Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings

Today was our getaway day from New York but since our flight didn’t leave until 8:40 pm we had some time to do some more things in “The City That Never Sleeps”.  We had a wonderful breakfast at Margon.  Patrice read about the place in a food magazine and we were expecting a special experience.  The place looked like a dive.  Once again we tried to use our Spanish but were answered in English.  The place might not have looked very special but the food was excellent (see below).

After that we took a walk over to the main office of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.  We were very impressed with the office and staff.  We will tell you more about that place later when we will return to New York in three weeks to do some work for the Foundation.

Upon walking back to the hotel we saw some very interesting sights.   For one thing, there were loads of food trucks lining the streets.  I suppose people are too busy and the streets are too crowded to stray far from the workplace to go somewhere for lunch.

But this restaurant appealed to those wary of dining from a food truck (see below).

Leaving the city was not easy.  JFK airport is only 18 miles (13 miles as the crow flies) from our hotel but it took us about an hour and 30 minutes to get here.  The cabs in New York are equipped with small televisions that have interesting sound bytes to keep you entertained during your ride.  They play a series of stories then repeat.  The first 2 or 3 times are fine but after hearing the stories 6 or 7 times you start getting a little disturbed.  Luckily I discovered a mute button.

 

Our flight will board soon.  The next time you hear from me will be in Reykjavik.  I just love showing that I can spell.  Patrice here now, took him about 5 minutes to figure out how to spell Reykjavik and that was even WITH Google’s help.

I know many of you think our trips are all about going to great restaurants and baseball games.  I hear your whining about poor Patrice and how she has to suffer while I pursue my goal of attending games in all 30 MLB parks.  Well relax, today was all about her.

We started our day by going shopping.  I found a great store that sells high end purses (see below).

Then Patrice expressed an interest in going to the Statue of Liberty.  She didn’t have to say it twice and I had her there (see below).

 

Being the nature lover I had to show her some of New York’s natural resources (see below).

Museums are also among her favorite things to do so I took her to a museum dedicated to private investigators (see below).

But of course how could I forget her favorite (see below).

I am happy to say that tomorrow we leave for Iceland.  This trip to NYC does not rank among my favorites.  One thing I did enjoy was the Museum of Moving Images where we saw a very interesting documentary “I Am, Or How Jack Became Black”.  The film maker explored the problems presented to multiracial individuals in our culture.  We had the opportunity to meet the filmmaker who was born deaf and had a black father and white Jewish mother.  The film reminded me of the book “The Color of Water” by James McBride where the author discussed his Jewish mother and black father.  If you have not read the book, I strongly recommend you do.

We also went to see the shows “A Bronx Tale” (based on the film and gave it a C+) and The Band’s Visit (about an group of Egyptian musicians who visited Israel and we gave it a B+).   For this trip Broadway Lights were not a big success.  Hopefully that will mean that the Northern Lights will be spectacular.  I am hopeful but based on past performance (Christ the Redeemer being fogged in and the Total Eclipse of the Sun blocked by cloud cover) I am not getting my hopes too high.

 

 

Many people have told me “You sure spend a lot of time talking about food on your blog”. Then there are others who say, “I sure love all the stuff you write on your blog about food”. This entry is geared toward the later group.

Yesterday we ventured toward Central Park to have breakfast at a restaurant recommended by our friend, Nancy.  The restaurant is called Sarabeth’s (40 Central Park S, New York, NY 10021).  When we arrived there was quite a crowd.  Diners can choose to eat outside (we were quoted a 25 minute wait) or inside (a 20 minute wait).  It was a bit warm and humid so we opted for the shorter wait inside.  Before being seated we took a short walk around the area looking at the Ritz Carlton and Marriott Essex House hotels. Both are classic looking hotels and quite a bit more expensive than our room at the Marriott Marquis Times Square.  Apparently this area is  more geared to business travelers who don’t mind spending the extra dollar to be close to their meeting locations as long as they can pass the expense on to their customers.

When we returned to Sarabeth’s we were seated promptly next to a lovely couple who were visiting NYC on business.  The husband was from Argentina and the wife was from Puerto Rico.  We never pass up a chance to practice our Spanish but they quickly replied to us in English.  I guess our Spanish needs some work.

