Good Direction

Fountain, Japanese Garden, Maymont Park.  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Without good direction, people lose their way.

The more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.

Proverbs 11:14 

I have never had a good sense of direction.  My father used to say that I "...couldn't find my way out of a wet paper sack."   Add that to my natural temerity and you have a person who hides from any great, adventurous change of routine.  There are times, however, when one just has to take the bull by the horns.

My goal for this trip to NYC was to visit the New York Botanical Gardens which are located in the Bronx.  After my last visit's fiasco of taking a taxi to the Bronx Zoo (the cab driver didn't know where the zoo was, I didn't either, and it ended up costing me an arm and a leg), I knew I was going to have to conquer my fears and my directionless self and figure out how to get there on public transportation.  A quick internet trip to HopStop gave me the particulars:  Take the 6 subway down to Grand Central Station, then take the Metro North Harlem local train directly to the entrance of the gardens.  Simple enough, right?

I made it on to the 6 (four blocks away from the apartment), and off at Grand Central.  Oh my!  Have you ever been to Grand Central Station?  Multiple subways, 100 train tracks, HUGE historic building, seemingly endless classy little boutiques.  I wandered around for a few minutes and finally found the ticket counter.  The clerk slapped down the ticket, pointed to Gate 29 directly across from him and yelled, "...it's leaving NOW."  I scampered across the hall, ran through the gate, and hopped on the train just before it began to move out from the station.  The gardens were easy for even me to find after exiting the train, and I spent the next few hours in photography bliss.

When it was about time to catch the train back, I walked back exactly the same way I walked in, except it wasn't the same way, and I ended up at a gate that was closed.  Turning left didn't look correct, so I turned to my right and hurried along until I found a garden employee who reassured me I was moving in the right direction--imagine that!  As I approached the train station, it dawned on me that I couldn't just go back up on the platform I arrived on, or I would be heading north to White Plains.  How to get on the other side??  I finally spied the stairs and catwalk that would deliver me to the southbound platform.  I ran full tilt, up-across-down, and landed on the platform just as the train pulled into the station.  

I plopped into my seat and I grinned to no one in particular and everyone in general.  I had done it!  I had managed to travel on conveyances previously unknown to me, get where I wanted to go, and then return safely to hearth and home.  I sent up a prayer to my constant traveling Companion, thanking Him for helping me to succeed in the journey.  I'll bet He was grinning as broadly as I was!