The Big Apple

It’s been a terribly long time since I have been able write about my travels.   During my Sabbatical, I ventured to the Big Apple, the Empire State, the home of the Yankees, the home of the Jets and Giants, and the home of over 8 million people – New York, New York.  To start off my journey, I upgraded myself to FIRST CLASS.  It was my first time in first class.  I sat in a nice, roomy, leather seat that reclined almost to a horizontal position without my head in the lap of the person behind me.  First class is the way to go.  There I was,  sitting in my seat, drinking my complimentary drink, eating my complimentary snack, and enjoying all the dirty looks that the COACH class gave me as they filed by.   I always wondered why they shut that curtain that separates the compartments.  I have always wondered what really goes on in first class. I was now on the OTHER side of the curtain. I couldn’t wait to get into the air.  I couldn’t wait to see what surprises await me.  Did they offer massages?  A private screening of a current blockbuster?   Now that I am “one of them”, I cannot divulge any information that may compromise the integrity of first class.

So, after an enjoyable flight, I landed at JFK and proceeded to retrieve my luggage.  You know that pit you get in your stomach while waiting for your luggage to circle its way to you,  and everyone is finding their bag and you haven’t seen yours make its way around?  I had this pit.  My luggage never made it.  I was luggage-less.  Oh how I hate it when AA does this!  It seems to have become a tradition on each flight I take.  AA is very consistent in “misplacing” my bag.  The first thing I always think of are those trusty baggage check workers enjoying my running shoes, my ipod, or any other valuable that may be in my checked luggage.  I sat alone in one of the seats, waiting for the next flight to arrive, hoping my bag was on it. A couple of hours later, it arrived.

Now, I was on my way to Grand Central Station….actually Grand Central Terminal.   What an impressive place.  I felt as if I walked into another time, some parallel universe.  It was so busy.  No wonder they call it Grand Central Station. So many people…going or coming from somewhere…from everywhere.  I could have spent the afternoon in there.  Restaurants, shopping, tennis?  As much as I wanted to stay, I needed to go.

After the First Class plane ride, the lost luggage, and the smelly bus to Grand Central, it had already been a very long day….My first stop:

Ahhhhh…a Corona with lime.   Enough said.  I did have an agenda for my NY trip.  One, was to see my good friend, Thomas.  And the other, was to run in Central Park.  I am an avid runner.  I have always wanted to run in Central Park.  I was not even sure what Central Park looked like.  It was HUGE!  Dogs with their people.  Kids with their parents.  There were runners everywhere.  I loved it!  As I entered Central Park, I felt as if I had been there before.  I looked around.  Was it Deja Vu?  The more I walked, the more it seemed familiar.  I think I have been here before.  Then it hit me.  I have seen this place every night on the USA channel on Law and Order.  Yes, there was the rock where the child went missing from her nanny.  Oh, then there was the path where the dead jogger was found.  And another path where another dead jogger was found.  Just so you know, I saw no missing children and no dead joggers. I didn’t even see Christopher Noth.   Nonetheless, it was a great experience to put on my list of things I have done in this life.

My trip to the Big Apple was short.  There are so many things that I did not do, nor did I see.  I will have to go back.   The sights, the sounds, the smells, and the people were great.  I met up with my friend,  I met a great Dingo and an ever-so-cute Not A Dingo,  I ran in Central Park,  I rode the subway, I rode  in a cab…and almost got ran over by one.   I cannot wait to go back. I want to swim in the Hudson, see a NYFD fire fighter, buy soup from the Soup Nazi, and run to the top of the Statue of Liberty.   I heart NY.

Beating the Heat

Beating the heat?  I mean really.  Can one really beat heat?  I can’t sucker punch it in the gut.  I can’t out run it in a foot race.  Theoretically, there is no way to “beat” the heat.  However, this summer has been so dreadfully hot that I ventured to a water park.  What other way is there to beat this heat?  What a great idea!  I love water parks!  I packed my swimming trunks, goggles, and life jacket.  Off I went.   Do you know what is better than a water park?  An INDOOR WATER PARK!  I am not a fan of the sun.  It is too hot and burns my skin.  Plus, I am trying to “beat the heat”, so why would I want to spend all day in the sun…even at a water park?  Soooo, an indoor water park is perfect for me.  Well, almost perfect.  One of several problems I have with public water facilities is that other people swim there too.  This disturbs me on lots of different levels.  I have to block out of my mind the thought of the numerous few people who urinate in public swimming pools.  ALSO, I have read that we sweat in the water when we are active.  We don’t know it because we are in the water.  Makes sense.  During a water exercise class, one can sweat up to 3 pints of fluids.  This is why our fingers are wrinkled when we get out of the pool.  It’s from dehydration.  Hmmm….Maybe this isn’t such a great idea?  Maybe I should turn around and go home?  Nope, I am a risk taker.  I live on the edge.  

Wow! The Great Wolf Lodge is a HUGE facility!  Water slides! Water Squirty Things! The Lazy River! The Wave Pool!  All contained under one roof!  I paid a ginormous price, was accessorized with a wrist band, and  I Was In!  What shall I do first?  There are so many options. I will do it all!  I started with the Lazy River…my  personal favorite.  The one thing that I am good at…is being lazy.  I have almost perfected the task.  The only thing that I do better than being lazy is Art of Procrastination.  This is my forte.  I can waste a whole day procrastinating.  Ok, back to the water park.  They have decent slides.  Even though, I scream like a girl on each one of them, they’re fun.  One in particular reminded me of a toilet bowl.  Yep, you heard me: A toilet bowl.  It’s where you slide into a bowl and you spin around and around it, then you come out of the bottom into the pool. I got flushed.

The lifeguards are great and very attentive.  It is very comforting to know that lifeguards are watching out for my life when I am plummeted out of the tunnels.   I have been know to fall out of the tube and land upside down into the water.  I have yet to pull a “Sandlot” drowning scene with a hot lifeguard…even if it has crossed my mind.

For those of you who do like the sun and skin cancer, there are outdoor slides too.  Along with a hot tub and more squirty activity things for the kids.  I didn’t quite get why there is a hot tub outside in the hot weather.  People were in it.  I’m sure it is better during the winter months.  I did not venture outside to check out these.  Waterparks are very famishing.  There is food/drink/alcohol available.  It’s rather expensive.  No worries, if you run out of money, you can charge it to your room.  I guess their plan is after they drain you for the cost of the room, they want you to mortgage the family farm on concessions. In my opinion, this is criminal. 

This place has hundreds of rooms for your stay.  (Hence the title Great Wolf Lodge). Very roomy.  Very nice.  You can stay for days.  Sleep late, then get up and go swim.  Or, just hang out in your room watching the flat screen.  I can only handle the water park for about a day, then I am water logged. I get tired of the crowds and I get tired of being wet.   I then start critiquing those in their swimsuits.  Let me tell you, some are very comfortable with the skin they are in.  All different shapes and sizes…I am talking about the swimsuits here.  It’s amazing this type of attire is only legal at a waterpark. 

Then there is the bar.  There is something about alcohol that makes it tolerable for some to be around lots of people for a very long time.  The bartender was a great chap.  It’s important to make friends everywhere you go. If you want to check out their website,  http://www.greatwolf.com/.  I recommend making reservations on the “white” days as opposed to the light green and dark green days.  (Check out their calendar.)  This is where you get the most bang for your buck.  Otherwise, it isn’t worth the price.  To save some USDs – bring your own food.  They have overpriced restaurants and a $20 buffet in case you don’t want to make sandwiches in your room. Or just eat off site.    

Make sure you like kids because they are everywhere!  When they are not in the water, they are up/down the stairwell, in the hall, swarming the lobby on this scavenger hunt (also sold separately) which takes an enormous amount of hours to complete.  Kids love this place.  Probably because they aren’t paying for it.  I don’t know if I will go back…if I don’t, at least I can say ~ Been there, done that.

Say Cheese(steak)!

I love cheesesteaks.  The closest I have come to a great cheesesteak is Subway or Dominoes Cheesesteak Pizza.  I do like their cheesesteaks for the most part, but I feel I am missing out on how a REAL cheesesteak is supposed to taste.  I decided to hit the rail in search for the perfect Cheesesteak.  Where else to find a perfect Cheesesteak, than Philly?

This is me, waiting for the train. (I realize I should not be standing on the rail when the train arrives.)Did you know that if you place your ear on the track….you cannot hear the train.  Or at least I couldn’t…even when I could see the train, I couldn’t hear it from the rail.

Anyway, I digress.  Promptly after arriving in Philly at the train station, I went straight to the information desk where a real Philadelphian could direct me to the best cheesesteak restaurant in town…or so I thought.  This guy was terrible.  Where did they find him? He wasn’t even able to direct me out of the train station.  It was as if, he had gotten off one of the trains and was pretending to be from around there.  I mean, come on, the information desk was a misnomer….I renamed it the “Lack of Information Desk”.  Seems to fit.  I just asked for a map and took my chances.  After walking…and walking….and walking what seemed to be a marathon (26.2 miles), I came across a line of people that extended from the door of an eating establish  to WAY around the corner.  COULD THIS BE IT? Could it be that I found THE FAMOUS CHEESESTEAK?

I crossed the street and found my way to the back of the line.  As I waited impatiently with other tourists and some locals, I discovered that some were very loco!  There was the homeless Jesus guy throwing scripture at everyone.  I tried to turn and look distracted with others in line, but I couldn’t help to stare and made eye contact.  I hate it when I do that.  I was sure that he was going to come over and start talking to me.  Lucky for me, it was my turn to approach the corner.  It was then, that I could peer inside.  I could see the cheesesteak chefs…taking pride in their steaks, fulfilling every order to satisfy each customer.  It was ordered chaos. 

Yippee, I was nearing the door!  I could smell those cheesesteaks!  As I crossed the threshold, I noticed the zig-zagging line of people .  The line when back and forth and back and forth as if they were in line at an amusement park.  Except, I didn’t find this amusing.  THESE BETTER BE GOOD!   

Finally I am next to order, suddenly I felt like I was in an episode of Seinfeld.  You know, the one with the soup Nazi? People were ordering, then stepping to the side, not saying a word. I didn’t want to appear like Elaine and lean on the counter while trying to decide what I wanted.  I didn’t want to get turned away by the Gourmet Cheesesteak Chef saying, “NO STEAK FOR YOU!”  The choices. There was so many ways to order these.  Did I want onions? Peppers?  Provolone? Whiz?  I carefully watched the couple in front of me order, then step aside without saying a word.  They were successful.  I did the same.  Whew! I did it.  I successfully ordered a cheesesteak!!!  Now for the wait.  I watched as he sliced and diced and slapped the meat and onions on the bread and chunked it towards me.  WOW.  He is good!

I then headed up stairs to eat my world famous cheesesteak!  There was the couple that was in front of me.  We had become quite friendly.  We did spend almost an hour in line together.  She was BA.  She had muscles.  She looked very feisty and could definitely kick my ass.  At one point, I feared for my life.  

Anyway, I politely said “Hi” again and sat at the only available table.  The place was packed.  I had to wait no longer.

WOW, it was everything I expected and more.  Definitely not disappointed!  If you ever go to Philly, go to Jim’s Steaks (http://www.jimssteaks.com/index.html).  I recommend the Steak with onion (and peppers if you like them) and cheese Whiz.  Yep, cheese Whiz.  I know it sounds gross, but it tastes fabuloso.   If you can’t get to Philly, no worries, they ship their steaks too!  I had some sent back home for my friends and family.  With shipping, it was about $20 for each sandwich.  For the record, it is worth double that.