My Trip to New York City

(You can also view the photo gallery version of these pictures.)

Day 1 (December 25, 2003)

The Amtrak train, called the Carolinian left Raleigh on December 25, 2003 at 11:28. The engineer made a comment on the radio: "We have an on-time train."
The Carolinian At Raleigh station

Leaving Raleigh (Western Blvd)

The train went by lots of scenery, some of it interesting and some of it not:
Trip Scenery

Trip Scenery

Trip Scenery

Trip Scenery

Trip Scenery

Railroad crossing

Crossing a river

A goat

Richmond(?) rail yard

Richmond

Richmond rail yard

Richmond

Quantico airfield

Near Quantico

Quantico Stop

After Quantico

More scenery

Weird power plant names

Power lines across water

There were stops along the way of course, and some other stations where we just slowed down and didn't even stop, if there were no passengers to take on. The train got to Washington, DC around 5pm. It stopped at Union Station and the train switched from a diesel to an electric locomotive. We also picked up a replacement conductor who seemed a bit more professional, wearing an "Acela" hat instead of a floppy Santa hat.

Railway in the dark

After leaving DC, the train moved much more quickly due to the electric locomotive. Apparently Amtrak only has overhead wires on the heavily travelled route between DC and Boston. We made stops in Baltimore, MD, Wilmington, DE, and Philadelphia, PA. A billboard along the way said "Go ahead, pick your nose" - it was advertising a cosmetic surgery center. We stopped again in Trenton, NJ and Newark, NJ before arriving at New York's Penn Station at 8:48pm, about half an hour ahead of schedule.

Right after getting off the train, I had to ask an Amtrak porter where to pick up my luggage - he was busy heading to the baggage car. In the lobby of Penn Station, there were quite a few homeless people sleeping on the floor on newspaper or whatever. At the baggage claim, the guy checking claim tickets was a biker type with wallet on a chain, black jeans, and black boots.

After picking up my luggage, I headed to the subway. The MTA fare machine wouldn't take my credit card for a single-ride, and wouldn't take bills either, so I started the clock ticking now on the 7-day unlimited MetroCard. Need to remember to get quarters before leaving. Had problems getting my suitcase through the turnstile - not designed for bulky articles (or people :) Saw "Lex Luthor" while waiting on the platform - he looked similar to the guy on the Smallville TV show.

The subway was fast. W 63rd was closer than I thought to the 66th Street (Lincoln Center) subway station. I had trouble finding the entrance to the Y, and actually called them from right outside the front door. Checkin was OK - I wound up with room 1115 instead of something on the 10th floor. On the elevator up, met "Dudley" who was quite odd but very friendly (perhaps they go together?). Went out again to see if B&N had the NTF NYC guide, but it was closed for New Year's. On the way there saw an ambulance picking up a homeless person.

Needing Internet access to keep up with the flood of e-mail I always receive, I found that the telephone jack in my room didn't work. Fortunately, the Ethical Culture School left their wireless network connection wide open, so I used that (and it turned out to be faster than dialup :).

The accommodations at the YMCA were basic, but for the relatively low price, I wasn't going to complain!
One wall of room 1115

The other wall of room 1115

The best way to describe it is as a college dorm - small and basic private rooms, but shared bathrooms. There were, however, a few luxury amenities:
Luxuries of the YMCA

Day 2 (December 26, 2003)

To me, the best amenity of all was the view:

The view from room 1115

I went to have breakfast at 72nd Street Bagels:

Breakfast Location

It was a really good deal - two huge 7-grain bagels with eggs, plus hot chocolate, for $4.90. The place was a neighborhood Jewish bakery with a few tables to sit in. Very enjoyable.

On the way back from breakfast, I went to Barnes & Noble and bought "Not For Tourists: New York City 2004", a great book. It and the "StreetWise: Manhattan" map were all I needed to get around. Just across the street was the Julliard School of Music, a place I'd like to attend in another lifetime:
Julliard

The first real excursion of the day was to Roosevelt Island. I took the tram from 60th Street & Lexington Ave. over to the Island. This is the tram that was featured in the climactic scene of the movie "Spiderman":
The Tramway

