Baby Girl Is Here

I have neglected to blog the last few days because SKYE IS HERE!  She arrived on Friday on the Amtrak from Charlottesville. We had to move out of our Hope Lodge room by noon so we stored our luggage on the 6th floor and waited in the lounge area until her train arrived. Unfortunately her train was over an hour and a half late but Penn Station was literally one block from the Lodge so when the train pulled in she texted me and I walked over to meet her. We showed her the guest area of the Hope Lodge and the security man called us a taxi. What a ride it was. The manic driver was a Italian Puerto Rican with a strong accent who talked nonstop, kept touching Jimmy's arm and was looking up things on his cell phone as he drove through Friday rush hour in Manhattan. The cab fare was $40.00 to get us to the new apartment at 421 East 72nd Street. We were late meeting Denis the owner and by the time we lugged all our belongings up the narrow curved stairs to apartment 2D it was nearly 6:00. Skye and Jimmy walked to the store to buy some beer, wine, water and a few groceries while I attempted to find space for our suitcases. Mind you it is a very small one bedroom apartment- New York Style.

The apartment is in a good location on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is only 6 minutes from Memorial Sloan Kettering and I should feel safe walking back and forth to the hospital even at night. It was disappointing though because the apartment is not clean. The owners had food in the refrigerator and pantry. The bathroom space was full of their toiletries. Even under the sinks and in the hall closet they had their belongings. Again the apartment is very tiny and the storage space for my things is tight, even if their things were not here. Since I will be here for 5 weeks or possibly longer I threw away the food and took their toiletries and some of their things and put them in bags and hung them in the coat closet. I had to make room for my things. I would have thoroughly cleaned the kitchen and bathroom but will do this after Skye's visit. I was required to pay a $75.00 Airbnb cleaning fee but I don't know what for. Even the refrigerator was dirty inside. That night we snacked on cheese, crackers, smoked salmon, salad and spent the night catching up with Skye and deciding what to do the next day.

Saturday, January 30th

Skye and I did a lot of walking and sightseeing. Jim decided he would stay back at the apartment and rest and encouraged us to go alone. After breakfast the first place we went was Vegan Divas to buy a breakfast treat. Next we walked to Padoca Bakery, got a seat by the window and ordered cold brewed coffees. We split our gluten free vegan banana chocolate chip muffin and looked at the playground across the street and planned our route.

Our destination was Greenwich Village and after we walked to the subway station the train we were going to take had been canceled.  It was a beautiful day so we decided to walk for a while and try to take a bus or subway later. We made it all the way to Rockefeller Center taking pictures along the way. By then we were cold so we took the subway the rest of the way. I am getting better about finding my way around. Being Saturday there were a lot of tourist so we felt safe. Still the subway is always interesting and you have to be aware of your surroundings.

                                                                                                         We walked around Greenwich Village and had lunch at Chloe's, the vegan restaurant Jimmy and I went to earlier in the week. I knew Skye would love it. The line was out the door but with patience we were able to snag a table. Everything was fantastic. We split our meals of quinoa taco salad, sweet  potato fries and bacon mac and cheese. Remember everything was vegan and gluten free. Wish they would open a Chloe's in Virginia. 

After lunch we walked through Washington Square and watched street performers, musicians, a man with pigeons, a balloon maker and a chalk artist. Lots of people were out and it was very entertaining but we were getting cold, it was getting late and we were far from the Upper East Side. Our attempt at taking the bus home was more challenging than earlier. We waited at stops where the bus never showed then finally got on a bus and had to transfer to another before eventually making it back. While we were out Jim walked to Lenwich by Lenny's to get a pastrami sandwich so he wasn't hungry for dinner and neither were we. That night the three of us watched a movie Skye brought up with her.

For our sleeping arrangements, Jim and I have a little bedroom with a full bed. It is pushed against the wall with a dresser at the foot of the bed so Jim sleeps on the inside and I am closest to the door. I get up early so it is easier for me to have that side. In the kitchen/living room there is a microfiber brown couch that folds into a bed for Skye. The apartment is very dry and warm. The building controls the heat so we keep the windows cracked during the day to ventilate the rooms. The heat is very drying so I will have to unpack my humidifier I bought earlier in my trip. The windows do not have screens so we can't leave them open all the time. We wouldn't want a rat, pigeon or other critter to crawl in the bedroom window. There is a nasty ledge, maybe it's a fire escape, outside the bedroom window and it has two big plastic containers out there and an ashtray of old cigarettes. I believe the fire escape is shared with the apartment next door. One concern I have is the window doesn't lock so logistically someone could crawl up the fire escape and come in the window. We might have to figure this one out. AND...one last thing. The gas to the building has been shut off. Deja vu.