JACK IS BACK!! I love this. This was one of the first and best web based games that disappeared due to lack of funding. Give it a try , real fun
We headed down to New York City Dec 31'st, with directions to the hotel provided by Google maps. The Hotel was a Hampton Inn on Pearl St, in the Seaport District right off of the Brooklyn Bridge. We unpacked and in typical intrepid fashion walked to the nearest subway and headed into Times Square for the festivites. After all, we had been to Pumkinfest in Keene New Hampshire, so how different could this be?
We walked down 42nd st to 5th ave and strolled the boulevard with the rest of the crowd. We found Rockefeller center and were thrilled by the site of amazed at the Christmas tree and the skaters in the rink. The Tree was about 5 stories high, so I figured they must know a couple good ole boys up here in New Hampshire to get a nice tree like that. The streets were filled with revelers, and every cop in NYC was working that night.
Getting hungry we started looking for a place to eat because Kim wouldn't let me eat off the street carts. I can't blame her too much as the streets were filthy. I guess they don't have any Rotary clubs and such sponsoring any trash pickups on the roads there. Our appetite was suppressed by the stench coming up from the grates over the subways and sewers. Now keep in mind that back home I've stood behind one of Sonny's cows after he'd been feeding them turnips and cabbage and was able to survive, but I never smelt anything like that New York City smell before.
Kim saw a door that looked interesting and decided we would have a bite there. It turned out to be a theme restaurant called the "Jekel and Hyde Club". It was all done up like a haunted mansion with a lot of animatronics, so the overall result was like having dinner in Disneyland's haunted mansion. They had actors walking around like movie villains and victims and a lot of props from movies. It was fun watching one of the Robots from "I Robot" try to pick up a babe at the bar. Kim had her first $15.00 Hamburger and I Opted for the Chicken Ceaser. I was tempted to try the $7.00 side order of mashed potatoes just for the shear indulgence, but remembered I just bought 10 lbs of spuds for 2 bucks @ Price Chopper just before I left so I held myself in check.
Being 11:00 Kim decided it was time to try to stroll right up to the center stage in Times Square. Being experienced in crowds from going to all the Pumpkin Fests, we waded right into the 1.2 million people who also had the same notion that they were going to get there too. After we watched a fistfight, helped pass a baby carriage with twins in it over our head to save them from the crowd, and saw our lives flash before our eyes we made our way to the edge. However the police had barricades up and were'nt letting anyone out. However after explaining to the Officer that we were from New Hampshire and were just looking for Interstate 495 and took a wrong turn, he let us through.
We did get to see the fireworks and were more impressed by how well behaved the Police horses were than the people.
New Years day we slept in late and barely made it to the opening of the Breakfast buffet @ 6:30. By 7:00 we were out to explore the city.
I had spied some mast's from tall ships and headed in that direction. The seaport area was nice and would be a good place to visit on a sunny day. It was foggy that morning and the area reminded me of Portsmouth and Portland.
They must have a pretty easy time of it going before the planning board in New York City. There doesn't seem to be any 2 acre per lot limit or any limits on how high you can go. We walked around one building that was about 100 stories high and the whole footprint could have fit in our back yard. If it was a lawn you could have mowed it 3 times before you had to fill the tank.
We kept walking, both agreed the Fulton Fish market would be worth a visit next time when its open but were surprized not to see any cats hanging out there. Then, in the distance a big blue sign told us what our next destination would be>
Being from New Hampshire we figured a free ride on the ferry was 2 bucks cheaper than a trip to the dollar store so we got in line and boarded for the cruise. The Ferry goes right past the Statue of Liberty . We quickly figured out that the boarding deck is the only one where you can go outside so we got a nice outside spot on the way back and had a good look at it and Ellis Island. It was an oddly moving experience to see the statue emerge from the fog and Kim remarked how amazing it must of been to see the US for the first time and be greeted by the statue and the view of the city behind.
From there we walked up Wall st to see Ground Zero.
