Adventures in Travelling, Part 2

It didn't look like a lot of snow when I got off the plane.

Using crass language, I questioned the heartiness of New Yorkers as I made my way to my friend Alex's house where I would stay for the next couple nights. In northern Michigan, we take a few inches of snow in stride and keep on going wherever we're headed, but my plane was three hours late for this?

Even as it began to hail a little later while we were walking to the bar to meet dear friends, I smiled and thought "at least it's not that cold." When Alex and I made a short trip to Kmart to pick up an air mattress, the weather was getting progressively worse and worse, but still I shook my (very wet) head and trudged on.

Having been up for the majority of two days with only a short 15 minute nap in between, it didn't take much before I was completely exhausted and it was time for Alex and I to make our way back to her house. We exited the bar and even my northern Michigan sensibilities were shocked at the amount of snow that had accumulated in just a few short hours.

Trying to keep my phone dry, I took this picture:

It's kind of hard to tell, but it's snowing.

Circumstances bring New Yorkers together in the strangest ways. This night was no different. We walked out to Houston, doubtful we'd ever be able to find a cab. The cars that were out were slipping and sliding all over the road at maximum speeds of 5 miles per hour.

As one occupied cab stopped in front of us, Alex knocked on the window to see if they'd share with us and give us a lift across town. The snow was falling so quickly, it was hard to see and even harder to walk, so we were relieved when the couple in the back agreed. I got in the front and Alex in the back and off we went, slipping and sliding west on Houston.

I chatted with the darling cab driver, who really was doing a spectacular job of steering the cab that wanted to go in every direction but forward. The farther west we got, the weirder the conversation in the back turned. Not sure of the motives of the couple who originated the fare, Alex and I were glad to jump out in her neighborhood, slipping and sliding on foot the few blocks to her house.

What was only a couple blocks seemed like miles. It was surreal and beautiful and frightening and hilarious. We laughed a lot until, finally, we were back in her warm, dry apartment.

The next day, it was like a different New York. Things were shut down, plans were canceled and the dump trucks, complete with tire chains and ginormous snow plows, were getting stuck in the street.

There was something enchanting about New York that day. It was beautiful and sort of serene in a way New York isn't often. I grabbed my camera and, since it really wasn't very cold, Alex and I wandered. Though it wasn't the day I'd planned, it was a lovely divergence from what was expected.

The rest of the weekend was a busy blur of activity with short breaks for sleeping in between. I was in town for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference, which was fascinating and exhausting all in itself. In between, I tried to fit in as much time with my friends as possible, but found that try as I might, I couldn't accomplish all I'd hoped to -- a consistent theme in my life.

As pretty as the snow was that Thursday, the rest of the weekend was a constant battle against slush that only someone familiar with New York in winter can truly understand. Not only is it mid-shin deep, but it's the same color as the asphalt so you think you're stepping in an inch or so of icy, dirty, soupy melt and surprise! you're wet up to your knees.

It's somewhat spectacular how snow disappears in New York, though. While there was so much of it on Thursday morning, and seemingly nowhere to put it, slowly but surely throughout the weekend, little by little it just went away.

It was a fun adventure. I enjoy going back to New York, but it's also really nice to come home. I find I've acclimated to my slower, quieter life and I appreciate my home so much more once I've been away. Though I was only gone for five days, I found myself homesick quite often and missing my dogs and cats even more than I expected.

So the answer is, get rich so I can have two places to live: the city home and the country home. Someday ...

In the meantime, here's some pictures. And I guess I must admit, I know as well as anyone how hearty New Yorkers are. I suppose it was a lot of snow.

Adventures in Travelling, Part 1

A week later and I'm still exhausted.

I went on a trip, and it was adventurous and fun and held unexpected discoveries around every corner.

But getting back into the swing of things has been challenging, at best.

Intending to post while I was gone (again with the unrealistic expectations), I began the tale of my journey while in the midst of my journey. I was fortunate to get where I was going and back without having any of my flights canceled or dying.

I left home on Wednesday, Jan. 26 flying from Manistee Blacker Airport (what? you've never heard of it?) to Milwaukee to New York LaGuardia. Here's an excerpt of my thoughts before leaving Manistee and during my wait in Milwaukee:

Manistee Blacker Airport, Jan. 26, 5:45 a.m. EST

This plane isn't very big.

I get travel anxiety. It's tough leaving home and especially tough leaving my babies in the care of someone else.

All the animals, except the cat that lives in the bathroom, knew something was up and didn't like it one bit. As I drove away, there was a silhouette of a Big Dog in one window and that of a Little Dog in the other. Both gave me that look -- the one that said, "you're not REALLY thinking of leaving us here, are you?"

I'm flying out of the local airport (hopefully) and my flight is scheduled to leave at 6:30 a.m., a scant 5 1/2 hours after leaving work. I hadn't packed and was in full panic. At about 3:15, I decided to take a nap. I'd just about fallen asleep when the alarm went off at 4.

So now, on about 15 minutes of sleep, I'm blogging, all in an attempt to avoid looking at how small that plane is ...


Milwaukee Airport, Jan. 26, 6:45 a.m., CST


We made it to Milwaukee. I feel a little sick, not sure if it was the stress of flying over the world's 5th largest lake in a model airplane, a little bit of motion sickness or the fact that I'm working on 15 minutes of sleep.

I have to say, darling as they were, I'm glad I didn't notice that the pilots, Brett and Brian, probably had to rush to 1st hour at their middle school after landing. They did a fine job and let me take this picture after we landed. (That's Brian):

I joked before leaving that maybe if I was the only passenger they'd let me sit in the cockpit. Well, there were four of us, and we pretty much were in the cockpit. I'm not sure why I expected a 19-seat plane to be bigger than it was. All 5-feet, 4-inches of me didn't think I'd have to duck to walk down the aisle, but it was all OK.

Now, I've got about an hour left before my flight to New York. I heard a message over the PA about wifi hotspots, so I was excited figuring I could finish this and post the pictures. But it's a complete racket! They want you to pay $8 and they'll give access ALL DAY LONG! (Several expletives about $8 wifi hotspot deleted).

I think I deserve more coffee, and I'll settle in to read my book the rest of the way. Feeling considerably calmer now that I'm on my way.

Already miss my dogs, though!

I did settle in with my book and boarded the airplane as expected at about 8 a.m. CST. However, after sitting for quite some time at the gate, they had us all get off the plane and wait indefinitely in the terminal because it was apparently getting pretty snowy in New York.

It was about the time we boarded for the first time that I realized I'd lost my ID. I even called the Manistee airport to see if they'd found it anywhere, but no such luck. They did lead me in the right direction, though. The TSA security guards remembered that I'd shoved all my stuff back in my backpack after they'd searched it and recommended I look in there.

Sure enough, I'd zipped it in my toiletry case. But it wasn't before I spent about an hour wondering how in the world I was going to get home from New York without an ID.

Frustrating as the wait was, I was much calmer with my ID found. We were eventually able to fly out between storms in New York and I arrived at about 2:30 p.m. EST. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I stood waiting for the M60 bus that would take me into Manhattan, a feeling of homecoming washing over me.