So I’m on the train riding from New York to Boston and this is going to be a real crap blog. I mean there are some horrible theater student sitting in the seats in front of me, apparently from Syracuse, babbling on and on about the “theater biz” that they seem to already know so much about at the tender age of moron and they are all excited because they have a super wealthy friend in Connecticut who has invited them to stay at her parents’ property over the fourth and one of them wants everyone else to know how much money she spent on said rich friend’s birthday gift to show that she has the better relationship with this person. Every once in awhile one of them tries to sleep and starts violently flopping in his seat as if he’s having an epileptic seizure – which rocks the seat in front of Tiffany so badly that it’s a good thing she doesn’t like to drink hot coffee… People are horribly annoying…
I never finished the UK trip blog – I just simply ran out of time and brain space to write it…but due to very good problems, mind you. I’ve been busy with screenwriting gigs that have kept both my days and head full — I even found myself back in London for some writing work…which was an adventure and a half itself. So I’m just going to jot down some thoughts about our East Coast summer extravaganza before excuses, time, and more excuses set in, or else this trip will become the second victim of time and forgetfulness.
I guess this particular trip is dripping with heavy context: NEXT FALL CHARLIE IS GOING TO NYU. She can’t wait to bust out on her own both and Tiffany and I are trying to keep it together the best we can. Funny enough, this vacation was planned out before Charlie got accepted to NYU. We love the East Coast and little Tyler and Piper have never been and so there were things to do and see for all that would keep a revisit to New York and Boston fresh — oh, and also a day in Philadelphia, too.
If that’s not exciting enough two days before we were set to get on the plane to fly to New York I blew out my back. As usual, it’s totally my fault. Tremendous obesity and several 12+ hour days sitting in front of my computer running from a project deadline served as the straws that broke this fat-assed camel’s back. Truth be told I’ve been blowing out my back more and more these past couple of years and I know it’s my body telling me to absolutely fuck off.
So there I was staring down the barrel of a five-hour flight and eight days of serious “about-towning” and I could hardly sit or stand without clenching my teeth and groaning with white hot pain. Throwing out my back causes the most pain I’ve ever felt in my life. It’s as if gravity becomes more intense. I can’t bed over. I can’t get out of bed. I can’t tie my shoes. I can’t lift my legs. I can’t put on my underwear. I turn into a complete, pathetic sack of shit. I hate myself and I hate what a god damn invalid I become when I’m like this.
I went to the acupuncturist and she did all she could to get me mobile…I didn’t want my handicap to overshadow the trip so I simply told myself that if I could stand up and walk to the bathroom then I could most definitely go to New York. Truth be told if there wasn’t a vacation staring me down I would be lying flat on my back in bed as drugged up as I can be. But I somehow got on the plane. And I got to New York. And we walked around daily anywhere between 12,000 to 22,000 steps. It took some serious bearing down, but I was determined not to let it slow me down…and I think for the most part, it didn’t. I just kept telling myself with every step something I heard The Rock once say. “Pain is temporary.” And as odd as it sounds…the mantra worked. We were in New York for four days and every day I got a little better. Surprisingly walking seemed to help me out. Now as I’m sitting on the train I am returning to my old self, still not completely able to bend down to tie my shoes but really only experiencing any blinding pain that turns my brain into a blank slate when I wake up in the morning.
We actually flew into New York a day early to avoid a storm front that threatened to delay our original flight, so we had to scramble to book an air bnb for a night. The company running the place gave us the wrong address so we wandered around for a bit ———- but the upside was that Piper got to see her first New York rat…I fear it made an indelible impression on her in all the wrong ways. I’m not sure what locking eyes with a rat does to a person under ten years old. I guess we will see.
It was interesting to experience what is probably a proto-typical New York 3 bedroom apartment. George looked up the property value of our tiny air bnb place and we all guffawed with huge California accents. That first night we ate at Lombardi’s and toasted the latest chapter in our family travels. I guzzled beer to drown out my screaming back nerves.
Our visit to New York was more like a war that we had to win: me with my back and the insane heat wave that was going on. The thermometer constantly hovered in the high 90s with humidity around 3 million percent. I don’t think I’ve sweated this much since our visit to Thailand. It was suppressive and brutal the entire time. Walking a block would sap us of energy…making it feel like we were walking on the moon. But it didn’t stop us, as the first full day we visited NYU, went to the bookstore for some gear, and Charlie picked up her student ID. I got a little choked up watching her as she gazed upon it, knowing full well that her mind was swirling with all of the exciting possibilities of her immediate future while Tiffany and my mind were simply focused on the inevitable moment of letting go in a way we’ve never had to before…
After our visit to NYU we got the hell out of that tiny air bnb apartment, checked into our hotel at The Roger, then took a peek into the New York Library. Honestly, already by this point we were more focused on finding places we could tuck into for some air conditioning than anything else. But quests for A/C can reward you with happy accidents – in the Library we found the original stuffed animals of Winnie the Pooh. Charlie took a photo next to an old friend from her childhood…Eeyore.
