The Glass Castle - Blog 4 ;)

Your Words Become Mine -

"And then we reached the crest of the ridge, and there, across a wide river, was a huge island jammed tip to tip with skyscrapers..."

     I jumped out of the small, yellow taxi, relieved to not be squished anymore. The cold air hit me like a truck, and I pulled my blue, fluffy jacket tighter around me. My family grabbed our multiple suitcases that basically included everything from our house, and we walked up a New York City sidewalk. We were eager to explore, so we quickly threw our stuff in our hotel room and took another taxi to Times Square.
     The first thing that caught my eye was the gigantic Hershey's Chocolate store. Its gleaming advertisements made my mouth water, and a line of people streamed inside. Our taxi driver said goodbye in a strong New York accent, and we were dropped off amongst the perfect chaos of the city. I didn't know what to look at first. Multiple shining billboards showed colorful pictures, every store had something amazing to offer, and many people dressed as famous characters were roaming the streets.
     The first store I convinced my family to go to was Toys R Us. We walked in to find shelves full of toys surrounded by smiling children, but most importantly --- a Ferris wheel. My family sat in a Scooby Doo themed Ferris wheel compartment and glanced at the many floors of entertainment. I had never seen so many toys in one store!
     After leaving the child infested store, it was nice to be able to go into a clothing store where there was no one crying over not being able to get a toy. Every clothing store I went into had an amazing feature such as an overlook of the city, or glowing, neon blue stairs. Time flew by, and we realized that it was time for lunch.
     I saw a small hotdog stand in the distance. A few people stood in line, looking like they were in a rush, and I could see the concentration on the hotdog maker's face. I was eager to get a hotdog, as I had heard that people always get hotdogs in New York, and my parents begrudgingly stood in line and waited for one. I bit into the juicy hotdog as I glanced up at the tall buildings around me. They looked like towering, gray giants, and it made me a little dizzy just looking at them.
     My family stopped at other stores such as the Lindt Chocolate store, Tiffany's jewelry store, the M&M store, and more. I stood on the famous "red stairs" in Times Square and posed for a picture in which I looked like a chubby penguin. Finally, I caught a glimpse of the weirdest thing I saw in New York --- the naked cowboy. This was a guy standing in his underwear, playing a guitar, and looking for tips. It was certainly something I hadn't seen in Durham.
     After a long day of walking around, my family stood at the side of the road and waited for a taxi. My frizzy hair was hidden under my huge polar bear hat, and my nose was red from being in the cold all day. As soon as we got to our hotel, we went to our room and crashed on our beds. I fell asleep knowing that I'd get to experience New York for the rest of the week. I was beyond excited.