Road trip to New York (pre-christmas)

Just before Christmas my friends Noah & Robyn, Ryan & Sara, Sylvie and I went on a road trip to New York City!!! Woot Woot!!

We had a lot of fun. Stayed at a cheap hotel in Newark, New Jersey with a 15 minute shuttle bus into Time Square, New York. Time Square is a giant mass of advertisements and video screens. So much visual stimulation! Easy to spot the tourists whipping their heads around trying to take in all of the lights and images.

Our first experience in the Big Apple was the military recruiting booth, right in the middle of time square. It's a very different experience for a Canadian. I learned in first year that the New York City Police Department is larger than the Canadian Military. As tempted as I was to see if the recruiters would accept a Canadian, we ventured on...so much yet to see.

We visited the Hershey's factory and the M&M Store. Here Robyn slipped into her best M&M camouflage to see if she could slip around the store undetected. She was largely successful, and we were able to get up close and personal with the giant M&M's s around the building (Noah knows!).

Ryan discovered that he was part chihuahua.

The public library was incredible! Painted ceilings, giant pillars, lots of books. It certainly made the Ottawa public library look like a shoe-box decorated by a 5 year old. (If you haven't been to the Ottawa library, you are lucky...there is plenty of orange carpet to go around).

Visiting "ground zero", the former site of the World Trade Centre Towers, was a humbling experience. There are now large construction projects underway, continuing to clear the spaces where the towers used to be, and beginning work on the the new Freedom Tower that will be built in their place.

I had to take a minute to be silent and consider all those who lost their lives in the attack on September 11. It seems so surreal, so detached from the busy city surrounding the site. It is understandable how such a large event has impacted the entire country, and to some extent, the world. I was amazed at how lively and resilient the city is. Life has returned to normal: taxis everywhere beep their horns, hip artists try to sell you their latest CD on the streets, thousands of people pour in and out of shops, Wall Street keeps trading, and the 'show goes on' all over Broadway.

What a great experience! A massive snow storm delayed our return to Ottawa for a day, so we hung out around our hotel for an extra day, playing games, watching tv, and having some snacks. We may have gone a little stir crazy. We met a couple of young punks. We were pretty scared.

So, in the words of my good friend Hiro Nakamura, "I love New York!"

Ben