Unforgettable

As we sat atop the double decker bus, pelted by rain from the remnants of tropical storm Elsa, wearing complimentary ponchos and unable to look ahead, because the water was coming too fast, I thought, this is a bus ride none of us on this bus will ever forget.  Let me back up and tell you what happened after we walked out of the hotel for dinner.  Actually, that was pretty uneventful.  We went to Chinatown, had amazing food, blah blah blah… We headed to the M&M store in Times Square, where Cas resumed his role as the biggest kid in the place.  It’s all pretty much what you’d expect, really, until the bus tour.  

We got tickets for a night tour, which would take place on a double-decker bus.  There was a 10-20% chance of rain, depending on which weather app you’re using.  The skies had been so sunny and clear that we’d stopped carrying two dollar-store ponchos around in my purse.  The weather was promising.  We had been watching the trajectory of the last little bits of a named storm from Florida called Elsa.  It was the source of plenty of our dampness over the past few days, but it was supposed to be pretty well gone after yesterday morning.  

The bus trip started off pretty great, too.  We were really enjoying the breeze, the sights and the view from the top that the height of the bus afforded us.  I felt a little drop of rain on my leg, but I thought it would be okay.  Then, there was a little more.  Then there was quite a bit, and the bus driver pulled over to distribute ponchos with the tour company brand on them.  We donned those and stayed right in our seats.  In fact, nobody was supposed to get off the bus.  At this point, a few less hearty folks went to the enclosed downstairs part of the bus, but most of us stayed upstairs.  With each passing moment, more people filled up the lower level, and by the time we were on the Manhattan Bridge, we could not open our eyes and look ahead.  The rain was too intense.  When the ponchos were distributed at about 9:15 or 9:30, I checked the radar on my weather app.  It looked like we’d be out of the woods at 10:30.  Turns out, though, around 10 was really awful.  Af a certain point, we did try to head downstairs, but that proved to be impossible, as it was totally full, no standing room, no dice.  

We moved to the very front of the upstairs and talked to the other folks there.  I asked if anyone was ever going to forget this trip.  They all agreed it was pretty unforgettable.  That was when I decided Cas and I had made a series of good decisions earlier in the day.  We had a bottle of wine back at the hotel that we’d picked up in the afternoon and a whole bunch of M&Ms that he just had to have.  Sounds like a perfect way to relax and dry off after a once-in-a-lifetime bus ride.  

I read the Dallas newspaper digitally every day.  It’s one of my morning rituals.  The story on page two was about how Elsa battered New York and New England on Friday.  Yep.  I saw it.  You know the weather you’re experiencing on vacation is pretty intense when it makes your hometown paper.  Still, it was actually kind of fun in its own way- not what either of us signed up for, but was it ever unique!  And the views were actually pretty before and after the utterly impossible parts.  

Nevertheless, that storm appears to be bothering Maine, at the moment.  Good riddance, I’d say.  We’re inside this morning, anyhow.  We’re being artsy today.  We’re going to the Met.  Time to be refined and appreciate beautiful things.  Honestly, after the ride last night, I will appreciate the roof especially.  

Here are plenty of photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sYnZaQSheDb6sfJ6