As we passed the Wall st Bull,
Kim decided she would do her best to stimulate the economy.
Ground Zero was pretty somber. As we approached it we realized we were walking down the streets that same streets where all the panic occurred when the buildings collapsed and an eerie sense of Deja Vu set in as we passed buildings and sites that were so familiar from the news casts. I remembered that picture of all the people fleeing from the cloud of debris and realized we were in the same place, now so quiet and serene (for New York).
Many memorials and a lot of personal messages surround the site.
There was a Fire Station right next door to the Twin Towers. Just 2 trucks. 14 firefighters died from that station alone. Once again I realized that both of the WTC towers would fit in our 2 fields. An amazingly sad place now.
Getting close to lunch time, we made our way up to Chinatown for some lunch.
We both love exploring all the shops and meeting the people, the food was all wonderfull fresh and beautifully displayed.
We met up with our friend Annie, who was also there, and she took us to an amazing Dim Sum restuarant. There was about 3000 people in there all at once, and Annie explained that this was "afternoon tea". Annie and her husband own a chinese restaurant in Keene, and was the perfect guide to have with us for Dim Sum. The restaurant was noisy, packed and a ton of fun. Carts loaded with dumplings , noodles , bits of meat were everywhere, plus they had a line of Chefs cooking to order in the middle of the room.
We ate till we were stuffed, then hopped a cab back to the Hotel to rest up for the reason we came , Sandy and Dennis's Wedding!
Sandy and Dennis are Chinese and invited us to come to their wedding. It was held @ the Golden Bridge restaurant in Chinatown and was a traditional Chinsese wedding. 300 guests were expected but by the time the festivities began, they had to add 8 more tables of 10. The tables were all set with snacks and soda, Hieniken was available for those who drank. While we waited for everyone to arrive we noticed how similar all of the action was, even though everyone was speaking chinese. We sat with some other non chinese couples and Annies family was near by to steer us along.
For the first part of the wedding , Sandy was dressed in a white western style wedding gown and Dennis in a Tux. The wedding began with an invitation for any one who wanted pictures with the Bride and Groom, to come on up. Thus started about 2 hours of picture taking. His side of the family , her side , her side with his side, all the first, second , third , fourth cousins. Here are some fo you get the sense of the project.
When the picute taking was done, dinner was served and the entertainment began. Dennis had hired a Chinese MTV team to DJ and act as Master of Ceremonies. The show started off with a Chinese Magician/ gymnast who was great, a Female pop singer and a Male pop singer/ comedian. All of which was in Chinese but actually pretty easy to follow. The meal was a 11 course Hong Kong style wedding feast, with each of the dishes chosen for their lucky significance.
The menu as I remember it was,
Chilled lobster with Melon
Whole cold cracked Crab with varrious shell fish and octopus.
Seacucumber with baby bok choi
Fried Jellyfish
Fried Abalone and Scallops
Roasted Duckling
Whole steamed mackeral
Shark Fin Soup
Noodles, rice pudding
i'm sure there were a couple courses I can;t remember at hand.
The wedding Ceremony began as we ate, and the bride and groom had changed into traditional Chinese weddingClothes.
The ceremony starts with the bride presenting tea to the grooms parents in a sign of respect, and the grooms mother reciprocating by fixing a hairpiece on the bride. That is repeated for the brides parents, brothers, aunts sisters , cousins etc. Each time a family member welcomes in the bride or groom, they give a Gold Necklace or bracelet to the bride and groom.. By the end of the cermony the bride and groom are laden down with thousands of dollars worth of gold.
The Bride Changed again into a purple evening gown, and greeted all of the guests as they left. It was a wonderful experience, Sandy looked gorgeous and Dennis looked like a Young Elvis. We were welcomed like family and treated as honored guests, and it was a real honor and privilege to share that time with them.
Next morning, Kim and I packed up and headed out. We had a great time and will certainly go back to hit all the neighborhoods that we missed. Its a truly amazing city. As we left, a street signed informed us it was a $350 fine for honking the horn.
So we did.
