I realize that I am geographically challenged. I accept it. Don’t like it but that’s my reality, as they say.  Even with google maps I can’t tell which way I’m headed unless I turn the phone all around. And, since I can never appear to be (gasp) A Visitor, I keep going with resolve – wrong way or not. I’m getting better, but there is really no cure.

Getting to the new Whitney was a challenge. The map gave a strange landmark where I was supposed to turn. Is it in the middle of the block? Why can’t they say 15th street?  I can’t find this building or whatever it is. The map navigation was telling me to head southwest. Was I heading southwest? Forced to use my compass app, I rolled it around to calibrate. Yes. I was going in the right direction. (In my defense, I was with two friends last week and none of us could figure out how to get there.)

I finally arrived and my expectations were not really met. Not as grand and gleaming as I expected, tho it was a grey day. The line was about 3 blocks long. We moved slowly toward the entrance and I saw a young woman in a blue shirt, overseeing the queue. I asked the cost to get in. $22 she says. If I worked here and had to answer that, I would have been apologetic, a grimace, sad eyes..I know, it’s a lot, isn’t it? I’m really sorry… But she had none of that empathy. Like $22 is acceptable. And I guess it is for tourists. But I’m a New Yorker now. I have to watch my spending. I gotta live here where a six pack of beer costs $16. So, I decided to leave, walked around the Meatpacking District and explored (for free!)  Found out later it’s Pay What you Wish on Friday evenings.

I’ll be back. I know how to get there now.