Published: June 04, 2008 11:58 am         

Diary of a New York City Spring Break

I think it was sometime in January that I sent an impromptu email to Toni Jarvis, drama teacher at Valdosta Middle School, about a Spring Break trip to New York City. I explained that I was taking my daughter there for the week and asked if she knew of any drama students who might have an interest in coming along for the ride. Before long, I had 12 people, not including me and my daughter, signed up for the trip. Our travel group consisted of Toni Jarvis; Sheila Wakeley and her daughter, Katherine Wakeley; Eve Terrell; Bonnie Hanson and her sons, Joshua Hanson and Christopher Hanson, and daughter, Claire Hanson; Alice Pendleton and her daughter, MaryLee Pendleton; and Eleanor Blakeman and her granddaughter, Corrie Burke. We met once, got to know each other, and counted down the days to a week of nonstop fun in the Big Apple.



Sunday, March 30, 2008



All of us agreed to meet in the parking lot of The Valdosta Daily Times around 3:30 p.m. for ease in getting everyone into their assigned vehicles. By 4 p.m., our three-automobile caravan was making its way along U.S. Highway 84 toward Jesup, our final destination by car, and what can best be described as an Amtrak station straight from the wacky mind of writer Stephen King. I told them to have a sense of humor when they saw the station, but I am sure they thought I was exaggerating.

•••

We arrived in Jesup a little after 6 p.m. We would have been there sooner, but someone in our party called me on my cell phone from the third vehicle in our caravan and begged for a bathroom stop as soon as possible. Fortunately, we stumbled upon a gas station around the next corner, so we pulled a Britney Spears and ran inside for a quick break. At least no one was barefoot.

•••

Finally, we are on Amtrak’s No. 98. The train was just five minutes late, which was quite a treat, but now we are all seated in the dining car. There were not enough available seats in one car when we got on to put us all together, so the conductor asked if we wanted to wait in the dining car until the next stop, which is in Savannah. A group of people are supposed to be getting off there. The girls are in a booth watching a movie on a portable DVD player. Sheila Wakeley is reading Sunday’s edition of The Valdosta Daily Times, and Toni Jarvis is grading papers. I wish you could have seen the looks on all their faces when we arrived at the Amtrak station in Jesup. It was quite frightening with trash everywhere, walls leaning to one side, and its roof falling in. All that was missing was a homeless man passed out on the ground with a bottle of Colt 45 malt liquor next to him. I did tell them to have a sense of humor.



Monday, March 31, 2008



When we woke up this morning, the train was on its way through Washington D.C. Glancing through our windows, we saw cherry blossom trees, the top of the capitol building, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. That was a treat for all of us and almost like getting two trips for the price of one. Sleeping on the train was a little rough. My daughter slept on top of me most of the trip as she could not get comfortable. At some point — it was around 4 a.m. I think — I simply gave up trying to get any sleep and watched “Sweet Home Alabama” and “The Devil Wears Prada” on the DVD player. I am running off of pure excitement and Diet Coke at this point.

•••

Our train pulled into New York’s Penn Station at noon. Getting the luggage and the teenage girls off the train was one great big pain in the rear, but we did it without losing anyone or anything. That was definitely a miracle. Because we came in under the ground, or under Madison Square Garden I should say, we did not discover it was raining in New York City until our escalator reached the top. The good news was that we only had to cross 7th Avenue – it was lunchtime and hordes of people were all over the place – to get to our hotel.

•••

After a brief lesson on what a cashier’s check was — our front desk person did not know — the Hotel Pennsylvania gave us the keys to our rooms. Damp and hungry, I think all of us were grateful to check in two hours early, at 1 p.m. as opposed to 3 p.m., and have a moment, however brief, to change our clothes, brush our teeth, and regroup. Before long, we were heading outdoors, umbrellas in hand, to a little pizzeria called Gillespie’s along 33rd Street.

•••

I think everyone had a lot of fun in Times Square tonight. After pizza, we walked along Broadway to the Toys R Us store, where the girls took a ride on the giant Ferris wheel inside and visited Hello Kitty land, dinosaur land, Barbie land, and more. There was lots to see and do inside the four-story store. I took the group to Rockefeller Center next and the world famous ice rink. The girls — and Toni Jarvis — could not wait to put on a pair of skates and hit the ice. Some of them were very good. Others, like my daughter, took a little bit longer to find a sense of balance. They had fun falling down on the cold ice and laughing at each other. There were several wet bottoms when we left the rink after more than an hour of skating. As we were leaving Rockefeller Center, we stumbled upon the Cathedral of Saint Patrick, the largest gothic-style Catholic cathedral in the United States. The silence was rejuvenating, just what we needed after a sleepless night, and we took a moment to marvel at the masterpiece. Next, we popped into H&M, a popular Swedish clothing company, and a magnificent world of sweetness at 48th and Broadway known as Hershey’s. Chocolate was definitely on our minds, as our energy waned, and several dollars were spent. After a late dinner at the Times Square Planet Hollywood, we shopped next door at the Virgin Megastore and then walked the 12 or so blocks back to the Hotel Pennsylvania. I think everyone was asleep by 11 p.m.



