Johnstown to New York City

Sunday 11 May 2008


Happy Mother’s Day! Of course, I rang my mother last night because while it is currently 9.00pm in New York, it is 11.00am Monday is Melbourne. I know this because I haven’t changed the time on my computer. Otherwise life is way too confusing on the other side of the planet.

Although we managed quite a bit of blue sky and sunshine in Johnstown during our sightseeing yesterday afternoon, today was back to chilly drizzle. We took off at about 8.30am for a 12.30pm flight out of Pittsburgh. We only got lost once and had to turn around, but we were still making good time. I didn’t actually see any Amish, but whilst we were enjoying our little ‘detour’, there were lots of sign posts indicating they were around. You really have to get off the main roads to see what’s going on in an area, don’t you?

Further along the way, I stopped off at a good old ‘McDonald’s’ to use the ‘restroom’ and bought what I thought was a ‘cappuccino’. One mouthful and I decided I would never make THAT mistake again. It was flavoured with something sickly sweet that tended to linger on the tongue. Mmmm. By the time we were approaching Pittsburgh, the weather had really set in and it was raining quite solidly. However, thanks to Jill’s expert navigating, we made it to the airport on time.

The flight was only an hour and a half and, before we knew it, we were negotiating the busy airport in Newark. A man sitting next to me on the plane mentioned that we could catch one train from the airport to a station where another train would take us to New York City. We decided on this option as it was only $15.00 for me and $11.50 for Jill. It was pretty easy really, except for the horrendous gaps between the train and the station platform. Not to mention the state of some of those platforms. Jill was very concerned about the front wheels of her wheelchair getting caught. Once we were on the train, a guard came around and asked if she wanted a ramp to get off. When she answered in the affirmative, he scolded her for not asking for it when boarding because “that’s what we’re here for.” Of course, there were no instructions at the clearly marked disabled entrance to ask for help, nor were there any ‘helpful’ guards around to ask at the time. In any case, said guard appeared when required and laid out a ramp. Just as well because not only was the platform/train gap wide, there was also about 6 inches difference in height. Scary stuff.

We eventually found our way out of the station and into a taxi to take us ‘uptown’ to the Hotel Newton on Broadway, arriving around 4.30pm. According to the map, we are very close to the top end of Central Park and the Hudson River is just a street away. All we have seen so far is lots of buildings and cars and people. However, we have 8 nights in New York so should get a good bit of sightseeing in. The hotel staff took one look at Jill’s wheelchair and gave her an upgrade into a nice big suite. Apparently, I have also been upgraded from my cheap internet deal room ($160.00 per night) to something slightly larger. Mind you, I can’t imagine anything smaller than what I have now but it’s fine for my needs. If I want space, I’ll pop in and see Jill in her luxurious abode. Sometimes it pays to have ‘additional needs’.

While I went to work on the computer, Jill explored the immediate neighbourhood and found a couple of supermarkets and a place for us to eat. Nothing fancy, but tasty and cheap. I might even get to have an early night before our appointment with Dr Richard Bruno at 9.00am tomorrow morning. More soon.