I showed up for my 8am review of my ownership. The agent was pleasant until she started her sales pitch. It sounded a lot like the pitch I got in Tennessee, where
I purchased additional time in order to get the New York timeshare moved into the new version. Her story was that I bought an expiring bonus time and needed to now pay
an additional $1500 to make it permanent. I wasn't able to get her to write it out in simple terms to avoid being deceived again, so I took my gift card and left.
I returned to our room and we headed out for the noon mass at St. Peter's Cathedral. On the way we staked out the Rockefeller Center in order to be prepared for
the Today Show. On the way to Mass Marilou had to purchase some expensive shoes and purse at Cole Haan. They had trouble getting the merchandise to the counter so we
had them get their act together while we were in mass and returned to complete the purchase after mass.
Leaving Mass, we went back to Rockefeller Center where we bought some more street food. I got a lamb pita whereas Marilou settled for a beef sandwich. We then
made our way to St. James Theatre for the musical farce, Spamalot. The theatre has no elevator and we had to climb 80 steps to our seats on the top of the world.
We both enjoyed the show. I'm sure Marilou didn't get most of the "spams", I'm pretty sure I missed a lot of them.
| St. James Theatre |
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March 11th
Last night I looked into alternate ways to get to the Rockefeller Center for the Today Show because we needed to get there before 6am. Marilou was a little scared
to walk in the dark that early, so I tried to book an Uber at 5:30, but something didn't work so the concierge got me a taxi. The price was essentially the same
and the trip took about 5 minutes so we were plenty early.
We waited in 37-degree, 30 mph winds as the second in line. The producer let us in at 6:15. Around 6:30 they went around questioning people why they came in order to
pick who would be highlighted by the camera. They later rehearsed them on how to respond to the camera. Just before the show started, they filmed the audience so that
it could be edited for inclusion on the show.
Around 8am we were able to see them actually doing the show through the window. Occasionally they would look back at us and wave. At 8:30am they put on their coats
and joined us in the cold. The producer took our phones to take pictures of us with the celebrities. We got Hoda to picture with us.
It was all over at 9am so we and a lot of other folks went to the Starbucks across the street for some coffee/tea and cheese Danish. Starbucks handled the rush pretty
well. I guess they experienced it before.
We then tried to go to Saks Fifth Avenue, but they don't open until 11am. Marilou remembered the producer advertising their souvenir shop. She didn't exactly
remember the address, but we found it eventually and she bought a Hoda Mug. She forgot to show them the button for the 10% Discount.
March 12th
Today's plan is to visit the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park. Yesterday the concierge said the best way to get there was to use the train, which means the subway.
Getting to the area using the subway was not an issue, but how to get to where to get in line for the excursion wasn't defined very well. The subway cost was $3.25
per person each way, which is cheap compared to taxi etc. That's still expensive compared to my memory of $.25 when I was in school in Boston. Those were the days. We had a little
trouble finding the entrance to the subway station as it isn't well marked and Marilou had to manage a lot of steps down which is why Remy didn't like taking the
subway. When we exited at Battery Park, the distance to get in line was not far so we boarded for our 10 o'clock sailing and left a few minutes early.
Got some views of the Statue of Liberty as we were nearing the pier. I also was able to get some back views of the city and Ellis Island.
Once we disembarked, we did a complete walk around the statue, taking a picture of each side. The walk brought us to some statues of Eiffel and some of the other
persons responsible for the design and building of the statue.
We then climbed a lot of steps to start the Pedestal Tour which was included in the ticket I purchased. From there we got a different view of the grounds and the
city across the bay.
We took a short break for hot dogs and fries at the cafeteria before heading into the Museum. The museum was quite interesting. It went to lengths to describe the
way the statue was made and the history of the idea for it, etc. There are displays showing how it was designed and constructed. Of additional interest are some
full-scale replicas for photo ops.
Leaving the Museum, we again boarded the Statue City Cruise Ship headed for Ellis Island. I learned a lot from my visit here. I didn't realize the immigrants
were screened so thoroughly to assure they were capable of working and earning a living here as well as verifying their health before they were released
into America. I didn't try to document the displays because they were in a crowded and dark area. My camera doesn't like those conditions.
When I got to the section where they tested the mental capacity of kids, I took a few pictures. The trip through the museum was very interesting. I wish I took more pictures.
It has been a long day so we boarded the ship back to Battery Park. After a few minutes we were able to find the subway station and boarded back to 41st street.
On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Gourmet 45 across the street from our hotel and bought some foods to cook for dinner. They have already cooked food
and grocery items. We were too tired to go out to eat.
March 13 th
In the morning, we took it a bit easy after yesterday's marathon, but headed out towards the Amsterdam Theatre around 11am so that we could check out Gordon Ramsay's Fish
and Chips Restaurant in the neighborhood of the theater. We ordered their Fishwich Combo because it had 2 Fishwiches: 1 piece of Crispy Cod wrapped with warm naan bread,
avocado sauce and shredded cabbage, topped with fresh tomato relish. Served with Natural Sea Salt Chips and Choice of Two Sauces. We each ate one. It was good.
We got there early so there was only one other couple there waiting for their order, but the crew was busy cooking what must have been phone-in orders.
Finished our lunch and got to The New Amsterdam Theatre around 12:30. The play, Aladdin, was supposed to start at 1:00 o'clock, but they waited about 20 minutes
late for other busses of kids to show up. We bought some wine that came in a special resealable cup. I'm sure
the cup added extra costs because he said refills would be cheaper than the $40 paid for the first round. The show was nice and I could see why it's a kid's feature.
The outfits were beautiful and the singing and dancing was superb. After the show we walked the mile or so back to our hotel.
