On my last day in NYC I checked out of the hotel early and went for a walk around Midtown.

First I headed over to Bryant Park. The last time I was at Bryant Park was in the summer of 2003 when I was working on the Howard Dean Presidential campaign. We were holding a big rally at the park and some of us who worked up in the Burlington HQ piled into a few cars and headed down there to help out. The park looks a lot different without 10,000 people packed into it!

New York Public Library at Bryant Park.

Next I headed over to Grand Central Station to grab some lunch. On my way over there I passed the site of the big steam pipe explosion that happened about a week and a half ago. There’s still a large hole in the middle of the intersection and many of the windows in the surrounding buildings are boarded up after being blown out.

Steam Pipe Explosion Crater.

After lunch I took a walk around the Chrysler Building, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful skyscrapers in NYC. The spire is certainly one of the most recognizable in the city.

Chrysler Building.

I wrapped up my walk with a trip through Rockefeller Center. I was pleasantly surprised to see them holding a farmer’s market right in the middle of the plaza.

Rockefeller Center Farmer’s Market.

After finishing my walk I headed back to the hotel, retrieved my bags and grabbed a cab out to LaGuardia. My 4:40pm flight was cancelled due air traffic control issues. American Airlines rebooked me on a 6:20pm flight which was also cancelled around 7:30pm. Then I got spot number 12 on the standby list for the 8:30pm flight, the last American flight to Cleveland for the night.

The regional jet only had 37 seats so I didn’t have much hope. Around 10:30pm they finally started boarding the flight. Only 27 passengers boarded and a few people on the standby list had left so I was able to get a seat. We waited on the taxiway for an hour and then got on our way. Around 1:00am this morning I finally made it back to Cleveland! I think next time I’ll fly Continental Airlines to Newark.