The Secret Life of the American Teenager

New York, I Hardly Knew Thee

The Big Apple. We finally managed to make it into the city today, and it was everything I imagined it would be. We left the hotel around 9:30 a.m., getting to New York not much longer after that. Our first stop was Central Park, where we took some group photos and enjoyed the peacefulness of the park during the morning hours (our group probably disrupted that peacefulness considerably, sorry about that New Yorkers). After that, we went to China Town. This wasn’t the most exciting part of the trip for me, but it was extremely interesting watching the locals conduct business. More than a little shady, but I wasn’t one to judge. Around lunchtime I got a hot dog from one of the many stands lining the streets, something I really wanted to try. It was quite delicious, I must say. Some of us went to Ground Zero after that. We couldn’t see much of the actual site due to renovation construction, but it was still a sobering moment to think about what took place only a few feet away. After that, it was off to Battery Park. Strangely enough, no batteries. But like the Central one, this park had a calm serenity about it, with bikers and joggers everywhere. I thought about joining them, until I realized that I’m probably as out of shape in New York as I was in Springfield. We got to see the Statue of Liberty from across the Hudson there as well. After the park, we took a taxi to Times Square. It was pretty awesome; it looked like something straight out of a movie. Lots o’ billboards and bright, flashing lights. I also managed to spend lots o’ money there as well. We ended up leaving around 11:30 that night. I didn’t get to see everything on my wish list, but I had a great time all the same. I’ll definitely be making a return trip sometime.