New York City in bloom!On my recent whirlwind trip to New York City for the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) conference, I took some photos in the city. I didn't get to explore it as much as I wanted to because of... weather! My flight arrived - or was scheduled to arrive - at noon Thursday but guess what? All three NYC-serving airports were shut down due to some crazy weather. Storms, wind, rain... We were hovering near NYC (I flew into Newark) when we got low on fuel and had to divert to Washington DC to land. So we then proceeded to wait until about 6pm when we finally got the OK to get back in the air and head to Newark again. I had been planning on meeting my writer friend Miranda (who just wrote this article for FAIR aka Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting- "The Unrenewed Debate Over Renewable Energy") to explore the city, and also my other writer friend Sharon who I've known online forever but have never met in person - but darn that weather - Sharon had to vacate the premises for a family dinner by the time I landed. Miranda waited for me and we got to grab dinner, though, at least.
In fact, I'm incredibly grateful for a new friend, Ohio writer Nancy Averett, who waited for me at the airport for a couple hours since she used to live in the area and knew the ropes of the public transport. It was trains, planes and automobiles! After taking a plane, we got on the airport "air train" (tram) to the real train station. Took the train under the Hudson River to Manhattan, where we got out at Penn Station and took the 1,2,3 'train' (really a subway) to Times Square where we got the S-train (also a subway) to Grand Central Station. Ya, no kidding. And believe it or not, I did it all in reverse on the way back but on my own! At any rate, by the time we got to the Roosevelt hotel (where we stayed and where the conference is held every year) it was 830pm. We met up with my writer friend Trish (author of the Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Living), and Miranda and walked to this veggie place we found online. Only it was like a deli with no places to sit. So we picked a place called Jack's Restaurant and it turned out to be quite delish! After dinner, Miranda and I chatted in the Roosevelt bar for a while and then she headed back to her friend's place she was staying at.
The conference itself was great! I have to admit, it's not near as good as the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) conference (next up - SEJ-Miami!) but ASJA had a good mix of craft sessions, market-info sessions, and socializing. I landed an assignment that allowed me to apply for a health reporting fellowship (wish me luck!) and that in itself made it worthwhile. I got some good info about monetizing blogs that I want to explore further. Some people are making $4000-10,000 per month on their blogs. Holy cow! The most popular with advertisers are mom-blogs and bargain-blogs... interesting. This one isn't either but I'm pondering creating a new blog for either the foodie side of me, or the spiritual/science thing.
With that in mind, here are a few pics I took on my phone out and about in the city. Not great shots but just some snapshots of the time. I really LOVE the energy of New York City/Manhattan. There's just something about it. But I don't think I would want to live there. In the end, by Sunday afternoon I was ready to leave. Next trip? I'm heading to the Oregon Coast and to visit friends and family and I am so excited. Oregon relaxes my soul like no other place.
A shot of where I stayed - The Roosevelt Hotel. Wish I'd gotten some shots inside. It's quite ornate!
Keynote speaker Jen Singer, creator of the MommaSaid blog.
A shot of the Broadway sign with a NYC Sightseeing bus driving through. One of my friends went on a tour of Harlem's gospel churches on Sunday which sounded fabulous. When I take my kids there one day I want to do that tour!
Taxi Cab City! At every light, a dozen or so yellow cabs come driving through. This is in Times Square.
More Times Square. Someone told me that NYC hired a "czar" to make some changes to Times Square. One of the things they did was shut down one area of traffic and set out these tables and chairs and she said it would increase sales for the shops and restaurants, and sure enough it did.
After the ASJA Social Hour at the Roosevelt on Saturday evening, some friends headed over to The Oyster Bar at Grand Central. Try getting a vegan dinner at The Oyster Bar! I actually managed to have potatoes and a salad but the Crazy Sexy Cleanse was out the window for the weekend.
Two of these funky chairs were in the bathroom at The Oyster Bar so I just had to take a picture.
And this Lips couch! Funky! Want one?
3 comments:
Hi Wendee, I stayed at the Roosevelt one trip to NYC. I really like your photos. The way you have finished them is great. Creates a mood. I am calling myself a serious writer these days and I see I have some ways to go to get even more serious. Thanks for your post and feel free to drop by A Camp Host Meanderings when you have a minute or two.
Great photos, Wendee! I can't believe we were both at ASJA and didn't actually meet each other. In fact, there are a lot of FLXers and other ASJA members I'd really hoped to bump into over the weekend, but hundreds of people can blend into each other pretty well. There was just no way to single each other out.
Hope you come back next year -- we'll have to make a point of getting together!
Anonymous - who is this? I hoped to join the FLX gathering but I was starving and Ron said you guys were just going somewhere for drinks...I probably won't be back to ASJA for a while but I am always traveling everywhere and love creating writer gatherings wherever I go! :)
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