Glad we did the coverage and trip.
Glad for the stories posted and the MANY stories still to post by both
LM and myself. First, because it's the kind of coverage expected from Group News Blog.
Second, because being there was so absolutely
amazing every single day. And third, because it will be the event of
a lifetime. Being there in person will STILL be amazing when I'm
telling my grandchildren and great-grandchildren bedtime stories
twenty, thirty and forty years from now about how...
"I saw IN PERSON the helicopter of the evil former President Bush take
off and fly, fly, fly away over the National Mall as President Obama
and the First Lady (and it sure doesn't get old saying THAT) and they
smiled sweetly and waved, before holding hands and walking inside the
Capital to get to work setting the United States back to being the
America we love and cherish today."
"Tell us again, Grandpa... Was the evil former president angry?"
"No baby cakes. Just sad. Like how, seeing the 3-4 million people
there celebrating President Obama, he FINALLY, just for a second, got
what a failure he was, how big time he'd screwed up. Bedtime kids."
"Oh Gramps. One more. Please? Pretty-please?"
"Well, okay. But don't tell your Mommies. How about the election of
President Gillbrand?"
"Yeah!!!"
*grins*
However...
Traveling takes SO much out of me. In a normal day I walk about 150
yards, carrying perhaps 5-10 pounds of computer and paperwork. Here
I've been walking MILES daily, with a 30-50 pound load. Even going at
what most of y'all would call 'barely moving' and I call slower than
my normal pace, it has been very hard. Getting to JFK is worse as I
have my computer bag with two computers and many books and papers -
the vital stuff I can't ever check, a small bag with a sleeping bag,
and a rolling overhead bag (small) with a few days of clothes, a
jacket, dress shoes, computer cords (extras), and gifts for friends
and family. All told it's 120-140 pounds.
LM helped me get "here" (below). He's gone, so when I move I'll I
stack everything on the rolling suitcase, wrap the handles of the
lighter bags around my wrist and the rolling case's puller handle, and
roll the whole thing along. That's how I did it getting TO LM's subway
stop from JFK back a week plus ago. That was much harder than today as
I didn't know where I was going and had to transfer in weird ways and
up/down LONG stairways and hallways. Abso-fracking-lutely brutal.
Today we just hopped one train to Grand Central, and then I'm on the
Express Bus which will drop me at the door of check in to my airline.
As opposed to multiple train changes including at Jamaica and then the
Airport Train which still leaves you a one mile walk, even if some of
it has horizontal escalators.
This is better.
The only days remotely tolerable of the trip (including today, 'cause
while this is better, it's still so rough I'm breaking it up into
segments with big breaks between them) were the scooter days (Sara's
recommend Totally saved me, as in TOTALLY; without it our entire D.C.
trip would have been a FAIL), and I can't have a scooter in NYC as
LM's spot while really great, has stairs, not an elevator - no way to
keep a scooter safe and inside at night.
Am sitting at the Starbucks at Park and 42, about to get on an express
bus to JFK and then Jetblue and home by midnight. Tomorrow is a day
off, and Monday is back to work. Will have more stories from the last
week, from D.C. and New York City, including dinner last night at
Sylvia's. Tasty. Mmmmm.
Later my dears.
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