New York-first time around

The first time I visited the great city of New York I had just turned 18 and it was part of my second New England trip. My dad decided that for my high school graduation he would take me to the East Coast and we'd tour all our favorite big cities. My grandmother came too and we started out by flying to Wachington DC and then driving north through Massechusetts, New York, New Jersey and up to Maine and back to Boston. First we spent 4 days in Wacshington DC and then drove halfway to NYC and spent the night in a little hotel in Jersey. That was the first time I had Manhattan clam chowder and I have to say I am so much more a fan of New England. That was also the day that the US declared war on Iraq so there was a lot of news on the tv. We knew that something was going to happen soon because there were speeches and protests given in DC when we were there. There was also a man who stole a tracker and drove in into the National Mall threatening to blow himself up becasue of the conflict. We found out later on the news that he didn't in fact have any C-4 like he claimed and that he was on the Mall only about 30 minutes after we were. But the next day we drove through the Lincoln Tunnel and into the magnificent city. We found a great hotel online and seeing as it was so centrally located, 34th ave and 8th streets, we reserved 4 nights there. The New Yorker is across the street from Madison Square Garden and Loews Theater. Our room had a spectacular view of the Empire State building and on the 40th floor we could see for blocks. It was pouring rain when we drove into town and getting late in the evening so Gramma decided to stay in the room and rest while dad and I took off to find the subway and kind of explore a bit. Dad had only been to NYC for business trips and wasn't ever really able to see much of the city. Plus, Gramma says that dad could never sit still the first night of a trip, he always had to get the lay of the land. That exploring took us about 3 hours and about 30 blocks north to Bloomingdale's. It took about an hour to learn that different sides of the street have different subway stops that go in different directions, but that was half the fun. Then, I got lost in the basement of Bloomie's. But we made it back to the hotel around 11pm and crashed after a long day.
For the next 4 days we roamed around the city, shopping and eating and taking pictures and getting lost and just generally enjoying ourselves. We spent some time in Central Park, went to Ground Zero, Battery Park and up to Columbia University. We walked the Brooklyn Bridge, down Wall Street and at Times Square. We went to the Metropolitan Museum, toured the Hayden Planetarium, sat in Rockefellar Center and ate lunch outside Radio City Music Hall. I got to see the house where Theodore Roosevelt was born but it was closed to the public the day we found it, so no tour. Because of the Nation's political standing that week, a peaceful protest was scheduled for the 3rd day of our visit. So on our walk downtown through the Garment District, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and SoHo, we met the huge line of parading protestors about 6 times. The parade was supposed to end in Washington Square Park, one of the sites I had on my list, so we just walked along with the crowd. Unfortunetly, it turned a bit less peaceful than most intended and we were not allowed near the park because of the large number of SWAT team members surrounding it. That might have been the highlight of our day. That and watching a man heckle the protestors for about 6 city blocks and then trip over a curb. The highlight of the trip however was dad and I getting to see Baz Lurhmann's production of Puccini's La Boheme at the Broadway Theater. That was one of the most spectacular nights of my life and truely one I'll never forget.
I never did get to try a Krispy Kreme or visit the rooftop of the Met but the trip was fantastic and a once in a lifetime week with dad and gramma.