A No Stress Drive to NYC
I don't mind driving to NYC. I don't even mind driving in NYC. Of course, that's because I grew up there. But I must say the drivers are incredibly rude. So a no stress drive to NYC is not an oxymoronic statement to me. Anytime anyone is up for a roadie to the city, let me know.
I did get off four hours later than I intended; a record for running late, even for me.
First, there was a two hour delay due to lingering ice. So I was rested for the trip. But I still managed to not have it all together to leave directly from dropping off Nicole at school.
My errands included stopping by the middle school to search for forgotten tap shoes at the dance recital on December 13th, going to the bank, filling up the gas tank and visiting one of the locations we are considering for one of our couple's dinner events. And a bathroom break at each location due to the pot of coffee I foolishly drank before getting on the road.
There was snow on the way, trucks that travel too fast for any one's safety and good CD's to listen to. I also caught up on some phone calls from my "mobile office."
Upon arriving in NYC I parked, unloaded, loaded my mom and her two parakeets up and got out as fast as I could. In fact, my turnaround time was less than half an hour. Nicole was grumbling the whole time because she thought there should have been an obligatory trip to the American Girl Doll Store, despite just receiving a new one for Christmas. No go. I didn't even get to Zabar's,my favorite gourmet food shop only four blocks away from my parent's apartment.
It is nice to have my mom here; she loves her new room, and the new office is shaping up nicely. It was a lovely stress free day, complete with a quick stop at the Tannersville Outlets on the way home where the Under armour Outlet actually excited me more than Chicos. More pink exercise attire, what could be better!
Cheers.
I did get off four hours later than I intended; a record for running late, even for me. First, there was a two hour delay due to lingering ice. So I was rested for the trip. But I still managed to not have it all together to leave directly from dropping off Nicole at school.
My errands included stopping by the middle school to search for forgotten tap shoes at the dance recital on December 13th, going to the bank, filling up the gas tank and visiting one of the locations we are considering for one of our couple's dinner events. And a bathroom break at each location due to the pot of coffee I foolishly drank before getting on the road.
There was snow on the way, trucks that travel too fast for any one's safety and good CD's to listen to. I also caught up on some phone calls from my "mobile office."
Upon arriving in NYC I parked, unloaded, loaded my mom and her two parakeets up and got out as fast as I could. In fact, my turnaround time was less than half an hour. Nicole was grumbling the whole time because she thought there should have been an obligatory trip to the American Girl Doll Store, despite just receiving a new one for Christmas. No go. I didn't even get to Zabar's,my favorite gourmet food shop only four blocks away from my parent's apartment.
It is nice to have my mom here; she loves her new room, and the new office is shaping up nicely. It was a lovely stress free day, complete with a quick stop at the Tannersville Outlets on the way home where the Under armour Outlet actually excited me more than Chicos. More pink exercise attire, what could be better!
Cheers.
Labels: Driving in NYC, road trip, trip to NY
posted by www.kathypride.com at
11:03 PM
7 Comments:
Wow, looks like a foreign country --well, alien anyway--to me. Glad it's you and not me. I get stressed driving to Eugenen (pop approx 100,000). Forget Portland!!
NY is a different world. I am thankful that I don't live there anymore...but it did provide lots of experiences and opportunities for me to be who I am. There is a certain confidence, or "can do" attitude that comes from growing up in the city, but I do joke about the fact that once I left in 1978 to go to college, the cities and towns I moved to were progressively smaller: Providence, RI, Burlington, VT and now Danville, PA population about 10,000 where we have been for going on 23 years. So what's next in this trend? Well, we cant improve much on the far east end of the island of Roatan, Honduras, where the population may be about 100 and electricity just went in, but the road probably won't be paved for years...
Ahhh.... I often miss NYC. I LOVED that it is a walker's paradise. And I loved going shopping, European style, to a different store for each item you needed that day. We hardly ever went to a regular grocery store except for canned goods or staples. And the delis can't be beat. Or at least we haven't found any place near as good in Maryland. Don't even get me started on good bagels. Central Park was one of my all-time favorite places; ditto Washington Square Park, but for different reasons. Living there made me realize that I could manage pretty much anything that came my way. My favorite example was while checking into our hotel in Barcelona, the clerk cautioned us as to the dangers of that city. At first, I was alarmed and then realized he probably thought we were from Podunk Iowa. We were New Yorkers! We never had one single problem in Barcelona. (I want to go back!)
