We headed out bright and early at 8am on Tuesday morning. I was armed with an amalgamation of my family's finest outerwear, a hunk of cheddar and some bread and a camera with an empty memory card. Our first stop was Scranton, PA. Jess got me hooked on the television show The Office so we had to stop by the Steamtown Mall. The "Welcome to Scranton" sign that's in the opening credits is now in the Mall due to people causing traffic problems trying to take pictures of it along the road.
We wandered around the Mall and saw a door leading out to a walkway that overlooked the Steamtown National Historic Site. We went outside and quickly came back in because the wind was blowing so cold and bitter that it took our breath away (literally). After leaving the mall (through the creepiest parking garage I've ever been in) I then had to figure out how to get to the entrance of Steamtown which took some maneuvering. We made it inside and it was an awesome NPS site with tons of information. There were exhibits on hobo and lantern signals, railroad slang, disasters, technology and all sorts of trains to look at. It was all centered around a massive turntable in the middle.
I could have stayed awhile and wandered the rail yard but it was so cold that we decided to head on to the hotel. Thanks to my amazing hotel discount we got to stay at the Homewood Suites Cranford, NJ for $39/night in a suite with free breakfast and dinner. It was amazing. We took advantage of the free dinner and had salad and ran back out to catch the train. I had trouble figuring out where to park and Jess had trouble figuring out how to work the pay machine. We didn't want to miss the train so we said screw it and left with only paying for 2 hours. After arriving at New York Penn Station we were funneled out right in front of Macy's. Jess had kindly purchased tickets to the Empire State building so we decided that would be our first stop.
It took forever! We were there around 7pm and there were lines everywhere. We felt like cattle. Luckily, she had prepaid for the tickets so we could skip that one but there was still a security line and elevator line. The elevators went up so fast that the numbers counted by tens instead of ones! We were so tired of lines by the time we got to the top that we decided to walk the remaining six flights of stairs to the top. It was an amazing view but bitterly cold and windy. We tried to take pictures but there were so many lights that there was nothing for the camera to focus on.
We saw the Chrysler building, Bryant Park and the Statue of Liberty. We had been out less than 5 minutes and could no longer feel our face or hands so we ran back inside(which is when I apparently slammed Jess' clavicle in a door...it was windy!) We got back down (after more lines) and started wandering the streets. We saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, Bryant Park, Radio City Music Hall, NBC Studios, Rockefeller Center and Times Square.
It costs $30 to skate so we just took pictures of other people doing it. Jess had never been to NYC before but she had somehow committed the street map to memory and she always knew exactly where to go. Very impressive.While walking back through Times Square. I was amazed at how bright this city is. Las Vegas has lots of light but it seems to cast a pretty glow while New York is like a blinding strobe light attacking you. We were pretty exhausted at that point so we hopped back on the train. While waiting inside at Newark Penn Station a bum lost control of his bodily functions and puked all over the floor. Luckily, our train was coming and we got out of there. Now that's something I'm sure most tourists don't get to see! Good fortune was with us though because there was no parking ticket on our 5 hour overdue meter.
We headed out bright and early at 8am on Tuesday morning. I was armed with an amalgamation of my family's finest outerwear, a hunk of cheddar and some bread and a camera with an empty memory card. Our first stop was Scranton, PA. Jess got me hooked on the television show The Office so we had to stop by the Steamtown Mall. The "Welcome to Scranton" sign that's in the opening credits is now in the Mall due to people causing traffic problems trying to take pictures of it along the road.
We wandered around the Mall and saw a door leading out to a walkway that overlooked the Steamtown National Historic Site. We went outside and quickly came back in because the wind was blowing so cold and bitter that it took our breath away (literally). After leaving the mall (through the creepiest parking garage I've ever been in) I then had to figure out how to get to the entrance of Steamtown which took some maneuvering. We made it inside and it was an awesome NPS site with tons of information. There were exhibits on hobo and lantern signals, railroad slang, disasters, technology and all sorts of trains to look at. It was all centered around a massive turntable in the middle. 
I could have stayed awhile and wandered the rail yard but it was so cold that we decided to head on to the hotel. Thanks to my amazing hotel discount we got to stay at the Homewood Suites Cranford, NJ for $39/night in a suite with free breakfast and dinner. It was amazing. We took advantage of the free dinner and had salad and ran back out to catch the train. I had trouble figuring out where to park and Jess had trouble figuring out how to work the pay machine. We didn't want to miss the train so we said screw it and left with only paying for 2 hours. After arriving at New York Penn Station we were funneled out right in front of Macy's. Jess had kindly purchased tickets to the Empire State building so we decided that would be our first stop. 
It took forever! We were there around 7pm and there were lines everywhere. We felt like cattle. Luckily, she had prepaid for the tickets so we could skip that one but there was still a security line and elevator line. The elevators went up so fast that the numbers counted by tens instead of ones! We were so tired of lines by the time we got to the top that we decided to walk the remaining six flights of stairs to the top. It was an amazing view but bitterly cold and windy. We tried to take pictures but there were so many lights that there was nothing for the camera to focus on.
We saw the Chrysler building, Bryant Park and the Statue of Liberty. We had been out less than 5 minutes and could no longer feel our face or hands so we ran back inside(which is when I apparently slammed Jess' clavicle in a door...it was windy!) We got back down (after more lines) and started wandering the streets. We saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, Bryant Park, Radio City Music Hall, NBC Studios, Rockefeller Center and Times Square. 
It costs $30 to skate so we just took pictures of other people doing it. Jess had never been to NYC before but she had somehow committed the street map to memory and she always knew exactly where to go. Very impressive.While walking back through Times Square. I was amazed at how bright this city is. Las Vegas has lots of light but it seems to cast a pretty glow while New York is like a blinding strobe light attacking you. We were pretty exhausted at that point so we hopped back on the train. While waiting inside at Newark Penn Station a bum lost control of his bodily functions and puked all over the floor. Luckily, our train was coming and we got out of there. Now that's something I'm sure most tourists don't get to see! Good fortune was with us though because there was no parking ticket on our 5 hour overdue meter.
You totally slammed that door on me...no mercy. That was a fun night though! :) Meat bauwl sammie!!!
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