17. Our Trip To The Big Apple 2010
SUNDAY – OCT 31ST
Both Pete and myself were up through the night, as we had to catch a bus to Manchester airport in the wee hours of 3.30am! Had a few hours to kill at the airport as the plane left at 8.20am and landed in Newark Liberty International, NJ in the afternoon. Unfortunately we had had to make alternative arrangements for accommodation the day before as my friend, Sue, who we were originally staying with, had to go into hospital! Sadly we never did meet up again after 25 years, and several days after I returned home I had an email from her sister telling me she had died! I was in complete shock, as I hadn’t been expecting anything like this. In fact we had spoken on the phone from the hotel on Nov 3rd, and apart from telling us she felt bad as she couldn’t have visitors because she was still feeling very tired, she seemed in good spirits and had a laugh with the both of us. I’m just glad I at least got to speak to her before she passed away on Nov 12th! I will miss her very much!
It had taken me all night till 4.30am on the Internet (and thanks to my HODD pals and others who gave me suggestions!) I finally landed a good deal with the Ramada Plaza by the airport through a UK hotel deal site. I’m glad we didn’t have to pay the full price as they didn’t always clean your room (even when you asked) and it was impossible to phone anyone who wasn’t local, from the pay phones in the lobby. I managed to use the Internet very sparsely as it cost a dollar for 5 mins each time you used it. Teddy’s Bar & Grill was great though and offered a $5.00 Happy Hour every evening! But our Halloween this year was spent relaxing from the journey, so no trick or treating, just an early night. Oh yes, and we also discovered the hotel was right next-door to a prison! LOL!
Both Pete and myself were up through the night, as we had to catch a bus to Manchester airport in the wee hours of 3.30am! Had a few hours to kill at the airport as the plane left at 8.20am and landed in Newark Liberty International, NJ in the afternoon. Unfortunately we had had to make alternative arrangements for accommodation the day before as my friend, Sue, who we were originally staying with, had to go into hospital! Sadly we never did meet up again after 25 years, and several days after I returned home I had an email from her sister telling me she had died! I was in complete shock, as I hadn’t been expecting anything like this. In fact we had spoken on the phone from the hotel on Nov 3rd, and apart from telling us she felt bad as she couldn’t have visitors because she was still feeling very tired, she seemed in good spirits and had a laugh with the both of us. I’m just glad I at least got to speak to her before she passed away on Nov 12th! I will miss her very much!
It had taken me all night till 4.30am on the Internet (and thanks to my HODD pals and others who gave me suggestions!) I finally landed a good deal with the Ramada Plaza by the airport through a UK hotel deal site. I’m glad we didn’t have to pay the full price as they didn’t always clean your room (even when you asked) and it was impossible to phone anyone who wasn’t local, from the pay phones in the lobby. I managed to use the Internet very sparsely as it cost a dollar for 5 mins each time you used it. Teddy’s Bar & Grill was great though and offered a $5.00 Happy Hour every evening! But our Halloween this year was spent relaxing from the journey, so no trick or treating, just an early night. Oh yes, and we also discovered the hotel was right next-door to a prison! LOL!
View from our hotel window – looking at Jersey City.
MONDAY – NOV. 1ST
Unfortunately I had caught a stinking cold during the flights and still felt pretty rough, but wasn’t going to let it spoil my fun. So we got the hotel shuttle bus to the airport and another bus to Penn Station, Newark; where we got the train, then a tram to Liberty State Park.
Unfortunately I had caught a stinking cold during the flights and still felt pretty rough, but wasn’t going to let it spoil my fun. So we got the hotel shuttle bus to the airport and another bus to Penn Station, Newark; where we got the train, then a tram to Liberty State Park.
my husband with the NY skyline behind him at Exchange Place, NJ
Unfortunately we discovered the shuttle to the ferryboat was only running during the summer, which meant a walk for just under a mile to the water and boy, it was very cold making the trip back to the train that evening! Once you had bought tickets for the trip to Liberty Island you had to go through security just like at an airport, only without the screening.
