Hubby had a conference the second half of January in the Big Apple.  I tagged along so that I would not starve to death at home with a car I cannot drive.  I really should learn to drive manual shift, but Hubby says not in his car.

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Our flight was at 7:30am out of SFO.  It was way too early for our family and friends to take us to the airport on the MLK holiday, so we called the Super Shuttle.  Our pick-up window was 4:15am-4:25am!  OMG that was early!  Only way to make sure we were ready on time was to pull an all nighter.  The Super Shuttle driver was a crazy man!  He drove fast and California rolled through a couple of stop signs.  He did drop us (and some other passengers he picked up along the way) off safely at SFO though.

Arriving at the airport so early meant time for a sit down breakfast at the Mission Bar and Grill.  Though, I guess chicken fingers and a cheeseburger were more lunch items.  (I had not slept in like 20 hours, so taking pictures was not on my mind.  Oops!)

On the plane, we passed out before take-off and woke up upon arrival into JFK, New York about six hours later.  We bundled up and braced ourselves for the freezing cold as we waited for a taxi.  In line, a random guy asked us where we were going, and after we told him, he said $55 and that the cab line would be about an hour wait.  We ignored him, and he continued down the line.  He found a customer and started loading his stuff into his trunk.  Then, he came back to the line looking for more passengers.  Next thing we know, NYPD arrested the guy and towed his car.  Really strange!

The cab dropped us off at the Hilton Garden Inn, Chelsea.  In the lobby, we ran into a couple of Hubby’s co-workers.  They were on their way out to dinner, so we quickly checked in, dropped off our luggage in the room, and headed out with everyone.

First stop of the night was the bar Blind Tiger.  After a couple of beers, we headed across the street to John’s Pizzeria for our first NY pizza of the trip.  Our table ordered a large (16″, 8 slices) with pepporoni, sausage, and mushroom. $14 for a large and $2/topping for a total of $20.  Yummy in my tummy!

After dinner, we headed to Grisly Pear, another bar.  It was a great place; not too crowded, good music, and decently priced drinks.  A few hours later, we headed back to the hotel with a small detour to White Castle for a late night snack.  Personally, I do not understand the hype.  The burger meat looked disgusting and tasted like over-processed food.  The fries were the only good part.  Not worth the $5.99 for Combo #1 (4 cheeseburgers, fries, and a drink).

The end of the very long first day.  I promise more pictures in the rest of the Big Apple posts.

Blind Tiger- 281 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014
John’s Pizzeria- 278 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014
Grisly Pear – 107 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012
White Castle – 525 8th Ave, New York, NY 10018