Back to the cuisine.  Patrice ordered the Lobster Roll against my advice.  I explained that it is a Boston specialty.  How could NYC match up to the lobster rolls we had at Neptune Oyster in the North side of Boston?  The roll arrived and I scoffed at its small size and and larger price than what we had in Boston.  Patrice let me taste it and I have to admit it was every bit as good and maybe even better.  I had the salmon eggs Benedict which was also superb.  The only thing I found lacking at Sarabeth’s were the napkins.  Shouldn’t a classy place like this have cloth napkins?  Apparently they don’t think so.

This morning we were feeling very guilty about our indulgence the previous day so we started today in the gym.  No pictures of that since I looked ready for a 911 call and that was before I even started to exercise.

We then showered, got dressed and discussed what we should do today.  How about MOMA?  Or the Guggenheim?  Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building are always fun.  What do you say we go to Junior’s instead?  Junior’s won out over the others.  When you come to NYC you have to eat a corned beef sandwich and a potato knish.  LA’s version of these two dishes just does not measure up.

It was only 77 degrees today but with light showers earlier in the morning it was incredibly humid.  While waiting to be seated I heard a woman suggesting that she and her family sit outside because “it is so delightful”.   Obviously this woman has never been to LA.  I was hoping for a table inside but  willing to accept something outside because I was getting hungry.  After being seated I told the waiter  I knew what I wanted and  ordered without looking at the menu.  “I will have a corned beef on rye and a potato knish” I said.  “We don’t have knishes” was his reply.  “How could that be?  Isn’t this New York?  Isn’t this Junior’s?”  “We don’t have potato knishes” was his answer.  I settled for the corned beef sandwich knowing that there would be so much meat I wouldn’t have to eat for the rest of the day.  Junior’s is known for serving sandwiches that have dislocated many jaws.  When the sandwich arrived I saw that times had changed.   That was not the sandwich I remembered but it still tasted good.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing in and around the hotel.  At night we went to Caroline’s, a comedy club very near the hotel.  We saw the “New York Kings of Comedy”.  They were a group of 5 comedians who did their own stand up routines and also a couple of bits with each other.  As Patrice likes to say, “It was good but not great”.   I would say, it was not good.

 

Patrice and I enjoy Broadway shows.  The smash hit “Hamilton” has created the main buzz in town but the show “Dear Evan Hansen” has not been far behind.   It has been a huge success and a very difficult ticket to get.  All shows have cancelation lines and if you wait before the performance you can sometimes get lucky and be rewarded with excellent seats.  Patrice is a pro at this and volunteered to wait in line for “Evan Hansen” while I went back to the hotel and worked out at the fitness center.  She is a real trooper.

After my workout I showered then went to join Patrice on the cancelation line.   As I was exiting the hotel lobby I saw basketball legion, Julius Erving, aka “Dr. J” talking to some people.   No one seemed to even notice him.  I knew Patrice was waiting but I had something that I needed to share with him.  So I turned around and went back into the hotel lobby and all I said was, “I would like to tell you a Dr. J story”.  He graciously agreed to give me some time to tell my tale.

It was 1976 and my brother-in-law, Morty, and sister, Annette, had season seats for the Los Angeles Lakers.  They offered me the seats to see Dr. J’s first appearance in Los Angeles with the understanding that I take the daughter of one of Morty’s friends to the game.  I agreed in an instant.

I spent the days leading up the game telling my friends, “I am going to see Dr. J, I am going to see Dr. J, I am going to see Dr. J”.  The big night arrived and I went to pick up my date.  Soon after picking her up it became apparent that this was not going to be the woman of my dreams.  I didn’t care because, I was going to see Dr. J.  It didn’t matter that this woman was awful, hell I would have taken Hitler as my date if it meant I could see Dr. J.

We arrived at the Forum and when we were about to enter the arena I reached into my pocket for the tickets AND THEY WERE GONE!.  I went into a panic.  I retraced my steps but I couldn’t find the tickets. My date then said in her high-pitched, squeaky voice, “I guess we can’t go to the game?”.   She said it in a way that you knew she was relieved.  I on the other hand was trying to decide where to hide the body because I had decided to murder her.

