I am back from New York and have to say that I had a great week. Each day was a new and exciting experience for me there. My friend Jane who you will see in pictures in later blogs was a perfect person to see the City with. She let me see the highlights and yet we didn't overdo any of it. I flew into Long Island and it was certainly easier than the larger airports by a long shot.
There were a few glitches, as in a Noreaster came through on Saturday so we had snrain as they call it. It rained and snowed, so it became slush in the part of Long Island I was in. Some other parts got up to 10 inches. And because the trees had not lost most of the leaves yet, there were a lot of limbs that came down with the weight of the snow on them. Lots of power outages in Conneticut and places north of us. We didn't have any problems. The next day it was sunny and there was a little snow on the ground at Jane's building. She bought her apartment in a beautiful old brick building across the street from the Freeport Police Station, so it is very there. She is three blocks from the train and has her car in the underground parking in her building which is very lucky in the winter.
I didn't know that Long Island was shaped like a fish, did you? The head, is Nassau County and closest to New York City. It is also very flat there. That is where my friend Jane lives. The Hamptons is on the West end of the tail of the fish in Suffolk County, and the Long Island Wineries are on the East side of the tail. it is more hilly and "countrified" as Jane calls it. It takes about two hours to get out there as I found out. It has many beautiful areas and lots wonderful old homes that were summer homes for the rich to go and see. We went to see a couple of them while we were there.
We went into Manhattan twice to see the sights and I will go into detail about those jouneys later. But I was fascinated that I got on the Long Island train and rode about 45 minutes into Manhattan, passing through Brooklyn to get there. While there we walked, rode the subway, took a cab twice and a double decker bus. On the last night there I drove the streets of Long Island, so you could say I did it all.
I had heard so many stories about New Yorkers and how rude they were, how unfriendly and uncooperative they could be. I didn't find that to be true anywhere, well except at two wineries, but again that will be for another time. Most were more than helpful, kind and funny with the accent of the area. I loved them. I did hear more honking of horns, and they don't worry about any speed limits anywhere. I found that 15 to 20 miles over the speed limit seems to be the norm. Even if a cop is right there. But they signal when they change lanes and they let you into traffic if you do, so there is a trade off. I guess. It was a bit intimidating even for a person with a lead foot like me.
I have to say there is so much more that I want to see of New York when I go back but this was a good start. And when I watch TV now showing anything in New York I can smile because I recognize the scene myself as being there. That is the memory I hold onto.
That and the fact that I spent a week with my friend Jane getting to know her all over again. It was so much fun talking about anything and everything all the time. I am sure she was ready for a little quiet when I left. I was happy to be home, but sad to leave such a good friend so far away. As always, I miss all of my friends and wish I had you all closer so I could visit and be a part of your daily lives. Ah well, such is life, I get a little here and a little there. But New York is worth seeing anytime of year.
