Day 3: New York City

On Thursday night, after our day at the game, Brett and I made our way to Isaac’s Barber Shop for a haircut and some good candor. These two barbers were convinced that we were members of Maroon 5 headed across the country on tour, and asked if I wore a vice in my pants to sing the high notes. Although I had been practicing my falsetto and the vice was in place, our autographs still did not yield free haircuts.

Well shorn and ready for action, we headed to B-Bar on Bowery and 4^th Street looking to enjoy the outdoor patio and some cocktails. The usual cast of New York characters rolled through from all walks of life: Amherst Alumni, Lex Vegas Lunatics, Frisbee Folk, and the Regular Relatives. Once again, interesting conversation prevailed as we spoke of our plans for our journey, reasons for leaving our jobs, and the usual nonsense and riff raff. I would recount the interesting stories and tales that were shared, however, we enjoyed several beers, shots, and drinks before sleep finally beckoned at 3:30am. These tales are locked safely in my “memory” never to be retold.

After a late start from the heavy drinking the night before, we finished packing and made preparations to leave. Getting hold of the drugs and shirts had been no problem, but the car and tape recorder were not easy things to round up at 1:30pm on a Friday afternoon in New York City. And so we set out for Ithaca, faced with Friday afternoon Labor Day weekend traffic headed out of New York City. We had originally planned to be there for an early dinner at 6pm, but it was an uphill climb from the start. Our first two miles took nearly 45 minutes! By the time we finally got out of traffic, our new arrival time was already pushed back well after 7pm and more traffic en route led to a 9pm arrival time. Fortunately, on a Friday evening, Ithaca was alive with the sounds of 80s music and college students just beginning a new school year.

We met three of our friends from Amherst, Michael Page, Hilary Plum, and Sarah Hann, for dinner in town at Ithaca Ale House. Thankfully, they were able to wait the additional three hours for dinner due to our delays on the road. The burgers were great, the beer was delicious, and the waitresses were beautiful. What more could you ask for after a long day on the road? Oh, yeah, the company was pretty good too! We were looking for travel advice for the leg of our journey between Minneapolis and Denver. Fortunately, Page was raised in Fargo, North Dakota, and Sarah and Hilary has plenty of additional advice regarding Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado. Also, being more level-headed than Brett or myself, they suggested a paper atlas rather than simply relying on the GPS and internet access via my phone. As far as we were concerned, technology would prevail, but they warned of poor satellite coverage and battery power becoming severely limiting factors.

If anyone has any good spots to visit between Minneapolis and Denver, we are very much open to suggestions and, in fact, we very much encourage them. We are looking for majestic landscapes, good night life, and potentially interesting landmarks along the way. I promise to not only post pictures, but also call you out by name if we follow your suggestion...what could be better than that? Oh yeah, actually being there with no cares in the world and living the dream...