We woke up at 6:50 and headed downstairs to M&M for their breakfast buffet. For $15, I got unlimited juice, a BTO omelet with bacon, tomatoes, caramelized onions, and cheddar jack cheese, as well as access to pastries, fresh fruit, and cereal. She loaded up on eggs, strawberry French toast, blueberry pancakes, bacon, a sausage link, and a pot of coffee.
We grabbed the 9:40 train straight back to New York. I think I was still feeling a little crabby from the previous night, so I slept most of the way. We were planning to stay in Manhattan, but I think we actually both needed a little recharge. So we just took the E train from Penn Station to Forest Hills, where her mom picked us up, and we went back to her house for a while just to rest up for a bit. I watched the second quarter of that Jets vs Cardinals classic. I'm glad I only had to see one quarter of this train wreck. The Jets won 7-6, but between Mark Sanchez and Ryan Lindley, there has probably never been a professional football game with worse quarterbacking play.
By late in the second quarter, we decided to take off. We took the 54 bus back into Forest Hills. We made a stop at Royal Collectibles, which is a shop with trading cards, sports memorabilia, and artifacts from pop culture, pro wrestling, superheroes, etc. I didn't expect to buy anything, but I did get a color picture of Babe Ruth in 1935 when he was third base coach for the Brooklyn Dodgers as well as a Mike Piazza card. I also liked seeing so many of the old WWF dolls I used to play with when I was a kid. I may still not be totally over mom selling them for so cheap without my knowledge 15 years ago...I'll get there though...
Then we took the F train to Bryant Park in Manhattan. The place felt so festive. We watched hundreds of skaters stumble their way around the skating rink. Then the zamboni came to clean off the ice, which was pretty cool to watch live. We took a few photos of ourselves, including one where she was kissing my cheek. I really like that one. We also explored some of the little shops that had been set up around the rink, including ones for candles, cookies, stained glass, etc. To say the least, that park felt a whole lot more vibrant and busy than it had been when I had first visited it in August. There's just something about Christmas time in New York City that makes it feel so big, so spectacular. Makes me smile.
Then, we made a stop at the NHL Store. I didn't make a purchase, easy as it would have been. I felt pretty tapped out on cash anyway. Between the jerseys, the shirts, the winter hats, they just have so much cool stuff. We did take a few photos together with computer kiosk they have. Then we walked over to Rockefeller Center and checked out the Christmas tree. I can't remember the last time I saw so many flash bulbs popping at once. We took a few more photos of ourselves, this time with the tree in the background, which came out really well.
Then we took, the F, to the L, to the M to get back home. Of course, she got us going the wrong way on the L, since she was expecting or gambling that going backwards just one stop to the end of the L line might get us back home quicker. So naturally, as we were pulling out, a train that was heading our direction showed up. So we got back a little later, but hey, it was only another five minutes I guess.
For dinner, we enjoyed a feast of London broil, roasted potatoes and onions, grilled portabellas, stuffed artichokes, mixed green salad, Parmesan Reggiano cheese, and soprasetta (I passed on the green olives). I drank a glass of red wine and for dessert, I enjoyed some pumpkin pie as well as an huge oatmeal raisin cookie I had purchased at Bryant Park. Yes, this was a weekend where I definitely pigged out on great food! All I needed was a nice sandwich from Katz's to take it over the top.
So then we went into the basement and watched the Jets postgame show before tuning into the Eagles vs Cowboys game. We planned on going to bed around 11, but somehow, we found ourselves watching "Catch Me If You Can." I think we finally fell asleep around 2 am.
I was up at 5:50 am, thanks to Francis coming downstairs; I don't think I even knew I was still asleep, No big deal, I had to be up in ten minutes anyway. I was set to take a plane at 7:45, but Chicago was overrun with fog. So our plane actually left at 8:45, which wasn't too big a deal for me. I'm glad I live in a city where I almost never to fly twice to get to a city. After landing around 10:30, I got my car, and headed straight up I-90 to the office, gobbled down the rest of the pecan pie for lunch, and worked from 12-4. Then it was off to the gym for 30 minutes of cardio and an amazing chicken parmesan dinner at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment