Last Week...

Last week was incredibly full. There was so much that happened that I didn't expect at all. It started with my parents getting in early on Monday morning. We were all tired the next day because I was waiting up for them and they had just traveled here from Tennessee. So on Monday mom and I went to the store and ran some errands and then stayed up late watching Cake Boss on TLC. The next day my dad had to go into work so mom and I did laundry and ran some errands again. Then we went to Westfield, New Jersey and got some coffee and took around the main section of town. It was so cute but it was super hot outside. That day mom gave me one of her motivational speeches and also told me to get back to looking for jobs and keep doing what I can until things start to work. She made a good point that the more jobs I apply for the more chances I have of getting one of them. Plus God won't help me unless I am doing something I can't just sit back and relax and wait for things to come together. So I was encouraged to get back in the swig of things and start applying for jobs. Mom being her type A self had me looking for jobs that day! Which I have to admit was not a bad idea because I definitely need to start making money ASAP. It did help that mom said she knew what it felt like to be discouraged and to see your efforts fail when you have been working really hard to try and accomplish a dream or goal. She also reminded me that I am going to be 30 in 18 months and that I obviously did not want to be in the same place or state that I am in now in a year and a half. That is true! I do not want many of the conditions that are current in my life to still exist by January 6, 2012. So that as well gave me motivation to get up the courage to keep applying for jobs and to keep making an effort. I have heard several preachers and teachers say, "Do what you can and God will do what you can't." So I am getting myself together and doing what I can. I have felt and do feel like I have exhausted my efforts at times but I know that there are opportunities out there and if I am asleep all day on the couch or watching TV then I won't be able to seize the opportunities when they come. So that was Tuesday. On Wednesday Mom and I went to Queens! I couldn't believe my mom rode the NYC subway. That was a huge step out of her comfort zone. She has never wanted to ride the New York subway but it was the only way that we could get to where we were going. So we got to Penn Station, we caught the 1 to 42nd and then caught the F train to Queens to go to the Louis Armstrong House Museum! We took the ride out to Queens and got off the train. The train dropped us off at Roosevelt Ave and 103rd street in Corona Park. We got a little lost because there were no signs to the museum. Luckily we found an MTA worker who told us the blocks we needed were on the other side of where we were. So we would have to go to 106th street and then walk over to 34th street. We got a little lost doing that too but thanks to a kind census worker who directed us to which block to turn down we made it. We went to the museum and got our tickets. The museum has an admission price of only $8. We toured the basement exhibit that is filled with Armstrong photos and memorabilia including an iconic Armstrong trumpet. Our tour guide Phyllis took us into the front of the home like it was a visit with Louis and his wife Lucille on an ordinary day. We went into the living room, bathroom, kitchen, a den and the master bedroom. The house has been repaired since the time that the Armstrongs lived in it but it looks spectacular! It was amazing to think that someone like Louis Armstrong lived in a modest two level home on a quiet street in Queens. But there were a lot of musicians from the jazz era of the 20s,
30s, and 40s. It's just incredible that Louis Armstrong lived a quiet life there on his days off which were very few. But he and his wife served as an "uncle" and "aunt" to the neighborhood kids. Some of my most favorite photographs were him teaching little children how to play a few notes on the horn. Next year the museum will be opening up a visitors center across the street from the house and they will probably have double the visitors they have now. The museum is hidden amongst all the homes that are on the street that you would probably miss it if you didn't stop to look at the door leading into the gift shop which used to be the Armstrong's basement. It was a great day! That evening we all went to church together and came home. The next day dad said he would like to go to Philadelphia. Mom and I were not opposed to a mini vacation so we agreed. We went out to get breakfast and run an errand and then came back. The day then seemed to be wasting away and we hadn't made a move yet. Eventually my dad fell asleep and we decided that perhaps we should set out for Philadelphia on Friday. We tried to think of local things to do that might be good for a day trip. I came up with going to the African Burial Ground and Ground Zero. Dad and I had been to Ground Zero but not mom and none of us had been to the
