Last Morning in Times Square

This is my third vacation trip to NYC, once in college and another week-end as a family about 7 years ago. I have returned multiple times on business, sometimes staying in Times-Square, but always returning to KC by the week's end.

So, yet another first: Time's Square Saturday Morning.

What a ZOO!

This trip found us scheduled to arrive last Sat. afternoon and depart at about 11:00 this morning. I now see why this is optimal.

Should you be limited in time, avoiding a Saturday in the "cross-roads of the world" might be a good idea. On the family trip, we got up and ventured way downtown to visit Lady Liberty. That too was crowded, but nothing quite like this.

To start the day, I waited outside Sam Ash's Guitar annex, just to say I had opened the place once in my life. West 48th is but a pale ghost of what it once was, before mail-order, nation-wide chains and the Internet. But there is still part of a block, with Manny's and a few other smaller operations.

Back in the middle of the last century, Time's Square was the center of entertainment and West 48th was the center of instrumental music.

Having window shopped a bit, (Sam Ash had both a Harmony "Airscreamer" Guitar "Brings together Trailer Park Troubadours and Airstream travel trailers..." and a headless Hofner bass with classic square body.) I wandered over to Virgin for some last minute purchases.

The entire island between 46th and 47th, Broadway and 7th Ave. was filled with people waiting in line for the TKTS booth at it's Northern edge to open. The line wound back a forth, all the way to the statue of George M. Cohan facing South at 46th. There were both buskers and vendors seeing to the needs of the crowd.

The lines waiting to board various Grey-Line tour busses almost made me late getting back to the hotel at 52nd and Broad.

One might describe it as the already documented rules of travel Time's Squared... ;-)

Had a great time.

Nice place to visit...