NYC the Virgin Trip

Life is definitely too short to miss opportunities, today I boarded NJ Transit and went to Penn Station in NYC.  I have never been there before and I do admit that I faltered a little this morning by procrastinating a bit.

I got off the train and was bombarded by a sea of people, some young, some old.  There were excited faces, weary faces and frankly mean faces. I figured out how to get to the street, and while veteran commuters will scoff at this I can see how this could be daunting. This is not happening in slow motion and you have to be aware of how others are moving, unless you want to wind up in the wrong place or perhaps squashed.

The sounds are intense and varied, cars sirens, many language's all in their own special symphony.  The smells are what I will remember in my dreams.  Chestnuts and other nuts roasting, hot dogs, chicken and of course the bakeries.  I wound around so many different kinds of things while I made my way towards times square that had it not been so very crowded I would have been standing still with my mouth open in awe.

I admired the window displays, found Times Square and eventually Rockefeller Center and the Tree.
Skaters, with Santa on the ice, elves everywhere and more sounds and smells.

I saw a woman buying a "designer bag" from a canvas sack, shared my roasted chestnuts with a stranger and kept walking.  Broadway, fascinated me with the posters and vendors everywhere.  I didn't expect the carnival atmosphere that I previously associated with tropical islands at ports of call.
Tee shirts, souvenirs, and hawkers everywhere

I know now that a previous desire to want to be in Times Square for New Years Eve, is best left as a wish and replaced with a new activity.  It was difficult to move as it was today with sightseers and shoppers, my imagination of this event boggled my mind and I know it is best left to bee seen on TV.

I walked for a little over four hours, without really stopping, there was no place to perch and no real way to stop.  I didn't want to stop either, I just kept looking and absorbing.  It was a great afternoon and next time I will have a plan to see some specific things.  Today I looked, listened and absorbed.

I am glad I ventured out, tried something way out of my comfort zone, well it was, not now,  I will go back.  I may put off another walking trip until Spring but with the number of people it was impossible to be cold.

Now to rest, and remember I am not a Sissy

New Place New Things, No One is Ever Too Old NOT ME

I am totally puzzled about this thing called aging.  I am a kinder gentler version of the person I was at 25, however what has not and will probably never change is my inquisitive nature.

Many of our friends and peers are retiring and it doesn't seem like the right thing to be doing when there is so much more to do, see, and learn.  I see something and want to know more, see more etc. etc.

Given all of that and the fact that I still feel like I am thirty mentally, I have started a new venture.  I am working in New Jersey for the next few months as a consultant.  I have been an operating room nurse, worked in management and that is what I am sharing.

I have never been in New Jersey before.  I arrived on Saturday afternoon and after finally getting out of the rat's maze of roads around Newark airport made my way to Somerset, where I shall stay for the next few months.  (I will go home every other weekend, and for Christmas)

I thought the rat's maze around the airport would make me crazy, but once I was on the road I found the same drivers in New Jersey that I have observed in MS,OH, AL,FL. SC, and WI.  OK, maybe there were some worse ones in FL. I Will say no more about the drivers, I have managed to find my way around and in reasonable time.  I will do a Garmin advertisement at any time, from now on.

On Sunday I ventured off to Princeton to go to church.  I googled churches and found that one.  It was really a great experience and I will be going back.  I loved the setting the sermon and the people.
I spent the rest of the day exploring the area around Princeton and could picture my friend Peg and I going around looking a the architecture and shops.  It is the sort of place we both love.  I found myself recalling odd bits of old history lessons as I drove around.  I didn't expect to find so much country.  The landscape is lovely and I am imagining what the spring will bring.  I surmise that winter will be beautiful as well.

The working environment is exactly what is expeceted,  The peoples faces are different, like the drivers the personalities and behaviors are the same, the people I will be working with are really nice.
This part of my adventure is somewhat predictable, as much as an Operating room  can be predictable.

I will attempt to see as much of the area as I can, this is going to be a stretch for me because I am here alone and I do intend to go into NYC this weekend to see the tree in Times Square and do some simple walking in the city.  I have only use public transit in San Francisco/ Oalkand in the past.  Growing up in the Midwest there is not much mass transit and Alabama, MS etc did not offer much in that line either. I am working though being terrified and am not at a nervous level and hopefully by the weekend I will have garnered enough bravado to venture on. 

I don't know if this is foolish or not but I certainly will not learn much about the area sitting in the hotel, so off I will go.

I will look forward to seeing more of this, refreshing my memory of the history of the area.  Maybe I will learn more and actually get braver.

The point of all of this stuff is that I was told that "at my age" I am too old to travel around alone, and start a new carer venture?" 

Who ever said there is an age limit on exploration, learning or adventure?

NOT ME