Here are a few photos from my trip to New York last week, including (above) my first visit to the Algonquin Hotel, home of the famous Round Table.
You didn't know I went to New York? Well, I had a week's vacation already scheduled for the second week of October, and I never got around to making plans for it. (I was supposed to make plane reservations in mid-September for a trip to Cincinnati, but of course that was set aside after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.) By October 5, however, the airlines were offering such great deals on tickets that I went online and got a round-trip ticket to New York for $264 with just three days' advance notice. I left on Monday the 8th and returned Saturday, October 13.
It was a great trip. Yes, it was a bit unsettling to travel in the wake of the World Trade Center disaster, and the sight of National Guardsmen with automatic rifles in the airports was entirely disconcerting. But the heightened security measures made travelers feel safe, if nervous.
No, I didn't go to the WTC site. I had planned to, but after seeing dozens of "missing" posters across Manhatten and hearing people on the subway talk about the numerous memorial services they've attended -- and hearing friends talk about witnessing the second plane crash, the suicide jumpers and the towers' collapse -- I chose to view the scene from a distance. I saw the smoke and one of the remaining walls from across the Hudson River, on the New Jersey side, and that was enough. The site is still a graveyard for 5,000 people, after all.
What did I do in New York? I spent four days with a great friend from San Francisco, Chris Cavanagh (of MacHome Journal infamy). I went with Chris and her boyfriend to a Broadway Show ("Proof') and the Algonquin. And I don't care if it sounds hokey, I was thrilled to see Morely Safer of "60 Minutes" as we walked to our theater.
I also saw two Hilton Head expatriots, Terin Miller and Leighann Narum, for the first tim ein 10 years. A good time was had by all.
The most compelling reason for my trip, however, was to finally get a chance to dig through the newspaper archives at the New York Plublic Library. I've been trying to view the early newspaper columns of Don Marquis, author of "Archy and Mehitabel," and the NYPL is one of only two libraries in the U.S. that has the newspaper on microfilm. I spent some 20 hours over four days reading scratchy microfilm and am gald for the opportunity -- even if it did screw up my eyesight something fierce. I'm not sure what will become of this effort, but at the very least I'll add significant new information to my Archy Web site and heck, maybe I'll test the water and see if I can get a few magazine articles out of it.
But on to the photos: Click on the line of text for a quick link to the corresponding photo.
2. Chris and Joe sitting at the Round Table.
4. Chris at home with Travis, the coolest dog in Brooklyn.
5. On the trip home I had a layover in Las Vegas and got to see my sister Elaine and niece Diana.
8. The Empire State Building from the street.
9. A pigeon on top of a lion standing guard outside the New York Public Library.
10. One-half of the main reading room at the NYPL.
It was a great trip, but I'm glad I'm home!
