NYC - Day 1

It's great to be in the Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps (though I certainly need to, haha). The biggest little Island. The hub of culture.

My trip started out eventful, to say the least. Instead of flying back to DC for the weekend, I decided to flex trip (one big perk of a travel project) to NYC for the weekend. There is a 2.5 hour train ride from Albs to Penn Station. I did my research, printed out directions from work to the train station and rearragned to return the Hertz rental car to the train station. Little did I know two train stations existed in the greater Albany region - one in Schenectady and one in Rennesalar. I left work with plenty of time to arrive in Schenectady, excited for my trip. The first clue I was not in the right place - the station was small/ghetto and I saw no Hertz. Hmmm, after an unhelpful parking attendant question, I went into the station. The ticket seller informed me I was at the wrong station. My train was leaving in 35 minutes, and the drive to the next station would be probably 20/25 minutes. Panic-ing, heart racing, hands shaking, I peeled out of Schenectady, driving faster than I've driven in Albs before. I arrived, looking for Lot A or B (where I would return the car). No clearly marked lots. A cab pulled up next to me, I started honking and yelled out the window -"Where's Hertz?" He was of no help. I left the lot, to pull in again, directed by another nonhelpful parking attendant (why are parking attendants so unhelpful??). I park in a random spot, and breathlessly gather the stuff in the front seat (7 minutes until my train leaves). Accosting strangers, whispering breathlessly in their ears, I ask "Where's Hertz?" "I can't help you m'am." "Sorry, I don't know." I sprint to the train station. Making no sense to the Ticket Seller, I realize I'm not making the train. I watch it pull away. Thankfully I exchanged my ticket for the train an hour later. My heart rate starts to return to normal, I stop sweating, my hands stop shaking. I go back to the car (now knowing the Hertz procedure), grab my bags, and head back in the station. Tips - The Amtrak station is in Renessalar and to return a rental car, you park in Lot A or Lot B, note th emileage and gas on your contract, and drop the contract/keys in the Hertz drop box INSIDE the station.

Finally, I boarded the train! After receiving this tidbit, I sat on the right hand side of train so I could watch the Hudson River. After a lux ride in Business Class (leather reclining chairs, water!), I arrived at Penn Station. Lois met me at the station. So great to be in her arms! We took the subway to her stop, in the financial district, near Battery Park. Her apartment is so awesome - she has huge windows looking out to the city in her room. She showed me the rest of her building, including the rad rooftop. It was covered in ice due to the recent storms, but the view was incredible - Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Brooklyn Bridge.

After catching up for awhile, we walked around the financial district. And then we made our way to the Sea Port. We had the docks to ourselves because it was both dark and cold. Ships were docked, stores glittered. We walked around the docks, and sat on a bench to look at the Brooklyn Bridge. So beautiful! After our tour, we realized how hungry we were and headed to the Open Door Gastropub, a really neat pub food type place with upscale pub food (ie macaroni and cheese with truffles). Lois and I ordered French Onion Soup and split a Goat Cheese tart. Seriously, our entire dinner consisted of cheese and onions. I'm completely fine with that. We laughed and talked. I love catching up with old friends! After dinner, we went to Lois's friend's apartment to hang out for awhile before heading to B Bar, a cool bar with open seating, a nice size dance floor. The only problem was the overly hipster DJ who refused to play Akon or Ke$ha. haha The night was capped with NY pizza. Yummm

Great day 1!