There and back again, Part One

I've been home from New York for a few days now, but I'm still trying to adjust. The difference in weather is tremendous - I loved the rainy, cooler weather of NYC and now the heat and humidity of GA is really getting to me. Plus, I have a little over a week to move out of my apartment. The woman who bought it actually harassed my parents while I was away in an attempt to get me out sooner. She also called my roommate (at work!) and told the landlord that she wanted to bring in some contractors to replace the carpet, linoleum, and cabinets, so we needed to get out before the 30th. We finally had to threaten to sic the sheriff on her, and that seems to have done the trick. So it's been an interesting few days...

As far as the trip goes, oh, man, was it amazing!

Day One
I went to NYC with my friend Casey. She had never been to the city before, and had never flown on a plane, so this was a very exciting trip for her! We stayed at my sister's house Wednesday night, and she agreed to drive us to Hartsfield/Jackson in the morning. Our flight was scheduled for 11:40am. Not knowing what the traffic would be like, we left around 8. And then promptly turned around and went back, because I had left our plane ticket/shuttle bus/hotel information at the house. There was little traffic in Atlanta (a shock in and of itself), so we actually made it to the airport in record time. Add in the fact that our flight was delayed due to thunderstorms at Laguardia, and we had roughly three hours to kill before takeoff. Yikes.

The flight went well; it was a little bumpy due to the storms, but nothing too bad. And then, we took a shuttle to the hotel. It was pretty much the scariest ride I've ever been on. Seriously, this guy apparently thought that traffic lights, lanes, and speed limits were just guidelines - we almost hit pedestrians several times, and I was terrified that we would end up in the hospital before we ever saw any sights.

We eventually arrived safe and sound. Casey and I were the last ones dropped off, because we elected to stay in the quieter financial district, rather than in Midtown. Our hotel, Club Quarters Downtown, was just amazing. The people were friendly, the rooms were nice, it was right next to a Subway station (the 2/3, which was really convenient), and there was a refillable water bottle station on almost every floor. We unpacked, and then set off to see the city.

Our first stop was Times Square, because it was really easy to get to on the Subway and we were hungry! The rain had pretty much stopped by then, but it was really foggy:


We ended up eating at Red Lobster, because it was the first restaurant we came to. After walking around for a bit (and buying hoodies emblazoned with "New York," because we were cold and really wanted to look like tourists), we made our way over to Kabin in the East Village to see the anniversary show for Comedy as a Second Language. To be honest, we only went because one of my favorite comedians, Max Silvestri, had e-mailed me to say that he would be there. But it was a great show! We ended up staying for about three hours, drinking $2 PBRs and laughing our asses off. Of course, then we were stuck trying to find our way back to the hotel at 2 am. Drunk and lost in a strange city in the middle of the night - what a way to start a vacation!

Day Two
We didn't set the alarm when we got back to the hotel, so we ended up oversleeping on Friday. Big surprise there, I'm sure. We got up and made our way over to Brooklyn, stopping at a comic book store (natch) before hitting up Mezcal's for brunch. I really don't understand the negative reviews on Yelp!, because they had the most amazing sangria and cerritos. Yum! Next came one of the things I was most looking forward to on this trip:


THE BROOKLYN SUPERHERO SUPPLY COMPANY!

Seriously, this was one of the funnest places we found. They sell "real" superhero supplies - costumes, disguises, anti-gravity devices, invisibility detector goggles, and, of course, capes:


(that's Casey - on the left - and me doing our "fighting for justice" stance)

This place is awesome. And all of the profit goes to 826NYC, an organization dedicated to helping students improve their writing skills. How could I not spend tons of time and money in this place?!

After getting our fill of Brooklyn, we went back to the hotel to change. Dinner was at Sardi's, the one restaurant Casey really wanted to go to. It's a bit expensive, but it's also a landmark, so it was fun to eat there. We made reservations, but didn't really need them as we got there before the big dinner rush. Which gave us plenty of time to eat and then head down to Christopher Street and...


THE CORALINE MUSICAL!

This show was the impetus for this whole trip, so I was really looking forward to it. Our tickets were great: second row, center. Casey hadn't read the book, but she had seen the movie, so I had to explain that it would probably be a little different. No Wybie, for example, which surprised her. The show was excellent! I was a little taken aback at having Jane Houdyshell play Coraline, but she was wonderful in the role. She does "bored tween" very well. Julian Fleisher was amazing as The Cat, and the music was great! I loved the toy pianos and the creepy vibe they helped create. My only complaint: it wasn't scary. It was more funny, or campy. Which is fine, I was just expecting it to be, I dunno, more intense than it was. But overall I really enjoyed it, and I wish I could get the soundtrack.

Aaaaaand I think this has gone on long enough for now. I actually started writing at 8:15, which...yikes. It took me way too long to upload pictures and find links. I'll post more about the trip throughout the week. There are a few more photos on my Flickr page (more coming when I get paid and can upgrade to a Pro account).