Page 4-Saturday, April 15, 1978-The Michigan Daily Travel Supplement The Michigan Daily Travel Supplement- N " J' .; \ . , l f - ( C' 4 .' NM~ Disco: The monster that ate New York City By Sue Warner I HATE DISCOS. So why in the world I ever decided to pack up and head for New York City over spring break I'll never know. I must have somehow forgotten that New York, New York is the disco capital of the world, the city where the hustling never stops. A high school pal had been living in Manhattan for about two years, and I figured I could get off cheaply by staying with her. That was amy first mistake. Linda; my old crony from "Linda, my old crony from cheerleading days, had acquired an expensive habit. Yes, poor Linda was suffering from ter- By Jay Levin IF YOU LIVE in another part of the country and go home for school vacations, you have two speedy op- tions: You can fly or you can drive. If you live in another part of the country, go home for school vacations and live on a budget, you have one speedy op- tion: You can drive. The following hints and slices of ex- perience will hopefully make that trip a little nicer. Consider my trip back to New York last Thanksgiving. We were seven living creatures in my Ford Granada - three men, three women and Bootsy, a small, furry dog of uncertain pedigree. Three in the front, three in the back and Bootsy wherever she wanted to sit. Travelling like a tirnof smoked sprats is notihe way to negotiate the 650 miles of highway between Ann Arbor and New York, especially when you're negotiating in a scaled-down Ford. Paralysis of the legs and aching butts are a problem - especially for those in the back seat. And try squeezing the luggage of six people into a trunk that the Mafia wouldn't find fit for stashing. If you must take along five riders in an effort to pare the cost of the trip, make sure you're taking a van or, at the smallest, a Lincoln Continental. If you have a Ford Granada or a similarly- sized passenger car, four's the limit. THAT THANKSGIVING trip was a nightmare from the start. I missed a turn-off on U.S. 23 and wound up in Toledo proper - a very improper place to wind up. Twenty minutes lost. I finally made it to Interstate 80 - the highway which connects the rest of the country with New York City - but no sooner had I become comfortable in the cramped front seat when I was flagged down for zipping along at 72 in the left lane. If you must speed, don't do it in Ohio. "Can I see your driver's license and registration?" asked the young, moon- faced trooper with the close-cropped hair. "Ah, yes, here it is, officer." "Where are you going, Mr. Levin?" "New York." "Where are you coming from, Mr. Levin?" "Ann Arbor, Michigan." "What is your occupation, Mr. Levin?" (SCHMUCK! WHADDYA think my occupation is? Six young people, backpacks and a dog in my car, its bumpers plastered with Go Blue and Wuck Foody stickers.) "I'm a lawyer for a large, multi- national corporation.", I didn't say that. I did say: "I'm a student at the University of Michigan." "Mr. Levin, I clocked you going 72 miles an hour, which is 17 miles an hour over the speed limit. If you have a Visa card, an American Express card or an AAA card in your name, I can process the ticket right here and you can be on your way in a jiffy. If you haven't those cards, you'll have to follow me, pull your car off the road and come with me to the Windham County Courthouse and post the cash for your violation. Thirty- six dollars. "What if I don't have enough money?" "Well, then, you'll be cooling your heels in the Windham County jail 'til your friends can somehow get you the money." "Boy, that would really screw up my Thanksgiving." "Not really, Mr. Levin. I understand they put on a real good turkey dinner station in. the boondocks of Eastern Pennsylvania. Worried that I'd run out of gas, I made it back to the highway and a couple of minutes later found one of those glorious truck stops which never close. Whew! About 15 minutes lost. The trip went nicely until we were about to drop off. Lois and her room- mate in Milburn, New Jersey, a leafy suburb not far from Elizabeth. It was about 2:30 in the morning and Lois, colored lights; bumping grinding bodies clad in blinding gold metallic jumpsuits, the blaring sounds of whining Bee Gees. By day, my four-day stay in Gotham was that of your typical tourist-the U.N., Rockefeller Center, Top of the World Trade Center, the subway and, of course, Bloomingdale's. The first three nights I vehemently refused to go dan- cing, but my last night I could no longer stave off my hostess' pleas, so I agreed to go to. one of her favorite swanky discos. After all, the woman had been kind enough to put me up in one of the world's most expensive cities, and to flatly refuse her disco yearnings would have been rude. Besides, I believe she was going through withdrawal. I must admit that the possibility of seeing Truman Capote and Jackie O. kick it out on the dance floor was more than I could resist. P LANS FOR Friday night's ex- cursion were quickly hammered out. The first order of business was finding an appropriate escort. According to Linda, our escort(s) must be visually effective, i.e. weird-looking, so we would appear suave enough to be allowed into the selective clubs. This was *a concept new to me. At the bars back home it was the management's goal to get in as many partons as possible. In New York, the object is to screen out all but the "creme de la creme," which gives the establishment an elite, upper-crust reputation and consequently, desirability. A club's eliteness is directly proportional to the amount of cover charge a club owner can get away with. (Logic not See