Welcome Back

Well I am back to work after a blissful week off. Here is a brief rundown of my vacation.

Friday 8/5 – Joyce and I drove to Midway and parked the car there. We both had to go to work and so we lugged our bags on the Orange line and to work. We both got out around 2:30 and then headed back to the airport. There we met Don (a friend we were going to NYC with) and we talked the ticket agent into getting us on to an earlier flight.

However, all flights to New York were delayed so, we wound up sitting on the plane at Midway for over an hour when finally we took off and landed at LaGuardia sometime after nine o’clock eastern time. There we met Alicia (my friend Chris’ girlfriend who is a native New Yorker and whose parents were providing us with sleeping accommodations.) We got in a cab and headed to Brooklyn where we were staying.

We dropped the bags off and headed to Pino’s (a great pizzeria in the area) and grabbed a slice before we headed out. After eating we went to a bar in Brooklyn called the Gate. (It had a ton of beers I’d never heard of on tap which was cool as I tried a couple. The Brooklyn Pilsner was my personal favorite.) Also, the bar had a bunch of anti-Bush posters so, I felt right at home. However, having had to get up at 4:30 in the morning I was at the wall so we headed in for the night at a somewhat decent hour.

Saturday 8/6 – We woke up and grabbed the subway to Queens to hit Shea Stadium. Every native New Yorker I ran into told me the same thing, which was basically the park, is a toilet. Sadly, I can’t argue with that analogy. It does not have much character and offers very little other than the game itself. After watching the Cubs lose to the Met’s we got back on the subway and headed towards Chinatown.

New York’s china town is fricken huge and is very cool. We met Alicia’s sister there and grabbed a bite at Joe’s Shanghai Inn. For Chinese food the place was outstanding. I had some incredible Dim Sum and the wife got this eggplant dish. After feasting on some good food we were back on the streets and headed over to Little Italy.

We walked down Mulberry St. and grabbed some Italian ice and other deserts. We then put on our hiking boots as we walked all over eventually ending up in Greenwich Village. Needing a beer, we went in a bar called Fiddlestick’s. The bar had some unruly customers and after one drink we left to find something a little better. Down the road we found a bar called WXOU (I think) and I proceeded to get as drunk as a Lemur.

After downing many shots of Sambucca, we were off to the subway again to head back to Crooklyn. Getting off the subway we found a pizza joint called Smiley’s so I grabbed a slice and Don grabbed this mysterious meat pocket that had to be part rat. After eating we headed in for the night.

Sunday 8/7 – I personally needed a re-boot as I was a little hangover so we decided to check out what Brooklyn had to offer. We trekked over to Prospect Park which is this really cool park located in the middle of town. After doing a little sightseeing we grabbed lunch at this Middle Eastern place called the Olive Vine. We then headed back to our home base where Alicia was catching up with some old friends. We sat around there for a while and eventually headed out to hit Times Square. I was simply blown away by it and the only thing I can compare it to is Vegas. After doing a little shopping I was able to try my first knishe. A knishe is kind of a fried mashed potato with mustard in the middle. After consuming like three over the course of the weekend I must say they are damn tasty. After spending a couple of hours there we again headed back to Brooklyn.

There we went into a bar called Loki. It was simply a great bar with an incredible back room. It had a bunch of couches setup in the back, so we lounged around there had a couple of drinks and eventually headed in foe the evening.

Monday 8/8 – We got up and grabbed a subway to Manhattan to catch the Staten Island ferry. It was a goal to hit all five boroughs and the only one’s we had not hit were Staten Island and the Bronx. The ferry is free and you get a really cool view of both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We got off the ferry, stepped foot on the Island and headed right back to the city. We saw Wall Street and Ground Zero(which was very moving) and then it was off to the subway again to hit the Bronx and Yankee Stadium.

The Bronx is really an armpit. The ballpark is located in a real bad area so, after having a six dollar Rolling Rock, Joyce and I went in to the stadium. While the park itself is a little cooler than Shea it still was a little disappointing. Sure, it oozes history and all that but, the more I was there the more I realized just what a meca Wrigley Field is. I will give Yankee fans this, they are the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen. They were into every pitch and they expect nothing short of a win every game.

After the game we hit a bar across the street and knocked down a couple before hitting the subway one last time to Brooklyn. Once there we decided to grab one more New York slice from Pino’s. I must say as a lifelong Chicagoan, I really started to dig that New York pizza. While our hot dogs are ten times better their pizza is really pretty good. I’m not going to say it’s better but it is damn good. We finally headed home and got ready to say goodbye to the big city.

Tuesday 8/9 – We got up and headed to the airport. Again ATA made us wait on the plane for over an hour before take off. Eventually we landed back home in Chicago. I gave my friend Don a ride home and the wife and I basically sat on our asses all day trying to re-energize the batteries. Fortunately I had the rest off the week off, Joyce was not so lucky as she had to go back the next day.

Wednesday 8/10 – The brakes on Joyce’s car we kind of squeaking so, I took it in to get it fixed. I grabbed a salad from Dominick’s for lunch and waited for the car. Once I got it back I headed home and waited for Joyce. We grabbed a small dinner and I sat back and watched The Woodsman, which I got from netflix. The movie was good, but a definite downer.

Thursday 8/11 – I grabbed lunch at Jewel and then farted around the house most of the day. I put on the Cubs game and zoned out on that until Joyce came home. We went to Patio for dinner and then I sat back and watched 28 Days Later, which I also had from netflix. I had heard from both ends of the spectrum on this one, but I must say I kind of dug it and would recommend it.

Friday 8/12 – I ran a bunch of errands during the day (pausing to grab a breaded steak from Ricobene’s) and eventually headed home. There, I waited for Joyce and we went to Thai Smile a Thai place in Palos that we both like. After eating, we drove around and headed back to the homestead and we settled in for the evening watching bad cable.

Saturday 8/13 – Joyce and I decided to catch a movie but we could not agree on which one so, we compromised. She wanted to see the March of the Penguins and since I really had no interest in that I checked out the movie times and saw that Wedding Crashers started only ten minutes after that so, I saw it. Overall, the film has some funny moments but they ruined it with a formulatic Hollywood ending. After the movie we headed home and Joyce talked me into eating at Ruby Tuesday’s. (An unholy chain.) They do have a really good salad bar so, I hit that and we headed home to watch the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. While I am a huge Bill Murray and Wes Anderson fan, I would have to call this one a miss.

Sunday 8/14 – We got up and grabbed yet another salad, this time from Dominick’s. Joyce cut my hair and eventually I was off to Menard’s to buy some useless crap that I really didn’t need. I settled down to watch the Cubs win and went to bed sobbing like a little girl that my vacation was over.

All in all I must say that New York really won a hard liner Chicagoan over. That town just does not stop going and there is so much to do that I would need ten trips to do everything I want to do there. It just might have eclipsed Vegas as my favorite city I’ve ever been to. Sure, it’s dirty and has some seedy parts but that is all the more reason why I kind of liked it. The town really has a personality unto it’s own. If anybody cares here is a link to the photo's I took while in the city.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/nafran/album?.dir=51d6&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos