New York, New York

Last month, I visited my sister and her family in Maryland. We traveled around the area and had a great time.
The first few days there, we went up to New York City. It was definitely an interesting few days. I was apprehensive about the whole thing: terrified of the subways, nervous about the crazy masses of people, and just worried that I would be completely overwhelmed by the whole city. It's hard to explain, but from the moment that I could see the outlines of the buildings from the distance, I was so excited.

View of the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry

We took the ferry from Staten Island, which passes by the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Coming up to the city from the water was an experience in itself. Then, touching ground there and just getting thrown into the craziness of the city was so exciting. I've always heard people talk about how the city itself has a life of its own and I could instantly feel that. Everything was fast-paced, confident, and beautiful. We walked for hours, there were people everywhere, and every time we made a turn, I was amazed to see another building, park, or iconic view that I never really understood were all from the same place.

In less than two days, I had quite the whirlwind tour of NYC and fell in love with the city instantly. Thinking back, it is not so shocking because I've spent my life fascinated with people like Bob Dylan, JD Salinger, the Beats, and Simon & Garfunkel (I actually walked on Bleeker Street!). I found the city inspiring and beautiful. I want to go back and just walk the streets and see things, hang out in central park, take photos in the Village, journal in the sunshine in Washington Square park, and just watch the interactions between the people. It really is a magical place, and now I finally get it. Here are a few photos of some of the places that I saw:

Grand Central Station

Me in  crazy, crazy Times Square

Near NBC studios trying to hang out with Liz Lemon

In the Poets Walk in Central Park 

Saying Goodbye to New York City

Anyway... the trip was long, so I'm going to cover everything I saw in a couple of different posts. I have a whole ton of photos of just The Beatles stuff (George and John in the Big Apple) that I saw while in NYC.