And Many Happy Returns!

I don’t know how she does it and at her age she never looks weary or forlorn, she holds her chin high and casts her gaze with such determination. I like to think she stands watching the horizon with great expectation, delighted by the breaking waves, and feeling the misty sea breeze while at times can be turbulent and unruly, it never shows on her face.

Sometimes I try and get into her head to see with my own eyes the ocean kissing the sky, that horizon line and the constant swell and release of our shores to gain some perspective from her dedication as well as her exemplary presence and spirit.

I look upon a fine line that has been watched for centuries, the horizon that holds optimistically to hope, witnessing every sunrise, and acknowledging every sunset all the while holding her lamp to the nights’ sky. Following the guidance of that flicker of light, and like a star or a satellite she continues to stand as a radiant beacon and a standard by which we measure humanity.

With life expectancy on the rise, this may be food for thought for a long time, and although it may no longer be taboo to ask a lady her age, think before outing a lady by complement or by curiosity because it remains her prerogative to preserve the mystery.

Please note and don’t pass judgment, she was conceived in France at a dinner party in 1865 by Edward de Laboulaye. She was created by Fredrick Bartholdi and crafted with the help from Gustav Eiffel by 1884 and standing on her pedestal in the New York Harbor 125 years ago October 28, 1886.

As a birthday wish, take a moment and reflect on “Liberty Enlightening the World” and know that freedom is your right and not a privilege. She stands tirelessly as a reminder to all.

The Food Experience no. 1

Ever considered making an entire meal out of appetizers?

Today, my neighbors and I ventured into Chinatown to lunch at Dim Sum Go Go. The interior has a nice young vibe, good variety, and great for groups.

Dim sum is best described as small bites, and a Cantonese term for snack. This custom came to be in the traditional teahouses accommodating weary travelers along the ancient Silk Road and eventually makes its way to the U.S. Yes it is a wonderful feast of fried and steamed dumplings, spring rolls, sticky buns, and rice concoctions all with delightful dipping sauces. What makes it unique can be the different way in which it may be served, and this is what makes it fun.

In some dim sum restaurants there is no written menu, Chinese women push carts of ready-to-serve delicacies around the room. Continuously during the meal, the cart passes, always tempting you with more, and in the good-ole’ American way one just ogles and points as if in stupor all the while bamboo steamer baskets collect on the table. Today we were offered menus and when our waiter realized we were having a difficult time deciding he handed us a laminated collection of pages with photographs of each item.

At Dim Sum Go Go, we write the order using the form on the table. Of course, we ordered and shared the pork filled Spring Rolls but really mixed it up with the dumplings. Well that was after we discussed shellfish allergies, we ordered Jade Dumplings, they were vegetable filled, one with asparagus and another with soybeans. The rice rolls are not rolls at all, but stuffed, translucent rice noodles. We stayed away from the shark fin and the chicken’s feet but ordered the Chicken & Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf.

Using chopsticks for most of the meal I was doing all right for myself; however, I must have put the waiter on guard when I asked for a fork. It helped with the thing wrapped in the leaf because I was unsure how to eat it. I took my fork and started hacking into it, but before I could do any damage the waiter leaned over and discretely, with his heavy Chinese accent, said, “You unfold the leaf and eat the rice inside.” Good to know!

It may be obvious that I am no ‘foodie,’ but every once in a while I like to step out of my comfort zone, and by the way while in New York with the incredible number of choices you just can’t leave without trying something new -- dim sum is fun…

For me, Something To Be Proud Of

Here in New York City we are preparing for this the 10^th anniversary standing united, vigilant, and aware. “Special Reports,” and “Breaking News” in the past two weeks, we have endured a tremor and Hurricane Irene we are on high alert. In preparation of the ceremony in remembrance of 9/11 we are asked to go about our routines as usual. Holding my chin high, I cannot help but to feel a little edgy because the news announcements and this feeling reminds me of the days drawing closer and closer to the year 2000 or more ominously Y2K.

Two weeks ago the news reports were breaking every hour preparing the northeastern seaboard for an approaching hurricane and I was hired to give a tour. The group was arriving via cruise ship; however, with no ship to shore contact, I had no idea if the group would arrive or not. Preparing for the in coming hurricane I was stocking up with provisions, filling my bathtub, as reporters instructed while more details began to hit the airwaves. I was aware that mandatory evacuations were in place and my zone was basically 2 blocks away from the red zone and therefore, I was a little on edge myself. Low and behold at 8:30 am about 12 hours before the expected storm my phone rings, the ladies had arrived.

Barely awake, I logged into my computer to get the latest information in order to prepare these guests and was very concerned knowing that the Subway system was going to be shut down. It was unprecedented to have mass transit shutdown. For the ‘New Yorker’ in me it was similar to the feelings I had ten years ago.

In the whirlwind of emotions today, I received this letter from the lovely lady that coordinated that tour two weekends ago and it comes at such perfect time and with it, it brings comfort to my heart.

Dear Sean,

Our cruise ship had been racing hurricane Irene for several days, hitting Puerto Rico right after our departure.

When we arrived in New Jersey, there were so many rumors flying around, we were all a bit unsettled. We had pre-booked your tour, however we doubted you would come. We were told that all bridges and public transportation were closed.. If the driver couldn’t make it there, we were literally stranded. All airports were closed and N.J. hotels full.

So, this is the state we were in when the driver did arrive.

You were truly the light for us in all of that turmoil. First, you gave us the most interesting tour. All of your stories and descriptions brought your NYC alive for us. You could not have been more caring or more sensitive to our predicament. You went above and beyond by taking us to find some food and water. Never have I had that kind of treatment. You are personal. You are very giving and caring. The ladies all agree that your tour was the highlight of NY.

Thank you so much for being our angel on that day. We all came away richer for having spent that day with you.

With Much Gratitude,

Marilyn R.

P.S. You probably don’t need it, however if you want to use the above as a testimonial you have my permission.

So let it be known that through rain, sleet, snow, and yes, even hurricane the tour will go on!

Salutations and Declarations

With fife and drum fading in the distance as the first major campaign between The Continental Army and His Majesty's Royal Army happened, the fine line of war was not yet in place. A carefully written and addressed letter may have made a difference.

Lord Howe, General William Howe of the Royal Army, encamped on Staten Island, writes on July 7, 1776 for reinforcements. Unlike today there was no tweet on July 4th, the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Actually a copy of the declaration did not reach New York until July 9th.

To write a letter during this time of the Revolutionary War it would have taken as much as six weeks time for mail and news to be received and then cross the Atlantic with response. General Howe had no way of knowing that the colonists had signed an agreement. Lord Howe considered himself a master of pardons and a peacemaker, he found himself in a compromised situation a he waited for reinforcements.

During this time General Howe tried to correspond with what he considered the rebel army. He addressed the written correspondence to “George Washington Esq.” (Esquire – a man with no title, a subject.) With no respectful acknowledgement, respect was not returned.

Howe wasn’t going to recognize Washington as a comrade-in-arms, let alone an equal, and therefore a solution was found by making a verbal, rather than written request and that request was to “His Excellency General Washington” to meet with Lieutenant-Colonel James Paterson, the adjutant general of the British Army, the backhanded attempt was never acknowledged.

It was August 1776, remember it took as much as six weeks for correspondence to travel and with the wait and frustration, strategy, and impulse, August 27 – 29, 1776 one of the most notorious battles for freedom occurred: The Battle of Brooklyn.

The Sign of the Times

Parking can be a hassle in a high-rise community.

In 1897, the island of Manhattan could never compete on an international level as a major city. A small island, the land is finite. It was the shared New York harbor that provided a common territory, access, and later, the Greater New York City Area. The consolidation of 1898, January 1, the merging of the five boroughs; Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island, New York City became the largest city in the world, and with this parking can be a headache.

The hub of traffic and the dire of rush hour the streets of Manhattan are hustling, and bustling around the clock. The population continues to be the test bed for innovation, and implementation. Understand it wasn’t until 1915 that there was a concentration of automobiles that required a need for a traffic light. Red, green, and amber all mean go to a horse.

