The Big Apple

Oh The Big Apple, city that never sleeps, NYC. I want to start off by saying that this trip was sponsored by the ESPY Awards and John Mosley. As many of you know last summer I went to the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles and received a gift bag. Among the gifts was a free hotel in NYC which turned out to be awesome - Marcel Gramercy off 24th st and 3rd ave.

Shake Shack
Once I arrived at the hotel it was a little after lunch time so I was starving. I walked about four blocks before discovering a gem. There was a place in the middle of Madison Park called the Shake Shack and the line was about 100 people deep. Anybody who enjoys food knows that if there is a line then it must be good. I stood in line for about 45 minutes before placing my order. It was well worth the wait as I would end up going back again for lunch the next day.

Empire State Building
I have been to the top of the Empire State Building before but I love the view so I decided to head up there again this trip. On my way over there I got the idea to make fun of the city's nickname so I stopped at a grocery stand and bought an apple. In the line to go up they had one of those photographers that takes your picture and tries to sell it to you as a souvenir. In mine I held up the apple with a big smile and got a laugh from the photog (didn't get the picture for free however). Once at the top I took a picture of the apple with the city in the background and joked about the nickname on facebook saying "I thought the Big Apple would be a little bigger than this." The view is amazing and I recommend it.

Times Square
This reminded of why I could never live in New York. I get extremely frustrated in large crowds and when I walked to Times Square there was some kind of food festival going on and streets were basically filled to capacity. I shoved my way through to see a ton of ads for broadway shows and even got on a big screen for some TV show as a bunch of people started screaming when I walked by them and I looked up and there I was on the screen on the side of the building. There were so many people though that I couldn't stand it and left immediately.

Central Park
I have only seen the edge of central park before so on my second day in NYC I decided I wanted to check out the entire thing (I had no idea it was like 40 blocks long). I admit I got lost in the middle but just kept walking. It was way cool though and enjoyed zig-zagging my way through it. It is like the Mall of Americas in Minneapolis where you can't believe what is inside. They had a reservoir, lake, playgrounds, huge meadows, restaurants, zoo, tennis courts, softball fields, I mean tons of stuff. My favorite part of my walk through, however, was a street performer. The guy played a guitar and harmonica while also playing a symbol and box drum with his feet. He was really good and I even bought one of his homemade CDs. I will have to see if it is any good or a scam but $5 was worth it just for the few songs I listened to while there.

Yankees Game
Thanks to my old boss Boo Corrigan and a guy he knew named John Mosley my friend Mike Forman and I got some awesome free tickets for the Yankees/Red Sox game. We were unsure if we really had the tix because of Mike's conversations with John the previous week but it turned out we did and the seats were 12 rows up behind the Yankees' dugout for one of the biggest rivalries in sports. Amazing seats that have $325 face value. The experience was terrific as we also sat with and got to know actor Matthew Modine from Full Metal Jacket. He will also be in the new batman movie I believe. Although prices for everything were ridiculous I had no problem buying a couple of beers and some buffalo chicken sliders because we got the tix for free. Not too bad for my first ever trip to Yankee Stadium.

And I will walk 500 miles
It seemed like I definately walked 500 miles haha. It wasn't until the second day I was there that I got smart and used the subway. The first day I walked over 60 blocks at least and the second day I walked at least 40 blocks in central park so my legs were a little tired each day but it was more fun to see the city above the street than below anyway.

Beers
The price of everything in New York is ridiculous but people make a killing on beer. The cheapest beer I bought was $5 and most were around $7. My buddy Forman paid $14 for two Pabst Blue Ribbon beers at a bar after the Yankees game. I never thought I would see a Pabst cost $7. I guess it makes it harded to get drunk because nobody can afford to. Maybe that is the answer to stopping drunk driving.

Crazy Homeless Lady
I am going to leave with a story about a crazy homeless lady at the Shake Shack. The park officer told her to leave and on her way out she walked by two girls sitting at a table and grabbed the hair of one girl and yanked down. Surprisingly the girl was unfazed by this - must happen in New York a lot. The homeless lady then through two boxes of food she dug out of the trash can and started spitting jibberish. She walked to the line for food and yanked down another ladies hair, this time causing the lady to scream out. The park officer was called over by numerous spectators and escorted the homeless lady out of the park. The second hair victim was noticeably upset and cried for a good 10 minutes. I hope she is able to overcome this incident.