ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END

Tuesday, 5:32pm Pacific Daylight Time...

My United flight from New York/LaGuardia via Chicago/O'Hare docked at the gate in Santa Ana, California. And with that my 14 day vacation adventure to the East Coast ended. I woke up Tuesday morning in my New York hotel room with the total blues. All the fun times had come to an end. A week in Orlando with six of the best men and best friends in the world. Then an unforgettable trip through north state New York and into New York City. If I could just add another week to the whole trip, I might be content. Nah! I needed much more time.

ALL I CAN SAY IS... I LOVE NEW YORK (and guys...I love Orlando too)!!!

Last time I posted I filled you in on the Orlando happenings and that Pete and I had reached his hometown of Schenectady safely, though greeted by rain. Well, in seven days we covered a lot of ground. I have thought about the best way to post what activities we covered without generating a book. My solution: I am going to do an outline of the highlights. Here goes...

Tuesday, 8/29 ~ Left Orlando and arrived at the Albany Airport around 3pm. Pete provided me with a quick overview drive tour of Albany and then drove me through a bit of old downtown Schenectady. Albany and the surrounding areas grew up around General Electric. Italian for dinner. Chilled the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, 8/30 ~ Drive tour through some of the different neighborhoods of Schenectady, middle to upper middle class neighborhoods. Lets just say that with the money or townhouse that I had in California I could be living in a huge house with character and history on a plot of 2-3 acres of the most pristine green land. Absolutely disgusting when you think of what the dollar can buy on the East Coast for property. Then we headed up to Saratoga to check out his quaint historic town that grew up around the mineral baths and the racing of thoroughbreds. Back to Albany for a bit more 'up close and personal' view of the city. Pizza for dinner at Pete's and a walk in the neighborhood with his dogs, Monte and Oscar. Monte is a handful...spastic!!!

Schenectady, N.Y. - Upper Middle Income Neighborhood

Schenectady, N.Y. - Middle Income Neighborhood

The main street in Downtown Saratoga, N.Y.

Yadoo, Artist Retreat and Gardens in Saratoga, N.Y.

Albany, N.Y. ~ Capital Building

The Eggshell, Concert Hall in Albany, N.Y.

Thursday, 8/31 ~ Some morning leisure time chatting about things. Noon train for New York City. Some of the most beautiful scenery around incorporating the Hudson River bank, the surrounding forested hills, old towns situated along the river, and the marquis...West Point. That is an area I will have to go back and check out on some future trip to New York state. Check in to Sheraton New York Towers at 53rd Street and 7th Avenue. Dinner at Stages Deli...a must for some of the best tasting corn beef and pastrami sandwiches you will ever have. Worth every penny you pay for them! Some time killed at Time Square.

The Hershey's Building, New York City

Macy's Window ~ New York City Displaying PROJECT RUNWAY Winners

Time Square In New York City - Pete's Taking A Picture

Friday, 9/1 ~ Pastry from Fluffy's Bakery up from the hotel. Over to the Modern Museum of Art (MoMA). Spent some three hours there looking at work ranging from audio visual art, to painting, to photography, to 3D art, to sculptures, to furniture and appliances constructed over this last century. I simply went 'buggy.' Work by Picasso, Monet, Gauguin, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies Van de Rohe, Gehry, and so,so much more. Back to the hotel to shower up for dinner at Thalia's (American nouveau cuisine) and then off to see the musical, WICKED. All I can say is, AWESOME! threefold.

Museum Of Modern Art, New York City

Artwork in MoMA

Artwork in MoMA With Me In The Picture

The Initial Stage Set Of WICKED

Saturday, 9/2 ~ Light rain on and off. Strolled through Central Park to Tavern on the Green, Strawberry Fields, and then on to the American Museum of Natural History and the Planetarium. Saw two incredible short movie productions on caving and on the solar system along with a live reptile display. Got in the dinosaur segment of the museum too. That blew me away seeing some of the size of those creatures. Took my first subway train over to SoHo, walked through the neighborhood. No art vendors were out due to the rain. Mosied over to Little Italy and visited Angelo's Restaurant of Mulberry Street, another must place to eat if you are visiting New York. Pete and I finished the the night off with latte, hot chocolate, and CANOLIS. Mmm! Mmm! Finished the evening at the hotel bar lounge, drinking French martinis, etc.

Tavern On The Green In Central Park

Strawberry Fields, IMAGINE Memorial, Central Park

Planetarium At The American Museum Of Natural History

Dinasaur Display At The American Museum of Natural History

Little Italy, Mulberry Street, New York City

Sunday, 9/3 ~ Off to morning services at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Then we strolled over to Rockefeller Center and eventually stumbled onto a big, big block celebration on the Avenues of the Americas. It was a Brazilian festival that occupied about 10-15 blocks..food vendors, trinkets, Brazilian soccer memorabilia, etc. The a walk over to SoHo. This time we caught the street vendors since it was sunny out. Lots to see and wish for. Back to the hotel to clean up and then off to a matinee showing of the Lion King, another great musical. Some hanging at Time Square since the theater was right in the square. Then over to Stages Deli for a light dinner. Then finished the evening with Cosmos, etc. at the hotel bar again.

Brazil Festival On Avenues of The Americas, NYC

Chaos In Time Square

My Cosmo Salute To Kel

Pete Joining Me In That Salute To Kel But With A French Martini

Monday, 9/4 ~ Up early. Over to Starbuck's for a pastry and coffee. Then hiked down to the waterfront through the Chelsea/Meatpacking District. Took a three hour cruise around Manhattan Island. Definitely a must, and one to do at the beginning of your first New York City experience as it orients you on what is what and gives you great ideas as to what to explore on your own. We had dinner at Maison's, a French Cafe and Bistro across from the hotel. Pete and I reminisced about all the fun we had had over the past two weeks. We talked about how lucky that we had some terrific new friends in our lives. And sadly the day was a wrap up ~ Pete had a 5:45pm train to catch for home. :-( I went off to the station with him, said my good-byes, and then headed over to some hotel lobbies to take interior shots, items I need for this coming quarter in school.

New York City Skyline

Brooklyn Bridge

Andolean Band At Time Square, NYC

Tuesday, 9/5 ~ Lots of running around, packing, off to the airport, and home. REALITY HAS SET IN AGAIN.

So there you have it. My unforgettable trip! Can we just rewind the last 14 days and start this clip of MY LIFE over again?! Thought I'd share a few key photos with you and will likely post additional photos down the line on other posts. Is your head spinning yet from all of our whirlwind activity? Ya might see that I stayed away from an abundance of 'nightlife.' There was a reason. Anyway, it's good to be back in blogland. Looks like I should be about breaking the 10,000 blog hit mark on this post at some time. Wahoo! Later.