Grand Central (July 22, 8 a.m.)

On Wednesday night we arrived at the Newark airport after a full day's worth of travel. Our flight was supposed to leave Colorado Springs at 6 am, so it was an early morning. At the airport we were delayed due to a mechanical issue but eventually we left on that same aircraft around an hour later then planned. Due to the delay, we missed our connecting flight in Dallas to Newark. It wasn't a big issue except that it meant we arrived later then expected. We checked into the hotel and bought some groceries and then went to bed.

We got up early on Thursday and headed to Manhattan on the Path (train). It was good that I had printed out street and subway maps because they helped a lot. The Path left Newark-Penn Station in Newark, New Jersey and made its way to Manhattan. The train went under the Hudson river to get to New York from New Jersey and stopped at its final destination, World Trade Center Station.

We walked a couple of blocks and hit the Starbucks I had found on Google Maps along the way. Then, it was up to Grand Central Terminal. Our eventual destination via the subway was Rockefeller Plaza, but I wanted to arrive a few blocks away in Grand Central just so we could see it. The great thing about the subway is that it's hard to get lost. Just hop on and check the map to see which way it's going. If the next stop isn't the right direction you can just get off and cross the tracks and hop on the next one going the opposite direction.

We arrived in a relatively short amount of time. Talk about a lot of people. I've been to intersections where there were more people (Tokyo), but this was still fun to see. The terminal is beautiful. Very classy looking. Wikipedia:

Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger trains, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms: 44, with 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres. Although it's maintained various forms, this station has operated as a "train station" since October 1871.

Although it's function is practical, it's one of many iconic images of New York City. The rest of the terminal has a market, shops, underground restaurants (the famous Oyster Bar - the oldest business in the terminal), etc. The clock in the center of the terminal is one image I'm sure you've all seen before. I'm glad we took the scenic route. We could have easily gone directly to Rockefeller Plaza but Grand Central was definitely worth the extra 15 minute walk.