I heart NY

Since no one else has been blogging lately, I shall finish my New York trip-o-logue.


On our last day we finally got ourselves out of bed on time to see the "Today Show" over in Rockefeller Center. We only made it over for the last half hour of taping, so we didn't get a really good spot to stand, but that doesn't really matter. They were cleaning up most of the sets already, but they still had one more outdoor segment left -- cooking. The previous day we had actually seen them delivering the table and hydrangea bushes that were used as the set (although we had no idea at the time what they were for), so it was weird seeing them being used. Since it was the 4th of July holiday, the segment focused on barbecuing, of course. They made a great looking salmon, but since we were actually behind the set we couldn't hear what the recipe was. Too bad. Perhaps I can get the recipe off of the video tape I'll be getting (I called my parents, who called my grandpa, who taped the show that morning for me). Anyway, I have no idea if anyone could see us in the background of the set, but it was neat watching them prep the food to make it look way more appealing than I ever could. And after the show was over Ann Curry, who was anchoring that day, came over to the crowd and spent much longer than I would have expected talking, posing for photos, and signing autographs.





Our next stop was a stroll up Fifth Avenue towards the Empire State Building. Despite being the tallest building in New York, we couldn't see the darn thing until we were right in front of it. It turns out that it sets back a bit from the street which makes it really hard to see when you're walking up the streets it sits on. I've been in plenty of big tall buildings before, but one thing I was especially struck by was the age of this one. Sure, we can build skyscrapers now, but it was more amazing back then (it was built in 1930 and 1931). The main lobby was very art deco and unfortunately the elevators felt very old (stuffy and slow, too), but the upper lobby also still had some of the elegant feeling they must have been going for when they designed it as a waiting area for dirigibles. After going through a few security checks, we were on our way to the top to take in the view. And it was an amazing view. You really get a sense for the size of Central Park from up there, as well as just how many large office buildings Manhattan has. They claim you can see many states from the top, but Monday was a cloudy day so we couldn't see anything more than perhaps New Jersey. One of the things that really struck me from up there was just how peaceful it was. New York is so loud and bustling, but up there it was quiet and calm. I could have stayed up there much longer just peering at the city below, but alas, we did have to get going.



Our final stop was a quick stroll through Macy's on 34th Street, but since we were short on time I really didn't get to do any shopping. Of course I can always shop back home, but the selection at a big downtown store is so much better than the local malls here in Richmond. I guess I'll have to wait until I'm visiting Chicago next month for my shopping fix.

Then we hopped the subway back to Times Square, grabbed a quick lunch of pizza, and got our luggage from the hotel. One subway ride, one train ride, and many hours of driving later, we were back home. I can't believe we waited five years of being on the East Coast before we made it to New York City, but I think we'll be back much sooner next time.