West is Left, Right?

I am horrible with directions. Turn or Go East, West, North, South, huh? I still use my hands when thinking about which way is left & right. I can not read a map, well, an interstate/highway map. So Bear had good reason to question whether or not we'd be ok when he found out he & I would be going to Central Park Zoo while Big D & Lamb did her trapeze school. I, on the other hand, wasn't worried. It's Central Park! How hard could it be to find? Plus, I knew Big D would give me detailed directions. I was so very unconcerned.

The day before our zoo adventure, I had even more reason to feel confident. The family separated. Big D & Bear went to get pictures of extinct baseball park plaques. Lamb & I walked around Greenwich Village. With only a map to guide us.We walked around NYU, Waverly Place, Mulberry Street, & Bleeker Street. We saw Carrie Bradshaw's stoop & Nigel Barker's photo studio. Never got lost once. I'll admit, Lamb helped me out with directions. But, the point is, *I* followed a map. *I* got us where we needed to go. We were so good that we finished before the guys & were able to rest & relax in a square. Ah, relief for the feet!So, you see, I felt good about getting Bear & myself to the zoo. I was even feeling adventurous enough to expand locations. Bear wanted to get all the Statues on Parade for the MLB All-Star games. He was lacking two of them. They were somewhat on our way so I agreed to take him. No prob, Bob!

We went our separate ways with Big D telling me our subway was down the street a couple of blocks & it'd probably be across the street. Thinking to be smart, Bear & I went ahead & crossed the street. We walked, we walked, & we walked some more. I called Big D to inquire how far we'd have to walk. Let me add that we are wearing our 20 lb backpacks since this was the last day of vacation. They were heavy. And, since it's July, it was H.O.T. & humid as well. Big D said we should be coming on it. So, we walked some more. I started getting a bad feeling & mentioned to Bear that maybe we should turn around. I could see the look of apprehension in his eyes. I assured him that all was well. I could see the doubt still. We decided to cross the street & walk back up the many blocks. I was looking hard for the subway with no avail. I finally decided to stop in a corner market & found out we were a block away from it. Whew. I called Big D & he felt like we were going in the wrong direction. I got a little testy. Good thing I didn't listen to him. A block later, there was the beauty of the subway stop. Big D & I had a miscommunication. While he said "across the street" I was thinking the other side. It was really "across the corner" but same side of the main street. I wouldn't have missed it if Bear & I hadn't crossed over to begin with. ARGH!

I handed Bear his Metro card & we proceeded to slide them. I went through but Bear did not. I could see the panic in his eyes as he kept trying to swipe. I was on the verge of telling him just to crawl under when I reached over to try & swipe his myself. I felt the kindness of a stranger as, on his way out, he used his own card to swipe Bear through to my side. It has been my experience that New Yorkers are so very kind. It's the tourists that can be rude.

Once we got on the subway, we had smooth sailing. I could see the confidence in me growing in Bear's eyes. We made it to the two statues, the Balto statue in Central Park, the zoo, and back to Lamb & Big B at the school with absolutely no trouble.

I can maneuver myself around a city. Sorta. As long as I'm given detailed directions. Whew!