Part I - Fun in the Big Apple at the National Stationery Show! June 03 2013, 8 Comments

I love New York! I love the cab drivers! I love hot dogs sold on the street corner! Now; which one of these is the correct answer? You guessed it......I love New York! Here is part I of my trip.

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I decide I don't need to take no stinkin' expensive cab from the airport! Why; I'm a sophisticated traveler so I'll take the $13.00 shuttle to Manhattan and save at least twenty bucks.  I pile onto the shuttle that has 4 seats left so I take one, next to a slim hispanic woman, in an attempt for extra room and comfort.  My butt was still hanging off the edge of the seat a little bit but that's okay; it's cool. The rest of the seats fill up and off we go. The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round and up and down just like a roller coaster ride. The woman next to me looked at me and we started laughing. I swear we could hear the roller coaster chain pulling us up and up and then dooowwwwnnnnn for that big drop. Repeat this action 20 more times. Hey; no prob. We'll be in Manhattan soon enough.

We arrive at Grand Central Station alive and well. I get off the bus and go around to the back to get my bag. I wait my turn and I point,"that's it", to the driver. He looks exhausted and hot, just pitiful. I give him a five dollar tip and ask, "Where do I get the free shuttle to my hotel?". He can barely lift his arm and points to the empty space on the street behind the bus. Everyone's jostling me to get to their bags so I yank mine down(God it's heavy), lift up the handle and roll it back onto the sidewalk. I check my phone and how much cash I have left. I look up and absolutely everyone is gone including the driver and the bus. I wait a few minutes for the shuttle and nothing comes. I'll take a cab from here, I decide, but no one stops.  I will get on the bus then. I see a stop just a block down and ask if this is headed toward 48th and 7th to someone waiting. He was very friendly and said yep but I'd probably need to transfer. The bus comes, I drag the bag on, and ask how much. The bus driver says, "blah blah pass card". I said, "Huh?". He said, "If you don't have a pass I need $2.50 in change." I start pulling out quarters from my purse and I begin to shove them in one of the slots. "Stop; not that slot this slot!" I said sorry and pulled more change out. While I was doing this I was standing and holding on with one hand with the bag balanced between my legs. Some purse crumbs came out with the change I was pushing in the right slot. The driver gave me a pass to catch the next bus. I'm sweating quite a bit but this is a New York adventure! I cross the street and walk over two blocks as instructed by the driver. I'm waiting with my pass and a guy asks me if this is the blah blah bus. I actually know that it's the MD50! He is pleased and we wait. Ten minutes later the bus arrives. It drops me off just three blocks from my hotel. I check in at the front desk. They ask with a concerned look only a young person can give you, "Are you okay?". "Yes", I say. "I tend to sweat a lot." I get my key and zip, (ok drag my ass) up to my room. It has that hotel smell of I'm not sure what. I am starving as I only had a bag of chips for breakfast and it is now 2. I remember I bought a chocolate bar and I start to unzip my big old bag and I don't see my name tag. The bag has grey on one side when it should be black. My candy bar is not there. I grabbed the wrong bag. I grabbed the wrong bag.

Part II........coming soon.

 

Hanging with Elmo and Minnie Mouse (Elmo's voice is much deeper in person..with a slight Brooklyn accent)