My Solo Trip to New York

I always like to learn some history about the places I visit before I go. Now that I have finished the homework for my conference, I am doing a little extra credit for my own information. Often, the way a city is laid out gives clues to its history. For the most part, American cities have two different kinds of layouts. One includes the center of town with streets radiating outward, like the spokes of a wheel. Sometimes a city is planed this way, and sometimes it is the outgrowth of long ago cow paths. The second is a grid system, with streets running at right angles, to each other, like a checker board. The part of New York City known as Manhattan is, at least in part, the grid type. It is just twelve city blocks across, beginning at the Harlem/East River with First Avenue, going west to Twelfth Avenue and the Hudson River. Sixth Avenue, also known as The Avenue of the Americas, divides the island into the east and west sides. The east-west blocks are long ones. Seven Avenues make up ...

The Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station, love the arches!   For over a week I have been researching everything about my trip. There is so much to do and see - overwhelming options. My tourist goal is to see some things at a leisurely pace and enjoy whatever I do. I also want to fully experience and get as much as I can out of the conference. The SCBWI Conference (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators): SCBWI is an international organization. I joined it at the beginning of the pandemic, so I have only participated in virtual workshops and activities. What I have done has been very helpful and educational. I think the society is well organized and very connected to the publishing world. The entire conference is said and done in just a day and a half. I like that. Conferences exhaust me, and I do not like the closed-off meeting rooms. All of the offerings at this one seem to have a purpose and look good. Among other things I am meeting with a publisher and taking a wri...

I have been traveling through life with my husband, Don, for almost sixty years. Fifty-six of them as husband and wife. Our first trip in 1967 was a honeymoon trip to to Disneyland. We were enchanted. Over the years, we have not been big travelers, but we were good traveling companions, and enjoyed the trips we did take;  Paris, Toronto, London, Mexico, Chicago, Italy, Greece. Three years ago the pandemic put a kibosh on the last big trip we planned to take together, a cruise in the Caribbean to Panama. Since that time, we've become pretty damn old, and in different places physically. I still feel able and hearty. My guy feels very limited, partly because of side effects from his ten years in cancer treatment, and partly because his immune system is compromised. Now I am taking a trip to New York City all by my self. I have two goals. I am going to a writers conference, where I hope to learn more about my craft, and perhaps catch the eye of a publisher. The second purpose is to pro...