Arriving by train, we got on at the end of the line in Poughkeepsie, and took it to the other end. It was about 10:30 when we disembarked at Grand Central Station. It was the first off-peak train that morning and it wasn’t particularly crowded.

Jeromy commented that people don’t make eye contact. I said, “It’s something I’ve noticed too.” “Well, people like to keep to themselves,” commented Ali, “it’s rare for someone to meet your gaze. I don’t think people are being unfriendly; it’s more of a protection mechanism.”

We didn’t have an agenda for this trip; we just thought it would be fun to walk around. Ali said, “What do you guys think about heading over to Rockefeller Center? I thought it might be fun to ice skate. And we could always do the Top of the Rock; I’ve never been up there.” “I’ll do whatever you guys want,” Jeromy piped in, “I’m the one visiting.” “Lead the way,” I said. We started making our way to 5th avenue. I quickly donned my orange North Face beanie and buttoned my coat. The wind was cutting through the buildings making for a very chili morning.

Ali starts off towards 5th Avenue; Jeromy says, “This girl wants me to buy her a pair of knock-off designer sun glasses. You know, once people found out I was coming to visit, everybody started asking for something. Do you think I’ll be able to find anything?” We passed a few street vendors who had sun glasses, but frankly they were all pretty lame.

As we’re walking I spied a Barnes and Noble, and I said, “Let’s go it.” Ali said, “I could really go for a Cafe Mocha.” We headed in through the revolving door and were immediately immersed in warmth. Ali starts looking for the cafe and I, of course, start looking around for the computer section. As I start walking away from Ali and Jeromy, she yells, “Hey it looks like the computer books are downstairs.” I think to myself, I’m so obvious. A few minutes later they walk up to me and Ali says, “They don’t have a cafe in this one, but there is one two blocks away that does.” “Do you want to go there,” I asked? I was taking a picture of the cover of a book I was just looking through. I really love my digital camera; it really comes in handy for quick documentation. Jeromy had wondered off at this point, but we found him just a few aisles over. We ended up heading on over to Rockefeller Center.

When we got there a Zamboni was on the ice and no one was skating so we decided to head to the Top of the Rock. It was not entirely obvious where we needed to go, but after a bit of wandering and down an escalator we found the place to buy tickets. We rode an elevator up a couple of floors and we were instructed to go around the corner and then through a light security check. The security guard said, “We need you to empty your pockets.” I guess we are all getting used to this sort of thing in a post-911 world. “Sir, you can’t take this with you,” the guard was holding up my Leatherman. “What, my Leatherman,” I said looking a bit surprised. “Don’t worry; you can retrieve it on your way out.” “Yeah, okay.” I’m thinking, “You call this light?” It wasn’t airport security, but geez what’s the deal with my Leatherman? What were they afraid I was going to fix something?

We head into the interactive part of the exhibit. The coolest part of which is that they had these monitors in the floor displaying a view looking down through the skeleton of the building while it was being built. It was sized so that you could walk across it, and it was like you were walking across an I-beam while the building was being built.

The elevator to the top was also fun. The top appeared to be opaque, but as we ascended (and later descended) the elevator car became dim and the ceiling became transparent. You could see all the way up the shaft, as well as see all the floors going by. I found this quite exhilarating as we climbed almost 70 stories on our way to the Top of the Rock.

The view from the top was amazing. As we were walking around we saw a group of girls, and Jeromy said, “Hey man, if I ask these girls to take a picture with me, will you take it?” “Um, no,” I said. “Aw, come on man,” he said. “Why do you want to get your picture taken with complete strangers anyway,” was my response. Of course, I knew why, but I didn’t want to pander to his whims. I nonchalantly started walking over to the other side of the building where they would be out of view. Jeromy kept trying to talk me into it. I said, “Maybe Ali will do it for you.” He starts in on her. It doesn’t take long before she relents. I think to myself, she can be such a push over sometimes. He heads back to where the girls were, and in classic Ali style; she kind of lags behind. I see what’s she’s doing — she’s trying to avoid following through without reneging. She eventually goes to find him, and when she gets there she finds the girls just got on an elevator — success. Ali says, “Jeromy, I sorry it didn’t work out.”

Getting my Leatherman back turned out to be an ordeal as you don’t pass back through the security checkpoint on the way out.

We spent the rest of the day just wondering around, popping in and out of stores. We got to Grand Central around 7pm and caught the 7:33 train to Poughkeepsie.

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