First Impressions of New York City

Well, I am sitting in my hotel room in NYC after a really long day of exploring with my dear Mike Panik. I find this city absolutely amazing! It goes on and on, and people are just everywhere! I am staying at the Paramount Hotel which is just about two blocks from Times Square. We had lunch at a fabulous Italian restaurant. We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and we were both completely overwhelmed by the collection. Then we took a walk through Central Park and saw the sun set over the Jackie O Reservoir. I took a lot of pictures, but you couldn't capture that feeling through the lens. The reflections of the sunset with the cityscape in the background filled me with a sense of awe. We took a cab to Times Square just as the sun set. Times Square has a way of making you feel very small but very alive at the same time. I thrive on the hustle and bustle of the urban setting, and I was elated by the all the lights and activity!

I am falling in love with the East Coast. Every time I feel more like this may be the place for me. I arrived in Philly Thursday night, and Friday morning we took a ferry across the Delaware River to the newly opened Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey. I saw hippos and penguins and sharks and jellyfish and all kinds of fish. We made a stop at my favorite record store, 611 Records, where I bought tons of fresh new vinyl. Later that evening, we went to Carl Michael's birthday party at Pure, which is usually a gay club. There was an open bar, which proved to be dangerous, as Mike was telling the bartender to spike up my drinks to potent status. We hung out with Nigel Richards and crew. Needless to say, I spent the evening getting sick in Mike's bathroom. When I woke up this morning I had a hangover worse that anything since I was a freshman in college!

So much to do, so little time... I think we are getting ready to head out again and explore more of this "city that never sleeps." More later, when my brain has time to process all that I have seen so far...