DISCO, Page 15 BY DAY, New Yorkers like these at the W routine business. But by night, they may succ "If you must take along five riders in an effort to pare the cost of the trip, make minal Saturday Fever." Night sure you're smallest, a1 taking Lincoln a van or, at the Continental. If you cheerleading days, had acquired an ex- pensive habit. Yes, poor Linda was suf- fering from terminal Saturday Night Fever. Linda is the typical dancer struggling to make it in the Big Apple. She lives in a slick studio apartment on the West Side which is paid for by unemployment compensation and subsidies from her parents. Weekdays are strictly dan- cing, singing and acting classes. But come the weekend, it's pulsating have a Ford Granada or a similarly-sized passenger car, four's the limit.'' "1 Elkins * Sun flights Travel Charter * Laker London * Frankfurt * Zurich Athens " Rome " and More on Thanksgiving day in the Windham County jail." WOULDN'T YOU know it, but I didn't have any charge cards and my AAA card was issued in my Dad's name. Deputy Dog wouldn't ac- cent it, nor would he accept my check, so I hopped a ride with him to the cour- thouse, which is in the same building as the Windham County jail. I paid the fine with assistance from my passengers. One hour lost. If you must get a ticket in Windham County, Ohio, have an American Ex- press card handy. Don't be caught without it. I was happy to be on my way after the ticket and cautiously proceeded to the Belmont Ave. exit in Youngstown (a great place, by the way, to eat and get gas). The tank full, we joyously crossed over to Pennsylvania and began the long (305 miles) journey across one helluva large state. It was about 8:30 p.m. when we left Ohio. (We had depar- ted Ann Arbor at 2) We were behind schedule. Towards eastern Pennsylvania we began to run low on gas. Very low. I knew that, because the gas gauge was on 'E.' It was after 1 a.m., so I went off the road. IF YOU MUST get- gas on I-80 early in the morning, don't get off the road. We drove for several miles on a fog-shrouded ribbon of asphalt before realizing that we would not find a gas whose parents had moved to Milburn a month earlier, had a revelation: She wasn't exactly sure where the town was. She had directions so we followed them. And Followed them. And followed them. Over the river and through Jersey to Lois' house we go! And we made it. But I figure we lost 20 minutes. The worst was yet to come. Lois' mother, who was up when we arrived, gave us explicit directions to Manhat- tan, my next destination. It's a cinch, she said. Just get on the Jersey Tur- npike and you're there in no time. What we did, instead, was get on the Jersey turnpike, get off at the wrong exit and end up in Elizabeth, New Jer- sey, at 3 a.m. EVEN IF WE WERE in Elizabeth in broad daylight, we'd want to get the hell out. The city's the armpit of the Earth. Thirty minutes lost. We finally found the right way to Manhattan and drove happily through the Holland Tunnel. On familiar ground, I had no trouble dropping Susan and Bootsy on 62nd and George on 73rd. Over the 59th Bridge into Queens. Jim goes to Bayside. And I chugged into the driveway of my house at 4:40 a.m. Tuesday, some 14 and a half hours after starting the trip. I was . 36 dollars poorer and 650 miles wearier. I slept until Wednesday. Does American Airliyaes have no-frill bargain rates to'IkYWbr = ' ~''" (Continued from Page 7) which can show you how they manufac- ture and package more than 57 varieties by now. There is the Incline, which ascends the "mountain" across from the city and affords a splendid daytime view. F OR A REAL CHANGE from Angell Hall you might check out the Uni- versity of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, the tallest school structure in the world. On the ground floor you'll find the nationality rooms, actual working class rooms designed after other countries' schools in different eras.J Of course the tallest building in Pit- tsburgh is U.S. Steel's triangular edifice, whose outline can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. With little competition from surrounding struc- tures, it has the uncanny appearance of falling over when viewed from below because the clouds move so clearly agStilltnyvs p6 ' rl be found at these tourist favorites for long. The city holds too many other at- tractions. You can spend hours wandering among one of the best collections of dinosaurs in the world at the carnegie Museum. Another building has recently been added to the Carnegie library- museum complex: the Scaife Art Gallery, home of fine modern works. Buhl Planetarium is always packed for its science exhibits, star shows and a miniature railroad which must have more working track than the Penn Cen- tral. Amateur theatre flourishes in the city and surrounding area. Beautiful Heinz Hall, with its red satin and chandeliers, host the Civic Light Opera, whose professional productions are fine musicals with at least one "name" and a good cast. Downtown's Warner Theater is one of the last of the city's elegant movie houses, with balconies and woodwork galore. It demonstrates that the right combination of theater c a, mnd y still leave the adinc eitaletd' . s A . Pittsburgh today: It's no longer 'the Pitts' 511 8-18 14 S369.00 511 ' 9-29 20 $36900 5-18 9-08 16 $389.00 5.18 9-29 19 $389.00 5-25 9-15 1.6 $399.00 5-25 10-13 20 $39900 6-01 9-22 16 $399.00 6-08 9.08 13 $399.00 6-08 10-06 17 S39900 6-15 10-20 18 $39900 6-22 9-22' 13 $399.00 6-22 8-2~ 9 $399.00 6-29 10 14 $399.00 1rAYE! CONSULTANTS PJouCh~ter Connection" 1 f 1 I M+ ii ywa3 :PGCa$ A f A ' d t 1At~l Jhth Ou iuc.nl nr ? .... ,-, e.,w ",wr e+"-'i .'Z 3 'Z'S. r{" s 14 z + "w0 .. C .. a .