I’ve only been to New York City one time, and it was certainly something to remember. When I first stepped out of the NYC airport doors, an unpleasantly cold wind went swept my spine. I’m from California and our January weather is nothing compared to the New York frost. I found New York to be tremendously nippy, but little did I know the freezing environment was the least of my worries. The taxi drivers are another matter altogether. My taxi driver continuously went 85-90 on the freeway and was by far not the fastest on the street. I didn’t know if I would live to see my hotel room! Buses, cars, and taxis zoomed like they were racing in the ¼ mile drag strip between lights. Luckily for me, my taxi driver was semi-pro and I arrived in one piece. (phew!) I wish I could say my trip went all right from that point, but no…it got worse. My hotel was interesting to say the least. Instead of nice pictures hanging on the wall for decoration, they used bits of carpet. It was just rugs nailed to the wall. It looked like they ripped them out of some Arabian palace. And that wasn’t even the worst part of the hotel. I woke in the night to the sound of mice running and scratching their way around. I mean, wow—what a first impression of the big apple. I have to say, though, I sure do remember it pretty vividly.