Incoming tram

Inside the tram

Inside the tram

View from the tram over the Queensboro St. bridge

So many taxis

Tram on the move

Tram on the move

Tram on the move

Tram on the move - looking at Roosevelt Island

The other tram

Crossing some river (Hudson?) to Roosevelt Island

View from the tram

Tram on the move

Roosevelt Island Tram Terminal

I wandered south along the west shore of Roosevelt Island and took some miscellaneous pictures:
US Coast Guard is out in force

UN, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and Trump Showoff Building

The UN, with the Empire State Building in back to the right

Water Traffic (cool tugboat)

Ruins on Roosevelt Island

A seagull

See gulls

More to see of gulls

Gulls

Enjoying the outdoors

Chipmunk on the eastern Queensboro St. bridge tower

Then I took the tram back.
Roosevelt Island tram machinery

Incoming tram

On the tram trip back

Someone walking their dog by the waterfront

Funky waterfront sculpture

Extreme parking measures: $295/mo

Other tram again

Tram return trip

Tram return trip

Tram return trip

Tram return trip

Tram machinery (Manhattan side)

Pidgeons galore!

Next I stopped off at Bloomingdales for a taste of New York City shopping. Almost got lost in their men's department, but survived the experience.

I came back to my room, seeing a few interesting things on the way:
FDNY

Times Square & 42nd Subway Station: Guy dancing with "Lupita" (a doll)

(You had to see Dances With Dolls in action to be fully impressed by it.)

I spent the early afternoon getting ready for Sabbath. After calling the area churches for information on services, I went shopping for groceries. There are not many interesting food options that can work with just hot water. Later I went by Carnegie Hall to pick up a concert ticket, and then to Greenwich Village to find a restaurant that was on my list. Unfortunately, "The Village Natural" was nowhere to be found (the address I had was wrong). I was hungry so I wound up eating an excellent mushroom calzone with soda for $5 at Rivoli's Pizza:
Mushroom calzone. Very late lunch. Very good lunch. Very cheap lunch.

Then I headed back to the subway. Most subway stations have fairly ornate mosaics alongside the platforms, including the one for Greenwich Village:
Ornate subway stations

I took the subway downtown to the very south-most point (the South Ferry station) and headed to wait for the Staten Island Ferry at Whitehall Ferry Terminal:
Whitehall Ferry Terminal - people waiting for the Staten Island Ferry

After about twenty minutes, the ferry arrived:
The Ferry (Samuel I. Newhouse)

and I took a trip on it to Staten Island and back.
Ferry trip

Ferry trip

Helicopter

Ferry trip

Liberty sunset

Liberty sunset

Liberty sunset

Another SI ferry

Another SI ferry

Statue of Liberty (Guarded by Coast Guard)

Lower Manhattan

Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

Manhattan

Manhattan, and the Coast Guard following us

Return ferry trip: Osama and Omar (with NYPD cap)

Verazanna Narrows Bridge, and ships anchored in NY harbour

Verazanna Narrows Bridge, and ships anchored in NY harbour

Staten Island Seagull Sunset

Staten Island sunset

New York Harbor, lighthouse included

Oh buoy

Coast Guard, guns and all

Coast Guard

The whole ferry trip was pretty relaxing (close to boring :), except for that a Coast Guard gunship escorted the ferry both ways. That's probably what "heightened state of alert" means. Back at Whitehall Terminal there were a couple of bums in the bathroo m - one was telling his sad life story to the other.

(Blurred) Statue of Liberty torch - on top of a building

There are apparently copies of the Statue of Liberty scattered around the city.

Day 3 (December 27, 2003)

Wake-up

I woke up the next morning and headed for the Manhattan Crossroads SDA church.

Manhattan Crossroads Church

It was nice to visit there. It was very interesting to see a church fit into a 3-story storefront format. There was Sabbath school, worship service with communion (a guy named Paul washed my feet), and a great potluck meal (two kinds of rice, potato salad, swiss steak, and corn muffin.) The people were all very kind to me.

I left church around 3:30pm and headed back to the YMCA for a breather. On the way back, walking up Central Park West from the subway station, a woman lost a handle on her dog and it ran out into the street. It headed towards me and I tried to grab it, but it dodged and went back out into the street again. All the taxis were stopped while this woman chased her dog through the street. I went on my way, laughing with the hotel doormen at the scene.

Later I went out into Central Park just to walk around and see things. The weather during my stay was very warm for New York (mid-40's).
Carriage in Central Park

Central Park

Street Performer in Central Park

Fountain in Central Park

A Swan (Goose?)