Finally I asked a security guard the most ridiculous question.  “Did anyone find any tickets and turn them in to you?”   I waited for the guard to reply, “In your dreams, buddy”.  Instead he asked “Where are the seats?”  I had to confess I didn’t know, they were a gift from my sister and her husband.  He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the tickets.  Needless to say I was incredibly grateful and I got to see Dr. J.   Now 41 years later I got to tell the great one the story.  He only had one question, “Was that the girl you married”.  I quickly said no, with such disgust in my voice that I got a laugh out of him.

I then went to meet Patrice in line and tell her what happened.  She asked if I got a picture with him but in my excitement I failed to think of that.  Oh well, next time.

Hello fans we are off again on our way to seek adventure and fun but in reality I am just looking for food and baseball. Unfortunately no baseball is planned for this trip. Instead we are on our way to Iceland in search of the Northern Lights. I hear that they are spectacular and my friend Allen told me he got to see them from the cockpit of an airplane. That was years ago when airlines would on occasion let passengers visit the pilots. Allen is very old. I am too young to remember those days.

Followers of this blog are most likely saying right now, “Guarantee, no northern lights on this trip”. Readers might remember when we went to Brazil and Argentina and saw some fantastic sights but the attraction that brought me there was Christ the Redeemer.   Unfortunately we didn’t get the view I had hoped (see below).

Then there was the trip to Nashville on August 21, 2017 to see the total eclipse of the sun. We saw some incredible views but just moments before totality, cloud cover prevented us from seeing what people, just a few miles away, told me was spectacular (go ahead pour salt in my open wound).

Let’s hope this time will be different. Well more about that later. Now we are on our way to New York City. Our plan is to make a short jump from New York to Reykjavik (bet you didn’t think I could spell that one) rather than a more grueling flight from Los Angeles. Also this way we can ease into the time change (Iceland is 7 hours ahead of Los Angeles).   New York offers Broadway and great restaurants and we love both. I promised Patrice that this would not be a baseball trip but I did notice that the Cleveland Indians will be in town to play the Yankees in the first round of the American League playoffs. I mentioned that to Patrice and she started to cry. I guess this doesn’t look like it will be a baseball trip.

The flight from LA has been great. Take off was smooth and so has been the flight to this point.  We are currently somewhere over Ohio.

Patrice and I watched the movie “Snatched” with Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn. It made me laugh but it was very silly at times. After the movie we compared notes. Patrice said she liked it. I said it was kind of stupid to which she replied, “Sometimes I like stupid things” and was staring at me when she said it. Was that a message to me?

Landing soon so I better sign off.

 

 

I got up early this morning and accompanied by my daughter, Lindsay, we headed to the hotel gym for an intense work out.  We made plans last night to work out this morning but when I got up I was feeling so very comfortable that I was willing to take a pass until I got a text from Lindsay “Are you up?  Are you ready?”.  Damn that girl!  Actually I am grateful to her because I knew what lay ahead for me and my stomach.

I am so glad people love living in this part of the country because there are already too many people in Los Angeles.  As I said before it is just too hot for me in the South.  You might also recall that I love Southern cooking.  Patrice found us a gem for breakfast today.   We ate at 417 Union (located oddly enough at 417 Union Street) and we were offered the usual Southern gems such as Chicken and Waffles (Robert had that) and Biscuits with Gravy (David’s choice).   They also had Lox and Bagels.  Sorry, I don’t order Shrimp and Grits north of the Mason Dixon line and I won’t order Lox and Bagels south of the same border.  I might reconsider them if I can see a hunched over 70 year old Jewish guy with a Brooklyn accent at the cash register.

Here is a look at breakfast menu:

After breakfast we took a short walk to pick up the “Hop-On, Hop-Off” city tour bus.  We had to wait for 3 buses before we could find one that could take on 6 additional passengers.  It is incredibly crowded here with all the “Eclipse Seekers” in town.  We didn’t get off the bus until it had almost completed its loop and brought us back close to our hotel.  We then walked the short distance back to the hotel and along the way saw a number of people selling eclipse t-shirts and hats, long lines at various restaurants (we lucked out this morning, we got seated immediately but when we left there was a long line out the door).  We also saw a of couple people wearing Trump t-shirts (hey, we are in Tennessee, be careful what you say here).

