Getting Ready to Go

On my way to NYC next week, looking forward to getting on the road, even for a short while.

Guess where I'm headed.

Follow-up two years after the trip:

A funny thing happened on the way to New York.

In 2017 I was invited to attend the opening of an art exhibit in the United Nations Building in NYC. The invite came from Ambassador Dr. Christoph Heusgen, the Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN.

No one was more surprised than me to receive the invitation. Now, I do realize that I’m known as a popular writer, photographer, artist, actor, storyteller and brilliant conversationalist, but I never thought I would have the chance to rub elbows with the diplomatic elites and pillars of New York society at a private event at the UN.

Truth be told, the person behind the invite was the artist, Herlinde Koelbl a famous German photographer. I had assisted her when she visited Fort Irwin when she was working on her book and show “Targets.”

I wasn’t sure about making the trip, the timing wasn’t great, and money was a bit tight. But I went anyway.

I knew that I would not be enjoying the gastronomic delights of the city, my budget this time just wasn’t that deep.

One great thing about New York, are the abundant street foods that you can find anywhere.

I stopped by this food truck for a little lamb over rice dinner. Good food pretty nicely priced.

I also had the chance to stop by and grab a dog at Nathan's got a combo for less than $8,

I will admit, I did have one sit-down meal, but it broke my #1 rule of travel dining. Never eat at a chain you could go to at home. I was tired and didn't feel like grabbing a cab, so I ate at an Applebees next to my Yonkers hotel. 

Oh yeah, about the art show, I misunderstood the date. I thought it opened to the public on Monday and the private reception was on Saturday before the opening. I was wrong. Old age sucks.

On the bright side, I did have  three days with no agenda to spend wandering around NYC. 

Some New York street art along one on my walks in the city.

I did finally have the time to visit the USS Intrepid. It wasn't very crowded and I had the pleasure of spending some time talking with Mr. J Gottlieb, who served on the aircraft carrier in battle. A great American hero. 

J. Gottlieb one of the Sailors assigned to the USS Intrepid in World War II.