That White Bird again

What ice?

There's a "castle" in Central Park - Belvedere Castle:
Belvedere Castle

The great lawn in Central Park

View from Belvedere Castle

View from Belvedere Castle

Belvedere Castle

Belvedere Castle stairway

View from Belvedere Castle

Belvedere Castle stairway traffic jam

Belvedere Castle, built 1872

The subway and walking are the best ways to get around as far as I'm concerned - there are also buses (didn't want to bother figuring them out, and vulnerable to traffic jams) and taxis (expensive, and vulnerable to traffic jams - but the subway is great. Here's what it looks like on the platform:
Subway

I headed for the 5:30pm mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It seems that the Catholics are keeping the Sabbath now too - Saturday 5:30pm mass apparently counts for their Sunday mass obligation. On the way to the cathedral, I passed Radio City Music Hall, and people were lined up all along 51st Street for the 6:30pm show - an hour ahead of time.

At the cathedral, a guy kept saying "no pictures", which I have to agree with, but I took a couple of pictures anyways:
St. Patrick's Cathedral

Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral

The place was packed - I stood in the rear with the latecomer crowd. Left when they started doing bread & wine - in order to get through a couple thousand people for each communion, they have a scalable operation with 5-6 priests in the center aisle. Overall the inside was very beautiful - part of how the Catholic Church works is to awe people. The sermon was on family life by Cardinal Egan.

Then went to Rockerfeller Center, which I had passed on the way in. Here are the pictures from that area:
View of the Rockerfeller Center Christmas Tree

Rockerfeller Center Christmas Tree

Rockerfeller Center Christmas Tree

A Segway ("Do they still make that?" - guy behind me)

Christmas Tree with Rockerfeller Center behind

Decorations on the promenade to the Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree above skating rink

Rockerfeller Center is big

Skating on the rink, only $15

Skating on the rink

Sponge Bob actor

Sponge Bob looks angry

NBC Today show studio

It was jam-packed around the skating rink - barely enough room to throw an elbow. Would have liked to go skating, but they wanted $15, which is just a bit too much for me. I'm wondering whether skating is still on in Central Park. On the way out, saw a Segway and a bunch of other neat stuff, but got lost over onto 47th and Madison. Reoriented, and went back to 49th and 6th.

On the way I stopped by B&N to use the restroom. Public restrooms in New York City have a reputation of being hard to find, but in reality it's not that bad. Police stations, big chain stores, and most other public places have them. Small stores usually have a sign "restrooms for customers only". Anyways:
Line for ladies room in Barnes & Noble

There were also the mounted policemen:
Mounted NYPD

Then I took the subway back to the Y.

Laid down for a few minutes, realized I needed water after running around all day. After having some, food became a priority, so I wandered along 64th Street. Went into O'Neals on a whim. Had an interesting salad (avacados, palm heart, red onions, spring greens) and decent pasta (penne pasta - tubular things with ridges, cut at a slant, plus eggplant, tomatos, and mushrooms). It was an expensive meal though - the most expensive of my life up to that point.
Dinner at O'Neals

Dinner at O'Neals

Outside O'Neals

On the way back to the Y, I stopped by Lincoln Center to look around.
Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center

After napping for a while, I left at 11pm to go to the Blue Note jazz club. It was on my list because I had a set of CDs that had been recorded there. Arrived 23:30 - the guy (burgundy dress shirt, tie, leather jacket, and wingtips, perfect jazz attire) said I was way too early, come back at 12:30am. Walked around for about 45 minutes and noticed a lot of Italian influences - many Italian restaurants and Italian-looking people. After I came back, the guy said to wait until 1am. No thanks, I can get jazz elsewhere for less than $8. I did take a picture to prove I'd been there though :)
Blue Note Jazz Club

The subway rides were interesting, thankfully. On the way down, a guy asked for everyone's attention. I thought he was about to rob the whole car or something. Turned out to just be a panhandler, and in fact someone else used the same "announcement of need" approach a few days later.

