Travel Style

Talk about exceeding expectations! Yesterday, I went to New York City. It was my sister’s birthday and there was a nice luncheon planned at Va Bene. (It was very delicious, by the way!)

I was planning to drive. It’s only about 4 hours from here and, if you plan timing well, the traffic can be avoided a bit. Yes, it’s a lot to drive in 1 day, but I’m a driver. My mother and aunts thought that taking the bus would be easier and more relaxing. For $50, you get a ride up and back – leaving Baltimore at 6:00 am and returning around 10:00 pm. I pictured a bus full of women of leisure – you know those women with lots of jewelry, boxed haircolor and really, really loud voices. Those ladies you see out to lunch so often. You know who I mean.

So at 5:45 am, I drove to the shopping center to meet the bus. There were 2 buses from Superior Tours. We checked in with the hostess and got our assigned seats. The hostess told us what to expect – continental breakfast would be served on the way up and we’d see a movie on the way back. So far, I admit it sounded okay. So we hit the road, and I did some work. The hostess brought OJ and bagels around. I read a book. I’m reading Twisted, by Jonathan Kellerman.

And really…before I knew it, we were in New York City – dropped off at Rockefeller Center. We shopped a bit on Fifth Avenue and most notably at Takashimaya, one of the loveliest stores I’ve ever seen. Then we grabbed a taxi and went to the luncheon – which was really nice – and then back to the Midtown area to schmei until the bus was ready to take us home. It was cold. Very cold. We ended up going into stores we didn’t even like just warm up. Then got some sushi from Dean & Deluca for the ride home.

So we got back on the bus and found out we’d get to watch Ray on the ride home. And that driver, Danny, got us out of NYC during rush hour in no time flat. When the movie ended, we were almost home.

So was it what I expected? Well, the women on the bus were exactly what I expected. But the experience was so very much better than I would have believed. And my knuckles didn’t hurt from fighting the New Jersey turnpike. So I’m really glad I got to spend my sister’s birthday with her and her friends. And really glad that I didn’t have to drive!