Taking a Bite Out of the Big Apple

Thursday, 26 June 2008

We had two big things on our agenda today - a tour of Yankee Stadium and "Young Frankenstein" - so we hit the ground running. We had the name of some Chelsea area restaurants, so we got our bearings and walked over to Madeleine Patisserie for breakfast. Kim had a ham and cheese croissant and I had Canadian bacon and grilled onion quiche, which also came with a salad. I'm not accustomed to having salad with breakfast, but it was good! This little restaurant is famous for their macarons (no, not macaroons) but we did not get any this morning, thinking we might stop back by. That didn't happen, so I'll have to try a macaron some other time. It was raining a little bit, so we had our jackets and hoods on, which was making us pretty sticky and hot, as it was warming up fast and was pretty humid.

We were already a little stressed, just knowing we had to get ourselves from lower Manhattan to the Bronx on the subway. But, being the intelligent, intrepid adventurers that we are, we made our way to the subway entrance and entered the underworld. Even though we had specific instructions about which trains to take, we did what any smart Southern girls would do - we went to the window and asked what to do. The attendant could not have been nicer - she sold us our tickets, told us how and when to change trains, and pointed us in the right direction. Now, if only we could follow her instructions! We did pretty well, only having to ask a nice man at the next stop which train we were supposed to get on (we had been in the right place) and soon we were arriving in the Bronx. Of course, we went the wrong way when we got off, so we stopped in a little grocery store and got re-oriented.

Once we went around the corner in the right direction, there it was, right in front of us - the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium! And immediately across the street was the new stadium, well underway. For those of you who are not big baseball fans, this is the last year that the venerable old stadium will be used, as it is slated to be demolished once the new venue is completed. The first game in "The House That Ruth Built" was played in 1923, so you can imagine that it's seen a lot of wear and tear. Read more about it at http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy and see some great photos. On the way from the subway to the stadium, we met a dad with his daughter and son who were also going for a tour. They were from Lubbock, Texas, and we had fun chatting with them. It was raining pretty steadily so we all sought shelter under awnings as we waited for the tour to begin.

Soon we were inside, being separated into four groups. Our group began the tour in the Yankee clubhouse, which was a big surprise - not all the tours get to go in the clubhouse. This was the only place we couldn't take pictures, but it was still fun. A couple of things of interest - the late Thurmon Munson (a Yankee who was killed in a plane crash) still has a locker and Derek Jeter has two lockers - the one he uses like everyone uses, and the one next to it that is full of his fan mail! From the clubhouse, we went through the tunnel and into the dugout just like the players would. That was pretty cool, too! We sat on the bench in the dugout and got to see the same view the players would during a game. By now, it had stopped raining, and we were able to fully enjoy the experience. From the dugout, we walked through the stadium (up the stairs and ramps) to the press box. One of the funniest things about that was the wire baskets used for the press kits and stat packs - it looked like something you would have seen forty or fifty years ago, especially next to the green blackboard with lineups written in chalk. Not exactly high tech here!

The view from the press box was primo! One thing we learned about was the area in the outfield bleachers called the Batter's Eye - out in dead center field was a section painted black (as opposed to Yankee blue) and no one ever sits there so that there is nothing to distract the batter from being able to see the little white ball that's coming at him. Who knew? We got a chance to buy a special version of the Yankee press guide (we bit) and then we walked out to Monument Park, which is near left field, next to the bullpen. Along the wall leading to it are the numbers of all the retired Yankee jerseys. Did you know there were two number 8's retired? Both belonged to catchers - Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. Around the corner were the monuments - some to famous Yankees like Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and some plaques commemorating things like the Papal blessings (there have been three) of Yankee Stadium and 9/11. All too soon, (even for Cardinal fans) the tour was over and we were on our way back to the subway.

