Backing up to Tuesday night, we went to bed early with the intention of getting up bright and early to start the day. Our first three days in New York have been very hot, but that night it cooled down. With a cool room to sleep in, the improved quality of sleep was too good to pass up, and we slept in until 10. A quick snack of nuts and fruit, and we were on out way.

Our fist stop was to the Brooklyn bridge which we walked across. I enjoy hearing about the engineering behind things far more than I should. The bridge reminded of the great hydro-dam tour of '05 with my mom. Of course, it goes without saying the view was excellent.

From the Manhattan side of our bridge we made our way up to the Doughnut Plant. I got a coconut creme donut, while alfy got a Valrhona chocolate one. We also got iced chai. We walked to a nearby park to enjoy them. Truly, I had never eaten a real doughnut before that day. Sweet but not cloying. Rich but not greasy. Authentic, rich flavours. The iced chai was also excellent.

This tramscendant experience at an end, we went geo-caching in Central Park. We managed to find find the first cache we searched for, and dispatched ourselves reasonably to avoid being seen by those not in on the game. But our luck did not hold. The next cache was hidden in a gazebo by Bow Bridge. We were not going to get 1 second alone with that cache, let alone enough time to log it. The third cache proved impossible for us to find; but lead us to something much better.

We found to white rats living in Central Park! White, pink eyed, rats, living amongst the rocks where the next cache was supposed to be found! Many pictures, and even some short videos were taken of this event.

Doubly defeated, we switched our geo-caching efforts to an extremely long offset cache that required us to visit every bridge and arch of note in the park (well, maybe we missed one or two; but 32 should cover most of them). We managed to make it to 19 of the 31 yesterday. Also, during our travels through the park, we met a raccoon in a tree! Well pleased with our progress we quit for the day and went in search of dinner.

By now, my decision to wear just shorts and t-shirt on what had been a rather cool day had grown regretful, so I bought a sweater to satisy my desire for warmth. Once I was no longer cold, I grew ambiguous towards my sweater, a feeling that has continued since.

Our travels brought us to little Korea. We choose a likely looking spot; but sadly were to be disappointed. This Korean food proved too authentic for us, I am afraid. I tried to like tongue, I really did; but I am still grossed out today thinking about it. I have seen what cows lick.

Leaving the restaurant, shamed by our incorrigible whiteness, we went to the top of the Empire State building.

Lights spread out as far as the eye could see. The outlines of familiar shapes from maps in orange on black. Streets like arteries of the city, pumping glowing points of life.

I should stop here really before embarrass myself further.

Our feet now completely in revolt, we descended into the subway system to make our way home. Some incident had delayed the train. When we arrived the station was crowded, and when the train arrived, it was packed. We were forced to wait for the next one. Which then decided not to come, leaving us to stand waiting for close to half an hour in Union station.

Who knew a train to Brooklyn would be that popular at 10:30pm?

By then time we got home, and planned our next day, it was too late to write about it. Today was so busy, the same thing has happened, so you'll have to wait again.

Today we spent most of the day in Bronx zoo. I discovered I loved Okapi very much. Giraffes are startling large. Aardvarks are very cute when digging. Spider monkeys are crazy. Gorillas are very chill, while Baboons act as if a fight will break out any minute. Tigers can be quite unimpressive. Andean condors are also startling large. Lemurs all look like they are all on drugs. Tamarins are inordinately cute, as are Pygmy Marmosets and Mongooses (who would be even cuter if we called them mongeese). African wild dogs are much less ugly than you have been led to believe. Lungfish are creepy.

I had chirashizushi, for the first time, at dinner.

Startling enough, my feet were less sore than before. I knew eventually all this walking would get me into to better shape, I just hadn't expected it to occur fast enough for me to benefit while on this trip.

We did laundry tonight. I prefer the laundromat here to the set up we have in our building.

Our feet and legs still not recovered from the day before, today was a shorter day, consisting mostly of exploring Manhattan. we bought towels at Macy's, since we neglected to bring them, and you can't dry your hair with a shirt. Macy's still has wooden elevators. We mostly browsed shops and observed people. We accidentally had a rather fancy and extremely tasty lunch of quesadilla and margaritas.  We hung out for awhile in a park with students so thick on the ground, there were no high quality  grassy sitting spots to be had.  We returned to the hostel to spend the afternoon in less active pursuits. For supper, we planned to go to a grocery store and then eat fruit and nuts and such in a park; but by the time we got our lethargic selves out of the grocery store, strawberries and grapes in hand, it was dark. So, we supped cross legged on our bunk bed.

I checked my marks on quest. Good news all around, I passed measure theory and did well enough that I will, just barely, graduate with distinction.