Since 1897, New York City has transitioned from coal burning locomotives to the electric Subway system with a most vigorous concern for noise and air pollution. As much as this city represents corporate America, this city adapts and applies. Parking in a city of 1.5 million inhabitants and an influx of twice that many people filling the streets during rush hour it seems only fitting that like our handheld devices there is now a docking station for what we call a ‘smart’ car. Can this possibly get us a step closer to the much-anticipated hovercraft?

Existing Edifice + Big Idea = High Line

What led to the elevated train system in New York City is nothing new. The term “road rage” best defined as the aggressive, angry behavior by an automobile driver, hits the airwaves in the 1980s around the same time that gentrification and the “yuppie” takes Manhattan. “Going Green” in the streets of the city, new bicycle lanes once again keep pedestrians on their toes. Hello, High Line.

During a time most people can agree as a period of great advancements, New York City was at critical mass, it was the mid-1850s traffic jams became a way of life, not only did manure make getting around town difficult but the number of horse drawn vehicles; wagons, livery, and individual carriages clogged the streets, not to mention the pushcart trade, there was simply no way for someone to get from here to there with any expediency. Take it off the streets, the obvious solution, either by going over them or by going under them, electricity not yet the viable option, the rapid transit system was born in the elevated train.

With landmark status the last of the standing “El Trains” as they were known has been given new purpose, originally known as the ‘tracks to nowhere’ the Tenth Avenue El is the new beat in town. Overhauled and landscaped it gives the pedestrian a little slice of heaven right here on earth. This venture has revitalized an almost defunct warehouse district into an open-air promenade with a festival atmosphere.

K-BOOM! NYC FIREWORKS! HAPPY 4th of July :-)

Great celebration and good friends!

The sight is awesome and something to behold, the most spectacular thing is seeing the burst and the flares; however, the delay of the boom bounces off of the tall buildings giving the event the ultimate 3D visual as some explosions expanded in space moving towards us with surround sound, boom, boom, K-BOOM!

Emulating 'bombs bursting in air,' hairs rise with every flare, burst, shower, flash, sparkle, spill, and then evaporates into smoke. The anticipation is so moving.

Spending the 4^th of July with hometown friend, Melanie Northrop Nichols, I met her after she snagged free tickets to the Statue of Liberty, we started our day around 1:00pm strolling along the Brooklyn Heights promenade where I shared Revolutionary war history, the Battle of Brooklyn August 27 – 29, 1776 one of General George Washington’s first escapes & foils the Red Coats plans, where he and his troupes crossed the East River on a very dark rainy night. We truly shared, and enjoyed a red, white, & blue banner day!

Happy 4^th of July! Thank you Melanie.

Seeing the Sights, Central Park

New York City from the perspective of first time visitors may find the sights, sounds, and smells more than unfamiliar. The polish of a sleek brochure or familiar photo cannot capture the essence of daily life. As much as the streets are the veins of life of New York, visitors are welcome, let me show you in person.

Welcoming visitors to New York City is my pleasure. One Token Tours, a sightseeing service, I welcome curious individuals no matter how you are dressed, I just insist on comfortable shoes. We are visiting the Angel of the Water, Bethesda Terrace, one of the most beautiful statues in Central Park.

Wearing comfortable shoes, walking with confidence, the only way to avoid looking like a tourist if that is a goal, I myself, I live my life as the ultimate tourist because everyday an opportunity for something interesting exists. A camera in hand, embrace your inner tourist as I share some of my favorite places with you.

Sharing this ‘City’ with these four ladies made my weekend in New York City special!

From left to right:

Connie Free, Becky York, Linda Banks, Samantha Zorn

What a peep show!

Careful, in New York there is more than one peep show in town; today, we are talking about the frills and the thrills of the Easter bonnet parade along 5th Avenue. The weather turned out to be a beautiful spring day, although the forecast called for rain. The blue skies, the perfect backdrop for the masses, the streets teeming with onlookers, gawkers, shutterbugs, and of course, bonnets, some modestly tasteful, and others costume productions!

I am not sure I could pick a favorite and therefore, I along with a couple hundred other people snapped pics, you can check them out on my facebook page, check'em out. Feel free to say hi during your visit.

