, ordered a burger and was soon greeted by a gentleman who took the seat beside me. We made small talk about my camera and I asked him about the local neighborhood. After discovering I was on a road trip, Bob offered to show me around the Yale campus, which was only a few blocks away. I got my own personal tour of the campus - he pointed out the original secret society, which George Washington and John Kerry were members of, a hidden sculpture garden and Yale's Sterling Memorial Library (pictured below.)

(Yale's Sterling Memorial Library and snail sculpture in Yale's Sculpture garden)

Today I'm off to see the Letterman...