Classic NYC and off to Boston


The past week was spent wandering NYC and late nights every night. Larry came into town, I met him at the Shake Shack with the tenants of the Tubridy Hostel, we all chowed double shack burgers after the traditional hour wait in line. Larry, who I met couch surfing in Phoenix, wanted to see the city so I took him to the landmarks.

We walked up broadway, past Macys, and onto Times Square, Bryant Park, and at Grand Central we hopped a train downtown to the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked by a lot of NY situations I would have usually breezed by, but were unfamiliar to someone coming for the first time. A cabbie told a cop he wished scafolding would fall on her, the cops response was "Whatever, whatever! I walk in front of any cab I want."

We grabbed a couple bikes and rode completely around central park, I'd never been to the north part of the park until then. We stopped at one point to watch close to 12,000 people run by in a mini marathon. We ended the night almost going up the Empire State building and instead going to a couch surfing meet up in a bar downtown.

Saturday was Mark, Sean and the members of Decisextilian (the name for everyone who's been jamming on wednesday nights) performed in various combinations along with some other artists out on the Steinway street. After the show we enjoyed a great beer, Brooklyn Breweries East India Pale Ale, Sean said it was his favorite beer based mostly on the satisfing moment in which we all sat on the stoop after the gig and drank it.

Larry came through that night and Sean cooked his world famous chicken parm which we enjoyed in the cool air on the stoop laughing and telling stories. Larry took off to a party in the city, I stayed behind, but found myself heading to the same party a few hours later around 2am. Everyone was headed to sleep save for a couple looking to have criminal makeup sex, so off I went into the night.

It was a packed party on 5th Ave and 23rd, music still pumping as late as it was. Someone mentioned the abandoned building, I climbed the fire escape all the way to the top to find many others up there drinking and looking out on the Empire State building and New York City looking as impressive as ever. We even found a loose door and explored the insides of this gutted and forgotten building in the heart of Manhattan, fantasising about underground parties and a potential place to sleep. We ended the night with a diner trip and I passed out in Astoria defying the sun's direction.

Sunday night kept me up until 4 or 5 in the morning again in the apartment drinking beers with Carl and a couple drunk blondes, in the morning I packed my bag and headed into the city with Boston on my mind. I had an incredible burger with Larry at Jackson Hole on 3rd ave and eventually headed to chinatown for the bus.

I arrived in Boston greeted by Natasha, a couchsurfer here. She walked me around the Boston night and eventually we headed back to her place. We laughed ourselves to sleep telling stories and cracking jokes. In the morning she went to work and I wandered to Boston Common and slept on the grass for a while listening to a man dance around with a funny top hat jiggling coins and singing "change, change, do you haaaaaaaaaaave any chay-hange!".

I have another couchsurfer lined up for tonight and aparently some interesting nights ahead with some folks in town, including a possible brewery tour/tasting/party tomorrow. All good times I'm sure, and I should be back in Coney Island before the 4th for hotdogs and greatness.

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