Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you had a great day, and ate plenty of food with your family. I spent the day watching the parade and getting some really good food with my family, all while being so cold my eyelashes frosted over.
Rise and shine was the saying this morning around 5:30. I sluggishly got out of bed and took my shower. I got fairly queezy after this, and I almost considered not going to the parade after all. Thankfully, I was able to power through the nausea and stumbled my way behind my parents to the train station. This was about the start of my terrible mood for the day. Mom likes to call them a “funk”, which basically boils down to a depressed mood where I have high anxiety. I get really on edge, and quite honestly I become very selfish. Most of my complaints I had through the day stemmed from my own mood, and were not legitimate complaints I would have had at another time. It is sad that I let my emotions effect my outlook on the day so much, so If this blog post seems a bit of a pessimistic look, you can get a bit of a view as to why I felt this way.
The cold this morning was just long, dry bitter cold left over from the night. We took our spot as close to the street as we could, which meant we were in a location where we would be in the shade the entirety of the parade. John quickly made a great discovery that we could sit on a windowsill to wait for the parade to start. I was still not feeling well at all, so this really helped me.
After about two hours of waiting there on that street corner, the parade started. This is also about the time parents who actually brought children to watch showed up. There were no more places up against the railing left, as that had been claimed by adults too stingy to let a child view a parade. This bothered me, so John and I gave our spots to a group of smaller kids who could use the ledge to stand on and watch over the heads of adults. They seemed to have a great time, and in turn their parents were great conversationalists. I found myself standing in between a native family who were all having a good laugh at the new characters in the parade, as well as joking about who was the larger schmuck. I honestly think listening to their family banter was more entertaining than the parade, but John, Mom and Dad had a great time.
I will be posting a collection of parade photos in a later blog, but will add them here in an edit.
Lunch time came and boy were we cold. We decided to stop at Brooklyn Diner, a great place located near Central Park. They were a bit pricey, but I can honestly say, hands down, fully confident and absolutely positively that I ate the best hamburger I have ever had in my life today. The burger was so warm, juicy, and flavored to perfection. Dad and Mom both shared a chicken pot pie, and John had a simple burger. I had the Old Fashioned Brooklyn Burger, made with two patties, bacon, shallots, tomato, aioli and lettuce. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking to have a very nice sit down meal in the city.
After a good meal, Dad took us to Time Square to look around. It was an okay place. I can’t say it was very interesting, other than it has more ads than Download(dot)com. I couldn’t really see the appeal here honestly. The one place I wish I had actually spent more time in today was Washington Park. The family really enjoyed it, but I was not feeling well again, and had to find a restroom.
I would say that is a big problem I have with a city. I understand that a business can not open up their bathroom to the public due to fear that everyone and their mother will want to use it. On the flip side, when someone comes into a pharmacy needing to use the restroom, the least you could do is instruct them to the nearest facility with a public access instead of yelling at them that they are not allowed to use the restrooms. (These bathrooms were distinctly marked and looked like they were fully intended for public use).
For me, the day just felt like it drug on and on. I was very frustrated, but I didn’t want to ruin everything for my family. I hope that I did not inconvenience them too badly. I was walking very slowly, as my feet were hurting very badly and my legs were simply exhausted.
We are ending the day today by watching the MSU vs Ole Miss football game on TV in the hotel room. Mom and Dad witnessed the major break Nick Fitzgerald had early in the game, and I really hope he is going to be okay. An injury like that can really be painful both physically and mentally.
With that, our official trip is coming to a close. We are staying the night here one last night, and will be headed back home in the morning. Wish us safe travels, as it may be a long day tomorrow.
Kobee Vance 