Still in Jersey, but...

I went to New York City today. For those of you who know me well, I don't really like spontaneous things, and I kind of went against that today. I did have SOME planning, but only to get to NYC, not what I was going to be doing up there.

I left today around 9am, and took a train to Penn Station in NYC. When I got there, it was almost overwhelming since I come from a small town (especially in comparison). I've been to Seoul, South Korea before, and it kind of reminded me of that. Really, the only difference between the two cities is that in Seoul, the buildings are newer.

It was outrageously busy. Cars honking and people rushing around to who knows what. When I left the train station, I just started walking. I ended up a few blocks down at the bus station, where there were people selling double-decker bus tours. I went ahead and got one for downtown Manhattan. The tour was really nice. I got to see things that I'd only seen on TV, like the Macy's department store, Empire State Building, and Central Park. I mostly stayed on the bus, but I did get off at the WTC site and the park where you catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I took some pics of both areas, but I don't have a digital camera (I got this laptop that I'm typing on instead). Once I get these pics developed, I'll be sure to post some.

Ground Zero at the WTC was a humbling experience. Lots of construction is still going on, but to see and stand where so many people lost their lives is pretty moving. I'm looking forward to the memorial they put there. As for the Statue of Liberty, I ended up staying at the park instead of going to the island. There was an hour and a half wait to get on the ferry, and I didn't have the time for that. I took some pics of Ellis Island and the Statue, and walked around a bit. I ended up at Times Square, which was awesome.

I even had some good 'ole NY pizza. It was from a small shop near the WTC site, and was actually pretty good. Next I have to go to Chicago and try theirs.

It was a great time. I've always wanted to go to NYC, and now that I have, I want to come again and actually spend some time doing things. One of these days I'll come back.

Funny side note: I decided to eat at the Olive Garden when I got back into Jersey. When I was finishing up my meal I noticed that I had dropped some sauce from my meal onto my shorts, but I also noticed that my fly was down. Man, I felt like a dope. I walked all around NYC with my fly down, D'OH! Oh well, hopefully no one noticed.

That's all for now, tomorrow I fly to Kentucky. I just checked my itinerary and saw that I'll be flying first class, whoo hoo!

Peace,

Tony P.