Canal Street and the "Illegal" Wallet: NYC Part 2

NYC Trip: December 2008 continues...

Mark desperately wanted to go to an honest-to-goodness "back room." You know, rooms that contain stolen goods or illegal knock-offs made with poor materials and even poorer spelling on the imitation labels. (can you say, Praba??)

Mark had heard of someone going to one of these back rooms and really wanted to have the experience. I saw it as a chance to get arrested! And at first was adamant that it was a BAD idea and I would take no part in it. I have found that any time I do something close to illegal, I get "found out" and I wasn't up for that in NYC.

After walking up and down Canal Street and being accosted by several individuals trying to persuade us to go to these "back rooms," I'll admit, I became curious. And I figured if 10 people in 10 minutes are trying to convince you to visit their special "back room," the police certainly can't be everywhere...yes, the logic is silly but it seemed not-so-illegal-and-dangerous with all of individuals hounding us. Because really, would criminals be lining the streets trying to get innocent bystanders in trouble with the law all in the name of a good deal? Ok, well, yeah...they would...

And so our real adventure would begin...but first you have to look at a lovely nativity scene found when we first arrived to Canal Street. (Remember it was Christmastime.) I especially liked the fake AstroTurf on the ramp leading up to the nativity scene - very practical for the Wisemen trudging up the ramp to see the baby Jesus. I know how good AstroTurf grass is! My childhood home had a porch covered in the stuff! We never slipped on that porch - ever! But the best part was that it made for excellent ground cover for playing when we took Barbie out on the road in her Barbie Camper.

But I digress....

Here is the gang - looking innocent and ready for seeing the sights and deals of Canal Street. You wouldn't think that these four souls would soon break the law, would you??? (notice how I left myself out of that part??)

As you can guess, several more individuals approached us as we walked up and down Canal Street looking for bargains. They had additional options for perusal in the "back rooms." I continued to reject them as Mark and I discussed the possibility of us actually going in to a "back room." The more I was accosted the more I thought, "what the hay! When in Rome..." Valerie, Lynn and Dona seemed up for anything, so it was really only me being the paranoid one.

So I allowed one individual who was 4 inches shorter and at least 30 pounds lighter than me to get my attention (I figured, I could take him on if I got into a precarious situation, i.e. escape the room at great speed by running him over). He showed me his paper of great deals on purses and wallets. I wanted to get my sister a wallet for Christmas, so I felt like I had a reason to purchase. You don't want to go down to these "back rooms" just to browse. These people are risking their necks and they may not like it if you don't buy something. And I didn't want to figure out what those consequences were.

As you can see, these "back rooms" look innocent enough (as seen here). They look like private entrances off the street where you load merchandise into the basement for the stores that are located above them. But don't let that fool you!! Not so! This is the entrance to the shady underground world of NYC.

I make light of this, but in actuality it can be pretty serious. One story shared on the trip, told how their friends went to a "back room" on a visit to NYC. But they had to first get into a white van that was backed up to one of these gates. They sat in the van until someone walkie-talkied to them that the coast was clear and to jump from the back of the van down the stairs - and to make it fast! They heeded the directions. I can't remember if they were arrested or not but they at least lived to tell the tale...anyway, our guide didn't require us using such sneaky devices, thank goodness. I would have backed out for sure! I have a knack for looking terribly guilty when doing something I shouldn't and we would have been spotted right away!

We were quickly directed to an opening and sent downstairs, then passed off to another guide. That guide took us to a small room that had lots of purses lining the walls from the ceiling to the floor. Luckily, there were some wallets. I found one that matched what I was looking for - except for the skewed emblem that was clearly done hastily. I asked if she had another. She looked at me as though I asked the dumbest tourist question ever. Ok, so it was. This was my only choice and I took it for $20.

The scariest part was when Valerie asked if there was a restroom she could use. Believe it or not, they had one! And she traipsed off into the dark halls looking for it. Valerie used to live in NYC so she wasn't scared of anything. I thought she was nuts because surely people don't come back from bathroom trips that are in "back rooms." I think I saw that once on Without a Trace...

(Here's a photo taken from Mark's phone while in the "back room." At this point we were waiting for Valerie to return after my big purchase. We tried to make ourselves look busy while we waited. In this picture, it's almost like Lynn is instructing me on the positive attributes of the bag. He wasn't.)

Thankfully, Valerie did survive and returned not too long after we had made the big $20 purchase for the wallet.

We then scurried up the steps back to the outside world - looking a little guilty but yet a little invigorated that we didn't get caught. I'm not sure how much trouble we would have been in: would we have been arrested over a $20 wallet? Not sure...haven't seen that on Law & Order so I have no good background information or point of reference. But I was sure I didn't want to do that again. You just don't want to push your luck!!

By then we had worked up an appetite, so we forged on to a fantastic Chinese restaurant that had some good authentic Chinese food. Mark even ordered a strange concoction of "squid and something" soup. It looked gross. But he liked it.













Here you can see my illegal wallet. At least I think its illegal. I'm not sure anymore. I really should contact the NYC Chamber of Commerce and see what exactly my rights are as a consumer...anyway, the point is we got a good deal. Valerie saw almost the same exact wallet for almost $150 at some fancy purse store - sans skewed emblem, of course. That's a $130 savings!

And my sister loved the wallet! At least she SAID she loved it. I hope she appreciated the sacrifice we made by visiting the "dark side" of NYC...

NYC December 2008: Part 1

Back in December, I did a wild and crazy thing and I went to New York City in the middle of winter accompanied by some good friends of mine - Dona, Valerie, Lynn, and Mark. I realize that it's been months now, but I thought I'd share some of the pictures from our big adventures.

So here we go! (oh, just a warning...I was serious about the whole "blog when I feel like it" speech in the last blog, so it may take me months to blog this whole trip. But I can at least promise that each post will be as exciting as possible and well worth a read...)

Dona, Valerie and I arrived to NYC at about 11pm on Thursday night. Mark and Lynn decided to be cheap and took a red eye so they could avoid one night of paying for a hotel. Personally, I think that was insane, but I don't have the ability to fall asleep on command like they do. I would NEVER fall asleep on plane without some major help from a whole bottle of NyQuil and absolute quiet. Yeah, not going to happen on an airplane - at least the quiet part.

Valerie had friends in town since she lived in NYC for awhile, so she stayed with them. The rest of us - otherwise known as those with NO friends in NYC - got a fantastic deal at Hotel 17 which was on 3rd Avenue and 17th Street in Manhattan. It was under construction on the outside, but it was a charming historic hotel that had a fabulous old elevator that required you to manually open the door to let yourself out. Some might think that that it's one lazy elevator, but it was just like stepping back in time! I have no idea what time it was, but its back there.

I only wish I had a picture of that cute little elevator. It would have made for a better story...

Instead, here is a picture of Dona hanging out in our room. The hotel guy didn't have the appropriate room for us - which was just one double bed that Dona and I were going to share. But the luck of New York was with us and they had to upgrade us. It was great!

Unfortunately, Mark and Lynn were not as lucky in the room they got. They got what they paid for...they didn't end up sharing that double bed, though. Mark took the floor with his sleeping bag and mattress pad. (Boys are funny!)

This kind of hotel required you share four bathrooms with the rest of the guests staying on that floor. (That's why it was a great deal!) We did get our own little sink in our room which was very helpful and made it all worth while. The only problem we ran into was the inability of the water pipes to beat the odds against that ever powerful force of gravity. (Or was it lack of water? We aren't sure.) We were on the 8th floor and at 8am in the morning, we found that while taking a shower sometimes the water would just stop. If you were lucky, it would at least drip or even better give you a trickle to help you finish up. But sometimes, it just stopped all together (I would have thought we were in Egypt but when the water did come it was clear and not brown. So that was good!)

That was the only drawback! The hotel was just a few blocks away from Union Square subway station, so it made for running around the city very easy!

So with our great location, the next morning - after a full night's sleep and a semi-shower, we started on our adventure in the Big Apple....

Oh wait! We couldn't start out until Mark and Lynn arrived from the airport. They showed up at about 9am - refreshed and ready for a full day of activities - at least that's what they said. Once they found us and settled into their 4' by 10' room, THEN we started out on our adventure in the Big Apple...

