Start Spreadin' the News!

As I mentioned last post, when I drove Carly back to school last August, she had the great idea of a 31 hour detour to New York City. I have never been, and was a bit uneasy about going. What a blast I had. That place is amazing. We crammed as much as you can imagine into 31 hours, including a New York Mets game, lunch at a Pizzeria (once in Manhattan and once in Brooklyn), Rockefeller Center, the NBA store, Central Park, Times Square, The Ed Sullivan Theater, the Brooklyn Bridge, Staten Island - you get the idea. We were on the go. Carly is amazing in her understanding of how to navigate the City. I was an ok travelling companion, except I kept telling everyone we were from out of town - Carly thought that was dumb of me - but people were all very friendly and helpful.

So - Top 5 Things I ate in NYC

Mind you, I wasn't there very long, so these are probably all 5 things I ate.

5 - Pizza in Manhattan - I guess you have figured out that I like pizza. The good news is that the local Big Apple compares quite favorably to the pizza I ate in the real Big Apple.

4 - Banana Pudding - I have no idea the name of the bakery Carly took me to, but it was right across the street from the Manhattan temple. They had some amazing treats there.

3 - Pizza in Brooklyn - one of the top Pizzeria's in the area. This was a real treat.

2 - Bagel's at Max's bagels. The bagels around here (Salt Lake City) are so lame that you forget how good a bagel with cream cheese can be.

1 - Pastrami Sandwich at midnight near Carnegie Hall - this was amazing - should have taken a picture of it.

Top 5 things we did in New York City.

5 - New York Mets vs. Phildelphia Phillies. We got right off the bus and checked into our hotel and then went straight to the stadium. It was a long subway/train ride. The ride was amazing - you think we have graffiti problems in SLC - good grief. As you pull up to Citi Field, Arthur Ashe Stadium, where they host the US Open tennis tournament is on the other side of the train. I thought that was Citi Field at first. A guy on the train told me that was a common mistake of first timers.

The ballpark was beautiful. This is the first year they have played there. We sat on the 3rd base side, which gives you a great view of all the airplanes landing during the game - I think at LaGuardia. The Mets were way out of the race, so the game was not intense. Ryan Howard hit 2 home runs, we missed the first because we were late, and the big disappointment was that no Met homered, so I did not get to see the Big Apple rise up. In this picture, you can kind of see the apple under the scoreboard. Great afternoon.


4 - Staten Island ferry. This ferry runs free between Manhattan and Staten Island 24/7. You pass by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and the view of Manhattan is fabulous.


3 - Strawberry Fields Forever. I have been really getting into the Beatles lately. Bought all the cds, read a biography. I remember being overwhelmed when John Lennon was killed. It was so senseless and he was such a symbol for peace. I have always wanted to see this understated tribute to him in Central Park, not far from where he lived and was shot. It is probably a peaceful place, but 2 guys got into quite a fight while we were there contemplating peace. A punch or two and a lot of loud profanity - the funny thing is that no one batted an eye. I was reading a John Lennon biography and in it there was a story of him complaining to his finance guy about all the tax hassles his many homes were causing. The finance guy says "C'mon John, imagine no possessions!" to which Lennon replies - "It's only a bloody song."


2 - Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge towards Manhattan. See the picture at the front of this post. This was simply fabulous. The most beautiful walk I have ever been on.

1 - Are you kidding? Only one of my bucket list items.




We saw Dave! Man I love Dave. I have always loved Dave. I think Dave is the funniest guy alive. We went by the theater on the first day (our tickets were for the second day) and they were hitting baseballs on 53rd avenue.


We went back the next afternoon to see the show. We got checked in then they tell you to go away for an hour. We went to the CBS gift shop and got a few things, then went to Rupert Gee's Hello Deli - Rupert's is a cash only deal, and I was running low, so I just bought a bottle of water. Walking out of Rupert's, I ran into an old friend.


It was Biff! He could not have been more pleasant. It was really strange speaking to Biff and Rupert because you feel like you are speaking to an old friend and they have no idea who in the hell you are.

Anyway, the show was really cool. Dave asks for questions from the audience, and I got called on. He gave me a really hard time for yelling my question while only 20 feet away. The whole experience was high energy and surreal. After we walked out of the theater, there was nothing left to do but get back on the bus to D.C.

We saw lots of other stuff, Wall Street, Trinity Church, the NBA store, Chrysler Building, Times Square (a little too intense for me).

Thanks Carly for a great trip!