| New York and D.C. |
[Jun. 11th, 2009|07:08 am] |
I didn't really do much during this trip to New York. I mostly just wanted a break from San Francisco and to spend as much time relaxing as I could. I really needed a vacation from everything.
I flew in on Tuesday and aside from my seat not being able to recline, it wasn't a bad flight at all. Virgin has wifi on all their flights now, so that was pretty cool. The taxi ride into the city ended up costing me $60 which wasn't so cool.
Claude and I went out for food and walked around Harlem a bit that first night. We walked through Columbia University and had drinks at Suite. The bartender was pretty cute and it was only the three of us in there for most of the night and it was nice welcome into the city. I had mentioned earlier that I've never seen "The Devil Wears Prada," so we went back to Claude's place to watch it.
Wednesday, I took a walk through Central Park and ended up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I remember going there in High School and it was great seeing all the exhibits. I've been pretty broke lately and I wanted to do something that didn't cost a lot of money and I could spend all day in. I spent a good three hours and I still couldn't see everything. It was just too overwhelming, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
I walked back through Central Park to Columbus Circle where I sat for a bit and had a coffee. It started to rain so I headed back to Claude's apartment. By the time I got there, I was pretty tired and decided it would've been nice (and cheap) to just stay in and order a pizza. So I ended up watching "The Terminator" since I had it downloaded on my computer and I've never seen it before.
Thursday, I got up earlier and checked out this gym I found online. I was able to print a day pass and got to get a workout in during this trip. I figured that all the walking I was doing in the city was keeping me active, but I was really hoping there would've been a 24 Hour Fitness nearby so I could continue my daily workouts. But it was nice to get at least one in. I know how I get when I go on vacation and I was just getting back into a routine just before I left. But, hopefully I didn't gain too much weight this trip. I was pretty active and I didn't drink a whole lot in New York.
I met up with Clint from our NY office for lunch in Midtown and thought it would be nice to walk out towards the Rockefeller Center and check out the NBC studios. After that, I ended up in Time Square and kept walking until I reached 8th Avenue and walked down through Hell's Kitchen and down to Chelsea. Chelsea was pretty nice. It was nice to see what the gay neighborhood is nice out in NY. Claude texted me on my way back to the apartment and said that he and his friends Jerry and Patricio were meeting up for drinks at Xes back in Chelsea. So I hung out at the apartment for a little bit before meeting back up with them.
Xes was pretty fun. It was happy hour and it a little bit crowded, but not too crowded thankfully. We had a ton of drinks and headed up to Therapy, another bar in Chelsea, and had even more drinks. It was a pretty awesome night.
Of course I woke up pretty hungover on Friday. Claude took the day off from work so we could walk around some more and I'd have a tour guide of some sorts. We headed downtown towards the East Village with a stop in Union Square and SoHo. We had lunch at this burger place; I forgot what it was called. The burgers and fries were pretty good and the waiter was pretty hot. We walked through SoHo and stopped at UniQlo, this clothing store based in Japan. It sort of reminded me of a much better H&M and I totally wish we had one in SF.
We walked a bit through SoHo and stopped at the MOMA Art store. We stopped at this Rock Museum clothing store that used to be CBGB's. We headed back up to Union Square and since we were both drenched from the rain decided to go dry off in a theater and watch Up, which was pretty awesome, by the way.
Claude didn't feel like going out that night and since I was budgeting my money, it was probably a good thing. Although, I would've loved to check out more bars and drink more, but I could save that for another trip. I definitely want to come back out again and plan a better trip and save more money. I tried to get to bed early, but I ended up watching T2 and Terminator 3 since I was on a Terminator kick and I've never seen those either. Of course T2 was awesome and T3 was so-so. I think I'd download the fourth movie just for kicks, but that franchise should've ended with the second movie.
Claude's upstairs neighbors had a party going on all night that last until 6 AM, so I didn't actually get much sleep. I ended up sleeping four hours that night. I had a bus to catch in the morning anyway, so I guess it was good I got up early.
