NYC

I have been struggling with how to tell you about my trip to New York City a couple weeks back. August 5 - 10, some of the hottest days NYC has experienced in a while and I was there for them. Brooklyn saw their first tornado in I don't know how many decades, and I was there the afternoon before. Heavy rain caused flooding that shut down the roads, subways, and trains. Stories were told that some from Brooklyn walked the ten miles into Manhattan to get to work and a lot of folks missed flights at JFK that day, and that's just the ones we heard about.

It is a busy place. Sorry to state the obvious, but it is. Everyone is in a hurry, a big hurry. There are a lot of people and they are mostly 'going' some place, in a hurry. You try to stay out of the way, cause you can get stepped on. People don't look you in the eye much, but I think that is because they are just trying to get to where they are going and looking at you might slow them down. I tried to make eye contact and smile at folks, and said thank you to workers on the tour busses, the Empire State tours and such, they just looked like they needed it.

My visit was a leisurely one so I tried to not get into too big a hurry, and kept my eyes open and paid attention. There were details everywhere and the architecture alone could take someone with a good camera decades to capture. I made it to Brooklyn Gardens and that was worth the trip itself, and of course Central Park, which I didn't get to do justice, on foot, on a very hot day. Sweating was a very real part of my visit to NYC. I spent two full days on foot walking in the heat so it was 'drippy' to say the least. Drink lots of water.

Everyone should probably try to go at some point in life and maybe more than once. It depends. It is worth it to buy a 2 or 3 day pass on the Grayline to get to see so much of the highlights and the tour guides are very knowledgeable. It helps give you an idea of the places you should revisit and spend more time nosing around. Go early for the Empire State Bldg tour and the trip out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The lines get long as the day progresses. We went to see the Lion King and it was fantastic. The costumes, sets and music just blow you away.

Special Thanks to my sister, Monda, who let me tag along on the trip. It was nice to share the city with her and since she was working, tell her about the high points of my site seeing adventures. Maybe I'll try this again in a month that isn't quite so hot as August:) I uploaded some pictures at my www.shoutlife.com/rhondacoleson site that hopefully tell you a bit more about the things I saw. It was an amazing trip.
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