the top of the empire state building, that is. because erin’s roommate joe works at the NYC LinkedIn office there in the building he was able to secure us passes to get to the top.
he’d already taken us on a tour of the offices, and then we went back down to the lobby to ride the elevator to the top. first we had to go through security like at the airport, and then we got to the long line of people waiting for the elevators.
joe waved his pass at one of the guards, who ushered us past so many people, some of them groups of kids sitting on the floor looking like they’d been there for a very long time, and right onto an elevator. VIPs!
the elevator took us to the 86th floor, where we could go outside on the open-air observation deck. we decided to go all the way to the top first, which meant getting waved past yet another group of people in line, and up we went to the 102nd floor.
the view was fantastic; i had hoped we’d see the city during the day, but i think it’s probably prettier at night. i tried not to go too crazy taking millions of photos.
here’s the verrazano bridge, the very one that we sailed under on the Queen Mary 2.
the biggest tower is the new world trade center, and the statue of liberty is just to the right of center.
this is facing uptown; the small building that looks like it’s glowing is the one with the ball on top that they drop on new year’s eve. at least i think it is…i think somebody told me that, but i can’t verify it. and that patch of white on the lower right is the skating rink at bryant park, next to the public library.
the chrysler building! over there on the left. and that splash of red on the right is the coca cola sign over in brooklyn.
we skipped yet another line to go back down to the 86th floor. it was mighty cold and windy out there, yet it had been a relatively warm day. it must be mighty bitter in the heart of winter.
the place was pretty crowded, and we got a guy to take our picture. it’s funny that bev, erin and i look like midgets in comparison to justin and joe. justin must be about 6 5″ or so, but i didn’t think of joe as being so tall. midgets.
this is facing downtown again, and once again, the verrazano bridge is on the left, and you can just make out the statue of liberty on the right.
one final wave of the magic pass, and our elevator quickly took us down to the lobby.
it was such an incredible experience, seeing all of that and avoiding all the lines, and i don’t know how i could ever repeat it. a fantastic time was had by all, and it was just so nice of joe to take us all around – i know he’s already done that a few times, but he was so gracious and happy to give us to the tour. i’m just sorry that kevin wasn’t there with me.
erin had to go teach another class, or maybe she had to train somebody, so we walked her over to 43rd stree, then bev, justin and i headed to brooklyn. justin showed us the restaurants they love.
he then had to do more work, so bev and i went to their favorite restaurant, peter’s, where they served up all kinds of delicious foods dipped out of big dutch ovens. mmm, the best part were the roasted sweet and white potatoes. we couldn’t exactly identify the spices, but i sure would like a big plate of them right now.
just another busy day in new york, walking and walking and seeing stuff and eating good food and sooo tired by the end of the day…
ok then,
mrs. moving hughes.