Vacation slide
What you've missed...unless you were there. Caution: the following entry is long, boring and probably sleep inducing.
Returning to the office after an extended break always brings with it a sense of disappointment and relief. Disappointment, because the fun, excitement, exhausting good times of the past days are over, but relief because there is something to be said about the relative calm of normalcy.
SaturdayMichelle and I woke up the Saturday before last at stupid o'clock in the morning to drive to Dayton for a 7:00 am flight to Laguardia. After an uneventful, but loooong two hour flight, we
touched down and cabbed our way to our hotel, the Lowell Hotel. Michelle, employing her usual wheeling and dealing, secured us a ridiculously posh two bedroom (albeit overly decorated with unusual monkey stuff), two bath suite for a pittance of the normal cost.
We dropped our bags and walked off to Grand Central Station, just a few blocks away, for our Story Corps interview. After a bit of a shaky start, being somewhat
nervous properly interviewing my wife in front of a very present audio tech, we settled into what turned out to be one of the best things she and I have ever done. I haven't had many opportunities to sit
quietly, distraction free and let Michelle just talk to me. As I said, easily one of the most powerful and moving things we've ever done. Thankfully, we were given a CD copy of it to keep for
prosperity.
Finishing that up, we hopped a subway to meet up with her uncle Randy and his boyfriend, Paul at Eleven Madison Park. Foolishly, I failed to bring a map with me and my sleep deprivation combined with male bravado, I ended up getting us somewhat lost in
Greenwich Village. Thankfully, after a short cab ride, we ended up at a lovely restaurant, sharing stories about Wigstock, Bush bashings and whatever else crossed our minds over sea bass, wine and other
delicacies.
Eventually, things wound down and we split a cab back to our hotel where Karen and Rafe, in from Canturbury, were waiting for us in the elegance of our room. In no time, the four of us had picked up where we left off last Spring and were laughing like age old friends. After a bit of settling in, we ventured off to H&M where I spent like a shipleave sailor in a whorehouse. But, it all looked really good, so I won't complain. Eventually, after some walking around, we stopped at Gobo, a vegetarian
restaurant which actually very much appealed to the meat eaters of the group. I've always been disappointed with veggie restaurants because they tend to rely on heavy sauces and watery tofu a bit too much, but this place was remarkable.
Michelle and Karen headed back to the hotel for some rest while Rafe and I ventured off to the Manchester Pub (my local from my last trip) for a couple of pints. A slice of cheeseless pizza on the way home
capped the evening perfectly.
Sunday I woke up a bit early and swung by a French bakery a block or two away to pick up some pastries and juice for us. After a small, yummy breakfast, we hopped the subway to take a very convoluted
path to the Staten Island ferry. Rafe's father, once in the British navy, had once taken the ferry after the aircraft carrier he had been stationed on broke free of its moorings and nearly collided with the
Vincennes Bridge. Anyway, he wanted to relive a bit of family history and the trip turned out to be a great experience (and its free). Seeing Rafe's eyes mist up a bit, knowing that he was crossing the
same path as his father's and knowing how important it must've been to him had to have been one of many highlights of the trip. Once we docked, we grabbed a cup of coffee and reboarded the ship to return to
Manhattan. We wandered around Battery Park and made our way to Ground Zero to pay our respects. A lot of the subway stops are still shut down, so we had a bit of trouble finding our way to a green line train.
Eventually, we did get one at City Hall and took the very long journey to the Bronx to Yankee Stadium where my hated Yankees were to play some minor league team called the Kansas City Royals. Still, being in that stadium, knowing its history and being surrounded by some very
boisterous and loud fans made me less hostile to the boys in pinstripes. Rafe really seemed to take to the game, asking loads of questions and, I think, actually walking away pretty impressed by the
whole thing.
After seeing the Yankees win 10-3, we took the subway back to our hotel, rested a bit then took a walk through Central Park to meet up with Dan, a mutual friend and his girlfriend Liz at the Dead Poet (another 'local'). We caught up over a pint, then headed off for a delisous Indian meal a few blocks away. Afterwards, we split up and the four of us walked
through a safe, well lit section of Central Park (it was kind of late and we aren't the brightest.) Michelle's shoes were giving her problems, so with Times Square in our sight, we hoofed it to my
private hell. 20 minutes in that horrible part of the world proved to be too much, so we retired to the Manchester Pub for a pint of two after working our way past Rockefeller Square and St. Patrick's
Cathedral.
