New York New York

A fun thing, and something a little different for the blog.

A few weeks ago, our son, Josh, who is a Director of Bands for a high school in Nevada, took his wind ensemble to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall for the National Band and Orchestra Festival.

We decided that this was something we could not miss, so over the Easter weekend, we traveled to New York City, enjoyed some sight seeing and good food, and went to Carnegie Hall to see Josh direct.

I have been to lots of large cities, but never New York City, so it was something different for me. Here are my impressions:

• The City is sensory overload. There are always bright, colorful things to see; there are sounds all the time; you can smell many different thing (not all of them good); some of the smells are so loud that you can taste them; as for touch - there are a lot of people - you feel cramped.
• Everything we ate was great.
• Everything we bought was expensive.
• We didn't have enough time to see much, but we did go to Rockefeller Center (and went to the Top of the Rock), St. Patrick's Cathedral (beautiful), the Public Library (where a mean lady works), Central Park, and Carnegie Hall. We were there a day and a half.
• The subway, which we rode twice, is not as friendly or nice as the Washington DC subway. They need maps.
• One is charged a congestion fee during rush hour and at 5 in the morning (with no congestion) when one takes a taxi.
• I do not want to drive there.
• Hats off to the bus drivers.

Steve and I love to travel together, and this was a great experience.  I'm so glad we went.