Harbor Cruise and Empire State Building

On Monday October 11, 2010
New York

This was our only full day in New York City so we resolved to make the most of it. Valeriy was our hiking buddy in Crimea and Olga is also into hiking so we resolved to see Manhattan mainly on foot.

The first planned activity for the day was a New York harbor cruise. But first we needed to eat. The cruise left from Pier 78 where 38th Street meets the Hudson, about a mile from our hotel as the crow flies. Our hotel was on 30th Street so I figured we would walk west to 9th Avenue and find a breakfast place by the time we got to 38th. But 9th Avenue has no restaurants to speak of. 8th Avenue has plenty, so we had to backtrack to 8th Avenue where we did find a little deli that made breakfast. They had pancakes on the menu and all of us ordered pancakes and bacon, uniquely American dishes not available in Ukraine. Valeriy and Olga ate every bit of their meals so they must have approved.

We had a little trouble finding an east-west street that went all the way through to the river. My handheld Garmin let me down in New York; there was so much interference from the tall buildings that both the car GPS and handheld were always way off. In the end, we walked almost 2 and a half miles to the pier that was .8 miles from our hotel.

Routing of Harbor Cruise

Picking the cruise was tricky. Two companies run cruises in the Hudson, harbor, and East River. Carol and I took the Circle Line cruise twice - once in the early 90s and again in August when we brought Veronika, another Ukrainian friend to New York. Both times we circumnavigated the whole of Manhattan. However, we found that the shorter harbor cruises included most of the interesting sites. Although the Circle Line also has a shorter harbor cruise, we decided on the cruise offered by the New York Waterway so that we could get a contrast. The cruises were similar; the guides were equally knowledgable and entertaining but I thought the Circle Cruise boat was a little more open with better camera lines to the sights. Click here to see the photos I took on the cruise.

On the cruise, we learned that we could catch a free bus (that is, included in the price of the cruise) going uptown, downtown or crosstown. In the interest of time, we eschewed the walking and took the crosstown bus to Macy's, a block short of the Empire State Building, our next destination. Before we got there, I was waylaid by one of the numerous red-shirted shills touting tickets to the Empire State Building in conjunction with something called the New York Skyride. It won't surprise some of you to hear that I succumbed to this scam, even though the tickets cost considerably more than regular tickets. I was sold when they promised priority entrance after we completed the virtual Skyride. Well, don't do this. The Skyride was an ok simulation flight over Manhattan. That wouldn't be so bad except you had to wait in two Disney-type antechambers before getting into the main attraction. After the ride, you got into the regular line for the observation deck elevators so the only line time you really save is the line to buy tickets. We got to the observation deck maybe 90 minutes after we entered the building.

I guess the newest big thing in Ukraine is Starbucks. Diana, the 14 year old Ukrainian who stayed with us for two weeks this summer, could not wait to get into a Starbucks. This was also the number one request from Olga's 17 year old son Matvey. For him if there is one thing his mother would do in America it would be to go to Starbuck's so she could tell him about it. He even has a Starbucks mug. The funny thing about this is that there are no Starbucks stores in Ukraine, not even in Kyiv. Talk about maximizing your brand name. Anyway, we were teasing Olga from the time we left the hotel last week pointing out the Starbucks shops on each block we passed.



The second thing Matvey wanted Olga to do was to go to the Empire State Building. Well, she was delighted when we took her to the Starbucks in the Empire State Building. We chilled there while enjoying coffees and chai lattes, which Olga liked very much. Too sweet for Valeriy though.

Times Square

After my very first blog posting ever, my son the smartass asked me if we teleported from New York to South Carolina. It was a really stupid question because of course we came from Florida. But maybe I do need to elaborate more on our travel plans.

We left Cape Coral on Friday, traveling by car.  The plan was to travel to Florence, as described which, as it turns out is exactly half way on the 20-hour drive from Cape Coral to New York. We would spend Friday night in Florence and on Saturday stop far enough from New York to get a decent hotel rate but close enough to have an easy drive into Manhattan on Sunday. This plan brought us to Edgewood Maryland about 170 miles from Manhattan. (I still am not completely adjusted to the closeness of East Coast locales, being from the West. I mean 170 miles takes me through 5 states. In Montana, thats Billing to Bozeman. Even in Florida it's only Cape Coral to Orlando.)

