Adventures in NYC

On Saturday morning, I was getting ready to head to the store when the phone rang. It was Arti, a friend of ours and a talented artist (if you are familiar with the artwork in Lake Placid Skate Shop, it is all his work). After a few minutes of chatting, Arti had some exciting news. "Guess what? I got a call from America's got Talent, and they want me to audition for them in New York City!" he announced excitedly over the phone. "That's great!" I replied; I was really excited for him. A few weeks ago, Arti had decided to apply for the popular reality show America's got Talent, as a singer. He can sing quite well, and even performed with "the Shipman Project" (a local band) in Lake Placid's Fourth of July Barbecue concert.

"So, when are you going to audition?" I asked. "Well, I am supposed to be there tomorrow", said Arti. "Would you guys be able to take me?"

Thus was the start of another Scrunchie and Mo (I am Scrunchie, my mother is Mo- don't ask) road trip. We were still recovering from our last cross country jaunt to Milwaukee, and now it looked like we were about to take another trip....luckily it was only 5 hours each way, instead of 24.

Life is funny that way; I had expected my Sunday to be like every other Sunday- go to the store, catch up on homework, and teach skating in Plattsburgh. As of 11 am that day, we were going to be commuting to the Big Apple.

Sunday morning at 2 am found us on the road- we woke up at 1 am (after only 1-2 hours of sleep) and were in the car by 2. After picking up Arti, we were winding our way through the dark road due south.

By around 7:30 am, we had arrived at the Clifton NJ train station, our normal commuting point. Usually when we came to Clifton to visit my grandparents, we took one day to go to the city, and commuted from the Clifton train station. From there we went to Seacaucus Junction, then the Penn Station.

From Penn, we walked toward 34th Street, where the Javitts Center was located. The auditions would be taking place there, and there were already crowds of people waiting to get in. Arti went to get in line, and my mom and I started walking in search of breakfast.

We finally found a cute little restaurant that was incredibly busy (like everywhere else in NY, even on a Sunday at 9 am) and after eating, went towards Rockefeller Center.

For me, no trip to NYC is complete without skating on Rockefeller Center. I skated for about an hour in the balmy 60 degree weather....then we were off to lunch.

After a couple of hours on the lower east side (the site of our two favorite places, Angelica's Kitchen and Babycakes) and getting lost a few times, we headed back to the Javitts Center. Luckily Arti was finished by five, which led to the long train ride back to NJ.

I did get to see my grandparents, if only for a few minutes. It was so random to be there so suddenly, when at that time yesterday I had been in Lake Placid! Hopefully I will get to visit them again soon- my grandfather is turning 80 this year.

The last thing we did in NJ was search for food- after finding a Whole Foods (for mom and I) and a Kentucky Fried Chicken (for Arti) we were going home. It had been a long and exhausting day.

That was the adventure of the week- there a probably plenty more to come.....but hopefully not until we fully recover from the last adventures ;)

LP SKATER

Adventures in New York (and New Jersey)

Hi everybody,

Well, I am back. Actually, I was in Lake Placid at approximately 11 pm Saturday night, but I was so tired that I unpacked the car and went straight to sleep. The past few days have been crazy, so now it is post time!

This Tuesday my mom and I decided to make the trip to New Jersey to visit my grandparents. It was a very last minute decision (decided to go on Tuesday, left on Wednesday) but since I am not going to be off from school until May, we decided it was now or never. So we packed up the car and headed to the Garden State.

After the predictable stops (in Saratoga to have lunch at the Four Seasons, and a sushi dinner at the Palisades Mall) we finally made it to my grandparent's house. It was so nice to see them! I haven't been there since October, so it was nice to catch up.

On Friday, we went into New York City. I awoke at 5:30 so I could go to Rockefeller Center early before the crowds came to figure skate. Only for figure skating would I wake up at 5:30 ;) Maybe speedskating! :) Here is a picture of the skyline at sunrise from the train station in NJ:




So we made it to Rockefeller Center by 8 to find out....the session wasn't until 8:30! We waited until then enjoying the sunny day and watching the skaters. I absolutely love skating on Rockefeller Center; nothing is better than skating in a t-shirt and having the onlookers cheer for me! Maybe they thought I was famous--that was a nice feeling ;)I was also thrilled to see my friend and fellow blogger Susan skating! It was nice to see her again, and discuss Worlds--up until that point I wasn't even aware of the Worlds placements! Thanks Susan! Be sure to visit her awesome website www.Lifeskate.com!



We love to see the Today show proceedings across the street, so that is where we went next. It is interesting to watch the broadcasting, as well as the production aspect of the show. We ended up getting carried away in the group of fans down the street--it turned out that they wanted a small crowd to stand outside the studio door and wait to see Kathie Lee and Hoda come out the side door for the last chatty hour of Today. I managed to snap a picture of them:



Side note--we also found a really cool shop that is most likely only found in the city--a Japanese confection store. We got 2 small items for my grandparents--despite the fact that they were made of "healthier" ingredients like green tea and white bean paste (which was surprisingly good) they were REALLY sweet! Luckily I walked it off on the 20+ blocks we walked to get to the Lower East Side later ;)

Before the trek to the Lower East Side, we visited the American Girl Store. Even though it was a Friday morning at around 10:30, it was still really busy. Let me explain--my mom and I were given a used American Girl doll to use as a model for our doll dresses that we are selling in the shop. Unfortunately the doll had been through several children and was very bedraggled. So we took her to the city with us and decided to give her some TLC at the Doll Salon (yes, it does really exist). Her hair was combed and braided, and the dirt was washed off her face. She looks fabulous! The best part? Standing at the counter surrounded by 8 year olds and having them compliment me on "my" doll ;) Luckily my mom captured these moments perfectly:



When we visit the city, we travel everywhere--this time, we went from Rockefeller Center many blocks to the Lower East Side. There we had lunch at Angelica's Kitchen (the best restaurant ever, in my opinion) and then even further, to Soho. I LOVE this gluten free, vegan bakery called Babycakes, which has fantastic baked goods that aren't too sweet. They are so good that celebrities such as Natalie Portman, Oprah, Pamela Anderson, Betty White, and others visit when they are in town. Love it!

Last it was back to Time's Square, where my mom took multiple photos of me ;)




The whole day was exhausting; without any major problems and after standing in line for the NJ Transit ticket booth for 15 minutes, we made it onto the train. When I got to Seacaucus, I snapped a picture of the city, this time at night.



We got back to Clifton with no problems, and were actually at home before 10 pm--a nice treat for my grandparents (they are used to us arriving much later from our adventures). So this was my day in the city--the next day, after spending a bit of time with grandma and grandpa again, we drove back to Lake Placid, glad to escape the bustle and stress of southern New York. Although it is fun to get away, I realize how truly lucky I am to live in Lake Placid--it is clean, quiet, safe, and there is always something to do. We might not have any malls or tall buildings, (unless you count the ski jumps), it is not needed. It is wonderful here just the way it is.

In an unrelated note, if you are a figure skater or skating fan, be sure to visit my figure skating and speed skating blog Lake Placid Skater for news about what is going on in the Winter Sports Capital of the World!

Happy Tuesday,

LP SKATER