Once again, we stopped to ask specifics. The attendant we asked this time was just getting off duty, so she personally escorted us to the correct train and then said, "Where in the South are you ladies from?" We just had that look about us, I guess! We had a nice chat with her and then just waited for the train to come. We were sort of leaning against the wall (germophobes, don't even think about it) and Kim had her bag on the floor at her feet. Suddenly, this man swooped in and stood right next to Kim, ostensibly reading his paper but in reality scoping out her seemingly unattended bag. We were looking at pictures on my camera (while really paying attention to everything around us) and after a while, Kim casually reached down and picked up her bag. With that, the newspaper guy left, just as quickly as he had arrived. We were almost hysterical thinking what he would have done with Kim's bag had he stolen it, since all it contained was Kim's rainjacket and Peppy!! I told her we were lucky he didn't take it - he might have come back and shot us when he saw what was in it!

We got back to the hotel without further incident, and since it was getting on in the afternoon, we looked for lunch options. Ya know, in New York City, you can eat just about anything, anywhere, at almost any price, but I'll bet there aren't many of you who would have found the Trailer Park Lounge and Grill. But the Sassy Sisters did, and it was just our speed! On our way there, we passed the iconic Hotel Chelsea, which was practically across the street from the TPL&G. The minute we stepped through the screen door (no lie!) we felt RITE at home. There was a bowling alley section, a real trailer, lots of black velvet Elvi, and tons of Southern signage and such. I'll try to post a variety of photos so you can get the full effect. At any rate, the place was practically empty (it was about 3:30) except for a few people at the bar. We had chicken salad sandwiches - Kim had mac and cheese (it was FINE!) and I had sweet potato fries - and we had really good frozen margaritas - strawberry (K) and mango (J). The place was so cool (temperature-wise, too) and entertaining that we lingered over our meal, chatted with the bartender, and took lots of pictures. I have no shame! The bartender was a fine southern boy - from South Dakota! We talked to him about all the places in SD that we had visited last summer. He doesn't miss it.

After lupper (you know, lunch/supper) we walked down to the Chelsea Market. This melange of neat shops is housed in what used to be the Nabisco factory, and boy, have they retrofitted it! It was a fantastic place, full of foods of all kinds and home (at least we think so) to the Food Network. There was definitely something Iron Cheffy going on there - we followed the VIP signs until they caught onto us. We watched bread being made and baked at Amy's Bakery, somehow passed by gelato without getting any, looked through a market full of produce, spices, dried fruits, cheeses, and more, wandered through an awesome kitchen store, and finally succumbed to ice cream (coke float for me, purple cow for Kim) at this fun little dairy bar. Got milk? We were sad to hear that the Chelsea Flower Market was closed, cause we had heard good things about it. Since we had play plans for that evening, it was time to move on. We walked back via a different route, and just enjoyed the street life of New York. Except for the man who looked around to see if anyone was looking, saw us, and peed into a fenced in churchyard anyway, right there on the street! Is nothing sacred? We crossed the street. We had a little bit of time to cool off and rest before show time, and then we were off to the theatre district.

We started out walking to the Hilton Theatre, because cabs weren't stopping on 6th right then, but by the time we got to about 30th or 32nd, we got a cab. The Hilton is at 42nd and Broadway, so Kim got to see a little slice of Times Square and all of its craziness. We were excited about seeing Young Frankenstein, as it was one of our favorite movies of all time. I just hoped it could live up to my expectations. The cast was great - Dr. Frankenstein was played by the guy who played George (the creepy pharmacist on Desperate Housewives), his fiance, Elizabeth was Megan Mulalley, who was on Will and Grace, and Inge was played by Sutton Foster, who was the lead in Thoroughly Modern Millie on Broadway a few years ago (Rex & I had seen her in that). The set and special effects were beyond fantastic, and the play stayed true to the movie, and all the hilarious jokes (and more) were in there. We were howling most of the evening! If you're a Young Frankenstein fan, you'd love the play, and if you're not a Young Frankenstein fan, I'm sorry!

After the play, we walked back to the hotel and again observed and enjoyed life in Manhattan. It is not like where we're from! It had been a long day, and by the time I downloaded pictures, we were crashing and burning. Now you know how I got so far behind on my blogging...

Much more to see and do tomorrow - the waterfalls are calling us...