We carried on over to the Statue Of Liberty where we disembarked.
We were on the very last ferry back, so only had time to have a quick look around and a bite to eat in the café there.
TUES – NOV 2ND
I was still feeling pretty sore from the long walk through Liberty State Park yesterday and under the weather from the cold. So we spent our day relaxing in the Ramada Plaza Hotel, while I was trying to recover. I kept myself dosed on Advil’s and Vick’s pills after I’d run out of my Anadin Extras from the UK. Then we spent the evening chilling out in Teddy’s bar and met some nice folks. One Chinese guy gave us a voucher to help pay towards our breakfast that morning (as he was leaving and no longer needed them. I just thought that was such a sweet gesture, from a complete stranger.)
WEDS – NOV. 3RD
Today we decided to check out New Jersey to see what it had to offer, and the result was not quite how we’d imagined! I managed to post a few messages to Tessia and Facebook in general on the computer in the hotel (there were several of them in a little booth.) But I had to limit my time, as my money resources were also limited! I found a website explaining a bit of information about the Great Falls and park in a town called Paterson. So we decided to go exploring, only to discover it wasn’t what we were expecting at all…but it sure was an experience!
I was still feeling pretty sore from the long walk through Liberty State Park yesterday and under the weather from the cold. So we spent our day relaxing in the Ramada Plaza Hotel, while I was trying to recover. I kept myself dosed on Advil’s and Vick’s pills after I’d run out of my Anadin Extras from the UK. Then we spent the evening chilling out in Teddy’s bar and met some nice folks. One Chinese guy gave us a voucher to help pay towards our breakfast that morning (as he was leaving and no longer needed them. I just thought that was such a sweet gesture, from a complete stranger.)
WEDS – NOV. 3RD
Today we decided to check out New Jersey to see what it had to offer, and the result was not quite how we’d imagined! I managed to post a few messages to Tessia and Facebook in general on the computer in the hotel (there were several of them in a little booth.) But I had to limit my time, as my money resources were also limited! I found a website explaining a bit of information about the Great Falls and park in a town called Paterson. So we decided to go exploring, only to discover it wasn’t what we were expecting at all…but it sure was an experience!
the town of Paterson, NJ
The town was a very run down area indeed but everyone we met was very friendly and helpful when we needed directions, especially to the park. This alas meant quite a walk again, ending up with a rather steep hill. When we finally got to the park we were in for a disappointment as the grand falls were not exactly what I would call ‘Grand’! LOL! But this town did have a Dunkin’ Donuts and those Munchkins were delicious! We found ourselves waiting for a bus to the train station (as I wasn’t walking all the way back) and it was getting rather dark. Apparently you shouldn’t be in a town like this at night, or so we were informed back at the hotel. Still, as I said we found people extremely friendly wherever we went.
We had a bit of an altercation with train staff over our tickets, and those machines were a real pain in the arse! A guy at the airport had told us we could get to Paterson via Seacaucus? But when we tried to change trains, we were told our ticket wasn’t correct and so had to pay another $8.00! This also happened on our return connection, only this time a very nice female guard let us through the turnstile so we could get back to the airport.
THURS – NOV. 4TH
We returned to the airport and caught the bus into Newark for the day. We visited a large shopping mall and did some browsing around the local stores, where I bought a NY woolly hat and some perfume for my sister, and Pete bought himself a cap designed with the USA flag. Later that evening Pete met a guy in the bar whose wife was a huge David Duchovny fan. He ended up phoning her on his mobile to explain about me going to the play on Friday, and how I used to chat to David online, and met the XF crew making ‘I Want To Believe’ in Vancouver 2007. He told me later that she wants to go see him on stage in December so now they will both have to come back to New York! LOL!
We’d been having dinner at the hotel, which was rather pricey, so for the rest of the holiday we decided to phone for take-out (using these fast food leaflets that kept being shoved through our door.) We also tended to share meals as one portion was usually enough for two, such as the 2x2x2 breakfast special one morning.
