NYC Day 1

New York is one of the most diverse and interesting places that I have EVER been too. We all arrived on Saturday the 16th. When I first stepped off the train, I was surrounded by people, but I didn’t think much about it. I thought that it was just from the fact that a lot of people were on the train. After I got off the platform and into the Pennsylvania Station, there were still a LOT of people. Again, I didn’t think about it because it is a busy train station in a big city. I was carrying my very heavy bag and surrounded by people, and therefore didn’t notice the thousands of people on the streets of NY on Saturday! It was ludicrous how many people were out on the street.

The subway was an adventure all on its own. I first had to get a pass that had enough money for me and the wife plus my mother and sister. That wasn’t so difficult. And all those movies that had the NY subway in them...they aren’t lying! They are EXACTLY like you see them in the movies. The first car my family got into was hot as HELL and people in NY would walk into the car wait a couple seconds and then leave running. Me and the family just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. It turned out that the AC was broke in our car and that’s why everyone got off. When we finally got to our destination we got out of the HOT car and looked at the car in front and behind us were wall-to-wall people. I would have rather had the heat then the wall-to-wall people.

My first day in NY consisted of hopping on a subway (see above) for the first time and heading to Greenwich Village for dinner. Wow, talk about a different world. The Village, as they call it, is one of the most diverse places in the world. I saw more gay men and women than I have ever seen in my life!!! Not that I’m against homosexuality, it’s just that in the ultra-conservative Richmond, VA I hardly ever saw two women holding hands or kissing or sharing a bowl of pasta from the street. In the Village...they were everywhere and they were NOT one ounce ashamed of themselves. Another bit of culture shock were the shops. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you how many (male) gay porn stores I walked past, or how many shops openly carried bongs.

After dinner, it was off to the subway (in a subway car that had A/C) back to the hotel and then took a subway car to Times Square and the play Spam-A-Lot. Again, there were thousands of people all around. They didn’t wait for the pedestrian light cross the street and the drivers would rather run you over than wait for the next green light. The taxi drivers...don’t even get me started... Anyway, Times Square was AMAZING!!! Giant billboards, HUGE TV screens with news coverage, TV ad’s and other really cool advertisements. I saw the MTV studio, where the ball drops on New Years and a couple of other really cool things that I had heard about (and to tell you the truth, there were so many things there that I didn’t really catch the whole thing, there was just too much to take in).

Spam-A-Lot was a riot! And it was updated to include the trade of Brett Favre to the NY Jets. Once the play was over, we (me, my wife and my in-laws) hopped out of the theater and into a STILL BUSY Times Square...AT MIDNIGHT!!! There were STILL thousands of people and Times Square was lit up just like daytime. It was crazy! Yes, I know that NYC is the City that Never Sleeps, but come one! Anyway, we decided to walk back to our hotel, since it was only ten blocks away. On the way there, I got an awesome picture of the Empire State Building lit up and I THAT is when I found out that if you step in front of a moving cab, there is a chance he will not stop.

Finally, I got back to the hotel and after walking 14,100 steps/feet, I collapsed in the bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Tomorrow, day 2 and more NYC.