Inconsistent - is that a bad thing?

Ok, so my last blog post was last year. Yep! 2008! But please don't judge me! I've been a busy woman! No really! I can't quite account for everything I've done, but I assure you it's been important, "unaccountable" stuff!

Sorry...I used 6 exclamation points in that last paragraph. Guilt. It's all because of the guilt. Guilt induces exclamation points from me. And the truth is, when I started this blog last year, I worried that this would be one more "guilt" thing if I didn't get a chance to write (or if ran out of important things to say - perish the thought!). Well, I'm a new woman nowadays - as many will attest - and I say, no more guilt!!

So I've changed the purpose of this blog. Its like no other blog...those other blogs are expected to be updated at least every week if you are a committed blogger. But this blog is a "when I get a chance and I have something important to say" blog that will be updated whenever I feel like it. That may be weekly, monthly, biannually. That's the beauty of it! I'm changing the rules of blogging!!

I realize that remembering to visit my blog will be much harder if I intermittently post. But I won't be offended if you forget me! I expect only family to remember to visit. Ok, maybe just my mom. (HI MOM!!) But that's ok...I don't mind.

So stay tuned! When? Beats me!! Never can tell nowadays...

Your favorite inconsistent blogger,
dan

San Diego Trip part 2

So, the San Diego trip continues...

After several hours at the zoo, we felt like we had seen enough animals and headed back to the homestead located in the "gated community" where my parents live. But first I posed with an elephant. I'm the shorter one.







We also decided to start a side business of taking pictures for people posing in front of the San Diego Zoo sign. We got really good at it and had people referring our services to the people standing in line waiting for a chance at the sign. We eventually got our own taken. It was well worth the wait. And the tips.

That evening, Mom and Dad insisted that we go to In N Out Burger for dinner. We said, "Ok, but just this once."

It's something about those fries and the shakes. And with the burger - on top of it all...it just is beautiful. It makes you want to cry it's so beautiful!. Sniff. Yeah, I can't explain it.

Afterwards, it was an evening with the "Batsons" - well, with the Doug and Ann Batson family...we crashed their place to hang with the boys, Jake and Kyle and take silly pictures. They LOVE that when I come into town!!

Kyle, our football player, was cleaning his helmet. Not missing a great opportunity, Kyle and I took another picture together. Please excuse the "zoo bangs."






Then for some crazy reason, Doug, Kyle's dad and my big brother, decided to put the helmet on. This was the result:
Silly big brother...








Sunday was Dad's 68th birthday so we had a little celebration. Sarah made her family's famous chocolate cake (without eggs) and we decorated it just beautifully...ok, mom didn't have a big "8" so we make-shifted with 8 regular candles. But I thought the lovely balloons we got from a "bought" cake - probably back in 2001 - really pulled the cake decoration all together. Dad did a great job at blowing out the upside down 9 and the 8 single candles. Good job dad!!





Here is Sarah and my other big brother, Mike goofing off at the birthday party...







Here's Stefani, and Mom watching Dad open some gifts. Entrancing...









So, my present for dad was a new hat (at mom's suggestion). He lost the last one...As you can see, he looks quite dapper!! Yeah, I think he liked my gift best...but don't tell the siblings....









My sister, Stefani is a master seemstress and every Halloween she comes up with the BEST costumes!! I've been Princess Leia ("Help me Obe Wan Kenobe, you're my only hope!!") and Batgirl. Last year she was Supergirl, so this year for Halloween I got to be Supergirl! Here I am trying it out and posing with Mike.




The next morning Sarah and I had to go back to reality...yep, we returned to Salt Lake City. Because we booked separately, we didn't have the same flight back. Sarah was the unlucky one and had to return first. But before we went to the airport we took another look at the waterfront of Downtown San Diego to get a nice, brisk walk in as well as check out some of the artwork along the boardwalk. This particular artpiece was also a huge kaleidoscope. Here is Sarah checking it out....


My turn to return to SLC came a few hours later, but before we left, Mom and Dad took me to lunch at Seaport Village. We had some good fish and chips and a double chocolate chocolate chip cookie for dessert. Fantastic combination!!!

