Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Matt drove me to ORD through a lot of heavy traffic. I ate the classic breakfast at Ice Bar inside the airport: scrambled eggs, alderwood-smoked bacon, sourdough toast, small side of fresh fruit. Service by Barbara was infrequent but friendly when it arrived. $16.02 after a $2 tip. Watched Star Trek Into Darkness on iTunes before and during the flight. JetBlue #906 from ORD to JFK. Our plane was rerouted to Syracuse due to poor weather in NYC. Delayed a long time for refueling because JetBlue has a small presence at Syracuse and consequently limited staff. While waiting to leave Syracuse the cabin became very uncomfortably hot for about 30 minutes. Arrive at JFK many hours later than expected. Purchased a ticket that combined the $7 off-peak fare for the LIRR trip from Jamaica Station to Penn Station with a $5 AirTrain exit fee. Caught the 6:42 PM LIRR to Penn Station with only a few minutes to spare. Waited in line at the wrong ticket window to purchase a 7-day unlimited pass. FYI, a 7-day unlimited pass cannot be added to a MetroCard purchased simultaneously with a LIRR ticket. The 7-day pass was $30 plus $1 for the new MetroCard fee. Arrived in Penn Station, exiting at West 34th Street and 7th Avenue, had my New York deer-in-headlights moment seeing the giant displays above the train station entrances/exits. Walked to 6th Avenue, walking in the wrong direction at first. I didn't realize until later how long this walk was. (Chatting with BK and Kel later I agree with them that it's less work to take the J train from Jamaica Station even though it feels like it takes much longer. Indeed, in hot weather or with a large suitcase it's smarter to avoid the non-airconditioned spaces and the poorly accessed stations and the urine-smelling elevators waiting for the M or the F). Waited about 12 minutes in a very hot subway at West 34th Street / Herald Square Station for the F Train, rode to Delancey Street / Essex Street. Walked a few blocks to Holiday Inn Lower East Side (150 Delancey Street). This hotel is recently new. Check-in was fast, simple, friendly. Dinner by myself at Via Tribunali: vesuvio calzone, house red (today = sangiovese). The calzone was huge, and I could eat only half of it. I took the rest with me to drinks and chat with Brian and Kelly at their apartment on Attorney Street. Realized that Apple Notes no longer displays my NYC to do list and I do not recall having deleted it. Back to the hotel. To bed very late.