Kick off to Summer

May 15

Meetup has been my go-to resource for events as of late, and that particular Sunday I decided to pay the pricey cost for a private tour at the Bronx Zoo. Although a quick Google search told me it would be easy to take the subway there, the stop I was instructed to get off at for the zoo entrance was not the gate where the Meetup group was supposed to gather. I had planned to just walk the perimeter of the zoo to get to the correct gate, but was told by an employee that it would take too long. My other dilemma was that I did not have a physical ticket with me since my group leader was responsible for our pre-paid tickets. I was stunned when the employees at the ticket booth were kind enough to allow me to sign in, enter the zoo, and walk to my correct gate to meet the group. They estimated a 20 minute walk between gates, but because I nearly ran, I got there in 10…and was the first person there anyway.

I wasn’t the only one who had transportation issues. A number of people called our group leader in a panic from a wrong gate, but unlike them, I had given myself enough time to get there. The late-comers were very late. To add to my stress, it had started to slightly drizzle and the clouds suggested an impending rainstorm. Not only had it slipped my mind to bring a backpack (with an umbrella) for the day, but I also left my raincoat at home. I had no choice but to cross my fingers and hope Mother Nature would spare us.

For a small group of less than 20, I was surprised that the zoo provided us with three tour guides. I immediately knew the tour had the potential to be a disorganized mess when all three tour guides were saying different things at the same time. There was no central “leader” and I never knew who to listen to as we were walking.

Although the tour was shaping up to be less than stellar, I was impressed with the zoo itself. While it is on the smaller side (though much more spacious than the Central Park one), the exhibits and ambiance were impressive. The Cleveland Zoo will always hold a special place in my heart, but I really appreciate when a zoo is able to make the most of a small space.

Our tour was intended to be 2 hours long, but after 90 minutes, I started to realize we had really only seen a third of the zoo. A few of us were waiting for the rest of the group to finish looking at the baby gorillas, and I was getting impatient that so much time was being wasted. At the official end time for the tour, they gave us the option of going off on our own, but most decided to stick with it. I figured I’d get to see the rest of the zoo anyway…or so I thought. We had looked at only one other exhibit when the group decided to stop for food…at 4:00 p.m. We were so far past lunch and too early for dinner (for me anyway), that I decided to break away. There was still so much to see that I didn’t want to waste even more time sitting around eating. It was a Sunday and I still had to get all the way back to New Jersey. I didn’t even enjoy the rest of the exhibits and nearly ran through, snapping pictures and heading to the next animal in a hurry. Ironically, I was so exhausted from the slowest zoo trip ever that I just wanted to see what I could and leave. I plan to go back later this summer with maybe a few other people or by myself and experience the zoo again at a more enjoyable pace. The upside? It never rained!

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May 22

Saturday events/activities in the city were lacking yet again, so I opted for a Sunday scavenger hunt in Central Park. It was sponsored by the same person who led the Central Park tour I attended the previous month, so I was not the least bit surprised that the hunt took place in the same area of the park. The turn out for the event was small, and there were only three teams. I was on a team with two guys and another gal, and we all seemed to be around the same age. Although I had familiarity with that area of the park, my experience with the tour didn’t give us an advantage with the questions we had to answer. The most I could do was help provide direction on where to go.

The four of us worked well together and were all pretty competitive. The hour and 45 minutes we were allotted for the hunt flew by quickly, and we made it back to the starting point just in time. There were actually no points deducted for being late, so I guess we hurried back for nothing! The other two teams started after us, so we had to wait around for them to finish. It was a close race; we lost by only one point!

Since scavenger hunts are fast-paced, it makes it tricky to get to know your teammates, but it’s certainly a fun way to spend a Sunday!

May 28

Every now and then I like to do more “tourist” activities in the city, and I felt it was time to appreciate some American history with trips to Liberty and Ellis islands. I’m not sure what the crowds are normally like for this cruise, but I have to imagine it was especially busy that day due to Memorial Day weekend. After purchasing my ticket and hopping in line, I realized I was going to miss lunch and didn’t want to end up “hangry”. Since I wasn’t in a huge hurry, I left the line, ate a mediocre hot pretzel and wandered back in line. I found out that the longest line was for those who had made a reservation, and because I bought mine at the ticket counter, it was considered “flexible.” That line was much shorter, but I discovered the overall wait time was due to the airport style security you had to pass through to board the ship. If only the TSA security was that fast!

