New York, New York [Archive] - Guitar Discussion Forum

just strum

February 13th, 2009, 04:52 PM

My little girl (17 year old daughter) left for New York at 8:00 this morning as part of "traveling classroom". We've been getting text messages from her throughout the day as they traveled (luxary bus) to NY. When they were in NJ and she could see NY, we started getting the OMG text messages. She is in awe of everything. They are at a restaurant right now and she just sent a text "OMG, this place is unreal!!!".

They will be heading to a musical soon and arrive at the hotel about 11:00 PM. Tomorrow it's the WTC area, Empire State Building and number of other places. They really pack in the activities and sites for these kids.

They send the junior class every year and are real cautious and monitor the kids very closely, but that's my little baby out there and I will be worried until she pulls into the school parking lot at about 1:00 AM Monday morning.

Bloozcat

February 13th, 2009, 06:06 PM

That's cool strum...:AOK:

NYC is such a great place to visit, so much to see, so much to do. It'll be a memory of a lifetime for your "little girl"...:)

Robert

February 13th, 2009, 06:07 PM

I'd like to go there too. In fact, I might go this November, to run the marathon and try some amps... :)

Tone2TheBone

February 13th, 2009, 11:36 PM

Hey that's neat Strum. My daughter is a Junior too. She's gonna have the time of her life what a great experience.

evenkeel

February 14th, 2009, 06:48 AM

Very cool. Mrs Keel and I lived in NYC back in the mid 80's to early 90's. Don't worry, she'll have a blast.

just strum

February 14th, 2009, 06:52 AM

She called last night

Highlights:

OMG to the city

OMG to the food

OMG to the musical Mama Mia

OMG to the things you can buy

OMG to just about anything

Lowlight:

Two students went into a store that sells fake Rolexes, and other junk. Somehow they lost all of their money and cell phones. Didn't get the whole story, but I am sure I will when she returns.

I have to go check her agenda for today, I do know she will be dog tired by the end of the day. My daughter is a talker and a fast talker, so I couldn't even keep up with what she was saying about her first day.

R_of_G

February 14th, 2009, 07:30 AM

It's the greatest city on the planet, bar none.

Perhaps I'm unable to be objective as I was born there and spent the first 22 years of my life within 30 minutes of it, but I stand by my opinion.

just strum

February 14th, 2009, 07:51 AM

It's the greatest city on the planet, bar none.

Perhaps I'm unable to be objective as I was born there and spent the first 22 years of my life within 30 minutes of it, but I stand by my opinion.

I know she will be coming home and telling me that when she gets out of school she will be moving there. I would be happy down on a farm, she like the big city.

We have a section outside of Cleveland that is filled with artist like musicians, painters, singers, actors (small local stuff) and college professors. When I first took her there she immediately was moving there because it was so "Bohemian". A lot of people that are stuck in the late 60's still live in that area. It was where I hung out back when I was 18 to early 20's.

bigoldron

February 14th, 2009, 08:04 AM

They send the junior class every year and are real cautious and monitor the kids very closely, but that's my little baby out there and I will be worried until she pulls into the school parking lot at about 1:00 AM Monday morning.

I know what you mean Mark. We've always tried to work it out to go as a chaperone on our girls' trips, but can't always go. Even though they're properly supervised and taken care of, you do still wait axiously until they walk in the door.

But, it's always cool for them to see a little of the world and to grow a little, especially when you live in a small town like I do. I want them to know that there's more to life than our little slice of redneck heaven. And yes, I also know about the fast talking, my 18 year old can set speed records when she's wound up. I get older and harder of hearing every day and it seems like she gets faster and harder to understand too. Oh well, I'm proud of both my girls! :AOK: :AOK:

Bloozcat

February 14th, 2009, 10:51 AM

NYC is one of those places we like to go to either annually or semi-annually for a long weekend. We just love going to the plays, eating in the great restaurants, eating in the great deli's (Katz deli is my favorite followed by The Stage Deli and The Carnegie Deli). And the PIZZA...there's no pizza quite like a good NY (or more specifically BROOKLYN) pizza. Chicago might have their deep dish pies and they're not bad either, but it's a nice thin crust NY pie that says PIZZA to me...:AOK:

