New York, New York

While my younger brother was visiting us from Alabama last month, my dad decided that we should take a day trip into New York City since my brother has never been. He's 15, so it was definitely a must that he needed to see the city. It got me thinking about the first time I went to the city and what I must've thought of it, but I was pretty little so I don't really remember my first impressions of it. It's kind of a bummer because I think it'd be interesting to compare to now. Most of the day was spent just walking around and taking in the sights.

Of course we had to take him to see Times Square, so we headed towards there after getting off at Grand Central. We walked by the Empire State Building and the New York Public Library. We saw the ball and the year still atop where it dropped on New Years Eve. It's neat to see in person still to this day.

Because I'm a such a huge Disney fan, I had to go to the giant store they have in Times Square. It made me miss Disney World and I vowed that it would hold me over until I went again, but I don't think it'll do anymore. We also visited the big Hershey store and M&Ms store because I am apparently a child.

We ate lunch at this burger place called Five Napkins Burgers. I really loved the decor and feel of the place. The food was also really good. I got a bacon cheeseburger and opted for tater tots instead of fries. These tater tots were probably the best I've ever had. They weren't like the normal, standard tater tots you always get. These were full of with what seemed like a cheesy mashed potato-esque filling baked into a crunchy outer tot. I was so amazed. They were so delicious! Right next door was a cookie place that I just couldn't resist because the name is so cute and so is the outside of the shop. It's called Schmackary's. I mean, come on. I ended up getting a Caramel Apple Crisp cookie, and it was really good!

We walked around the theater district a bit and just all over the place. We visited B&H Photo and Video, which is always insane to go to. They have so much camera stuff, among all kinds of other electronics. My mom and I took funny pictures on the iMacs they had and they were cracking me up.

When we looped back around to Times Square, there was a man dressed like a pimp playing a makeshift drumset and asking people to give him money if they wanted a picture or video of him. The problem was that he kept stopping so much to tell people to give him money that he was barely playing. I got a picture and video of him, though until he started yelling at me to give him money...haha. I also got a picture with a Jack Sparrow doppelganger. He wanted money too, but he was nice about it.

The last thing my brother and I did before we headed back to the train station was see this exhibit in the Discovery Museum called The Art of the Brick. It's an exhibition by this artist where all of the stuff was made with Legos. He built everything with Legos! It's really incredible and cool to look at!

He recreated a lot of famous paintings, sculptures, etc., but also built some original pieces too. On the label of each piece, it tells you how many Lego pieces were used in the process. One of the biggest ones was the Moai and the T-Rex. That's right. They had a T-rex.

There were other exhibitions too, but since they're kind of expensive, we just chose one. The Legos one seemed the most interesting and fun. After we were done going through it, we headed back to the train station to go home. New York is alright for a day or two, but after that I start to go a little crazy. It's too loud and too crowded and just too much for me. I need my greenery and quiet, open spaces. Orchards, parks, beaches, wooded areas, etc. I require these things to be happy and the city just doesn't cut it.