Times Square Report: Coolness...

For me, my entire trip to NYC was focused around seeing Times Square, live and in person. And even though we went in the middle of the day (as opposed to night when everything is really lit up), it was simply awesome.We exited Penn Station, crossed through Madison Square Garden and began walking up 7th Avenue. My daughter said it was close enough to walk, and off we went. I must have looked like a total goober. I could have been an easy target for pick-pockets or criminal types, because I was having absolute sensory overload. Even blocks away from Times Square, everything was so much larger than life. The fashion district has a sculpture of a button and sewing needle that is simply huge. The sidewalks were full of people but things simply moved. The "regulars" easily navigated in and around the gawking tourists and never once offered the look of disgust that you might expect someone who has to live life dealing with total newbies stopping to take picture after picture of street signs, firetrucks, police officers and other people.Within a few blocks of 42nd street and Broadway, the signs on buildings became much grander in size and style. The Target ads caught my eye for sure - they were everywhere.

And then, we were there. At one point, I stood in the middle and took a quick 360 degree video of the place. But the video just isn't the same as standing there.It isn't so much getting lost in the tall buildings or the crowds of people, for me it was the fact that everything else was done up like it was a TV show waiting to happen. And at the same time, it seemed totally calm.Where else do you just walk up to the Naked Cowboy in the middle of the street?

We walked into a few shops (McDonald's to pee) and looked around a bit, but mostly just soaked it all in, knowing that you could spend all day long just watching people and looking at the sights. But we had more to see and moved along.Plus, we needed to try out a hot dog from a stand.Here, my wife, daughter and our son-in-law enjoy the goodness. They were a little spicy for Eva, so I finished hers too.Not far from Times Square, as we walked toward Central Park and stopped in to buy some souvenirs near the Ed Sullivan Theater, home to Late Night with David Letterman. And of course, my wife stepped in to say howdy (or in this case Hello) with Rupert Jee.

And that was the Times Square part of the trip. Need to see more? Why not check out the Flickr Page?