Tuesday, April 1, 2008



After a restful night’s sleep — I guess the sounds of horns honking and police sirens are soothing to me because I slept so peacefully — I woke up at 7 a.m. to the sounds of Alice Pendleton, mama #2 in my room, in the shower. We devised a schedule to ensure everyone was up and ready and out of the room by 8:30 a.m. So far things are looking good as all of the girls are nearly dressed.

•••

We grabbed breakfast from a sidewalk vendor on 33rd Street this morning. Who knew you could get a gigantic blueberry muffin and croissant for less than $2 in New York City! I’m not sure you can get that in Valdosta! We ate breakfast as we made our way to the Empire State Building two blocks away. Our first stop was the New York Skyride, a virtual tour simulator. Our 30-minute adventure above, through, and underneath the city was guided by actor Kevin Bacon. It was a lot of fun but definitely not for someone with motion sickness. We had to take two elevators to reach the observatory nearly a quarter of a mile above the city. My ears popped halfway up, but the views were worth it. The winds were strong on the deck. A light fog still hung over the city. I know it might sound horrible, but it was beautiful. Once we reached the ground, we walked along 5th Avenue past Saks and Tiffany’s and FAO Schwarz and St. Thomas Church. We took a break inside the Episcopalian church for a few moments. Part of the group went to Tiffany’s in the hopes of getting a little blue box while the rest of us went to FAO Schwarz for a walk on the giant piano made famous in the Tom Hanks movie “Big.” One of the store employees taught MaryLee Pendleton, Claire Hanson, and my daughter, Hunter Pope, to play a three-part song. They had so much fun and ended up with a crowd of French people watching them. After all that, they were starving ... again. Nothing seemed more perfect than a street vendor hotdog or two in Central Park. I don’t think anyone should go to New York without enjoying one. The Central Park Zoo was next on the agenda. All of us enjoyed watching the polar bears and walking through the rain forest filled with endangered monkeys, frogs, and so much more. I think Alice Pendleton nearly died when a tropical bird bounced off of her head and landed on the railing right next to me. And it just sat there, looking at us like we were crazy. Too funny. As we walked through Central Park, we saw several homeless men sitting on hills like lions in a zoo. It was a strange site for us southerners. If you have never been to Central Park, it is a large place with spectacular views of the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. We had to take a detour when we came upon a man dancing crazily, as if he had just been attacked by fireants, so we ended up walking a little further than expected. I don’t think anyone wanted to take any chances. We passed an ice rink, Wollman Rink, and finally made it to the carousel. I have not been on the carousel since I was like 17 years old, and let me tell you, I don’t remember it reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour! I thought we would all fly off at any moment. It was a wild ride, but the girls loved every minute of it.

•••

After a couple of hours in the American Museum of Natural History, the home of the world’s largest collection of dinosaur and other vertebrate fossils, we caught the C train back to Penn Station and the Hotel Pennsylvania for a much-needed break. I do not know about the others, but my feet were in so much pain. The subway ride was interesting. None of the girls were holding on when the thing started forward. All of them started falling back when this guy wearing a black hoodie and listening to music reached up and grabbed them in one swoop of the arms. He had this look on his face like he might be in trouble for touching them. I thanked him. Lord knows he saved all those people from being rolled over by teenage girls.

•••

Hunter and I just returned from having dinner in Greenwich Village with the Pendletons. Because we were splitting into smaller groups for the evening, the four of us decided to have dinner at an Italian place in the heart of the village. As people strolled along the city streets, we sat practically outside of this little eatery and dined on pasta and bread and chicken and vegetables. We talked and decided to take a taxi back to the hotel. By the time Alice and I had paid for our meals, Hunter had a taxi outside waiting for us. She was so funny. She said, “Look. I got us a taxi.” When I asked her how she did it, she held her arm out and said, “Like this.” Riding back was memorable as our driver spoke just a little bit of English and insisted on talking on his cell phone the entire time. We nearly hit a bus at one point but arrived back at the hotel in one piece and with a story to tell. Craving an ice cream, we could not believe our good fortune when an ice cream truck pulled up next to our block. Our bellies were full, so we headed off to bed. Others spent the evening watching “The Phantom of the Opera.”