Then we did a little shopping...Mom did a HORRIBLE thing and left her earrings at home that day. She was practically naked!! I was rather embarrassed that mom would forget such a thing!!! She only wears clip earrings so finding earrings is a little tough these days. But in one of the great silver shops, we found the PERFECT earrings to match her necklace and to cover her nakedness. Here she is showing them off:








After that, Mom and Dad dropped me off at the airport and sent me on my merry way back to the land of cold. It's always sad but the good news is that I return for Thanksgiving in just a few weeks. And that is ALWAYS a happy thought!

Until next time...

San Diego Trip part 1

The purpose of the trip was to see one of my short guys, Kyle play JV football. Also, it was Dad's birthday. So it was a great excuse to run away from Utah and soak in the humidity and warm weather of Sunny San Diego!

My good buddy, Sarah Ward, decided she had to escape Utah for the UEA weekend, so she came along for the ride.

We got off the plane Friday morning and my mom and dad came to pick us up. The weather was delightfully at 72 degrees. Dad did the tour of the waterfront for Sarah before getting back to mom & dad's house. Did you know that San Diego had a Bob Hope Memorial? Yeah, me neither!! I got a picture or two with Bob. He said some really funny jokes for me, Sarah and the folks, too. I've always loved that Bob!!

After we saw some of the sights, Dad & Mom took us to IHOP. There we had some crepes. I forgot to take a picture of it before I ate it. Sorry. Just try to imagine some bacon, eggs over easy, hashbrowns with ketchup and some FABULOUS apple crepes. I had to remove the nuts off the top but I survived.






That afternoon we went to Kyle's football game. He and his team made a great effort against a bigger and tougher team. I was really proud of my short guy! Of course, he's well over 6 feet tall. So he's not really that short anymore...He's number 52...

The family had a good time sitting in the stands with some ants while cheering Kyle on! It was fun to see him playing football!



Sarah took the time to catch up on some reading - she's not much of a football watcher. We also got to check out her foot. Some of you may have known that she had bunion surgery over the summer. Things are healing well. And she now has one sexy scar!!

Here is Jake- the younger shorter guy who is just millimeters from becoming taller than me - and me enjoying ourselves at the football game. Isn't he handsome??? Well, he's ALSO athletic, really smart - and HILARIOUS!! Yeah, he totally takes after me...







That night, the parents continued to show me and Sarah a good time. They took me and Sarah to Old Town where they have some great Mexican restaurants. We went to the El Fandango - it's like we were south of the border - without all the dead bodies laying around. (you can read more about the "problems" of Tijuana here.) I had some great tacos! They also had a Mariachi band playing for the customers. Dad asked them to play the most romantic song from Mexico and they sang, Perfidia which actually was a song that Sarah's dad used to sing to her family all the time. It was really cool, because she was just talking about that song before they played it. It's like we were all on the same wavelength! We were "one" with the Mariachi band! Not an easy thing to do with the language barriers...







The next morning, Sarah and I headed to the San Diego temple for an endowment session. The San Diego Temple is the best temple in the whole wide world! But I might be a little biased. People have called it a cross between Cinderella's castle and Dracula's castle. It's kinda cool. We thought we were going to the Spanish session but we missed it and had to do a English session so we didn't get to play with the headphones. Bummer....

After a great session at the temple, we went the San Diego Zoo. Mom and dad belong to the Zoological Society so they had some free tickets. How cool is that?

So we visited the Zoo....

I made Sarah take a picture in front of the flamingos because...well, it's tradition at the San Diego Zoo! Every time you go, you HAVE to take a picture in front of the flamingos...because it's the first animal enclosure in the park. And you can't mess with tradition!! Doesn't Sarah look natural with those flamingos? No really! They are back there...they are the pink things with sticks for legs.






Sarah insisted that I take a picture as well but this time with the giraffes. It's a new tradition.









We also saw our first solar powered trash compactor there at the San Diego Zoo. What will the world think of next!! Solar powered cars??? Oh wait...







