2001: An Odyssey of Sorts

Earlier I highlighted a trip I took with my father, and with my mother's birthday having just passed, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the summer before high school.  That summer, my mother and I took the train to Toronto and visited New York with a group of her friends and their kids.

Keeping it classy on the train to Toronto

I recognize I was afforded a lot of incredible trips in my younger years, but the summer of 2001 was one that definitely left an impression.

While the exact dates are a bit hazy, the first stop was a train trip to Toronto.  To even begin our journey, my mother and I had to drive to Ontario to get to the train station since there aren't any tracks that go over the pristine waters of the Detroit River.  The ride itself took a few hours and was my first time taking the train (since the train at the Detroit Zoo barely qualifies), but it instantly became my favorite mode of transportation.  It takes a bit longer than flying, but if you have the time, it's definitely worth it to sit back and enjoy the scenery.  

As I briefly touched on in the post about the trip with my father, that was more of a "we'll get there and we'll figure it out" type trip.  With my mother (a retired nurse), however, she tends to be more of the itinerary type.  While each approach has its pros and cons, I try to find a nice balance when planning a trip of my own.

There are certain things that require some forethought, like the purchasing of tickets to an event or show; i.e. the Lion King on stage, as well as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (which was playing theme songs  from well-known movies/tv shows).  There was also the Toronto Science Center, the CN Tower, a tour of the Sky Dome (now the Rogers Center), and the Hockey Hall of Fame.  I give my mom a lot of credit, she really goes all-out, and she's not even a sports fan, but she made sure to incorporate that into the trip.  I suppose that's something all good parents would do.

One part that was unplanned during my cultural-growth-cram-session was as we were leaving.  It was Canada Day (or right before) and they were handing out little Canadian flags to everyone downtown.  On top of that it was the day they were announcing  who would be hosting the 2008 Olympics, for which Toronto had a strong bid.  So hundreds of people are standing downtown (before social distancing was a thing) watching whatever television broadcast was closest to them.  The announcement finally came through that Beijing had won the bid to host, and in true Canadian fashion, there was a big sigh of disappointment, but the party kept going because Toronto is that awesome.  To be able to be there while the whole city is awaiting such a big announcement was quite a unique experience.

The second leg of our journey took us to the Big Apple some time in mid-August.  We were supposed to meet up with a couple other families that we had camped with before, and another couple that we hadn't met before, Jim and Gail.

The first time we met Jim and Gail was actually at the airport when we arrived (separate flights arriving around the same time).  They were a younger couple who also had kids, but weren't able to bring them on the trip with them.  Eventually all the families got together and made our way to our hotel(s).  I can't remember if we all stayed at the same one or not, hence the parenthesis.  

Again, it's been 19 years so forgive my lack of details, but I remember thinking that as prevalent as NYC is in the movies and tv, it still doesn't prepare you for how overwhelmingly huge the city really is.  I'm sure, as with most things, the more time you spend there, the smaller it seems, but at 14 years old it was incredible.  I remember thinking "what do these people do for work to live here" and "is there a movie being shot near by where I can be an extra?"  Like with our OBX trips, we were all on vacation together, but didn't feel it necessary to spend every moment together.  

A lot of the bigger things we did do together; like our tour of Ellis Island.  Growing up with a father who was obsessed with history, and my interest in my own family's history, it was a very rewarding place to visit.  We ended up finding the name of a distant relative on my mom's side of the tree and got to take a tour of the grounds where we were able to see the famous writings on the pillars from the people that were being processed into America so long ago.

The kids table at the Hard Rock Cafe

We also ate most of our meals together.  We ate in little Italy and at the Hard Rock Cafe.  As I'm sure you can imagine, the Hard Rock Cafe was packed with your stereotypical tourists, like us so there was going to be quite a bit of a wait; especially for a group of 12.  At some point after hearing how long the wait was going to be, Jay, the husband of my mom's nurse friend Janet, slipped a piece of currency into the hosts hand.  I'm not going to pretend to know how much was given, but however much it was, it worked and we got seated a lot quicker.  What a ballsy move, eh?  There was also the Carnegie Deli.  Good lord was that place awesome.  My palate at the time wasn't as refined as it is now, so I got a turkey sandwich and I'm pretty sure they put a whole frickin' turkey on that thing.  If only I had been more adventurous with my food back then.  Although, the last day we were there, all I wanted was a hot dog from a street vendor, so I guess I was a little brave.   Oh well, maybe I'll go back one of these days.

When you visit a place like NYC, it's hard not to do all the touristy trap things, including buying an I <3 NY shirt, which we all did.  My mom and I didn't do the Statue of Liberty, though we did pass it on our way to Ellis Island.  One of the nights we had all gone out to eat together, we had planned on checking out the Empire State Building.  As luck would have it, we got there just after the observation deck had closed so the closest we got was the lobby.  On our way out, however, we were stopped by a limo driver that must've known the situation we had gotten ourselves into and offered us a ride.  I don't remember how long we were in it for, but was one of the coolest random happenstances to occur during the trip.

Just a couple more things that I'd like to touch on that were fairly memorable about the trip.  One being Central Park.  Our hotel was right by Central Park so a lot of time was spent walking the perimeter, but not really exploring the innards.  As a group we had walked through and checked out the bronze statues that are sprinkled throughout, and on our last day my mom and I walked through it a little more because I really wanted to swing on one of the swing sets.  The most memorable Central Park encounter was the carriage ride that Jim and Gail took me on through Central Park at night.  Not sure if it was them wanting to give my mom a break from me, or maybe they were missing their kids, but they treated me to a carriage ride.  I don't remember what we talked about or any major details, other than the fact that it was a very pleasant experience and it was neat passing by the night life scene of Central Park including a couple restaurants.  I saw Jim and Gail only once after the trip, at a reunion barbecue that we had and I got to meet their kids; great family.  I hope wherever they are, they're doing well.

Finally, before our failed attempt at exploring the Empire State Building, we were able to go to the top of the World Trade Center.  It's one of those things where, looking back, you wish you had appreciated it more.  Don't get me wrong, the views were breath-taking and the magnitude of the two buildings

View from the observation deck

wasn't lost on us (and being stupid teenagers at the time, we had a physics discussion about how fast a penny could get going if we threw it over the edge), but at the time it was just another stop along our week-long tour of New York City.  When 9/11 happened a few weeks later, on top of all the other emotions brought on by that day, knowing that I had just visited that spot no more than a month prior added to the disbelief.  I still have my ticket from our visit there (tucked away in a shoe-box literally named "box of important stuff") and every once in a while I'll look at it and consider myself lucky to have experienced it.

Those were the last two big trips my mother and I have gone on together, though we have a train trip to Chicago that's been in the works for over a year now (thanks COVID).  Whenever we're finally able to go, I look forward to whatever we end up putting on the itinerary, and even more so, the unplanned moments in between.