(Okay, so it only looks stationary through the camera's eye, but still.)
Next time, I'm taking JetBlue: a direct flight and NO visible propellers!
Since our flight left Houston at about 11:30 a.m. and didn't arrive till nearly 4:00 p.m. local time, we missed lunch and were quite hungry by the time we arrived at LaGuardia Airport. We grabbed a shuttle to our hotel, the Wellington Hotel ...
... dropped our bags in the room ...
... and then headed across the street to Carnegie Deli.
Unlike restaurants back home, we were seated at a table with other parties. The table had eight seats: the two of us, a guy from Japan, a couple with a teenager from Tennessee, and a couple from Manhattan. Of course we chatted with the people from Tennesee: we all love SEC football and talked about our respective prospects for the year, plus with kids the same age, it was fun to hear what they were planning to do while in NYC, too! The guy from Japan spoke little English, but we were able to communicate with him as well; poor guy was stuck between two friendly Southern ladies!
And the couple from Manhattan: NATIVES!! They were only dating, but both had been born and raised in Manhattan. We talked to them about what we were planning, which shows we were going to see (that'll be covered in NYC part something else), which were must-see sites. The guy was friends with one of the performers in The Cotton Club Parade, one of the shows we would see, so we made sure to get his name and look for him later that week! The couple was so friendly that I thought we'd gotten lucky, meeting native New Yorkers who didn't meet the stereotype.
Then the food came. Drew and I split a Reuben with corned beef. It was delicious! But even with splitting the sandwich, there was at least enough left for three more servings!
My half:
After dinner, we decided to walk to Times Square, the heart of which was about 15 minutes and 12 short blocks away. (Yes, there are short blocks running north to south and long blocks running east to west; I don't know the ratio, but I'd bet a long block is about 2.5 - 3 times as long as a short block.)
Times Square is simply too much. There are ridiculous amounts of advertisements on the buildings (a later tour guide reported that that's required by law, but who knows), vast numbers of people, and more things to do in a few blocks than in some small cities.
Drew had enough insight to get a picture on first view:
We walked around a little, then rode the Ferris wheel inside Toys'R'Us. Yes, there is a four-story Ferris wheel INSIDE the store!
You don't get to pick which car you ride in, and of course we were lucky enough to get the My Little Pony car. Uh huh. No Scooby Doo or Mr. Potato Head for us: pink ponies only!
The next day, we did a Hop-On, Hop-Off tour through Gray Line Tours. The bus was a double-decker, and it was just barely warm enough to sit on the open top deck.
Of course, being so high, you couldn't stand up. Look how close we were to the traffic lights!
We passed Madison Square Gardens, the Flat Iron Building, and of course Macy's on 34th. It's Christmas time in the city, and Santa is still in need of some believers.
Next up: the Empire State Building. We went to the very tippy top!
From the 86th floor, where most people stop - remember the observation deck in Sleepless in Seattle? that's the 86th floor - you can see the city. It goes on forever, it seems!
But Drew is an adventurous sort, so we went to the 102nd floor observation deck, too. We couldn't go outside that high up, but it was a pretty amazing view, though nearly identical to the 86th floor. (In other words, if I were making a recommendation, I would say just go to the 86th floor, unless you just really, really like heights.)
Of course, if you go to the top, you do have the opportunity to ride with an elevator dude who has to close the outer elevator door and then the inner cage door, which was kind of cool. You don't see that very often these days.
After the Empire State Building, we hopped back on the bus. Onward: to NYU, the Scholastic Store, and China Town!
NYU has quite a nice campus. I was expecting something different, since it's in the middle of Manhattan, but I can see how the students there love it! Although it's in the heart of the city, it has a vibrancy that only a college campus can have.
We also went to the Scholastic Store. Remember all those Scholstic book orders from school? Yep, we went there. We found a great selection of Harry Potter paraphernalia, and I got to try the sorting hat for myself:
Of course, it told me that I was too old for Hogwarts and sent me on my way. Drew, on the other hand, got the house of his choice:
Then it was on to China town. The shopping was completely overwhelming (keep in mind that I also find Sam's Club overwhelming, but this even moreso than that), but the food in China Town was delicious!
After China Town, we continued on to Battery Park, where we caught the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty is closed for renovations, so we could not go inside to the pedastal or - remember that Drew is the adventurous sort! - to the crown, so we opted for the free ferry ride with a great view of our favorite freedom girl:
In the distance, we could see the new Freedom Tower, which is under construction where the destroyed World Trade Center formerly stood and will stand as "a beacon of freedom" in the face terrorism.
The Staten Island Ferry ride was quick and pleasant. A lot of New Yorkers take the ferry back and forth, but I suspect that - considering the number of cameras - most of the people standing outside with us were tourists.
Again, like on the double-decker bus, it was just warm enough to ride outside on the top deck with the wind in our faces and the sun shining brightly.
We exited the ferry and then hurried to the loading site for the next ferry heading back to Manhattan. We opted for the middle deck this time, sitting on a bench, enjoying the ride and the lovely view.
By the time we got back to Manhattan, we'd been in the city for a full 24 hours. Yep, this was just the first 24 hours of a week in the city.
(Stay tuned for NYC part 2 and see what else we saw and did!)
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