I guess in the city you have to depend on others, whereas in the country you depend more on yourself...at least for survival? Though perhaps that's not true, as we got water from out neighbors recently when our pipes froze, and have given water in the past when our neighbors didn't have electricity. I think of my aunt and uncle who have a wood stove and a creek out back, so they have water and heat even when the power is out. I expect NY dies with no power? Although, you do have water when there is no power, unlike those of us reliant on wells.
I can't imagine not being able to see ducks in your back yard or hear frogs or huge flocks of geese...and I'll bet NY is noisy ALL THE TIME...that alone would drive me bonkers. My little town of 4000 is too noisy for me most of the time!!
To answer your question, Kathy. I imagine the graveyard you end up in will only have a population of a few hundred?? :)
You know, I have spent way more of my time in small towns than big cities, but I would live in a city in a heartbeat. I guess I just like things close (cars, buildings, people). Maybe it's more of a personality thing than what you've grown up with.
My in-laws can't fathom that. They check on me if I drive 40 minutes by myself. They seem to forget that I drove back and forth from central PA to Pittsburgh just about every weekend for years. And traffic? I know it sounds weird but I find some sort of bond with other drivers. The closer the other cars, the more like we are all on the trip together.
cities vs. suburbs - my take:
When we lived in NYC, I was in the best shape and the thinnest. I lost ALL the baby weight, and easily. We walked EVERYWHERE because we had a destination, unlike here in the suburbs, where I don't have to walk anywhere and when I do, it's usually just for exercise. I invent reasons to walk -- I park the car far away in a parking lot or take the stairs when there is an elevator or escalator.
As I wrote previously, the best food I've had access to is in the city, not at my local grocery store here in the suburbs. True, I could go to the farmer's markets or go to higher priced grocery stores, but convenience and cost are too important to me to do this often.
In the city, I felt very connected to people, places, events -- all of NYC was mine if I wanted it. I had much more contact with people, maybe because I went to more places (that European shopping style thing). There's no experience to replace dining at an outdoor cafe in any city and I have been unable to find that experience in the suburbs. (And I don't mean only NYC -- also true of Paris, Venice, Washington, D.C., Boston, San Diego, New Orleans, Ottawa -- and true I am sure of cities I haven't been to.)
As to the noise, yes, of course there was noise. But it's easier (to me) to get used to a fairly constant background noise than occasional bursts of sounds, either man-made or natural. Of course I love the sounds of frogs, crickets, birds, etc. But I could live without my neighbors parties or listening to my neighbor yell for her kids like a fishwife.
And, as far as nature, there is plenty in NYC in the form of parks and some are gigantic (like Central Park). There is also a wonderful waterfront.
In deference to the suburbs, although I do spend an inordinate amount of time driving, my range of opportunities is large - whether to shop, seek medical care, see friends, take my children to extra-curricular activities, attend cultural events, etc.
As I started with - this is all just my opinion and experience.
I do like the "culturel" opportunities and educational opportunities the city offers, that's for sure.
But for me, I need peace in my daily life and with the constant sound of people, there is no peace for me.
When my daughter used to take ballet at her teacher's studio in South Eugene, I used to go hiking up in the woods behind and the teacher asked me, "Which kind of person are you, the kind that feels safer with no one else around, or the kind that feels safer IF there are others around?" It made me think. I guess I feel safer alone, because I feel like I"m more likely to get hurt by a person than by a bear or by tripping and breaking my ankle (which I did once in those very woods!). But people who like the city tend to be the kind of people who feel safer if other people are there to help if they get into trouble. She herself was from Chicago...so there you go. It might be a learned thing, or it might be innate...but probably a combination. I'm pretty self-sufficient, and while I like being around my friends, people in general are stressful to me.
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