We had a horrible night at the Quality Inn in Lyndhurst, NJ. It was supposed to be a non-smoking room, but the odor was there just the same. I went to the front desk and they gave me an ionizer to use in the room. We gave it a shot, but it didn't do the trick and the odor was giving Mary a headache. It was late and the kids were already falling asleep, so we intended to spend the night. But first thing in the morning, Mary said she could not spend another night there. I concurred. The cheapskate manager at this so-called "Quality" Inn only gave me a $10 break for our troubles. So if you visit Lyndhurst, you may want to avoid this dive of a hotel.
I got on the phone and found a Red Roof Inn in Secaucus, NJ, just a couple miles away. The rate was $20 cheaper, they didn't want to charge me for a rollaway bed, and the room smelled clean. So, here we are.
Before checking out of the other hotel this morning, we went for breakfast. We found a local eatery and ordered egg bagels and sausage. Some very nice Italians ran the place and it was very entertaining to hear them speak the native tongue, along with a "Joisey" accent when people came in to order.
I can put on a Jersey accent pretty convincingly. Mary, on the other hand, comes off like Hugh Grant's character in Mickey Blue Eyes. (If you haven't seen this film, it is worth it just for a couple hysterical scenes!) I got Jenna to say" bada bing, bada boom". She's so cute!
We left the hotel and found the Red Roof in Saugus. The nice lady at the front desk showed us the best way to get to Manhattan for our expedition and we were on our way. A cab ride, a bus ride and two subways later we were at 86th and 5th avenue. I instantly zoned in on a Best Buy and picked up a copy of the Complete Indiana Jones Trilogy DVD set which just came out. A few blocks later we were at the Guggenheim Museum, where we had hoped to expose our children to a variety of art.
We were disappointed to find that the majority of the museum was filled with a temporary exhibit of the works of James Rosenquist. Mr. Rosenquist is apparantly world-renowned for his abstract advertising and interpretive pieces. However, the four of us were mostly unimpressed by his work. His use of common imagery combined with splashs of color and non-sensical associations was rather droll. The kids found it confusing. Mary and I sensed it was intentionally confusing so that the art "elite" could somehow feel as though they "got it". We made the best of it and stopped in front of many pieces to ask the kids what they thought. Jenna said several of the pieces made her dizzy. She's a peach!
We did manage to find one gallery that displayed classics by Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Manet, Picasso and other "real" artists. We found our favorite work in that gallery. I only wish there had been more like these.
Next, we walked across the street to Central Park and enjoyed a beautiful sunshiny day. We had anticipated rain, so everyone had their raincoats. We wished we hadn't brought them as there was no need for any layering today. We got a great laugh over the people who were in the business of walking other people's dogs as a job. We saw one guy with five big dogs leading him all over the place. What a way to make a buck!
Our walk through Central Park found us on our way to the subway station, where a several mile route brought us to Ground Zero.
I was not sure how I would react to seeing the site of the World Trade Center attack, but I was not surprised to find tears in my eyes as I viewed the empty footprint where the buildings once stood. We spoke with a worked who was there on September 12th, helping with clean up and mourning the loss of many co-workers. We told him we were from Oklahoma City and I sensed an instant bonding with him. He gladly shared some of his thoughts and feelings and directed us to the best vantage point for viewing the site.
We saw the cross made of steel girders retrieved from the site. We saw people from all over the world coming to join in the sorrow of what had happened. And, unfortunately, we saw too many people hawking 9/11 "crap", attempting to make a buck off this tragedy. Just the same, long live Capitalism.
We ran across one man who was on the site as a volunteer for the Salvation Army for five months. He was creating an unusual art project. Basically, he took a matchbook and cut the matchheads so that they appeared in the shape of the New York skyline, with the two tallest heads representing the two towers. He then lit those heads and extinguished them to finalize the message. He asked us to take the matchbook back home with us and take a photo of them in our home town. We think we will take them to the site of the OKC bombing to bring home the point. He asked that we send him a copy of the photo for use in his project. Interesting, yes?
We walked quite a bit today and were all quite tired by this time. We made our way back to the subway, the bus, the taxi, and the hotel. After giving Socrates a brief reprieve from his crate, we went to dinner at The Outback Steakhouse. Always tasty. Then we found a local shopping mall and spent a little cash. Zachary bought a much-desired Bionicle toy. Jenna got a guide for a Gamecube game. Mary got some pretty new shoes. I got a cookie. Who said life was fair?
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