I love New York in June... How about you?

So the good news is, today I only had to walk to the Javitz twice. The bad news is, it rained on my on the way home the second time something fierce.

Today was a pretty good day for Isaac and me, save the rain. We got up early in the morning and went a few blocks over to get breakfast from an Irish pub -- it turns out we happen to be smack-dab right in the middle of Irish town. Whowuddathunkit. The two blonde waitresses are very nice and cute with their thick accents, and they completely fall in love with Isaac, which of course I love in many ways. Babies are chick magnets, I'm telling you :). I had the traditional Irish breakfast which consisted of two eggs, hash browns, ham/bacon rashers and about four different types of sausage. Mmmmmm-mmm! With lots of HP sauce, too.

After getting breakfast, Isaac and I took a walk down to 42nd street, hung a right and walked all the way down to 2nd avenue or thereabouts to the Chrystler building. I took lots of photos of the outside and the lobby, but they don't allow the public to go up the building unless they have business. The building is a beautiful tribute to the triumph of mankind, and is so much more powerful a symbol than the ESB, which was awesome but one-note. "I am big" is what the ESB says, but the Chrystler says "Mankind is Powerful". The lobby's ceiling is a gigantic painted mural of Atlas holding up the world, and all the accomplishments of 'modern' man -- the train, the airplane, etc. It's lifted directly from Ayn Rand's mind. I talked for a short bit with the doorman, who told me that the Chrystler used to have ballrooms and restaurants up at the top, until about fourty years ago, but now it's all office space. I can only imagine what it was like for the elite during the heyday of 42nd street.

We went next door to Grand Central Station below the Vanderbilt, and that also was incredible. I've seen it in movies many times, but to be present in it -- it was powerful. A testament to humanity. The Taggarts live there, most definitely.

In glancing around New York, a thought has struck me about how so many buildings still exist that were a testament to the power and ability of their era. New York seems to be about striving for our best and leaving a legacy of our power for the world to see. I hold this up in sharp contrast with the San Francisco Bay Area, and our debacle over the bay bridge. Instead of being united behind leaving a design and legacy of a bridge that challenges our abilities as engineers and architects, they want to cut the budget and build yet another boring bridge. How pathetic, is what I think. Future generations will look at our legacy and see... nothing of interest.

Anyhow, we went to the Javitz, and then came back to the room. My intention was to take us out to the park or do something interesting, but as it turned out Isaac was completely tuckered out so I let him sleep for a few hours. We gathered our things, headed out for a late lunch, then met Julie at the Javitz again for kiddie lunch time. When we were ready to head back, we looked outside and magically it had started to pour. Neither of us had an umbrella, but we bought one at the souvenir stand, and I tucked it over the top of the stroller, and launched out into the fray. It was a wet walk home for me, but luckily it wasn't cold. Isaac stayed nice and dry. We got back and hung out for a while, but Isaac eventually got tired and hungry and fussy, so I stalled him until Julie made it back around 7pm. Later in the evening we went out to a great restaurant called 'Seven' with a good friend and local, Laurence. Much libation and good food were had, and Isaac again charmed the wait staff. He crashed out, we hung out and eventually trundled off home to bed.

All in all, it's been a good and successful second day.