Howard Johnson Hotel Brooklyn

... Bell Tower. Factory 798 Arts District in Beijing was almost bursting at the seams with a creative, subversive energy. We could have spent 10 hours there and not had enough time, although we would have loved to have a local explain the subtext to what we saw.<br><br>Being strangers in a strange land was not without its joys and frustrations. In China, we were an ongoing spectacle for many of the locals. Maribeth&#8217;s breasts alone were an endless source of ...

... We ended the tour at the Rockerfeller Tower, not quite the tallest building in New York but which provided a great view of the Empire State Building and NYC from the top.  Just a quick mention, as this is an amazing building; it doesn't look much from the outside and is not really that important, but it's beautiful inside.  A giant gorgeous chandelier in the central lobby, the most fascinating elevator experience, and then the view at the top which is fantastic ...

... a time and focus on what's in front of you that very moment, before you know it, you've done it and you feel great about it... After the mountainside, it was through what felt like an enchanted forest and then back up on to rocks. The final obstacle was very appropriately named 'the lemon squeeze' it's a vertical climb up a narrow trench in a mountain and one wrong footing, you're screwed and straight down and goodbye for you! But once you manage to squeeze ...

Late start to the day and our first stop was visiting Central Park. J's uncle was quite impressed that there were so many trees and how big it was in between the jungle of buildings. We walked past the Carrousel, passing the Sheep Meadow, down The ...

Landed at JFK about 30 minutes late. We had to rush through imagration and customs, recheck our bags and run from terminal #1 to #3 go through the search for the domestic flight. We made it to the gate just as they were boarding. There were maybe 12 passengers on a small plane that could hold no more than 50. So it was a casual 45 minute flight to Baltimore with plenty of leg room for a change, after being crammed on overcrowded flights, basches, busses and markets.

... subway to manhattan, which takes more than one hour! the very first moments (or very few hours) were just magical to me. it sounds stupid, but new york has something magical. its just such a huge place with so many different faces that you are constantly surprised. its like a 1000 cities together in one ...

... get tired earlier and getting on a good schedule. Didn't happen. Instead I ended up with bloodshot eyes and a huge bout of exhaustion. Good plan! So nope, I didn't do that this year; I just stayed on my regular schedule. I did manage to lie in bed and watch new videos on VH1 until 11:00, though. Good times. I took a shower at 11:00 and was halfway ready when my little cousin Alison showed up. I watched her every ...

... at all things computers/video games/math. Yet, he manages to avoid being a nerd... but just barely. Mike's also very into rock music. He's into some harder stuff than me, though, which gives him a bit of street cred, I think. We do love a lot of the same bands, though, and we've had a ton of fun going to different concerts and rock shows together. Mike likes to go on vacation, but he isn't as big of a travel fan as I am. He ...

... still brushed my teeth and put on my pj's - old habits die hard even when u are smashed :) saturday, the 31st, was a write off. hung over in bed. didn't move much or eat much. today, april fool's day is the day brian gets here :) very excited. i already checked out the hell's kitchen flea market. nothing too exciting but the buildings were old and a movie was getting filmed at the market. now it's raining so i am going to the movies - $6 before noon.