So, our trip to New York City.

We went for friends son’s wedding. The bride is from NYC and so that’s where the wedding was. We had been invited well before we knew that we were going to be able to make the move from the northeast to Texas. Although it probably wouldn’t have made a difference as they are good friends, it was small wedding, and were happy they invited us.

We flew out of Austin to Dallas Fort Worth and then to LaGuardia. No direct flights from Austin to LaGuardia that fit our schedule as we were invited to the rehearsal dinner as well.

We breezed through TSA in Austin and didn’t need to go through TSA at DFW. No, they came to us for a “random” ID and boarding pass check. Not us specifically, but everyone on the plane. Six TSA officers and two plainclothes DHS officers. Some people were “randomly” stopped a second time just beyond the entry to the Jetway.

We made it to LGA on time and took an Uber to the hotel. 10 miles, 35 minutes, $65.00 plus tip. It’s New York City, so that’s to be expected. Of course Uber costs more because NYC makes Uber drivers get cab driver’s licenses.

The hotel was nice, but the rooms were about the size of a large walk in closet. As a friend joked, it’s so small that you have to go outside to change your mind.

I went out to get a cup of coffee and on the way back walked by a pile of laundry and a guy sleeping on an army cot under about three blankets. I know from working with a lot of homeless people that some of them just refuse to go into shelters, but this seemed a bit extreme. Sleeping on the sidewalk in Manhattan on an army cot.

My wife and I had the same impression of the city. It’s dirty, noisy, even the high end buildings look like they need a pressure washing. Traffic is a mess as the city has turned traffic lanes into bike lanes. Roads have one lane for motor vehicles, one for bikes, and one for buses. Then people wonder why traffic doesn’t move. Bikes and scooters are everywhere. Frankly and bluntly, it’s like some Third World shit hole.

No one seems to speak English and there are few, if any, native New Yorkers in Manhattan. I don’t know where they are, but they aren’t there.

There are police, but not a lot of them. I haven’t been in NYC for years, but before the Plandemic there were cops walking beats all over the place. Not now. Now there are one or two police cars sitting on the side of the road with their lights on and two officers sitting in side.

Something else I noticed was jaywalking. Pedestrians in NYC used to obey the no crossing lights, but that seems to have gone out the window.

One thing I will say is that the food in NYC is very good. The rehearsal dinner was great, the breakfast I had the next morning in a hole in the wall restaurant was tasty and not expensive. I was lucky to find a seat in the restaurant as it was a tiny place with five or six two seat tables. A lot of people were sitting outside in the 35 degree temperature eating in little huts (for lack of a better term) with three walls and no heat. In what is supposed to be the most sophisticated city on the planet.

The wedding was a lot of fun. We got to talk to friends we haven’t seen since we moved and don’t quite know when we’ll see them again. My oldest friend and his wife were also invited and we got to see them as well. Plans were made for them to come down to Texas for a visit in the spring.

Sunday morning we got up, got dressed, packed and took another Uber ride to the airport. We once again breezed through TSA and headed for our gate. We were early, but I prefer to
arrive early rather than miss a flight. We had breakfast and sat down to wait. The gate agent announced that they were looking for two people to sit in the emergency exit row. Normally they
charge extra for that, so Mrs. EMS Artifact went up and volunteered us. For some odd reason we got the window and aisle seats and were separated by a passenger who paid for the center seat.

When we were called to board, once again we had a “random” extra, bonus, screening from the TSA. This time they also wanted to see peoples laptops and tablets. They also had a bonus canine, which I surmise was an explosive sniffing dog. They once again gave extra screening to some people for no obvious reason.

That slowed down the boarding process and we ended up pushing back from the gate about 15 minutes late. The weather was cold with snow/rain falling intermittently, so we went to the de icing station. Twice. Then we waited some more. All told, we were about an hour late in taking off.

As a result, we were going to miss our connecting flight in Dallas. I kept checking the airline app to see what our options were and all of a sudden it became moot because our connecting flight was now delayed. By four hours. Great. More sitting around an airport.

We landed in Dallas about the time we were originally scheduled to land in Austin and landed in Austin about the time I had planned to be in bed at home. The bonus was that we got a free upgrade to First Class. Of course being a forty five minute flight we got no drinks or snacks, but the seats were comfortable.

All in all, I can’t see a reason that I will ever go to New York City again. It offers me nothing that I want and everything that I don’t.

I have one more trip planned to the northeast, but I don’t have the exact dates picked out yet. After that, I’ll be content to be home in Texas.