With my appetite filled with pastels and marsh mellow peeps, my neighbor, wearing her black-and-white Peter Fox(.com) spectators - the perfect Easter shoe, we walked across town for a late brunch. We left the throngs of jubilant people behind and wound up in Hell's Kitchen, a great neighborhood for good eats. Something for you to consider, join One Token Tours next Easter and experience it for yourself. And while you are here you can ask me about Hell's Kitchen.

-Happy Easter!

In NYC for Easter, Tell your peeps!

Within the streets of New York City there is a celebration of culture, of difference, as well as holiday; marching parades mark time, express vitality, define a season, and no where else like 5^th Avenue on Easter Sunday can a bonnet be more than hat.

The Easter Parade is a New York tradition that dates back to the middle of the 1800s. The social elite would attend services at one of the 5th Avenue churches and parade their new fashions down the Avenue afterwards.

The less well to do would come to see the latest trends. Many handy seamstresses found inspiration for their client's wardrobes at the parade. It was a combination of religious services and haute couture in the days before TV, when only the wealthiest New Yorkers could attend fashion shows in Paris.

Today, the flamboyant headgear and costumes rival some of the most notorious NYC processionals in town!

If you know someone visiting Easter Weekend be sure to tell them to go to 5^th Avenue near 52^nd Street for a sensational spectacle!

"In your Easter bonnet,
with all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest lady
in the Easter parade!"

It is More than a T-shirt!

Capital I, followed by a red heart symbol, below which are the capital letters N and Y, set in rounded slab serif typeface called American Typewriter is pride for a tenacious community.

Before 9/11, before the 80s, about the time that everyone owned a TV, the lights of The Great White Way, Broadway, they were fading. Live entertainment became the business of taping a variety show. New York City was no longer a destination.

It was more than a campaign.

It became a slogan!

It was a pro bono gig.

The genius of Milton Glaser along with Bobby Zarem volunteered their graphic design talents because they expected the campaign to last only a couple of months, waving the rights to royalties, and in hindsight the simple design is worth millions and more. The innovative pop-style icon became a major success.

1977 Deputy Commissioner Doyle, aware of the increase in crime and the welfare burden all of which reached a nadir in the city's fiscal crisis of the 1970s. New York City needed the revenue and ‘I (heart) NY,’ the logo, a rebus, became the icon, the pulse, the positive affirmation, the ID.

The simplicity is its beauty.

Everybody sing!

“If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere. Come on come through, New York, New York.”

Eye of the Beholder, Hiring a Private Guide

In the age of branding where “it takes a village,” and where few people accept change immediately, I Googled my name and found a Satan worshiper who killed his mother and stepfather. This whole time I thought Sean Sellers a pretty unique name, and it is; however, building a tour business from scratch I needed a new name.

One Token Tours came about in 2004 as New Yorkers were being weaned from the beloved, yet a little cumbersome Subway token to the new ‘Metrocard.’ People were up in arms as a part of the City’s history was being dissolved. Now fully transitioned in 2011 we find our pockets a little lighter.

Googling again I decided to type into my web browser “Why Hire A Guide” and I found several global villagers, travel writers, out there with some pretty sound advice.

- James Patterson from TravelSavvyMom.com writes:

4 reasons to hire a guide on your next family vacation

- You will see more

- You won't have to drive

- You’ll avoid unnecessary stress

- You will be entertained

I was surprised to see the number of stories from world travelers who said they would never spend the money but changed their tune because the VALUE of hiring a guide for only a couple of hours can make the biggest of differences in the overall experience.

- Mark Kahler form About.com, “They are budget travelers in search of value and an authentic, memorable experience.”

- Molly Feltner of ‘SmartTravel,’ “As I traveled more, I learned that while you don't need a guide for everything, hiring one, even if only for a few hours, can mean the difference between really understanding a place and having a visually interesting but ultimately superficial travel experience. Also, not all guided experiences involve name tags and tour buses, or a lot of money.”

Help me spread the word, One Token Tours, of the East Village, a ‘Metrocard’ carrying, DCA licensed local guide is excited to show you New York City!

Time Travel

In a movie it is a sunset or sunrise, transatlantic voyages, the passage of a locomotive, a bridge, that symbolizes change, transition, and the stirring that hope is the journey.