Jan

Rocks and water; frogs and flies; trains and taxis

Wednesday, 25 June 2008

We had another packed agenda for the day, as we planned to ride all over Connecticut on our way to our cousin's house in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, and then take the train into the city, so we did not tarry at Sandy's this morning. We took some pix of the house - we loved the way it was decorated, and we were so intrigued by the ingenious way Sandy had managed to pack so much into such a compact space. The stairs were particularly fascinating to us - they were very narrow and quite steep, since there really wasn't enough room to put a full flight of stairs from the first floor to the second. My favorite room was the dining room, which felt sort of cavelike, since the one wall was a huge boulder. Very cool digs - thanks again, Sandy, for letting us stay for the night, and for your great recommendations of Noah's and Kitchen Little.

Speaking of Kitchen Little, that's where we were headed for breakfast this morning. In addition to Sandy's suggestion, we had already read about Kitchen Little in Road Food, where it received great raves. It really is a teeny place - about 400 sq. ft., according to Road Food! We opted to eat outdoors, where we shared a picnic table with an elderly local couple. It was a beautiful day, and we were almost a little chilly in the shade. Kitchen Little lives up to its motto, "AM Eggstasy" - I had a difficult time making my breakfast choice! If I had seen the special board before I ordered, I would have had no problem, since I would have gotten Eggs Benedict with avocados and tomatoes, but somehow I missed that. I don't remember the name of what I had, but it was some concoction of eggs and vegetables and cheese over potatoes, and it was delicious. I will leave Kim's breakfast choice up to you to guess... The view from the patio was so peaceful and serene - if only I could start every day this way!

From Kitchen Little and Mystic, our route took us up the Connecticut River to East Haddam, where we would be touring the Gillette Castle. Almost everyone guesses that this was built by the razor blade Gillette's, but it wasn't. William Hooker Gillette was a stage actor who was famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. He lived for many years on a 104' houseboat (that he later expanded to 144') named the Aunt Polly, and one day as he sailed up the river he found a spot he liked, hopped out, hiked up, loved the view, and decided to build his 'retirement home' there. He never really retired, but he designed and oversaw the building of this extraordinary home and the railroad around it. I could write for PAGES about this place - it was definitely one of my favorite places - but I invite those of you who want to know more about it to go to http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325204&depNav_GID=1650 and/or http://www.friendsofgillettecastle.org/sofgillettecastle.org/ - they both have great pictures and plenty of facts.

The castle was named Seventh Sister, after the mountains in the area. Gillette was fascinated by trains and built three miles of narrow guage railroad around the property, including switches, turnouts, trestles, a roundhouse, a repair shop, and Grand Central Station. He had two engines built, an electric engine and a steam engine, and he had two Pullman cars which held seven passengers each, and one serpentine observation car that held 20 passengers. Albert Einstein and Calvin Coolidge both rode on the Seventh Sister Shortline, which cost $50,000 to build. The house itself cost a million dollars, and it took twenty men five years to construct. After Gillette's death, his heirs sold the Castle to the state of Connecticut for $30,000.

As we left the Castle, we passed by a pond covered with lily pads, so we pulled in for a closer look. I love taking pictures of frogs, lily pads, and lotus blossoms, and I felt sure there would be plenty of opportunities here. I was right! There were about six HUGE frogs sitting near one side of the wall, then a couple of giant tadpoles that were maybe two weeks away from being frogs, and after carefully scanning the lily pads, I found a couple of frogs sunning on them. Aren't the lotus blossoms beautiful?