FRIDAY – NOV. 5TH
There’s a British poem which begins with, “Remember, remember the 5th of November…” and relates to the famous incident when a man called Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1606. Since then we celebrate Bonfire Night every year with our hot dogs, bonfire toffee, mulled wine and firework displays. This year I will certainly never forget this day…and there were definitely sparks when we had Big Fun in the Big Apple!
We returned to the airport and caught the bus into Newark for the day. We visited a large shopping mall and did some browsing around the local stores, where I bought a NY woolly hat and some perfume for my sister, and Pete bought himself a cap designed with the USA flag. Later that evening Pete met a guy in the bar whose wife was a huge David Duchovny fan. He ended up phoning her on his mobile to explain about me going to the play on Friday, and how I used to chat to David online, and met the XF crew making ‘I Want To Believe’ in Vancouver 2007. He told me later that she wants to go see him on stage in December so now they will both have to come back to New York! LOL!
We’d been having dinner at the hotel, which was rather pricey, so for the rest of the holiday we decided to phone for take-out (using these fast food leaflets that kept being shoved through our door.) We also tended to share meals as one portion was usually enough for two, such as the 2x2x2 breakfast special one morning.
FRIDAY – NOV. 5TH
There’s a British poem which begins with, “Remember, remember the 5th of November…” and relates to the famous incident when a man called Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1606. Since then we celebrate Bonfire Night every year with our hot dogs, bonfire toffee, mulled wine and firework displays. This year I will certainly never forget this day…and there were definitely sparks when we had Big Fun in the Big Apple!
New York City
Luckily I was feeling a bit better from the cold and we finally set off for Manhattan on the Airport Express Coach, which took us through the Holland tunnel into the city. I was pleased to see you could get a Metrocard (similar to London) for only $8.25 to use on buses and subway trains all day! But I also discovered it involved climbing steep steps up and down into subways (as the escalators and elevators weren’t working!) So we tried to use the buses as much as possible. Once again I found folk so helpful and friendly when we were asking for directions, which we ended up doing all day! After using a couple of underground trains we found The James Hotel in the Soho area and asked for Pat’s room No. at the desk. After saying hello to her Mum at the door we discovered she was running late so waited for her in the lobby. Later Tessia joined us and whilst having coffee and pastries we chatted to Paula via Skype on Pat’s laptop. Then Pete kindly took some photos of us ladies with the infamous HoDDie bear, which I’d suggested Tessia bring along with her just in case we bumped into David. It was great to meet the little guy again, and also to meet a couple of my fellow Hodders.
Afterwards we said goodbye to Pat as she had a business meeting, but Tessia decided to join us for a days sightseeing in Manhattan. We travelled on the subway train to Central Park and had a walk through some of it, as the area is massive (approximately half a mile wide and two and a half miles long!) Pete had Tessia in fits of laughter involving a dart from his case (which he’d brought with him in the hope of playing a game or two) and her camera. Plus he had a habit of calling her George, because of the flat cap she wore!
George (sorry, Tessia) and Pete having a laugh in the park
more of Central Park
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we walked along a large lake as our plan was to go boating, but unfortunately the rowing boats were not operating in the autumn
Unfortunately while we were waiting for a bus to take us to the top end of the park, Tessia realised she’d lost her Metrocard. So we agreed to meet up in an hour, then Pete and I made our way to the southern end of Central Park.
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One of my dreams was to ride in a horse and carriage with the man I loved wrapped in a warm blanket beside me. Well we did just that, and it was expensive, but who cares! We’ll probably never do it again so it was worth it…and such a romantic way to see the park.
After the lovely ride in the carriage, Pete needed the men’s room as he’d tried public toilets in the park and it was out of order! So he ended up dashing into a really posh swanky hotel to use theirs – while I was in a bank getting some more cash! LOL!
