So, I was on the East Coast just a short while back. We were in Metuchen, New Jersey to celebrate Amy's uncle Fred's 50th birthday. It was also a good opportunity for the whole family to see each other. Amy's family are whacky and entertaining, to say the least. They were nice and very inviting. Several cousins were there, several uncles, aunts, a grandmother, a father, and a stepmother.
Aaaahhhhhh, Metuchen. Fred has a beautiful house in a quaint neighborhood in this small town in New Jersey. It was $%@#$%* cold when I was there, but I hear that the weather was considered balmy to local residents. I'm sure glad I live on the West Coast, where the weather is really nothing like the majority of northern America. Most of America will be snowing around this time of the year. Didn't get to see any falling snow while I was there, but there was plenty of ice and some snow on the tops of some cars in the early morning. I guess most of the small amount of snow that had fallen in the night must have melted earlier in the morning. When it's really cold, neighborhoods can be carpeted with snow for months.
The flight on the plane was great, if not very tiring. We flew 'red-eye' and caught America in the moonlight - very surreal and mysterious. Did a lot of photographing on the trip. Should have some nice pics of Manhattan and Newark, New Jersey. Also took a lot of pictures on the plane - there were some interesting aerial views. Left on Thursday around 11pm and arrived in Newark, NJ around 9:30am. We connected at Chicago on the way, and Chicago was REALLY covered in snow - thousands of tiny little snowy white roof tops could be seen as we approached to land in Chicago.
On Saturday, we took a train ride from Metuchen, NJ to Manhattan. New Jersey has this look of being 200 years old, with old delapidated brick buildings that look as though they were built at the dawn of the industrial revolution - smoke stacks and all. Arrived at Penn station where it took us 15 minutes just getting off the platform - such was the number of Christmas shoppers that packed the train. Penn station has very low ceilings and is kind of clostraphobic. It is also designed like a labyrinth and is quite confusing to a first time user. After escaping this cold and unfriendly maze, we emerged to the crazy streets of Manhattan. Brrrrrr......
The first thing I had to do was buy a hat for my frozen ears and head. It really is cold for someone who's not used to it, and I came a little unprepared. Thankfully, Fred had lent me one of his heavy duty jackets and a pair of gloves. I could have survived without them, but I would have been miserably cold. We walked along the streets of Manhattan towards the Empire State building. For a long time, Manhattan was home to the tallest buildings in the world. And for a long time the winner of this contest was the Empire State. Got to see this building from the bottom up, but not from the top down as there was a two hour wait for the guided tour to the top, where you can see a panoramic view of Manhattan. Oh, well. Next time.
Then we continued walking through the city towards Times Sqaure and took in the city atmosphere. Stopped and did window shopping and then had some lunch. It wasn't too long before we had to start back again. Along the way we happened to come across a human-sized version of the Statue of Liberty. Amy insisted that I pose for a photograph in front of the statue and, with both hands, tweak the Statue of Liberty's nipples. Needless to say, passers by were sporting grins and I got quite a few chuckles as I stood in the streets of New York publicly humiliating myself. Some pedestrians, who obviously lived in New York and had already seen it all before, weren't even vaguely surprised. Anyway, it should make a good photograph.
So, we had only 3 hours in Manhattan, itself and didn't get to see too much. But, it sure was hustling and bustling on a weekend before Christmas. Humanity on a grand scale - quite overwhelming. This is the shopping capital of New York. It was a trip!