I started the day by taking the 6 to the 7 at Grand Central. I can't recall ever taking the 7 line when I wasn't going to see a Mets game. But this time, I took it all the way to the west to the Hudson Yards. My plan was going to be walking the High Line, which is an elevated walkway on the lower west side of Manhattan. It was sunny and maybe 40 degrees out. I took some pictures of the city when my hands actually felt like gripping my tablet. After maybe ten minutes, my walk was stopped short. All of a sudden, the path just seemed to stop. I guess part of the High Line is under construction. I'll put it this way, I planned on walking from 30th Street down to around 13th Street. I got to 34th. Not quite the length of a morning walk I had in mind.
Since my next step was Madison Square Garden, it suddenly hit me that I may as well just walk east about five blocks. I had an extra hour to kill so I got a smoothie at Jamba Juice (at $9.00 for a medium, it was embarrassing). I was anxious to find a place to charge my phone and sit down, and Penn Station offers neither unless one has a train ticket. And they don't hvae Wi-Fi either. Way to go Penn Station.
Around 12, I met up with my uncle and we headed inside. I headed right to the Carnegie Deli stand for a pastrami sandwich. It was enjoyable, but it just wasn't as good as Katz's hand sliced meats. It was Kid's Day at the Garden, so I figured I should curtail my yelling. I did that pretty well and was especially proud of myself for never using profanity. Our seats were in the second row of Section 419, the new blue seats. The Rangers were playing the Hurricanes and they did play pretty sluggish, particularly in the first two periods. But Chris Kreider scored twice and Derek Stepan registered three points in a 4-2 victory.
After I said goodbye to Brian, I decided to go to Cafe 31, since I knew a few people who'd be there. Two guys I knew were having a vicious screaming match over politics. It wasn't just an argument, it was a bonafide cuss out. Two minutes of that and it was over, but it was a very tense situation. I said hello to Danielle, who I rarely communicate with, but it was nice that she gave me a hug anyway. The problem was everyone was in their own clicks and I felt totally out of my element. I tried two other pubs, but I couldn't get to the bars for a drink and I just felt totally isolated, so I decided to just leave the neighborhood.
I walked south on Broadway through Chelsea. Somehow, I thought of the girl who I went out with two weeks ago. Probably because she has the same name. Corny? Yeah, I agree. Anyway, I was thinking I'd go to Mighty Quinn's for BBQ but I decided I wasn't really in the mood for that kind of food. I kept going down 7th Avenue until I got to Spring Street. I walked east through the bustling Soho neighborhood until I reached Little Italy. I decided to go to Lombardi's, America's first recognized pizzeria. I had been there briefly during the prior summer, when I got to try a slice during a walking food tour through Little Italy. They make their pizzas in a coal oven, which gets the oven extra hot and adds that smoky flavor that you just can't get in a wood or brick oven. I had a 40 minute wait, which I didn't mind. I found a quiet local Tapas restaurant bar and had two beers at the bar: another toasted lager and a Stella. The latter was for the simple reason that it was their happy hour beer.
Back in Lombardi's, I ordered a 14 inch sausage and roasted pepper pizza. I admit I really wanted to try the white clam pizza. But for $35, that was absolutely laughable. Never mind that I wanted to add bacon to it, which would have cost another $4. I drank a Yeungling, followed by a Brooklyn lager. I guess I was feeling pretty jolly. At the table next to me, sat an attractive lady maybe in her mid 30s who appeared to be of Latina descent. She suddenly spilled her drink in my direction. I picked up the orange and cherry off of the floor and I joked if she wanted my attention, she could have just said hello. She was from Houston and was with her daughter. That pretty much prevented any chance of me asking to spend time with her. We did talk about NY and travel for a little bit, but I just didn't feel it was my place to ask to tag along. They left before I was done. As she left, she shook my hand patted me on the shoulder. I just wish she wasn't wearing a glove so I could have actually felt her hand. I left around 7:45 and my plan had been to go to Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar in midtown. But the more I thought about it, I just didn't have any desire to spend more money, especially if I didn't have company. So I just took the hour long 6 ride back to Pelham.
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