Tags
49ers, Air Tran, Broadway, Empire State Building, Galapagos Islands, Grand Central Station, JFK, Knicks, Lindy's, Long Island Railroad, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York, Penn Station, Queens, Ravens, Seattle, Superbowl, Time Square
Sunday, Feb. 3 – Seattle to New York
Matt and I woke up around 4:45 to begin our 36 hour journey to Ecuador this morning. We decided to go with plane tickets that were $400 cheaper than the usual, which resulted in a 14 hour layover in New York and a 11 hour layover in Miami. Two more destinations to add to our vacation, right? Everyone else from Orbridge is leaving around midnight late Sunday night, and will arrive in Ecuador before we do… but I say we have more of an adventure!
We arrived in New York 30 min. earlier than expected (not that we needed the extra time) at around 3:00. We set out to find a place to store our luggage in the airport, took the Air Tran to the Jamaica station, and the Long Island Railroad to Penn Station. It didn’t take too long, actually, and taking the train was more interesting than the subway, as we got to see part of Queens and how the buildings slowly began to look more metropolitan as we zipped toward Manhattan. Overall, things looked like I expected. Skinny houses with chipped paint slightly different colors for blocks on end, with lawn furniture scattered among other items tenants couldn’t fit in their homes—eventually giving way to run down brick apartment buildings big enough to hold what seemed like 200 tenants with air conditioners in every other window. Matt and I suddenly felt like managing our16 units was a blessing.
Of course, we had to stop for a quick slice of pizza, since American Airlines is so cheap now that even on cross-country flights you don’t get as much as a bag of pretzels. We go big ol’ slices, one with bell peppers and onions all over, and the other with chicken. We headed upstairs to Madison Square Garden, followed by a brisk walk to the Empire State Building.
If anyone wants advice on when the best time to go to the observatory at the Empire State Building, it is during the Superbowl. We got right in, and were able to see the beautiful lights of the city without crowds of people in front of us. We listened to our audio guide and were able to see major sights in the city, as well as learn about its history from the tallest building in New York, all in one go. It was beautiful at night, but it would be great to come back during the day, where sites such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Flatiron Building, Washington Square Arch, the Statue of Liberty, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Central Park, can be easier seen.
Here are some interesting facts we learned:
- The Empire State Building was built in only 14 months. That means they built more than one story per day!
- New York has more office space per acre than any other city in the world.
- Originally, the very top of the Empire State Building was meant to be an air terminal for blimps… until they realized there are over 100mph winds.
- During the American Revolution, General George Washington and his nine thousand men were trapped on top of Brooklyn Heights, facing almost certain defeat. But instead of attacking, British troops hesitated, permitting Washington a nighttime escape across the East River to Manhattan.
- The Titanic’s intended destination is now the Sports & Entertainment Center.
- The American Standard Radiator Building’s design was an innovative marketing tool, as it’s façade resembles a furnace.
Also, we realized that every few blocks is a new neighborhood! It would take forever of living here to keep it straight!
We made our way back toward Penn Station to look for a good place to watch the game. We found a restaurant/bar called Lindy’s that had a dinner special (not really a deal, but the best we could find). We sat down and enjoyed most of the first half of the game, pleased that the Ravens were winning by such a high margin. Matt bet $20 back in March that they would win, and was hoping to win $400. Matt ate some ribs, we shared some New York cheesecake, I sipped some coffee, and about the time we were out of money to spend there, the power went out at the stadium. Since that took a good chunk of time, we decided that the Raven’s basically had it, so we should go explore the city while we were there. Little did we know that the 49ers would make such a crazy come back. Thank goodness for smart phones to keep us updated!
We got a little lost trying to find Time Square, but ended up over at Grand Central Station, so oh well! The only problem was that it is freezing cold. Otherwise, walking around wouldn’t have been too bad. We found Time Square and wandered in and out of shops until we decided we were tired and wanted to head back to the airport before it the streets got scary and we became so tired that we were delirious and couldn’t find our way back.
On our roundabout way of getting back to Penn Station, we also ran into some more fun sites. That’s the way it is here, there are sites around every corner!
We finally made it back, happy that the Ravens pulled it out, but extremely exhausted. However, when we made it back to the terminal around midnight, we found out that the airline wasn’t checking anyone in until 3:00am. So, we wandered around, contemplated sneaking into the first class room (but got caught), and found a spot where we could plug our phones in just far enough away that we couldn’t really relax. Luckily we have iPhone Monopoly to keep us occupied! Next stop: Miami.