The Big Apple

Well, it was an interesting start to my New York City adventure. En route, we were advised of some thunderstorms in the New York area. We got about three circuits into our 45 minute holding pattern when it was decided that it would be more feasible to land and wait out the storm. So I got a trip to Pittsburgh at no extra charge! Fortunately, they let us off the aircraft to get something to eat in the terminal. After two hours on the ground, we reboarded and flew the remaining 50 minutes to Laguardia.

Paola and her roommate picked me up in a car they borrowed from a friend. We drove around the city to look at buildings and attractions which took us over the Brooklyn Bridge. We then picked up the owner of the car and went to eat at Paola's place of employment.

Monday, we got up early to fit in all of our sight seeing. Paola and I took the subway to where they were constructing the ground zero memorial. We walked around and saw the Statue of Liberty from a distance, which was good enough for me. Next, we stopped at the Merrill Lynch Bull for a photo op. We walked through Times Square, past Radio City Music Hall, Rockafeller Plaza, then on to the Ed Sullivan Theater where the Late Show with David Letterman is taped. Paola had to go back to work for a meeting, so I took a nap at her apartment. We went back out later to go up in the Empire State Building. Quite an amazing view. We went back to Times Square to find something to eat. I had never been to a Hard Rock Cafe, so we decided to eat there. The wait was too long, so I just grabbed a souvenir t-shirt. We hopped on the subway to find a place to take some pictures of the skyline. By now, dark had fallen and it gave me a great opportunity to take some night shots. I didn't bring my tripod, so I had to set my camera on the railing of the pier. We got back on the subway and headed home. On our walk from the station to the apartment, we grabbed a slice of pizza at a small shop around the corner.

I left NYC the next day at 1pm. I planned a long layover in Minneapolis so I could sleep in a little, but at the same time avoid missing the last flight out of New York. I took the opportunity to reunite Alli and take a tour of downtown Minneapolis. She picked me up at the airport and we took the light rail system from the mall to downtown. There we met her friend Sara and together the three of us walked around to look at more buildings. We ate the the Hard Rock Cafe, but I forewent buying another shirt and just took a picture instead. After dinner, we hopped back on the light rail to get back to the mall. Because of a Twins game, we had to change trains at the Metrodome. Alli dropped me off at the airport and I had plenty of time to relax before the flight back to Dubuque.

It was a great and much needed vacation after working almost non-stop since the beginning of training with Mesaba. I was fortunate to have friends in both cities to show me around and spend time with. The next trip will be in a couple of weeks to Kalamazoo for a family reunion. After that, I'm thinking about either Seattle or San Fransisco.

See all my pictures at Photobucket or Facebook 1 and Facebook 2. The pics at Photobucket are better quality, but they are out of order. The pictures at Facebook are lower quality but in order. Take your pick!