Big City Livin'

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Yo, yo! Sorry it has been such a long time, it turns out that there is a lot of stuff to do in the Northeast. We will begin this entry in the city of brotherly love, Philidelphia and end it leaving NYC. Needless to say, there is a lot in between. Wish me luck.

First of, Philidelphia is AWESOME! Marisa and I both really liked Phili. It is a large enough city to be very metropolitan but still small enough to be extremely managable and walkable. We stayed with our friends Jenn and Sean in their awesome new house. Jenn and Sean just moved to Phili after protecting the shores of Hawaii with me in Hawaii. As it turns out, Phili has turned out to be Oahu east as another friend of ours, Glenn tranplanted there to. Our little Hawaii reunion got kicked off with a bang the first night with a little bit of greek food and a lot of american libations. Marisa and I always seem to forget that the rest of the world has to work. Sorry about that, guys. Thanks for a great night, though. The next days, Marisa and I walked and walked and walked the city of Philidelphia. We did the Rocky run, ate the cheesesteaks, and stolled along South street. Philidelphia has such a great blend with old and new. On one corner you pass the Liberty Bell, and on the next find a very hip ultra swanky restaurant. Philidelphia is becoming a foodies paradise due to the many world class chefs moving into shiny new digs. Thank the lord we walked everywhere. And thank you to Phili! We had a great time and definitely will be heading back. Who knows, maybe we will add to the transplanted Aloha.

From Phili to NYC, the easiest and most efficient route is definitely the world renowned Jersey Turnpike. (World Renowned for chemical factories and concrete). If you ever need to make this drive, do yourself a huge favor and drive the back roads throughout the Jersey country side. Jersey's motto is the "Garden State" for a reason. It is beautiful. Honestly.

And that brings us to New York City. I think NYC can be easily compared to ....... nothing. Nothing compares to NYC. The city is huge, there are tons of people, there are lights flashing, taxis speeding, sirens blaring, and even dogs pooping. Seriously, for some reason everyone in NYC has a dog. Watch your step. If it wasn't for some great friends, Liz, Miles, Matt, Brenden, and Denise, we would still be standing in Grand Central station trying to read the train schedule. We stayed in Yonkers (I love saying Yonkers) the first couple nights with Liz and then in Long Beach (LA and NYC have a lot of names in common actually) with Brenden and Denise. Our days consisted of seeing the sites (reference pictures) and our nights consisted of great times with our friends. I feel like I could go on forever about the NYC sites, but words honestly can't do them justice. NYC is something you have to experience for yourself to fully understand. In the span of two blocks you can be in China, Italy, Hippytown, Trend central, Finance Mecca, or a huge park. Luckily, we hit Central Park on a perfect sunny Sunday afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed the best people watching in the world and it is definitely watching. I would venture to say that at least half of the voices we heard either had thick accents or different languages all together. So much fun. The world comes together in NYC, and you better like it, or you can go home. No if, ands, or buts about it. We loved NYC, but I thick we both were ready to move on as the snow started falling on April 4th. Thanks NYC.

I do feel bad this entry isn't all it should be. Sorry bout that. But look, another one right after this one. Big City livin'!

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Photos

Yo, Marisa'
Rocky would definitely be proud that Marisa was the 103rd person that day to do the exact same thing.

Greece or Philidelphia?
Much Aloha with fellow Hawaiians in Phili - Sean, Jen and Glenn.

Pat's or Geno's?
I'll take both, thank you very much.

NYC
If you can make it here, you can make it in any other 10 million plus city.

With Miles and Liz
Our night out in the big city. Thanks you guys.

WTC Site
Ground zero. Soon to be the tallest buildng in the world.

Lady Liberty Standing Tall
Doesn't it seem like a perfect chance for a deodorant add?

Chinatown
Mmmmmm, Sweet and Sour pork.

Little Italy
Mmmmmmm, Pasta Primavera.

The Guggenheim
Why didn't I think of that?

Matt and Josh
Check out the sausage in the background. Talk about symbolism.

Times Square
Turns out NYC has a lot of people and buildings.

With Brenden and Denise
Definitely check out Long Beach, NY, if you ever get the chance. Ironically, it is what California surfs towns used to be.

Comments

[Jenn and Sean]

Farewell
I feel so lucky we got to have you guys here for three whole days! What a blast we had showing you some of the little bits we've learned about our city. You are welcome with us anytime (and I promise next time, all appliances and plumbing will be fully functional!) Thanks so much for the gift and for not killing the cat while we were gone! Enjoy the rest of your travels...Ahoi ho...or whatever... See you soon on the West Coast. Love you guys!

[cd]

i totally agree
i had the same reax to NYC. i hate to cave, being a native Angeleno, but they got it goin' on over there. so it's LA and NYC - each with their own coast. SF and Chitown can suck it though ;) even though most of my phily time was spent working [uh, losing] a campaign, i liked it too - i'd love to go back and do it tourist style . . .