Jay-Z and Rhianna, said it best
“These streets will make you feel brand new.”
Empire State of Mind has not only been a Billboard favorite, but a New York anthem. I quickly learned that after arriving in New York and listening to it three times on the radio within the hour car ride.
This is officially my 4th trip out to New York, but I feel as if I am experiencing it for the first time. Although there is that element of recognition there are and will always be buildings, stores, people who I haven’t seen before. There will be sounds and accents I will appreciate and smells or aromas that I will remember. It’s as though I am brand new again. The streets have taken over my experiences.
Traveling through the airport was a journey in itself. I along with a friend were taking a red-eye for the first time. Being able to sleep was my main priority and I wasn’t too sure if I could do that in the seat of a plane. We crashed and were able to grab our Z’s for the first flight. Landing in DC for a lay over was miserably cold and rainy.
Then when we thought things were going well for us we hit a spontaneous bump.
I was flying into Laguardia from D.C. where she was flying into JFK from D.C.
Luckily she was able to jump on my plane and we figured to pick up her luggage once we got to the Big Apple. Much to our surprise the plane was a lot smaller and we had to run out on the runway just to board it! Tony was my row mate and he made it clear that he was up for a good conversation, while I was trying to make it clear that I needed to sleep as much as I can. I lost the fight. “Chatty Cathy” Tony sold advertising and we chatted about what to do and see in New York. Clearly our six-day trip was not long enough to see everything, but he shared his favorites and still half asleep I made sure to seem interested.
We were that much closer on the flight from D.C. to New York and a lot closer to the people in our now tiny plane. New York was now a hop, skip and a jump away.
The airport2airport drive
Finallllly we landed in New York and drove to Laguardia to pick up long-lost luggage. New York! We were finally here. Of course to welcome us was Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. Could I say perfect timing or perfect timing?! Although we were not in the city we had made it to our destination filled with excitement, surrounded by cold wind.
Functioning on four hours of sleep we were ready to hit the town and dive into some sight-seeing. 
We drove through endless amounts of golden-colored trees and past the Mets stadium to Farmingdale. Farmingdale is located in Long Island and approximately an hour train ride from the city. 
We bundled up and jumped on the train and landed in Penn station. Surrounded by subways and not wanting to look like a tourist we quickly looked at a map and tried to figure out “the great transportation.” Feeling overwhelmed we dipped into the information center and just asked, “How do we get to Times Square?”
Doesn't This Just Look Confusing?!
Figuring Out The Map
We jumped on the subway confident and ended up going in the wrong direction. We were not only farther away from our destination, but we were in New York!! Naturally we walked up the steps to the city to take it all in. Food was the first thing on the agenda and what else to get, but Pizza. YUM! I ordered a deep dish pepperoni, mushroom and pretty much inhaled it. 
It was hot and delicious.
With full tummies we hit the streets continuing to admire the buildings and came across a cute park located on Broadway.
It was fresh and the soft drizzle added to the experience. 
Upon entering you felt as if you were entering another world so peaceful and serene. A few steps out of the park I was again faced with the hustle and bustle of the streets.
We returned to the streets of New York and walked up Broadway as the rain drizzled over our eyes. We walked blocks and what felt like hours. So we made sure to take a Starbucks break. Surviving off of one phone we rested and recharged. Back on the way we ended up taking the subway to the famous Times Square. It was just as I remembered it filled with lights and lots of oversized billboards to look at.
Disappointment was veiled over my friends face as it just looked like a “Vegas-Hollywood-ish strip.” Truthfully that is a great description and without hesitation we checked out the Hershey chocolate store filled with candy and random knick knacks. Honestly, who needs a Resse’s mug and matching t-shirt?! We picked up another traveler
Mystery Beer
Quickly over Times Square we ventured off to East Village. A must destination on the list. 
If you live in L.A. then East Village easily compares to Santa Monica and Venice. I tried doing this throughout the trip…comparing places and areas to what I already knew. We didn’t venture in too far and were quickly distracted by a bar appropriately called, Cheap Shots.
Cheap Shots Bar
Cheap Shots offered a $1 mystery beer that we all couldn’t resist. Being on a tight budget we drank the not so bad mystery beer and couldn’t help, but ask the bartender what we were drinking. She herself had no idea?!? She did know how to make a shot and were forced to drink a mystery shot right off the back. What was with all the mystery??
Our "Locals"
I laughed it off and we made friends with the “locals.” We asked them tons of questions as much as they asked about L.A. Our new “local” friends were cool and they even made sure we exchanged myspace/facebook 411.
It was getting dark and in an unfamiliar part of town we called it a night and made plans to take the rest of the night to rest up for the days ahead as well as map out what to check out.
We took the subway back to the train station and took the train to Long Island. Exhausted and hungry we hit up a local deli upon arriving in Long Island and pretty much wanted to order everything in sight. It was a great deli and the food was amazing. We had no idea what was in store for the next few days, but we made a pact to eat and see as much as possible!