We often travel there with two other couples. They have a tendency to want to only stop for drinks only in the "upscale" places. While I like really nice places for dining and drinks as well, you miss a lot of the real NYC flavor if you restrict yourselves to just those places. At times we'll seperate ourselves from the other two couples and stop in a good Irish bar for some laughter and conversation with the locals. In the upscale places people don't even talk to one another. In a good Irish bar, eveyone acts like they know everyone else and the conversation is always lively. Besides, the same Crown and Coke that costs $18.00-$24.00 a drink in the "hoity-toity" places is $6.00-$7.00 in the Irish bar...and the beer selection is always better as well.

Last Memorial Day weekend when we were there it was "Fleet Week", where there were all kinds of naval vessels in the harbor. My wife and I had so much fun buying rounds of drinks for the Sailors and Marines in the bar. Hey, we could have spent the same money just on ourselves in the hoity-toity bars, or we could have spent it buying drinks for the troops. We even met a young Naval Academy Midshipman from our area that my wife had been partially responsible for getting his appointment to the academy. I'll take spending my money on them over padding the registers of the snob places anytime...

And of course, no trip to NYC is complete without visiting W48th St and all the music stores there. Even though all the stores there like Manny's and Rudy's are now corporate owned, it's still fun to visit.

Childbride

February 14th, 2009, 11:16 AM

how wonderful that she gets this experience, Strummy!

warren0728

February 14th, 2009, 11:25 AM

nyc is my favorite place to visit....i'm sure she is having a blast and i hope she is taking lots of pictures....

R_of_G

February 14th, 2009, 11:25 AM

And of course, no trip to NYC is complete without visiting W48th St and all the music stores there. Even though all the stores there like Manny's and Rudy's are now corporate owned, it's still fun to visit.

The one place I make sure to go every time I visit NYC is the East Village Music Store. By far the coolest place in the coolest city on Earth.

http://www.evmnyc.com/

just strum

February 14th, 2009, 11:47 AM

I was out of the house when my daughter called this morning. She was telling my wife to turn on the NBC morning news because she was going to be on TV (Dad's OMG reaction - OMG, what has she done now?).

She was on site of the news program that has the people on the street in the background, but she sent a text later stating "I got pushed out of the camera shot"

R_of_G, I was working in Croton Falls NY when I joined the previous company I worked for. They rented a house for me right on the shore of Candlewood Lake - are you familiar with that area?

just strum

February 14th, 2009, 12:03 PM

Here's the agenda:

yesterday: arrived around 4:00 PM
Chinatown/Little Italy/Shopping/Dinner/Broadway Show (Mama Mia)
Hotel check in 11:00 PM

Today:
Leave Hotel 8:00 AM
Top of the Rock Observation: 9:00
Rockelfellar Center Sightseeing, St Patrick's Cathedral, 5th Ave
NBC Studio Tour 11:30 to 12:30 - broken up in groups
Lunch at 48th street Deli
Carriage Ride in Central Park 2:00
Central Park East Sightseeing & Shopping (Trump Tower/FAO Schwarz (may the Schwarz be with you)/Niketown/Gucci/etc)
Dinner at Planet Hollywood 6:30
Time Sq sightseeing until 9:30
Return to hotel at 10:00 PM

Sunday:
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island 9:00 to 1:00
9/11 Ground Zero Area/St Paul's Church/Wall Street 1:15 to 2:30
eat at another deli and begin trip home at 2:30

Arrive in Aurora 11:30 ish

wingsdad

February 14th, 2009, 12:31 PM

just strum

February 14th, 2009, 12:45 PM

Wow :eek: That's a Whirlwind Agenda, and no Empire State Bldg? And good thing no Washington Square/Greenwich Village/NYU area, or that Bohemian affinity of hers would surely knock her over.:thwap:

Where was dinner before the Broadway Show? Chinese or Italian?