After the tour we went back to the hotel to cool off.  David found us a great video of the ABC coverage of the solar eclipse on February 26, 1979.  Announcer Frank Reynolds (remember him?) quipped,  “If you miss this one, guess you will have to wait 38 years until August 21, 2017 because that is the next time a total solar eclipse will be seen in North America.”

If you want to see and hear Frank back in 1979 check this link: http://people.com/human-interest/abc-news-report-covering-1979-solar-eclipse-wishes-for-world-at-peace-in-2017/

Tonight we will have dinner at Husk (37 Rutledge Street).  It will be late when we return to the room so I am posting now.   If you want to see what we had last time at Husk, look at this link:  http://wp.me/p5Z9hV-15v

Tomorrow is the big day.  We are all very excited about the big event.  Talk to you later.

Many years ago our son, David, was told that on his 19th birthday (June 10, 2002) there would be a total eclipse of the sun.  He looked forward to the day but was very disappointed to learn that it was only a partial eclipse.  At that time the date August 21, 2017 became very important to him. David learned that on 8/21/17 there would be a total solar eclipse in the United States and he promised himself that he would travel to see it.

So, 13 days after his youngest child (Julian) was born AND thanks to an incredibly understanding wife, David is in Nashville, Tennessee to view this very special astronomical event.  Along for the ride are David’s son, Owen, Patrice, Lindsay, our friend Austin and me.

As usual we left LA on a spectacular weather day.  I have met people who say they love the changing seasons.  Not me, I’m like Randy Newman “I Love LA”.  Unfortunately we arrived in Nashville and this place is like an oven.  Even though it was hot and humid as the readers of my blog know, I LOVE FOOD and I LOVE SOUTHERN COOKING.   So after dropping off our baggage at the hotel we headed to dinner.  It was recommended that we go to Monell’s, described to us as serving typical Southern cuisine.  The place wasn’t far from the hotel but traffic was as bad as it is in LA.  Parking was sparse but we were lucky to find a spot very close to our destination.   I brought my sweatshirt in case the diner had intense air conditioning.  Instead of being frozen we had to wait for a table OUTSIDE!  A mere one hour later they called for us.   We were led to a large table where 6 women from Alabama were sitting.  This is family style dining and these women were our new best friends.  The waitress explained that there was broccoli, banana pudding and cole slaw on the table and more food would be coming soon.  “You take what you want and pass to the left.  Don’t be bashful there is plenty out here and more to come.”  Then came the onslaught of fried chicken, meat loaf, catfish, pork, mac & cheese, baked apples, mashed potatoes, biscuits with gravy, corn pudding and I am sure something else that I have forgotten.  The waitresses were hilarious when delivering food, “Use two hands hands honey, I have lots of food here and more is a-coming.”

I took a couple of pictures of the early dishes but I was too frightened of the waitresses to take any more.

Tomorrow is a free day, Monday is the big day.

No, we are not off to see Julian, California (population 1,502 as of the 2010 census and down from 1,621 in the 2000 census) located in San Diego County but rather to see the newest Reiss.  That would be Julian Stephen Reiss.  Julian was born August 6, 2017 and here is a picture of him with the other Reiss boys.

Owen has had a lot of experience being a big brother but this is something new for Charlie.  He has had some interesting observations about the new boy. Most interesting is that ” he is very cute and smells like pizza”.   David and Robyn are doing great and the baby seems to be a real jewel.  Of course I started reviewing all the crucial information with the baby, that is, USC is good, UCLA and Notre Dame are bad, etc.

In addition to visiting we were given an assignment this weekend.  Charlie told us that he was given permission to have a goldfish.  Just talking to him about the fish made me excited too.  Words cannot describe the look on that little boy’s face when we started to talk about getting him a goldfish.  I was feeling pretty good because grandpa was going to be a hero for a couple of bucks.

Upon arriving at the pet store it became very clear that grandpa had not been to a pet store to get a goldfish for a LONG time.  I was right it would only take us a minute or two to pick out a fish for each of the boys (Owen and Charlie only, Julian will have to wait) but instead of getting a cute little goldfish and little bowl our “Aquarian Consultant” helped us understand what was required.  Just a few minutes later we left with a tank (equipped with a water filter and light), stone ground cover, decorations, water purifier and one other thing.  Oh, yeah the fish.  Owen was a great helper while we assembled the tank.  The instructions said to not put the fish in until the tank water had normalized and was ready to receive the little critters. Somehow I think even if the big tank isn’t completely ready it has to be better than the mini-cesspools that are their current homes (see below).

