Chapter 24 - flits to major North American cities
Not all travels in the post-snowbird era were overseas or on the seas. After conversations with new friends made on Explorer, commitments were made to have reunions in New York and Chicago. The Dickasons also wanted to explore more of the coast of Southern California, so over a period of four years, flights were booked for Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
Friends had given advice on flights to and from New York City, and Cathay Pacific offered seat sales from YVR to JFK. This was the last leg of a flight originating in Asia, and because many passengers left the plane in Vancouver, seats were readily available for our plan to visit New York City late in November for our return to “the big apple.” Once on board, the Dickasons moved to two rows with vacant seats, so that, after the excellent meal, it was possible to stretch out and sleep.
Other advice, on affordable hotels, had resulted in a booking for a small room in an eco-hotel with shared bathroom at a surprisingly low rate. Arriving late at the airport, we splurged on a taxi to reach the establishment, registered, and cursed the advice. The room was small - about the size of a cabin on Explorer - and appeared to have just one bed. Further investigation revealed the second one. It was under the first, but when the Dickasons slid it out sideways, the floor area from side wall to side wall was covered by the two beds.
Additionally, the bathroom down the hall was not as clean as the Dickasons prefer, though to give the hotel/hostel credit, there were cleaning supplies and equipment there for guests to use. Towels were threadbare, soap was not provided in the room, and what remained in the bathroom was a mere sliver, covered in long, dark hairs.
The jet-lag tiredness prevented any action being taken at just after midnight and the Dickasons slept, or tried to with the traffic noise through the ill-fitting window. At daybreak, Les, with AAA guidebook’s NYC pages in hand, went to find alternative accommodation. The first three or four hotels nearby did not have a vacancy for the nights required, but the Best Western Woodward on W. 55th did, and Les paid a deposit and returned to negotiate a cancellation at our hotel/hostel mistake. The man at the front desk understood; apparently a proportion of bookings such as ours were cancelled after one night. He arranged a full credit for the balance of the nights, and we packed joyfully, wheeled our cases the seven or eight blocks, and unpacked before heading for a celebratory breakfast at a nearby deli.
With that false start behind us, we were able to enjoy the delights of Manhattan. Internet bookings had been made for some performances, and a phone call confirmed our reunion with the Essmans from the final Captain’s dinner on the Maritime Britain cruise on Explorer. They lived on the north side of Long Island
Sound near Stamford, and we arranged to catch the train out to meet them on Sunday, have drinks at their house and lunch in a seaside restaurant. It was great fun with much reminiscing.
We started our NYC experience with a hop-on-hop-off tour with the most friendly, informative and polite driver. She answered all of our questions, and left us with a wonderful impression of New Yorkers. The city was decked out in Christmas decorations which reached a standard hard to match. Shop window displays were inventively designed and colourfully decorated, the tree had just been erected beside the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center, and carols were heard in stores, restaurants, bars and hotels.
Our tickets to the Metropolitan Opera were for an evening performance of La Boheme with the Zeffirelli production being revived. Sitting in the ‘gods’ we saw the debut of Elena Kelessidi as Mimi, and heard a memorable performance of Rodolfo by rising star Ramon Vargas. We also came with tickets to Carnegie Hall and sat in the second balcony for a concert featuring the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.The acoustics were excellent, even if the performers on the stage appeared tiny from our vantage point. The guest soloist for that concert was the famous flautist James Galway, and the orchestra and flute featured a classical repertoire with some ‘lollipop’ encores [one on the tin whistle] which had the audience leaving this famous place with big smiles on faces.
Another highlight of this stay in the big apple was the Guggenheim Museum. Following advice of friends, we arrived within minutes of the opening time, went to the top in the elevator, and took our time strolling down the ramp under the skylight roof of this cylindrical structure. Later that day the Dickasons explored the Rockefeller Center, and some famous shops - FAO Scharz, Saks, Tiffany & Co. - all of which had crowds outside looking at the window displays. In some cases, stores had erected barriers with lines of spectators snaking around waiting their turn to see the show in the windows.
Each evening hordes of visitors to NYC arrived on tour buses to see the lights, windows, ice-skating rink and Christmas trees. Traffic on the roads and sidewalks became a nightmare, and the Dickasons soon learned to stay away from the tourist area and visit other districts during the peak time for visitors.
After a rocky start, this visit to Manhattan was so impressive that another visit was in the planning stages as we caught the late night Cathay Pacific flight back to Vancouver.
