A Quick Visit to the Big Apple

July 30, 2012

I recently had the opportunity to go to New York City with a friend for her graduation from college. We had an awesome time! We spent about two and a half days exploring the city. We mostly did the usual touristy stuff. We figured this could be our only chance to visit the Big Apple, so we better do as much as possible in a short time!
 
The first place we went was obviously the main branch of the New York City Public Library. I mean, we both DO work in a library! It was a beautiful building! I think it would be a fantastic place to work. It felt more like a museum than a library.
 
Next, we went to the Empire State Building. We got some pretty good pictures of the city from up there. My hair was whipping around in the wind in all the pictures, so I look kind of crazy. But, you really can see quite a distance, so it was worth the bad hair day I had afterwards. We debated on whether or not to go all the way to the top, but in the end, we decided to only go to the 86th floor and save a few dollars.
 
The second day, we risked our lives taking a cab across the city. Those cab drivers drive like maniacs. We rode in four different cabs during our trip, and I wanted to kiss the ground each time we made it to our destination alive.
 
Oh, and Matt Lauer almost knocked me over as he came out of a building near Rockefeller Center! Unfortunately, I was so shocked that I did not snap a picture, although I got one with a cardboard cutout of him in the NBC Experience Store.
 
We toured the 9/11 Memorial later that day. It all felt very surreal. It is a beautiful memorial, and they are working to finish the new World Trade Center buildings. The two pools are built where the base of the original two towers were. In the brochure, we read about this special tree on the grounds of the memorial. I had no idea, but one lone plant made it through the devastation of the 9/11 attacks. It has been nursed back to health, and has become known as the Survivor Tree.
 
We spent the afternoon at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Thankfully, neither one of us got seasick on the ferry, even though the water was pretty choppy that day. I went to the snack bar on the ferry to get some water and came to the realization that I do not have sea legs. I thought I was going to fall over as I was walking back to my seat. But, then I figured that I had had an authentic Ellis Island experience.
 
The last day, we walked through Times Square, and then went and saw the play, Harvey, starring Jim Parsons from the Big Bang Theory. It was wonderful! If you have never seen the film version starring Jimmy Stewart, you should check it out!
 
The whole time we were in NYC, I kept saying how surreal it felt to be there. What got me was that obviously TV and movies have been lying to us about a few things. Who knew??! (Haha.) For instance, no TV show or movie that I know of has shown the RIDICULOUS lines at the Empire State Building. I love the show Gossip Girl; they just go to the top and get to skip out on all the lines.

Another thing they never show you is all the Pedi cabs lurking around hot tourist spots. Those people just won’t leave you alone. I mean, they can seriously ruin a walk to and through Central Park.
 
Overall, it was a great trip! I hope I get to go back someday!
 
Jordan P.
Edgerton Branch