and did not leave the Javits Center. Peof Crau & I went in for their Travel Expo today. We got there at 11 and were not prepared for the experience at all. First of all, she was dressed all cute in a sweater and boots. Yes, Crau, I am calling you out on this. The last time we went in to the city together, I showed up in boots & all because I anticipated her doing the same. She had giggled and said "I wear sneakers when I come in for the day & shoes when I come in at night." Well, this was a "day" activity and I put on my trusty sneakers. Arriving at Penn (to find her reading The Devil Wears Prada...did I mention I loved that book?) I find her in the boots that I covet every time I see her in them. I point to them and say, "Hey, thought you were wearing sneakers?" She says, "No, I figure we are only going to be in the Center all day & not walking around the city." Well, even though I looked clunky, I am so glad I had on those sneakers. We WALKED! I also showed up with my "frenchy bombshell" purse (from the Frenchy Bombshell herself) and figured it is a great "city" bag because it fits over my shoulder (not like all of my other bags that I must carry by hand) and it holds A LOT of stuff. Not today.
We get to the Javits & find a plastic bag with a bunch of goodies in it. Yippee! We love free stuff. Let me start by saying that the Javits is HUGE and we could not figure out where to go to enter the show. That may be because there was a comic book convention going on there today, as well, with all of the freaks & geeks out...some even in costume. Poor Crau with her fear of characters. I do not do too well with them either, but she has a phobia with them. We actually had to wind through the maze of comic creeps to get to the travel show where we do find the bag of free stuff previously mentioned. I figured that bag would be enough to hold whatever we find along the way. To say no would be a major understatement. We each ended up with four bags filled with brochures & books & pencils & stickers & cookies. My hands are literally ripped apart from carrying those bags. And we did not pick up 70% of the brochures that one could have taken. I am planning trips to Hawaii, Tahiti, Belize, Japan, China, Costa Rica, Italy, Ireland, England/France, and Africa. I think that's it for now. Cowboy & Tink, got a couple of little things for you for Hawaii. And, KDP, found some Berkshire stuff for you! Oh, I was picking up all sorts of stuff for others along the way. A migraine began to kick in during our rounds at the convention and I had to eat to stave it off for a bit, so Crau plopped down at a massive table with some odd-looking people while I got on line to order a crepe. It was yummy. But such a tease because it did nothing to fill me up. I love crepes & this sent Crau & me into a memory moment of the Crepe Show in Paris. Yummy crepes.
After three hours of looking at destinations & balancing bags, it was time to go. We decide to stop at the ladies' room before heading back to Penn (because I have yet to enter a ladies' room there.....you all know my issues with public restrooms). While Crau was in ther first, someone had to watch all of our bags, I got to see Captain America take pictures with ever freak along the way. The poor guy just wanted to go down a flight of stairs, but each time he took another step, someone said "Hey! Captain America! Could you pose for me?" C. A. was nice enough to oblige. Crau comes out & it's my turn. As I finish washing my hands, I see a woman come out of the stall, grab the door handle, and walk out! YUCK! What is it with people & not washing their hands? I wash my hands religiously. With everything I do. It's not a compulsive thing, it's just cleanliness. EW! I always use a paper towel to open the door anyway, but having seen the germs land there myself this time set me off. The walk back to Penn was quite the task. Every escalator & staircase was taped off so that you could not go back up to the main level where you came in off of 11th Ave. I asked the guard how to get out. He told us that we had to actually exit out there & climb up the stairs outside of the building. WHY? I have no idea. I had to stop three times on the way back because I had too many bags & hands that were screaming in pain from those dumb plastic handles. Crau & I were both freezing & sweating at this point & she kept pointing out that this is how people get sick.
Finally we crawl into Penn & were so far from where we needed to be. Stop #4 took place right in the middle of the station so we could remove 1/2 of the layers we had on before we dropped on the floor. I don't know how we made it to Starbucks, but we did. Oh such a good iced caramel macchiatto! I manged to catch a train home & even got a seat. This is a big deal because the train was packed! Who the heck is heading back out to the Island at 4:15 in the afternoon on a Saturday? Apparently everyone. So I grab a two-seater for myself when, all of a sudden, this stout woman and her skinny husband stand there and she looks at me and clears her throat. She wants me to move. She actualy wanted me to move to the seat with the two gentlemen across the aisle so that they could sit together. Ummm, no. I can't feel a darn thing & she should have gotten on earlier. I slide over to be nice. She sat on me. Literally. My left leg was under her. I said she was stout. I was being nice. She weighed a ton. And I am not exaggerating because my left leg took most of the impact. Not the most comfortable ride home. But, thank goodness I am home. All this traveling has made me tired.
