From the Kitchen Counter…

View from my hotel in New York City: 

Mood Reading: ZZZZ’s (First night back in my own bed and slept pretty darned good!)

Though I meant to blog during my trip to New York City (for meetings with my literary agent and editor) I was somewhat surprised to find that New York has no more hours in the day than we do out in Nevada.  With all the monuments, tourist sites, art, culture, television and print media, national commerce and international trade that is epi-centered in the big apple, ya think someone would have made some allowances when the idea for different continental time zones was hatched… at least an extra couple of hours or three in the average New York day would be nice!  So, what’s a westerner to do?  Faced with this unanticipated time restriction, I had to make a critical choice:

I could spend precious hours holed up in my hotel room blogging away at the laptop:

OR:

I could check out the Broadway musicals, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, fine dining, museums, city lights, cultural attractions and shop-shop-shopping.

Shocking though it may be — I chose the latter.  Thus, I will deliver my latest metro-adventure to you over the next few installments and beg for your understanding.

Unlike my first trip to the city, I felt like a veteran this time around. Landing at La Guardia, I confidently strode through the airport to baggage claim and calmly retrieved my bag…  so far, so good!  Brimming with the poise of a seasoned traveler, I wheeled it out to the curb for the waiting car I’d arranged on line ahead of time (no Super Shuttle for me this time – wanted to get directly to the hotel) and only then did a hint of that old familiar panic start to seep in.

The instructions were to wait on the island in front of the terminal and I’d recognize my driver by a sign on the side of his luxury car. Not only was the place teeming with scads of arriving passengers negotiating the Samsonite version of Roller Derby, but there were two islands, about a g’zillion waiting cars jockeying for position and several of the luxury variety with signs on their side doors.  So much for my poised self-assurance – I donned my best deer-in-the-headlights expression and started waving my arms frantically at every passing driver.  Finally I guy came running to my rescue from the shuttle bus area 3 lanes across from where I was flailing around and apologized profusely, mis-pronouncing my name 3 times in quick succession. He grabbed my roller bag and led me to his waiting car, dodging traffic, pot-holes and several pissed-off cab drivers, merrily waving what must be the native hand greeting along the way.

Whew!  I settled into the car for the ride to my hotel located directly across from Rockefeller Center.  I selected it due to it’s website claim to proximity to all the “action” and was duly rewarded – I was within a very short block to the shopping on 5^th Ave, Radio City Music Hall, NBC Studios, Rockefeller Plaza and most importantly –  the Magnolia Bakery with THE best little flourless Chocolate Cakes I’ve ever tasted just around the corner.

After exhaling the breath I’d been holding for the entire ride, I thanked my driver for delivering me in one piece in such a timely fashion, dropped my bags in my room and set out for Del Frisco’s Grill located literally across the street from the lobby of my hotel.  It was brimming with patrons gathered after work and I was seated next to a young couple discussing their “boss from hell”, thankful that I didn’t have one. Over a glass of Pinot Grigio and a wonderful salmon and arugula citrus salad  (the calorie’s of which I made up for at Magnolia’s an hour later,) I let go of the stress of the day’s travel and transitioned into the state of mind the city is best known for.