“When I was growing up, I had three wishes – I wanted to be a Lindbergh-type hero, learn Chinese and become a member of the Algonquin Round Table .” -- President John F. Kennedy Staying at the Algonquin was a time-traveling experience. When the Uber pulled up, it wasn't an Uber SUV anymore. It was a yellow-taxi cab from the 1920s and 30s. As I stepped out from under the iconic green awning and into the main dining room and bar, it wasn't 9:00 am. It was lunchtime. And, I was not Hallie from the 21st century. I was Hallie the actress, poet, short-story writer, or columnist. I was whatever I wanted to be because I was at the Algonquin. THE VICIOUS CIRCLE The Algonquin Roundtable wasn't always The Algonquin Roundtable. Like a lot of things that originated around the 1920s, it began as a practical joke carried out by press agent John Peter Toohey. It's 1919, and Toohey is annoyed at New York Times columnist, Alexander Woollcott for refusing to write about one of his client...
I'm back (finally)!! Welcome to the day 13 recap. My apologies for the late post. When I got home from driving for 11 hours in one day, I took a couple of days off, as we were all exhausted. This post recaps the events of July 2. Day 13 CITIES We hopped from town to town, exit to exit everywhere from Hanover, NH to Altoona, PA. It certainly was a big driving day, as we arrived at our hotel at almost 2:00 am after foraging the Poconos in complete darkness. That was fun. BOOKSTORES Northshire Bookstore This bookstore was sincerely one of my favorites of the entire trip. Nestled in a gorgeous and unfathomably green small town, I felt as if I had stepped straight into Stars Hollow, waiting for Rory Gilmore to burst into the store and complain about her bus being late from Chilton. The organization was impeccable, another facet Rory would appreciate; I appreciated it too. Most impressive to me, however, were the hundreds of staff/customer recommendation cards clipped ...