New York transportation
Jul. 7th, 2010 02:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigo_rose99We spent Tuesday in New York City, our bought-with-ticket miles not allowing us to fly directly home. Which was kinda nice, because it meant we got to see our friends L&S. They live in Manhattan, and our hotel is by LaGuardia Airport. No, that meant nothing to me either, but you can translate it as "about 45 minutes apart by subway."
We wandered the city until they got off work (see my posting about the library) and then had dinner. We probably left their place a bit after 11pm. The hotel said that if we got to the nearest subway stop, they would continue to come pick us up until 2am. We had 3 hours. What could go wrong?
Evidently, a lot.
The plan was walk to Grand Central Station (4 short blocks), take any one of three different trains down a stop or two (depending on if it is local or an express), and change trains.
Everything went smoothly until we were waiting at the platform to change trains. We waited and we waited. It was probably a half hour and at least four other not-our-trains went by. Then the announcement came on, "There are no R trains after midnight."
Let me mention that there are no train schedules. At all. Anywhere. And no signal in the subway, so I couldn't look it up on the web. Plus maps are really really rare. Most maps seem to be posted outside the bars.
Ugh. Ok, so T directed us back to the previous line, one stop North, and we could take the OTHER line out to our stop. Except that after midnight, lines evidently only run on some tracks and not others. It took us another half hour to find a track where a Northbound train would run.
Ugh. We finally caught one, made it the stop.... And discovered from staring at much blotted out map that... maybe we were going to be able to cross to the correct line, and maybe not. There were zero signs for the line we wanted. T then pointed out that the line we were trying to get on? Likely express. Didn't even stop at our stop.
So... After midnight NO trains run to our stop?!?! What kind of place is this?!
So we walked out and tried to hail a cab. T opened his guidebook and read 'How to Hail a cab in New York.' We were NOT in the best part of town. It was lighted, but there were only a few scary-looking people. I was expecting to be mugged at any second.
I was SO relieved when a taxi finally pulled over for us. I read him out the address of our hotel...
And YOU WOULD THINK that would be the end of this adventure. But no. It couldn't be that easy.
We pass by the airport (good) and our taxi pulls into the Hampton Inn parking lot. Which would be fine, except we are staying at the Holiday Inn. I read the driver out the address again. The meter is still ticking. He asks for the phone number of the hotel. He calls it (while driving?!) and claims no one answers. He drives randomly, staring at the many hotels.
T says, "Just drop us off at the airport!" We know there is a hotel shuttle that can pick us up from there.
So he dropped us at the USAir terminal and I dialed the hotel. Who did not answer.
No, really. After about 20 rings, it hung up on me. Not. Our. Night.
I called back. Someone answered and was willing to send out a shuttle... There was a 10 minute conversation on our location. Which terminal? Upper level or lower? Where?
Yes, this part actually worked fine. A shuttle came and got us.
So we left S&L's place at about 11:15pm. It was supposed to be a 45 minute trip. We got to the hotel at 1:15am. Evidently New York is not our place.
We wandered the city until they got off work (see my posting about the library) and then had dinner. We probably left their place a bit after 11pm. The hotel said that if we got to the nearest subway stop, they would continue to come pick us up until 2am. We had 3 hours. What could go wrong?
Evidently, a lot.
The plan was walk to Grand Central Station (4 short blocks), take any one of three different trains down a stop or two (depending on if it is local or an express), and change trains.
Everything went smoothly until we were waiting at the platform to change trains. We waited and we waited. It was probably a half hour and at least four other not-our-trains went by. Then the announcement came on, "There are no R trains after midnight."
Let me mention that there are no train schedules. At all. Anywhere. And no signal in the subway, so I couldn't look it up on the web. Plus maps are really really rare. Most maps seem to be posted outside the bars.
Ugh. Ok, so T directed us back to the previous line, one stop North, and we could take the OTHER line out to our stop. Except that after midnight, lines evidently only run on some tracks and not others. It took us another half hour to find a track where a Northbound train would run.
Ugh. We finally caught one, made it the stop.... And discovered from staring at much blotted out map that... maybe we were going to be able to cross to the correct line, and maybe not. There were zero signs for the line we wanted. T then pointed out that the line we were trying to get on? Likely express. Didn't even stop at our stop.
So... After midnight NO trains run to our stop?!?! What kind of place is this?!
So we walked out and tried to hail a cab. T opened his guidebook and read 'How to Hail a cab in New York.' We were NOT in the best part of town. It was lighted, but there were only a few scary-looking people. I was expecting to be mugged at any second.
I was SO relieved when a taxi finally pulled over for us. I read him out the address of our hotel...
And YOU WOULD THINK that would be the end of this adventure. But no. It couldn't be that easy.
We pass by the airport (good) and our taxi pulls into the Hampton Inn parking lot. Which would be fine, except we are staying at the Holiday Inn. I read the driver out the address again. The meter is still ticking. He asks for the phone number of the hotel. He calls it (while driving?!) and claims no one answers. He drives randomly, staring at the many hotels.
T says, "Just drop us off at the airport!" We know there is a hotel shuttle that can pick us up from there.
So he dropped us at the USAir terminal and I dialed the hotel. Who did not answer.
No, really. After about 20 rings, it hung up on me. Not. Our. Night.
I called back. Someone answered and was willing to send out a shuttle... There was a 10 minute conversation on our location. Which terminal? Upper level or lower? Where?
Yes, this part actually worked fine. A shuttle came and got us.
So we left S&L's place at about 11:15pm. It was supposed to be a 45 minute trip. We got to the hotel at 1:15am. Evidently New York is not our place.
