Funny Apples Part III

Okay....I'm going to have to wrap up my New York tales with a quickness. Relative quickness. You know how I type. It's going on almost a month and I may want to blog about something else. In case you need to catch up, here's Day 1 and Day 2.

Actually before I hit New York, I must say I've been impressed with this Half & Half website that was put up by the show's killer CBS Studios. They have numerous pictures of the cast, episode guides for all four seasons, and a schedule for when those episodes appear on syndication. They even have clips from select episodes. I'm not sure how long the site's been up but I must admit I'm impressed with the detail behind it. Of course it doesn't make up for its cancellation but at least I can see episodes (hopefully they're not cut up too bad) again.

So Hemingway Day 3 started just like Day 2 did. We hit the subways. Our destination this time was Coney Island. Rock wanted a lot of this trip to be all about me since I've never been to the Big Apple. Coney Island was the one place that Rock totally desired to go see. Our driver that picked us up at the airport among other folks Rock's talked to warned that Coney Island was run down. Rock himself heard rumors that Coney Island would close at the end of 2007 season, which made seeing it all the more important.

So we took the long, long ride to Coney Island. We got there and it was as Rock's detractors told us it would be. We walked around and enjoyed the surroundings anyway. It almost reminded me of a smaller scale Venice Beach or Boardwalk. If Coney Island were to close, I could totally see some developer or two buying up the land and putting up high rises or condos there. I would think they'd definitely want to take advantage of the ocean front. We wound up capping our short visit to Coney Island with a stop at Nathan's Famous. We shared some fries that were to die for.

Soldier and I were trying to schedule a time to meet today as well. We came up with the possibility of meeting after our visit to Coney's. Unfortunately that didn't work out. Neither did the other times we suggested for Day 3. Sigh.

So Hemingway while making our way back to Manhattan, Rock had a caffeine attack. He just had to have a cafe latte at Starbuck's. So we stopped at the one near our hotel. Rock wound up not really liking it. I think they rushed his order since it was such a crowd at the tiny Starbuck's.

We chilled at the hotel for about an hour before heading out to the nearby Empire State Building. On route to the Empire, we wound up randomly stopping at this movie poster store. The workers there were really nice to us as Rock made his selections. I mostly window shopped. *LOL*. They put Rock's posters in a giant movie tub so instead of lugging the tub to Empire State, we decided to take it back to the room.

So now we're off to Empire State Building. The journey to get inside the building was annoying. The staff there was pimping item after item that supposedly would make the tour more enjoyable. For an extra fee, you could even pay to bypass the long, long lines. I couldn't help but wonder if they got a commission each time they sold an item. So eventually we get to the top floor. I have to admit it was really cool seeing everything from up above. We even got a view of our hotel building.

So that's that. Didn't I say I was going to make this quick? Guess I lied.

After Empire State, we made our way to Barneys of New York in New York. Rock really wanted to go there and do some shopping. He particularly was on the prowl for a certain set of loafers he saw advertised in the Chicago Tribune. He didn't find those loafers but he found a snooty salesman that assumed that both of us were just window shopping. But his snooty ass lost a sale when Rock wound up buying a pair of pricey sandals from another salesperson. Actually had Rock not bought something, I may have bought something just to show him.

So Barneys is like six or seven stories, right? So Hemingway Rock wanted to check out some of the men's clothing up there. I followed him and both of us were scoffing at some of the prices. $2500 for a leather bomber, $275 for some faded t-shirt, $425 for a dress shirt (I think it was Armani...*LOL*). A black (gay) salesman came up and asked if we needed help. Rock started this conversation with him and eventually both of them were going on and on. I didn't think I was doing the 'you better stay away from my man' stare, but apparently Rock insists that I did. I think I may have been more annoyed that the conversation was going on longer than normal and I wasn't really part of it but just standing off to the side.

Okay...fast forwarding a bit. Rock wound up calling an old friend of his that lives in New York and wanting to see if he wanted to hang out with us. The friend did. Rock and Stoney met up and they immediately were one-upping each other in witty satire. It was a bit hilarious listening in as we were walking up and down Manhattan.

We wound up hanging out in the gay part of town....Greenwich Village I believe. We hit a couple bars and a hip-hop club. The highlight of the evening was my getting hit on by an older dude. Rock and Stoney were at the bar getting drinks while I stood off to the side waiting for them. I happen to spot a basket of condoms at the table and decided to grab two. (I didn't want to look like a slut like they treat you at the health clinics and grab two dozen...*LOL*) So after I grab them and discreetly put them in my pocket, I feel someone's hand lightly grab my wrist. I look up thinking it's Rock but it's the guy. We chat a bit and I casually mention that I'm with Rock. He doesn't seem to get the hint until Rock himself finally comes by and places himself strategically between us. I did feel a little sorry for the guy as he tried covering up and later talking about his dead lover.

Overall Stoney showed Rock and me a good time that night and I got to see some of the gay life in New York. New York has some hotties in the house. After stopping at a late night greasy spoon at some point, we wind up getting back to the hotel after 2AM. So ends Day 3.

I woke up on the final day with the worst heartburn and a bit of an upset stomach. It took Rock and I a bit longer to get ready. Luckily both of us had the foresight to pack mostly earlier Day 3 so we didn't have much to pack. Rock wanted to go to the gift shop and get some last minute souvenirs. I was still feeling a bit off so I stayed in the room.

Eugene called me moments later and we were chatting it up while catching each other up on our respective weekend's. I forget about how Eugene's weekend was...*LOL*.

Soldier and I also talked that morning. He was actually on his way to the hotel and wanted to meet Rock and I for breakfast. I couldn't believe it. Even though I didn't harp on it much in my entries, I was excited that Soldier and I were finally going to meet. We've gotten to know each other over time and it was just nice putting a face to a voice. Most of you know what a cool guy he is. Meeting Soldier in a way was like meeting other New York bloggers since he's met most of the New York crowd.

So the highlight of our meeting actually took place after breakfast. Rock excused himself earlier so Soldier and I could talk "blog stuff". We do that and as we're leaving the hotel diner and walking back towards the lobby, Soldier fills me in on a little secret.

When I first headed down to meet Soldier, I noticed that an older lady was sitting at the table with him. The fact that she sat with him threw me off from identifying him initially because I was under the impression that he was coming by himself. So Hemingway he does eventually come up and introduces himself to me. I noticed after we introduced ourselves, he went back to the older lady. It made me think that maybe she was a relative or something that came along for the ride. But I thought nothing of it, despite the fact that she didn't join the three of us for breakfast.

Okay...build up done. So Hemingway Soldier confides in me that the lady (who was actually a stranger) asked him to ask me if I would take a shower with her for $20. I know I was looking good, but damn. Of course I would've never done anything like that, though if it was some hot guy, I may have to stutter a 'no'...*LOL*. But $20 in New York wouldn't even get you a decent lunch. She was a bit behind the times on the going rate there. Needless to say, it was a funny way to end my meeting with Soldier.

On that note, Rock and I checked out and eventually made our way back to the airport. I felt a bit ill (I think I had a stomach virus or something) on route but otherwise the flight back was uneventful. And that in a nutshell (yeah right) was my trip to New York. The End.