The second day of our journey started at 4am, when the MegaBus dumped us off in midtown Manhattan. Since the bus was double-decker, it couldn’t drop us off in the normal bus terminal, Port Authority, because of the low ceilings there, but I was a little confused with the location they chose to unload. If I recall correctly it was on 7th Ave., but about 4 or 5 blocks down from Penn Station, which looked a bit deserted at 4 o’clock in the morning. I’d gone on and on to Grace about NYC being the city that never sleeps and that corner where we were left didn’t prove my point at all. All of the businesses were closed and a good number of bums were roaming around and were literally asleep on the sidewalk. Once I spoke to a cab driver to get my orientation, I assured her we weren’t far from the all-night diner that I’d promised her, Tick Tock; we just needed to lug our suitcases a few blocks to get there. We put on our “don’t mess with us” faces and walked the few blocks past rows of meandering and sleeping homeless guys up to Penn Station and, with the help of a public service worker, found the diner on the next avenue over. I remember the neon sign reading Tick Tock looked like a glowing beacon when I finally saw it because it meant we had a safe place to sit for the next few hours and would have something to eat in the meantime.
Once inside, I was disappointed to learn that they didn’t even have outlets at the tables that we could use to charge up the mini-laptop, but we were able to settle into a nice comfy booth, so that almost made up for it. I ordered the “Novi Plate” for the whopping NYC price of $10.50 for us to share so that Grace could experience her first New York Bagel and lox, which I had also gone on and on about prior to the trip. And her verdict: She liked it!! I told her she passed the test, and could officially be a New York Jew if she wanted, or at the very least, she’d be accepted by my bagel-and-lox-loving family. We also enjoyed 3 free refills on our coffee, and while the prices were definitely NYC standard, Grace seemed a bit amazed that they’d continue refilling our coffee cups even after we paid the bill. Our nice Spanish-speaking waiter also brought us an extra plate of veggies to munch on during the 3 hours we were there at no charge—so I gave him a very healthy tip in appreciation. Another gentleman started to give us a little attitude by our 3rd hour because we weren’t ordering anymore food and taking up room with our suitcases, so we knew it was time to start looking for a friendlier venue.
Around 7am, when it appeared the city was starting to really wake up and get into full gear, I ventured out of the diner in search of a Starbucks so we could plug in and get online. Free WIFI is a wonderful thing!! There was literally one on every corner (sometimes more than one per block) so the choices were unlimited. We picked the one right across from the LIRR entrance to Penn Station, thinking early in the day that we might try to navigate the LIRR and JFK shuttle later on when it was time to head to the airport to save a little money. We sat in that Starbucks for close to 5 and a half hours, and amazingly they didn’t give us any trouble about it. We ordered one drink each and hunkered down for the hours of sleep-deprived waiting with our luggage. The caffeine didn’t help one bit. Grace and I stared at each other and laughed as each of us had our boughts of falling asleep sitting up or in the middle of our sentences. Also I found it super convenient that there was a Kmart right across the street, and I was able to pick up all of our last minute items at fairly low prices (things link travel-size shampoo, inflatable neck pillows, an extra voltage and plug converter, medicine and contact lens solution, and the obligatory travel snacks)…only problem with a store that has everything you need in one place and everything you don’t really need, but looks like too good a deal to pass up, you buy it all…$70 later, and I felt good to go. I returned to Starbucks and announced myself as the conquering hero to Grace, who I’m sure was excited on some level for my new finds, but her tired factor was off the chart, so I think I may have gotten a little “oo” out of her before she went back to leaning her head against the wall, understandably.
When it came time to finally go to the airport around 12:30pm, we were so tired that I just couldn’t even fathom trying to navigate the public transportation system, which I’m sure is very efficient. My brain was officially mush, so we opted to take a NYC cab at the flat rate of about $50 to the airport. In the end, it only worked out about $15 more than taking the trains, and it felt more than worth it. Our cab driver, Francis, was nice enough, kind of deaf, but became very articulate in reminding us that the tip was not included in the $50 rate. I opted for the 15% tip on the credit card screen when paying, which he didn’t make any comment about, but his choice to not get out of the cab and help remove my 50 lb. suitcase from the trunk expressed his opinion of my tip loud and clear. Oh well…I’d had my fill of New York attitude at that point…15% tip was a completely standard amount. I have to schlep that suitcase around China, so one lift out of a trunk didn’t hurt me one bit. It did make me miss the kinder nature of Merida taxi drivers, who help women with heavy items no matter what…chivalry is still alive in Mexico. New Yorkers could learn something from them!!
So there we were, standing on the curb outside the JFK entrance for Air China. I think that’s when it started to sink in for Grace and I that our journey was really finally getting us to CHINA!! We looked at each other, exchanged a smile, and proceeded inside to check-in. I had been a bit worried that I would need to find a way to really consolidate my bags because the Air China website seemed to indicate that only one checked bag and one carry-on (no personal item listed) would be permitted. Instead, we found out the international flight permitted two checked pieces per person at no cost, and that domestically in China they generally allow both bags as well on domestic flights if you show them that you’re part of a tour and traveling internationally before and after the flights. That made dropping off our luggage totally stress-free and alleviated a few of my worries. I do believe I even bragged a bit to Grace that in the end I didn’t need to edit my packing choices. I know I suck at packing the right amount of stuff, but at least it sounds like the airlines understand, somewhat, maybe…I’ll keep telling myself that at least.
We were fully checked-in and had boarding passes in hand by 2:30pm, so we had a few more hours to wait until boarding. We grabbed a wonderfully airport priced lunch at the food court—two sandwiches and one bag of soy crisps—just $18.90!! Seriously, I miss Merida prices; here’s hoping prices in China will make me smile again. We proceeded through security and did a lap of the little shops, which I encouraged Grace to do because we’d be sitting for 14 hours on our flight so it was a good idea to walk around the airport for a little bit beforehand. She only complained a little ;) In typical Cara-fashion, I splurged on a stress-relieving massage at the mini-spa next to our gate and let Grace take advantage of the “free” massage chair time that was provided as a bonus for booking the massage. Totally worth it, but warning to Jardiel (Grace’s boyfriend), she now wants her very own massage chair. I think those things run like $3000US. The lady ended up letting me try it for free as well, and it was very very nice. My lower back and shoulders were very happy. It was hard to pry ourselves out of the chairs, in fact, when they started announcing boarding for our rows. I seriously wanted to take the chair on the plane with me. Unfortunately they said that wasn’t possible. Bums!
And that pretty much wraps up the events of day 2 for La Gringa y La Yuca´s Crazy Adventure. We boarded the Air China (mega) plane and found our seats. Thankfully not as small as I was thinking they might be, but without personal TVs for movie viewing, c’est la vie! So here we are cruising at like 35,000 feet somewhere over northern Canada en route to our first city in China: Beijing. This post will likely be posted at the first place we can plug in and find WIFI, but stay tuned for tales from our first days in the far East…
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