Funny Apples Part I

Rock and I recently completed our first major trip together. We spent several days in the Big Apple. I know last year I blogged that I wanted my next trip to be to Hawaii after hearing Eugene singing the praises of it. But I want to spend a week there not a few days so for now Hawaii's been scrapped.

I truly enjoyed New York and I believe it's brought Rock and I even closer together. We acted as a team throughout our three days. He really went out of his way to make sure my trip was enjoyable. I really wish we were still on vacation.

It started with him picking me up at 5:30 AM. I cracked up because as he was pulling up towards my garage, my next door neighbor was leaving his house. Rock mentioned that the neighbor gave him quite the stare. Maybe he thought I was having an early morning rendezvous. Though what was my neighbor doing leaving his house that early. Maybe he had his own rendezvous? Hmmm.

But Hemingway...we made our way to O'hare. We went to one of the kiosks at American Airlines to check in and wouldn't you know an opportunity came for us to upgrade our seats to 1st class. It was only an additional $180 total. Rock asked if I wanted to take the upgrade. I hemmed and hummed ever so briefly before saying yes. After we checked in and made our way towards the gates, Rock mentioned that with his credit card membership, he had access to enter the Admiral's Club. The Admiral's Club is considered the VIP waiting area. They have free beverages (alcohol extra charge), pastries, and plush chairs to sit on. We made our way to the area and waited for our flight in style. Rock said that he knew he had it but had never taken advantage of it before. So it was a nice experience for both of us.

The pampering continued as we made our way to 1st class. They served free alcohol. Rock drank about three glasses of rum and coke to calm his nerves. Rock jokingly told me one of the rules of 1st class is not to make eye contact with the coach folks. Other benefits of first class included a continental breakfast and of course being among the first to deplane when landing. During the flight, Rock pulled out his portable DVD player and we watched Blades Of Glory, which starred several Saturday Night Live alums. The movie was freaking hilarious. It made the plane trip even more enjoyable.

Rock surprised me further by hiring a car to whisk us to our hotel, which for this trip was Ramada's New Yorker. As we walked towards baggage claim, a guy stood out along the side and had Rock's last name on a poster board. It was so cool. I watched as other passengers looked at Rock and I curiously all the way to the car.

We got to the hotel around 1PM and since our room wasn't ready yet, we couldn't check in. There were quite a few guests in a similar predicament. Fortunately there was an area where we could drop our bags off until we could check in. We did just that and took our very first steps into the streets of the Big Apple.

The streets were littered with so many folks. Men and women, young and old, many nationalities, many looks. New York truly is what's coined as the melting pot. I admit I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. Rock made me feel a bit more anxious when he told me not to keep my wallet in my back pocket.

We stopped at Village 38 for a quick bite to eat. It was interesting hearing various New York accents. This one lady was barking loudly on the phone for directions somewhere. The person on the other end I assumed couldn't understand her so she wound up asking Rock to speak to the person and get the information.

After lunch, we continued making our way around the neighborhood and spied a nearby Duane Reade (they're like cockroaches...and yeah I saw a monster in one of the underground subways..in NY) for our water and toiletry needs. There were dozens of gift shops and other knick knack paddy wack stores. Not to mention all the people.



We eventually checked into our tiny room. Luckily at least the door didn't hit the foot of the bed. I assume that would happen if we stayed at a 2-star hotel. The room was adequate for our needs as Rock and I immediately lounged on the bed. We were tired.

About thirty minutes later, Rock gets a phone call from a guy that he hasn't seen in years. Jerrod lives in Tennessee and just so happened to be in the New York area at the same time. Rock mentioned the exact area where we were and Jerrod took the subway over there to meet us.

So the three of us are making our way to Time Square. I can't help but think of Hiro's scene when he first time travels himself to New York. In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, it's NBC hit show Heroes. With all the cult following of the show (check out some of the mob scenes of people waiting to meet the cast), it's the 21st century's new Star Trek. Twenty years from now I bet they'll still have Heroes conventions. Scary...*LOL*.

Hemingway Jerrod and Rock were catching up with each other on their lives and such. We went to Virgin's store to check out their merchandise, killing at least 30 minutes there. I swore I saw a plain clothes security person lingering nearby. He didn't seem to really be looking at merchandise yet was standing in the same spot. I purposely remained in the same area for several minutes until Rock and Jerrod (who seemed oblivious to what I suspected was going on) were ready to leave. We eventually made our way to Madame Tussaud's wax museum. There was a lifesize figure of actor Morgan Freeman in front of the museum. Admission price was $28. I was a bit dismayed because I forgot my camera. Rock was hinting that we go back and get it, though Jerrod needed to leave us soon to get back to his part of town. Since admission was so high and I probably would want to take pictures of some of the wax figures, I decided to go along with Rock's suggestion.

So we all went back to the hotel, Jerrod christened the bathroom, and then left to head back to his part of town as Rock and I made our way back to Tussaud's. It was quite the sight seeing all the various celebrity wax figures. Rock and I took quite a few pictures posing with the different celebrities. Rock even posed with "The Rock"himself, both of them giving "The Rock's" signature brow look. The most hilarious part was seeing the Jennifer Aniston figure standing off by herself looking at the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt figures. Just before leaving the museum, Rock inquired about the Beyonce figure. According to the guide, Beyonce would've been there but she was currently under repair from numerous hair pulls & body tugs. I guess it's nothing like getting close and personal to a wax figure.

We decided to dine at AppleBee's nearby. I began to experience more sticker shock upon looking at the food prices. A turkey burger that would normally cost $11.99 in Chicago cost almost $19. Various entree prices averaged at least $5 higher than it would at a Chicago AppleBee. One thing for sure. I probably wouldn't go out as much as I would if I lived there. I realized too that I probably wouldn't be all that happy living in New York. It's a nice place to visit definitely, though.

Rock and I were talking about our day. He mentioned that he kept insisting we go back and get my camera because he had a feeling that Jerrod would want one of us to pay his admission. He said that Jerrod was in the habit of always crying broke yet always wearing the latest fashions. I imagine keeping up with fashion trends would make one broke...*LOL*. Rock wasn't really feeling up to paying an additional $28, which I understood.

We eventually made our way back to our room where we capped off Day 1 with another DVD Team America. Actually about halfway through the movie, Team America was watching us. Rock and I were knocked the fug out. I woke up just in time to see part of the climatic end before the batttery in the portable player went out.

More on the trip soon.