I can’t remember the last time I was on a boat/ship without experiencing some sort of nausea, so I decided to try wearing my Sea Bandz for the experience instead of taking Dramamine. They worked! Considering the number of times I had to board the ship to travel between islands, I was shocked that seasickness was never a problem.

The first stop was to Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty. I’ve seen Lady Liberty from Battery Park on numerous occasions, but there’s nothing quite like standing practically at her feet! I was in awe! There wasn’t much to do on the island, so I took some pictures and accidentally ended up in the pictures of about 20 other people as I made my way back to the dock.

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Most of my day was spent at Ellis Island, which is now a museum on American immigration. As I was wandering through some of the exhibits, I was surprised by how much information I had retained from my AP U.S. History Class and could recognize on the various signs. For that reason, I eventually spent less time reading in depth on the history of immigration, and turned my attention to the history of the island itself. I was also fascinated to learn about the process of what happened when the immigrants would arrive at Ellis Island.

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I probably could have spent more time there, but since I was already tired from the day’s heat,  I returned back to Manhattan to enjoy a fast-melting Spongebob popsicle and headed back to New Jersey to sulk around in my 200-degree apartment.

My trip to two of America’s most famous landmarks resulted in three souvenirs: two new key chains for my collection, and a rather painful sunburn on my shoulders and chest.

May 29

When I heard there was a 90% chance of rain for Memorial Day, I decided to bump my plans for a picnic lunch in Central Park to Sunday. I spent a few hours under the shade of a tree munching on food, reading and feeding Sunchip crumbs to a hungry sparrow (who dubbed me his new BFF).

I enjoy going to the park because you get the benefit of being surrounded by nature while also benefiting from the company of people.

What I don’t enjoy, is when two tourists decide to sit against the same tree as you and less than a foot away, crowding your space. Talk about awkward.

After all my concern about the impeding monsoon to hit the East Coast on Memorial Day, it never arrived. Looks like I was worried for nothing!

 

American Classics

April 29 

I’ve never been spontaneous. I’m that person who makes lists, schedules, and can best be described as a creature of habit. When Liz invited me to join her and some friends in the city for dinner, however, I decided on a whim to go. It was a Friday night, after all, and I felt surprisingly energetic.

It took me about the same amount of time to get to the East Village as it would have to get home from work. Talk about depressing. We met up with two other women (one of whom Liz had met through Go Find Friends) at the bar/restaurant, which was both a dark and cramped space. I only got hummus and pita bread to eat and a fruity cocktail called City Breeze to drink. Our chit chat was pretty light-hearted, and afterwards the four of us wandered the area to look for dessert. We settled on a place that sold crepes, and I was surprised by how filling and delicious mine was!

Since neither Liz nor myself live in the city, we both had to leave shortly after to head home. I’m glad I pushed aside my usual introverted tendency to curl up in my apartment on Friday nights to actually stay out after dark.

May 1

About a month ago, I saw an ad on Facebook for the play A Streetcar Named Desire in Brooklyn, starring Gillian Anderson from The X Files. Being a huge fan of the show, when I saw that tickets were very reasonably priced (especially considering the size of the theater), I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance to go see the play. I initially purchased a ticket for a Saturday matinee, since a nighttime performance would be impossible for me to attend with me living here in New Jersey. (Basically, I would have risked missing the last bus back here for the night).

Weeks later I realized I probably wouldn’t have a chance to meet her after the show since there would be another performance only two hours later. I then started looking into Sunday evening performances to attend and ended up settling on opening night, May 1, just days before the show. There was a private after-party to be held following the performance, so I knew I likely wouldn’t get to meet her that night either. Despite this, I decided it would be cool to say I was there for the “official” opening night, and bought my ticket anyway.