African Burial Ground. We asked dad if he wanted to go but he must have been feeling very run down because he never made a move. It was going to be too much for me to drive to New York considering that I have never driven in the city and I think a mid week afternoon is not the time to learn either. So mom and I decided to venture to Hoboken. I was hoping we would get to walk around a bit and visit Carlo's Bakery home of Buddy Valastro, the Cake Boss. So we drive past Carlo's and see that the shop has a line split between two blocks and we have to wait in it if we want to get in. So we find a place to park and we get out with only two hours on the meter. So we walk down the street in the 97 degree weather and get our place in line. We wait in line and make it to the front about 45 min later! Inside it is a mad house. There are people everywhere, most look like tourists. But the bakery works on a number system when it is busy and we are number 80 and they are only on 63. So mom and I look around for what we want. I really want a mini tiramisu but I also want a cupcake or canoli too. So I am pondering what I want. After being sandwiched in between what seemed like a million people we have our numbered called. A teenager comes to aid us with our bakery selection. We choose two carrot cupcakes for my dad, mom gets two vanilla chocolate iced cupcakes, and I got a small lobster tail and a large canoli. Mom also decided to get a small pound cake. We left with all of our baked goods and the added bonus was that while we were there we saw some of the family and friends that we had just seen on TV on Monday. We went up the street and added more money to the meter. We went to Five Guys and had some burgers and also cut ourselves some pound cake. I thought the pound cake was delicious but mom insists that her friend Ms. Coleman makes it better. But mom did later on say that she loved the icing on the cupcakes from Carlo's which is unusual for her because she doesn't like icing that much. It was a good (hot) day. The next day we got up early intending to spend (a) day in Philadelphia. Instead Dad came in and said that he had just reserved our rooms. Apparently we were spending Friday and Saturday in Philly. So mom and I who had no clue that was what we were doing hurriedly put together overnight bags. And about an hour later we were headed to Philly. I tried to read on the way there but I was really tired so I fell asleep. I didn't know how much time had passed but we eventually made it to Philly. We parked under the Independence Visitors Center and then went in. We got tickets for Independence Hall and we headed off to see the Liberty Bell. It was really cool to learn the history of the bell and to see it in person. From there were went to get some lunch at the Philadelphia Bourse. We ate at Liberty Chicken which was pretty tasty. After that we went over to check out Independence Hall, Old City Hall and Congress Hall but we only saw the outside. We went into Congress Hall but we missed seeing the tours. We went over the the Signers Garden and watched a demonstration of a signing up for the army with little kids that was really cute. They practiced using a girl with a Union Jack flag as a target (only pretend). After that we headed to the Independence Visitor's Center again so we could get tickets for a bus tour of the city. We got tickets and headed to the bus. We sat on the top and cooked in the sun until the tour started. We finally got going and the bus tour was well worth it because we got to see a bunch of locations that we would not have seen or known about if we had tried to do it on our own. We had a good tour guide and learned some great facts about the city. After that we went back to the car and we got on the road to check into the hotel. After we checked in we headed to South Philly for a cheese steak! We decided to go to Pat's King of Steaks. We found a parking spot right around the corner and we went to order. The sign is really helpful for first time visitors to the city and to Pat's. Mom got a mushroom cheese steak with, I got a peppers cheese steak with and dad got a peppers cheese steak with and a hot dog. We also shared some of their delicious crispy fries! It was so good. We all enjoyed our cheese steaks and enjoyed being out in Philly. The evening was much cooler than the day and so sitting outside on the picnic tables at Pat's was nice for a cool summer evening. We went back to the hotel and I went pretty much right to sleep after a hot shower. The next morning we packed up and started our day off at the Ben Franklin grave at Christ Church Burial Ground. Then we went to the Betsy Ross house, and then to the Ben Franklin Post Office which is located in the properties that Franklin used to rent out and in front of the place where his home used to stand. We got postcards from the bookstore and then put stamps on them to be able to get the Ben Franklin postmark at the post office the only place that offers it. After that we went to the Franklin Court museum which is underground. We got to see some artifacts from his home and then a short film about who he was. After that we went looking for a bus to hop on that would take us to the African American Museum of Philadelphia. We made it to the museum but it was closing at 5 so we didn't get to see everything. But we got to Reading Market and I got a great sandwich with roast beef, peppers, onions, and provolone. It was so good! The name of the booth was Tony D'Nics and it was awesome! If you go to Philly go to Reading Market and get roast beef or roast pork from Tony D'Nics. After that we caught another bus tour but this one had a different tour guide on it and we learned a lot from him. He gave us information the other guy left out and he was a little older so he had lived in the city longer and knew more. It was great! We got to see where Will Smith grew up and learned some local lore. It was great! And then we got back to where we started from. If you go to Philly and take The Big Bus Tour of Philly ask if Rich is working. He's a great tour guide and a really nice guy! And then it was home to north Jersey. Which I stayed awake for the ride home and it was only about an hour and a few minutes away. To top off our great weekend we went out to dinner at Highland Park, New Jersey to one of my favorite restaurants, Pithari Greek Taverna. I had a gyro, mom had roasted leg of pork and dad had salmon with avocado. It was so delicious! That was last week! Sunday morning we went to LaGuardia to drop mom off and made plans for the next time we would all be together, hopefully in September when the Apollo exhibit I helped with comes to NYC. So we made plans to go to Magnolia Bakery next time! It was a really great week!