Once we met up with Tessia, we walked along the streets for a while (asking for directions again) and stopped at a hot dog stand on the corner, which was Pete’s treat! Then we caught another bus to the Empire State Building, where I was able to skip the ticket queue, thanks to a very nice guard. I bought all three of us admission tickets and Tessia paid me back later, by treating me to dinner.
In the lobby
Pete decided to hold my camera right out over the edge and took a photo looking straight down (very glad he didn’t drop it!)
Tessia took this one of me with my husband.
We realised time had flown by and we hadn’t eaten a meal yet, so made our way back on the train to Christopher Street. Tessia got off one stop before us, as she needed to go back to the place where she was staying to get ready. We had arranged to meet her later in the café opposite the Lucille Lortel theatre, which turned out to be Peruvian. I had never sampled this type of food before and the chicken dish was nice, but unfortunately I had a bad stomach the next day. It didn’t help that we also had to eat fast as we didn’t want to miss the play, so we ended up leaving Pete with the rest of our dinners!
He was rather concerned at first when we discovered the theatre was in the West Village and realised it was in fact in a gay district, as he had a few hours to spend here while Tessia and I were at the play (and not knowing this, he had also decided to wear a bright Hawaiian shirt! LOL!) He was approached by one guy admiring this garb, but on the whole ended up having a wail of a time in a nearby gay bar! Where he was taught the skilfull art of beer pong by a group of friendly lesbians. LOL!
He was rather concerned at first when we discovered the theatre was in the West Village and realised it was in fact in a gay district, as he had a few hours to spend here while Tessia and I were at the play (and not knowing this, he had also decided to wear a bright Hawaiian shirt! LOL!) He was approached by one guy admiring this garb, but on the whole ended up having a wail of a time in a nearby gay bar! Where he was taught the skilfull art of beer pong by a group of friendly lesbians. LOL!
NB: My experience of seeing the play 'Break Of Noon' and then meeting David Duchovny for the first time, can be found on Page 8.
SAT – NOV 6TH
I still had a jippy tummy from that Peruvian food (and I hear David goes in there quite a bit now, so it can’t be affecting him the same way! LOL!) Also my legs were still covered in plasters from all the walking in Manhattan, but I was pleased to discover my cold was almost over. A week later I found out Dave went down with a bug, and just recently my husband had it as well. So with my luck I probably managed to infect New York and then bring it home with me! LOL!
After a good lie-in followed by a morning’s relaxing in the hotel, we decided to return to Manhattan for a short visit. So we took the train to the World Trade Centre and had a look around. We noticed that a building is being constructed for this new complex including a memorial site and museum.
I still had a jippy tummy from that Peruvian food (and I hear David goes in there quite a bit now, so it can’t be affecting him the same way! LOL!) Also my legs were still covered in plasters from all the walking in Manhattan, but I was pleased to discover my cold was almost over. A week later I found out Dave went down with a bug, and just recently my husband had it as well. So with my luck I probably managed to infect New York and then bring it home with me! LOL!
After a good lie-in followed by a morning’s relaxing in the hotel, we decided to return to Manhattan for a short visit. So we took the train to the World Trade Centre and had a look around. We noticed that a building is being constructed for this new complex including a memorial site and museum.
We visited a nearby Mall in the business centre and did some more browsing, but this time I didn’t buy anything, as items were a lot more expensive there. We’d grabbed some Deli sandwiches (and paid for them this time!) from a small store, so sat down inside the huge complex to eat them.
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Then I left Pete munching while I stepped outside to look at the view of New Jersey across the water, as the sun was going down.
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We then headed back to our hotel, ordered take-out and watched a few movies on the TV. One was the classic ‘Of Mice And Men’ followed by a strange Australian film that had similar connotations to ‘Break Of Noon’ (all about having faith in oneself.) Unfortunately I had a bad headache during the night, so was taking Advil’s again. My body seems to have rebelled against me during this NY trip, but I’ve persevered – and well, it sure paid off!
