"you hold an event and we turn up"           

THE BAD PENNIES
 

Memorial Day Weekend Walk

by Nancy Dowicki

This event was our second walk since joining the Bad Pennies, and what an experience it was. Up at 4:00 am to

meet the group in Baltimore and travel together to The Big Apple.  Traffic was light and we made great time

 arriving in New York about 11:00 am.  Check-in at the Hotel Pennsylvania was less than thrilling as the hotel had

us checking out before we even checked in (hopefully not an omen of things to come).  We finally got the room

 situation straight, checked our bags (and hoped we’d recover them upon our return), and the seven Bad Pennies

 headed off for their NY adventure.

 Our walk through lower Manhattan started with a short subway ride from our Hotel to Chambers Street and into

 the Tribeca and Greenwich Village taking us along the Hudson River.  Here we entered Rockefeller Park and

picked up the Esplanade, walking through a grassy area with landscaped trees and flowers. From this vantage

point, we had a great view of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  Continuing along the Esplanade we passed

 Ground Zero and stopped for a few moments to view the extensive reconstruction and plans for the new memorial

to be build on this site.  Continuing along, we passed the black marble wall, a memorial dedicated to members of

the police force who lost their lives in service to the people of NY City (our first check point). Continuing south,

 we passed the Museum of Jewish Heritage and entered Battery Park, passing Pier A, an historic rehabilitation of

the last Victorian pier in Manhattan, the Castle Clinton National Monument, and the Korean War Memorial.  As

we continued along the Hudson River pathway, we rounded a curve and were treated to a wonderful view of the

 Manhattan skyline. 

 Museum of the American Indians which is open to the pubic and free of charge.  Continuing on to Bowling Green,

we encountered the “statue of the bull”, a favorite symbol of Wall Street.  Here we stopped to pat the bull for

 investment luck and posed for a group photo.  As we headed to Broadway we looked for a plaque on the wall at

 39 Broadway, indicating the year George Washington lived here (our second check point).

Crossing Broadway and leaving the Bowling Green Park area, we passed the Old Customs House, turned left onto

 Pearl Street and located Fraunces Tavern, the site of George Washington’s sentimental farewell address to his

officers in 1783.  As we continued our walk through the financial district, we passed the famous New York Stock

 Exchange and waved to our money (for those of us brave enough to invest).  Nearly through our tour of Wall

 Street, we headed to Trinity Church, once the tallest structure in Manhattan, and the burial site of Alexander

Hamilton and his wife (our third check point)

 Our walk now lead us out of the financial district to Fulton Street as we walked towards the East River and the

South Street Seaport Museum and Market Place which offers a great view of the East River and the Brooklyn

Bridge.  Here we stopped for lunch and take a short rest. At the far side of Pier 17 we stopped for a photo of the

Titanic Memorial Lighthouse (checkpoint number four).  Our next stop along this route took us through Chinatown,

 where we watched a religious parade which had started in Little Italy.  Points of interest along this route included

 Federal Plaza, the County courthouse and the New York Supreme Court Building.  Shortly after passing through

this area, we viewed the grassy area of the African Burial Grounds and City Hall Park. 

Our final stop was the Brooklyn Bridge, and the end of the journey for the faint-hearted who did not want to

venture across.  Here our group separated, leaving Matt and the Dowicki’s to make the trek across the bridge and

find our fifth and final checkpoint.  This bridge is said to be the only bridge ever built with pedestrian (walkers)

in mind.  It was by far, the highlight of the walk and an awesome experience.  We made it – 13K and none too

 worse for wear.  However, our day of adventure was far from over as we headed back to our hotel to check in,

 shower and dress for dinner.

 At 8:00 p.m. and our group of five convened in the lobby dressed to the nines for dinner and full of excitement as

we headed to one of New York’s finest restaurant’s and night club’s, Rasputin.  However, our enthusiasm was put

 to the test as we headed out the hotel door to await the car.  Our driver, Matt, had called for our car to be ready at

8:00 p.m. as our reservations were for 9:00 p.m. and we had about a 40 minute drive to Brooklyn.  After about a 20

minute wait for the car, Matt and crew were getting anxious and impatient.  Finally, the car arrived but it wasn’t

 Matt’s car!  Somehow the tickets had gotten mixed up and the wrong car was driven to the hotel entrance.  Things

 quickly heated up between Matt and the doorman who was insisting that the tickets matched and they had

delivered the right car.  Once convinced that the wrong car had been delivered, Matt and the driver left for the

parking garage so that Matt could identify his automobile and we all settled down for another 15 minute wait. 

Remember, the confusion with our check-in earlier that morning and now the car mix-up; well, we could only hope

 that our reservations would not be given away since we would be arriving at the restaurant more than fashionably

late.  However, in true spirit, Matt did a great job getting us to the restaurant and finding a parking space not far

from the entrance. 

 From the moment we entered Rasputin, we realized we were in for a very unique and entertaining evening.  This

 Russian themed nightclub and Vodka Bar, featured in the Zagat Survey as Excellent, reminded me of the former

Russian Tea room.  Not only were we going to be treated to a feast fit for a king, but entertained as well by the

 Rasputin Follies who performed a Las Vegas Style Review, featuring 10 dancers and 6 singers, a live 4-piece band,

 and there was plenty of time for everyone to join the lively music and dancing.

As we were seated at our table we were overwhelmed by the various dishes sitting on the table.  The food

presentation was beautiful, the portions were generous, and included was a bottle of wine or vodka.  We soon

 learned that the many platters on our table were just the appetizers and many more dishes would be presented

over the evening.  Several servers were assigned to our table and it was their sole responsibility to ensure that our

 plates were never empty for long. Some of the foods we sampled were: a substantial and exquisite hors d’oeuvres

platter, lox, tiger prawns, filet mignon sliced paper thin, and assorted fish salads.  Entrees consisted of roasted

lamb, grilled lamb chops, veal; stuffed Cornish hen, potato and onion casserole, mushroom ragout, rice

 pilaf, duck, lobster, and Chilean sea bass.

We were given as much of each of the above entrees as we could eat and when we thought we couldn’t possibly

 eat another mouth full, we were served some decadent desserts.  What an incredible night; a unique experience

from start to finish.

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Last modified: June 13, 2010