Day 4 (December 28, 2003

It was just as well I didn't spend much time at Blue Note - I had to wake up early to get going. The view was great again:

Day 4 morning

Street Vendor in Columbus Circle

I went to the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem for the 9am service in hopes of hearing some good gospel music. There was a little of that, and a lot of views of the pretty church:

Abyssinian Baptist Church

Abyssinian Baptist Church exterior

The place was packed - wish I could have stayed for the other service. Instead I went to the Winter Garden Theatre to try to get a Mamma Mia! ticket for that evening. Waited in line for half an hour to find out that Standing Room Only tickets for the even ing show would be sold starting at 5pm. I went back to the Y, changed/ate, and headed out to Carnegie Hall:

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is very tall

Carnegie Hall from the top - back of the balcony

The concert I attended was by the New York String Philharmonic - some random group that did a fairly decent job on three pieces, including Beethoven's 8th symphony:

New York String Philharmonic doing a piano concerto

Count the double basses - NYSP alumni reunion

The concert was nice but I was worn out and couldn't really enjoy it as much as I should have. After the concert I wandered back to the Winter Garden theatre, got the same answer about SRO tickets, and decided I was just too tired to do anything big.

Supper that evening was at Vinnie's Pizzeria Restaurant:
Supper at Vinnie's Pizza

Vinnie's Pizza - Small on looks, big on taste

It was good New York pizza!

Day 5 (December 29, 2003)

Waking up on day 5

Got to the Majestic Theatre at almost exactly 9am to wait for tickets for Phantom. Just a bit too early, especially since the next person to line up (a couple of guys from Australia - Brisbane and Perth) got there around 9:25. After that, New York upstate girl, then Arkansas lady, and a long line of others.

Now showing at the Majestic Theatre

First in line at nine

The line when I left (ticket in hand)

Came back, rested, went to Baluchi's for lunch (arrived exactly 12:30). Good Indian food, but not wonderful. The water was in metal cups, very neat and unique. Rustic atmosphere overall - wood chairs and carved wood. Had "Indian" salad (tomato/cucumber/ca rrot/lettuce), and then daal baluchi (lentils) plus naan (very good - puffy and doughy) and rice. Price was OK but not really inexpensive. Service was good - main food came right after they took away the salad plate.

Fuzzy memories of lunch at Baluchi's

Lunch at Baluchi's

After that, went to see "The Phantom of the Opera" show. Had to go through a couple of lines, then got to my "official standing position" - left back of orchestra center, leaning against the rail. A bit tired, but it was neat to see the performance. Said hello to the lighting guy at intermission - apparently he's a button pusher/error handler. Got to sit down after intermission - it was nice to rest, but my view was blocked by heads in front of me. Still, for $20, you can't beat it.

One line to get into PoTO

Majestic Theatre before the show

The theatre

Curtain call

PoTO sound system

PoTO orchestra pit

Then went wandering around Times Square, bought postcards, looking around.

Came back, read e-mail and tried to organize RH dinner. Went out to Hangawi (vegetarian Korean food), best food ever to date, and the most expensive meal of my life. Seaweed salad (had sesame seeds mixed in, supposedly lemon dressing), fresh-squeezed carrot-ginger juice (with a cute carrot-slice flower on the rim of the glass), and "bean curd and kim-chi with spicy sauce" (circle of tofu wedges with warm kimchi in the middle) plus rice and both hot and unseasoned kimchi. This was amazing food which looked good as well. The restaurant decor was amazing too - they had a raised wood platform that was essentially the "floor" for diners, and pillows with low tables, then footwells for non-Koreans to stick their feet in. I also managed to eat the entire dinner with chopsticks, mainly because I had no choice :)
Hangawi

Hangawi entrance

After that, went to Grand Central just to look around. Very classy.
Grand Central Terminal

Inside Grand Central Terminal

On the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal

Came back, did laundry. Overheard some tax-dodging nuts were talking in the laundry room - later took the elevator up with one of them, and he seemed like a decent person.

Day 6 (December 30, 2003)

Slept in this morning

Day 6 morning

Went to Cece-Cela (French bakery) for breakfast. Confusing arrangement (seats in a room in back and an owner who just sat there reading when I walked in), but good-tasting food. $6 for a croissant, cherry Danish, and hot chocolate.