After the Library we went to 30 Rock, took pictures and poked around. My back was feeling like raw circuitry and we were all baked and steamed and salted three ways ‘til Sunday so after that were dinnered and call it a day.
The next day, Tiffany, Charlie and I went to Queens to visit a friend of a friend who is a professor at another university in New York to meet-and-greet and seek valuable insider survival tips for the Big Apple, while Team Yu and Chase did some exploring on their own. Around lunchtime we rendezvoused at Central Park and proceeded to what felt like a death march from one side to the other in the summer heat. However that death march led us to a quaint little Italian eatery where we exhaustedly knoshed on charcuterie and drank cool cocktails and fizzed drinks until we mustered enough energy to continue our adventure to Time Square.
After a hearty night’s rest we trained out to Philadelphia for a day to check out the city of brotherly love. Philly is a great town with lots of personality. I would have liked to have stayed an extra day there. We only had a chance to check out the liberty bell, Ben Franklin’s grave, and Independence Hall. Oh yeah and the “Rocky Steps” and Rocky Statue. Piper and I were the only one who ran up all of the steps. I wasn’t sure what it would do to my back, but there was no way in hell I was going to NOT run up those steps. I believe that ROCKY was the first movie I ever saw.
The heat was really kicking our ass, and I think my input of footnote facts about the Revolutionary War were also wearing the family down. It’s a time period that absolutely fascinates me for its forgotten mix of brutality and optimism. I was in awe to see the ruins of Washington’s Presidential home, for I had just read a biography on Washington and already knew all about it. It was also interesting to see how there is a conspiracy theory swirling around town that the liberty bell is actually a fake – that the real one was squirreled away after 9/11.
During lunch we decided to eat Cheesesteaks from both Pat’s AND Geno’s (Pat’s is better. However, every local we spoke to had a different recommendation for an even better cheesesteak.) After our afternoon tour of Independence Hall we had an early dinner at Mac’s Tavern, owned by some of the cast of “It’s Alway Sunny in Philadelphia” and then iced our palates down with some ice cream treats before we trained back to New York.
The next day could be deemed as a statue day. We went to take pictures with the Charging Bull and the Fearless girl. I love how these two icons are together. I love watching people cluster around the charging bull as if it will bring them luck to touch it. A new thing I’ve never witnessed before is people wanted to touch the bull’s balls…in fact so many have done so that the balls are the most polished part of the statue.
Conversely, people were posing with the fearless girl as well….
Then we went to the Statue Of Liberty. Ho man is that whole thing a tourist trap. The Statue itself is impressive…and thought provoking – especially considering the most recent wave of anti-immigrant sentiment being wrestled with in our country. But holy crap the crowds were overwhelming. Add to that everyone had to not only go through airport level security to get onto the ferry, but then more airport level security once we got onto the island before we could get near the statue itself. Add to that the humid, sweltering, broiling heat, the crush of humanity amplifying the heat even more, my catastrophic back…well, the amalgamation of circumstances turned me into a prime grade asshole.
195 steps to the pedestal. By this point my back pain had progressed to a sharp stabbing pain every time I lifted up my right foot, but I just kept going and breathed through it. Tiffany was pretty certain that I was going to drop dead inside the statue, but I made it out alive.
But you know what is even more remarkable than my survival – these four wonderful kids. They are absolute troopers. Chase and Charlie are very seasoned with this kind of business…and Tyler and Piper are keeping up without complaint. Both Tyler and Piper find an enthusiastic angle in everything that we’ve done so far. I mean, Piper looked into the soul of a New York rat! And Tyler always humored me, smiling appreciatively with every nugget of Revolutionary War historical tidbit I layed before her…
*****
So today was our first full day in Boston and we did ye ‘ole Freedom Trail walk, soaking up Boston’s wonderful history. Man I love this town. It’s such a great town it actually made me feel a bit apprehensive for a moment about whether or not Charlie should have chosen Boston University instead of NYU. For a moment…for a small moment.
Boston’s energy is different. And I really enjoy it. It’s a town that I want to come back to again and again.
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So tomorrow’s the 4th. Who knows if we will succeed in seeing Boston’s famed fireworks show. I guess I’ll let you know