New York Without Luggage, Reservations or Fresh Socks
New York is an impossible place - an overbuilt island with a
nasty climate, horrendous traffic and . . .magic. What's not to
love? Our day trip to Manhattan was typical John and Laura -
last minute. It was post Christmas and very cold after a
snowstorm. The sky was bright blue and the wind was piercing as
we stood at the bus stop in John's New Jersey hometown - Kearny.
I, weak and pathetic after years of mild L.A. weather, huddled
in a nearby store while John, the native, stood in the cold
without gloves or scarf. He deigned to wear a hat, at least. I
had in my pocket $40, an American Express card and a lipstick.
Oh yes, and a one use camera. Little did I know we wouldn't be
back in Kearny for almost two days.
We took the excellent DeCamp Buslines bus over, warm and comfy.
I watched the gritty landscape pass by, crumbling and
winter-cracked overpasses, plenty of graffiti, salt-beaten cars.
This is not a romantic way to get to NYC but a warm one. My dad
the Scottish immigrant actually arrived via ocean liner and his
first sight of America was of the Statue of Liberty. He even
passed through immigration at Ellis Island. Now that's an
arrival in New York. We got off at the grungy Port Authority
where a taste of the winter wind had even John admitting he
needed a scarf. He bought a post Christmas bargain for $6. One
thing you can do and want to do in New York is walk and we were
soon warm enough as we marched out into the late morning and
headed to the Metropolitan Museum. The place was thronged with
families off school and work, plenty of art students and a
well-organized staff. I was finally warm and very reluctant to
get into the long coat check line and surrender my security
blanket, but the line moved fast and we soon had our coat tags
and dove into the crowds. John knows his modern art and we
visited a lot of his favorites after an elegant snack in the
caf