Cousins Part 1 « The Rowhouse

Saturday:

Last weekend Nik and Katrina came to visit. If you don’t know them, Nik is my second cousin who is marrying Katrina next month. They got driven into Manhattan from Newark by Katrina’s cousin, Cindy, on Saturday morning. Michelle and I were still getting reading when they got in because we had to move her stuff out of her res hall the night before. The first thing we wanted to do was eat because they had a long morning due to the never ending delays on the Blue line to O’Hare. We thought it would be nice to find somewhere up by Union Square so that they could check out the scene in our area. This place Big Daddy’s looked good and the menu worked for everybody so it was an easy pick.

We didn’t have anything planned out so Michelle and I thought it would be nice to go back to Flushing Meadows to see it during the day. Naturally, the subway would be the mode of transportation for the weekend so Nik and Katrina bought their MetroCards. I had thought there was a three day unlimited, but they only have 1,7, 14, and 30 day ones and because they would be in the city four days they got the 7 day because it costs less than four 1 days. Nik wanted a map to check out how the subway worked, excellent decision. It is my firm belief that anytime you go to a different city you must figure out their public transportation. Plus, there is nothing cooler than a subway map. I remember looking at the London Underground map pillowcase my grandma had when I would spend the night at my grandparents as a kid.

We took the 6 to the N to the 7 to get to Flushing because, just like in Chicago, they were doing work on the 7 tracks so we had to bypass some stops using the N. While transferring at Grand Central we took a detour upstairs because Nik wanted to see the constellations on the ceiling. He gave us a little lesson in the middle of the room about the stars. Just like Mr. Feeny, teachers can never stop teaching. I enjoyed it because it has been too long since I’ve been on a riveting star talk with with Ms. Joan and I need to brush up.

It was a hot day, but a beautiful day. When we got off the train we had a great view of Shea and the new Citi Park right next to each other again. We walked into the park and got some water and ice cream from a cart. After that was procured, we started our walk. Tons of people were in Corona Park that afternoon, mostly Hispanics playing soccer much like at Horner or Portage. The place is mostly flat with rows of trees and fields. They even have a par 3 that I really want to play at. Immediately I loved this place even more than I had a couple days before. It is just very relaxing. There are these reflecting pool basins that are unfilled so kids were playing in them. Nik noticed that they were having a crawling race and one kid had some rope and was whipping the kids crawling. It was really funny. We all wished that the basins were filled because they would add a lot to the park. I asked a park ranger if they fill them and she said she can’t remember the last time they were. That’s a shame.

Our adventure by that time was directed by signs pointing to the New York Hall of Science. Flushing Meadows is a great place to enjoy good company and we were. We stopped by the Unisphere and then walked towards the “UFO’s”. At the time we couldn’t really come to a solid conclusion on what these things or the large structure next to it were used for. I looked them up and found they were observational towers and an amphitheater that used to be really cool, but now they look as though they are going to fall over and give somebody tetanus.

Continuing to the Hall of Science we took a seat next to a carousel to rest. It played the most annoying songs in the world that we learned in pre-school. I pity the people who have to work there.

When we got up we walked between the zoo and the zoo farm. Unfortunately, it is not what I refer to as “a zoo for the people” like Lincoln, or in other words, free. It wasn’t worth paying for because it was only open another 45 minutes, but we all agreed that the gate was very cool because it was filled with etchings or something of animals.

Finally, we found the Hall of Science. The museum is interactive so it has a whole lot of cool things to play with and look at. As we walked around to the front we saw a cool playground and garden with model rockets. We walked in and saw that it also would be closing shortly and opted to come back another time. I have a feeling that it will be on the top of Nik and Katrina’s list the next time they visit here.

Instead of walking all the way back from the way we came we decided to walk up 111th through Flushing to a different station. It was a neat neighborhood. A lady was cooking meat from a shopping cart to sell on the street and we saw a cool barber shop right under the 7.

On the way back we decided to cook dinner for ourselves. We went to Trader Joe’s to buy the food and resolved on ziti pasta with chicken. I also got some bread, because I love bread. Katrina made it and it was excellent. Having all of our cooking supplies and table settings really paid off. We had plenty of everything. There’s something about having a cooked meal with friends that’s really nice.

Before setting off again we rested and watched some tv. I printed off coupons for the Empire State Building ($2 off the $19 ticket). I’m not going to lie, I had been putting off going there because it’s ridiculously expensive, but I knew it was inevitable. Michelle was really excited we were all going. When we got there the line was huge. The strange doorman said it was an hour, but that was an underestimated lie. Throughout the line we noticed that all of the workers were strange. They reminded me of those creepy bellmen in the Tower of Terror or something like that, “Paging Mr. Herman, Mr. Herman” (Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure). Part of the problem was that they were rude. Another issue was that they were trying to sell you everything they could like maps for $8. They would say, “You’re not going to know what you’re looking at”. Ya, maybe if your an idiot. Michelle picked out the Statue of Liberty and you could barely see it.

In the line we finally came to an elevator and I predicted it would be a tease, of course, I was correct. Waiting in the line seemed like it was a joke, an Ed Debevic’s experience. In any case, we made our own fun. This was necessary to maintain sanity.

Once we got up there it was about 10:30 pm and a choir was singing some patriotic songs, I cold heartedly wanted them to stop and get out of my way. When we got around them we looked east. Michelle was very excited to be there. She loves doing that kind of stuff. It was a glorious night and the moon was rising while we were up there. Turning to the north I looked at Rockefeller and my building. It was cool to look up Fifth Avenue. My favorite view was looking west because it has cool lights. Macy’s is neat to look at from high up because we see how large it is and the paint on the street from the Thanksgiving Day parade. While looking south Michelle showed me the little light from the “women who lights fire up sky’s butt” (Jungle 2 Jungle). After looking at everything, Michelle and I just relaxed and enjoyed each others company, we knew that she would be leaving soon and had a great time over the previous four weeks.

On the way out we had to wait in another line to get out. I’m telling you, this place didn’t make any sense. Before we got back on the train we got a Frosty from Wendy’s, I love Frosty’s. Finally, we hopped on the 6 downtown and went back to my abode.

-George and Michelle the Engaged with Nik and Katrina the Engaged