Bright lights, big city

So yes, I made it to New York in one (partially swollen) piece after a
rather boring flight. Problem with going on normal flights after test
flights is that they are boring. And sitting in cattle car class on an Air Canada flight, you sure feel less than human. I was sitting in the very front row of economy, so I got to watch how the better class gets treated. We didn't get meals, we had to spend money on dried up sandwiches, while the special people got china bowls, and wine, etc. The tragic, yet funniest bit was when someone wanted to use the forward lav, but since it was meant for Business Class people, us in cattle were supposed to be up there. The line up for the ones in the back were really long, so one brave lady snuck forward to ask. She was quickly shooed back to the curtain separating the two sections, told to wait there, and then had the curtain drawn right in her face.

I got into JFK, my buddy Andy's truck was in the shop and I needed to
take a cab to Grand Central Station to meet him and take a train
north. But I didn't take a cab, I took a limo! Well, a Lincoln
Towncar, which was almost a limo, had a ton of room in the back seat so that I could stretch out the leg. Once we got to Manhattan, the driver pulls up in front of the Hyatt, which is right next to the station, and the door man opens the door and lets me out. Talk about feeling important! The doorman asked if he could take my bags upstairs for me, thinking that I was staying at the Hyatt (uber nice hotel BTW), and when I told him that I was going to the station, he scolded the driver for not taking me the extra half block because he didn't want me to walk too far with my leg. (I am almost getting sick of people being nice to me because I am limping around with a cane) So, back in the car and down the block to the station.

Grand Central is a neat old building, with a beautiful ceiling in it. I plan on taking a good wide angle shot of it before go. I was supposed to meet Andy there, but he was a little ways away, waiting for me to call. He thought that I would call from the airport, giving him time to get to the station, but I called from the station. So, I got to sit and watch the people walking by, the few homeless that were milling about and the half dozen cops that were patrolling the place. There were some National Guard patrolling when I go there, but they left shortly afterwards.

Eventually, we made it to North White Plains, were I got to sit and wait for Andy to get his truck from the shop. It was a long walk, and being that I was really sore, Andy ran off and left me to go and get it. While waiting there, some poor guy got of the next train and was looking a bit upset. Turns out that he had slept through his stop, and couldn't get the taxi place to answer the phone. Hope he made it home.

After arriving at Andy's, I took a look at my leg. Whoa! It was really swollen. So, I ingested a bunch of drugs, and off to bed. Figure that it was the best thing to do. Today, it is feeling a lot better, and I am walking a little better.

I don't have any big plans for tonight, we were going to go to Andy's bands practice, but the drummer, who owns the house that they practice in, is really sick. So, I have just been hanging out and learning about the research that Andy is doing here.

Tomorrow I will go into Manhattan, Andy has a class to teach in Midtown, and I can go and shoot photos for a while.

Late night edit...Andy and I came home after our little bit of running around today (we went and watched "300" in IMAX), we found ourselves with a herd of deer munching on the grass next to his house. I tried to get a photo, but it was too dark. Then, just now while walking over to the library to check email, we found that the deer were still there! A little hard to see, but their eyes glow nicely from the flashlight, so it was easy to spot them. I am hoping that they will be around a bit over the next few days so that I can get a photo or two.