Day 6: "It Tastes Like Coconut"
I'm trying to remember what happened today. I am exhausted.
I went on the Circle Line Cruise around the harbor and then to the American Museum of Natural History which I LOVEd!!!
I got up late this morning because all of this is starting to catch up with me. But I had timed it out last night that I would still make it to the train and the Pier on time. Except that yesterday the sky looked a little overcast and I was going to be on a boat so I didn't want to get cold in case it rained or was windy so I brought a sweater with me. Which was a good idea; what wasn't a good idea was recycling. You can drink the tap water here which is AMAZING!!! So I've just been refilling my water bottle and toting it around with me. And yesterday it emptied into Monica's purse, that I've been borrowing, and into my sweater which soaked it up like a sponge.
Anyway, the point of this flashback is to let you know I had emptied the purse and all contents of my purse in addition to whatever was in my pockets including my metro card. I looked everywhere! And eventually realized I hadn't checked the pants I had worn yesterday (I thought I had) and there it was. So I got to the train, late, and downtown, late. And of course there was no bus in sight so I walked to the Pier, again. I figured I would miss the boat, again, but I was still able to get on right away! It was great!
I've started walking around like you should here, aka like a crazy person. I still won't, and refuse to ever, just jump out in front of a cab but if I have a walk sign I'm going to walk no matter how much they honk. But this cab was sitting at the corner waiting to turn right and this woman was hobbling against the road, after her family who had left her in the middle of the street and were yelling at her to hurry (I'm assuming they were Indian). So this cab driver is getting mad and starts honking but she can't go any faster; then the light turns and he can't go but as soon as she gets out of his way, her husband starts going across the street against the light and the driver's stuck again. But he honked and this guy got scared and tripped on himself so that was funny.
The boat ride itself was a good idea, I think. I got to see more of New Jersey than I have so far. But there was a really low fog ceiling so a lot of the tops of buildings were hidden and it was sprinkling and freezing. But we went right by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I could see her face clearly without the use of my camera. The day I go there has become what I most look forward to this week.
I knew, but it wasn't in my head, that the Statue used to be copper and now it's oxidized which is why it's green. But the city hasn't changed it back because it's actually protecting it. Interesting.
After the boat I got on a bus back to the city and got on a train that goes right to the museum. I went in at the entrance to the space center so I just started there and went through as much as I could. There's so much to see there! It's amazing!! I had to skip the third floor because I wanted to meet the dinosaurs and I was running out of time.
My favorite parts were the Room of Oceans and the Hall of African Mammals. The Oceans part had Polar Bears, my favorite animal to see in the zoo, and the giant Blue Whale suspended from the ceiling. There was a display in the back corner, really darkly lit of a supposed fight between a Giant Squid and a Sperm Whale, supposed because no one has ever seen a Giant Squid in its natural environment and rarely anywhere else. This couple walked up and the guy knew a lot about Whales and the Giant Squid so he was really excited to see this one and the girl couldn't even see the Whale. It was great because he's talking about the fight and how they think they know the two species battle it out when one tries to eat the other, and she's like why are you talking about Whales, there isn't even one in here. And he says, Um, yeah there is. And she says, Well I can't see it, and walks away. The guy says, It's the giant black head the Squid's sitting on! Priceless.
This museum is amazing! It's huge! I was there for 4 and a half hours and I still had to choose between floors to see what I wanted to. That's the thing I've never liked about museums is that there's so much. There's so much to do and read and I like to learn about things I don't know or can't remember from school and feel like a jerk just walking through all the exhibits. But I saw the Hall of the Universe and the Hall of Planet Earth. I saw North American Mammals, Biodiversity, Ocean Life, African Peoples, African Mammals, Asian Mammals, Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda, Birds of the World, Mexico and Central America, South American Peoples, and the entire fourth floor is dinosaurs.
I read on one of the signs that the man behind one of the rooms did the backgrounds and was a taxidermist so I just started to assume most of the animals were stuffed but people all around me kept having that debate so I don't actually know. On the dinosaur floor they have bones on display that you can touch which is so weird but they feel like plastic. Although I wonder if it's not just all the oil from everyone else's hands doing something weird to them.
After the museum I sat in Margaret Mead Park where I saw an insane amount of nannies with kids. I can't even imagine being a nanny in this city! The hours must be intense!! People needing to leave early to get to work on time and coming home late. It's got to be a crazy intense job!
Tomorrow's Goal: The Met and Central Park. And Serendipity. I'm getting some frozen hot chocolate and a desert because they have a limit.
Some of my favorite pictures:
Dinosaur bone.
Hall of African Mammals.
Polar Bear and seal. There is a hole behind the seal that the bear dragged the seal through onto the ice and there's blood. Graphic.
Empire State Building through the fog.
