November 25th, 2007
I hope that you have all had a great Thanksgiving. I have had a very good one myself. Once again, I have not visited my family. Instead, I went to New York City to spend four days with my best friend from high school. His name is Caleb and he goes to the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. I was so excited to see someone I knew from back home. Currently, I am trapped in traffic outside of Washington D.C. on my return trip and am ready to get back to campus. However, I am even more excited to go back home for Christmas. It’s only three more weeks away. It was a little rough going through Thanksgiving without family. It’s been over three months since I’ve seen them and I’m surprised that I have done as well as I have. Well, here is an overview of my Thanksgiving Break.
I left Richmond right after I finished a test in one of my classes. I quickly packed everything together and was off to New York City. However, the traffic was really bad and we spent ninety minutes in traffic outside of Baltimore. After we finally arrived in New York and I spent the night at my suitemate’s house, I was off on my adventure in New York. I checked into my hotel in Jamaica, NY in Queens. A short while later, my friend arrived. He was all dressed up in his strict dress code and it was so good to see him. We had been looking forwards to this trip ever since Spring. Although our hotel was not in a great part of town, we really had no choice since we are both living on a college budget.
Bad traffic on the way to New York
We decided to head into Manhattan and the first thing he wanted to do was eat at Chipotle, a very good Mexican burrito place. He had been deprived of it for five months and desperately wanted it. After spending an hour trying to find it and getting very lost, we happened upon it and ate. After we left, we realized that I had left my backpack there. Once again getting lost, it took us another hour to retrace the one block path to Chipotle. It was entirely my fault since I had us searching on the wrong street.
Eating good at Chipotle
After we recovered the backpack, we headed to the Macy’s Parade Balloon Inflation. We saw all of the balloons get blown up for the next day’s parade and then headed to Times Square. We spent almost three hours there. We just wandered up and down the streets and in and out of stores a lot. I think the highlight of Times Square was the Charmin store and the M&Ms store. After a long day and sore legs, we headed back to the hotel. We were very amateur with our subway navigation and vowed to improve. After we got back, Caleb decided to do a workout to stay in shape. I, having done little exercise since arriving in Richmond, was somehow dragged into it as well. I was so exhausted and sore after we finished. Traveling had worn us out and we just wanted to sleep.
Me in Times Square
Shopping for stuff way outside our price range in Times Square
Caleb likes to be a little goofy at times
Although strange, the Charmin store provided some of the best entertainment from our trip
However, we wanted to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, so we got up at 5:00 AM on Thanksgiving and headed downtown. We arrived hours before it started and sat around. We found a really great spot to sit since there was no pedestrian traffic because it was blocked off right after we got there. It was then designated for police officers’ families. The parade was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of celebrities. There was Jordin Sparks, NeYo, Linkin Park, Good Charlotte, Dolly Parton, the Jonas Brothers, Miss Teen USA 2007, and Wynonna Judd. It was a fun time and the weather was perfect.
I was very tired and not happy as I waited for our subway at 5:00 AM
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Caleb and I had an inside joke regarding this balloon- Abby Cadabby
Jordin Sparks was part of the Macy’s Parade. She was last year’s American Idol.
After the parade, we headed back to our hotel and watched our Packers beat the Lions. However, we were so tired that we both fell asleep partway through the game. For our Thanksgiving meal, we splurged and went to McDonald’s. I called home and missed a great meal. Part of me really wished I was there, but I was also having a great time with Caleb and enjoying New York City. However, that great time with Caleb did not include his workout, which kicked my butt for the second night in a row.
My Thanksgiving Dinner
Friday was another tourist day for us. We visited Central Park, the Empire State Building, Chinatown, Statue of Liberty, World Trade Center, and Little Italy (my favorite). I also really enjoyed visiting 5th Avenue and walking the street. We saw Prada, Gucci, DeBeers, and so many more outlandish stores who had window displays that we gaped at. It was really fun to still look, though. We had the best luck in the world as far as navigation and caught all of our trains right away. And, we didn’t take the wrong subway even once. Getting back late, we just watched movies and chilled in our hotel room for the rest of the night.
Me with the Statue of Liberty in the background
Caleb and I briefly met up with one of our other friends from high school
Little Italy is my favorite place in New York City
Caleb and I rested and enjoyed a nice break as we ate dessert in Little Italy.
Caleb and I are masters of the subway system
Saturday was much of the same and I wasn’t out of bed for more than ten minutes all day. It was just a lot of movies and TV and sleep. The main highlight from Saturday was our football team winning in the playoffs. Now, we are one of the final eight teams in the playoff bracket. We play Wofford next in South Carolina. I’m really excited about this and want to see if I can make it to the game somehow. Lying around all day with nothing to do was really nice. However, our vacation had to end. We departed early Sunday and I really didn’t want to say goodbye. I knew that the time would come, but I didn’t want to go back to school yet. Both Caleb and I are counting down the days until Christmas Break gets here and we can hang out again, along with all of the rest of our friends from back home.
I am still stuck in traffic as I write this and have been for eight miles. It’s expected for another three miles. In short, this Thanksgiving was really great for seeing a good friend and getting a break. Even though my entire diet consisted of Chipotle, Chex Mix, a dessert in Little Italy, Pop Tarts, and Dominoes, it was still great. I didn’t get any homework done and need to do a little catch up now. Also, I learned that I can now master the New York City subway system. Finally, thanks to Caleb, I now realize that I need to start working out a little. It’s a little early for a New Year’s Resolution, so I’ll call it my Thanksgiving Resolution. Because his workout was easy enough to do in the hotel room, I figured that I could do some abdominal and muscle training in my dorm room. Also, since I am a little behind in my work, I have decided to block off a portion of each day to solely do homework. No Facebook, Youtube, Hangaroo, TV, or any other distractions shall be done during this time. Well, that’s been my Thanksgiving Break. Feel free to ask me any questions that you have on your mind about college or what I do with my spare time.
Countdown until Home: 19 days
Countdown until Christmas: 30 days
Quote of the Week: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” –John Wooden
Thought to Ponder: Can a person with no ears wear glasses?
Shout Outs: CALEB for putting up with me getting us lost and for a great weekend, Doug and his family for driving me and letting me stay the night, My family for not being upset that I didn’t come home