From Sunday October 10, 2010

New York City - Manhattan

It took only 3 hours to drive the 170 miles from Edgewood to Manhattan. This was only my second time taking a car into New York and I was dreading every minute of it. But, how busy could it be on a Sunday afternoon. We hit the traffic about 2 miles out of the Lincoln Tunnel. A little over two hours to get within 2 miles of our hotel; another hour to complete the journey. Even after we paid the toll and merged into regular lanes, the traffic merely creeped through the tunnel. I am not a phobic person, but there was way too much time to think about being trapped under the middle of the Hudson River, envisioning a wall of water cascading through the tunnel inundating our cars with no hope of escape. I much rather zoom through these tunnels at warp speed.

We are checked into the Chelsea Star Hotel (30th Street and 8th Avenue), which is basic lodging at its best. Needless to say, finding reasonably-priced lodging for 4 wasn't easy. The Chelsea Star bills itself as a hostel but they have some "apartments" in the building next door. The apartment in one pretty large room with 3 queen size beds. (Olga and Valeriy are not related so 3 beds was a necessity this whole trip.) There is a small kitchenette in an alcove and a very basic bathroom. The halls are a little decrepit and the walls are well worn. The furniture is less than Motel 6 quality. But the beds are clean and comfortable, there are plenty of pillows, and the location can't be beat, literally across the street from Madison Square Garden. (Madison Square Garden is actually round. When Olga asked about this, there is just no way I could reconcile the shape of the building with the name.) There was self parking available down 30th Street for only $45 per day.

We left at 3:30 to drive to JFK to pick up Valeriy and Olga. Theoretically, it should be a 20 minute drive, according to Mapquest and Garmin. And it's Sunday afternoon - light traffic, right? I knew we were in trouble when I saw the remnants of two parade floats crossing 9th Avenue. This was at 4:15 and we were only two blocks from where we started! Today must have been Manhattan's Columbus Day parade. Well, it explains the traffic jams coming in, and now going out. We did get to JFK in time - 25 minutes after the flight from Kyiv arrived but a full hour before Valeriy and Olga cleared customs.

I'm glad I started this blog because now I have a forum to rant about Kennedy Airport. What a disgrace! I experienced the drab, miserable departure part of the airport with Veronika. Now I got to see the arrival section. JFK rates right up there with the best second and third world airports I have traveled through. My immediate complaint is a greeting area where dozens of people wait for up to two hours for their friends and loved ones to clear customs and there isn't a seat in the entire hall. It embarrassed me that this pigsty would be the first impression of America for our Ukrainian friends. New York should be ashamed. If I were a Kennedy, I'd demand that the name be changed back to Idlewild. But maybe I'm overreacting; the Ukrainians didn't seem to mind.

Olga, Valeriy, Carol
On Broadway near 42nd Street, approaching Times Square

We returned with our guests to the hotel fairly quickly, had a quick cup of tea (The room even had a чайник [chainik] (electric water kettle), something I've never see in an American hotel before.) We didn't have a minute to lose because we had a lot to see in our 1 1/2 days in New York. We walked up to 34th Street and then over to Broadway to get the most impressive approach to Times Square. This took a while, though. About 20 feet from our hotel, Olga encountered a sidewalk flower stall with a array of maybe a couple dozen large pumpkins. She was amazed to see so many and was sure they were fake. When assured they were real, in true Ukrainian style, we snapped several photos of Olga with the pumpkins, none of which survived the quality test. Use the flash next time, Phil. This scene played itself out over and over again with the Empire State Building and the lights of Times Square. It is very important to Ukrainians that they, or someone they are with, are in all the photos. They cannot understand our habit of photographing only the object; if a person isn't in the photo it is not interesting to them. The problem being that at night you can usually only get a decent focus on the person or the object but not both.

Olga was fascinated with having her picture taken with policemen. Here are two willing volunteers in Times Square near the hottix booth.

