Our Day Trip to NYC

Last Monday, we drove into Trenton, NJ and hopped on the NJ Transit System where we ended up in New York City's Penn Station. Mitch and Jessica Grider (Troy's first cousin and his wife) were visiting New York for their anniversary and birthdays. We met them outside at the 32nd Street entrance and decided the fate of our day.

We decided to visit the Empire State Building. It's the tallest point in NYC, and from the 86th floor, you can see for miles. It was really a cool sight. We started on the North side of the city where you can see the GE Building and the MetLife Building and Central Park. Times Square is on the Northwest side of the building. Then we went to the West side of the building where you can see Macy's and the part of the street where the Thanksgiving Day Parade stops for little shows and dances. Going on to the South side, there was tons to see there. The downtown skyline where Ground Zero is with the Statue of Liberty was phenomenal. The Flat Iron building was really neat, too. We then went around to the East side, where Long Island lights up across the river. We spent a good bit of time on the observatory deck, but the majority of our time there was snaking our way through the interior of the building to get there.

We then left the Empire State Building and walked toward Times Square to grab a bit to eat. Of course, when you are in a big city, a majority of your time is spent walking which turns into an even better sport... people watching. And let me tell ya... if you want to see a variety of weirdos, just walk the streets of NYC.

On our journey, we went through the Fashion District and by the design school where America's Next Top Model is filmed. We went by very upscale fabric shops that were calling my name, but I resisted the urge. We walked by the New York City Public Library that was getting a face lift, and by nifty shops that are always fun to window shop by.

We ended our day at the Hard Rock Cafe where we had dinner and caught up since we haven't seen each other in many years. Then made our way to Penn Station, but not without stopping in front of Madison Square Garden for a couple of snapshots of the group. It was a fun day, and it was nice to see Mitch and Jessica.

The pictures from the Empire State Building visit are really, really good... Visit our Picasa Photo Journal site to see the album. I give it FIVE stars!! Enjoy!