SUN – NOV 7TH
Manhattan had their annual marathon today while Pete and I relaxed in the hotel. We needed the rest, and also were running out of cash! So we shared a breakfast (as one portion was large enough for two people.) We then had a wander around the hotel grounds.
SUN – NOV 7TH
Manhattan had their annual marathon today while Pete and I relaxed in the hotel. We needed the rest, and also were running out of cash! So we shared a breakfast (as one portion was large enough for two people.) We then had a wander around the hotel grounds.
After our stroll we went back to the room and I started writing notes for my Journal, while my husband watched a couple of movies (I’ll miss their big flat screen TV.) During our stay we had kept watching ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’, which were far better than the UK ones. Later we had a drink in the bar then went up to our room to watch ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, after ordering take-out again. I stayed in the room while Pete had a few drinks in the bar. Later he came up with a present for me – strawberry flavoured beer in a bottle (which I must admit was nice.)
MON – NOV 8TH
We had to vacate the room by 12pm but John very kindly put our luggage on his bus, saving us the $20 we would have had to pay if we’d left it with hotel security. He was such a nice guy and Pete got on with him ever so well during the whole week. He’d sit up front with him and they would chat about being bus drivers together!
MON – NOV 8TH
We had to vacate the room by 12pm but John very kindly put our luggage on his bus, saving us the $20 we would have had to pay if we’d left it with hotel security. He was such a nice guy and Pete got on with him ever so well during the whole week. He’d sit up front with him and they would chat about being bus drivers together!
took this of the two guys, just before we drove back to the airport to catch the plane home
We ended up spending the entire day in Teddy’s bar (and let me tell you that’s a first for me!) as we weren’t flying back till 10pm at night. It actually turned out to be a really cool experience as we met some very interesting characters that day. Pete was drinking the local beer, and this always makes him very sociable! LOL!
We were chatting to the very friendly bartender Willie (who’d been a gem all week), the supervisor, Diana, and another member of staff (seen here), who was interested to hear all about my meeting with David Duchovny!
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Then along came this crazy American dude called Kevin, who was from California and worked in theatre darlings, and also organised events and such.
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We ended up talking about my singing, and after he gave me a burst of song, I followed suit. Several folks in the bar clapped and wanted more, so I gave it to them. Kevin explained to me that I had amazing vocal depth – quite the flatterer! And that I am not disabled, I am ‘abled’ and should pursue professional auditions for musicals when they arise. I also thought he had a very nice voice.
As time progressed, we met up with this guy, Mike, from Long Island who had some amazing tattoos on his arms. One was of an Eskimo being pulled on a sledge by polar bears, and the other was a golden eagle. Then I asked Pete to show him the swift on his arm, only I was calling it a thrush. LOL! I didn’t realise they were going to actually take off their shirts, but they did. Then one of the staff came over and asked them to both put them back on, as apparently it’s disrespectful in the USA! They should have been at a local marine’s wake in our pub one night – where all the soldiers went commando out of respect for their fallen comrade!
Mike also had a female friend who unfortunately was a very heavy drinker. She was so ‘out of it’ she thought I had written the ‘Break Of Noon’ play. When I showed her the book after explaining to her about the fanfic I wrote for fun, and how David had read one of my X-File stories, she thought I was giving it to her and wanted me to sign it! LOL! Mike could also sing and gave us a few bars of ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Miserable. Pity there wasn’t a karaoke night held in the bar during our stay. I would have loved to have sung a duet with him.
As time progressed, we met up with this guy, Mike, from Long Island who had some amazing tattoos on his arms. One was of an Eskimo being pulled on a sledge by polar bears, and the other was a golden eagle. Then I asked Pete to show him the swift on his arm, only I was calling it a thrush. LOL! I didn’t realise they were going to actually take off their shirts, but they did. Then one of the staff came over and asked them to both put them back on, as apparently it’s disrespectful in the USA! They should have been at a local marine’s wake in our pub one night – where all the soldiers went commando out of respect for their fallen comrade!