But Chicago was next - this time without a conference and without Janet and Roy who had moved to California. While surfing the internet for activities to occupy our time in the ‘windy city’ the Dickasons discovered the debut of the Chicago Greeter program. This was to be similar to that offered in other major cities - visitors
would complete an application form on-line in advance and be matched with volunteer greeters according to specified interest areas. The Dickasons completed the form, and our greeter was to meet us at our Best Western hotel on our first morning in Chicago.
Right on schedule, Nancy entered the lobby, introduced herself and the trio went on a walking tour of the streets nearby. The match was perfect - Nancy was on the board of a theatre company, operated a small gallery specializing in African art imports, loved food and wine, and was a great ambassador for Chicago. Over coffee she presented us with maps of the transit system [and some passes], schedules for theatre and music events, and advice on how to access some of her favourite restaurants without reservations.
With that flying start, the Dickasons had more knowledge and more confidence in moving around the city, and in finding activities of interest. Free tickets had been booked on-line for a performance of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and with Nancy’s help we also found a lunch-time piano recital [Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky] and a production of “The Royal Family” at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
The Civic Orchestra is a training orchestra for the Chicago Symphony and the concert was unique in that although tickets were free they had to be acquired in advance, and it was festival seating. As our tickets were torn by a charming usher, we asked him where he would suggest we sit. ‘Behind the stage and sitting in the choir stalls’ was his advice, which we took. Few other patrons had gone in that direction and we had centre seats, right in line with the podium where Pinkus Zukerman would conduct. As a result we heard perfectly well, and could watch his conducting, especially his facial expressions as he encouraged the young musicians. With a strange historical quirk, the young female violinist played the same concerto that afternoon that Pinkus had played in his debut [at the age of 18?] with the same orchestra.
Also on the agenda for that visit was an exhibit of Chihuly glass that had been installed in the Garfield Park Conservatory. On a damp and breezy morning, we stood on the platform waiting for the Green Line train to a station near the exhibition. Les was wearing a hand-knitted yellow and black scarf, and while stamping feet to stay warm, was asked by a man nearby, “do you barrack for Richmond?” He was originally from Melbourne, and he chatted to the Dickasons about various suburbs ‘back home’ for two or three stops before he left the train before we did.
The timing of our arrival at the Conservatory enabled us to join a tour of the exhibit and gardens given by a volunteer docent. Her background information about the decisions made regarding siting various huge pieces of glass, and her knowledge of plants generally, made our visit much more interesting.
After a lunch which rivaled any of the meals on Explorer, Larry darkened the library, and slideshows from Antarctica followed. Les had brought one carousel from Nanaimo, Dave and Rose had one each, and Larry and Sue had three. Much oohing and aahing was heard, and it was fascinating to see the different ‘takes’ each photographer had on identical landings and views from the little red ship.
For our final night in Chicago, the Dickasons went to an oyster bar and sea-food restaurant which Nancy had recommended. The wait for a table in the dining room would have been 90 minutes, but Nancy’s advice was to ask to sit at the bar, so we did. There, wine by the glass was relatively inexpensive [‘happy hour’] and the bartender presented us with the bar menu. This provided the opportunity to graze through seven or eight small dishes, starting with fresh oysters, knowing that the food at the bar was prepared in the same kitchen as that for the separate dining room we had by-passed.
This return visit to Chicago had us promising to make another visit. We have recommended the Greeter experience to any friends or relatives heading to Chicago, and, as this is being written, have plans for another visit in 2013 - and the Dickasons and Nancy, having stayed in contact since the first visit, are excited about meeting again.
Another short getaway started with a flight to LAX where a rental car had been reserved. For the first night and for the four nights of the return visit later that week, a Best Western motel in Redondo Beach had been booked, and from LAX it was a relatively easy drive to the motel, which was about 3 miles from the ocean despite the name of this suburb of LA.
The following morning, after negotiating the entrances and exits of freeways heading south, the Dickasons eventually found Interstate 5 and enjoyed the scenery once it reached the coast and passed through San Clemente, Oceanside, Carlsbad and La Jolla en route to San Diego. The research prior the trip had unearthed the Ebb Tide motel in Ocean Beach, an outer suburb of San Diego, on the Pacific Ocean, and to the west of downtown and other tourist sites.
While in this small town area, the Dickasons managed walks on the beach, a drive down to Point Loma to the famous lighthouse, and an interesting time at the weekly market in Ocean Beach with arts, crafts and food stalls in the streets closed to traffic. The main street of Ocean Beach was a haven for coffee shops and book stores, and local characters abounded.