Olga's first Manhattan, which she quickly traded for my Cosmo

We ended the night by stopping first at a New York style deli - the kind that has the perpetual salad-bar-like buffet set up where you pay by the pound - before having a nightcap at an Irish pub style bar on 8th Avenue. I was disappointed that the bartender didn't know how to make stingers. I can get this level of mixology in Cape Coral. We had to settle for Manhattans and Cosmopolitans, good theme drinks for the occasion, except a Manhattan is Carol's usual drink of choice.

Tanya

Saturday October 9, 2010
Florence, South Carolina

On the road again, this time to pick up two friends from Ukraine, Valeriy and Olga. We are picking them up in NYC and driving them back to our home in Florida. We will have two days in New York, two days in Washington and two in Orlando. (Have you REALLY been to America if you haven't seen Disney?)

Tanya in 7th grade, first girl sitting on left

On the way, we have stopped in Florence, South Carolina to visit Tanya, a former student of mine from Sevastopol who is here for the year on the FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) Program. FLEX is a student exchange program sponsored by the State Department targeting kids from the former countries of the Soviet Union. Tanya will spend her 11th grade year (the senior year in the Ukrainian system) in Florence.

I was happy to see Tanya again. I always liked her in school. When I first began teaching, I tried discussion groups, where I gave the kids a topic and then let them talk about it in English. The idea was to have everyone ask questions about, for example, their favorite video game. The conversations were invariably one on one between me and the targeted student. Except Tanya. She was the girl who won my heart by actually asking questions of the other students. Here is my journal entry from April 23, 2007:

One of the 7^th grade girls, Tanya, has started asking questions of the other students during our discussions. I want to give her a big hug because she is the only one in all of my classes who finally gets it, even though I have clearly emphasized that part of a discussion is asking and answering questions of each other. It just doesn’t seem to be in the Ukrainian nature to be inquisitive in this manner. So most of our discussions are between me and the one student who has the floor. Except for Tanya, bless her little heart. Tanya asks the same questions I would. I very like Tanya, to quote an incorrect phrasing often used by Russian speakers of English.

I have a second journal entry about Tanya, written on October 18, 2008. I had just accompanied a group of students to the first round of FLEX testing.

Watching High School Musical 2

So the kids were done way early. Rather than stick around to help, I went with them to McDonalds to hang out. It was a cold, wet, miserable day but we were able to find a table inside and I got to know some of my 9^th graders a little better. Tanya was especially friendly and talkative. I’m surprised she was even there. I mean, I know there will be no second round for her. It was fun to talk to her; I just wish she were more attentive and interested in class.

This entry reveals two things: firstly,Tanya was only one of about 8 students at McDonald's but the only one who warranted a mention, due to her out-going and sweet personality, which it turns out is a perfect fit for a FLEX candidate. The second is that she worked hard during the next year to improve her English and be able to qualify for the exchange program. Tanya is the only student from School 43 to be accepted into the program. I showed Tanya this journal entry during our visit and asked how she improved her English. She worked with a private tutor, Vladimir from the Linguist Center, the same man who tutored Carol in Russian when we lived in Sevastopol.

Tanya as one of the stars of the 2008 Fall Ball

We spent the night in the home of Tanya's host parents, Linda and Darryl. I can't remember when we had such a delightful evening of conversation. We got to their home at 8:00 in the evening and sat up talking until after midnight. Most of the conversation centered around Ukrainian customs and affairs - Linda especially was interested in  hearing more about Ukrainian customs to better understand Tanya - but the subjects verged into varied and interesting sub-topics. I think we have a lot in common with Darryl and Linda and are looking forward to seeing them and Tanya again in January when they go to Orlando on a FLEX sponsored excursion. We hope that Tanya can visit our home but the FLEX program in that area is so active that it may be impossible to find an activity-free weekend.

Tanya with her family - Darryl, host sister Dana, and Linda

After Darryl fixed us a fantastic breakfast of flaky, buttery biscuits, grits with bacon, and fluffy cheese omelets (Another thing we have in common - the men cook the breakfasts.) we hit the road to continue our trip to New York.) Tonight we are at the LaQuinta Inn in Edgewood, Maryland. The hotel is new with all the amenities. The best part though was the delivery pizza Carol ordered form Season's Pizza - one of the best pizzas we ever tasted. For those of you who roam the I-95 corridor, give it a shot.