Spring Vacation Day 5

We finally got a much needed break. A quick taxi ride to Union Station and a McDonalds breakfast preceeded a nice relaxing train ride from Washington D.C. to New York City. It took about three hours and gave us time to rest our weary legs. When we arrived in Penn Station we were on the move again. After consulting with a city worker we felt confident that we could walk the distance from the station to our hotel. Some friendly New Yorkers helped us carry our heavy luggage up a flight of stairs to a bustling Manhattan sidewalk. There were people every where. We made a formation with Steve leading the way, me at the end with the kids between us. The walk wasn't bad but trying to maneuver our luggage among all the people was a challenge. We checked into our hotel room which was nice but very small. We desperately needed to do some laundry so we loaded up one suitcase with our dirty duds and went around the corner to a laundry mat. We saw and spoke with some interesting folks including a lady who was traveling around the country on Greyhound buses. She had purchased a ticket that was good for 50 days and she could go wherever she wanted. She had been to the Pacific Northwest and was not impressed with the people. At first we were sympathetic to her complaints but after talking with her for a few minutes it appeared she really only thought people from the South (which is where she was from) were friendly. We also met a nice couple who gave us some good pointers about navigating the city. We dropped our clean clothes off at the hotel and headed for Time Square. It was exciting to see in person a place that we so often see on television. We were lucky to walk into The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and only have to wait for about 15 minutes. Our table gave us an awesome view of the street and the lights. We had a wonderful dinner and watched as darkness fell and the brilliant sparkling lights lit up the night. When we were done with dinner we walked down Broadway and went into a few stores. We especially enjoyed the M&M store.