In August, I finally got a chance to go with Adam on one of his overnights with work and headed down to New York for a whirlwind 24 hour visit.
We arrived late in the afternoon, checked into the hotel with the rest of the crew, quickly changed and made our way to the train station to head into the city. Unfortunately, it was raining like crazy. We had to buy umbrellas at a corner store and try not to cringe at how disgusting our feet were getting in our sandals from all the rain "water," on the streets. (Had we been walking in the rain during the day, it would have been tough stepping in the puddles. At least when it was dark and we were already soaked, it was easier to just walk and not think about what we were stepping in.)
In the long run, my good camera had some issues, so I didn't get any pictures from our first night. We wandered around the streets a bit and headed to Ellen's Stardust Diner, where we found terrible food, but a fantastic atmosphere. Go there for a milkshake, but don't eat. This diner is pretty cool in that the servers sing while they serve! Pretty high energy at all times and definitely worth checking out. The singing was actually really good! Afterwards, we wandered around, checked out Times Square, got completely soaked through and eventually headed back to the hotel for the night, arriving around midnight.
The following morning, Adam and I were up by 630am, to get the train back into the city for our quick shopping and sightseeing day! We managed to find a cheap camera at a sketchy shop somewhere and made our way to the Empire State building, hoping to be there before the crowds!
We lined up and were up at the top in 15 minutes! The view was incredible! The air wasn't so polluted that we couldn't see anything and the sky was blue, so it made for a well-worth-it trip up.
Neat from the ground and neat from up top!
I'd love to tell you what you're looking at here, but I haven't got a clue. For me it was fun to look at the tops of the buildings and the penthouse apartments and gardens, as well as all the yellow taxis on the ground.
I think that's Manhattan in the distance...but I can't be sure. Adam has been so many times, he could tell you what everything is.
Loved the views and the different buildings. It's nicely done in that you don't get the feeling that the modern buildings are overtaking everything.
Just past the skyscrapers in the foreground, you can see the grass of Central Park. We didn't get to see it this time around. We were on a whirlwind, seeing the things we did!
Loved the yellow taxis. I thought the streets would be so loud with the volume of taxis and delivery trucks driving around, but it's a bylaw, I believe, that they aren't allowed to honk their horns!
Maybe Broadway...
Waiting for another train.
One of the last photos I took, somewhere on Canal Street I think, in an alleyway. We were finding New York themed items to bring back for Marin's birthday party and all the cheap stuff is on Canal Street!
Loved New York, can't wait to go back with the kids and show them the sights and sounds and smells of this amazing city!
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