New York, and other things, in retrospect

A lot has happened since our trip to New York City in May - the continuing epic saga of the selling of my mother's house and subsequent disposal of stuff (the estate sale is today...I will not be attending)..

A small portion of what's left.

 and an unfortunate accident that left me with a very painful big toe that has been too slow to heal.

Yeah, yeah.... it was only a toe, but it's prevented me from getting any kind of appreciable exercise - not to mention wearing shoes - which put me in a funk, thus the writer's block.
   So, to catch up....
   The outgoing flight was a breeze. (Note to Southwest Airlines: Please, please, please don't discontinue that non-stop MCI-LGA flight. I'm begging you!)

Tip: When flying to NYC, always sit on the left side of the plane or you'll miss the view on the approach. Always exciting!

Our hotel in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was fantastic. It's called The Box House and our accommodations were amazingly accommodating and affordable by NYC standards.

It's an apartment, really, with a kitchen, pull-out sofa and everything!

There was even a free shuttle in the hotel's vintage cab which we took full advantage of....

We got a lot of looks riding in this beauty.

Our friendly and knowledgeable driver. (Note bridge in the background which leads to Queens. Very walkable.)

Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in Brooklyn, which is where our son and his fiancee live and where the HBO series "Girls" is set and, often, filmed. The population is a mix of long-established Polish families and young hipsters. We were the oldest people by far in any of the restaurants we visited there. Humorously so, after we started noticing.

Greenpoint enjoys easy access to midtown Manhattan by subway or ferry across the East River which makes for a very enjoyable trip to Times Square.

Getting ready to board the ferry to see a big show in the City.

A fabulous way to see the Manhattan skyline.  Even better at night....or so I'm told.

We saw "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" with Darren Criss. Highly recommended. (I believe Taye Diggs is moving into the lead role soon.) Since he was on the aisle, third row, the hubs was the lucky recipient of a lap dance from Hedwig himself.  Even after the show, he couldn't quite get over it...

All in all, a good New York City time was had by all.  When we return in December to celebrate my 60th birthday, we will stay at the Box House's sister hotel, The Henry Norman, which is closer to the kids' apartment. (They will be married by then).  We also have tickets to the new hit musical, Hamilton, where we're sure to buy a t-shirt for everyone in the (Hamilton) family.

 Who knows? Maybe I'll be wearing shoes by then.