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Friday morning began with a two and a half mile run around the corner of Prospect Park. This is definitely the healthiest start to a holiday I have ever had.
Next on a day with many new experiences, I took the subway south to Brooklyn's Chinatown. Despite being the only tourist attending this meal I arrived first as others had problems or got on the wrong trains. Ahem, Barry!
All worked out well as with Christine's help we ate some amazing Dim Sum. She even managed to secure some soup dumplings I last had in Hong Kong. Barry's sister & Nick also joined us at the meal which was enjoyed at a very leisurely pace. For $19 a head, I would challenge anyone to find a good a meal for that value. What was also noticeable was that we were the only Caucasian people in the place. Which probably explained our out of the way corner table, so we didn't disturb the regulars!
After lunch I had company for the first half of my long three borough subway journey on the N train. From almost the most southern point of the line to its northern conclusion in Queens.
I came off the N train at 30th and headed straight into a bar for a PBR. Linking up with everyone was difficult as Emily was negotiating Friday afternoon traffic, Stefan was coming from work & I had no wi fi. I thought it best to go in search of some after 30mins. The 0.2mile walk I made to Starbucks was tough. In the hottest temperatures I had experienced since being in Africa, & NY four years ago. I just cudnt function. After linking up with Stefan, finding Emily was almost too much. It was just so so hot. We grabbed an Uber to La Guardia. Stefan gained us access to the American Airlines lounge pre security. This turned out to be the only good thing about La Guardia. We enjoyed some fantastic complimentary wine & food. We made it through security with just four minutes until we were due to board. Perfection personified. Not quite. Soon an announcement came that our plane was on the ground & after the passengers had disembarked it would be cleaned and ready to go. Half an hour later we were still stood waiting when another announcement declared we were waiting for the Chicago plane to push off before we cud board. Then the plane we presumed to be ours left the gate. More waiting ensued & a new plane arrived and we watched the passengers disembark. First boarding call was made, lines formed but that's as far as we got. A flight attendant had gone missing. I mean, what!? At this point we have up and went in search of seats. Emily like a trooper looked after our bags as Stefan & I had noticed the huge Q for the only bar in the concourse had gone down. We knocked back a Bud light & a tequila for the scandalous price of $47. Worth it.
Eventually an attendant was found & we set off after what seemed like a huge wait on the Tarmac. The duration of the flight was spent debating what to do as we seemed to be destined to miss our connection in St Louis. Talk of driving came up much to my horror. Having already ordered a round of drinks for all. Emily gallantly offered to do the first stint of any driving. This meant I had her vodka soda on top of the margarita & beer I had got for myself. The entire flight was flown with the seatbelt sign on due to the altitude and heat wave we went through. Southwests problems turned out to have all stemmed from a nationwide computer malfunction on Wednesday that had led to hundreds of cancelled flights & displaced crew. In fairness the staff were great & the drinks were free. Yet as on any journey you just want to get where your going. Much to our relief the connection from St Louis to New Orlenas had been delayed by and hour & a half. So in the end we made that with time to spare. Another bumpy flight ensued but we eventually made our final destination. Hours after our expected arrival. This did mean that we missed out on any Friday drinking in N'Orleans as we were all cream cracked by the time we landed. Staying awake in the taxi from the airport was effort enough.
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