Bucket List Travel. Go.Having been estranged from this blog for a while for reasons not any more interesting than work and travel and minutiae of life, I've decided to take the opportunity of an extended visit to New York to rekindle our relationship. This trip is from my bucket list. A bold move to take three weeks away from work and briefly embed in life as a New Yorker. Staying in a lovely apartment in Brooklyn, I am ready. Day One.6:00 a.m. Wake up in Nashville. Feel pretty good. Slept well, not always the case before a trip. Part of a good vacation means not having a flight requiring me to be up and out before daylight. It makes me grumpy. Today's flight leaves at 11:30. Yay.
Coffee. Feed the cats. Bring up last load of laundry from dryer...towels for the friend who will be staying at my house. Run dishwasher. Finish big note for Jonathan. Shower. Dress. Grab final things for suitcase. Ben comes to pick me up for airport at 9:30. I'm a little concerned yesterday's marathoners will be crowding the airport, so allowing a little extra time. Airport busy but I checked in online yesterday and am TSA pre. Got bags checked and through security in about 15 minutes. Yay. Settled in at my gate and worked on editing Journey to Peace with Aging--part 7, the one piece of writing I am still accomplishing, though slowly. Flight was without incident. I almost never chat with my seatmates, but this time I slid into the middle seat next to a young woman...artist/painter/glass blower...who was headed out on an adventure far more daring than mine. She's headed to work four months on a ship in Iceland. She was exhausted from a few days at Penland School of Crafts in Tennessee followed by a visit with a friend and her new baby in Nashville, but perked up to tell me about her journeys. I don't know her name, but wish her godspeed. LaGuardia is under construction and the lot for Uber/Lyft requires a shuttle ride right now whereas cabs are a brief walk from luggage claim. The cab ride becomes my first funny story. As soon as my cab driver started moving he said, “Pull up your gps, pull up your gps! There’s very bad traffic the regular way! Find us an alternate route!” What? Yes, it’s true…he did not have his own gps. The funny part is when I pulled it up (which took a minute because my phone had been in airplane mode), it gave us an alternate route involving about 25 turns through an industrial area he’d never seen or driven through before. He kept laughing and saying “This is great! This is great! I’ve never been here before! So much time, this is saving so much time! On the regular route we’d still be so far away…oh my goodness…gps is amazing!” The apartment. Lovely. I learned in looking for a place that if I was willing to trade being right in Manhattan...which was difficult to give up...I could get two or three times the space for about 2/3 the money. Deciding on Brooklyn was a good choice. The brownstone apartment features a private balcony and rooftop terrace and more than twice the space of where we stayed in Manhattan a few years ago. By dark, I had unpacked (nesting is something I do even if for a 2 day stay) and walked to the grocery for food and beer. Tomorrow: Fort Greene and locating subway stops!
5 Comments
Mary Jane Mitchell
4/30/2018 12:50:07 pm
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Donna Goodaker
4/30/2018 01:35:34 pm
I'll look it up! I'm hoping to be all over the place, so all recommendations welcome.
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5/22/2018 03:29:08 pm
I am not sure if I can survive living in New York. I have noticed that the people are a little "hedonistic". I am not really being judgmental but I think all they think about is themselves. They work to the point that they don't want to spend time with their own families. They party like they don't have anyone waiting for them at home. Actually it's true. Most of them live alone. There's no such thing as a serious relationship with anyone from this city. There maybe a real career but if you want to build a family, this is not the best area to be in.
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Donna
5/22/2018 04:39:57 pm
Sounds like maybe you live in New York and don't love it? I don't live there, but do love being there. I see all kinds of people and a lot of hard work, creative culture, great food and art. Is it perfect? Of course not. The city is expensive and I'm sure attracts more singles who may be working hard, playing hard although I also see a lot of kids/moms/nannies out and about during the day in Manhattan. In the other boroughs however, family owned businesses,neighborhood schools, houses with yards, kids, etc. are plentiful. It isn't for everybody, but for the millions who live there, I'm guessing a majority are there by choice and are making it work, just like those of us who live elsewhere. 2/19/2020 07:26:58 am
In the generator you will find step by step instructions on what to do at this time. Back to the question: "How does it work" ... the answer is simple.
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Hi, I'm Donna. Long time artisan/creative. Full time work in nonprofit world. Mother of two adult sons. Currently, also mother of two cats. Recent PostsThe patience project. Because patience is a virtue. And a creative challenge.
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