A test run of a trip to NYC to reach a ferry terminal.

 

I loved watching Bugs Bunny cartoons when I was a kid.  He always seemed to come out on top of almost every situation.  But in the real world, that's the type of thing that requires a lot of work.  Soon, I'll be taking a cruise out of Brooklyn, and I figured that I needed to take a test trip using Metro North and the NYC Subway to reach the Pier 11 ferry terminal, and I'm glad I did this, as I found out that I will need to change my plans for this journey.

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Shortly after I finished lunch, I decided to trek into NYC by train.  Since it was a weekday, I was glad that I was not wheeling a bag - for reasons I will discuss in a bit.  I had some GI Tract issues which delayed me a little, and I ended up leaving for Croton-Harmon station later than planned.  By the time I got there, the usual supply of available metered parking spots (freed by people returning to Croton in the early afternoon) was depleted, and there were several cars hovering in the lanes of the lot waiting for spaces to open.  I was in luck - a space opened up just in time for me to both pay for parking and to make it onto the 3:45 pm express to Grand Central.

Around 4:40 pm, I arrived at Grand Central, and browsed the holiday court of stores before heading to the subway.  Since the Lexington Avenue line (#4 & #5 trains) runs along Broadway in lower Manhattan, I doubted that I'd use it to reach Pier 11, as it is a long walk from the Wall Street station to Water Street.  This ride gave me a good reason to nix this line for use - It is not an ADA accessible station.  It would be a major effort to lift my bag up the stairs (as there are no elevators at the station) and then walk th the pier.  On my way to the pier, I noticed that the 7th Avenue line (#2 & #3 trains) would be just as bad a choice to reach the pier.  So what should I do?  I figured that I'd walk to South Ferry and see if there was a bus that runs along Water Street, and figure out how to take it from the Staten Island Ferry terminal to Pier 11.  Although I didn't see the downtown bound M15 Bus, I did see uptown bound buses, and knew that I could reach the ferry terminal without problems.  (I'll deal with the return trip when I get back to NYC.)  And the South Ferry subway station is ADA accessible.  So, now I had a plan.

Once I got to South Ferry, I took the 7th Avenue local to Times Square, then transferred to the 42nd Street shuttle to reach Grand Central.  While at Grand Central, I decided to look at the Long Island Railroad Terminal.  They did a nice job on it, and the rest rooms look much better than their counterparts in the original Grand Central.  (I say that, as they do their best to make the restrooms stay clean at the original Grand Central, but they look the worse from many years of overuse.)  But soon enough, I had to return to the Metro North zone and board a train with only 5 minutes to spare.  I'm glad I did so, as the train was a super express that didn't even stop in Harlem.

Soon enough, I was back home and in for the night.  It was a long day, but only because I did a lot of walking.  My legs were telling me to call it a day when I reached Wall Street.  By the time I walked to South Ferry, my legs were cooperating with me and didn't mind the exercise.  I wonder if I will feel the same way when I do both legs of this journey for real in a few days.

 

 

PS: They were preparing to light the Financial District's Xmas Tree as I walked along Wall Street.  Glad I didn't stay to see it, as I'd bet that the area would be a pickpocket's paradise in a little while.  I certainly don't want to visit DMV again, nor do I want to dealing with stopping stolen cards again!

Broadway with Vicki #2 - a short post

Last night, it was dinner with Vicki #1.  Tonight, it was Broadway with Vicki #2.  One of these days, I'll have to find a way to get these two women together in the same place at the same time.  But until then....

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Today started with me staying in bed until almost noon. And then, I took care of some bill paying before getting ready to see Vicki #2 in the city.  Around 3:00, I got up and prepared myself to go out.  Even then, I didn't allocate enough time to take the train in from Cortlandt station.  Instead, I ended up going to Croton-Harmon, where I paid twice what I needed to in order to park, as I entered the wrong spot number when paying for my parking spot.  At least, I was able to catch the express train into NYC.

Arriving at Grand Central, I decided to take a look at what they now call Grand Central Madison / LIRR East Side Access.  Unfortunately, I didn't get much of a look, as the path to the tracks went for several blocks underground before reaching the escalators that would take me to track level.  As a result, I abandoned this exploration to get a burger at Shake Shack - a big mistake.  

If you haven't been to Grand Central in a while, most of the true seating in the dining area has been removed, so that vagrants do not find a comfortable home in which to rest.  Since there are almost no "affordable" places anymore where one can sit down and eat at GCT, I decided to get a burger at Shake Shack. This was a mistake, as I waited for about 10 minutes for my burger to get cooked.  I'd have done better by picking up one of the pre-made sandwiches on the other side of food court and eating that sandwich standing up.  Luckily, I knew that it was only 90 seconds to Times Square on the shuttle, and another 10 minutes to reach the theater where I'd meet Vicki.

