The First Day Was Great - And That's No Mis-Steak

Our adventure finally began this morning at 3:20 when we all met up outside my high school - El Cerrito High. Both the Columbia and Cornell cohorts would be departing later that morning. Don checked to make sure we had our IDs and med cards, and weighed our suitcases to ensure they were less than 50 pounds. Everything ran pretty smoothly - Don took some official pictures that you can see a few posts down, and a few candid ones as well (you don't have to go double check on those...) until our ride to the airport finally arrived. We said our farewells and boarded up - and we were on our way. It seems like the forthcoming prospect of going to New York was still months away - how did the day sneak up so quickly? 

When we arrived at SFO there was a slight snafu involving a baggage mix-up between cohorts. The problem was quickly resolved however and there was no delay in our travel. We got through check-in and security without issue and, in a timely fashion, arrived at our gate. We took some time to grab a bite to eat for the long flight ahead and boarded the plane. None of us were sitting together, and most of us had middle seats - which made for some new introductions and small-talk with other passengers. 

For the bulk of my flight, I watched my favorite movie - Inception, and listened to music. I'd never flown Virgin Airlines before but I have to say it was my easiest flight across the country. 

The first thing that hit me when I got off of the plane and entered JFK international airport was the humidity - the weather is very different from what I'm used to. We made it outside and met up with our driver while waiting to retrieve our bags from the claim. We headed out into the rain (it was still relatively warm too - that's going to take some getting used to!) and loaded up into the car to head back to our hotel. 

On the way to the hotel, we got to drive through the city - down Park Avenue, past Central Park and other busy streets. Around 6, we finally arrived at the Beacon Hotel - our home for the next week. Emily and I will be roommates - Ms. L. gave us our room keys and we immediately headed up to check out our crib. Maybe we were just tired from 5 hours of flying, but Emily and I were ecstatic to find that our room has its own little kitchen - complete with a toaster, oven, sink and dishes. Ms. L. gave us all an hour to unpack and kick back before we set off for dinner, so Emily and I did just that, after briefly visiting Simon and Bryan in their room.

En route to the restaurant, we experienced the NYC subway for the first time. Being from the San Francisco Bay Area, we're all used to the frank simplicity of BART - our local subway system. The subway here is way more intricate and complex than BART, and the ticket system works differently as well - you only have to use your card getting on the subway, not getting off. 

We got off the subway and resurfaced to see the beautiful sight of the rain-slicked pavement combined with the setting sun to the west. As we stumbled along, barely looking down, we snapped tons of pictures - the further down the sun went, the more alive and bright the city became around us. Before we knew it, we'd arrived at Keen's Steakhouse - one of the oldest steakhouses in the state.

What ensued - was possibly the greatest meals I have ever had in my entire life. The restaurant was beautiful - dimly lit and decorated with possibly thousands of wooden pipes - some labelled - having belonged to people like Theodore Roosevelt. The walls were covered with old newspapers from the late 1800s and artwork from the Civil War, and it was truly a sight to see. 

Simon and I agreed together to order a two-person steak - the Chateaubriand, and some crab cakes for appetizers. The steak came with 3 different sauces - mushroom, red wine and butter. It was cooked to perfection, and perfection is the only way to describe the meal. Simon and I managed to finish the entire steak - and we felt pretty darn fulfilled (and physically filled) about that. Across the table, Emily order a T-Bone steak, and none of us had no idea how big it would be. 

The Chronicling of Emily's 24 oz T-Bone Struggle

Emily struggles through her "delicious yet traumatizing dinner experience" as the rest of us cheered her on.

Emily occasionally commented on the steak's alleged visual similarities to the continent of Africa. 

After the great dinner we had some great dessert and headed home. We all had a little blogging party, and as everyone else is either heading off the sleep or close to it, I'll finish off my blog as well. It was a great first day in the city and I'm super excited about the days to come, but I could really benefit from a little sleep at the moment. 

Simon and I, basking in our post-steak victory.