They say that the great thing about a digital camera is that, because there is no cost or issue of film involved, you can take pictures with much more abandon than you would with a traditional camera.  I find this to be a blessing...and a curse!  When on a trip, I want to preserve the memories of where I've been, and in doing so, I tend to take pictures all the time - averaging 150 to 250 each time!  So as we were walking down the streets of NYC, a not-uncommon occurrence was for me to ask Ian and Carrie to stop for a second so I could take a shot of an interesting building or scene.  A tourist I surely was.

On Sunday, my last day in The City, Ian and I walked to Central Park.  The term "park" does not adequately conjure the right image of what Central Park is, as one tends to envision a typical city park.  Grass and trees, sure, maybe a pond or a fountain.  But in reality, Central Park shares more in common with a state park in terms of size and environment.  Ok, so maybe its a bit more cultivated than Lake Ahquabi, but in Manhatten, who would expect less?  Filled with pedestrians, bike riders and jibbering gray squirrels, the park was at once full of life yet still open a peaceful - a soothing green getaway in the busy metropolis.

At Belvedere Castle ("Wesley, you slime." - Mr. Belvedere) in the Park, some actors were preparing to perform a halloween show, so to get the audience in the spirit, the Ghostbusters theme was playing.  I found this hilarious as the movie took place in NYC and throughout the trip I kept spotting places from the movies.  I also saw a skull along the shore of the lake near the castle - probably a prop, but perhaps evidence of something...darker.

By this time my feet were killing me - specifically my achilles tendon.  But it was my last day in the City and I wasn't about to spend it sitting at home, so onwards we walked, through the Park and down 5th Avenue.  At the CBS building, we found that they were shooting the CBS Sports NFL Pre-Game Show.  On hand were Dan Marino, Deion Sanders, and Boomer Esiason, though here's a confession - Carrie had to later tell me who they were from a photo.  While I knew the names, I am *not* a football follower, so I didn't have faces for the names.  Ok, I did know Dan Marino, though that was (another confession) due to his part in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

We next went past the New York Public Library (home of the ghost at the beginning of Ghostbusters.  And some books.) and on to Rockefeller Center.  After taking a little time to watch the traditional "Ice Skaters at Rockefeller" scene, we went to the NBC studios next door to catch the NBC Experience Tour. 

On the tour, we visited the sets of Dateline NBC, The John Walsh Show (which I didn't know existed), and Saturday Night Live.  It was interesting to learn inside secrets like how small the SNL set really is (the sets are trucked in each Thursday from Brooklyn and assembled in a jigsaw pattern in a relatively small area), that the Dateline set isn't HDTV-ready (shortcuts like "brushed metal accents" made from spraypainted tape and the transparancy "control room" behind Stone Phillips would be evident at HD resolutions), and that John Walsh has a talk show (who knew?).

Post-tour, we walked (ok, so by this time I hobbled) to Grand Central station with its expansively open yet mall-like atmosphere, took a subway back to Ian's hood, and got a bite of Chinese for a late lunch.  Following a white chocolate and banana gelato dessert, Carrie and I caught a taxi to LaGuardia and made the journey back to the quiet midwest, bringing the NYC trip to an end.

It was a great trip - a surprising trip as I had no idea that I'd feel so comfortable in the City.  Perhaps someday...  But in the meantime, with Ian, Lena and Jay now living there, I have plenty of reasons to go visit, and there is no shortage of places to stay.  ;)