Happy Indenpendence Day!

We hit the ground running today. We pulled out of Harrisburg around 8:30 a.m., taking our time driving through eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Eastern PA was as pretty as western PA--more rolling hills and perfect little farms. New Jersey gets a bad rap--that's all I can say about that.

The skyline of New York City is like none other. Even the low, gray outline, when you see it for the first time is impressive. When you're back that far, you can actually take it all in without being overwhelmed--it's just so big. Oh, let me pause here and tell you, Tim drove like a champ. I think it helped that we came in at a good time--mid-morning on a holiday weekend. Tim said, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." I think he did a great job!

We got to our hotel with no problems, and may I say, we did a great job picking a hotel and got a great rate for NYC. We're staying at the Warwick at W 54th St. and 6th Ave.--great location, great room. Parking? Crazy. Forty bucks a day. I wonder if the little CR-V is being treated as well as we are! Victor is our bellhop and he's been very helpful. He also told us we could tell anyone in town we know him (but it might get us in trouble.) I like Victor.

We checked in and left our bags at 11:30 a.m., when we pulled up to the hotel--first thing on the agenda--lunch! It just so happened, when we were driving to our hotel, we drove right past Carnegie Deli--highly recommended by at least 3 friends on Facebook! We were not disappointed. Tim and I shared a reuben and a piece of cheesecake. The reuben was open-faced on 3 or 4 pieces of bread, (hard to tell how many under all that meat,) then piled high with corned beef, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese, served with a dish of Russian dressing on the side. Between the two of us, we did not quite finish it. (See the picture link on the right.) We finished with a piece of cheesecake--true, New York cheesecake--creamy, cheesy...yum.

After that, we got checked in and did a little exploring on our way to Pier 16, where our ship would be departing. We strolled down to Times Square and picked up our New York Pass (more later on that). We got on the subway at the...well...actually...I don't remember exactly where we got on the subway...I just know it took us down to Foster Ave...after a short detour to Brooklyn...yeah, needless to say, we gave ourselves plenty of time to get where we needed to be--and got there with plenty of time. The subway really is a cool thing. The best part was the people watching. I guess I really didn't realize just how homogeneous we are in the midwest. I absolutely loved studying the faces, languages, and demeanor of those around us--older Hispanic women with large suitcases (can't quite figure that one out), two young white couples carrying food to a party, an African-American and Asian couple, a young African-American man who casually switched between English and Spanish, an older Hispanic man wearing a St. Louis Cardinals jersey (number 27, Rachel). Now this dude was a hoot. He jumped in the subway car and started talking, no yelling, immediately in Spanish. He spoke to the African-American who had been speaking English--I have no idea what they were talking about, but the other Hispanic people sitting in the car were smiling and trying to suppress laughs...I think I could sit and observe the people getting on and off for hours, trying to figure out their stories...but I digress.

We made it to Pier 16 in plenty of time. We already had tickets, but boarding was first come first served. We went to the third level of the ship--the top. We cruised to the mouth of the Hudson River, getting a look, albeit from afar, of Lady Liberty. The fireworks this year, were shot off from barges on the Hudson to commemorate Henry Hudson's trip up the river (ask Tim the history details when you get a chance). From this launch point, you couldn't see the Statue of Liberty and the fireworks at the same time, which is what we were hoping for. Never-the-less, they were spectacular. We were surrounded by other ships and boats as well as many people on the edges of the river--an impressive display to say the least. I will say, though, that St. Louis under the Arch is not too shabby.

When the fireworks were over, we deboarded, got back on the subway, and headed to Times Square--11:30 at night, party on the street. My question is, would it be like that if it hadn't be the Fourth of July...we'll see soon enough. We walked home tired and happy--I think that may happen a lot on this trip!

Don't forget to check out the picture link on the right. And for those who are reading, please post comments--it's fun to hear from home. (You do not have to register with Google, you can log in as a guest. Just click the comment link and go to it!) And, for whatever reason, no matter how many times I edit the post, the formatting seems to be off--sorry!