Taking advantage of the rental car, a day trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park was planned, and it was a revelation. This huge [1800 acre] wildlife preserve was more natural than expected. From an aerial tram boarded to start our tour, we saw herds of exotic animals in habitat closely resembling their native lands given the terrain of this section of southern California. After alighting from the tram, we went through the variety of exhibits, watched trainers work with elephants, saw the Frequent Flyers Bird show, and never felt the animals were taken advantage of for the benefit of the visitors.
Restaurants near the Ebb Tide motel were within walking distance, and we ate several excellent seafood meals before driving back to LA to the Redondo Beach Best Western. Two highlights of our stay there were a drive north of LA to the Getty Centre and the LA Opera performance of Lucia. The Dickasons spent almost a complete day at the former, with its central garden, fountains, the Getty Villa with bronze sculptures, well-labelled cactus garden and the spectacular views of the Santa Monica Mountains, the Pacific Ocean and LA itself peeping through the smog.
The plan was to visit the much praised Walt Disney Concert Hall, but unfortunately, after we had used Park and Ride and taken rapid transit to downtown, there were no inside tours due to the rehearsal schedule of the Philharmonic and the Chorale. However we walked around the Gehry-designed building with its glistening metal skin exterior. Next door was the staid and conservative Dorothy Chandler Pavilion where we had tickets for a matinee performance of Lucia di Lammermoor with Anna Netrebko in the starring role. It was our first experience with this brilliant soprano; strikingly beautiful, athletic, with a high E, and able to sing as she was writhing on her back on the stage during the mad scene. Soon after arriving home we bought CDs and looked for other opportunities to visit cities to see and hear her again.
Our next visit to New York, several years later, did not include Anna, but did provide two Metropolitan Opera visits with a Canadian flavour, and many other excitements. It all began in Vancouver with bookings for the last leg of that Cathay
Pacific flight from the orient, with a delightful surprise. At check-in, there was a long line of passengers, including a huge contingent of students from a New Westminster High School band heading to NYC. Les chatted to the Cathay Pacific agent and mentioned that we had flown the route back in the days when the flight was only a third full, and we jokingly apologized for having told so many friends about this wonderful service that now it was fully booked. The agent acknowledged that she remembered those ‘good old days’ and presented boarding passes with the comment; ‘I hope the band is not too close to your seats.’ When the Dickasons reached the crowded gate area, there was a p.a. call for Mr. and Mrs. Dickason to go to the counter for a message. When we did so, the same agent from check-in was smiling at us, and she asked for our boarding passes and exchanged them for another pair - two Business Class seats for the flight from YVR to New York. Wow!
Needless to say it was quiet up front - and the food, wine and service were much appreciated. The shuttle bus to downtown was easy to find, and the Dickasons and luggage were soon checked into a new find - the Radio City Apartments - on W 49th just steps from the Rockefeller Center and Times Square, with the 49th Street subway station almost outside the hotel door. Our very reasonable accommodation for this visit was in a studio apartment with kitchen, but, continuing our luck with frowning travel gods and poor choice of a place to sleep in New York, our studio faced a construction site and our lovely night’s sleep was abruptly ended when the trucks began arriving and the crane noisily started before 7am.
However the desk clerk was understanding and we moved into a larger apartment on the quiet side of the building and began the rest of our Manhattan adventures. The two visits to the Metropolitan Opera featured Canadian tenors; Ben Heppner in Giordano’s Andrea Chenier, and Richard Margison in the famous Zeffirelli production of Puccini’s Turandot. Just being at the Met. is exciting, but to see the gigantic sets, the elaborate and colourful costumes and hear the magnificent orchestra with soaring voices makes the hair stand up on the back of the neck.
Being great fans of Monty Python years ago when the TV series was in vogue, another set of tickets bought in advance was for Spamalot - as the program said, “lovingly ripped off from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” The Broadway show was exactly what we expected, and almost as amusing were the items on sale in the theatre shop. John Cleese’s recorded voice before the lights went down encouraged the audience to ‘let your cellphones ring willy-nilly’ - and the reprise of “Always look on the bright side of life” which closed the show had the audience standing, clapping and singing with the cast members who moved into the audience to shake hands and pose for photographs.
Scouring the local papers, and being lucky with two returns at the Box Office had the Dickasons sitting in two side balcony seats at the Weill Recital Hall [at Carnegie Hall] for a recital given by classical guitarist John Williams and his friend
and fellow guitarist John Etheridge. The capacity audience was spellbound as these skilled artists played solos and duets, and improvised together with encore after encore producing serial standing ovations.
