bigmacbear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bigmacbear) wrote2022-09-09 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2022-09-09 11:59 pm
Philly-NYC Trip, Day 6
FRIDAY
Woke up about quarter after six to use the bathroom and ended up not going back to sleep. We showered, dressed, and were downstairs for breakfast just after eight. The breakfast room was very crowded but we managed to find seats. When we had finished eating, I took my coffee and we sat outside on the patio. While I finished my coffee I checked in on the Hertz app for the car we are renting for the day.
Next we headed for the 1 train to South Ferry, passing a cute cub wearing an audio headset with a mini boom mic. On the train we sat opposite a short and lean dude with a reddish-brown beard and ink on his arms, wearing a camouflage ball cap and a Carpenters' Union T-shirt and towing a small case with many stickers on it, which I guessed served as a toolbox. He stood up and left the train at 14th Street but immediately reboarded and remained standing until he left at Canal Street. (It's a little harder to "edit" a mosaic tile sign than a street sign. 😈) Later Gary noticed a family with a small child to our left across the aisle: the father was playing with the child standing on his knees and Gary noticed the child staring at us.
We left the train at South Ferry and hurried along the East River Greenway to Wall Street Pier 11. As we approached the pier I noticed one of the vessels was the Ferry Godmother. Gary purchased tickets and we boarded the Forget Me Knot to Rockaway via the Brooklyn Army Terminal. The boat trip was relaxing and I got some good pictures even through a dirty window. We arrived at the Rockaway Beach terminal and had to detour to the far side of Beach 108th Street to avoid construction. After a short two-block walk and a rest stop by the hockey rink (!), we made our way to the boardwalk (actually a nicely-paved berm). We had a nice stroll, took a pit stop at a brilliant yellow-green building and exited at Beach 105th Street, from where we continued to the shuttle train station. Gary spotted a cute cub with a long, pointed red beard driving the train going the opposite direction. Our driver was a nice-looking black dude, but we did get to see the cub when his train arrived at Broad Channel while we waited for the A train to Howard Beach Station.
At Howard Beach we hopped on the Airtrain to Federal Circle to pick up a rental car. The small SUV I reserved was not there and, in fact, there were no cars to be found in the Gold members' "choose your own adventure" lot. After a brief conversation with a nice young lady with a tablet, we were directed to a Chrysler Pacifica minivan. As we headed for the exit there was a blockage in the only open lane due to a tow truck getting wedged somehow. Eventually the young lady with the tablet directed traffic to the two lanes that showed up as closed but were actually open.
That settled, we hopped on the Belt Parkway and the Southern State Parkway to get to the Costco in Farmingdale to buy roses for the cemetery visits. As we navigated the lot and parked, we spotted a cute cub with a thick beard wrangling carts. While we were there we picked up some extra clothes we needed but forgot to pack, and had lunch of chicken bakes and sodas at the food court. While we ate, I noticed the same cute cubby cart wrangler coming in for a break. From there we drove to Walgreens in Amityville for a car charger and cables, as well as batteries for my glucometer and a bag big enough to carry all our other purchases.
Gary made arrangements for his brother Mike to meet us at Amityville Cemetery as he was just arriving from Ottawa. We found Gary's mother's and stepfather's final resting place, and waited for Mike to arrive before ceremonially placing roses. Mike then led us in prayer and a conversation began. I suggested we go sit in the van to continue the conversation in air-conditioned comfort (and get me off my sore knee). So Gary and Mike caught up on things and Gary gave Mike the rest of the roses, retaining one to place on his friend Kevin's grave. The plan was for me to drive to the latter location while Mike located their family plot elsewhere in the cemetery. Unfortunately the map we had for Kevin's plot was incomplete and the groundskeeper ended up assisting us in finding it. I ended up parked some distance away so I pulled a little closer and picked up Gary when he was done. From there we drove over to the family plot. Mike was nearby but was a bit lost. We got him to turn around and follow us, but as it happened we were almost there already. We placed roses on five family graves in the vases provided, and I took pictures for Gary.