Italian - spaghetti carbonara. I'm not sure the name of the restaurant. She told my wife that she will have to start making it the real Italian way or she won't eat it. Not really sure why she thinks that threat will have any results besides her own starvation.

R_of_G

February 14th, 2009, 12:52 PM

R_of_G, I was working in Croton Falls NY when I joined the previous company I worked for. They rented a house for me right on the shore of Candlewood Lake - are you familiar with that area?

Is that Connecticut? At least I thought that was where that was. I could be wrong. I'm not at all familiar with that area. I am very familiar with the city itself, particularly Manhattan and Brooklyn, and then NJ as that's where I lived from ages 5-22.

Sounds from the itinerary you posted like she is getting to see some cool stuff. Great trip!

just strum

February 14th, 2009, 01:01 PM

Is that Connecticut? At least I thought that was where that was. I could be wrong. I'm not at all familiar with that area. I am very familiar with the city itself, particularly Manhattan and Brooklyn, and then NJ as that's where I lived from ages 5-22.

Sounds from the itinerary you posted like she is getting to see some cool stuff. Great trip!

YEp, she better be tired when she gets home.

Croton Falls is just south of Danbury CT. I worked in Croton Falls, NY, but lived up in the Danbury area. I liked both areas very much, but at the time the area was being hit with an economical downfall with a major player IBM moving out of the area.

just strum

February 14th, 2009, 01:12 PM

First to my wife:

Tell Dad to look at his phone.

My phone:

OMG, we are going to see the Dakota and Strawberry Fields.

Latest

OMG, My life is a whole lot more complete.

evenkeel

February 14th, 2009, 04:03 PM

This has been a very fun thread to follow. Huge trip down memory lane. When I met Mrs. Keel she was living on the corner of 6th and Houston (pronounced How ston, not like the city in Texas), in the west village. I lived in Pelham, Westchester county about a 25 minute train ride to Grand Central. When we got married we bought a house in Pelham.

When we lived in NY we really took advantage of the city. Concerts at the Bottom Line, Town Hall, the Beacon and Madison Square. Did the theatre, even went to a few ballets. A great time in our lives. Ball games at Shea, watched Mrs Keels Eagles play the Giants in Jeresy.

We left NY for Maine in 93 or 94. Way back, mid 80's or so Mrs. Keel worked on the 49th floor of tower one, WTC.

aeolian

February 14th, 2009, 04:19 PM

Last summer when I daughter got out of 8th grade she got to go on an East Coast educational sight seeing trip. I can't recall all the details but I think they started in Philadelphia, then onto Pennsylvania Amish country, Hershey Park, then onto Gettysberg for Civil War tours, then onto DC for White House, Congress and the various monuments and museums, then finally to New York for Broadway and other sites (she took some pictures of Strawberry Fields at Central Park). It was week-long trip and she still talks about it often.

I've been to New York, but not all the places she got to go to. At 14 years old when she went on the trip she still like to point out places she visited that her parents had never been to.

R_of_G

February 14th, 2009, 04:27 PM

When we lived in NY we really took advantage of the city. Concerts at the Bottom Line, Town Hall, the Beacon and Madison Square. Did the theatre, even went to a few ballets. A great time in our lives. Ball games at Shea, watched Mrs Keels Eagles play the Giants in Jeresy.

Some of the best shows I've ever seen were at those venues, as well as the Village Vanguard and my favorite venue ever, Tonic (which is now closed) which was on the lower East Side.

I can't even count how many times I've been to the Garden. I've seen dozen of concerts there (it has the best sound of anyplace ever) but we also had Knicks and Rangers season tickets for years. When they re-did the Garden in the mid 1980's my dad was one of the project managers for the contractor. As a result we got lots of tickets to just about everything we ever wanted to see at the Garden. The first and last time my wife saw Phish were two New Year's Eve shows at MSG. Best hockey seats I ever had were first row on the glass behind the goal, directly to the left of the goal judge (the guy in the little box that operates the red light). So many great memories of MSG (as well as Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium). Can anyone tell I miss New York terribly? If it weren't so damn expensive, I'd move right now to the lower East Side. Someday.

just strum

February 14th, 2009, 05:01 PM

This has been a very fun thread to follow.

I'm glad others are getting enjoyment out of it. I know I am excited for my daughter in the fact that she's enjoying this trip. I figured this would be boring, but at least a few are getting a kick out of it and few are walking down memory lane, whether if it's from living there or visiting.

She just sent a text saying she just walked 14 blocks down 5th ave and they are headed to Planet Hollywood for dinner.

R_of_G

February 14th, 2009, 06:14 PM

I'm glad you started the thread Strum. I could talk about NYC all day. Also glad to hear your girl is enjoying her trip. NYC can make quite an impression. :D

evenkeel

February 14th, 2009, 08:29 PM

I'm glad you started the thread Strum. I could talk about NYC all day. Also glad to hear your girl is enjoying her trip. NYC can make quite an impression. :D

As you can see it still makes an impression on me. I'd also love to move back but yeah, the amount of $$ needed is nuts. My spot, Banks Street, West Village. Never saw a show at Tonic and I think the Bottom Line is also gone.

My wife used to work right near your dads handi work, had an office at 2 Penn plaza.

just strum

February 14th, 2009, 09:42 PM

I just got off the phone with my daughter. As expected, she wants to move there or go to school there. She reminded me that I took off to LA when I got out of High School and she asked me if I could go back and do it again, would I? Smart a$$ kids.

She kept talking and talking, giving me an almost step by step rundown of what she has done and seen so far. I had to convince her she needs to talk to he mother or she will be all talked out (impossible for her).

She loved the whole John Lennon thing and she bought me a picture of the Beatles. She had to explain to a lot of her classmates what some of the things that were Lennon related were all about. She said one classmate said when they got to the Dakota "Who's John Lennon".

She's on the phone now with my wife. When I pick her up at the school late tomorrow night or early Monday morning, she will be nonstop talk. She keeps on saying she is just in awe of everything. She got to play the big piano from Toy Story, walk through a Barbie Playhouse, and...

R_of_G

February 14th, 2009, 10:13 PM

Never saw a show at Tonic and I think the Bottom Line is also gone.

Tonic was the home base of much of the "Downtown Jazz" scene which revolved around John Zorn and his cadre of avant-garde musicians. It was the home of dozens of great live recordings on Zorn's Tzadik label. When it closed in 2007 (due to massive rent increases on the lower East Side) many of the artists who played there over the years staged a (largely symbolic protest), most notably Marc Ribot who was arrested for trespassing for his refusal to leave the venue. He later led many efforts to lobby City Hall to get them to take some action to prevent developers from forcing other cultural centers to close for similar economic reasons.

The Bottom Line closed in 2004. Apparently the owners have been working on securing a new location, which they have done, and they will eventually be opening anew.

My wife used to work right near your dads handi work, had an office at 2 Penn plaza.

Not too many places you can be in Manhattan without being near his work. In the 30 years he worked in the biz in NYC he did buildings all over that city. He used to drive us around and point them all out. I worked for him most summers and got to spend my time in a pretty fair amount of them too.

She said one classmate said when they got to the Dakota "Who's John Lennon".

That makes me sad. At least your daughter is aware of music history. Speaks volumes about your parenting. Good job! :D

piebaldpython

February 15th, 2009, 06:44 AM

Hey Strum......thanks for the fun thread.....glad that your daughter is having fun........might she want to go to college there??.....:D ........we know some kids who did college there (NYU, Fordham) and they had no problems.
My daughter LOVES Center City Philly for all of it's hustle and bustle. She loves the Bohemian section of town for the artsy things and galleries.

just strum

February 15th, 2009, 09:13 AM

I just received a text from my daughter (btw - Nicolle) wanting to know the details of the Washburn and box that I have. Apparently she has joined the ranks of the street peddlers.

just strum

February 15th, 2009, 06:09 PM

Big City Girl left NY about 3:00 PM, but one bus experienced problems in Pennsylvania. The other bus went ahead to a place to eat and then went back for the others. The last report was they were in the Poconos. This will certainly result in me going out at least around 2:00 AM to pick her up at the school.

piebaldpython

February 16th, 2009, 11:56 AM

just strum

February 16th, 2009, 04:56 PM

C'mon Strum........we need an update......or is Nicolle still talking about her trip.......that's how girls can be, non-stop chatterboxes......which is cool in it's own right as with boys........sometimes it's like pulling teeth. :D

Well, she arrived back at the school about 1:15 AM. As they were getting off the bus they looked like the crabbiest bunch of kids you have ever seen. A long bus ride, a busy schedule, and about 40% or more returned with bad colds (including Nicolle). I drove one of her friends home, but Nicolle being under the weather didn't talk as much as I expected - until we got home. I then had to look at all here purchases and the approximately 200 to 300 pics she took (or at least it seemed like that many). While we looked at the pics, many included stories behind them. I finally got to bed around 3:30 AM and into work at 8:15.

I'm going to download the pics onto my computer and maybe post a couple (I don't think Robert wants 200 pics posted in a thread:D )

We are going to be sitting down to dinner in about 45 minutes, so I should hear more from her (she's sleeping right now).

She definitely enjoyed the trip and is determined to move there. Finally mugging count was four boys that lost their money, cell phones, and cameras. They all got ripped off together, but Nicolle didn't know any of the details.

just strum

February 16th, 2009, 08:56 PM

I downloaded the pics onto my laptop and she did indeed take exactly 300 pics.

Here are just a few.

Nicolle - Big City Girl?
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/118.jpg

Now where does she get this from?
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/145.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/193.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/154.jpg

Nicolle on the left
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/125.jpg

This just says NY to me
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/132.jpg

I think it is OG that is the M&M lover
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/148.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/197.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/231.jpg

Childbride

February 16th, 2009, 09:05 PM

Strummy, those are wonderful pics. :)

i take it Nicolle gets her looks from her mother? ;)

[just joshin']

just strum

February 16th, 2009, 09:11 PM

[just joshin']

How did you know my wife's name?

street music

February 17th, 2009, 05:48 AM

Strum, I really liked the stories until you got to the part that a kid didn't know who JOHN LENNON WAS! That is sad in deed. Glad Nicolle is home safe.

R_of_G

February 17th, 2009, 06:47 AM

Great pics Strum (and Nicole). Glad to hear she had a good time and made it home safely.

Geraint Jones

February 18th, 2009, 08:58 AM

My wife and her coven are flying out to NYC in 4 weeks {British Airways broomstick} for some retail therapy, which is fine as long as she brings me back a `52 Tele .

Bloozcat

February 18th, 2009, 09:09 AM

So "Dad", are you having boy problems with Nicole yet?

She's a pretty young girl, I'll bet those problems started for you a couple of years ago...:D

Is that music store pic Sam Ash on W48th St?

just strum

February 18th, 2009, 11:32 AM

So "Dad", are you having boy problems with Nicole yet?

She's a pretty young girl, I'll bet those problems started for you a couple of years ago...:D

Is that music store pic Sam Ash on W48th St?

Boy problems??? You're right, it started about two years ago. I have to give here credit, she takes no crap from a guy. She has a good head on her shoulder, so it makes things a little easier - however, she still is my baby.

Blooz, I'm not positive, but I think she said it was a GC. I could be wrong.

just strum

February 18th, 2009, 11:34 AM

My wife and her coven are flying out to NYC in 4 weeks {British Airways broomstick} for some retail therapy, which is fine as long as she brings me back a `52 Tele .

If my daughters review is any indication, they are going to love it. A lot of "OMG" to start each sentence describing NY.

Geraint Jones

February 18th, 2009, 12:28 PM

I dread to think what the credit card bill will be , she`s trying to buck the crunch all on her own bless .

piebaldpython

February 18th, 2009, 12:44 PM

[QUOTE=just strum]Boy problems??? You're right, it started about two years ago. I have to give here credit, she takes no crap from a guy. She has a good head on her shoulder, so it makes things a little easier - however, she still is my baby.QUOTE]

Like I told mine, when I'm 100 and she's 70....she's still my lil girl and I'll always keep a "watchful eye" out for her.

I must say Strum that one young lad is a pretty smart kid.....throwing you off his scent by feigning an interest in guitars and GAS. :rotflmao: Just kidding.

just strum

February 18th, 2009, 05:26 PM

I must say Strum that one young lad is a pretty smart kid.....throwing you off his scent by feigning an interest in guitars and GAS. :rotflmao: Just kidding.

How could I have been so blind???

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/auroraohio/homer-doh.jpg

peachhead

February 18th, 2009, 07:54 PM

I'm glad her trip went well. Those are some great pics! More, possibly?

<shudder> don't talk about boy problems- my LG is 11 and I ain't lookin' forward to it.

just strum

February 18th, 2009, 08:01 PM

I'm glad her trip went well. Those are some great pics! More, possibly?

About 294

peachhead

February 18th, 2009, 08:07 PM

So stop talking and start postin'. :D

just strum

February 18th, 2009, 08:20 PM

So stop talking and start postin'. :D

Maybe this weekend - we'll see.

warren0728

February 19th, 2009, 07:50 AM

i would love to see more pics too....maybe put them all up on photobucket or something to save robert's bandwidth....

rugbynyc

February 19th, 2009, 09:14 AM

just strum

February 19th, 2009, 11:33 AM

i would love to see more pics too....maybe put them all up on photobucket or something to save robert's bandwidth....

That's a great idea!!!!

Maybe I'll throw in a couple of me playing guitar in my thong too:D

peachhead

February 19th, 2009, 04:54 PM

Just make sure everything is well labeled.

:eek:

just strum

February 19th, 2009, 06:43 PM

How do I go about setting up a location on p-bucket so that you can see only the photos I want you to see, without providing access to all my photos? Do I have to set up a separate account?

bigoldron

February 19th, 2009, 07:04 PM

How do I go about setting up a location on p-bucket so that you can see only the photos I want you to see, without providing access to all my photos? Do I have to set up a separate account?

Mark, from what I can tell, you just create a new album and add the pictures to it. On the left side of the screen, you'll see the name of that album and the URL for it. All you have to do is share that link.

I can't swear this is absolutely correct, but I was able to see the test album I set up. The problem is, all I have to do is change the URL by dropping the folder name and I can see all my pics. So, maybe I should have set my main folder to be private and created a second folder to put publicly viewed pics (like those posted on the Fret) in it. Help us out guys!

warren0728

February 19th, 2009, 07:32 PM

a new account would be the best bet....

just strum

February 20th, 2009, 09:17 PM

OK, hopefully this works.

http://s651.photobucket.com/albums/uu235/justrum_album/

This is approximately 245 pics. I didn't filter out the ones that aren't in focus, just a straight download with about 50 more still to download.

Let me know if you can't get to the pics.

wingsdad

February 20th, 2009, 09:28 PM

:AOK:

... a very talented young photographer (we've seen your little girl's work before, strummy) with a keen eye moving at a breakneck pace in NYC...

:bravo:

:)

just strum

February 20th, 2009, 09:43 PM

:AOK:

... a very talented young photographer (we've seen your little girl's work before, strummy) with a keen eye moving at a breakneck pace in NYC...

:bravo:

:)

Thanks, it's not her best work, but they are more vacation pics than they are art pics. However, she did a nice job.

Her computer has to have 3,000+ pics on it. I had to install one hard drive for pics, because she had it so bogged down.

Her high school years are well documented.

wingsdad

February 20th, 2009, 09:49 PM

....they are more vacation pics than they are art pics. However, she did a nice job....

Oh, there's a load of vacation 'snapshots' there, for sure, especially of the mugging and goofing with her friends and the guy in the 'bobby outfit' (Central Park hansom cab driver?....thought it was you, having stowed away in baggage to chaperone...:poke: ), the distant skyline & Lady Liberty shots...but some, more than a few, I think she definitely had art in mind first...like the close-in of Lady Liberty's face, just for one.