My work as a guide, helping people enjoy their time, is a lot like being an escort to the past and because I wasn’t born in New York a guest always asks, how I got here, as if I was beamed into their presence from the “Star Trek Enterprise.” It is even more evident when my group discovers that I don’t own a vehicle nor cable TV, I can hear hand held devices hitting the floor.

Trying to avoid becoming obsolete in my own time I do acknowledge the purpose of new technology. Graduating from high school in 1984, there is a slight Orwellian paranoia as our universe becomes less and less tangible to me; this web and its infrastructure is a network of invisible highways, avenues, and threads that offer simulation, surveillance, and transportation and you don’t have to leave your home.

I don’t understand it but I find it fascinating. Like all strange new things there is transition and this may be the ultimate in time travel, and like a merry-go-round, or a roller coaster sometimes we just hold on to whatever we can manage.

Maybe I was born at the wrong time and the pleasures I get out of living in New York City are the best of both worlds. From 1869 to 1883 witnessing the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, it was a grueling process, I understand, but the web of cable networking suspends and supports the future and today an Icon. The only buildings of that day to be nearly as tall were the spires of churches and when the bridge was completed it became the tallest structure on the entire eastern seaboard. Today, it is hard to imagine the bridge standing so dominate against a more demure city.

I can look at photos of the bridge before the city exploded around it and know that the photo is a first in hand held images captured by a machine and circulated around the world with great excitement and I can hear the clamor of pedestrians, bicyclists, and the clip clop of the horse-and-buggy as this bridge changed lives and brought a more conscious enthusiasm for adventure.

Join me, let’s “trip the light fantastic, on the sidewalks of New York.”

Hiring a Tour Guide

Simply put, “Time is Money.” Not sure this is something Mrs. Silence Dogood conjured up but Benjamin Franklin is given credit for such an astute proverb. Time and money are the two elements upon which most decisions are made.

Why hire a guide:

- The best use of your time.

- Comfortable pace and safe passage.

- Location and navigation, (don’t fuss with books or maps that may be out of date.)

- Ask your licensed professional - Now you’ve got the idea.

- This is how you make N Y C as easy as A B C & 1 2 3!

- I can help!

With our global environment shrinking to a touch screen, the mobile device although a great tool will never take the place of a quality guide. The individual, with whom the ins and outs of this bustling city, understands, entertains, informs, as well as manages your time; the essentials that makes travel an experience.

When it comes time to choose a tour guide in “the city that never sleeps,” where a “New York Minute,” is a happening rather than an increment of time, and where money may need to be borrowed from the bank of a ‘Monopoly’ board game, you have to ask yourself what do you wish to do and see because the sky is the limit, literally.

Progress @ the World Financial Center

It has been a record-breaking season for snow in New York City, reports show that January 2011 replaces an 86 year-old-record with snowfall amounts registering at 36 inches cumulatively there seems to be no end to winter; however, with the student travel season upon us spring is in the air.
Presidents’ Day week brought a group of young travelers to the Big Apple and this marks the beginning of routine trips to the Statue of Liberty as well as to the financial district. Spring Break is around the corner and followed by Easter more and more kids flock to the construction site. Still referring to the area as Ground Zero these kids were no more than 4 years old when the towers fell. Finally ten years later there seems to be visible progress as the structure is bursting from the soil and reaching to the sky.
Along with the first group of the season even I was amazed at what I saw, I stood there and I tried to count, well guess, the number of floors. I guessed over 45 floors and when I got home after finishing the tour I looked up more solid information:
- Steel installation has reached the 58th floor.
- Concrete floor slabs are cast to the 50th floor outside the core area.
- Steel erection is in progress between floors 56 and 58.
- Perimeter columns extend approximately 693 feet above grade.
- Aluminum and glass curtain wall panels have been erected to the 25th floor at all elevations and has begun to progress to the 26th floor.
Almost halfway there reaching 693 feet to date the network of steel beams and safety netting this structure is still shadowed by surrounding buildings, buildings that will be dwarfed when the tower reaches the tip of its spire at 1,776 feet and a total of 105 floors. The void in the heart and soul of New York is alive again with new growth.
The memory of the two sentries that once stood watch over the New York harbor, the twin towers; they are never forgotten and the progress at the financial center is a welcomed site to behold.