Needing a Vacation from my Vacation

Oh, New York. I got there on the 29th of December and I left on the morning of the 3d. Me and two of my very good girlfriends, all of us likely the person when in other groups of friends who pressures everyone to drink more. As it is, I need detox from my six days. But we didn't just drink, we're all foodie sorts too. And NYC is a foodie heaven. We caviar'd, we pate'd, we cheese'd, and pasta'd (not me), and soup'd, we cheese'd (it deserves to be listed twice), we olive'd, we pork'd, lamb'd and beef'd our way through the city. And, of course, we hair of the dog'd too.

S and I lizzing, with the significant other of my friend, G.

G and her man. He always stands like that. ;)

Give me your tired, your poor.

I tried to go to the Statue of Liberty yesterday. The last ferry ran at 3:30. Showing up ten minutes prior left me persona non grata. Hey, it was a practice run.

But I made it today. Again, a little late so I could only visit either the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island. I realize the statue is just a statue, but Ellis Island wasn't a hard pull for me because, honestly, few of my ancestors went through there. The only Euro folks of mine that might have gone through there (need to confirm with the woman in the know, mi madre) would have been my Danish side that came to the US in...mmmn....1898? So, long story short, I chose to only visit the statue. And after about ten minutes, I was like 'yep, saw it' so it was queue queue queue for the ferry back.

Manhattan in the background, coming in on the ferry.

Prime posing area.

A million tourists can't be wrong, so I posed away.

Looking out toward Brooklyn Bridge (out on the horizon).

MoMA - the bad.

TRUE or FALSE:

The following four pictures all depict art displayed at the Museum of Modern Art.

(Answer at the bottom.)

The answer is...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

False. Pictures 1 ("Cloth Octagonal2"), 3 (neon and plastic that sits on the ground) and 4 (hay in a six-foot cube) are all displayed art. Picture 2 is a piece of repaired flooring that I think might be a contender if it schmoozes enough.

MoMA - the good.

I didn't come to NYC with much of an agenda. Obviously, I came to visit with a dear friend, but I also want to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and the Museum of Modern art. Last week I knocked out MoMA. My big to-do's there were to see a Lichtenstein and a Pollock (a fine Wyoming boy) which I did manage to see- other than that, it was just a treat to wander around and look at the the creative ways artists can express themselves and their worldviews.

I'm no Lichtenstein-phile but this is my favorite piece of his so I was happy to see it.

I believe this was the only Pollock piece displayed. It was upwards of 20 feet long.

This installation, Sum of Days, was 2 to 3 stories tall of sweepy gauze, dangling microphones and speakers and, at its center, a piano. When I experienced it, it was silent but just a short time later I heard the piano being played beautifully.

I couldn't quite capture this fisheyed beach panoramic head-on.

 Titled: Punch and Judy II Birth & Life & Sex & Death

 I really liked this one.

And this one too, Box of Wishes.

I was pleased to see a whole area reserved for the (now defunct?) Guerilla Girls.

This installation, Images of War (at a Distance), included 15 or so projection screens filled with videos centered on war: wargaming, videos from surveillance aircraft, lectures of battle breakdowns, equipment testing, etc.

Rockefeller Center

My time in NYC has been, surprisingly, low tempo. The friend I'm visiting, Gretchen, works far too much; the result for me is that I've been pulling some mondo sleep hours. After I bumble down in a groggy haze for a cup o' joe from one of the 10 or so coffee shops within a 3-block radius, I slowly get cleaned up then set out on foot.

Rockefeller Center looked just like I imagined, even without the Today Show crowds (too late for that) and without the seasonal ice-skating rink.

I did go into the NBC store, and I was tempted on two accounts: a "Master of My Domain" t-shirt and a Jack Donaghy magnet proclaiming "Rich 50 is like middle-class 38" but I left with my wallet intact.

Runnin' and Runnin'

A run in NYC today.

First, my route.....it came out to be 3.72 miles (thank you GoogleEarth).

Second, some observations...

-My first mile came in at six and a half minutes. While I'm an optimist, this was a clear sign that my Garmin 405 was having a difficult time acquiring satellites with the buildings.

-Running in the city is very very similar to trail running: some starts/stops, side-to-sides, fast then slow. Nothing at all like my normal runs.

-Central Park is surprisingly hilly. This made me sad thinking about all the level city around it. 

-I thought Central Park did not have vehicle traffic. This is not true.

-It's easier to run here than it is at 6700 feet (ahem, Wyoming).

New York City: a preview?

I got into JFK at almost midnight last night. After a taxi ride that took longer than it seemed like it should have, I was in the Upper East Side, texting and buzzing my friend Gretchen to let me in.

Alas, Gretchen had to leave town on business at the ungodly hour of 6 AM. She'll be back in a few days and during that time I get to bum around town and hang out with her Golden Retriever, Bella.

Me and Bella's first venture out was just a short time ago. After waking up at noon, I figured a cup o' joe wouldn't hurt so off we went. As soon as we walked out of Gretchen's apartment building, I was noticing that there were a whole lotta men around. As Bella and I walked, two handsome guys in suits who'd crossed the street, were walking a few paces behind us. It was at this time that Bella decided to poo. And this dog doesn't just pop a squat. No, she (somehow) poops and walks. The end result being that I am left picking up sizable dog poo over a ten-foot span in front of a couple of cute guys.

Good morning, New York! (Forget that I said I woke up at noon.)