Statue of Liberty, but first, a side trip

A picture of the airport terminal when we exited. Its a little early.

We arrived at 5:20am New York time, or 2:20am San Diego time. The plan of sleeping over the course of the flight and waking up in NY refreshed was thought to be a good idea. However, the obvious lack of foresight was apparent as all of us arrived tired and cranky from a two to three hour night of sleep. Apparently, trying to sleep at 9:30pm San Diego time is difficult when you are used to sleeping at midnight or later.

We took the subway to our hotel and dropped off our luggage. We then reluctantly attacked the day, the ticks of the clock just arriving at 8am. We left for the Statue of Liberty, a site that all of us had not seen in over a decade, if at all.

Actually, hold on. I left out an important detail.

We left the hotel, stomachs grumbling. Debbie had repeatedly explained her desire for a good bagel with cream cheese, so we went looking for a store. After walking through Soho for around half an hour, it became apparent that this trip which was supposed to be a brief side trip was going to be a whole lot longer. All of us were under the assumption that bagel places were a dime a dozen in NY. This is partially the case, if one is willing to accept treet cart bagels (whose legitimacy is suspect). We nearly did, after passing by three of them and not finding a single store with bagels. Our journey seemed over. We stood on a street corner, exasperated, after a little over an hour of looking. A stranger saw the looks of distress on our faces and asked what we were looking for. We explained that we wanted - no, needed - bagels, and she directed us to a store. The next half hour was a quick and jovial walk filled with anticipation. We counted down the street numbers like how one would countdown the minutes to a hot date, and finally we arrived at Murray's Bagels. The place was packed (always a good sign), and the multitude of stickers and plaques indicated that we had indeed chosen the smart path. It was delicious, and with our stomachs full, we headed toward the Statue of Liberty.

Can you find 4 of the 5 of us? And Hiro = LOL.

The Statue of Liberty went by without incident. Perhaps the only surprise was the lack of lines to see it, after hearing stories of how some people had waited two hours or more on their trips. Our only obstacle was to maintain a high level of motivation despite a lack of sleep.

Oh, here we are.

Photography + Pilates = Pholates.


Some were tested.

Some background, written on the plane to NY somewhere over the Midwest

The trip to New York was not a planned event, nor was it entirely random. We had gone to Whistler on a whim some two years ago, born out of desperation to snowboard somewhere - anywhere - we could when a larger group trip was canceled at the last minute. This level of desperation was similarly present in the planning of this trip, after a long spring and anticipated summer of suffering and work-induced boredom. Several ideas were proposed, ranging from the pricey to the foodie inspired, but New York was settled upon for reasons...unknown. Perhaps, and this is what I like to think, New York was a little of everything, the resulting crockpot of all our proposals and ideas of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. It is the city that has everything, right?

I suppose a little background is in order. Rose, Debbie, Hiro, and I had all been to NY, to limited extents. My knowledge of their trips is limited and from my already shaky memory, so forgive me as I try my best. Hiro last visited a few months ago as part of a job-seeking mission to Connecticut, an opportunity viewed with contempt by the rest of us. This was mainly for selfish reasons: we did not want Hiro to leave San Diego. And throw yet another farewell party. And see Hiro come back a few months later (Zing!). Rose had visited a little over a year ago with family. Her trip likely did not involve significant quantities, if any quantities, of alcohol. As such, the maximum amount of fun from this trip was capped at 7/10. Debbie had visited many years ago prior to her second year in college. She said it was a short trip, and fun. Finally, my pror trips to NY were a consequence of working in Boston and taking the Fung Wa bus to visit friends during the weekends. I made two or three trips that summer, all of which can be vaguely summarized as great, but lacking in duration.

I like to think our stories of these trips had inspired Joe to increase his desire to visit, but I doubt that. He had probably wanted to go before, and if not, he has alwas been a willing participant for most, if not all, our activities. It is not a surprise that the five of us are on this trip.

A mildly inappropriate picture of the five of us in Whistler. And to answer your question: yes, we are clothed.