Brooklyn is the only borough I had never visited until that point, and I admit I was a bit nervous about going there alone. Luckily the theater is located in one of the nicer neighborhoods, so that certainly eased my worries.

I got to the area much earlier than necessary, but I wanted to take some pictures along the riverfront and grab a late lunch/early dinner before the show. I was surprised that there was a Shake Shack nearby and since the one in Times Square is always overcrowded, I thought it’d be a good chance to enjoy one of their delicious burgers…or so I thought. One bite into my Shackburger I discovered it was bright pink inside. I was disgusted! Evidently you have to ask for it to be well done at this location, although this was certainly not the case at the Times Square spot. By the time they finally got me a new burger, my cheese fries were nearly cold. Needless to say my dining experience got two thumbs down.

Once the box office opened at St. Ann’s Warehouse (the theater actually is a converted warehouse!), I headed inside to wait and escape the damp, cold weather. I was surprised to see that most of the other attendees were older folks. My mom mentioned to me that Streetcar was done as a film in the 50’s, which explained why most were likely there. I truly didn’t get a sense that there were many X Files fans in attendance; they were simply there to see the show.

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I was shocked when I was finally able to take my seat in the theater; even being in the 8th row, I felt like I was practically on top of the stage! I attempted to take a picture, and was told by an employee that none were allowed. I did at least manage to take one of my playbill and ticket while I was sitting there.

I was quickly captivated by all of the actors’ performances. Gillian was beyond fantastic as Blanche DuBois, and had I heard her saying her lines from another room, I probably would have had no idea it was her delivering them.  I will also say I was surprised about how short/petite she looked, even walking around the stage in heels.

As expected, only those with tickets to the after-party were allowed to hang out after the show, so I was ushered out of the theater along with the rest of the “unimportant” people. I followed a crowd of people back to the subway (so as not to get lost in the dark), then headed home still in awe from the performance. I also took a half day from work on Monday in case I returned home late on Sunday. Turns out that wasn’t the case, but at least I got some extra sleep!

When I talked to my mom after the show, I found out that David Duchovny had been to the theater to see it the night before. I missed him by less than 24 hours! Just my luck…

Photos from duchovnycentral.com

May 7

My afternoon plans were already set with the matinee of Streetcar, but I still wanted to swing by Brookfield Place where they had set up for the America’s Cup being held this weekend. It’s very rare for me to go to the city and not hear a variety of languages and accents, but I was particularly excited to hear some Scottish accents from people wandering along the river. The race looked like it would have been thrilling to watch, but since it didn’t begin until 2:00 (the time of the show), I would have missed it. I guess the weather conditions caused the race to be cancelled anyway!

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Instead, I left for Brooklyn to grab lunch and see Streetcar one last time.  Maybe it’s because this was a matinee performance, but I could tell the energy (including my own) was much different this time around.

For one thing, the audience was, to be frank, more annoying. A few people left early in the performance (while the actors were on stage), there was a lot of coughing, and someone behind me was noisily opening food on a few occasions. Although a cell phone did ring during opening night, that was really the only incident that occurred.

It also seemed to me that the actors’ performances (Gillian’s being the exception) weren’t quite up to par as I saw on opening night. Ironically there were a few minor mishaps with props last Sunday that seemed to be a result of nerves, and while those things were generally corrected a week later, it felt like something was still lacking this time around. It seemed that at times many of the actors were almost rushing their lines. I also felt that my seats were better on Sunday even though I was basically in the same row, but on the opposite side of the stage.

As expected, Gillian (or any of the cast for that matter) was unable to meet with fans after the show due to limited time. I was disappointed, but I did go there to see the show; meeting her would have just been an added bonus. I was far more bitter about the fact that none of The X Files actors who had attended New York Comic Con last October stayed to do any autographs or photo ops when they were already there for the panel/screening. (Meeting actors is supposed to be one of the main attractions at comic cons.)

Although it was great that I had the opportunity to see Streetcar twice, my second experience was rather forgettable. With that being said, I’m glad I made the last-minute decision to buy the ticket for opening night.

Maybe a little spontaneity now and then won’t hurt me after all.