Normally I'm not the kind of person that will pack up the car and hit the road on the weekends. As a matter of fact, I'm not the kind of person to even take the weekends off. A while back I promised myself that if and when I had a Saturday or Sunday off, I would hit up yard sales and flea markets in the area. Considering I had both weekend days off I decided to do something a little different.
Wednesday marks the end of my wife's 4 year journey to become a college graduate. To mark that momentous occasion I decided that I would take her and my daughter across state lines. My wife and I hadn't been to New York in seven years since she was pregnant with our daughter. She had promised then that she would take her to Times Square one day to ride the ferris wheel in the Toys R Us. So I decide to NOT plan a trip to New York.
I have an old friend that moved to Brooklyn with her husband lees then a year ago. I had considered going to visit them in the past. Due to time constraints and financial issues I never planned the trip. I started sending my friend messages about going to visit them. I was waiting to speak to her to make a definite plan. I was thinking about going to the flea market on Saturday morning then heading out about noon. My wife of course thought I was crazy. After 11 pm on Friday, nothing had been decided because I hadn't spoken to my New York connection. I finally get on the phone with her close to to midnight Friday night.
The first thing she asks me is what my plan was. To which responded, "I don't know" She then asked what I was planning to do, which I again responded, "I don't know" The major one was where are you staying? This time I said, "I don't know, what do you think. At this point in the conversation she would either recommend a nearby hotel or offer to let us stay with them. Months before she offered us her floor when I was considering coming for a visit. I didn't want to assume that the offer was still on the table, so I needed her to say it again, so I didn't feel like I was guilting her into taking us in.
When I told her that I was planning on leaving around noon, she asked me if I was crazy. She then went into this good hearted rant about all the possible pitfalls of waiting till noon to hit the road. What you must know is the she grew up in New Jersey. She went to school in DC and has family in Virginia so she's made that drive many times. She knows the New Jersey Turnpike better then most people. It seems that the only thing that disgusted her more then my lack of a plan was the fact that I didn't own an EZ pass. I would later learn that I need one next time I head that way. By the time we got off the phone, our departure time had been moved up to 8am. We had also hatched out an itinerary, which included Times Square, dinner, and trip to the flea market.
I was looking forward to seeing an old friend and meeting her husband for the first time. I had gotten to know him a bit through his blog Thirty Walks in Brooklyn. He walks through various neighborhoods in Brooklyn. He takes some great pictures of the architecture and gives a bit of history on the buildings and the neighborhood. The best part is his colorful commentary. He is quite witty and he always gives the person or persons (sometimes his wife) that accompany him on his walks with a nickname for the day. As an homage to him I decided to give everyone in this story a nickname to commemorate our visit. We're Buddy, The Wife, and Smooda. Our gracious hosts are the Hoi Polloi's, Oscar and Treesha (It's an inside joke)
They defined Northern Hospitality. After we arrived we were treated to a nice home cooked meal. Which was totally unexpected. Considering anytime we visit anyone, even family, they hardly offer us water. From the moment we walked through the door I knew I was going to enjoy our stay. Oscar got my name wrong, and Smooda was acting anti-social. We were instantly enamoured with their apartment. It small but roomy. The Wife liked their mirrored mantle, which I imagine was a portal to another dimension. Although the kitchen wasn't large was a pleasure to work in. Treesha had every kitchen gadget imaginable, including a garlic press and a dough cutter. I opened the cupboard to reveal an assortment of bowls and ramekins. She even has a coffee carafe. I was so jealous. Oscar was easy to talk to and quite funny. I can totally respect a man that can break into character voices to add effect to a witty remark.
After lunch and some good conversation we headed to Times Square while the Hoi Polloi's attended to other matters. The only reason we went there was to appease Smooda. Between Toys R Us and the M&M World Store we walked around for about 4 hours. By the time I stumbled out of the M&M store I was starving and disoriented. When the Wife noticed the Hershey store across the street, I felt a sharp pain in my back. I knew that if we walked around there for another hour, I would die. Instead we went to eat.
Sunday Morning was like nothing I had ever experienced. I usually work early mornings on Sundays, and almost never have time fore sit down family breakfast. Treesha made the most delectable pancake breakfast. There were eggs, juice and hot coffee. It was all so well organized. She pulled out the special coffee cups and her thermal carafe. I decided to go get some fresh fruit from of the best fruit stand I had ever seen. It is called Circus of fruits. The front of the store spans a whole city block. It has a great hand painted marquee with clowns and circus themes in the shape of a circus tent. I loved it when we passed it the day before on our way to the Hoi Polloi residence. They had a great selection of curbside fruit and vegetables.
One of my selfish reasons to make the trek to Brooklyn was the promise of a flea market. Treesha had even gone as far sending me the link to the Brooklyn Flea. On Sunday mornings it is held in Williamsburg by the water. After breakfast and clean up we headed up the BQE to find some treasure. I should have known that we were at a high end flea market. What should have tipped me off were the boutique lined streets. The various Europeans SUV's and impromptu dog show. When I arrived to the flea market I immediately noticed the gourmet food stands. When I turned around and realized there were a lot of antiques to choose from. I picked up a few things. I promised not to go overboard with the spending. There were a lot of nice and hard to find things, but some of the prices were ridiculous. A passerby was commenting to his companion "I thought this was a flea market, it's more like the rich market" At the precise moment that I asked about a desk top pressed steel ant sculpture about the size of a sneaker complete with legs. It was red but rusty around the edges. I was picturing it with a fresh coat of paint, as I heard the passerby, then the vendor looked at me with straight face and uttered one hundred dollars. I put it down and said, thank you. I ended my first trip to the Williamsburg flea market with a Porketta sandwich and a Toure (entertainment journalist) siting. I was surprised that I recognized him. What was more surprising was that he has kids. A regular guy, except he interviews Jay Z and Beyonce.
After the flea market we made our 6 hour drive all the way back to Hyattsville. Although it was a short trip, we all thoroughly enjoyed our time in Brooklyn and the time we spent with our gracious hosts. Smooda had the best time. Not only did she have fun in Time Square, she also met some great people. Knowing her she will never forget Treesha and Oscar. They each made an effort to break through her shyness and connected with her. Whether it was the fancy breakfast preparation or the world class video game tutorial session, she really enjoyed spending time with the Hoi Poloi's. I hope to be able to make the trip sometime in the near future or even receive them as guests in our home. This time no flea markets, we did what I wanted, next time we do something you guys wanna do, like "climb the Ivory Tower and laugh at the Hoi Polloi going to the Whole Foods" I laughed about that all morning today at work.
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