Monday We introduced Rafe and Karen to the joys of diner dining, stopping at a (Greek) mom and pop diner around the corner from the hotel. Seeing them amazed of the possible combinations reminded
me why I am so proud to be American (tongue in cheek). Michelle went off to several hotel inspections while the three of us took in MOMA. Michelle's uncle gave us his MOMA pass,
so we were able to save $60 and bypass the incredibly long line to get in. A quite impressive display, albeit, terribly overwhelming especially by the time you reached the 5th floor. By the time we had
reached the Cezanne/Pissaro exhibit, which I had been eagerly anticipating, we all were far too wiped out to go. Still, the photography, in particular, was really first rate. We met back up
with Michelle at the hotel and split up. Michelle and Karen decided to hit Teany, Moby's teahouse while Rafe and I thought it would be a good idea to boost New York's economy by way of several new music acquisitions. We were briefly
distracted, however, by stopping in Nevada
Smith's to catch the S'hampton/Coventry game. Once in, we watched a half over a pint and a very tasty and traditional meat pie, calling cockenyrebel to give status updates.
Working our way through St.Marks, we spent too much money at Other Music, Kim's Music and Video and Rebel Rebel Records on Bleeker Street. We met up with the ladies again (who met Moby's raging bitch of an ex-girlfriend) and stopped an Australian Pub for a pint or two. We decided that we were all pretty exhausted and stopped for a couple bottles of wine and pizza to consume at our hotel room. We
stayed up pretty late chatting and listing to music on the iPod dock the hotel provided.
Tuesday Flying out early, we were a bit nervous about Katrina, but other than a quick wind gush or two, the flight and drive from Dayton was uneventful. We stopped at home to rest before picking Rafe
and Karen up at the Cincinnati airport. We drove them home, settled them in and grilled out some sausages before retiring to the basement for some music and cocktails.
Wednesday That day, we met up with cockneyrebel and miss_kitty at the Contemporary Arts Center to see a sometimes interesting, often perplexing exhibit of slide photography. Stopped for a quick meal at a nearby noodle joint
and a quick drink at Arnold's Bar and Grill
in their outdoor patio. Wandered around the city, stopping by the library to wow them with our A/V collections, House of Adam (the local pimp supply store), before returning home where Rafe cooked a damned
tasty soup for all involved.
Thursday Michelle made one her signature quiches before heading off to meet up with CR. We ventured off to visit some friends at WOXY. The new studios are fab and seeing Barb and popbitch again was top drawer.
Later that day, we all drove up to Dayton to meet and greet some of our northern brethern and sistern dogstarman, clemsonfan, lunarbee, pie_and_fever, jonathan8, iprayforsound among many others for a swell time of pool and socializing.
Friday Michelle, Rafe, Karen, Erica and I decided that the day was perfect for the zoo, so we made some time with urinating rhinos, ball scratching monkeys, buff cheeked gibbons and copulating insects.
Rafe, having spent time working on farms, was thrilled to be allowed to pet the cows, Jacob's sheep and goats. Hearing his stories sort of do make me feel like I have missed out being raised in the city.
Karen and Michelle spent the better part of the day making "Awwwww" sounds over the various otters, monkeys, and other furry animals. Despite nearly being pissed on and assualted by a gorilla thrown
stick, the day, weather and all, was perfect.
We met up with CR, Lu and Jonathan at Habit's, Rafe's local, for a round of High Lifes and other before enjoying a yummy homecooked meal at Michelle's mother's place. We retired that evening with some music
and cocktails.
Saturday We took them to Northside for some more record shopping at Shake It (the best record store I've ever been in) and jewelry shopping at Ali's Boutique. We dropped them off at CR/Lu's before heading off to the Hofbrauhaus to meet up with some people over enormous, fuck off steins of beer. Michelle and I, were, at this point, stupid tired, so we took off early and were
asleep before the day's last light melted away.
Sunday Waking up somewhat early, we headed to the Rebelkitty house for an all day Labor Day party. Bloody Mary's, HIM, tossing the football, punctuated by a fireworks display that temporarily killed
any cynic in me made the day a perfect end of a grand week and some.
Monday We stopped at Skyline for a quick "goodbye" to Cincinnati before taking Rafe and Karen to the airport for a a pretty teary farewell. Returning home, we sat on our patio, with the thoughts of a grand city, fantastic meals, great friends and times racing through our minds. All in all, these past few days were more than I could've expected and were certainly needed for Michelle and my wellbeing. Returning to work/life will be tough and I am kicking and screaming, but if not for the good times, we'd have nothing.
