Clouds and silver linings
We’re in New York for a long weekend of theater. Got awfully lucky with the weather–the flight we took this morning was cancelled yesterday morning due to the storm. Today, all was well. We got off the ground right on time and landed 20 minutes early.
Flying over the outskirts of the city, we noticed large areas where there were no lights, even 8 days after Hurricane Sandy. Mike tell me that area where he grew up, Rockaway, is devastated.
It’s much easier to fly into JFK than it is to get out of it by car. The line for taxis is interminable, even though there seem to be an infinite number of cabs here. But it’s where I get to enjoy one of the great pleasures of life.
You can reserve a town car from a car service and ride into town in style for no more, and often less, than a taxi costs. And you don’t have to wait long, and you get to see this:
Only the most important big shots are known by one name.
I don’t get to travel by private jet, but sometimes I can still see my name in metaphoric lights.
The drive into town was the longest we’ve ever had–the mid-town tunnel is still closed due to the storm (scheduled to reopen at 6 tomorrow morning) and it took more than 90 minutes to make what is usually a 40 minute or less drive.
Here’s the silver linings, slender though it was. The tunnel has an $8 toll, the bridge we had to detour to was free. Okay, 8 bucks doesn’t mean much in New York, but every little bit helps. I like to feel like I beat the system, even if only by $8.
Priceline got us a room at the Crowne Plaza, right on Times Square. The room is great, it has a view of the square, we’re on the 36th floor, and they offer room service until midnight. What more could you want?
In fact, we went to a play (review coming soon), came back to the hotel and had room service for dinner. I had the linguine, Gail had the chicken pot pie.
We ordered 2 entrees, and they brought us silverware for 1. Somebody wasn’t thinking, but we survived. The food was decent +.
Totally Unauthorized 