By the time we left the castle grounds, it was after noon. We went through several little Connecticut towns, many of which had horrible traffic patterns (Middletown and Meriden, to name a couple). It seemed like it took us forever to get even just a little way across this small state. We stopped in at the Timexpo Museum in Waterbury and learned tons about clocks, watches, and timepieces as well as the role that this factory played in the town's history. From Waterbury, we made our way to the rolling hills of Litchfield, and by now we were pretty hungry, even after our big breakfasts at Kitchen Little. The first place we tried to eat in Litchfield was a little bakery that had already stopped serving lunch (it was three o'clock...) The girl there recommended a couple of other places around the corner, so we went in search of food. The first place we went to didn't seem to have a door, so we went back to the Village, where we sat at the bar and had a couple of salads. The walls of the bar were covered with pictures from the Litchfield Hills Road Races throughout the years. This was a pretty little town, and we had parked on the town square right next to a statue honoring Harriet Beecher Stowe, who was born here. We were really running late now, so at Torrington, we altered our route and went across the state to Kent Falls, which had a little covered bridge and a waterfall that went on and on. We took the quarter-mile (straight up) hike and got so many different views of the waterfall. Everything was so lush and green - not at all what I had thought about seeing in Connecticut!

As we were leaving the Falls, we saw some exquisite dragonflies. Aren't they pretty? After we left the falls, we intended to make a beeline for Croton, but then we passed a huge spillway and saw a sign for a one-lane covered bridge, so you know what happened next... We were at Bulls Bridge, where we took a short hike that was right next to (and on a pretty slippery trail) the roaring river.
It was almost six by the time we left, so we went straight to Croton with no other stops. Much to Melanie's surprise, we showed up at her door without having to call for specific directions, and without Jill's help, since she had gone silent on us. Remember our fuse problem? It was still not fixed (no thanks to you, Clifton Park Toyota!) and now we apparently have blown another fuse, since neither auxiliary adapter works now. Needless to say, the XM is not singing to us, either. Anyway, it was great to see cousin Melanie and her daughter, Nora, and Nora's boyfriend, David. Melanie fixed us a drink and she had already cooked some yummy chicken and a Caesar salad, which we ate out on the terrace while looking across the Hudson River all the way to Manhattan. On a clear day...

Soon it was time for Kim to make her virgin run into NYC! Melanie took us to the train station (after we practically totally unloaded the car and re-packed for the city) and walked us through the ticket buying process and delivered us right to the track, where the train arrived about five minutes later. Wouldn't want to rush into anything... The train ride was uneventful and Kim loved Grand Central Station and its beautiful ceiling and just the grandeur of the whole place. We caught a cab and yi-haw!!! Off we flew! Actually, we started at a crawl through Times Square, but the minute our cabbie saw daylight, we were off for the races! We were staying at the Hampton in Chelsea, and we got there about eleven, got settled, and crashed, ready to see the city the next day!

Falling for New England,

Jan

Hail yes!

Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Since we were so close to our first morning's event and it didn't open until 10 AM, we took our time this morning. We ate our breakfast at the Hampton and on the way out of the parking lot we saw NASCAR driver Carl Edwards' car trailer. This weekend's race would be in New Hampshire. This was exciting for me but Kim could have cared less. I kind of like Carl (he's tall & does back flips!) and NASCAR. Somehow, between Jill and our maps, we found our way to America's Stonehenge, although it took us much longer than we planned for. Funny how that seems to be a theme for ALL of our escapades...

We entered A.S. through the gift shop and watched a short orientation video about the site. You will definitely want to learn more about it at http://www.stonehengeusa.com/ - it was fascinating! Most of the rock formations found have been carbon dated to the 15th century, which as any of you who know even a little history will recognize as being before most any Europeans were thought to have been in this country. Of course, this area of America had long been home to many different tribes of Native Americans. While it is not known who built these homes, drainage systems, walls, and communal places, parts of it reminded me very much of the medicine wheel we saw in Nebraska last year (check out last year's blog and read the part about Dancing Leaf Lodge in Wellfleet, NE). There was an elaborate placement of large rocks which align with the sun's position on the equinoxes (equinoxi?) and solstices and other important solar and lunar dates. Many think that the boulders of Stonehenge in England as well as other mystical sites are also markers of this kind. What was also neat is how well the drainage systems still work - it had rained really hard the night before, but the area all around these rocks was dry except where water was coming out of the drainage 'rocks'.

Remember our Massachusetts friends from the Sugar Hill Inn? They had been to A.S. on their way up to Vermont, so they had been just in time for the summer solstice celebration that happened here. We saw remnants of where the ceremony took place, as there were still flowers and spices placed on a large rock flower and a series of trees formed into arches encircled the 'altar'. As we walked back from the main site, we were enchanted by the beautiful birds that were singing and playing around in the woods. We saw orioles (not something we are used to seeing), chickadees, sparrows, and woodpeckers, as well as lots of chipmunks and some of those green bottleflies. It is worth reporting here that the 'green' bug spray we paid $8 for (in Vermont, where else?) works pretty well and we have been glad we had it on more than one occasion. When people tell you the north woods mosquitos could carry you away, they are not kidding.

As we got back to the gift shop, we hiked by several pens of alpacas, so we got to see them up close and personal. They are indeed the 'lambas' we saw in Pennsylvania. They are so funny looking, especially after they have been shorn! We are pleased to say that we both love our new hiking boots and after having very little cell phone service for the entire trip up to this point, somehow, in the middle of NOWHERE NH, we both had five bars of service the whole time we were here. Go figure. Anyway, we stayed here longer than we thought we would and now we were over 90 minutes behind schedule. My road to hell must be at least 90% paved by now, especially since I haven't yet sent my Christmas cards which say "Happy New Year!"

Given our time issues and the fact that Massachusetts does not seem to have many non-interstates/big highways that go anywhere in a north-south direction (all roads lead to Boston or around it), we took the path of least resistance and time (we hoped) and braced ourselves for the interstate straight through Boston to Pawtucket, RI. Astonishingly enough, we sped right through Boston and even went through the tunnel of 'Big Dig' fame with no problems. We got back on US 1 as we got close to Pawtucket, where our first stop was the Hasbro headquarters, as we had a date with Mr. Potatohead. He was so cute - a big ole spud in between the HQ and the R&D (and maybe manufacturing plant - we don't know cause they wouldn't let us in - top secret toy stuff, you know) buildings. The places in the parking lot were marked with Monopoly cards - we really tried to figure a way to infiltrate the plant, but they were onto us right away. Wouldn't even let us take pictures in the HQ building or get past the guy in the lobby of R&D. How do you get to work at a toy place, anyway? I love to play!

It was getting so far past a normal lunch hour that our options were very limited (same old story, I know) but as luck would have it, most diners are open 24/7, and the one on our list today was the Modern Diner in Pawtucket. It was housed in a Sterling Streamliner and was the first diner in the country to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bet you didn't know that diners originated in Providence, RI, in 1872. Our server told us that they had great hamburgers, so we tested them to make sure. She was right, and their onion rings were not too bad, either. As we were leaving the diner, the heavens opened up and we got drenched just running to the car. Our next stop was Providence, and in case you don't know, Pawtucket and Providence are right next to each other (as everything in the tiny state of Rhode Island is not too far from anything else). We were going to see the state capitol, so we figured, no big deal, we're almost there anyway - how hard could that be? Well, if it had not started HAILING immediately after we got on the interstate we would have been fine. As it was, I was driving down the road with one arm up over my head because it sounded like we were under artillary fire!! We expected the windshield to be cracked and broken at any second. The hail was at least marble (shooter) sized - not quite golf balls but damn, it sounded like cannon balls were landing on us! I was so afraid to see my car - I was almost glad that it was still raining when we stopped so I couldn't tell what the damage was. I just knew there was some.

We parked (parallel again!) on the street in front of the capitol building, and for the first time in a long time, we had to go through a metal detector to get in. We spent the rest of the thunderstorm inside and enjoyed seeing another beautiful capitol. Kim and I were talking about how neat it is that these old buildings are, for the most part, still being used for the purposes they were intended - they are not torn down or even renovated (at least not to the point that most of us can tell - maybe wiring, AC, computers, etc.) but the furnishings in many look to be original. The Rhode Island capitol was full of fascinating artifacts - my favorite was the Gettysburg Cannon, which was a cannon used at that famous battle but it got a cannonball stuck in it when it got struck by a Rebel cannonball just as the yankees were loading their cannon. So there it was in the building, cannonball still sticking out of the bore.