Statue of Liberty. Getting closer!!
I went on the Circle Line Cruise around the harbor and then to the American Museum of Natural History which I LOVEd!!!
I got up late this morning because all of this is starting to catch up with me. But I had timed it out last night that I would still make it to the train and the Pier on time. Except that yesterday the sky looked a little overcast and I was going to be on a boat so I didn't want to get cold in case it rained or was windy so I brought a sweater with me. Which was a good idea; what wasn't a good idea was recycling. You can drink the tap water here which is AMAZING!!! So I've just been refilling my water bottle and toting it around with me. And yesterday it emptied into Monica's purse, that I've been borrowing, and into my sweater which soaked it up like a sponge.
Anyway, the point of this flashback is to let you know I had emptied the purse and all contents of my purse in addition to whatever was in my pockets including my metro card. I looked everywhere! And eventually realized I hadn't checked the pants I had worn yesterday (I thought I had) and there it was. So I got to the train, late, and downtown, late. And of course there was no bus in sight so I walked to the Pier, again. I figured I would miss the boat, again, but I was still able to get on right away! It was great!
I've started walking around like you should here, aka like a crazy person. I still won't, and refuse to ever, just jump out in front of a cab but if I have a walk sign I'm going to walk no matter how much they honk. But this cab was sitting at the corner waiting to turn right and this woman was hobbling against the road, after her family who had left her in the middle of the street and were yelling at her to hurry (I'm assuming they were Indian). So this cab driver is getting mad and starts honking but she can't go any faster; then the light turns and he can't go but as soon as she gets out of his way, her husband starts going across the street against the light and the driver's stuck again. But he honked and this guy got scared and tripped on himself so that was funny.
The boat ride itself was a good idea, I think. I got to see more of New Jersey than I have so far. But there was a really low fog ceiling so a lot of the tops of buildings were hidden and it was sprinkling and freezing. But we went right by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. I could see her face clearly without the use of my camera. The day I go there has become what I most look forward to this week.
I knew, but it wasn't in my head, that the Statue used to be copper and now it's oxidized which is why it's green. But the city hasn't changed it back because it's actually protecting it. Interesting.
After the boat I got on a bus back to the city and got on a train that goes right to the museum. I went in at the entrance to the space center so I just started there and went through as much as I could. There's so much to see there! It's amazing!! I had to skip the third floor because I wanted to meet the dinosaurs and I was running out of time.
My favorite parts were the Room of Oceans and the Hall of African Mammals. The Oceans part had Polar Bears, my favorite animal to see in the zoo, and the giant Blue Whale suspended from the ceiling. There was a display in the back corner, really darkly lit of a supposed fight between a Giant Squid and a Sperm Whale, supposed because no one has ever seen a Giant Squid in its natural environment and rarely anywhere else. This couple walked up and the guy knew a lot about Whales and the Giant Squid so he was really excited to see this one and the girl couldn't even see the Whale. It was great because he's talking about the fight and how they think they know the two species battle it out when one tries to eat the other, and she's like why are you talking about Whales, there isn't even one in here. And he says, Um, yeah there is. And she says, Well I can't see it, and walks away. The guy says, It's the giant black head the Squid's sitting on! Priceless.
This museum is amazing! It's huge! I was there for 4 and a half hours and I still had to choose between floors to see what I wanted to. That's the thing I've never liked about museums is that there's so much. There's so much to do and read and I like to learn about things I don't know or can't remember from school and feel like a jerk just walking through all the exhibits. But I saw the Hall of the Universe and the Hall of Planet Earth. I saw North American Mammals, Biodiversity, Ocean Life, African Peoples, African Mammals, Asian Mammals, Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda, Birds of the World, Mexico and Central America, South American Peoples, and the entire fourth floor is dinosaurs.
I read on one of the signs that the man behind one of the rooms did the backgrounds and was a taxidermist so I just started to assume most of the animals were stuffed but people all around me kept having that debate so I don't actually know. On the dinosaur floor they have bones on display that you can touch which is so weird but they feel like plastic. Although I wonder if it's not just all the oil from everyone else's hands doing something weird to them.
After the museum I sat in Margaret Mead Park where I saw an insane amount of nannies with kids. I can't even imagine being a nanny in this city! The hours must be intense!! People needing to leave early to get to work on time and coming home late. It's got to be a crazy intense job!
Tomorrow's Goal: The Met and Central Park. And Serendipity. I'm getting some frozen hot chocolate and a desert because they have a limit.
Some of my favorite pictures:
Dinosaur bone.
Hall of African Mammals.
Polar Bear and seal. There is a hole behind the seal that the bear dragged the seal through onto the ice and there's blood. Graphic.
Empire State Building through the fog.
Statue of Liberty. Getting closer!!
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