01 July 2009

Jersey City

Today was the first day of my journey, from Austin to Jersey City. Well, I woke up, ate a delicious taco breakfast with Emma, and then had Michael and Sheeva drive me to the airport. They helped me shake off my nerves with some sweet reggaeton beats on the way there. I flew through baggage and security check and boarded my flight. I remained on my flight for a really long time before we actually took off--a semi-ridiculous 1.5 hours or so. But, SOMEHOW, we only got to Newark about 45 minutes late.
From the airport I hopped the air rail to the train and then the train to Penn Station NJ, and from there I took the PATH train to Journal Square where I finally surfaced to be pleasantly surprised that it was in the low 80s!! Hell yes!! It has been over 100 the last few days in Austin, so this was wonderful. But, I would not have even been able to find my way off the first train if it hadn't been for this really nice guy named Oren who I met on the train. He was on his way home from Tokyo, Japan if I remember correctly. Anyhow, he was a lifesaver.

Because they did not serve any vegetarian food on the plane (cheeseburgers?) and I threw up a little during the decent (eww, I know, but the flight was kind of rough and nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the cabin!) I was starving when I finally reached Journal Square. Right outside of the station there was a farmers market where I bought and ravenously scarfed a really delicious tomato!
This is where I met up with Mickey, my couchsurfing pal, who brought me to grab some take-out Indian food on the way home. We arrived at his beautiful house (with a huge garden and bunnies in the back!!) where we ate, and I met his absolutely wonderful parents, and was shown to my room. And let me tell you, my room is fantastic! It is a converted attic, but absolutely way more than I deserve! I am going to get wonderful sleep tonight in preparation for tomorrow, which will certainly be exciting as I am going into NYC to explore all day while Mickey is at work! Oren offered to show me around a bit, so hopefully I will run into him as well.

Cheers!

3 comments:

magpie7112 said...

caitlin! i so excited that you shall be blogging your journey for all of us to enjoy. i will surely check this blog obsessively to make sure you're alright and happy. i love you oh so much and i hope your summer is fantastic. and i'm glad you chose traveling over getting a scooter.
you're wonderful,
maggie

Tanya Keilani said...

can't wait to read about all your adventures! thanks for posting. :)
we will be missing you lots and lots.
t-ster

April said...

The lack of vegetarian options is one thing I really hate about airports, airplanes, and just anything generally associated with aviation...unless you're in 1st class. WTH?!