March 14th
The plan for today is to take the bus back to Newark Airport and rent a car for the New Jersey part of our trip. I bought the bus tickets on line yesterday so could show
on my phone to the driver. I also saved $1.30 by buying on-line. Before checking out we went to the Comfort Diner across the street and I got my Eggs Benedict which
was pretty good. I'm not good at poaching eggs so I tend to order that when I get a chance.
We then checked out and walked the 6 blocks to the bus station (actually 10 blocks since we zigged when we should have zagged).
Back at Newark airport we found the Budget Rent-A-Car and headed towards our Wyndham Hotel which was just off route 3. From the airport route 21 meshed into
route 3 where our hotel is located. The trip wasn't too complicated, but getting off route 3 into the hotel parking lot wasn't as easy. We passed the hotel and pulled
over into the parking lot for the TickTock Diner next door. We shared a huge fish platter which the server warned us that it was huge. He was right and we shared the
plate with plenty of extra food. There were enough fries for four people.
From there we exited out back to Allwood Street and made our way to the back entrance to the parking lot for Howard Johnson's by Wyndham Clifton New Jersey.
We checked in, then reviewed our plans for the next few days. I found an easier route to pick up Tess tomorrow. There is an I-Hop connected to the hotel,
so we went there for dinner and ordered from their senior menu. Marilou got the pot roast and I got the fish and fries. Their food was really salty and somewhat greasy.
In spite of ordering the senior menu we still had plenty of extra to go with us.
March 15th
In order to pick up Tess Macalalad I took route 3 to 45 then I80 and I275 instead of the complicated and toll route Marilou had planned. When we got there Tess wasn't home
and we needed to find her at a nearby residence. We saw our first robins of the spring waiting for the rendezvous. Eventually we met and headed back to the Macasieb
residence for lunch.
They had so much food that we later had dinner and there was still so much left over that we were going to have to address it again.
March 16th
I picked up Tess Macalalad at Rolands around 9am and we headed to Atlantic City where we met June and Alice. We went to lunch at Umi's for a buffet lunch that had
plenty of seafood choices. The food looked good, but most of it was slightly overcooked. Marilou concentrated on the Alaskan King Crab.
From there we spent some time at the Hard Rock Casino. I lost $210 on black jack tables. Marilou, Alice and June each won a little.
Headed back to Newark and dropped Tess off at her daughter's house. We got back to the hotel right at sunset.
That evening we re-visited the I-Hop for breakfast. I had the 2-2-2, Marilou a Spinach and Mushroom Omelet.
March 17th
Today we attended Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral. We had decided to try the 10:00 o'clock Spanish Mass to test Marilou's progress with Spanish. We got there
easily, but finding a parking spot was more of a struggle. I dropped Marilou off at the front and followed others to a school lot behind the church. I didn't have
time to look for Marilou and took a seat as the place was packed.
I'm not sure I would have understood the Mass as much as I thought I could because it was so noisy I had trouble even hearing the words. They had what looked
like a confirmation during the Mass. It looked like each child had a sponsor with them.
The cathedral is very ornate. The chandeliers and the stations of the cross mimic the design of the cathedral. The mosaic of the stations of the cross are really nice.
Leaving the cathedral, the streets were backed up with cars, so I made my way down lesser used streets, always heading west and north. We tried to get on the Parkway
but they needed coins so I just continued going north until we hit Hwy 46 and found our way. Marilou was concerned about fuel so I put $20 of gas in the car I'm to return
empty. We went to Roland's to make some more dent in the leftovers. Visited for the day.
March 18th
Today's plan was to take Tess and Roland to meet Romine and his wife at Max's Restaurant for their fried chicken specialty. I think the address we ended up at was
65 Belleville Ave, Bloomfield, NJ 07003. Everyone wanted something different so when the waiter asked for our orders, he suggested a combination luncheon that appeared
to satisfy everyone's preference. We went with that.
After eating our fill, we separated our ways and Tess and Roland brought us to the Essex County Cherry Blossom Center. The cherry blossoms were in their early stages
here, but some trees were ready for us. Most of the trees were still waiting to bloom, but some earlier ones were available for photo opportunities. We also were
able to see some robins who are the indicator of spring to most of us.
At the end of our little walk a police/safety dude helped us cross the street where we saw that the blossoms were near the start of the season. Later I found out
that the blossom in Washington DC were already at their peak. I don't expect we'll see any blossoms during our May trip there.
Links:
Coach USA
Club Wyndham Midtown 45
St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. James Theatre
Today Show
Statue City Cruises
Gourmet 45
Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant
The New Amsterdam Theatre
Umi Sushi and Seafood Buffet
Hard Rock Casino - Atlantic City
Max's Philippine Restaurant
Essex County Cherry Blossom Center
Back to List
Once we had all our luggage we headed outside and caught an express bus to New York's Grand Central Station. The tickets cost $12.50 each since we are both seniors.
Everyone was using their phones to scan their tickets, but we were able to pay cash. I scanned the link for our return trip and got an additional discount for
purchasing it that way.
I was a little surprised the drop off was on 21st street instead of in the station, but it left us about a half mile walk to the hotel, Club Wyndham 45 at
New York City (205 East 45th Street). Our room wasn't ready
yet as we were a couple hours early. We checked our bags and headed back near our drop off point to find hot dogs (One of Marilou's go to lunches). We ate a $9 lunch
of 2 hot dogs before heading back to the hotel. There were a lot of people checking in, so we sat down and they supplied us with champagne. Again, Wyndham convinced me
to register for a review of my ownership with the offer of a $100 GIFT CARD for participating.
