Our trip started with a new phenomenon for Ben and me - traveling by bus. We've traveled on planes, trains and automobiles and the occasional local bus route, but never a long distance. Since many bus lines have cropped up over the last few years offering cheap round trip service ($60 or less) from DC to NYC, we thought we'd give it a whirl. We were not disappointed. The Vamoose bus, departing from Rosslyn (most other lines only leave from downtown DC) was on time, relatively well-organized throughout the boarding process and as comfortable as can be expected when traveling by charter bus.
We arrived in mid-town Manhattan without incident and walked the few short blocks to the R train to Brooklyn. As soon as we were on the train I started to remember why I love New York! We had been on the train for about 15 minutes (it takes about 30 to get to where we were staying in Brooklyn) when a kid stood in front of us waiting to get off the train and I looked up to realize he was HOLDING A LIVE SNAKE! Just a little baby Burmese Python, but really, only in NYC. I should probably state that I am not afraid of snakes, especially that kind, so I didn't find this situation altogether off putting, just more than a touch odd.
After arriving at our hotel we had just a few minutes to rest before Alyce and Dave arrived with Dexter. After some quick hellos among us as well as Dave's mom, Maryann and his sister, Megan, also in town to visit with AD&D, we headed over to Tasty Deli, a super-cheap local sandwich shop. Nothing to write home about, but A&D tell us that there are no delis to be had in Halifax, so this stop helped address a long-term craving they had been nursing.
After our late afternoon sandwiches, we meandered just three or four blocks to the Green-Wood Cemetery. The second largest cemetery in the world, this 638 acre site is home to the burial sites of famous artists, historical figures, and mob bosses. Unfortunately, since we didn't arrive until after 5 we only had about 40 minutes to explore before the front gate closed. Below are a few pics from our cemetery teaser. I call it that since we saw just enough to know we wanted to go back and explore some more the next day.
The entrance to the Green-Wood Cemetery
The Temple inside the Cemetery
Best attempt to get a shot of AD&D, Maryann and Megan - Dex wasn't sure she liked this idea
Dex getting in some walking time on the hilly path with Dave
The crazy exotic monk parrots that live in the cemetery
(apparently this is one of many feral monk parrot populations across NYC)
Just as we were getting ready to head out of the cemetary my cell phone rang, Patrick had made it to Brooklyn to meet us. At nearly the same time, Amy and Tony were converging on us too. It was funny to watch Patrick walking toward the cemetery gate on one side and Amy and Tony on the other, not realizing they'd soon be joining the same group of travelers. Hellos were exchanged and lot of wonderful exclaiming over Amy's adorable 6-month pregnant belly before we wandered back to the hotel to await Jody's arrival and to form a plan for dinner.
Dex and Momma Al teething on my Pepsi bottle while we wait for Jomo
Just minutes after our return Jody arrived and finally we were all present and ready to start our weekend together in earnest. First stop? An awesome dinner. Dave had found several good options on Yelp in the Park Slope/5th Avenue area that we decided to head down to check out. The catch for us was that we were a group of 10, which in most of the best "hole in the wall" style food places can be really hard to accommodate. But we really lucked out. One of the places Dave had found was called El Pollo, a tiny Peruvian chicken place. Now these places flourish in DC with varying degrees of quality. But this little place beat every other restaurant of its kind. Delicious, moist chicken with perfect crispy, brown skin. Yum!
Patrick and Dave ordered the chicken stew, served with black beans and rice
Ben, Maryann, Megan, Jody, and I all ordered the basic 1/4 chicken with black beans and rice
Dinner for 10 takes a while, but that didn't really matter. We were having a great time chatting amongst ourselves, getting to know Tony better (most of us had only met him once), and catching up with each other. As dinner wrapped up it was clear that Dex was tired and ready for some quiet time, so Alyce and Dave headed back to the hotel with Maryann and Megan. Once we'd settled up, Jody, Patrick, Amy, Tony, Ben and I spilled out on the street to find our next destination. Amy and Tony had puppies waiting at home to be let out, so they headed back to their car for their drive back to Nyack, leaving the four of us to strike out for a bar. We walked up Union Street, debating our options, discovering a dive bar or two and ultimately settling on Moutarde, a french bistro with a big tin bar. We were all the market for dessert and/or drinks and Moutarde didn't disappoint. Three pistachio eclairs and one vanilla later our sweet tooths were thoroughly satisfied and our night cap cravings had been filled by wine and a very Irish coffee.
Ben attempting to suck the center out of his pistachio eclair
After drinks and dessert there was limited discussion of finding another bar, but the old lady in me had already been sleepily rubbing my eyes for the last hour. At about 11:15 we headed back to the hotel, full, happy and ready to get a good night's sleep in preparation for the coming day.
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