The San Diego Zoo is famous for the Koalas -not Koala bears, they are marsupials, don't make that fatal error. We were lucky enough to see some of them eating. Apparently they sleep 20 to 22 hours a day because all they eat is eucalyptus leaves. They are picky eaters...MUCH picker than me!! I only require 8 hours of sleep...



Then we saw the half zebra better known as the half zebra. Ok, you got me! I don't remember what the heck this thing is called. I remember being very impressed by this animal though, so I thought I'd throw it onto the blog...







Then we ran across a Stroller enclosure. They are NOT an endangered species. They in fact thrive greatly in the wild as well as in captivity. Strollers. One amazing animal...









So each of the animal enclosures include a sign saying whether the animal was endangered or not. That way you would know how much trouble you were in if you actually ran one over with your car...or something like that. We both laughed at the "vulnerable" status. Why? I guess we both feel vulnerable lately. Wouldn't it be cool if we could carry around signs that give our status? Like "officially endangered" - that would be we are teetering over the edge and we'd need extra understanding by those around us. Those "not endangered" would be totally confident and riding high on life...or something like that.

Now, the polar bears were hard to find. Why? Because they hide them in the back of the park!! On our way there we even did an evil thing and walked down the "bus road" by accident. So the Zoo police came after us and escorted us to the "proper path." All in the search of polar bears! Here's the evidence that we did indeed find the polar bears. (polars really are bears and ARE NOT marsupials, just in case you wondered.)


After we found the polar bears at the end of the park, we found that we were pooped. So we paid the $3 a piece and flew across in the skyfari and back to the other side of the zoo. It was well with it.




Here is a shot of Balboa park from the skyfari with a plane going by...yeah, you can't plan this sort of shot...serendipity, baby!!

GC Puzzle Project - COMPLETE!

So, my parents worked on a puzzle while they were visiting me here in Salt Lake City a couple of weeks ago. It helped them pass the time with General Conference weekend.

But alas! My parents didn't finish it before they left one week later (it was 500 piece puzzle). I guess they needed just ONE more GC session!

It's one of my puzzles that I bought while visiting Zion National Park a couple of years ago. (NOT ZIONS - like some people like to say) It's a great picture of a canyon in the park. It makes for a great souvenir! It's got a purpose (hours of entertainment in puzzle piece assembly) AND it reminds you of the trip. Really, a genius idea! I give props to whomever thought of that first. Well done you, puzzle-souvenir creator person!

Anyway, this is how much they got done.

I didn't have the heart to take it apart without it being "complete," so I took it on myself to finish it up! I'm blogging it now so my parents can have some sort of "completion" from the experience. It's all about the "completion" endorphins...

So live it up, Mom and Dad!!!

And come visit again! I've got a puzzle from Arches National Park we need to do....

GC Weekend

It's General Conference(GC) time!!

I have loved General Conference - REALLY LOVED - starting back in 2005. When you are Relief Society Pres any time you have a Sunday off you embrace it with joy and rapture! And since I was released May 4th, 2008 (yes, I remember the date), I still appreciate that extreme happiness GC brings! Who doesn't love hanging out at home listening to GC in your pjs? Because MAN, Sundays have the possibility of being really stressful and not so Sabbath feeling in that calling. Oh, and the talks by the apostles are so inspiring and amazing that it's well worth every minute of it. So I guess it's two fold...pjs and really good talks.

Anyway, this GC weekend, mom an dad have come to visit!! They are here to see Alexis' play (they've never gotten that chance) and to see some friends they met while on their mission (at the San Diego Mission Home Office). So, here they are!!

Last night, we took - ok dad - took Alexis to dinner to celebrate her play, Dracula vs. the Hunchback (see www.theobt.org). We would do it Monday when we see it, but it would get out too late to be having dinner (plus mom and dad shut down at about 10pm). So off to Sizzler for some steak and chicken strips! It was a great time! Although mom's brownie was as hard as a rock...

Today (Friday) we decided to start with breakfast at our favorite breakfast dive and former (I hope former) drug headquarters, The Coachman on 13th and State Street. I got french toast, dad got a Denver Omelet (although he doesn't really like green peppers or onions) and mom go the waffles!

Then off to Lowes to get a replacement bulb for my lamp. Yes, I bought the only reading lamp that requires a "specialty" F4 light...geez! But I was successful and now I can read again when it's dark....