There were some weather glitches during this visit. Although it was late April, spring was late in coming as a series of storms had swept up the coast. The daffodils and tulips were late in flowering along Fifth Avenue, and when we emerged from the guitar concert, a torrential downpour had begun. Water gushed along all gutters, sweeping full garbage bags along with the current. Locals were obviously prepared and the Dickasons smiled at the variety of boots worn by otherwise stylishly dressed women out in the rain.
Some subway stations closed as the water cascaded down the steps from street level to the station, and the Italian restaurant two doors from our hotel had employees outside trying to steer water away from the steps down to the door. Late night TV opened with weather news, and the total rainfall in just an eight hour period was a record for April. Fortunately, after a pleasant dinner in the Italian restaurant, we had just a few steps back to the hotel, but traffic chaos was evident everywhere when we watched the news later.
The weather had an interesting consequence the following day. The storm had passed, there was no rain in the forecast, so the Dickasons headed to the dock for a river cruise which would circumnavigate Manhattan. A stroll down to Pier 83 at the end of W 42nd, tickets bought for the 3 hour full Island cruise, we settled in the comfortable lounge on board. The narrator explained the sights we would see in the first half hour and our ship cast off and headed south past the new developments on the New Jersey side until the Statue of Liberty came into view ahead. Despite the wind and low temperatures, almost all passengers went onto the outer decks to see and photograph the famous lady.
Around the southern tip of the island it was soon time to pass under the Brooklyn Bridge and the clouds began to lift and some blue sky was finally seen. The descriptions and anecdotes from the guide on the p.a. system were amusing and informative, and, there were also stretches where he turned off the microphone and allowed the sounds of the river and the bridge traffic to be heard.
Once under the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, our ship was soon within sight of the United Nations headquarters building, and the guide had quite a few amusing stories to tell about the construction of it, and its history.
Although not part of the official itinerary of the river tour, from time to time it was possible to see other Manhattan landmarks such as the Empire State building seen to the left of the UN building in the photograph. As the captain steered to the west of Roosevelt Island in the East River, he made an announcement that the ship might not be able to complete the circumnavigation of the island. Apparently, the heavy rains of the past 48 hours had the rivers ahead flowing well above their normal heights, and the bridges on the north eastern corner might not have sufficient clearance for us to continue.
Once we were in sight of the RFK or Triboro Bridge, the decision was made to turn around and retrace our path down the East River. The captain commented that it was the first time in his years of cruising around the island that he had to turn back without completing the full circle. Once back in the West River, the ship passed Pier 83 and went as far north as the George Washington Bridge, so we did see the piers which had been used for ocean liners which plied the Atlantic during the Blue Ribbon years of sailing - and the Trump Towers on the Upper West Side. With this odd version of the full circle tour, our cruise had been longer than the promised three hours, and proved to be a wonderful way to see New York City from the water.
Using the subway on a cloudy grey morning with a change of lines at the south end of Manhattan, we crossed under the river we had cruised on the day before and headed to Brooklyn. When we began the journey near our hotel, most passengers were pale skinned; as we changed lines and continued to Brooklyn, the proportion of darker skin increased until, for the last segment of our journey, the Dickasons were the only two caucasians left on the carriage of the subway.
Our first surprise was the subway station outside the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, our destination for the balance of the morning. It had unique tiling, mosaics and relief statuary along the wall in keeping with its location outside the Brooklyn Museum and the Gardens.
Unfortunately, with such a delayed spring, the gardens were somewhat pale - blossoms were late, roses still shivering, but the layout of the Japanese garden, the magnolia trees, and the colourful groups of school children on field trips made it a delightful half day excursion away from the bustle of the big city.
Having a kitchen in our apartment on W 49th, with a soup specialty store [Hale and Hearty] across the street, and several delis within two blocks, we ate many meals ‘at home’ during this visit to NYC. However we had arranged on-line a month earlier to be special guests at a well known restaurant, Meli Melo, on Madison Avenue. The on-line booking program promised special attention with an appointment to meet the chef, Bernard Ros, to tour the kitchen, and to eat a very late lunch. When we arrived, there were special balloons above our table, Bernard came to chat with us, guided us through the menu, made recommendations then left us to sip our wine while he prepared appetizers for us. In the kitchen later we watched him season the ‘hanger steaks’ we had chosen and place them on his griller. After the delicious, tender main course, he arrived back at our table to add final touches to the desserts and have the photographer complete the series of photographs which were e-mailed to us.
The other lasting memories of this cool week were of the art deco sculptures which dominated the area around our hotel and the Rockefeller Center, the people watching in Times Square, the International Orchid Show, and of course the need to crane one’s neck to look up at the skyscrapers which dominate many of the neighbourhoods in this very vibrant city.
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