Blogging New York...Day One...

My first day in New York started at 6:49am when my flight landed at JFK 8 minutes early. Arriving early is always a good thing, so I knew the day was going to be a good one. I made my way through the terminal, got my bag and waited for my shuttle. That took a bit of time, but finally I got loaded into the big blue van and headed into Manhattan. I think there was a bridge and a tunnel that caused me to hyperventilate slightly, but I've moved on. 

Side note: Honking? Awesome. Honking in a tunnel when the traffic's not moving due to an accident? Soooo much MORE awesome!!

Arrived at my hotel in Chelsea around 9, and valeted my luggage so I could begin my roaming. 

Stop one was the Bagel Maven Cafe where I had my very first New York bagel - an everything, toasted with cream cheese. It was perfection.

From there, I headed toward the NHL store, which is just off Times Square. I was detoured slightly by the evilness of the Swatch store and the NYC watch they forced me to buy. I have no will power. You own me Swatch.

Overheard as I wandered: "It's a bit of a scene here." Really? Times Square? A scene?

Found the NHL store and after avoiding vomiting on all the red jerseys and the celebration of their shiny new toy, I enjoyed chatting with a fellow Shark fan that worked there and added a few more treats to my shopping bag.

I started wandering back to the hotel and found Bryant Park where I stopped and took in the neighborhood while sipping a nice cool iced tea. It was terribly relaxing, and highly entertaining. 

As I was looking at my map to see exactly where I'd been, a lady came up and asked if I needed any help finding something, and I politely said no. She then informed me that she was a reader and a shaman and wanted to tell me three things.

First, she told me that my colors were red, green and gold. She then informed me that someone near me suffered from a thyroid condition - she wasn't sure exactly what it was, but assured me it wasn't serious. Finally she told me that change was going to come my way on August 29 and that it was going to be for the good. You can be sure I'll be noting that date on my calendar and counting the hours to see what it means.

When I told her I was visiting from California she said, and I kid you not, "Oh my galoshes." Awesome. She then said, "Take off your glasses fancy face," and asked if I'd ever had a reading done. I told her I didn't really believe in that, and she said okay and walked away.

Thank you for that New York. Really. Thank you.

After wandering around the gorgeous park and taking numerous photos, I headed back down 6th Avenue and found The Hater Building. Okay, it was the really The Haier Building, but at first glance, I really thought it said Hater and had to take a photo.

After I laughed at myself and enjoyed the thought that there could actually be a building called The Hater Building, I made my way to Macy's. You know, the Macy's from Miracle on 34th Street? Yeah. That's the one. And it did not disappoint. Just a gorgeous, historic building that included wooden escalators to and from The Cellar. That was seriously cool. It's possible I made a purchase there as well. 

I stopped in a few more shops on the way back to the hotel and was about to drop from the humidity and lack of sleep on the redeye, but my room wasn't quite ready yet. I waited another 45 minutes to check in and then totally crashed after a nice long shower. 

I just returned from dinner and am looking forward to the pie sitting in its to-go bag across the room. All in all, it's been a great day, and I look forward to tomorrow...no firm plans during the day, just more wandering, but really excited to see a friend from grad school for dinner. Haven't seen her since then so it should be a fun evening!