We then hit the Salt Lake City Cemetery to see Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's headstones. Mom hasn't seen them since Grandma died in 1992. We went to the office to get the map and official coordinates. Now, you may ask, "Dan? can't you get that info and find that all by your lonesome?? You've been there before back in 1998 and you didn't have a problem then! Why would you need to get help from the office?" Well, that's a good question! But alas, yeah, I tried to find it - with coordinates AND map in hand and didn't achieve the goal....lame, huh? I even had help!! But no relatives could be found. I do admit, I MAY have been a little distracted at the time...

No problem though! The sexton lady at the office had a more detailed map. We were just a row off last time - which makes a difference in a cemetery!

We found Grandma & Grandpa Hansen. And they are buried by Grandma Hansen's brother, sisters, and parents. Unfortunately, poor Great Grandpa William Thompson's tombstone is sinking and the grass if growing over it. We asked the lady at the office and she said we'd have to call the monument company to see if they could bring it back up. Poor Great Grandpa!! But don't worry! I'll check into it and make sure he doesn't sink into oblivion...

Then it was off to This Is The Place Monument and Heritage Village. Dad hasn't seen the monument since he was at BYU - a million years ago - so this was exciting for him. See, the monument has changed a bit....I'm not sure when the big one was put up. I do vaguely remember being at some dedication of something up there at This Is the Place Monument - I'm thinking it was 1999ish and Pres. Hinckley was there...I'm not sure how I heard about it or who I went with, but I remember hanging out there.

You should know that the Heritage Village has a "season" and we just missed the end of it. But that means all three of us got in for $11! (it helps when your parent's get the senior discount). None of the buildings were open but we wandered around waiting for our chance to ride the train that goes all over the property. We got to see some real pioneer llamas along with the pigs and cows. I hadn't realized that llamas were in the valley at the time of Brigham. Where they native to the area or did they make the trek across the country? Something to ponder....

Unfortunately, the train broke. Something about a caboose being out of alignment. So we ate at the Monument Cafe and had a This is the Turkey Sandwich (on a Kaiser roll) with some chips and lemonade. (I'm not kidding...)

While we waited we saw a Magpie. Pretty little bird! I don't think it's hostile - you never know with birds (you've seen the movie, right? The Birds? Never trust a crow!! I've had crows throw walnuts at me to break them open. At least people SAY they were trying to break them open. I think personally they were attacking me!! Maybe they were anti-Mormon. it was while I was in Canada on my mission. Hmmm. Crows are violent AND anti-Mormon! Interesting...)

I also checked out dad's new Rockport shoes! Aren't they snazy?!?! I like them...Dad's one stylin' man.

We also took a couple of candid shots at the base of the statue of Brigham and Joseph. (did you know Joseph was taller than Brigham?? Yeah, I didn't.)

The train finally came and we got to see the lay of the land. If you have never been, its a fun place! Even more fun when it's open - but still a pleasant ride on the train in some excellent abnormal slc warm weather.

We saw the Pony Express Monument. Did you know they only did the Pony Express for 1 1/2 years? Yeah, you remember Young Riders from TV? Didn't that last 3 seasons on TV? Yeah, it's like MASH - not done in real time. (the Korean war lasted 3 years but MASH lasted 11 seasons)







We saw Brigham Young's Forest home. Did you know he had a forest home? Apparently he experimented with planting all sorts of trees to see how they would grow in the desert out in Sugar House. I had no idea! And apparently Brigham was ok with pink. Interesting....






We also saw a great view of Hogle Zoo across the way. I've only been there twice. Once as a 10 year old - I'm afraid I wasn't as impressed because I grew up going to the San Diego Zoo, but it had a really cool display of all the things they found in the cages. They had all sorts things in it. I found an old picture of it that I just had to share.

My other experience there was about 3 years ago. I went to a horrible Dee's dance there. I got to dance with a 57 year old. Not cool. But that's the night I met Jubi and he's cool! Look at me see the bright side!!

Over all it was a very pleasant afternoon and I think the parental units (as my sister in law, Ann likes to call them) had a good time. At least they are smiling in the picture!!