Thursday, September 06, 2007

Planes, trains, automobiles and... New York!

This last weekend (Labor Day weekend) the family went to New York City for a Bar Mitzvah (why else?). What a blast! I love visiting NYC, but couldn't live there. It's so alive. 24/7/365 alive. That's probably why I couldn't live there - too frenetic.

Anyway, we flew up to PA to spend a night with L's parents, then took the train to Penn Station in NYC. I highly, highly recommend this form of transportation. You get loads of room, comfy-ish seats, and you don't have to worry about cancelled flights or bad traffic. The kids loved it too. M has decided it's her favorite form of travel. Baby J loved being able to walk up and down the aisle (yes, he's now a toddler). I'm not sure all the other passengers appreciated his "visits" - one poor gentleman was asleep when baby J decided to scream right next to him - although some clearly did. Once in NYC it was a (thankfully) short taxi ride to the hotel. We didn't get to do much sightseeing given we arrived Saturday afternoon and left Monday afternoon (L and the girls did see an off-Broadway show - Gazillion Bubbles, or something like that), but we had fun.

Labor Day we went to the Bar Mitzvah. The party afterwards was everything you might imagine (and more) a NYC Bar Mitzvah would be like. Open bar (at 11:30am...), gourmet-quality food, and a DJ. We decided the DJ was on something - he was very hyped up. Early on I was watching the dance floor and saw a hussy-looking young women dancing with the Bar Mitzvah boy. She didn't look like one of the guests. In fact, my first thought was "THEY GOT HIM A STRIPPER?!?!?!?!?!?" Thankfully, no. She was one of the two dancers that came with the DJ. A little over the top and distasteful really. Especially given this was really a religious "coming of age" thing. Still, everyone had a good time. The kids loved it and the adults (L's family and I) laughed at it all. I think we'll talk about it for quite some time.

After the party it was a quick dash back to the hotel to get changed, a taxi ride to Penn Station and onto the train again. Another night at L's parents, and then flights home. An exhausting, but good trip.

Ironically, the Bar Mitzvah boy's mitzvah project was to promote efforts to combat global warming. Ironic because it will take the use of a lot of compact fluorescent bulbs, use of public transportation and/or carpooling, and much recycling to make up for the energy expended at the party...

5 comments:

mouthfulofpancake said...

Sounds like a hoot! R is a big fan of trains too. One day we might take a trip across the Nullabor or something on one.

JollyRgr said...

We're big fans of trains too.......no jokes about my job please!!

Must do the Indian Pacific one day too.....

Stripper......hahahaha....I like the thinking and these days anythings possible:-)

Odyssey said...

I think it was L's brother who wondered if the parents had also arranged for a prostitute for the boy after the party...

Trains are cool. I am a little afraid that in ten years or so they'll be a thing of the past here. Unfortunately the current Amtrak system is seriously underused and, apparently, mismanaged.

By the way, if you do the Indian Pacific, get a bunk. I have friends who did seats the whole trip and it almost killed them. And they were young and resilient at the time (early 20's).

Goose said...

I love the train. Went from Aberdeen to London by train and had a ball!

Julia said...

Awesome bllog you have here