Wednesday, April 2, 2008



No sidewalk vendor this morning. We decided to have breakfast on 7th Avenue at a little diner-type place called Andrew’s before walking up to 49th Street and the NBC Experience Store. We originally hoped to catch the early NBC Studio Tour and visit the home of Saturday Night Live and more, but we missed it. Instead, we walked over to the Museum of Modern Art and saw, among other things, Pablo Picasso’s Girl Before a Mirror, Roy Lichtenstein’s Girl With Ball, Jackson Pollock’s White Light, Vasily Kandinsky’s Panel for Edwin R. Campbell, and Andy Warhol’s Marilyn portfolio and Campbell’s Soup Cans. Even the bathrooms were a work of art in this place.

•••

It’s almost 4:30 p.m., and we just saw “Wicked” at the Gershwin Theatre. Should this broadway show ever find its way into the wonderful world of DVD, I have two words for you — buy it! I can’t imagine any of us ever looking at “The Wizard of Oz” the same way again after that performance.

•••

I now have photographs of me standing next to Prince, Michael Jackson, Annie Leibowitz, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. Sure, they are made of wax but who cares. They look real enough to me. The girls have had the best time in Madame Tussauds with the likes of Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Julia Roberts, and, of course, Miley Cyrus a/k/a Hannah Montana. I thought the squealing would never end once they saw her. They jumped up onto her stage and sang her songs. Then they headed over to the American Idol stage and Simon. He told them their performance was terrible. It was too funny. They got so mad. Today has been unforgettable. I forgot to mention earlier that the girls made it onto MTV. They were filming an episode of TRL on the streets of Time Square earlier in the morning. They also did some shopping with the street vendors, buying hats and pashminas and handbags.



Thursday, April 3, 2008



We caught the subway in Penn Station early this morning after grabbing a muffin for breakfast. We had no intention of walking all the way down to Battery Park to catch the ferry over to the State of Liberty and Ellis Island. We had to stand in line for over an hour and go through airport-like security to get on the ferry. The girls kept high-fiving all of the workers. The Statue of Liberty looks very small from the island of Manhattan. On Ellis Island, I was fortunate to be able to look up some ancestors who immigrated to the United States through there. It’s interesting to watch their names pop up, the date they came in and where they came from.

•••

I just spent a couple of hours with human bodies, and I have to say that Bodies ... The Exhibition is a must-see. We got to examine our complex systems of organs and tissues. We got to see cancer in parts of the body, what a smoker’s heart and lungs look like compared to a healthy heart and lungs. I have to say that seeing a human heart, which would just about fit in the palm of my hand, proved to be a life-changing experience. I stood there thinking — My whole life depends on this tiny little thing ... I might want to take better care of it. I think each of the girls was most fascinated with the baby room that showed everything from the placenta to a 24-week old fetus in the womb to conjoined twins.

•••

We walked through Chinatown. Eve Terrell, Sheila Wakeley and Katherine Wakeley followed a speedy but tiny old woman to a secret room covered with Dolce and Gabbana handbags. She kept walking up to us and whispering, “Handbags.” They wanted to go with her, so I told them they would be just fine. A few moments later, I called Sheila’s cell phone to see if they were alright. Katherine answered. When I asked if they were OK, all she said was “yes.” So I asked if she was with the handbag people, and she said a simple “yes.” Her one-word answers worried me for a minute, but then before I knew it each of them was back ... sans a handbag. They decided to not pay $40 for what could have been a fake or a stolen handbag. We shopped in a couple of shops in Chinatown and then made our way up through Little Italy and Greenwich Village. We hopped onto the subway and ended up in Grand Central Station and walked through Bryant Park before stopping by the hotel for a mini break. It was nearly 9 p.m. at this point, but Hunter, Toni Jarvis and I were eager to hit Times Square one more time. We did not return until midnight.



Friday, April 4, 2008



This was our last day in New York City. Our train pulled out of Penn Station at 3 p.m. We spent part of today at the World Trade Center Site, which still looks like a war zone. It does not seem as if they’re making much progress. I walked 22 blocks round-trip in the rain to find a tweed newsboy cap and a pashmina for my daughter. She just did not think she could go home without them. On the train ride home, everyone stood up and gave a small speech about how much fun they had in New York City. It was so sweet. Corrie Burke teared up as she talked about the trip and nearly made me cry. We had an unforgettable Spring Break in New York City. And I hope to repeat the same with others in the future.

•••

FINAL ENTRY

We have reservations for the Dining Car at 8 p.m. for dinner. One of our servers looks just like Hoke Colburn from “Driving Miss Daisy.” The girls have all discovered some reserved energy as a couple of “really cute boys” just got on the train. Looks like another adventure is just beginning. I guess I will sleep when I get home Saturday ...