I was dating a nice guy named Lee, from Currituck County. I was still working at the Canton Station Restaurant and working for Dad also. I was notorious for getting off work at 10pm and calling Lee in Currituck to let him know I was on my way. It's at least 3 hours and a lot of the driving is country roads. There isn't much as far as sizeable city once you leave Rocky Mount going east, but there are some lovely beaches. Currituck County is the northernmost county in North Carolina on the coast. Part of it is on the sound and part if on the ocean. I eventually moved to Currituck for a short time when Lee and I became engaged. It was a very short engagement. LOL. I lived in a rental home across the sound from the Currituck Lighthouse. Very beautiful. Wish I could buy that house now and fix the pier and get a boat and boathouse. Then I could go to the Ocean anytime I wanted to and would still be on the water (sound side facing the Ocean.
But I digress. That summer, on my birthday, I took the weekend off and as soon as I got off work that night, I headed to the beach to see Lee and family. Now - I didn't have a cell phone (no one did) so driving at night that distance was a bit scary.
It was late when I got there and I sat up with Lee and his sister and parents for a short while. Lee told me he had to go to Norfolk real early the next morning and wanted me to go with him. He promised to take me to the Norfolk Zoo. I had my new Cannon AE1 camera that my parents had purchased for me for graduation, and so I agreed to go on to bed to get up at dark thirty to go to Norfolk, where we would run errands for Lee's Dad and then go on to the zoo.
Early we did rise and out before daylight. It was about an hour's drive to Norfolk. As we got near, Lee asked me to grab something out of the glove box of the car. side note: How long has it been since women wore gloves or how many men wore driving gloves in the 1980s. Isn't it time for a new name for that box? LOL
When I looked inside the glove box, there sat a post card that had HAPPY BIRTHDAY written all over it. I read the back of it and to paraphrase. "I'm not taking you to the Norfolk Zoo." "We are going to NEW YORK, the biggest zoo in the world." I was beyond shocked. So - as we are approaching the airport, we park, we go in and get on a plan to Newark New Jersey. The flight is about an hour. I'm super excited.
Now, I know when I get to New York, that I am a little country girl from North Carolina. It is extremely difficult, and I have to will myself not to say Hello or Hi to everyone I meet on the street. The struggle was REAL. I manage to get that under control and now I'm carrying this big old camera with attachments in a bag and I think my purse. Now I'm feeling insecure, but Lee is there and all will be fine.
The Empire State Building
We started at the furthest point with the Empire State Building and the plan is to work our way back to the Statue of Liberty. It was a long time ago and I only visited once, so if I get some things out of order; remember; I'm not a New Yorker. :)
Skyscrapers are cool but scary places. When you go up 60 plus flights and get out of an elevator to get on another one, because its not feasible to take one elevator all the way up to the top of the viewing platform, or it's doable, but still not a good idea.... that's scary. I have a true fear of heights. As I'm standing out on the viewing platform, I can't help but look out at the safety nets and things below us and think about the worst case scenarios of somehow ending up on the other side of the wall with all the air between us and the ground. UGH! But then I snap out of it and start to really enjoy the sites. From up there, New York is a lot of buildings that are various shades of brown. But the view is breathtaking and I truly enjoyed it.
Charlotte on the viewing deck. Some thoughts come to mind. I'd lost a lot of weight a year or so before this picture was taken. I had always been very busty. Either I'd lost it ALL, or this shirt wasn't a good fit. Funny how you see these things much later.
Lee and his tall self. I had a lot of fun with this man. We were always on the road going somewhere and doing something fun. He is 6 foot 5 if I remember correctly.
Macys - We didn't go in!
Radio City Music Hall - We didn't see the show. Hey - We were there just for the day!
Times Square - Truly exciting place. One of the scariest places to attempt to cross the street though. Well all of New York is like that.
The Towers
We went into the South Tower and I was amazed at how much activity was on the bottom floor (which I thought was the bottom). There are many floors below the 1st floor of the towers. On the 1st floor, there were some vendors selling food and we were hungry. In 1984, a cheeseburger at one of the places was $5.00. Down here in NC, $5.00 burgers at Hardees came out after 2000, I think. LOL. We were hungry so we purchased a burger and a drink and got our 'eats' on. We didn't go up onto the view deck at this location and I'm torn, as I think I can never do that now as the towers are gone, but it would have been fun to go up there.
The Towers from a distance
Charlotte at the Towers
Lee at the Towers
South Tower Tapestry
Believe it or not, this is a tapestry that was on the wall on the South Tower (of the Towers). The same towers that were destroyed by terrorist in airplanes in 2001. I remember trying to figure out how large this really was. I'm pretty sure it was bigger than 6 houses. With it being up so high on the wall, it was difficult to determine. Of course, I don't have that skill set of knowing sizes of things. Normal things like picture frames (8x10) or a football field (300 feet), then I'm good. If I am trying to figure out how many feet between me and an object, I have to imagine my 5.5 foot self lying on the ground, head to foot to get the footage. Crazy!
Charlotte at iconic Rockefeller Center
Statue of Liberty.
Statue of Liberty. Just like when I was in London the summer before and Big Ben had scaffolding around it (being cleaned); so did our Statue of Liberty. I would have loved to have gone in that and up to the top. Unfortunately, the island was closed. No one was allowed there so no climbing the Statue of Liberty. Maybe next trip.
By the time we'd done our sight seeing, it was time to get back to Newark, and on the plane back to Norfolk. We left at dark thirty and got home at dark thirty. I do look forward to going to New York again sometime soon. Maybe near Christmas so I can see it decorated.
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