What's Up?

Howdy,

Well, the day is moving along nicely so far. How about yours? Elise is up and out already, you cannot keep her down. She is out playing bridge and then she is going to the gym to workout. Speaking of working out I spent 45 minutes on the Bow Flex and my abs are burning, smile.

Well, here is a breakdown of Elise's trip to New York:

Elise and her sister Ann left Tucson on the 19th of August headed for New York. The day started at 7:30am and they arrived in New York at 9:30pm. A very long day, indeed. They were stuck in Dallas/Ft.Worth airport for 3 hours do their flight was cancelled. They were given $10.00 apiece to purchase food while waiting for another connecting flight to New York. They had Cuban food, soft corn tacos filled with chicken and spices, and also filled with barbacoa and spices. They also had white beans refried and rice, a very good meal. Later they made their connecting flight and continued on to New York and arrived at around 9:30pm and they paid $24.20 for the taxi ride to the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott. After checking into their room they went to the restaurant bar at 10:30pm and had two glasses of wine apiece ($10.00 per glass and they had a small snack as well. The bill was $68.00 dollars, and they called it a night.

20 Aug 09

Elise woke up at 10:30am the next day and Ann was already up and gone out. Elise went swimming in the lap pool and she swam 3/4 of a mile. Ann returned and they went out to a Farmers Market that is held every Thursday -Saturday. Farmers from around the New York area come in with their wares. Elise and Ann sampled all kinds of tomatoes and bought peaches, raspberries, tomatoes and plums. After that they bought Gyros from a vendor and ate them at a shaded area in the park. It is hot and very muggy in New York, but it was a good and (cheap) meal $11.00 for the both of them.

It is about 4:00pm and Elise just got back from a walk to a wine place on Montague about four blocks away and she bought 2 bottles of wine ( Chardonnay for Ann and Cab for herself). Elise also picked up a pint of Jack Daniels (Our mainstay on our trips together). Stopped at a little market and she pick up some diet cokes and bananas. The wine seems to be he same price there as it is here in Arizona. The room rate (Conference rate) is $169.00 per night. Later Elise and Ann took a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and they are pooped. The bridge was built right after the Civil War it is amazing. Their were lots of people walking and biking on the bridge and many, many cars were down below the foot bridge area. It was hot 92 degrees and muggy, but well worth the trip outside. Once we were in Manhattan they stopped at a fountain and drank some bottled water they had bought for a dollar apiece from a push cart vendor. They continued to walk and they stopped at a pub called The Beekers. It was just a dive but packed with people. They ordered the specials, Sauerbrauten with fried potato pancakes and corned beef and cabbage. Ton's of food for $13.95 apiece. Elise had a glass of red and Ann had a beer each costing $6:00 apiece. All in all a great meal. They they walked back to the Marriott.

22 Aug 09

Sara and Elise got up at around 8:30am and went to the gym to workout. Later after showering they left to go to a pharmacy to get some pain pills for Sara. Afterward they got directions to the Transit Museum which showed how the NY subways were built 100 years ago. It was very interesting (Sandhogs) were the men that risked their lives to work in the tunnels in compressed air, very dangerous work. After the museum they got on the subway and went to Manhattan where they walked and walked and walked until they found a ticket place where they redeemed the online pass for three tickets to the Gray Line Tours. The they went to a place called Nizza's (A gluten free pizza place), where they had pizza with pesto sauce and fried eggs on top, and they had an Arugula salad. Elise had a vodka and tonic along with the meal. The food was good and not too expensive, $34:00 dollars plus tip. After eating Elise and Sara went on a Gray Line tour of Harlem and it's surrounding areas. They were on the top tier of the bus and halfway through the tour it started to rain. The were given ponchos, but they still got wet, very wet!! It was fun though. They took the subway back to the Marriott after wandering around and around trying to find the subway entrance. Once they got back they showered and threw down a Jack and Coke. Elise, Ann and Sara got back on the subway and went to Times Square to see a play that Ann had prepaid for at $117.50 each ticket. The play was "Avenue Q". It was funny and risque. After the play they dined at a place where Elise ordered a Tongue sandwich and a side order of chopped liver. I was very good. Elise had 2 glasses of red, Ann had 2 beers, Sara had 2 vodka tonics. The bill was $103.00 and they shared a huge piece of a very delicious cheesecake

23 Aug 09

They all got up at 10:00am (since they didn't get in until 2:00am) they walked to he subway and they went to Ground Zero where the twin towers used to be. They went thought the museum ($5.00 apiece) and it was well worth it. We left with tears in our eyes (all of us) we stumbled on a fire station and Sara got her picture taken with a firefighter named Salvadore (Sali for short). He said the base salary iis$100,000. They work 9 hour shifts (not 24 hours) and have to work at least 4 days (shifts) a week. Quite a few firemen from this station were killed on 9-11. They continued to walk and walk until they reached Chinatown an then to Little Italy, where they ate lunch at "Buona Notte". They shared a Caprese salad, devil shrimp and grilled chicken with salad, and of course a glass of wine and coffee. The bill was $88.00 with tip added. Hey we subwayed to Time Square and took the Gray Line tour through Soho, Greenwich, Wall Street, United Nations, Central Park, and Chinatown. A point of interest is that Sara went online and the cost of living is 43% higher in NY than in Phoenix. It is even higher if you live in Manhattan, very expensive there. After to tour they visited gift shops and Elise bought t-shirts but when she went to pay she could not find her Amex card. She had left it at the Italian restaurant, so Sara called and sure enough it was there. They had a terrible time getting back there but they finally made it and Elise got her card back. Thank God!! They found a subway and returned to the Marriott, they were pooped. They decided to go back out at around 8:00pm and they went to the Rockefeller Center where they went to the "Top of the Rock". That is the observation deck on the 70th floor. It was great. The city was all lit up and it hummed like it was alive,very cool. They read about the John D. Rockefeller an then they went to street level to find a place to eat dinner. Oh- the cost of the the observation deck was $20.00 each well worth it. We talked over about dinner choices and Sara didn't want steak, Elise didn't want Indian food, Ann refused Japanese so the opted for for Irish at a pub called "The Playwrite" and it was a good choice. Elise had Tilapia and it was heavenly, Sara and Ann had chicken, but each was prepared differently. They each had a glass of wine and Ann had a cup of coffee. The bill was $91.00 and they gave $18.00 for a tip, It is now 1:15am and we just returned to the Marriott.

24 Aug 09

We just woke up (Well I am up and so is Sara). We didn't get to sleep until 2:00am but we slept well. We all took showers, packed up and called to see of we could extend the checkout time to 1:00pm. They said no at first, but then changed their mind. We decided to walk over to Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights to find a place to eat breakfast. It is a beautiful, historic neighborhood with lots of trees etc. We found a little place called "Happy Days" and Ann and Elise shared an omelet and Sara had her own omelet. It was very good. They sat outside and watched people walk by. The meal was $27.00. Then we walked to Brooklyn Parkway which is right on the bay. We could see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty as well as the Manhattan Skyline. So beautiful and very cool weather. We walked back to the Marriott after stopping off at a grocery store so I buy some bananas and Sara could buy some fruit.We got a taxi and Ann and I went to La Guardia ($30.00) and Sara rode the subway to JFK Airport. It was a very good trip a bit pricey but not bad at all.

Well, there you have it a breakdown of Elise's trip to the Big Apple. She enjoyed it very much.
Later..................