Home Again

Got back late last night from New York City, after an afternoon of dragging our suitcases to the Museum of Natural History. GREAT meteorite and gemstone hall at the Museum...and some of the worst manners in kids. They yelled whenever they felt like it, climbed all over the exhibits, and were pretty much ignored by their parents. Except in the planetarium, when the announcer said -- with a bunch of summer campers in attendance, who up to that point, had been totally obnoxious -- "if anyone in your group talks, everyone in the group leaves." Silence after that!

It took us two hours to get to the airport on the subway. Barely made our plane; I was so grateful we did.

New York City lessons learned from this trip:

*try to get breakfast included with your hotel stay. One solid meal at the beginning of the day can take you through to supper. (And food is expensive in NYC.)
*look for brunch, lunch and prix fixe specials, then tailor your schedule to take advantage of them. At one cafe, we got a full lunch and two drinks -- for $10. If we'd gone an hour later, the price would have been closer to $25.  
*carry a water bottle -- a cheap one that can be thrown away. Too many galleries will not let you take water -- or even an empty bottle -- in. You need the moisture to keep going, though; those streets are hot.
*get a black cotton knit sundress and Greek (also known as gladiator) sandals. Going in the fall? Black pants or skirt, and a classic white cotton or silk men's shirt. Carry a big leather shoulder tote for stuff, or a nicer backpack. You'll fit right in.
*buy a New York City pass. Saves you big bucks, if you're planning on visiting museums, the Empire State building or Ms. Liberty.
*forget eating at museum cafes, or buying much in their stores. Prices were jacked up in every one of the places we visited...and we hit a lot of them. Postcards and clearance books were about the only bargain.
*use an all-day metro card to get around on the subways. You'll still have to walk a lot, but the subways are easy to navigate if you can read a map. You could keep adding money on a card, but it's a hassle, and a misread will get you stuck somewhere, trying to argue with a kiosk. It's not worth it. We bought a 9-day unlimited card (the next available after a single-day card), used it for 6 days and got far more for our money than if we'd just paid per ride.

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Now a batch of mail and thank you notes await, along with a finishing-up batch of appraisals. I have to be in Cheyenne, WY tomorrow morning for three days of appraising, and the Cheyenne Heritage Quilters' annual show. (It's terrific, by the way -- if you're in the neighborhood of downtown's Civic Center, stop by. Lots of wonderful quilts, and a vendor's mall, too! Runs from Aug. 12-14.)


J.D. Roth is talking about confidence in today's post of Get Rich Slowly. He's got some great advice. I'd just add: if you're not sure what you're doing, study up. Learn as much as you can. Then act like you know what you're doing. Eventually you won't have to act!