Fall

October 28, 2011:

I flew out of PHX to arrive Newark at about 4:30pm. This was my very first time flying US Airways. As I arrived at Sky Harbor I went up the stairs to printout my ticket and then got to the security line. Security took forever but it could have been worse. I had no trouble getting on the plane but found myself a bit restless on my flight. I couldn’t sleep so I read a book on my kindle.

When we landed I found my way down to the pickup curb. The air smelt of cigarette smoke and urine. I was very happy to see my ride and escape the scents.

As we drove to upstate NY I was able to catch a glimpse of the empire state building from afar. It was still surreal to me that I was on the other side of the country. I could see the effects of ground zero, noticing the lack of twin towers to the NY cityscape. For most of my life the two parallel two towers helped define the look of the city, as I peered at the city from afar it looked even more distant and foreign without them.

Dusk crept onto the roadway and the NY cityscape disappeared somewhere between the darkness and the rear view mirrors. We continued our travels until we arrived in Poughkeepsie.

October 29, 2011

I woke up around 10am NY time. Jet lag seeped from every cranny of my being. It felt so much earlier than that to me. By 11 I had showered and was ready for the day. We got in the car and headed to see the CatSkill Mountains, which looked more like little hills to me. At that moment I decided it was time to re- evaluate my preconceived notions of what defined a mountain. Google was a huge help! As a native Oregonian, I had always believed mountains had to be large and feature a peak. Google informed me that in the most simple terms I was wrong. All a mountain was , was a hill that had to have a certain elevation different from the surrounding landscape.

The fall leaves were absolutely stunning and I couldn’t take my eyes off the astounding autumn colors. At around 1:30 this was about to change as we received winter weather warnings of stow plaguing the east coast. Our sightseeing for the day had come to an end and it was time to return back to Poughkeepsie.

As we turned around the car white sparkles glistened down from the sky. We did our best to stay positive and take the snowy misfortune as an adventure. The closer we came to Poughkeepsie the more snow glided down from the foggy clouds. Soon enough white patches had gripped the east coast ground and it became difficult to see the road.

We traveled on. Large feather flakes cringed to the windshield and we saw four random deer scavenging for food alongside the road. Traffic was getting worse and it took a while to get through the tolls until we were able to arrive back at the house.

When we returned we were welcomed by 2-4 in of soft white powder. We stood outside for a while letting the cold white clouds fall on our faces and feeling the snow crunch beneath our feet.

October 30, 2011

We woke up around nine today. I think my body was starting to disregard the jet lag and attempt to function on east coast time. I didn’t feel nearly as drowsy. We turned on the news to see that our county was still in a state of emergency. We wouldn’t be going anyway until it was lifted. Prior to today our schedule was to see the pacific coast and hit as many east coast states as possible, but this was not going to happen today.

Instead we worked our way outside to venture into the snow. We gathered up the cold substance into two large bowls. Next we took them inside and mixed them with milk, sugar, and vanilla to make delicious snow ice-cream! As we tasted its sweetness it melted down into our bellies.  For lunch we got out rice and nori and whatever else we wanted to make our own sushi! It was so mouthwatering that I devoured an entire roll almost immediately.

At about 1:30  we learned that the state of emergency had been lifted. Now we were free to leave the house and explore new surroundings. So we gathered our things and set out on an adventure around up-state NY! We drove to see the stunning Hudson river, which presented us with autumn colors and a sparkling winter coat intertwined with one another as dazzling accessories. Next we headed (east?) toward the Vanderbilt Mansion. The gates that would normally have been open were closed due to weather warnings. As we drove past the estate and all of the land it required I couldn’t imagine living a life like theirs. It seemed so lonely. I listened to tales of big parties, tons of un-stimulating travel, and lonely lives trying to meet the standards of an overbearing society.  In a sense the estate was more of a perfectly designed mousalium. It showcased a life of two people trying to show that they were happy but continuously being left emotionally malnourished.

We continued our journey visiting historical towns. We passed Eleanor Roosevelt’s homestead and then turned around to see Franklin’s! We drove down FDR Drive and into the parking lot of the presidential library. We didn’t have time to wander inside thanks to the beloved surprise snow storm.  We then headed back to Poughkeepsie and toured the local area from inside the van. The architecture was phenomenal, making the houses look vintage but refined. Every house I saw had exuberant character.

As night crept in we headed to Red Lobster for dinner. This was a new experience as I had never been there. We waited an hour before we were seated and then we were excited to let the food melt in our mouths. Soon enough we finished our dinner and headed out the door to go shopping.  Shopping turned out to be quite a challenge as many places were out of power because of power-lines that had fallen! Instead we went to a few department stores and mozzied through them until exhaustion had hit the lot of us.

October 31, 2011

Well today was interesting to say the least. We decided to spend my last day here downtown on an express tour of NYC. Our plan was to catch the 9am train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Station. However, as one might assume things did not go as planned. We woke up later than anticipated and missed our train so we ended up driving an hour to catch another one. As we arrived the train pulled up. We ran to the machine and just as the machine spit out our tickets  the train left the station. The next train came at 11:45. We waited inside the heated station and purchased breakfast. I had raisin bread with cream cheese. I wanted as many carbs as possible before my day started.

Before we knew it the train was pulling up, as we got on it made a boisterous buzzing sound that startled the three of us. We quickly took our seats until the man in the cool hat came to punch our tickets.  And then we waited. The train ran beside the river with gallant scenery. Creating an escape for any overloaded mind and a sight for any passerby’s eyes to lust over. The fall leaves made the trees look so  pulchritudinous and the glistening snow made the ground look diamond encrusted.

We pulled into the station at around 12:45. It was crowded and I felt as if I might be suffocated by the stuffy tunnels. However, once we reached the surface the architecture was astounding. Chariots raced across the blue ceiling as if they were speedily on their way to somewhere important. Tourists snapped photographs everywhere trying to capture the beauty and store it for eternity. I forgot to take pictures and didn’t have much time to think as we were soon on our way.

We hurried through downtown stopping at ground zero, the statue of liberty, grand central, time square, and the world financial building. It was a Very Very quick and busy day. All of us were soon tired as we made our way back to grand central. We missed our first train and caught the next one at 3 something. Whoa!

Then we returned back to upstate and took Sarah trick or treating. I was amazed at how nice the people were.

November 1, 2011

We woke up early to head back to NJ. I made it through security quicker than I thought was even possible. Unfortunately when I printed out my ticket my seat had changed. I was nearer the back of the plane in a middle seat. I shrugged it off. Then I waited. As US Airways herded us together as cattle and called us up in a frazzled and disorganized manner. As I went through they jerked my bag out of my hand (the same bag I flew in with and always flew with) and told me it was too tall. I was amazed because both of the individuals behind me had bags much larger than mine and were not tagged for baggage claim.  I had a confused look I’m sure and of course I didn’t say anything because I’m not one to make a big stink of things. I was disappointed with the staff for talking down to me and grabbing my bag out of my hand. It was an awful experience and I couldn’t wait to get home. As I reached my seat I noticed it was sticky. Ugh. I figured that this probably wasn’t the type of airline I should fly again. From now on… I’m flying Alaska! or anything else! A few hours I returned to Phoenix!