The dreaded travel day. Get up early, rush around, probably forget something on the counter and get to the airport early enough to sit and wait. No fun but a necessary evil to getting to somewhere that is more fun than here. After a long day of watching Westjet entertainment, we landed at JFK airport and the NYC experiences begins.

The fun began after we landed. We had to navigate our way from JFK airport to Midtown Manhattan through the train and subway system. Not such the easy task all the way from Queens. We asked a few questions to newsstand operators and people who looked like they knew where they were going and we made it. The subway system of this city has always amazed me. I have never taken a cab in all my trips here and don’t intend to now.

We checked in at the Kimpton Muse hotel which to my surprise it literally 50 yards from the big stage used for NYE and likely close to where we will settle in on Dec 31. We went for a walk in the evening and we took a look at the marvel that it Times Square. The amount of people on the streets tonight was impressive enough that I can’t imagine what this will look like in a few days. We found an Irish pub named O’Malley’s where we walked up the steepest set of stairs I have been on to get to the 3rd floor bar. We sampled some comfort food and one too many Dark and Stormy’s while we had some laughs and cries and watched the place fill up with strangers from across the land. It was amazing how the staff managed those stairs up and down with food and drinks and we wondered how many drinks had fallen down them. We would soon find out as the comedy was yet to come for us. The ensuing short walk home was interesting as two tipsy jokers navigated the big city, but we made it safe.

Onto day 1 and night 2, The Top of the Rock at sunset is on the agenda tomorrow.

Marco