Times Square

Luckily, Rockefeller Center isn't all that far from Times Square. I say that because we had all just about had it with walking at that point. I mean, it's New York so there's tons o' walking but eventually you just get plum worn out.

The girl was mesmerized by the busyness and brightness that is Times Square. We didn't stay until nighttime last year so we made a deal with her that we'd hang around long enough for darkness to arrive and the lights to take over.

Our first stop was the visitor's center where you can find the Centennial Ball. She really wanted to see "where the ball drops" and thought seeing this one up close was really neat. She thought it was "huge" compared to her expectations. :-)

Next she wanted to spend her money from Nana and Boppy and Maw Maw. It was clearly burning a hole in her pocket. While on our way to Aeropostale, we noticed the Naked Cowboy. Tonto sprung to action and started snapping away. Apparently a number of folks had asked him if we saw this guy on our last trip. No, we did not. Had no idea he's an icon!

The girl picked up a new hoodie (yes, in June) at Aeropostale because "it came from the one in Times Square." She also bought a "New York" hat, some "I <3 NY" sunglasses and a "NY NY" bracelet.

And then we decided it was time for dinner. She chose the largest TGI Friday's in the world. Why? Well, because we no longer have this restaurant in Waco and she LOVED it. And also because it's the biggest one around. :-)

After dinner it was finally dark (takes forever in NY) and we snapped a few pics for posterity.

A very nice woman stopped and asked if we'd like a couple photos of the three of us. And then she asked where we were from. Turns out she's from Austin and works at UT. Small world!

It was a very sweet gesture and we, of course, returned the favor as she was traveling with her daughter. This may have been Taylor's favorite part of the entire trip although the 911 Memorial was super special for her as well (don't worry - that one's coming soon).

After saying our goodbyes to the new friend from Austin, we headed over to the Empire State Building to see the city at night...