Getting to Manhattan was simple enough. I just got on the train going that way and got off at Grand Central Terminal.
I took the time to take some photos, then made my way out to the street. I was thinking to myself, "that was easy, I think I've got the hang of that". Mmm hmm. So, as was my plan, I wandered essentially aimlessly around Manhattan. I found the Chrysler building and gazed at its art deco goodness.
I eventually found my way to the Empire State Building and ascended to the 86th floor observation deck. Many photos were taken.
After the ESB, the plan was to make my way to lower Manhattan to an electronics store Reub had recommended for finding an fm transmitter for our iPods so we could play them in his car on our road trip. I called him to get directions and he told me how to get there on the subway. It was simple enough, but I was more concerned with how to get to the subway in the first place. This concern turned out to not be unfounded. I started out on foot, headed South. As I went along, I glanced down each side street looking for a subway entrance. After nearly an hour walking I was beginning to wonder what I was doing wrong. Finally I struck out on a random side street, and after resting on a park bench, finally found a subway entrance. The store was easy enough to find and I found that which I sought. By now, Jodie had called me about getting together for dinner in Greenwich Village. So, back to the subway I went. As I was studying a larger subway map on the wall, a nice security guard asked if I needed any help and I told him I was trying to figure out how to get to Greenwich Village. He told me about two options, one of which was very complicated and involved several trains. The other merely involved one train and some walking. That's the one I chose.
I took the train to canal street and headed west on foot. During this time Sean also called and I invited him to join us. To make a long story short, I chose poorly. After two hours of walking and constantly failing to make the correct turns, I finally limped and stumbled my way to the restaurant almost on time. I even got there before the others. But, after nearly 7 hours of grinding my feet into the hard pavement, I could barely stand. Dinner offered a needed repast, and much conversation, restoring my strength. After a tasty Ethiopian dinner, we walked to a nearby park to continue our chat, then eventually found our way to a bar that had live jazz, pool tables, ping pong tables and other fun stuff. Jodie had to be on her way , but Sean and I played pool for a couple of hours. After that, I actually had a bit of luck with the subway, as I was barely able to catch the last train back to Brooklyn. Then I hobbled and moaned my way back to Reub's house on the throbbing lumps of pain that dangled from where my feet were once attached.
