Riverside Park near 83rd Street(Photo: NYCDreamin Archives)
Day 1.5 - 07/02/08 (4:00pm - 11:00pm)
Just before 4:00pm, I was allowed to check in at the Hostel. It took mere minutes, and in short order I was upstairs in my room on the 4th floor. I spent some time unpacking, getting organized, etc. Then I was off to enjoy my first shower in over 36 hours. Felt VERY MUCH better after and decided I would indeed go out for a FEW hours.
Stopped in at a luggage shop on Broadway at West 101st street to pick up a fanny-pack to more easily carry my smokes, camera, maps, notebook, keys, etc.
Started to walk south on Broadway, made it a few blocks and was stopped by a guy who asked me 'Where did you get that shirt?'
(I was wearing my 'Max's Kansas City 40th Anniversary' t-shirt.)
I explained to him that I had bought it from a musician friend of mine. The guy introduced himself as Bobby Albertson, and told me he used to play bass with a NYC post-punk instrumental band called the RAYBEATS, and another group called The Bush Tetras. He was full of all kinds of stories about lots of musicians he knew/had known over the years and was just happy to find someone who was willing to listen for a while. He had some pretty good stuff to tell. We talked on the street for proably a good half-an-hour, then we exchanged email adresses and I promised I would get in touch with him once I was back home. Soon he went on his way...and I continued on mine as well. It never occured to me to pull out my camera and get a photo or two as we stood there talking. A lost moment...
I decided the short walk for the evening would include a journey to Riverside Park. I walked down Broadway, to around 72nd, then west, over to the park. Then I headed back north through the park. I came upon the 'Soldiers And Sailors Memorial' monument at West 83rd street, and stopped, finally busting out the camera for a few photos. I had not seen this impressive memorial on my previous trips. I continued north, and as the sun began to dip away for the evening, I noticed THOUSANDS of lightning bugs coming out, doing whatever it is that they do. It was cool to see so many at the same time, spread across the grassy areas of the park. Quasi-psychadelic...
Around 9:00pm, I figured I would stop and grab a slice of Pizza and head back to the Hostel to get some rest. I stopped at a place called Cheesy Pizza (2640 Broadway) ("Taste It, You'll Love It!" is their slogan) and ordered a slice of chicken/bacon pizza and some garlic knots. The Pizza was horrible. The garlic knots were good though, so I ate them, swallowed them down with some root-beer and headed off to the Hostel.
At this point, in the previous 48 hours, I had slept maybe 6-8 hours. I was W.T.F. (wore the f*ck) out. When I arrived I spent about 20 minutes chatting it up with some of the other guests in the courtyard out back, then went inside to use the computers for a few minutes. I decided that I would not spend much time blogging while actually in the city, that it could wait until I was home and I could take more time to tell the tales of my trip.
I wrote the following just before turning in for the evening...
'So I am checked in for just tonight (Wed.) and tomorrow (Thurs.) and hoping like hell there are some Cancellations for the 4th and 5th. If not, I have other places I can check out, but I am hearing that, due to the 4th of July Holiday, most of the Hostels in the city are booked solid, as are most of the Hotels. This could get interesting over the next few days...'
Little did I know just HOW interesting it would get...
To Be Continued...
Just before 4:00pm, I was allowed to check in at the Hostel. It took mere minutes, and in short order I was upstairs in my room on the 4th floor. I spent some time unpacking, getting organized, etc. Then I was off to enjoy my first shower in over 36 hours. Felt VERY MUCH better after and decided I would indeed go out for a FEW hours.
Stopped in at a luggage shop on Broadway at West 101st street to pick up a fanny-pack to more easily carry my smokes, camera, maps, notebook, keys, etc.
Started to walk south on Broadway, made it a few blocks and was stopped by a guy who asked me 'Where did you get that shirt?'
(I was wearing my 'Max's Kansas City 40th Anniversary' t-shirt.)
I explained to him that I had bought it from a musician friend of mine. The guy introduced himself as Bobby Albertson, and told me he used to play bass with a NYC post-punk instrumental band called the RAYBEATS, and another group called The Bush Tetras. He was full of all kinds of stories about lots of musicians he knew/had known over the years and was just happy to find someone who was willing to listen for a while. He had some pretty good stuff to tell. We talked on the street for proably a good half-an-hour, then we exchanged email adresses and I promised I would get in touch with him once I was back home. Soon he went on his way...and I continued on mine as well. It never occured to me to pull out my camera and get a photo or two as we stood there talking. A lost moment...
I decided the short walk for the evening would include a journey to Riverside Park. I walked down Broadway, to around 72nd, then west, over to the park. Then I headed back north through the park. I came upon the 'Soldiers And Sailors Memorial' monument at West 83rd street, and stopped, finally busting out the camera for a few photos. I had not seen this impressive memorial on my previous trips. I continued north, and as the sun began to dip away for the evening, I noticed THOUSANDS of lightning bugs coming out, doing whatever it is that they do. It was cool to see so many at the same time, spread across the grassy areas of the park. Quasi-psychadelic...
Around 9:00pm, I figured I would stop and grab a slice of Pizza and head back to the Hostel to get some rest. I stopped at a place called Cheesy Pizza (2640 Broadway) ("Taste It, You'll Love It!" is their slogan) and ordered a slice of chicken/bacon pizza and some garlic knots. The Pizza was horrible. The garlic knots were good though, so I ate them, swallowed them down with some root-beer and headed off to the Hostel.
At this point, in the previous 48 hours, I had slept maybe 6-8 hours. I was W.T.F. (wore the f*ck) out. When I arrived I spent about 20 minutes chatting it up with some of the other guests in the courtyard out back, then went inside to use the computers for a few minutes. I decided that I would not spend much time blogging while actually in the city, that it could wait until I was home and I could take more time to tell the tales of my trip.
I wrote the following just before turning in for the evening...
'So I am checked in for just tonight (Wed.) and tomorrow (Thurs.) and hoping like hell there are some Cancellations for the 4th and 5th. If not, I have other places I can check out, but I am hearing that, due to the 4th of July Holiday, most of the Hostels in the city are booked solid, as are most of the Hotels. This could get interesting over the next few days...'
Little did I know just HOW interesting it would get...
To Be Continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment