It was on a crisp Sunday evening in late October that our flight departed on time from the Halifax International Airport to Montreal, where we were to catch a connector to New York City. Nothing had gone awry but a six minute delay on the runway when we landed in Montreal. We filed off the plane in high spirits to find the flights monitor to see if our connector was on time. But, wait! There must be some mistake! CANCELLED in big red letters was all we saw next to our flight. Yes, just days before Hurricane Sandy hit, all flights to New York were cancelled. This was just the beginning of our crazy journey into the crazy world of crazy New York!
After finding out our flight was cancelled, we went to the information desk and discovered that we had two options: 1) we could either go home or 2) we could rent a car and drive to the City. Well, left with practically no choice, we opted for the latter option and, loading us and all of our luggage into a bulky, white Ford Flex, we hit the road. It was insane navigating our way out of Montreal with no maps and lots of French signs, but we did it (or should I say Dad did it?) With just a few directions to go on, we were on the highway. About an hour later, we reached the border into the States, where all was going well ... until my grandparents realized they had no idea where their passports were! But as they scrambled through their bags, Dad patiently answered the border guard's questions, until we heard an excited voiced - "We found them!"
Then we were on the road again. It was a beautiful, albeit slightly stressful drive, to the City. Our hotel, the Pennsylvania, was right in Manhattan, across the street from Madison Square Garden, and we had heard that the bridges into Manhattan were closing at eleven p.m. or any minute after it. We didn't start driving from Montreal until eight, so if the bridges closed at eleven we could never make it. Right now, this was way out of our control - there was nothing we could do.
We got into the outskirts of New York City around one a.m., with no idea where we going. (Remember, we were planning to fly into La Guardia and catch a cab to our hotel, not drive!) We had no maps, and a lot of stuff was closed with Hurricane Sandy nearing. We got directions from a guy at a toll booth though, but one wrong turn sent us on a two-hour tour of the City and surrounding area, including interactions with two cops and an adventure down the streets of Harlem at two in the morning. No, Dad didn't stop for directions there.
We finally made it to our hotel at nearly three a.m., getting across the bridges in time, and praying our hotel room was still available. Thankfully it was! The lobby of the hotel was beautiful, and I couldn't wait to see our room! Dad was trying to find somewhere to park our rental car, since the rental car place was closed and the hotel had no parking. He ended up parking on the street, after somebody told him it was okay, hoping very much that in the morning this $30,000 vehicle he was responsible for was still there.
Exhausted, we stumbled into the elevator at three a.m. and headed up the eleven stories to our room. We got there and opened the door and found something at this moment utterly unbelievable .....
Well, for that you'll have to wait until tomorrow! Could this vacation get any worse? Or better? So much more to come in our dream vacation?
After finding out our flight was cancelled, we went to the information desk and discovered that we had two options: 1) we could either go home or 2) we could rent a car and drive to the City. Well, left with practically no choice, we opted for the latter option and, loading us and all of our luggage into a bulky, white Ford Flex, we hit the road. It was insane navigating our way out of Montreal with no maps and lots of French signs, but we did it (or should I say Dad did it?) With just a few directions to go on, we were on the highway. About an hour later, we reached the border into the States, where all was going well ... until my grandparents realized they had no idea where their passports were! But as they scrambled through their bags, Dad patiently answered the border guard's questions, until we heard an excited voiced - "We found them!"
 |
| Us grabbing a bite to eat at McDonald's in Champlain, NY, just past the U.S. border |
We got into the outskirts of New York City around one a.m., with no idea where we going. (Remember, we were planning to fly into La Guardia and catch a cab to our hotel, not drive!) We had no maps, and a lot of stuff was closed with Hurricane Sandy nearing. We got directions from a guy at a toll booth though, but one wrong turn sent us on a two-hour tour of the City and surrounding area, including interactions with two cops and an adventure down the streets of Harlem at two in the morning. No, Dad didn't stop for directions there.
We finally made it to our hotel at nearly three a.m., getting across the bridges in time, and praying our hotel room was still available. Thankfully it was! The lobby of the hotel was beautiful, and I couldn't wait to see our room! Dad was trying to find somewhere to park our rental car, since the rental car place was closed and the hotel had no parking. He ended up parking on the street, after somebody told him it was okay, hoping very much that in the morning this $30,000 vehicle he was responsible for was still there.
Exhausted, we stumbled into the elevator at three a.m. and headed up the eleven stories to our room. We got there and opened the door and found something at this moment utterly unbelievable .....
Well, for that you'll have to wait until tomorrow! Could this vacation get any worse? Or better? So much more to come in our dream vacation?
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
~ Proverbs 19:21