Big Apple II

Just got back from another trip to New York City, one of my favorite places to spend a little time and lots of money. Sadly, more money than usual got spent this time because the whole family went. When it's just me there on business it's bad enough, but when it's four of us--whoo boy.

One of the largest outlays of funds was a trip up the Empire State Building, which, believe me, would never have taken place if it hadn't been for the mewlings of the youngsters. What a colossal rip off! On the bright side, the lines were so long that I figure it came out to only about $1.00 per minute, even if most of those minutes were spent standing in poorly lit, swelteringly hot corridors.

The Museum of Natural History was a major hit, of course, because Olivia basically thinks of herself as a close relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex. At least she behaves as though she thinks of herself that way. However, she won many fans in the Big Apple with her cute antics and capers. On the subway, for example, she would grab onto one of the poles and do what amounted to an exotic dance for the delectation of the other passengers. She would do this with ever greater demonstrative zeal the more we tried to get her to stop.

Michael, by contrast, was rather reserved, spending most of his time taking pictures of the sorts of things one never sees in Athens--or anywhere else in Ohio--like gigantic bronze bulls (our hotel was on Wall Street). Man, that thing had some monster cajones. He (Michael, not the bull) was very sad that we didn't make it out to the Statue of Liberty, and he was disappointed that it was way too early for the strawberries in Strawberry Fields, but he loved riding on the subway. Who wouldn't, after all, what with all the free exotic dancing.

I think the highlight of the trip, for me, was dinner at the Odeon, a fabulous restaurant on the corner of Thomas and West Broadway that has just about the best (and most expensive) food in the city. Well, my sample is obviously rather small, as I've only been to the city a few dozen times in my life, but I can certainly recommend this place.

As usual, a splendid time was had in New York--and I continue to be impressed by the friendliness and courtesy of everyone I meet there, whether it's someone working in a museum, a man on the subway giving directions, or the various friendly folks who pass on the street with a smile and a nod.