Big Apple Con 2006: Greg's journal - Sunday (#4)

[greg]

Sunday, April 2, 2006

Sunday began in the Triple Crown, where Phyllis Novin and a few Valiant fans had been chatting for a couple hours. Soon after midnight, we all walked with Phyllis to Penn Station, where she headed down an escalator to board one of the last available trains toward her neighborhood.

I think around eight of us continued on Seventh Avenue toward Times Square. As we approached the famous spot, the number of neon lights increased to the point where it was as bright as daylight, even though it was close to 1am. We visited the Virgin Megastore, where Brian purchased some pre-paid cellular minutes, which suprisingly weren't overpriced, given our generally price-inflated tourist location. Our group split up outside the Virgin Megastore, as some were ready to call it a night. Those of us who continued walking weren't disappointed by the environment.

The number of people on the streets was high, with lots of spring breakers, and a few families on vacation. Strangely, there were still a few children awake with their parents, though one boy I saw appeared to be walking in a trance holding hands with his mother at about 2am. As we crossed back to the right side of the street, we saw a man dressed as a Miss America contestant in the evening wear competition, talking to a horse. On the same sidewalk was someone dressed as Elmo, taking photos with an excited group of girls. A little further down the same sidewalk was a film crew capturing a monologue proclaiming how the white man is continuing to oppress the people of Haiti. I'm pretty sure "The End Is Near" guy in the sandwich board was in the vicinity as well.

After seeing most of the bright sights of Times Square, and taking a few souvenir photos with the mannequins of a nearby department store, we headed back a dozen blocks or so to the Hotel Pennsylvania. Zack was hoping to find a Dunkin' Donuts for an early morning snack, but all the nearby locations were closed, and we eventually stopped by McDonald's for some sweet treats. I had a hot fudge sundae which I proceed to spill once we got to the hotel room. Once again, the lights went out around 3am, and a few more hours of sleep were possible for three out of four of us. Zack watched his newly-purchased Donnie Darko DVD on his laptop.

Chris G. called to see if we would like to visit the World Trade Center location, but once again, his call was the first thing we heard after hours of sleeping. Once we had all awoken and taken our showers (except Zack, who only woke up briefly when Brian kicked him), we headed down to the convention, which had already started for the day. Craig and I planned to grab some breakfast, but it was 11am, so we settled on Sbarro's pizza.

Mid-day, Craig needed to head to the airport for his flight, and Justin needed to move his bag from the New Yorker to the Hotel Pennsylvania. As Justin and I walked to the New Yorker, we saw Dinesh, and the three of us headed to get Justin's bag. On the way, a game of three-card monte caught Justin's attention, and a couple minutes later he had a story about how he lost $40 on the streets of NYC.

Justin and I attended the Neal Adams interview of Frank Miller, and then we headed down to the Sunday panel for Valiant. Sunday's Valiant/Acclaim Reunion panel was dedicated to the former writers and administrative employees. Sunday's panelists included Jeff Gomez (also on Saturday's panel), Alex Glass, Serge Clermont, and Valerie D'Orazio. In addition, Rags Morales joined the panel on Sunday, which was his only day to attend the convention. With fewer panelists, the discussions were more in depth, as well as more opportunities for questions from the audience. Valerie was audio-recording the Sunday panel, and we're hopeful that a copy or transcript of the tape can be obtained.

The time schedule had Sunday's panel ending just before the convention ended. Following the panel, we gathered the contents of the Valiant area and put everything in the hotel room. We said goodbye to several of the Valiant fans and artists throughout the day, as many needed to leave early to catch planes or get back home.

John (svair) did a fantastic job of organization, planning, and executing the 1st Annual ValiantFans.com East Coast Meeting, which I thought got better each of the three days of the convention. John was tired, I'm sure, but was tireless in making everything go as well as it possibly could. Justin's missing bag might have been a bump in the road, but it was no one's fault, and I honestly don't believe that a missing piece of paper in the form of a lithograph made any impact on my overall enjoyment of the meeting.

Those of us who remained for Sunday night took the advice of Scott Friedlander and sought to visit a recommended restaurant in Koreatown. I don't remember the actual name of the restaurant, but I do remember the experience. We found the restaurant after a few extra blocks of walking, but those steps out of the way took us to the Empire State Building. We just passed by, but it's an awesome experience to stand on the sidewalk and gaze upward toward the top. The lobby looked exactly as it does in several movies, including the movie Elf, where Will Ferrell's character is thrown out onto the street a few times.

I would visit that Korean restaurant again, though on my next trip I would order the beef platters that Justin and Dinesh ordered, rather than the noodles I had. Luckily, a small bowl of plain rice was served with every meal, so I didn't leave hungry. After dinner and a stop or two along the way, we found ourselves in Wakamba, a Latin bar on one of the many identical-looking side-streets of Manhattan. The atmosphere in Wakamba was nice with a beach theme, Latin, Caribbean, and American music continuously playing, and the waitresses were very attentive for one of the only times during the trip. We spent several hours talking and laughing without ever feeling like we were a burden to the staff, which made the whole night much more enjoyable.

[Daniel Jackson]

I would visit that Korean restaurant again, though on my next trip I would order the beef platters that Justin and Dinesh ordered, rather than the noodles I had. Luckily, a small bowl of plain rice was served with every meal, so I didn't leave hungry.

That'll teach ya for ordering noodles.....

[slym2none]

I would visit that Korean restaurant again, though on my next trip I would order the beef platters that Justin and Dinesh ordered, rather than the noodles I had. Luckily, a small bowl of plain rice was served with every meal, so I didn't leave hungry.

That'll teach ya for ordering noodles.....

Well, the noodle dish claimed it came with beef, but I think neither Greg nor I could come up with more than 4 pieces of beef each. The other guy's plates were PILED with sliced sirloin, and I felt double-bad, because they put twice as much (noodles) on Greg's plate than mine!!!





-slym (the noodles were rather tasty...)

[betterthanezra]

I would visit that Korean restaurant again, though on my next trip I would order the beef platters that Justin and Dinesh ordered, rather than the noodles I had. Luckily, a small bowl of plain rice was served with every meal, so I didn't leave hungry.

That'll teach ya for ordering noodles.....

Well, the noodle dish claimed it came with beef, but I think neither Greg nor I could come up with more than 4 pieces of beef each. The other guy's plates were PILED with sliced sirloin, and I felt double-bad, because they put twice as much (noodles) on Greg's plate than mine!!!



-slym (the noodles were rather tasty...)

My dish was filled with Beef....

I ate most of it....how could I not.....I was given "special service" after all.

They were very little people and since I fit right in.......OK I get it now...they were trying to Fatten me up.

-Brian

[David_Cody]

Thanks for these posts Greg, I enjoyed them!

Maybe next year for me. Man, do I sound like a Cub fan or what?