travel – Page 3

How did the ammo get through?

Have you seen the news about three American tourists being stopped in Turks and Caicos for having ammunition in their luggage?

It’s been on three separate occasions. These three men can get up to 12 years in prison for this.

It’s nice to see how strict the gun laws are in other countries, but I have one question for our country – how did the bullets get by the TSA at our American airports???

I’ve been stopped and searched for a pair of tweezers in my luggaage and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve randomly had my hands swabbed for explosives. So how did bullets get by the TSA process?

I’m not for guns of any types – hunting or whatever, so I have mixed emotions about these guys who had bullets in their luggage. I know they were leftover from hunting trips and such, but still – random bullets just floating around in the bottom of your luggage? How careless can you be?

And the next time a TSA agent stops me for something stupid, I’m going to say, “Why don’t you check for real problems, like bullets in luggage that you seem to miss.” But I better not.

One funny story about the tweezers – I was leaving NYC at JFK and an agent calls out, “Whose luggage is this?” I calmly walked over and said, “It’s mine.”

He then says, “Don’t touch it!” And I responded, “I know, I know, I watch ‘To Catch a Smuggler,” and he laughed and said, “So do I.”

He let me go with my little pair of tweezers.

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Spring time is Mister Softee time

This Ollie And Jacomo cartoon which was published this week shows my love of Mister Softee, the ice cream truck which is all over the Northeast. It’s a sure sign of spring when they start showing up around town. They are usually all tucked away for the fall and winter seasons.

I believe there are over 2000 franchises/trucks up north, so they are quite ubiquitous.

My first stop when I get to NYC in the summer is Union Square where I can always find Mister Softee. I’ve seen as many as seven of them at one time! Union Square runs from 14th Street up to 17th Street and crosses a couple of Avenues, so there can be one on each corner at times.

*Here are a couple images of me in a couple of summers in NYC. Notice how fast the ice cream is melting. it’s quite hot in NYC these days.*

A few years back, I was at Governors Island with one of my cousins and it was boiling out. It was so hot. We turned a corner and there was Mister Softee, on the island! I ran over to get an ice cream cone. I usually get a plain chocolate cone, but the guy in front of me got a big chocolate shake and that looked so good. The last time I had one of those I was probably a kid, maybe 12-years-old. So I got one.

Since it was extremely hot out that day, it just hit the spot. I got a few more chocolate shakes that summer, even in the Hamptons, where there were a few Mister Softees to be found.

When I went back to the city in October, I was hoping to see a Mister Softee. Depending on the climate/weather there might be a few still out in the fall. I was thinking of those chocolate shakes from the summer, as I flew down.

As soon as I arrived in New York, I went right down to Union Square, and there was a Mister Softee truck. I went right over and ordered a shake. I told the guy manning the truck that I had been thinking of this the whole time on the plane on my flight down. He just looked at me like I was crazy. I guess when you’re surrounded by Mister Softee all day, every day, it isn’t that special to you.

Some years back, there were many imitations around the city. One had the same exact markings on the truck but it was called “Master Softee.” The ice cream was not the creamy stuff we are used to. It was very icy and crystalized. My aunt mentioned that the Mister Softee she went to in Queens had changed the recipe or something, she didn’t like it. I told her that was “Master Softee,” not Mister Softee. The change in taste is very noticeable.

Master Softee was sued and they were soon banned from the city and only the real thing exists now.

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Visiting the 16th century

We went to the 32nd annual Florida Renaissance Festival on Saturday. I hadn’t been for years. I went with some of my family this past weekend, but in the past, for many years, I would go with my friends, maybe two or three carloads of us would head to Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach to attend.

It was just as I remembered. You travel back in time to the 16th century, it seems they want a lot of things paid in cash this year, I remember paying with “MasterCard and Lady Visa” in the past.

We ate a lot, we drank a lot, we spent a lot. After having such a cool/cold winter (for Florida), Saturday seemed to be the hottest day of the year.

Vendors for food and items made by artisans who are on site, are set up all over the forested park, around the lake, and there are performances and performers everywhere from horse jousting (my favorite) to archery, a maze, the human flying carrousel, glass blowing, minstrels, magicians and so much more. The king and queen are just a few of the “characters” who wander around the park.

