April 26, 2007:

 

I got up and had a complimentary breakfast at the buffet on the 39^th floor of the hotel. After, I got my stuff together; I reserved a van to LaGuardia Airport the next morning. My family and I caught an E-line subway to the end of the line, the World Trade Centre sight.  After we arrived at the World Trade Centre station, I took a couple photos of the subway.

 

 

We headed out and saw ground zero, where the World Trade Centre once stood. We walked around the site and I took some photos.

 

 

 

After we explored the area, I took off on my own. I caught a subway to Grand Central Station. I wanted to see what it was like. When I got there, I took a picture of the waiting room as well as a video.

 

 

I went into a bookstore and after looking around; I bought a book about funny signs. I took the subway back to Times Square and took a brief ride on a MTA RTS bus. Just before I got on, I took a picture of the bus.

 

 

I looked into that Toys R Us again before I had lunch at a Wendy’s. After I looked into another bookstore, I took the subway to Central Park. I took in the scenery and a photo of the park and a MTA New Flyer D60 in the background.

 

 

I then took a walk through the park before I got onto the subway and rode back to my hotel. At the stop before Penn Station, I got off and waited for the next E-line train to take me the rest of the way. I did this because the last time I was in New York, the last subway I rode was an E-line train. I wanted the same for this trip as well. When the next E-line train arrived, I rode it to Penn Station, and then filmed it pulling out of the station.

 

I walked back to my hotel, where I met up with my family. My dad and my sister were going to another New York Yankees game. My mom and I decided to go on a double-decker bus tour of New York.

 

We headed out and rode the subway two stops then walked a few blocks to pick up the double-decker bus tour. I had a headache as we left the hotel.

 

We bought tickets for the evening tour and as the bus arrived, I photographed it.

 

 

We got on and soon, we were underway. We went through Times Square, passed two firehouses that had lost men on September 11, 2001, and toured around Manhattan. We drove across the river into Brooklyn.

 

As we crossed the river, I took a photo of the Statue of Liberty.

 

 

We explored Brooklyn for awhile. My mom and I headed downstairs to get out of the wind. At one point, we stopped so people could get a photo of the Manhattan Skyline.

 

 

I headed back downstairs and stayed there for the rest of the tour. We crossed back into Manhattan. The tour guide at times spoke in a fake accent which I found to be kind of annoying. However, he did have some interesting facts about New York.

 

At the end of the tour, my mom and I got off and walked to find somewhere to eat. The first two restaurants had a huge line, so we kept searching. At one point, I had to get some Tylenol because my headache wasn’t going away. My mom and I eventually had dinner at the restaurant in the lobby of our hotel. After, I headed back into my room and called it a night. However, I couldn’t get to sleep because the rain outside was hitting the Air Conditioner unit and it sounded like pebbles being dropped on it.

 

April 27, 2007:

 

I got up at 7:00 am and had breakfast at the buffet on the 39^th floor of the hotel. My headache was gone, but I felt thirsty, no matter how much I drank. This sometimes happens to me; I don’t know why.

 

After breakfast, I finished packing and took my things to the lobby. I dropped off my room key since I didn’t need it.

 

The van soon came, and I loaded my stuff. I then said goodbye to my family and got on. The van stopped at three other hotels before we got to LaGuardia Airport. It was raining and a gloomy day. When I checked in, the person at the Air Canada ticket counter put me on a flight leaving an hour earlier because the rain could cause delays. I checked my suitcase, and shortly after, I went through security. I had to throw out a bottle of Coke I had before I went through. I managed to get through with no problem, though I had to take off my shoes.

 

Shortly after I cleared security, I phoned my dad to let him know I was on an earlier flight. While waiting, I watched other planes as they taxied to take off. One such plane was one of U.S. Airways’ Airbus A319s done up in a livery of one of the airlines they acquired in the past: Allegheny Airlines. As it taxied past, I took a couple photos of it.

 

 

I went back to waiting and both a smootie from a shop in the terminal. I found out my flight would be delayed. My plane eventually did land at the gate. Instead of an Embraer 175, the aircraft I would fly home on was an Airbus A319. I took a picture of my plane when it pulled up to the gate.

 

 

The passengers who were on the plane disembarked. Next, we were told that once everyone was off and they had finished cleaning the plane, we would be allowed to board. Soon, they were done and we were allowed to board. I got a window seat again. However, I was seated at the rear most row on the plane. The plane left the gate late.

 

We taxied and stopped because of a long line up of planes waiting to take off. We stayed and we stayed. I was hoping we would get off the ground soon. At one point, the pilot announced we were 9^th in line for take off. We took off 20 minutes late. As we took off, I filmed the takeoff roll.

 

This plane didn’t have personal entertainment systems. Just like when I flew to Halifax, they showed the News on the movie screens. The flight was a little rough, but soon, we cleared the bad weather. I ordered a can of coke at one point because I was almost dying of thirst.

 

At one point, I noticed on the plane’s movie screens that they had a map showing the plane’s course and where we were at the moment. At the time, we were flying over Niagara Falls.

 

Soon, we were flying over Toronto and then we begun our final approach. I filmed the landing. The plane landed on the same runway that my flight took off from a few days ago, (and the same runway as the Air France jet did when it crashed on August 2, 2005). However, we landed safely and soon were parked at the terminal. Once I got off, I took one more picture of the plane.

 

 

I then went to Customs. I had been given a form when I boarded the plane which I had filled out during the flight. When I got to customs, the inspection was fast and painless. I then went to retrieve my suitcase.

 

Air Canada didn’t loose it, but it took awhile for it to appear. When I got it, I got a taxi home to my house. I had to go to work in a few hours, but I phoned my dad to let him know I was home safely. My dad told me it was a good thing that I flew out of New York when I did because now, there were 90 minute delays at LaGuardia! I left for work a little while after.

 

Conclusions:

 

Even though I got an unwanted souvenir from New York; a cold, this trip was excellent. New York City was amazing and despite the delay, the Acela Express was cool to ride. I was pleased to ride the PCC-2 cars in Philadelphia.

 

The encounter with the Amtrak cop was a little unnerving, but given the circumstances, it was the best thing that could have happened. I could have gotten a cop who would have given an outrageous excuse like “taking pictures is illegal, blah blah blah…” Fortunately, I didn’t.

 

So far, I’m planning at least two more trips this year, including another U.S. trip on Amtrak. However, that won’t be until July. Until next time…