We started yesterday very late, not leaving the apartment until noon. We decided against going to get bagels (as we have the past few days) and went to the Starbucks across the street from us before catching the subway to Brooklyn. The day was much better than Thursday, where the rain fell steadily. It was a bit windy, and still chilly, but without the rain we felt much more confident about crossing the bridge.

We found directions to the Brooklyn Bridge quickly and after a few stairs we were on the pathway. Let me just take a moment to note that living in New York is being at peace with stairs. Lorna and I were in agreement that we felt like we’d spent half our time her on staircases.

Anyway, we walked the bridge and it was beautiful, though colder than we’d thought. The wind coming off the ocean was colder than that on land (which, of course, it would be). Anna tapped out after the first arch and walked on ahead to get off the bridge. JD and I took our time. I ended up taking quite a few pictures from different angles, through things, over things, etc. I had a blast with that.

When we reached the other side we met up with Anna and attempted to find Pier 17. We had seen it from the bridge and wanted to check it out. We stopped over in a Starbucks to use the bathroom, I bought a hot chocolate, and asked directions.We walked in the direction the lady had indicated but ended up overshooting the pier and having to backtrack I didn’t mind because I found some awesome shots of the ships that were moored there.

Then something horrible happened. My camera’s battery died! Sad days. But I didn’t really want to take a picture of Pier 17. Too touristy.

We stopped off at Seaport Cafe and ate a little. Nothing to write home about and expensive. Don’t go there if you want food that’s worth the price.

We went in Pier 17. The shops there are pricey and we didn’t feel like shopping there, but we did use the bathroom and I pressed a penny with an image of the Brooklyn Bridge. That was fun.

We found a TKTS, hoping to purchase discount tickets to South Pacific, but it wasn’t on the board and Anna and I didn’t want to see anything else, so we found the subway (thanks to a friendly New Yorker who walked us halfway there) and went back uptown to our apartment to charge our batteries. All of our cameras were displaying low battery symbols, so it wasn’t just me!

We waited there for a few hours. I did some work for the church and the girls listened to music.

We left at around 7 to meet up with a friend of JD’s from when she lived in Connecticut. We were going to eat at The Smith, a place that Anna and JD had been trying to find all trip long because they make their own potato chips with a bleu cheese dip.

I ordered macaroni and cheese and a salad. It was very loud and expensive. Don’t go on a Friday if you do go, but I think that the experience was definitely worth it. It was a fun atmosphere and the wait staff is very attentive.

We left for the Empire State Building after that. It wasn’t very far from us. We ended up walking to a subway and taking it to 34th Street, which is nearby. Then I went inside and the girls went off to talk.

The Empire State Building is a must for anyone visiting the city for the first time. I would like to say, however, that after walking this city for almost ten days, it was a treat to be able to look out of the observatory and recognize landmarks. It was evening, and my pictures reflect that. I probably could have stayed up there all day to catch the changing light, but I knew that the girls were waiting.

That didn’t stop me from taking almost 250 pictures up there thought. Hee hee. It was beautiful and not as windy as I had expected. It hadn’t rained all day and only a few drops hit me as I walked the observation deck. I went up to the 102nd floor, which is enclosed and quite a bit smaller than the 86st floor. It was hard to take pictures without the ability to brace my camera, but with some tinkering, and my holding my breath to keep from moving, I was able to get a few shots.

I returned down the elevator to the 86th floor, then took an elevator to the 80th floor where they had me walk through the gift shop before going to the elevators down to the 2nd floor. Then a short escalator ride took me to the lobby and out of the building.

While I was on the elevator, my neice Kayla called me but I lost the call in the elevator. I called my sister from outside while I was walking to the place where JD, Anna, and Darla were hanging out. They were very cute and excited that I was going to be coming home. Shelley guessed that I had taken 110 pictures. When I told here that it was more than that, she guessed 2,000. Whoa there. No, I said, less than that. Then she said something close to the following: “I’m going to go somewhere in the middle and guess 200?” She was aghast that I had taken 615 pictures. Yeah. That IS a lot.

We said goodbye and I found the girls. We then said goodbye to Darla, who needed to catch the train home, and we found a subway that would take us home.

Then began the fun. They were cleaning up the tracks after the rain had come. It was very, very, very slow going. We got on one train (not even the one we wanted) and stopped twice in the tunnel due to “trains in front of us.” Once we got out, we hopped on a train BACK the way we’d come, hoping for better luck. No good. We finally boarded a train going CLOSE to the direction we wanted and walked the final few blocks, though we were dead on our feet. We’d spent over an hour total waiting for trains. It was horrible. But we made it home in the end and we all collapsed into bed.

One day left.

-Melissa

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