We had to get a tank with a divider  because apparently they will fight if put in together. They won’t get along as well as Owen and Charlie who never fight (Ha!).

 

Today we left Vancouver, British Columbia and returned to Seattle.  To be frank, at times I had my doubts we were even in Canada.  Until yesterday we didn’t hear anyone say “Eh”.   I’ve never met a Canadian who didn’t use that expression, so what gives?  I kept asking myself where are we?  Then like a shot from above, my faith in mankind was restored.  A stranger walking by us turned and said, “Looks like it’s finally gonna cool down eh?”.  He went on to say something else but I was so excited I didn’t hear the second sentence except that, it too ended with “Eh?”.

Prior to leaving the city we went to the Granville Island Public Market.  This is your typical farmer’s market with lots of wonderful booths.  We saw the usual farmer’s market type vendor with fresh fish, fresh vegetables and all sort of confections.  There were also a number of artists sharing their wares and I bought Patrice a lovely necklace as a souvenir.  I didn’t get anything at the market but was sure tempted.  See below.

After the market we headed back to the USA.  Unfortunately border control had other ideas.  I don’t recall if I mentioned, but it took us about 18 minutes to cross the border from Washington to British Columbia last week.   Today it took us 1 hour more than that (yes 1 hour 18 minutes) today to go the opposite direction.  If we had a Global Entry pass (which we do but didn’t bring) crossing back into the USA would have taken about 5 minutes.   But we made good use of our down time by trying to learn the Canadian national anthem just in case they wouldn’t let us back into the USA (like they threatened our friend Lance you might recall if you read the blog comments).  We did a great job; after one hour we had the first line completely memorized (the first line is “O’ Canada” for those of you not familiar with the tune).  We will work on the second line our next trip.  That reminds me, I heard recently that President Trump wants to change our national anthem as part of his program to “Make America Great Again”.  Apparently he is upset because he is under the impression that the first line is “Jose can you see”.

When we finally made it into the city we decided to visit the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  This was of modest interest but I would not recommend it unless you have run out of other things to do.  If you have young children and would like to teach them the value of community service this might be a worthwhile stop.

After that we met Patrice’s childhood friend, Lynn and her husband Terry for dinner. We ate a Duke’s Chowder House (there are a number of them but we ate at 7850 West Green Lake Dr N) and had a splendid meal.  After dinner we took a walk around Green Lake and had a wonderful chat with two very dear friends.  On our walk we met a budding photographer and asked him to take a photo of us.  See below.

Tomorrow we head for home and back to work.  Let’s hope we won’t have to wait another 27 days for our next vacation.  After all, I need to write.

 

 

Today we visited two more “Must See” sights in Vancouver.  This morning we went to Capilano Suspension Bridge.  This is a privately owned entity that was built in 1889 and now has been developed into a tourist attraction.  The bridge is rather high over a river and can be a bit frightening to women and children.

Patrice here, boy is Robert full of hot air.  See below.

The park included a very interesting nature tour where we learned about the foliage and animals in the region.  After that we heard a less than exciting talk about the birds in the area.  We did get to see an owl which was very interesting to watch.  I was very envious of his ability to almost do a complete 360 with his head.

We next headed to lunch at The Flying Pig in the historic Gastown district (102 Water St,). This place was recommended to us by our friends Zara and Chuck who recommended Nightingale which we enjoyed last night.  They specifically recommended we get the Salmon Sampler.  See below.

I am recommending Chuck and Zara become restaurant critics.  They are 100% in our experience.

After lunch we went to Stanley Park named after Lord Stanley from NHL Stanley Cup fame.   We toured the park directly BEHIND our two guides.  See below.

The tour took about an hour and was a good overview of the sights to be seen.

Dinner was at Cincin (1154 Robson St) recommended by my friend Gail.  This was another excellent meal.  Maybe Gail should team up with Chuck and Zara?

Tomorrow we head back to Seattle.   Now the only question is: Where did I put my passport?