The Festival runs until March 24, weekends only.

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Digital Van Gogh

I’ve been thinking of going to Paris. And Italy. But this is a perfect reason to visit Paris.

I saw this report on CBS Sunday Morning about Vincent Van Gogh and a new digital feature about him and his art.

The Musee D’Orsay in Paris has a new exhibit of Van Gogh called, “Hello Vincent.” Anyone can go up and ask Vincent anything they would like to know about him.

His replies and his image are AI generated and the answers come from the over 900 letters he wrote in his life, where he told (in the letters) about everything from his health, personal life and art. You just walk up and ask him anything, and he’ll look at you and answer.

*Seth Doane (and Vincent) on CBS Sunday Morning.*

It works along with the art because people ask serious questions of Vincent; things that they really want to know about.

Maybe the exhibit will travel to the U.S. and I won’t have to go to Paris, although I still want to go to Paris. And Italy.

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Throwing soup on the Mona Lisa

I’m sure you saw this in the news. A couple of activists threw soup on the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris over the weekend.

“What is more important?” The one activist asked the shouting crowd. “Art or healthy sustainable food?”

The protest had something to do with France breaking its climate commitments and they want France to give people access to more healthy foods. I’m sure it was a good cause, but it’s a case of alienating the people who are on your side by doing something stupid to bring attention to the cause.

I’m not sure how this involved trying to destroy the Mona Lisa, luckily she is covered with glass. But wouldn’t it make more sense throwing the soup on Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can Art? Which I hope never ever happens. I’m just sayin’.

I remember the first time I saw Starry Night, my favorite painting, so many years ago. It wasn’t covered in glass, as it is now. You could literally put your face right up to it. Luckily it’s protected with glass now.

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Nightmare Uber driver

I took an Uber to LaGuardia Airport from the city. As usual, I go early in the morning for early flights, I was coming home.

A lady named Miguelina picked me up. She seemed nice, she didn’t speak much English, so we didn’t speak.

As we approached the area of the airport, I didn’t recognize it. It wasn’t the usual way. It was early Monday morning, about 6 am, so there was no traffic to avoid, so she should have taken the usual route.

As I looked out and saw the airport in the distance, I was wondering, “Where are we going? Did I punch in Kennedy Airport by mistake? Are we going there?” I asked her and she said she didn’t speak English. I asked her in Spanish, if we were going to LaGuardia and she sort of ignored me.

We finally arrived, but it was at a place I had never seen before. I had just seen the Seinfeld “The Pledge Drive” episode where his grandmother is lost in a desolate area, looking for Chemical Bank. That’s what this was like. We were sort of underground somewhere – under the airport!

She told me to get out, in that rude way non-English speakers think they are speaking English politely. I said, “Wait, there is nothing here!” The airport is usually very well lit, you know, there are always cars coming and going and there is always plenty of travelers and staff around. This was bare. The lights were very dim, there was no other car or other person. She said this was my stop.

I told her we have to go to “departures” but she would not move. She looked at her phone, which meant nothing. Finally a security guard arrived and he yelled for us to move. She refused! The guard said we were on level 1, and get this, the baggage level and arrivals was up a flight to level 2 and the departures were level 3, we needed to go to 3. She didn’t care, she just sat there.

I asked the guard if I could just get in some way down in that dungeon area and climb stairs or something and he showed me a back escalator and I took that up two flights to the regular entrance area. I’m still not sure what that was or why we were there. Maybe it’s a loading dock area.

Scary trip. Scary driver. First time in my life I did not tip. The driver deserved nothing.

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Small town Greenport, NY

Greenport, NY

There were a lot of us together for Thanksgiving, and then Friday, we went to Greenport, Long Island, not to be confused with Greenpoint which is in Brooklyn.

Greenport is this little old village at the northern tip of Long Island – on the north fork. You can see Connecticut from the shore, which is across the Long Island Sound.

We ran into a guy, who seemed to bore everyone else who wandered off, but he had me interested in the history of the town. He was about 70 and he was visiting from Brooklyn. He told me he grew up there and he was pointing out things in the area – where the old police station was, where the 5 & 10 was, where his uncle worked in a sailing mast shop, etc.