When that was done we made arrangements to meet for an early dinner at Peter's Diner in Amityville by the railroad tracks. This was the diner we'd always visited on previous trips. As I'd remembered, the host was a very cute young dude with curly, dark hair and matching beard. I had a tuna salad plate with potato salad and coleslaw; Gary had a plate of fruit and cottage cheese; and Mike had a burger with fries. A couple of ladies as they were leaving engaged the host in conversation and I overheard him saying he is the son of the original proprietor, Peter (the ladies called him Pete). At the same time a large black dude fumbled with his phone charger in a power outlet alarmingly close to my head. The host directed him to a booth by the front door with a working outlet, and he gathered his things and moved there. We made arrangements to meet at our seats for the baseball game tomorrow and parted company so Mike could check into the hotel.
Our route back to the rental car facility was west on Route 27, so we were riding into the sunset on Sunrise Highway. This avoided congestion on the Southern State Parkway. We dropped off the car and ascended to the Airtrain station. On the train a nice lady stood up to allow me to take the priority seat, which was helpful as my left knee and hip were bothering me. A large dude to my left was conversing with a younger dude in Yankees gear. Gary was amused when the younger dude complained his mother-in-law had "broken up three marriages." I bought us tickets for the Airtrain and Long Island Railroad to return to Manhattan via Penn Station. The train was full and we squeezed into a row of three seats where a thin black dude was already seated. A muscular blond dude was standing at the end of the car. When we reached Woodside Station, enough people had left that Gary was able to snag a two-seat row for himself, so I scooted over to the aisle seat. A very cute cub in basketball gear wandered the aisle searching in vain for a seat to his liking. When we arrived at Penn Station, we took the stairs to the 7th Avenue side instead of walking down the platform to Moynihan Train Hall. There are two mezzanine levels: one for the LIRR and one above that for New Jersey Transit. We ended up walking through the NJ Transit concourse to reach the street via escalators.
We returned to the hotel and I changed clothes and fetched some ice, and we chilled out for a bit. We decided to have milkshakes for dessert since Five Guys was across 7th Avenue from our hotel. I had a salted caramel shake washed down with a strawberry Fanta Zero soda; Gary had a strawberry shake. We sat in the window and watched the city go by. When we arrived at the hotel and caught the elevator, a woman exited who looked like a model, which didn't surprise me as the Fashion Institute of Technology is on the next block. We returned to our room and I sent Martin a message with our schedule, and he worked out when to meet for dinner: 6 PM Sunday. Gary fell asleep in front of the TV so I turned it off, finished journaling, and went to sleep just after 12:30 AM.
Woke up about quarter after six to use the bathroom and ended up not going back to sleep. We showered, dressed, and were downstairs for breakfast just after eight. The breakfast room was very crowded but we managed to find seats. When we had finished eating, I took my coffee and we sat outside on the patio. While I finished my coffee I checked in on the Hertz app for the car we are renting for the day.
Next we headed for the 1 train to South Ferry, passing a cute cub wearing an audio headset with a mini boom mic. On the train we sat opposite a short and lean dude with a reddish-brown beard and ink on his arms, wearing a camouflage ball cap and a Carpenters' Union T-shirt and towing a small case with many stickers on it, which I guessed served as a toolbox. He stood up and left the train at 14th Street but immediately reboarded and remained standing until he left at Canal Street. (It's a little harder to "edit" a mosaic tile sign than a street sign. 😈) Later Gary noticed a family with a small child to our left across the aisle: the father was playing with the child standing on his knees and Gary noticed the child staring at us.
We left the train at South Ferry and hurried along the East River Greenway to Wall Street Pier 11. As we approached the pier I noticed one of the vessels was the Ferry Godmother. Gary purchased tickets and we boarded the Forget Me Knot to Rockaway via the Brooklyn Army Terminal. The boat trip was relaxing and I got some good pictures even through a dirty window. We arrived at the Rockaway Beach terminal and had to detour to the far side of Beach 108th Street to avoid construction. After a short two-block walk and a rest stop by the hockey rink (!), we made our way to the boardwalk (actually a nicely-paved berm). We had a nice stroll, took a pit stop at a brilliant yellow-green building and exited at Beach 105th Street, from where we continued to the shuttle train station. Gary spotted a cute cub with a long, pointed red beard driving the train going the opposite direction. Our driver was a nice-looking black dude, but we did get to see the cub when his train arrived at Broad Channel while we waited for the A train to Howard Beach Station.