Now we were intentionally heading to the PJ's so we could see Nibbles Woodaway, the giant termite perched on top of some pest control building. Sadly, he's easily visible (but not photographable) from the interstate, but from the lovely alley where we were (we opted not to pull into the "Cheaters Gentlemen's Club" parking lot) we only got a side/rear view of Mr. Woodaway. But we got that, anyway.

We drove down US 1 (aka Post Road) to the coast of Rhode Island, stopping in for a look-see at Smith's Castle, circa 1678. We were sad to see that it was closed, although it was not at all what we were expecting. Unless you think that normal looking old frame houses should be called 'castles' I think you would have been surprised, too. The grounds were lovely, though, and there were lots of geese and ducks out on the water behind the house. Turns out Richard Smith (it was his castle) must have been a big deal back then, because everything in that area of the state was named for him. I have not researched him yet, but I may have to find out a little more about him.

Next stop, the Watch Hill Bathing Beach and their Flying Horse Carousel, which is the oldest one in the country, having been built in 1883. The horses had real hair manes and tails, and they were suspended from the ceiling by chains. There was a chute for the brass rings that the kids tried to grab as they went round and round. If they were lucky enough to get a ring (the attendants even handed them to the littlest riders) they put them over their horses' ears until the ride was over. The panels on the interior were painted with different 'flying horses' - it was a charming ride in a very high rent district.

We were just across the state line from Stonington, Connecticut, where we were spending the night. Thanks to my good friend, Anne, we had reservations at the home of her good friend, Sandy, who I had met but didn't really know. What a trusting soul she is, to let two almost complete (and some would say crazy) strangers stay with her! We are grateful to our friends and theirs! We found Sandy's charming little cottage with no trouble, and even though she wasn't home, she had left the door open for us. It's hard to imagine being able to live like that in the places where we live. Shortly after we arrived, Sandy pulled in and gave us a quick tour of the house and the lovely beach area nearby. After that, we were off to Mystic to see what was there and to eat dinner, and Sandy was off to a previous engagement.

We found Mystic to be quite touristy, which is rarely to our liking. The movie Mystic Pizza, starring Julia Roberts, was actually filmed in quaint and lovely Stonington. Not a surprise to me! We found one of the restaurants Sandy had recommended in Mystic, but when we found out there was a 45 minute wait (at 8:30 PM) we hightailed it back for Stonington. On the way back, we saw a beautiful rainbow (for no apparent reason) and this time we got a picture of it. Going back was a good choice! Sandy had told us about a place called Noah’s, which we walked right to from Sandy’s house. We had one of our best meals of the whole trip there! Kim had panko-crusted broiled flounder with garlic-chive mashed potatoes and green beans, and I had sea scallops with an orange-chili salsa, rice, and a medley of fresh vegetables. Oh, and we each had a delicious salad – Kim’s with bleu cheese and mine with avocado slices. The homemade bread was great, too, but the piece de resistance was dessert. When I saw that they made pavlovas there, I told Kim we HAD to have one. So we each had one! For those of you not familiar with this Australian favorite, a pavlova is a meringue shell, filled with ice cream and/or whipped cream (that would be an AND in this case) and garnished with fruits like kiwis, strawberries, raspberries, and oranges. And maybe drizzled with raspberry puree. Heavenly! I dreamed about mine!

When we got back to Sandy’s, she had left a note saying she’d found a ride into New York City and had decided to leave that night, so we had the house to ourselves with instructions to lock the doors and turn out the lights when we left. Thanks a million, Sandy, for truly opening your home to us, and to you, too, Anne, for telling Sandy we weren’t known criminals. Our only excitement for the night occurred when Kim went out to the car to get something and there was a for real, live and in person (or in animal) SKUNK out by my car. And then it went UNDER my car! Thankfully, it did not spray Kim or the car. We think it heard that Peppy was in the hood...

I’m dreaming of a white pavlova, just like the one I ate tonight,

Jan