Saturday, I headed out to DC on BoltBus and it was a good trip. They have free wifi, so I spent most of the trip chatting with Cody on IM. (Another) Clint met me in Chinatown in his fancy new convertible and we drove through DC to his place in Columbia Heights. The weather was beautiful. It was hot and humid, but I didn't mind it at all. The sun was out and it was a really nice day. DC is a beautiful town.
We had some food and hung out at his apartment for a bit and then went out to Nellie's, a gay bar on U street. There was a long line, so we headed over to his friend Ronnie's place nearby to have a drink or two before deciding to head back to Nellie's. More drinks were had and I met some of his friends. I actually met someone randomly who is moving to SF next month. I probably should've got his number, but maybe I'll see him around the city at some point. Honestly, I barely remember what he looks like and I don't remember his name! We went out to Town, a club nearby, had more drinks and danced all night. I guess it was good that I hadn't been drinking too much in NY, so I sort of made up for it!
Sunday, I slept in all morning and Clint had to go visit his grandmother in the hospital for a few hours. I tried to get up and leave the house for a bit, but being hungover and a little exhausted from the night before, I just stayed in where it was air conditioned and watched movies. I did get a burger from Five Guys, this burger chain in DC that apparently Obama had went to, and it was pretty good.
JR's, this bar in the gay neighborhood in DC - again I forget the name, but it was on 17th street, which is DC's equivalent to the Castro - had $2 vodka drinks all night. Of course more drinks were had and I met some other friends of Clint who were pretty nice. It was obnoxiously crowded at first, but when it started to clear out, I was able to enjoy myself a bit more. It seemed like almost every guy I saw in DC had a gym body. A lot of guys were fit, but a lot of them were total gym bunnies with muscular bodies. Personally, I'm not a fan of too much muscle, but it was definitely an attractive scene.
Monday morning was spent hungover again and Clint called in sick, thankfully. And we headed out to the museums and monuments to see the sights. We stopped in the National Air and Space Museum, which was pretty neat. I finally figured out that The Mall is not a shopping mall, but a long stretch of grass in front of the capital which is also referred to as "America's Front Lawn." We took a detour to check out the Museum of Natural History, which I really loved. We walked out towards the War Memorials and I got up close and personal with the Lincoln Memorial, which is just a beautiful monument. The weather could not be more perfect. I think I got more sun that day than I've had in a long while. I really miss the warm weather. Warm days are few and far between in San Francisco.
We went back to JR's that night for showtunes night and met some more of Clint's friends. I tried to not have too much to drink, but of course couldn't help myself. I knew it would've been my last night of drinking for awhile anyway. I've been drinking less and less these days, even back home in SF, and for what it's worth, I was on vacation!
The next morning, I packed up and headed out to Chinatown to catch the BoltBus back to NY. I spent the rest of the day in NY hanging out at Claude's apartment. I thought about taking another walk and checking out more of the city, but I was pretty finished at this point. I was really looking forward to going back home. My flight was at 10:30 the next day and I knew I had to trek my way out to JFK via public transit so I wouldn't be out another $60 for a cab.
The morning commute went pretty smoothly and I made it back to the airport just fine. But the line to get through Security was painfully slow and I barely made it on the plane. I thought I was going to get there super early, but ended up making it just in time and went straight onto the plane forgetting to buy the shot glass I always get from every trip. I did however get one from DC, so maybe that's okay. That might be a good reason for me to make another trip out to NY. I'd hate to break a tradition I've started for myself!
This trip wasn't everything I had expected, but then again, I didn't plan much. I got a chance to travel and check out the East Coast and got just enough of a taste to want to come back. I got the vacation I wanted this year, but next time I want to be more prepared. I definitely want to bring someone with me next time. Walking around and sight-seeing is nice enough, but it's much nicer when you get to share it with someone. I took a lot of photos and posted a lot of them to Facebook with my phone. I loved the fact that people at work on the West Coast were following my posts and commenting on them as I was out. It definitely made me feel less alone and like I was able to share my experiences with someone.
It was a good trip, but I'm happy to be heading home and I'm just anxious to get back to my life. |
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