***This old building was the hardware store in Greenport, some years back.***

He explained the place as if it was Mayberry, with only two officers on the police force at the time.

My family and I shopped and hung out, spending money on Small Business Saturday, but it was Friday.

It was nice, but so far from the city, about three hours in and three hours back. We went to the Hamptons after that for dinner and hung out, then headed back to the city very late.

Usually we would go to the Southampton Christmas parade and tree lighting on Saturday night, but we did Greenport instead.

We enjoyed the non-Starbucks, one-of-a-kind village coffee shop.

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I was almost hit by a bus in New Jersey!

*This is the situation at the Hoboken bus terminal.*

I’m back in NYC for Thanksgiving week. I took the Amtrak down from New England.

I was telling my friends how bad the drivers are in Boston, and I guess karma came and got me. I was almost mowed down by big bus in Hoboken yesterday!

I was leaving Hoboken, and it was cold and windy. I usually walk along the Hudson River to the train terminal where I could get the PATH train back to the city (NYC), but I took the back way and walked through the bus yard, which is part of the train terminal.

There were only three buses and they weren’t moving. The whole big lot was empty otherwise, so I proceeded to cut through to get to the trains. Just as I was standing in the center of the lot, one of the buses started moving, and it appeared to be coming right at me, but I figured the driver saw me, he was going to bypass me, there was 100 feet or more on either side of me.

But no, he came right at me. Then as he reached me, he proceeded to make a U-turn – right into me! I started running along the side of the bus, at the driver’s side window to avoid ending up under the bus. If I ran to the left, I would be under the bus, if I stood there, I would under the bus, so I kept running, and yelling and the driver didn’t see or hear me! He was alone on the bus, so there was no one to distract him.

Someone from above was there to protect me. It had to be, it was the only explanation. Finally the driver saw me and stopped. He opened his window and started yelling at me. Sure, I was wrong to cut through the lot, but I would assume a driver could see a man walking alone in a parking lot.

I was so pissed and upset, that I just ignored him and walked away. Another driver who witnessed this from her bus, started yelling at me. I told her I was lost and that’s not a reason to not be paying attention. If I was a stray dog, would he have run over the dog, too?

I walked away from her since they weren’t going to take the blame.

So after all these years of almost being hit by Boston drivers, I now have the distinction of being almost struck by a Hoboken City bus; at the bus terminal.

It was very scary. Remember that old Dennis Weaver movie, Duel? It was a bit like that. Not really, but almost.

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Boston and Cambridge

I’m in Boston for a few days, then I’ll take the train down to NYC for Thanksgiving.

It’s a mixed batch weatherwise – mid ’60s one day, cold and rainy the next.

Did my usual things in Boston and Cambridge, ate in my usual places, did my usual thing. I’m a creature of habit.

See you in NYC in a few days.

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Below deck; boos cruise

When I look at today’s cartoon it reminds me of that Below Deck tv show on Bravo. It’s a franchise, there’s all sorts of Below Decks. There’s the original Below Deck and there’s Below Deck Mediterranean, Below Deck Sailing Yacht, Below Deck Down Under, and Below Deck Adventure. Sort of like the Real Housewives – one for every city.

I don’t watch any of the Below Decks, even though they seem to be very popular and my reasoning is quite stupid. The reason? I can’t understand how the full crew, including the captain and his staff and all the guests, along with the film crew, fit on the yachts. Seriously.

I live on the water, there are many yachts like that in my area, and I tried to look them over and figure how a large crew and a large bunch of guests, along with the camera men, sound men, etc. all fit below deck, let alone above deck!

*Just the crew on Below Deck, not counting the guests and film crew.*

And that’s why I can’t watch the show. I get too technical in my head to enjoy the story. I keep trying to figure out where everyone is sleeping, how they maneuver in the galley/kitchen, how they store all the food and drinks and how they all live aboard for a whole week or however long each outing is.

By the way, when I came up with this cartoon idea, I didn’t have Below Deck in mind, it just made me think of it after I looked at the cartoon.

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