You're Out of Here!

 

I did a double-take when I passed this pile of clothes, mostly men's suits, on the sidewalk today. At first I thought someone really trusted their dry cleaner, but there was no dry cleaner on the block. This was a pile of stuff dumped there by an unhappy roommate, don't cha think?

1000 Time Out Things to do in New York -- SOHO Nails

 

My kids gave me a book called 1000 Time Out Things to do in New York, and every now and then I'm going to try some things out and let you know how it went. Yesterday I went into SOHO to "Get a cheap Manhattan manicure (item #719)." After emerging from the subway, I walked three blocks to the address, 458 W. Broadway. There was no sign whatsoever pointing to the salon other than the name taped to the address plate. It took me a while to find it in-between all the other shops with storefronts and fancy signage.

 

As I was standing there wondering how I was supposed to get in the locked door, someone came up and was buzzed in, so I followed him. The narrow stairwell lead to the third floor salon. Here is what the front door looked like:

 

But sure enough, there was a lot of nail painting going on. I would have had my fingernails polished there, but I had already had them done by a salon on the street nearby for $12 after I thought I'd never find this place. Soooo, I got a pedicure. Tee hee.

 

By the way, have I written about manicures here? While you're getting your nails done, someone slips up behind you and begins rubbing your shoulders! OMG! It's heavenly. This woman began my massage gratis for 2 minutes, then asked if I wanted to continue for 10-15 minutes. How could I say no? Why would I say no? $15 for 15 minutes. Yep, I'll buy that.

 

 

The Staten Island Ferry

This is the entrance point onto the Staten Island Ferry. It was a Saturday. My husband and I wanted to see Staten Island.

The ferry is huge, as you can see in this picture I took of one passing us headed back to Manhattan.

So there was plenty of space to sit once everyone got on board. Most people went to the upper decks.

This is a good reason to take the free ferry. You can get a good look at the Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island and Manhattan's skyline. Once we got to SI, we started walking. About three miles later, we realized there was not much to see on SI. So we caught a bus back to the dock. There is a nice stadium that holds minor league games right as you exit the ferry. But no games were being played that day.

A Strange Aloneness

Never have I ever been on a subway car this empty. My husband and I were alone on this 7 train one Sunday afternoon. I think we were headed back to Long Island City from Manhattan. You never know where you'll run into pockets of empty space here. It's not all that common, let me tell you.

It's Not Storming Up Here

 

Most of the time on the plane I read or sleep. But this was my view for most of the flight last week when I flew to Cincinnati. There were storms below in New York, but above the clouds, it was a wonderland of blue. It looked like we were flying over Antartica, and I half expected to spot a couple of polar bears running around in those clouds. It was mesmerizing.

 

This used to be a dock facility which included "contained apron" transfer bridges, It was built in 1925 to load and unload rail car floats that served industries on Long Island. It's located a few steps away from where I live along the southern portion of Gantry State Park which is being expanded in both directions along the East River. The new park is making this area of Long Island City a lovely place to spend an afternoon.

Bird on Pier

 

With no particular agenda, I left the apartment recently to simply walk as far as I could and observe the neighborhood. (I really need to get a life.) Anyway, I came across this lonely little bird sitting on the pier overlooking the East River in the quiet of the morning. It didn't phase him one bit that I was closing in on him to get this picture. He did keep a close eye on me, though, as you can see.