Breakfast at Cece-Cela

This day was mostly sightseeing. I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade:

Looking from city hall park across the Brooklyn Bridge

Footpath across the Brooklyn Bridge

South Street Seaport as seen from Brooklyn Bridge

One of the main cables on the Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge tower

Brooklyn Bridge roadway

Manhattan Bridge (from the Brooklyn Bridge)

New York Harbor (with cars wizzing by)

Statue of Liberty, looking south from the Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn through the Brooklyn Bridge

Welcome to Brooklyn

North end of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade

A view of Manhattan

More Manhattan

Brooklyn Heights Promenade

New York harbour from the promenade

Brooklyn Bridge from the promenade

A (very expensive) house next to the promenade

On the way to the subway station in Brooklyn:

Brooklyn Borough Hall

Then I wandered around Wall Street and Lower Manhattan:

Looking down Wall Street to Trinity Church

Federal Hall

That statue at Federal Hall is on the spot where George Washington took the oath of office.

NYSE

Traders smoking outside the NYSE

Unfortunately the NYSE was closed to visitors and had fairly stringent security measures (notice the fence in the second photo).

Trinity Church

Carved doors on Trinity church

Inscription in Trinity Church

Next, the WTC site:

WTC site from Liberty Plaza

WTC site

Makeshift cross on the WTC site

Construction entrance to WTC site

Damaged neighbouring buildings

WTC site

WTC hole

WTC site

Then, a symbol of capitalism, the bull statue at Bowling Green:

Capitalist Bull

The other end of the bull.

Bowling Green

This sphere used to be in between the two World Trade Centers:

WTC globe (now at Battery Park)

WTC globe damage

Battery Park itself was nice to look at.

Battery Park

Battery Park plaque - even old New York was once New Amsterdam

I was getting really tired and wanted to see the South Street Seaport, so I went there and had lunch. Lowest-priced meal so far - $3.47:

Little Tokyo lunch at South Street Seaport

Lunchtime view

FDNY boat with Brooklyn backdrop

Coast Guard, FDNY, Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge plus South Street Seaport, with Manhattan Bridge behind

South Street Seaport view

NYPD boat and Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge Panorama

Boats at South Street Seaport

New York harbour

Pier 17 food court

Little Tokyo

The girl in front of Little Tokyo (in the yellow shirt) had a very "interesting" job - she stood there saying "Yummy! Yummy! Teriyaki!" over and over while offering samples to passers-by.

South Street Seaport boat

More boats

The Fulton Fish Market is where all the fishermen sell their catch every day. It used to be a big mob racket.

Fulton Fish Market

On the way back to the subway station, the lengths that people will go to to park cars became apparent:

Car apartments

With a car elevator

Went back to the Y, and took a picture of the view:

Afternoon view

The view in perspective

Took a nap, then went to dinner with a couple of fellow Red Hat employees. They work out of their apartments in New York City. The restaurant was Houlihan's, a fairly well known chain - forgot to take a picture, but the food was merely "OK", and the servi ce was not good. Had veggie fajitas and house salad. Too expensive.

Then wandered by Times Square to see how it was set up. Talked to a helpful security guard (why is it that I always interrupt people's phone conversations with their girlfriends?) and he gave me more reassurance than really useful info.

Day 7 (December 31, 2003)

Woke up and took a nice wake-up picture before sleeping in some more:

Day 7 morning

Went grocery shopping later that morning, then tried to nap some more. Got down to Times Square around 3pm. Tried to stake out 44th and 7th (under the ABC News tickers), but they pushed us out for "security reasons". The crowd then was absolutely packed - if one person had fallen, it would have been like dominoes.

Waiting for a spot

The media

More waiting

Crowd grows

In the middle of it all

Out in the street

1 Times Square

Hercules!

Media area - lower half of the bowtie

Camera expert

Camera crew

Looking north

These are pictures of when the police were trying to herd us east and north - this is what caused things to get really really packed, because of course everyone wanted to keep their spot instead of moving, but everyone was also trying to keep away from the line of police officers. A tad scary.

The squeeze is on!

I eventually went out to 6th Avenue, up to 46th, and back in, then came down into a pen on the north-east corner of 45th and 7th.

Later on, in the pen

The ball was raised at 6pm - this is about 6:30pm:

1 times square, ball raised and all

View along the rail

View to SW corner of 45th & Broadway

Start Panorama

Panorama

End Panorama

Camera man

Looking north

Start Panorama

Panorama

End Panorama

In front of the Virgin Megastore

Searchlights

Rainey, what do you notice first? (Say "Sound system")

Life in the pen

Mo pics

Sea of hats

Bored cop

Sea of hats

Countdown to countdown

Still a few more hours of suffering ;-)

Balloon handout

Countdown to the countdown

Ben Stein (on TV)

Ben Stein (in real life)

Balloon flying around

About 11:40pm:

The tail ends of the mayor's rear guards

Hercules!

