the life of the Adventurist Amanda

One week later, I have time to post about my adventure into NYC. Not that I've been overly busy....

I rode the train into the city from Rye. I navigated my way through Grand Central and off onto a street and walked until I found 5th Avenue. It was a perfect day to be in the city...not too hot, not too cold. As my pal Goldilocks would say, it was just right. Beautiful blue sky and no rain. I wandered around 5th Avenue, stopping at many shops to look around and made my way to Rockefeller Center. The Today Show had a wedding there that morning so there was a street blocked off where they were cleaning up and disassembling away. My friend, Teresa, called her friend Anna (who was also a DG at Idaho but was older and graduated by the time I entered college) to ask her if she would leave me a ticket to the top of Rockefeller Center. Anna works at Rockefeller Center so she has the connections. Anna was able to leave me a ticket at the desk and I took the elevator up 70 floors to the Top of the Rock. It was amazing. Central Park to the north and lower Manhattan to the south. I could see the Statue of Liberty to the south also but it was about as big as my fingernail. The picture above is looking north from the Top of the Rock overlooking Central Park. Next, I was attempting to find the correct subway entrance that I needed (thanks to Teresa's directions) and walked in the wrong direction until I came to Times Square (pic is of me walking near Times Square). I bought a "I (heart) NY" shirt for $3 (a steal I tell you) and walked back in the other direction to find the correct subway. With stops along St. Patrick's Cathedral and more shops, I finally headed south to Union Square to meet Teresa. While I waited for her to get off work I walked around a farmer's market and fed pigeons. We ate lunch then headed to dinner on the Hudson River on the Upper West Side (west of Central Park). We had dinner right on the river which was beautiful. The sun set over New Jersey and I made my way home.

This is Teresa on the left and Anna on the right. Me in the middle.... :)

So my independent adventure was a success! I have Sunday and Monday off and will be in again to explore more. I actually understand the streets pretty well (we are only talking midtown to lower Manhattan) and took two 12 year olds into the city a few nights after my first expedition. They had a concert that they wanted to see so I went with them to help them find their way and ride the train with them. Margo and Katelyn (the girls) were very polite and thankful for me taking them. The family continues to be great! I will spend the 4th of July with them at the beach. Their beach club has a big picnic and fireworks over Long Island Sound. I'm possibly off to Boston next weekend. It is a great life that I lead....