I’ve been back from NYC for a week, so I figure it’s about time I post up my pictures and write a lil bloggy blog about it.
Ellis Island, Beth Orton, & Brooklyn Chillage
Saturday Joyce and I headed out to Ellis Island where we spent the day being schooled on our immigrant heritage. It was fascinating to see what people went through to get into this country, particularly the sacrifices that people made. I don’t think we, as Americans, realize what all we have and what other people would have given up at one time to have it. Being several generations removed from my immigrant forefathers, it’s hard for me to imagine making that choice to leave my loved ones behind so that I could come here to work and hopefully find a way for my family to survive. To pack everything I own into a couple of trunks & go to a new country with next-to-nothing but what I could carry I think is just beyond my imagination. I’m glad we went.
Saturday evening we packed up dinner & beer and headed to see Beth Orton @ “Celebrate Brooklyn!”. It was one of those perfectly chill nights where you get to enjoy something that’s special between you and your friend that nobody else you know would quite get in the same way. Joyce introduced me to Beth’s music a few years back, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. So, it was special for me to get to share my first Beth concert with her.
Beth didn’t disappoint, for sure, because she’s just amazing and her songs are gems, each and every one. And getting to see her do them acoustic with minimal accompaniment made it all the more enjoyable. But I was amazed at how nervous she was. Here’s a performer who’s been on tour for years (10 at least?), performed hundreds of times, and she’s clearly shaken by the size of the crowd. You could tell that she’s a sweetheart and didn’t want to disappoint her fans, but I guess I just would have expected her to not be so self-conscious. She’s awesome… how could she doubt herself!? :)
The rest of the trip was spent just hang’n out. Sunday we got up late (so that I never got to see MoMA, where Joyce works… major disapointment), but we had a relaxed breakfast, did some flee-market shopping and swung through an Afro-Punk street fest.
NYC
I think the thing that I noticed about NYC more than anything else is how diverse it is. I think of Seattle as a pretty diverse city, but even more-so is NYC. I really loved that part of visiting the city. I think it’s somewhere I could live. There’s a bit of a foodie culture there, somewhat like Seattle, but with more of an edge. The people there aren’t as mean as people make them out to be; I found the people I encountered during the FedEX debacle quite nice and helpful, even perfect strangers. There’s just a tough shell that you’ve gotta crack through, that’s all. While I got to sample a lot of great food (Madiba, street vendors, Katz’s, the Eatery, Habana Outpost, Maggie Brown’s) and visit a few bars, the thing that I didn’t quite get to do is get out dancing in the city. Maybe I’m getting old, or maybe it was that Joyce and I wanted our chill time to ourselves, but I’m glad we didn’t. But, next time, I’m going to have to take full advantage of the city that doesn’t sleep. :)
Pics
As usual, the pics are up on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/kmwoley/20080713NYC