Vicki looks so much nicer, now that she wears a cranial prosthetic (read: wig).  But I'm not going to mention it anymore to her, as this shouldn't be a big deal for either of us.  But I digress.  Vicki mentioned that her partner had already seen this play, and she thought of me as a partner for half price tickets.  It took me a while to find Vicki, but when I did,  we went inside to see Hadestown.  I'm not normally a fan of musicals, but I am glad I saw this one.  It tells an ancient story in an up-to-date manner.  Would I see this play again?  No.  But I might recommend it to someone who likes musicals.

All too soon, it was time to go home.  Vicki took her car, and I took the local to Croton.  I was glad to make it home when I did.  My bra was starting to get uncomfortable, and like most women, I couldn't wait to strip it off when I got home for the night....

Traveling to/from NYC

 

East Side Access / Grand Central Madison.  It's been a dream for many people for years.  However, it was not available when I needed it, nor was it in public use by year end 2022 as promised by the MTA.  If East Side Access was available when I needed it, I might have used mass transit to reach the airport instead of staying at a hotel near the airport before my flight to Hawaii.

Unlike some lucky cities, two major railroads controlled access to Manhattan island by rail: The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad.  Although both of these railroads are long gone, the competing infrastructure they built still remains for commuter rail and for intercity rail.  This legacy has created a system where I am unable to use Amtrak for trips to/from my home station, unless I pay for an expensive trip into Pennsylvania Station, NY (NYP) or use the NYC Subway to reach Pennsylvania Station from Grand Central Terminal (GCT).  (Amtrak's fares actively discourage people from using Empire Service to reach NYC from the North, as it doesn't want to provide commuter service along this route.) Historical airport placement doesn't help either, as none of the 3 major NYC airports were designed for mass transit to deliver people people between Manhattan and the airports. As a result, I couldn't justify traveling into NYP, then using either New Jersey Transit (NJT) or Long Island Railroad (LIRR) to reach Newark (EWR) or Kennedy (JFK) airports.  Even reaching La Guardia (LGA) airport is a pain, as one can only reach LGA (via mass transit) via the NYC Subway, then connecting to a bur to the airport.  

At both JFK and EWR, special transit has been built to transport people between railroad stations and the airports.  But this can result in awkward land based trips to reach the airport.  For example, had East Side Access (ESA) been available to me, I'd still need to take Metro North (MNRR) into NYC, then transfer to a LIRR train to Jamaica, and finally a special "AirTrain" to JFK.  EWR and LGA would still be unavailable to me.

Years ago, there were buses that (for a small fee) would transport people between the NYP and GCT railroad hubs and the 3 NYC area airports.  Sadly, the last time I looked, these buses are no more.  If I want to go to an airport, I either have to find cheap parking nearby, or use an expensive cab to reach the airport. I am worse off now than I was 30 years ago!

However, this problem isn't limited to air travel.  With the exception of the Manhattan cruise terminal, cruise ships dock in either Brooklyn, NY or Bayonne, NJ.  Neither is good for many people as one can only reach these terminals from Manhattan via an expensive cab or Uber ride.  If one lives in the outer boroughs, the expense is even worse.  Only if I'm traveling from RQS's place will I consider going to Red Hook, Brooklyn to go on a cruise.  It would cost me way too much to reach Brooklyn from my home - I might as well fly somewhere where cheaper cruises are being offered.  As for Bayonne, I doubt that I will ever cruise out of that port, as I can not justify the excessive cost of leaving my car in a unattended (or under attended) parking lot.

As you can guess, New York City is not a place that makes it easy for frugal travel.  But I still find ways to do so, and will continue to write about my exploits as Marian and as Mario as they occur.

Something that bothers me....

 

Although TCL is a friend, she has one habit that bothers me.  Whenever I state a preference for doing something that is not 100% logical or something done in a way she wouldn't do in my position,  Tonight, she hectored me about being a little cheap with my preferred mode of airport transportation for my Hawaii cruise.

Since I don't expect to get flight information for my Hawaii trip from the cruise line until early November, I know that I shouldn't be taking any long trips between Mid-October and Mid-November.  This will allow me to take care of any flight plan snafus that may arise due to cruise line booking issues. Additionally, this will allow me to quickly jump on the phone and complete my flight reservations, making sure that I upgrade to "economy plus" with checked luggage.  Normally, I'd have preferred to book my air separately from the cruise.  But in the age of Covid-19 and its aftermath, I'm glad that I have one-stop shopping, a single contact point if there are problems with my cruise booking.

When I eventually receive my flight information, I will make decisions on how I will get to/from the airport.  I don't want to spend $300+ on cab fare, unless absolutely necessary.  I'd rather find a cheap parking lot near the airport or take mass transit instead.  Too bad that LIRR East Side Access will not be open on time for my trip, as I'd have flown out of JFK instead of LGA.  TCL wonders why I am being frugal in this area.  But I'd rather save money in NYC, so that I can spend it in Hawaii.

As soon as I get home from my New England / Eastern Canada cruise, I will do several loads of laundry, then start packing for Hawaii.  This will save me the headache of putting summer clothes away, and then having to unearth them shortly before my cruise.  It'll be nice to feel the warmth of the sun in the middle of December.  I can't wait!