If you love Boston, then your final day there is a sad kind of a one. Even if it means walking the Freedom Trail in the rain! My shoes got soaked, but not my enthusiasm for this wonderful, historic city, where I have been blessed to make some wonderful friends whose generosity knows no bounds. My luggage is full of souvenirs and I still have so much left to do and see on the trip. Some things are just too hard to pass up. (And they aren't all for me.)
Time to board the Amtrak and head south to New York City. Speeding through towns, flitting through woodlands, coming upon the Connecticut coast and beautiful Mystic. Things do go quite industrial in some parts, and when you get to New Haven you know Yale is just over the horizon. Then eventually you come upon New York and New York City and from the train window you espy some fascinating neighbourhoods you might not ever get to see. But once you cross the Hudson River you kinda feel like you've arrived. Nothing beats that view of Manhattan afforded by air, but the train is unique to be sure.
The Penn Station cab line is thirty minutes long, but that gives you time to feel the manic pulse of the city. And you wonder if New York isn't a monster waiting to gobble you up. This is our second visit to this city, and I had a feeling it wasn't going to be quite like the first. Our main reason for being here is to experience Book Expo America, to check in with my publicist whose company has a booth at BEA and meet her face to face, attend the Bloggers Conference, and investigate what else might be of interest. We have set aside two days for BEA all up.
Day One was a little slow for us, and afterall this is a huge Expo and we've never been to something quite this big. Like people, I guess - sometimes you hit it off right away, and sometimes you warm up to them.
Day Two, however, now that we know our way around and sussed it all out, has been really rewarding; we've met some interesting people with great stuff to share. There are authors all over signing their books and meeting their fans. And then there are the celebs turned authors, who are swamped with fans. Jane Seymour (happy to admit Dr Quinn Medicine Woman is one of my fave TV shows) and Chris Colfer (Kurt from Glee - ditto on the fave TV shows). How star-struck lucky is that!
We've wandered back to our apartment to get ready for some serious shopping. Can I say this end of town is in major major gridlock. Nothing is moving except the pedestrians and the pigeons. And all you can hear is the sound of constant honking. The song of New York.
We hope to visit Ellis Island on Thursday. Whatever else we can cram in, we will, such as the 9/11 Memorial and a visit to Central Park and the American Museum of Natural History and... well, once you get into the rhythm of the city, get used to the noise and the constant bleating and braying of sirens, you keep thinking of more things to do.
We fly out early Friday morning for St Louis, Missouri. Never been there before and can't wait to see it. Gateway to the Old West. And you know what that means - if we're heading West then I'm a happy girl.
P.S. Lots of window action in Midtown NYC. Did I tell you about the window cleaners' morning ritual outside our apartment window and the nude guy on the phone standing in the window in the building across the vacant hole in the ground from our apartment building?
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