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Friday, September 25, 2009

New York City

My brother has lived in New York City and I had never visited. My cousin who also lives in New York was having her daughters christening and it seemed like a perfect time for a family vacation.



I left work at lunch on Thursday and flew across the country. I went from Reno to San Fran to NY. San Fran to NY was 5 hours and 10 minutes in the air, and by the end I thought I should be in a different country. Friday morning my parents showed up, and my brother and I met them at the diner downstairs from his apartment. Blake played tour guide as we explored the city.





New York is amazing in that every time I'm there, nothing is the same. One amazing new thing was the Highline Park. It was this old elevated railroad that was used in the meat packing district to move refrigerated train cars. It had been abandoned and an eye sore for fifty years, until someone decided to make it into an elevated park. They kept some of the original tracks and planted native plants and it is really a neat view of the city.






From there we went to McSoreleys Old Ale House which is a bar that is over 150 years old and not much has changed. Legend has it, Lincoln was a fan of drinking there. On a chandelier are wishbones from turkey dinners that navy men hung for good luck before WW2. It wasn't until 1970 that they let women in, it took an order from the city courts to do so.





We made the pilgrimage to the coolest mac store of all time. I couldn't believe how busy it was. That night I got to go out with Blake and some of his friends.






Saturday we took the subway to the Brooklyn and went to the Transit Museum. It was all about how the subway was built, and it's impressive how much of the city is really on steel stilts above the train tunnels. We walked over to the Brooklyn Bridge which was swarming with people. The only thing on our trip I had done before, but I still think it's the coolest thing of NYC.






That night my Aunt and Uncle, Stan and Georgia, took us out to dinner along with other guests in town for the christening. We had Italian with lots of wine and desert. It was great to catch up with the family over dinner. I hadn't seen any of them since Roberts wedding over two years ago.






Sunday we went to church for the baptism, then to Stan and Georgia's apartment for brunch. From there we took the Staten Island ferry past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and then toured Battery Park. After grabbing a bite to eat, I left my family and watched a movie and spent the rest of the night enjoying the city myself. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures, but it was nice to be free of a camera.

Monday I had a flight at five pm, so there was some time to tour in the morning. We went to the B&H Camera store that was incredible. So many cameras to look at and touch. After that we went to Bleeker street and just explored. I found a great tea store which is always a highlight. Then Mom, Dad and I went to the airport and had a beer together.






It was a great trip and we packed a lot into four days.



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