We're Baaack!

6 longs days later we are back from our action packed week long (almost) vacation in New York! My oh my what a week it was. I would like to start off by giving a big thanks, hug and Kiss to Baker for taking me there for my birthday. It was amazing. If I had the means to visit there once a month I would.

So I have a ton to post about the trip in general, but I think I will do that in another post. I first wanted to say that the Big Apple has so much to offer, and has pretty much everything you could ever want with the exception of just a few things. I was really sad when it was time to leave and was getting a bit depressed thinking of going home to Orange County which is just a bijou of a place compared to the City. Public transportation is better, food is better, shopping is better, a lot of things are better. With that being said, I wanted to start off by reminding myself why I live where I live, and although the city seems to have it all it does lack a few things that my current home possesses.

1. Mexican Food. New York is one of the largest populated places for immigrants (Legal ones at least), and has any sort of restaurant under the sun that you could possibly want. French, Dutch, Moroccan, Italian, you name it they have it. EXCEPT Mexican. One of my favorite cuisines doesn't exist in the city. I wouldn't even say that have Mexicans period.

2. Dr. Pepper. Everyone should know that I could take the stuff intravenously, but I couldn't find a restaurant that served it for the life of me. I was able to find the occasional bottle at New York's version of CVS, but never when it really mattered. With my meal. Orange County has got it almost everywhere, which also leads me to my next point;

3. Free Refills. Luckily for me I was warned about this before I sat down for my first dinner, but just couldn't grasp the point. I think they are just punishing those that don't drink alcohol, or maybe that could be why people there are just more fit. That and all the walking.

4. Toilet Seat Covers. I am proud to live in a state that has laws for this. California State law is every public restroom has to have toilet seat covers available for those that use them. Not in New York. My Quads were strengthened from all the squatting.

5. Normal Sleep Patterns. I was amazed at the schedules people in New York keep. We did the touristy things so woke up at normal times out the door at nine and never back until after 11. All day everyday we went, and so did everyone around us. You could walk outside at two in the morning (When we normally would go to bed) and the streets would be filled. Mornings on the other hand were different. No one wakes earlier then 10, and the streets aren't ever filled until 11 or so. What happened to the 9-5, and when was it normal to have dinner at 10?

6. Sunlight. This sort of explains the weird schedules. With all the enormous high rise buildings, you don't ever get the sun until noon, when it is directly overhead. Which explains the sleeping in late. Here I have a natural alarm clock. The sun coming in my bedroom window to wake me no later then 7am. I could get depressed not having sun ever, and can understand why they can sleep all day. We were told that it is normal to sleep in until 1 or 2 in the afternoon on a Saturday. Man alive.

7. Kids. I'm not sure if I remember seeing any child older then 2, or younger then high school. They were all babies in strollers or grown up. I know they exist, they have schools for them, but where are they?

8. Elementary School Names. If you happen to find a kid in elementary school, and you asked them what school they attended, you wouldn't get anything like "College View Elementary" you would get "75". Not a name, just a number.

9. Grocery Store. I recall seeing only one. And it was smaller then a Trader Joe's. Apparently they don't cook in New York. Which would explain the long wait at almost every restaurant.

10. Traffic Lanes. Granted they are painted there in the street, they just don't seem to matter. Most cars regularly drove in two lanes, made their own lanes, and often made left turns from the right lane. This seems to work for them, because on our flight there we ran across an article that stated that Manhattan was in the top 5 cities for best drivers. I didn't see one car accident.

With that being said, I would also like to throw in that I love New York. Just grateful I permanently live where I do.