At Howard Beach we hopped on the Airtrain to Federal Circle to pick up a rental car. The small SUV I reserved was not there and, in fact, there were no cars to be found in the Gold members' "choose your own adventure" lot. After a brief conversation with a nice young lady with a tablet, we were directed to a Chrysler Pacifica minivan. As we headed for the exit there was a blockage in the only open lane due to a tow truck getting wedged somehow. Eventually the young lady with the tablet directed traffic to the two lanes that showed up as closed but were actually open.
That settled, we hopped on the Belt Parkway and the Southern State Parkway to get to the Costco in Farmingdale to buy roses for the cemetery visits. As we navigated the lot and parked, we spotted a cute cub with a thick beard wrangling carts. While we were there we picked up some extra clothes we needed but forgot to pack, and had lunch of chicken bakes and sodas at the food court. While we ate, I noticed the same cute cubby cart wrangler coming in for a break. From there we drove to Walgreens in Amityville for a car charger and cables, as well as batteries for my glucometer and a bag big enough to carry all our other purchases.
Gary made arrangements for his brother Mike to meet us at Amityville Cemetery as he was just arriving from Ottawa. We found Gary's mother's and stepfather's final resting place, and waited for Mike to arrive before ceremonially placing roses. Mike then led us in prayer and a conversation began. I suggested we go sit in the van to continue the conversation in air-conditioned comfort (and get me off my sore knee). So Gary and Mike caught up on things and Gary gave Mike the rest of the roses, retaining one to place on his friend Kevin's grave. The plan was for me to drive to the latter location while Mike located their family plot elsewhere in the cemetery. Unfortunately the map we had for Kevin's plot was incomplete and the groundskeeper ended up assisting us in finding it. I ended up parked some distance away so I pulled a little closer and picked up Gary when he was done. From there we drove over to the family plot. Mike was nearby but was a bit lost. We got him to turn around and follow us, but as it happened we were almost there already. We placed roses on five family graves in the vases provided, and I took pictures for Gary.
When that was done we made arrangements to meet for an early dinner at Peter's Diner in Amityville by the railroad tracks. This was the diner we'd always visited on previous trips. As I'd remembered, the host was a very cute young dude with curly, dark hair and matching beard. I had a tuna salad plate with potato salad and coleslaw; Gary had a plate of fruit and cottage cheese; and Mike had a burger with fries. A couple of ladies as they were leaving engaged the host in conversation and I overheard him saying he is the son of the original proprietor, Peter (the ladies called him Pete). At the same time a large black dude fumbled with his phone charger in a power outlet alarmingly close to my head. The host directed him to a booth by the front door with a working outlet, and he gathered his things and moved there. We made arrangements to meet at our seats for the baseball game tomorrow and parted company so Mike could check into the hotel.
Our route back to the rental car facility was west on Route 27, so we were riding into the sunset on Sunrise Highway. This avoided congestion on the Southern State Parkway. We dropped off the car and ascended to the Airtrain station. On the train a nice lady stood up to allow me to take the priority seat, which was helpful as my left knee and hip were bothering me. A large dude to my left was conversing with a younger dude in Yankees gear. Gary was amused when the younger dude complained his mother-in-law had "broken up three marriages." I bought us tickets for the Airtrain and Long Island Railroad to return to Manhattan via Penn Station. The train was full and we squeezed into a row of three seats where a thin black dude was already seated. A muscular blond dude was standing at the end of the car. When we reached Woodside Station, enough people had left that Gary was able to snag a two-seat row for himself, so I scooted over to the aisle seat. A very cute cub in basketball gear wandered the aisle searching in vain for a seat to his liking. When we arrived at Penn Station, we took the stairs to the 7th Avenue side instead of walking down the platform to Moynihan Train Hall. There are two mezzanine levels: one for the LIRR and one above that for New Jersey Transit. We ended up walking through the NJ Transit concourse to reach the street via escalators.
We returned to the hotel and I changed clothes and fetched some ice, and we chilled out for a bit. We decided to have milkshakes for dessert since Five Guys was across 7th Avenue from our hotel. I had a salted caramel shake washed down with a strawberry Fanta Zero soda; Gary had a strawberry shake. We sat in the window and watched the city go by. When we arrived at the hotel and caught the elevator, a woman exited who looked like a model, which didn't surprise me as the Fashion Institute of Technology is on the next block. We returned to our room and I sent Martin a message with our schedule, and he worked out when to meet for dinner: 6 PM Sunday. Gary fell asleep in front of the TV so I turned it off, finished journaling, and went to sleep just after 12:30 AM.