Somebody important (police commissioner?)

Photographer

FDNY

Getting close

40 seconds

31 seconds

11 seconds

4 seconds

After many long hours of waiting, and lots of shivering, I got to see the big event.

It's 2004 now!

Happy 2004! Eat confetti

Confetti shower

And the crowd goes wild

Happy New Year!

Fireworks

Fireworks spectacular

Auld langsyne

Confetti

Confetti - tastes great, less filling

The cop who watched our pen all that time

Watchers (and snipers) on the roofs throw confetti

The grandstand, and activation button

Trash

Searchlights

Sanitation workers face a busy morning

Sanitation workers

And then while I was standing around the NE corner of 46th and 7th, an officer who had been using the bullhorn a lot earlier came out and yelled that he needed four officers to clear the way:

Mr. Bullhorn clears the way

Everyone gets ready

For Mayor Bloomberg

(Mr. Bloomberg is the shorter guy attached to the gray hair.) So I saw Mayor Bloomberg (net worth, > $4 billion dollars) as he walked back to his motorcade (he must have come in via subway earlier). He walked right by me.

Mayoral Motorcade

Giving me the evil eye

Motorcade

I walked all the way back to the Y afterwards - subways would be jammed anyways.

Goofing off for the camera

Leaving the scene

Cleanup is already underway

FDNY giving out photos

Too many bored cops

Returning to normal

Now that it's over I'm deadly tired and have a slight headache. Managed to lock myself out of my room as well. Before I go to sleep, let's do another countdown: The Times Square Clothing Layer Countdown

Day 8 (January 1, 2004)

Day 8 morning

Woke up fairly early (compared to my 2am bedtime).

Got down to the Winter Garden Theatre around 9:15am to wait for them to open at 10am so I could get Mamma Mia tickets.
A very clean Broadway

Back at the Winter Garden

Wound up waiting until 10:15, then I called Telecharge and found out that they opened at noon. My bad. Went to the tram station to get more tokens, then had a caramel apple cider at Starbucks across from the theatre.
Removing the barriers

Removing the barriers

Reinstalling trash cans

We know how badly trash cans need to be sanitized

Got back in "line" (I was the only one) around 11:35, and a few more people showed up around 11:45-11:50. When I got to the ticket window, she said that performances were sold out until next Wednesday, but she had one lone spot left for this evening. I took it even thought it was an overpriced orchestra seat. I hope it's a good one.

On the way back, there was a group of young people doing praise & worship songs in the Times Square station:
Praise & Worship in the Subway

"Lord I Lift Your Name On High"

Came back to the Y, napped, went out to get a slice of pizza on 68th between Columbus and Broadway (was huge, $3.50 for a 'vegetarian delight', but not as tasty as Vinnie's). Got groceries at the Food Emporium, then started packing.

Went to Mamma Mia! Seat was on the aisle four rows from the back - pretty good view and no tall people sitting in front of me. Music was way too loud. Lots more dancing and sugary music numbers, but less substance (mostly an excuse to sing the top ABBA hits). Would be cool if I were running the sound system. They also didn't sing ABBA's "Happy New Year" on New Year's Day - very annoying. Was longer than Phantom. Their sound system also looked like it had a newer version of Cadac.
Winter Garden Theatre

Winter Garden Theatre

Curtain call

Winter Garden Theatre orchestra pit

Winter Garden Theatre

Winter Garden Theatre

The sound system

When I was leaving the theatre, some guys were break dancing across the street.

Day 9 (January 2, 2004)

Day 9 wake up time

Got to Penn Station too late to check my baggage. The station layout was difficult to figure out. While I was going down the escalator to the train, a lady tripped, and the escalator kept feeding us on top of her. Scary. After hitting the emergency stop button and asking if everyone was alright, I got onto the train OK, and it left on time (6:35am).

Philadelphia skyline

During the trip, the car power kept dying every time we stopped. They spent a bunch of time trying to fix it at the Philadelphia station, and then when we got to DC the decided the car I was in had "a fault" and needed to be swapped out for a different o ne. We had to take all our baggage off the car and wait for the new one to put it in. New seating arrangement put me next to a family that was supposed to be on a later train 89, but had taken train 79 because they could get away with it. Annoying.