Returning to the office after an extended break always brings with it a sense of disappointment and relief. Disappointment, because the fun, excitement, exhausting good times of the past days are over, but relief because there is something to be said about the relative calm of normalcy.
SaturdayMichelle and I woke up the Saturday before last at stupid o'clock in the morning to drive to Dayton for a 7:00 am flight to Laguardia. After an uneventful, but loooong two hour flight, we
touched down and cabbed our way to our hotel, the Lowell Hotel. Michelle, employing her usual wheeling and dealing, secured us a ridiculously posh two bedroom (albeit overly decorated with unusual monkey stuff), two bath suite for a pittance of the normal cost.
We dropped our bags and walked off to Grand Central Station, just a few blocks away, for our Story Corps interview. After a bit of a shaky start, being somewhat
nervous properly interviewing my wife in front of a very present audio tech, we settled into what turned out to be one of the best things she and I have ever done. I haven't had many opportunities to sit
quietly, distraction free and let Michelle just talk to me. As I said, easily one of the most powerful and moving things we've ever done. Thankfully, we were given a CD copy of it to keep for
prosperity.
Finishing that up, we hopped a subway to meet up with her uncle Randy and his boyfriend, Paul at Eleven Madison Park. Foolishly, I failed to bring a map with me and my sleep deprivation combined with male bravado, I ended up getting us somewhat lost in
Greenwich Village. Thankfully, after a short cab ride, we ended up at a lovely restaurant, sharing stories about Wigstock, Bush bashings and whatever else crossed our minds over sea bass, wine and other
delicacies.
Eventually, things wound down and we split a cab back to our hotel where Karen and Rafe, in from Canturbury, were waiting for us in the elegance of our room. In no time, the four of us had picked up where we left off last Spring and were laughing like age old friends. After a bit of settling in, we ventured off to H&M where I spent like a shipleave sailor in a whorehouse. But, it all looked really good, so I won't complain. Eventually, after some walking around, we stopped at Gobo, a vegetarian
restaurant which actually very much appealed to the meat eaters of the group. I've always been disappointed with veggie restaurants because they tend to rely on heavy sauces and watery tofu a bit too much, but this place was remarkable.
Michelle and Karen headed back to the hotel for some rest while Rafe and I ventured off to the Manchester Pub (my local from my last trip) for a couple of pints. A slice of cheeseless pizza on the way home
capped the evening perfectly.
Sunday I woke up a bit early and swung by a French bakery a block or two away to pick up some pastries and juice for us. After a small, yummy breakfast, we hopped the subway to take a very convoluted
path to the Staten Island ferry. Rafe's father, once in the British navy, had once taken the ferry after the aircraft carrier he had been stationed on broke free of its moorings and nearly collided with the
Vincennes Bridge. Anyway, he wanted to relive a bit of family history and the trip turned out to be a great experience (and its free). Seeing Rafe's eyes mist up a bit, knowing that he was crossing the
same path as his father's and knowing how important it must've been to him had to have been one of many highlights of the trip. Once we docked, we grabbed a cup of coffee and reboarded the ship to return to
Manhattan. We wandered around Battery Park and made our way to Ground Zero to pay our respects. A lot of the subway stops are still shut down, so we had a bit of trouble finding our way to a green line train.
Eventually, we did get one at City Hall and took the very long journey to the Bronx to Yankee Stadium where my hated Yankees were to play some minor league team called the Kansas City Royals. Still, being in that stadium, knowing its history and being surrounded by some very
boisterous and loud fans made me less hostile to the boys in pinstripes. Rafe really seemed to take to the game, asking loads of questions and, I think, actually walking away pretty impressed by the
whole thing.
After seeing the Yankees win 10-3, we took the subway back to our hotel, rested a bit then took a walk through Central Park to meet up with Dan, a mutual friend and his girlfriend Liz at the Dead Poet (another 'local'). We caught up over a pint, then headed off for a delisous Indian meal a few blocks away. Afterwards, we split up and the four of us walked
through a safe, well lit section of Central Park (it was kind of late and we aren't the brightest.) Michelle's shoes were giving her problems, so with Times Square in our sight, we hoofed it to my
private hell. 20 minutes in that horrible part of the world proved to be too much, so we retired to the Manchester Pub for a pint of two after working our way past Rockefeller Square and St. Patrick's
Cathedral.
