Way out East

So my current employer decided to ship me out for some work to upstate New York. I was to be gone for 10 days, followed by another trip to Los Angeles thereafter. While I won’t post pictures and exactly describe what I did (afterall, this is a personal blog), I did manage to get some photos during my trip!

Leaving my wife and son, as well as Calgary for 2 weeks left me almost teary eyed, because this is the area I love so much!

There were obviously some massive storm cells over the midwest. Lucky me, I was in a plane and we managed to dodge that!

I flew in to Newark, NJ. The initial plan was to spend one night in New York City, then take the train up the next morning to Schenectady. Unfortunately, plans changed and we ended up driving north to Schenectady right after landing. Oh well, New York City will always be there.

I stayed in a nice little B&B, which actually was half the price of the hotel and included an awesome breakfast each morning! Being the only guest there was a real treat too!

Schenectady is almost 350 years old, which is like twice the age of Canada. Needless to say, there is a lot of history there and a lot of cool buildings.

This is St. John’s Cathedral, and it towers above many of the buildings and trees in the town! Very cool indeed! I didn’t have much time for exploration, but I would have liked to have gone into this building.

On one of the days I was there, I got to go flying in a C-130 for the first time! Now that was cool. We buzzed around for about 3 hours at 7000 feet. It gave a very nice view of the area

A nice view of Schenectady and the Mohawk River.

Looking out the bubble window of the C-130 and flying through some clouds! Incredible views!

I managed to get all my work done a few days early, so I changed my return flight to get home on the Saturday. I had to take the train down to Newark, and that meant I would pass through New York City! Woohoo, even if it is only for 2 hours!

The train ride was very pleasant and comfortable, lasting only 3 hours. It followed the Hudson River down to New York, so the view and scenery was fantastic!

You can tell New York is a very old state (relative to Canada, that is), because some of the buildings are just ancient looking! Look, a castle!!!

I had a 2.5 hour layover at Penn Station in New York city, so I stored my bags at the station and went for a wander! Empire State building!!!!

Taxis on Fashion Ave! So it is real, and not just some place made up in the movies!

I remember being a kid reading books about the Empire State Building, and now here I am! What luck!

I went in the building hoping to make it to the top, but the lineup was too long and I didn’t want to take a chance and miss my train (and then my flight…)

I walked from the Empire State Building to Broadway and realized I had enough time to go explore Times Square for a bit!

Times Square! Again, a place that is not just made up! Tons of people and very cool indeed!

It was such a cool place cause everything was moving and exciting and very neato for this quiet little Westerner!

There was even a market going on, and I managed to snag a few souvenirs and gifts!

One of the things on my bucket list was to eat a hot dog from a vendor in New York. Well, I got to cross that off the list. Funny story because I went to buy the hot dog without asking the vendor how much, and I told him I hope it doesn’t cost more than $5 cause that’s all I have. Without hesitation, he said “5 dollars”….. Rookie mistake, but quite amusing. Well, at least I had a Coke with it too

What amazes me about New York City is that the streets are literally canyons of buildings. Everywhere you look, canyons. There is NOTHING like that here out west.

I made my way back to Penn station as I had to leave. I only managed to spend 2 hours in the city, but I had a pretty good sample of what it’s like.

Penn station was a very organized flurry of activity, but it was well organized and quite easy to get around.

A short 20 minute ride took me out to Newark Liberty Airport, and I was ready to go home. Bye New York, I will see you again soon.

The flight home was quiet enjoyable. I spent most of my time reading and staring out the windows. At the receiving end of this flight was my wife and son and the area I love so much. I was given a few days rest between trips, and soon I would be headed off to Los Angeles.

As cool as the city streets and activity of New York were, nothing compares to the peace and serenity that is Alberta. There is no place on earth like this, and I would never trade it for anything. Places like New York are very cool to see, but I could never see myself wanting to live in those areas. I like my mountains, my clear blue sky and my fresh air.