If I can make it there...I'll make it anywhere. It's up to you, New York, New York

It's funny, out of all of my friends, I was always the least facinated with New York City. I came to the city for the first time my sophomore year in high school, and that was enough for me. The next year, when all my friends were getting ready for the 2nd annual trip to the city, I didn't even care to go. Maybe having my mother and aunt as chaperones on the 1st trip ruined it for me (they both swear to this day that they will never spend 12 hours on a bus with a bunch of high school kids again), but I had no interest in going for a 2nd time.
Even when Adam moved here a year ago, he used to say "I never thought that I would be driving down the highway to see the New York skyline in the distance," or "whoever would have imagined I'd end up here?" And for awhile after I moved to NJ, it still wasn't a big deal.
It's funny, some of my friends who've lived here their whole life have never been to the top of the Empire State building, or gone to a Broadway show. After awhile you take it for granted. You can always see it in the distance, but it's not until you're there, amongst the hustle and bustle of the city, until you realize just how amazing it is.
On Saturday I headed into the city for the first time on my own (Jim was nice enough to drive me to the train station). I took the train to Hoboken, took the Path to 33rd, and took the Subway up to 47 & Broadway where I was meeting my Aunt and cousin Andrea for the night. It was such a warm and beautiful day, and Times Square was packed! We were staying at the W Times Square (if you've never stayed in a W hotel, I highly suggest it). We took the subway to the Upper West Side and went to dinner at the same restuarant Kendra, Adam and I ate at 2 weeks ago. After dinner we headed back to Times Square and had a couple beers at the Heartland Brewery. After dinner my cousin and I met up with Jim and Gian, and went to have a couple more beers at a small Irish bar down the street. Andrea was pretty tired, as she woke up at 5:00 to get ready and catch the bus to NYC, so she went back to the room and crashed. Jim, Gian and I went to this trendy bar in SoHo called Bar89. This was probably pretty close to what most people would think of when they think of a bar in the city. It had the coolest bathroom I've ever seen! I won't go into details, because I wouldn't want to ruin it in case you ever get the chance to go to Bar89 for yourselves.
On Sunday morning we walked out our hotel and got into line at the TKTS booth in Times Square. Everyone says you have to line up early but we got there about 15 minutes after they opened, and waited maybe 15 minutes and had no problem getting tickets to see our #1 choice, "Hairspray." After the play we all confirmed that we had made an excellent choice. It was a great musical, and I'll have to make a copy from Adam's mom's CD.
I ended up getting home around 8:30 (thanks again to Jim who was kind enough to pick me up in Hoboken) and crashing by 9:30. Adam suprised me at about 10:15pm, after he returned from his "Boys only ski weekend" in Michigan. Mark and Adam had stopped at Birch Run, and Adam had spotted a pair of ORANGE NIKE SHOX he knew I would love. He suprised me with them when I was 1/2 asleep, but I was estatic nonetheless.
It was a great weekend, filled with great people. I'm very happy to be home though, in NJ. Where I can see the NYC skyline in the distance, and be able to take in all the city has to offer... only when I feel like it.