NYC Day 3 and Cruise Ship Day 1

Day 3 in NYC was mostly a half day to do what we wanted to do. I was so tired from the previous two days of running around the entire city, literally, so I just walked around the surrounding blocks that the hotel was near. The one thing that I was totally blown away by was the variety of stores and what you could buy. I found everything from really cheap iPods and unlocked 3G iPhones. Any cell phone that you could want, you could find in the area that I was in.

At around 10:30 in the morning, we headed back to the hotel, retrieved our bags and take them to the curb, while we awaited cabs to take us to the Carnival terminal. We all talked about various things about what we had seen and done over the past couple of days. Once the cabs came, we loaded everything and hopped in. It was a short ride, but it’s not very easy to traverse NYC because of all the one-way streets. When we get there, it’s another scenario of hurry up, wait, put your metal objects here, hurry up and then wait.

After a lot of hassle, running, and walking, the wife and I finally arrive at our cabin/home for the next five nights and six days. It’s smaller than my room at my first house and to give you an indication of how small. Take an average cubicle, expand by three feet in every direction and that is your living quarters. The bathroom was just about the size of one of our closets. The family at that time took a tour of the ship and it seemed impressive, until we found that there were only about five places that were fun (Casino, Lido Deck, Deck 10, Back Lido Deck, and shopping center) to be.

We ate a quick lunch and at 5:30 in the afternoon, I was again tired and exhausted and wanted to sit down, but a highlight of my week/weekend was coming up. The cruise-ship undocked and headed out to sea. From Deck 10, I could see the target of my camera: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. They were an awesome site for someone who had always seen them in movies and never in real life. This time, I saw them in a detail that I never thought I ever would. It was kind of uplifting to see the symbol of our country. At that time, I got the song “Proud to be an American” running through my head, and because I didn’t have my Zune, I couldn’t get it out until I fell asleep.

The rest of the night was pretty much just settling down and experiencing new things that I am very not used to. Namely, going to a 5 Star Restaurant and a home that moves up and down regularly.