This morning we went to
The Vineyard Church in Morristown, New Jersey.
They were finishing up a series on the Da Vinci Code. The sermon was
excellent, a lot of meat, lots of information about the development
of the New Testament canon. It was a lot of the same kind of information
you can find in
Geisler and Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible.
Pastor Craig is as energetic as he appears to be on the web page.
We got to speak to several people after the service, including Pastor
Craig, Carolyn, Suzanne, and at least one or two other gentlemen
whose names I can't remember. They all offered excellent advice
on how to get into the city. We are about 30 miles out. We were
thinking of driving down to Newark, then getting on the train there.
But they told us there would be little parking in Newark, and the
truck wouldn't be as safe there anyway. They suggested instead
using the Morristown station, right here, and parking for free on
the street nearby. It takes about one hour to get into the city
from here. One person even drew us a map how to get to the train
station.
Getting into the city was a snap. Once in Penn Station, we were at
a loss how to find the right subway. Penn Station is a central
location for NJ Transit, Amtrak, Long Island Railroad, the subway,
and other local trains. But everyone there was helpful, and soon we
were on the E train headed for the middle east side.
In the Parker Meridien Hotel, there is a recommended hamburger at
the Burger Joint. It is a dive hidden away behind the hotel lobby.
The hamburgers were wonderful but not distinctive. The fries were
OK. The shakes are made from Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Yum!
Not too far away from there, we found Carnegie Hall. No interesting
concerts today or this week even. Tours cost $9 but no tours today.
We might try to get back here tomorrow.
Walking down Broadway. Mary says this feels like San Francisco but
more crowded. I think it feels like San Francisco but just taller
(buildings). We look at lots of shows but none grabs us.
Ticket prices seem pretty uniform, about $111 per ticket for full view
seats. But nothing much seems to be playing tonight ... most of the
Sunday shows are 3:00 pm matinees.
Someone at
church had told us about a place that sells half price tickets.
We called Bill T, who we met at church and he actually gave us
his phone number. He tells us the
half price tickets are at 47th and Broadway.
It was really wonderful having someone like Bill to help us out.
He really went out of his way to make himself available to us.
Pretty soon we had in hand tickets for a 7:00 pm showing of
"Chicago" (of "All That Jazz" fame or vice versa). They were $59
each including service charges.
We wandered back up Broadway, stopped at a Starbucks, and went
into a few trinket stores and electronics stores. Didn't buy
anything, but we're going to buy some gifts tomorrow. (Trinkets,
not electronics, so don't get y'all hopes up, now.)
The show was good. We don't go to lots of musicals, so we're not
really in a place to judge. I liked the excellent orchestra and
the funny story line. Mary had a really good time. We both got
to talk to the people sitting near us, and we had nice conversations.
There is more, but we have to go now. We learned how to ride the
subway, we went to the Empire State Building. But that will have
to wait until later.