Mike also had a female friend who unfortunately was a very heavy drinker. She was so ‘out of it’ she thought I had written the ‘Break Of Noon’ play. When I showed her the book after explaining to her about the fanfic I wrote for fun, and how David had read one of my X-File stories, she thought I was giving it to her and wanted me to sign it! LOL! Mike could also sing and gave us a few bars of ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Miserable. Pity there wasn’t a karaoke night held in the bar during our stay. I would have loved to have sung a duet with him.
During the madcap mayhem a young man had been watching us and eventually came over, explaining how he had heard our accents and was pleased to meet a couple of Brits – he was from the Isle of Wight. Allan and I realised we had an interest in the works of the author Dan Brown. We also discovered we both had a passion for noetic science and how they might one day prove that thought has matter? He wrote down his desires and put them away, only to discover once they were out of sight and mind, most of the time they actually manifested in his life. He then told me he was working in radio over in the US now and has his own station on the Internet. Then gave me his email address and said he’d been listening to my voice, and would like to try and get me on his show. How really weird was that, after talking about noetic science and dreams coming true! However nowadays I don’t always take things at face value and then I’m not disappointed. So I’ve emailed him and sent him all my links to my music sites, including the UNICEF gig clips, and now I’ll wait and see what happens?
After saying farewell to a lovely bunch of people, we made our way to the airport, and then the fun began. First of all we were booked apart on the plane (Pete was two seats in front of me.) However, luckily the UK staff were gracious enough to correct this so I could sit next to my husband (only I’d had a window seat from where I was originally sitting. LOL!)
After saying farewell to a lovely bunch of people, we made our way to the airport, and then the fun began. First of all we were booked apart on the plane (Pete was two seats in front of me.) However, luckily the UK staff were gracious enough to correct this so I could sit next to my husband (only I’d had a window seat from where I was originally sitting. LOL!)
this was the best photo Pete could get of New York at night, from the window of the plane
The plane arrived an hour later than was expected, so we ended up leaving Newark at 11.20pm and when we landed at London Heathrow, discovered we’d missed our shuttle connection to Manchester! Instead of putting us on the next one (they fly every hour) we had to wait another 2 hours for the one after that. But that wasn’t the only thing, because after taxiing onto the runway, the plane made the most horrendous squeaking noise and we realised we wouldn’t be flying anywhere for a while. In fact we had to wait on the plane for another 3 hours while an engineer was called out to work on it, and refuel, before we were finally reassured it was safe to fly. In all that time they never even served us drinks or anything to eat!
view from my window seat as day was breaking.
I was nervous about flying in this plane to say the least, but we did manage to get safely to Manchester, only it was a lot later than planned. I hadn’t managed to sleep much on the flight from Newark to London, so during the hour and a half bus ride to Buxton, I nodded off several times, as did Pete. But before we could completely collapse from exhaustion, we had to go and fetch our cat Caspurr from the cattery (which meant a 30 min drive there and back.) I phoned the place when I got home saying we were sorry we were so late (we should have been there in the afternoon!) The lady told me she’d starved our puss cat all day, because she didn’t want him having an accident (like he did on the way there!) Poor thing was ravenous when we got him home and so we fed him and then finally fell into bed!
Pete with the luggage making his way through the airport in Manchester – I thought the blue light effect made this look like a time tunnel!
I’m going to end this Journal with a word about noetic science, because I absolutely believe in this now. For me, meeting David was all the proof I needed, to see that it really works! After the IWTB premiere in London where I lost my chance to speak to him, I never once desired to see him again, and was not bothered whether I would or not? He’s not the most important person in my life – my husband is! But I believe what occurred on Nov 5th, happened because I didn’t dwell on ever meeting the man again. Seriously folks, you have to let go of a wish or hope completely, for it to eventually manifest in your lives. So if David or whatever you desire is all you think about…? Well, I’ll leave that up to you to decide for yourselves!