This turned out to be an unusual, interesting, and rather exciting day.
After another humungous $4 all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, Roy had the foresight to phone West Marine in Annapolis before going there. Found out they didn't have an inverter in stock. They suggested he try the store in Syosset, Long Island. Neither of us had ever heard of Syosset, but we phoned the store. They had two of the ProWatt 800 inverters, so we decided to go there immediately. They told us to take the Huntington Branch of the Long Island Railroad.
We went over to the Marina Office and got a bus schedule from Atlantic City to Manhattan and also one from the marina to the bus terminal. The next bus to the terminal left in five minutes, so we hurried back to the boat and got the old inverter. Made the bus by about 30 seconds. Unfortunately, I hadn't checked the schedule to New York. Turned out we had nearly an hour's wait for that bus. Checked at Greyhound and Amtrak, but their fares were too high, so we went as planned on New Jersey Transit. Cost $9.60 each one-way.
If the bus had arrived at the Port Authority Terminal on time, we wouldn't have had a problem, but it was five or ten minutes late. For that matter, if we had gone right down to the subway, we'd have been at Penn Station in plenty of time, but I'd forgotten to bring my subway map and had only a vague recollection of where Penn Station was (turned out my recollection was right on), so we thought the safest way to get there in a hurry was by taxi. West Marine closed at six, so we had to catch the 3:59 train to get there on time. Unfortunate-
ly, it was raining, so people were waiting in line for taxis. We had to wait ten or fifteen minutes, and then, of course, traffic was heavy and every light was red. We reached Penn Station about 3:54. Didn't know which way to go to get to the tracks. Penn Station is in the basement of Madison Square Garden and doesn't look like a train station at all. Luckily, we saw a sign pointing down the stairs to Penn Station, so we dashed down there and through an opening that said "Long Island Railroad". Saw another sign that said the Huntington train ran on Track 20. Fortunately, the tracks were clearly labeled. We were near Track 17. I asked a guard if we could pay on the train. He said we could, but it would cost an extra $2. We would have paid it to catch the train on time, but just then I saw a ticket machine. After playing with the buttons for a few seconds, I read the directions and managed to get two tickets out of it. Then we ran for the Track 20 sign, but couldn't see a track. I asked another guard, and he said to go down the stairs. We saw the train sitting there with its doors open as we ran down the stairs. We both expected to see the doors close just as we got there, but they didn't! We got on the train, found seats, and sat down. Then the train started. Whew!
Arrived in Syosset around five. It was pitch dark and raining. Took a cab to West Marine. It was a nice new store. The man we'd talked with on the phone knew right away who we were and what we wanted. Without a moment's hesitation, he gave us a brand-new inverter in exchange for the no-good one. Really excellent service.
If we could have gotten a cab back to the train station right away, we could have caught the 5:46 and been back in Manhattan in time to catch the seven-o'clock bus back to Atlantic City, but the cab didn't come for about half an hour, so we had to wait for the 6:41 train. We were nearly out of money by then, so we crossed the street to an ATM and reloaded our wallets. Then we went to a nearby restaurant for supper. The meal was overwhelming. For openers, Roy had a huge salad, and I had a bowl of chicken-rice soup. We also had hot Italian bread and butter. By then, I was satisfied and didn't need anything more, but we'd already ordered chicken dinners. The waiter brought enough food for an army. We each had half a roast chicken, mountains of delicious dressing, huge baked potatoes, bowls of gravy, bowls of vegetables, and cups of applesauce. I had to ask for a doggie bag for half my chicken, and Roy left half his potato. What a feast!
We had missed the 6:41, so we had to take the 7:03. The station was closed and there was no outside ticket machine, so we couldn't buy our tickets in advance, but it turned out the railroad doesn't penalize customers under those circumstances, so we were able to buy our tickets on the train at the regular price.
Got to Penn Station around eight, too late to catch the eight-
o'clock bus to Atlantic City. Took the subway to the Port Authority Terminal and found our way to Gate 319. Relaxed and waited for the nine-o'clock bus. Unfortunately, it was fifteen minutes late arriving in Atlantic City, so we missed the bus back to the marina. Took a cab. Reached the boat around midnight. Mission accomplished.
It had cost us nearly $100 to replace the inverter, which had cost $700 originally. Sure hope this one works.
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