On Wednesday I finally made it out to New York City. I went with my cousin Anna who took the Long Island Rail Road in. It's quite a trek from their place.
We went to the Northport station which is around 10-15 minutes drive from her home (and my aunt and uncle's who live nearby). It's the ride into the city that's a killer. At one hour and thirteen minutes from station to station (Northport to Penn Station) it's quite a ride.
Luckily the ride was free for me. Anna's husband, Andy, works for the railway. So she gets a free monthly pass. Somehow they let her bring friends for free. So I didn't have to buy a ticket. That saved me anywhere from $9.75 (off-peak hours) to $13.50 (peak hours) each way.
We arrived at Penn Station in Manhattan just before 9:30 a.m. Anna took the subway to work and I headed to street level to explore. I still hadn't really decided exactly what I was going to see. But, since I was near Times Square I headed there first.
Now I've been to Times Square a few times already. The most recent, when I was last in New York City in 2008 for a few days. Before that it was in 2005. It's changed a bit though. They closed off some areas to cars and put seating for people to hang out in. That was nice.
Next I was off to Central Park. It was another place I said I wasn't going to go to, but did anyway. The only reason I went was because it was so close to Times Square. But, it was nice there too. The weather was great. It was generally sunny. So that made for some decent shots.
Afterwards I headed down 5th Avenue to check out all the stores that sell things I can't afford. I stopped at the Rockefeller Center for a few shots when I got a call from my cousin Anna. She suggested I take the subway down to the World Trade Center site if I wanted to get there on time. It was getting on in the day and I had to meet her at about 5:30 p.m. to take the train back.
Things have changed a bit since I last visited the Ground Zero site. Buildings are going up at a steady pace. But, there still seems like a lot to go. The 10th anniversary of the attack is coming soon. I believe they want to have some sort of a memorial ready by then.
Time was getting tight after I visited the WTC site. I had to pick up the pace if I wanted to meet my cousin on time. I walked quickly up Broadway Avenue making my way over to Washington Square Park. The last time I was there the "Arch" was being renovated and was fenced off. I thought it would be nice to get a shot of it unencumbered.
After that I hurried up 5th Avenue taking pics of the Empire State Building along the way. I also stopped for a few shots of the Flat Iron building as I passed it.
Now it was really getting late. I phone my cousin to switch up meeting places. Originally we were supposed to meet at her workplace. But, I was closer to Penn Station where we were going to take the train back home. So I suggested meeting here there.
After all that I ended up waiting for her anyway. She got stuck at work and came a little late. It wasn't too bad. I only waited about 1/2 an hour.
Back on Long Island we had dinner at Zena and John's place again. Yum.
That was pretty much it for my Long Island trip. Besides spending a bit more time shopping and hanging out with my nephews and my cousin's kids I did some yard work around my aunt and uncle's place. They have a huge yard. I mean huge.
Their son-in-laws take turns mowing the front yard, but it seems like no one ever does the back. So I did both the front and back one day. It took forever. As well I trimmed back some of the overgrowth in their backyard. After I finished my aunt said there was some poison ivy back there. Now I have a rash on my arms. Thanks for the heads up =P
Still, it was nice seeing everyone again. I'll be back. In thirteen years perhaps.
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