After breakfast in the hostel, our first act was to go purchase a lock for our room's locker so we wouldn't have to carry as much with us. With Spanish on most of the advertising posters, and as subtitles to all the signs and labels in the shop we were in, I venture the guess that we are perhaps in a Hispanic part of the city.

Most of the day was spent being very touristy. We went to Battery park to take the ferry out to Liberty Island to see the famous statue. While waiting in line for the ferry, we passed three musicians all playing inordinately cheerful Caribbean music. If this was not enough to make you smile, there was a man wearing a rainbow wig, a rainbow tie-dye shirt, who exhorted all who passed him to be happy and to enjoy the sunny day.

It was there that my first of two encounters with 'philosopher kid' occurred.

Behind me in line was a boy of about 8 years old, eating a sponge bob square pants ice cream treat of a somewhat frightening appearance. The rainbow man asked him how the sponge bob was, and received an unhesitating answer that it was tasty. When wished a happy life the boy returned wish. Rainbow man remarking on what a successful interaction it had been, and further exhorted the boy, that in addition to a happy life, that he should do something great with himself. Philosopher kid thanked rainbow man for his sound advice.

It was very hot today in New York. Our line to be processed through 'airport' like security moved along fairly rapidly. Shortly before we passed into the tent with the metal detectors and bomb sniffers, philosopher boy dropped his ice cream. "Oh well. It is not as if I am only going to eat one ice cream in my life". At this observation, I turned and remarked to him that he was the most philosophical kid I had ever encountered. He replied that he was also addicted to coffee.

The airport like security we passed through was unexpected. Alfy lost his multi-tool and pocket knife. They missed my multi-tool. Still in possession of one two inch multi-tool, our evil plier related schemes remained un-thwarted. Alfy's eee was also swabbed for volatile nitrogen compounds, in case it was an explosive.

The statue of liberty itself was both bigger and smaller than expected. I had been told it was smaller than you would think it was, and to a certain extent it was. Yet the engineering feat of building such a statue remained.

Yesterday, we tried HFC sweetened coke, and were appalled. Today we tried HFC sweetened fountain cola, and remained appalled.

The Sakura trees on Liberty island are in full bloom, gently raining pink blossoms. A most pleasant two minutes was spent lying in its shade.

Back on the ferry and onwards to Ellis island. The facility they used to process immigrants in has been restored and is a museum to, well, itself. I was not aware just how open the immigration policy of the US was until 1923.

Back at Battery park we headed for Chinatown on foot, passing the Bull of wall street on our way. We got lost finding Chinatown, then got lost in Chinatown. Then a bird pooped on me.

Why me? This is twice in a reasonably short period of time. What is that I do?

We tried to find little Italy; but the part of our map marked little Italy appeared to be a continuation of Chinatown. Now exhausted, we stumbled into a restaurant on the edge of Greenwich Village, and proceed to drink roughly a pitcher of water apiece over the course of our meal. Tired, sore, and I slightly sunburnt, we went back to our Hostel for an early night.

So, exams, they happened. Except for my last one, I don't think they went overly well. I am pretty sure I passed Pmath 451; but I am keeping my fingers crossed. It came too close.

Last night we went to campus to buy bus tickets to Toronto and I no longer felt at home. I felt like an interloper; that campus was no longer my home.

So it goes.

Today we left for New York by bus. We thought the bus to Toronto left at 7am, and in paranoia got up at 5, and called for a taxi for 6:15. As it turned out, the bus didn't leave until 7:30, and our taxi arrived immediately, leaving us to sit in the Kitchener terminal for an hour. Running on only 4 hours of sleep, that hour was sorely misspent.

In Toronto we got on the bus to New York City. For a 10 hour ride, with time spent off the bus only to go through customs and a 20 minute 'lunch' break at 3pm, it was surprisingly pleasant. In the seat behind us, there was a university student from Finland on a year long exchange to Canada. After finally getting to ask a native Finnish speaker the questions I had been wondering about their 36 noun cases, the topic of conversation proceeded to roam far and wide, and the reminder of the trip passed quickly. She is a geography student and made it sound absolutely fascinating.

We saw a lol-cats billboard for the spca, somewhere in New York state, with this classic kitten and the slogan "I gots no bailouts".

We're staying in a hostel in Brooklyn, which greatly reminds me of R&S's apartment. Old pipes from before they converted the factory, or whatever it was, to a hostel remain carefully preserved, jutting from pure, new, white walls, making me feel as if we are staying inside a modern art gallery of some sort. Our room is very tiny, with only a bunk bed and a stacking chair. Filling the small alcove with the window is our locker and a standing lamp, the only source of light in the room. From the window, I can see another window only a few feet away, and to the left and a little above are balconies from another building. The nearest one is festooned with orange and white lights.