Day 11 - New York City

Total miles: 0

Route: N/A

By the numbers:
0 - smiles from any of the 3512 gorgeous women I saw
1 - guy with 1 eye
2 - NYPD cops that look like supermodels
3512 - gorgeous women

No riding today - too much trouble to get back on the bike. Besides, my ass hurts and, after briefly seeing the city last night, I can tell parking the bike will be too much trouble. Not to mention worrying about the luggage. I'm waiting for a call from the trucking company to narrow down the pick up time...

I barely make it down stairs for the 8am shuttle from the the hotel. This time it only took 20 minutes to get in.

I wonder if I'm wearing enough warm clothes since the jackets and scarves are on all the new yorkers. I start walking and think I'm gonna freeze. I again wander into Times Square and duck into the Starbucks. Ahh - warm coffee.

I pop back out on the street and head where ever the crowds go. I end up peering into the Good Morning America set where Sara Evans is getting ready to play. Its just me and three other people watching and Ms Evans looks out and locks eyes with me. She gives me a barely perceptible smile as I stare back wondering who she's looking at. I looka around and it had to have been me, right? At least that's my story. I'm sticking to it.

I wander on to the Fox news set and wonder what story they're spinning at the moment. But I couldn't focus - every third woman is gorgeous. Stunning. Beaufitful. I think back on my comment to Hillary the night before. I should live here at least once. What's the old saying? Live in Northern CA but leave before you get too soft. Live in New York City but leave before you get too hard. Or something like that...

I keep on walking down fifth before realizing I wasn't really going anyware. So, 15 blocks back to seventh so I can grab a tour bus. I choose the southern route and hop on. We head down broadway and before I know it were in Greenwich, then SoHo, then Tribeca. I hop off at tribeca - I freezing and hungry again.

I keep walking south and end up at Wall St. The place is a mad house with all recent market crash and talk of the bailout. I head to Bravo Cafe for some food. I'm shoulder to shoulder with brokers and all I can hear is, "that bullshit bailout".

I finish lunch and keep going south. I find the bronze ball from the WTC in Battery Park and I can smell the water. I walk through the park and see the amazing view - the statue of liberty is right in front of me as is Staten and Govenors Islands. Luckily, the weather was gorgeous.

I head back through Tribeca nd quickly realize I'm practically homeless compared to the folks in this neighborhood. The rich must live here. From Tibeca, I go east to the WTC site. As I approach it, the size hits you. The site is massive. I see a number of memorials - some official, some not. They're all so personal and sad. You can't help but be moved by the site.

I decide I need a break and grab a coffee and do a little people watching. I don't think I'll ever get sick of it in NYC.

Headed back towards SoHo for dinner plans I start noticing all the cool bars. So, I have to check them out. I'm on vacation so why not indulge a little? Four cool bars later I've made friends with most of the bartenders - one in particular. She had the same name as an ex and looked almost exactly like her. This uncanny realization leeps me from getting sober.

I finally check my watch and figure I better start walking. I have 20 blocks to go if I want to make it to dinner in SoHo on time. I stop mid-stride down Houston - "The Beer Store"? I thought this was Whole Foods? I quickly walk into beer mecca. This made BevMo look like a frat boys fridge. I start chatting with Maggie the manager to get the scoop. It was supposed to be a wine bar but they couldn't get the permit and The Beer Store was opened. It was such a hit that they plan on opening it up across the country.

I find a seat on the corner to wait for Natali and take in the scenery. This section reminds me of the Haight and the Mission districts in SF. I see Natali and we head into a cute little French restaurant. Nice. We catch up and laugh about high school. She's handling her semi-fame (Correspondant for CBS/CNET) about as well as a shy girl from CA could. She offered to bring me to a taping of Fox's Red Eye on Friday evening. I wonder if I'll be here...maybe I'll stay.

I catch the F Train uptown and try to find cheap luggage that will work for getting home. I guess its good I'll have (at least) one more day here to wander around. Looks like I'll need to get familiar with the subway...

The shuttle couldn't come soon enough - I'm beat.