Monday We introduced Rafe and Karen to the joys of diner dining, stopping at a (Greek) mom and pop diner around the corner from the hotel. Seeing them amazed of the possible combinations reminded
me why I am so proud to be American (tongue in cheek). Michelle went off to several hotel inspections while the three of us took in MOMA. Michelle's uncle gave us his MOMA pass,
so we were able to save $60 and bypass the incredibly long line to get in. A quite impressive display, albeit, terribly overwhelming especially by the time you reached the 5th floor. By the time we had
reached the Cezanne/Pissaro exhibit, which I had been eagerly anticipating, we all were far too wiped out to go. Still, the photography, in particular, was really first rate. We met back up
with Michelle at the hotel and split up. Michelle and Karen decided to hit Teany, Moby's teahouse while Rafe and I thought it would be a good idea to boost New York's economy by way of several new music acquisitions. We were briefly
distracted, however, by stopping in Nevada
Smith's to catch the S'hampton/Coventry game. Once in, we watched a half over a pint and a very tasty and traditional meat pie, calling cockenyrebel to give status updates.
Working our way through St.Marks, we spent too much money at Other Music, Kim's Music and Video and Rebel Rebel Records on Bleeker Street. We met up with the ladies again (who met Moby's raging bitch of an ex-girlfriend) and stopped an Australian Pub for a pint or two. We decided that we were all pretty exhausted and stopped for a couple bottles of wine and pizza to consume at our hotel room. We
stayed up pretty late chatting and listing to music on the iPod dock the hotel provided.
Tuesday Flying out early, we were a bit nervous about Katrina, but other than a quick wind gush or two, the flight and drive from Dayton was uneventful. We stopped at home to rest before picking Rafe
and Karen up at the Cincinnati airport. We drove them home, settled them in and grilled out some sausages before retiring to the basement for some music and cocktails.
Wednesday That day, we met up with cockneyrebel and miss_kitty at the Contemporary Arts Center to see a sometimes interesting, often perplexing exhibit of slide photography. Stopped for a quick meal at a nearby noodle joint
and a quick drink at Arnold's Bar and Grill
in their outdoor patio. Wandered around the city, stopping by the library to wow them with our A/V collections, House of Adam (the local pimp supply store), before returning home where Rafe cooked a damned
tasty soup for all involved.
Thursday Michelle made one her signature quiches before heading off to meet up with CR. We ventured off to visit some friends at WOXY. The new studios are fab and seeing Barb and popbitch again was top drawer.
Later that day, we all drove up to Dayton to meet and greet some of our northern brethern and sistern dogstarman, clemsonfan, lunarbee, pie_and_fever, jonathan8, iprayforsound among many others for a swell time of pool and socializing.
Friday Michelle, Rafe, Karen, Erica and I decided that the day was perfect for the zoo, so we made some time with urinating rhinos, ball scratching monkeys, buff cheeked gibbons and copulating insects.
Rafe, having spent time working on farms, was thrilled to be allowed to pet the cows, Jacob's sheep and goats. Hearing his stories sort of do make me feel like I have missed out being raised in the city.
Karen and Michelle spent the better part of the day making "Awwwww" sounds over the various otters, monkeys, and other furry animals. Despite nearly being pissed on and assualted by a gorilla thrown
stick, the day, weather and all, was perfect.
We met up with CR, Lu and Jonathan at Habit's, Rafe's local, for a round of High Lifes and other before enjoying a yummy homecooked meal at Michelle's mother's place. We retired that evening with some music
and cocktails.
Saturday We took them to Northside for some more record shopping at Shake It (the best record store I've ever been in) and jewelry shopping at Ali's Boutique. We dropped them off at CR/Lu's before heading off to the Hofbrauhaus to meet up with some people over enormous, fuck off steins of beer. Michelle and I, were, at this point, stupid tired, so we took off early and were
asleep before the day's last light melted away.
Sunday Waking up somewhat early, we headed to the Rebelkitty house for an all day Labor Day party. Bloody Mary's, HIM, tossing the football, punctuated by a fireworks display that temporarily killed
any cynic in me made the day a perfect end of a grand week and some.
Monday We stopped at Skyline for a quick "goodbye" to Cincinnati before taking Rafe and Karen to the airport for a a pretty teary farewell. Returning home, we sat on our patio, with the thoughts of a grand city, fantastic meals, great friends and times racing through our minds. All in all, these past few days were more than I could've expected and were certainly needed for Michelle and my wellbeing. Returning to work/life will be tough and I am kicking and screaming, but if not for the good times, we'd have nothing.