I had just started a new job, and there was a performance by John Zorn's New Masada Quartet at the historic Village Vanguard in Manhattan. I finally committed to going the week before the concert but was (per company policy) supposed to schedule my time-off at least two weeks in advance. I was thankfully able to play the "new employee I didn't know" card and was able to go without incurring an absence.

I took a late night Greyhound that got me to the New York Port Authority by morning. From there, I took the subway to the Bronx to Woodlawn Cemetery. It is a LONG walk from the entrance to Hughes's grave, and it had already been a long walk from the subway station to the entrance. A whole lotta walking going on. So in the midst of all this walking, I got my pictures.

The Zorn show was a 3pm matinee, so I took the train downtown and met a fellow Zorn-obsessed fan for the show. Which was amazing.

I later met a former girlfriend for dinner at Rolf's, a gay Bavarian Christmas-themed restaurant on the lower east side. It was fun catching up, and we hung out till it was time for me to take the Greyhound back to Cleveland.

Day trip to New York and back.