Over Memorial Weekend, I went to New York City with my friend, Chunhee. Our hotel was more of an apartment! It was better than what I live in now! So it was a comfortable place to be. But the nights were noisy( I think I heard more sirens this weekend than a do in a whole year in Utah). Luckily we were in walking distance of most midtown sights. But because places were walk-able, we would always end up walking way too much so that our feet and legs were hurting by the end of each night. Needless to say, as the days went on, we rode the subways more, even if it was just one stop away. There's plenty of walking even with the subways too! Chunhee had never been to NYC. This was my 4th time visiting, yet it was the warmest time of year I have been there. We did the regular touristy things like Times Square, Empire State Bldg(also went to Rockerfeller Observatory that has more space to move around and you get a great view of Central Park and Empire State Bldg), WTC, Statue of Liberty(which I never tire of seeing). We also saw Wicked(3rd tim
e for me, but I love it! It's one of those shows you can see over and over again like Phantom or Les Mis). I never tire of it! Also, we took time to explore Central Park as much as we could in one day. It's so huge! We got to the Central Park zoo(sea lions, penguins, and polar bears, oh my), Belevedere Castle(great view), Bethesda Fountain and the Carousel( it's the fastest and has groovy music). Not only that, but we rented bikes, learning that you can't ride your bikes inside on all the paths---you can only ride the perimeter(which took us an hour). So we had to hoof it inside the park which has to be the easiest place to get lost. There were maps, but none of the paths are labeled in a way to find your place from one spot to another. I swear when we were looking for something specific, we couldn't find it. But we would always happen to find it by chance when we weren't looking. So from my point of view, it's pure luck to find what your looking for in the park. We didn't get lost once in the city, but were constantly finding ourselves in the wrong place in Central Park. But I guess finding your way through the park was half the adventure. We also spent time relaxing in the park too. Other parks we enjoyed were Bryant Park(we had a picnic there) and Roosevelt Island. To get to Roosevelt island, you rode a tram across the East River. At the end of the island is a park and lighthouse. I loved the parks because it was a chance to get away from the noise and smells(car exhaust and garbage) of the city! I also really 
enjoyed the activities like the cruise around Statue of Liberty(where we also got to see the place of the famous airplane landing in Hudson River a few months ago) and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Those are both refreshing activities. But I think the most memorable event was in Chinatown(where you can buy mock name brand purses, watches, etc). The better the quality of mock items you want, the more secretive and hidden the place you go to purchase them. So in all the shops they have a hidden door in the back for those who are interested. I've even been taken to warehouses to secret rooms. So Chunhee wanted a purse. We were led from the shop and down some streets to a van(with no windows in the back
). The seller opened the van door and all three of us got in. She shut the door, turned on a light and it was full of purses(and it was miserably hot in the van). My friend did find a bag she wanted. So when we were ready to leave, the seller had to first call her look-out person to make sure it was "safe" for us to exit the van. Never a dull moment in Chinatown! And I thought I had anxiety watching the cabs and cars weave quickly through the streets until I took a cab to church on Sunday. Trust me, I had much more anxiety riding in the cab and watching near misses. And speaking 
of church, I saw 2 co-workers from the high school there with their families! I just can't escape school! What are the odds of that happening?! But it was nice to see familiar faces! I love visiting NYC! But I loved getting home to my breathable air and less congested roads. It felt so good to drive home myself from the airport(a control issue).
