City That Never Sleeps
This photo was taken from the red stairs atop the tkts building at around midnight on a Thursday. Yes, I did say MIDNIGHT. Golly! Lookee at all them there people! The most action you see at midnight on Vashon Island is a raccoon going medieval on your garbage can. Now there’s a sight to see.
Don’t be fooled by the picture below – it’s not the sun that is lighting up the Square, it’s really the 12 million LED lights beaming from the advertisements above. It is a spectacle that can only be appreciated if you are there. Trust me. The whole American-Eagle-6-story-LED-extravaganza is comical in itself. Paige kept saying, “THAT SIGN IS RIDICULOUS. THAT SIGN IS RIDICULOUS.” Then like a mosquito flying towards the light she said, “Lets go inside!”
That night we had dinner at 10pm (7pm west coast time). Much to our dismay, the restaurant we chose to eat at had a wait list at that hour! Desperate to eat, I had weak moment and thought we might as well dine at Olive Garden (scandalous!) rather than wait another 30 minutes. To my horror, even Olive Garden had a wait list at 10pm. I never heard of such a thing!
After dinner we walked around like two country bumpkins in the Big Apple – gawking at the crowds. More people were out and about in an 8 block strip than the entire population of the island we live on. The last time a crowd converged like this on Vashon was when they threatened to build a bridge to the island. Hoo-boy. I hear the pitchforks came out that day.
Obviously, I didn’t bring the right lens – everything is a bit out of focus because of the slow shutter speed and my wobbly hands. Photos don’t do the Square any justice anyway – you just can’t comprehend the scale unless you are actually there. It is absolutely incredible to look at – the buildings, the signs and the people. It is completely overwhelming but not in a scary way. The most frightening thing out there is knowing that everything is open till 2am. If you have a hankering to get that knit scarf from H&M in the middle of the night – YOU CAN! As you can imagine, this place is dangerous for a mother with a teen-aged daughter. Dangerous, I tell you.
8 Responses to “City That Never Sleeps”
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Wow. It’s amazing how timeless it is. Still pretty much exactly the same as I remember it. Oh, nostalgia.
Your pics make me wanna go. I wonder if those are all tourists, or just crazy locals. And yes, I am horrified that you chose Olive Garden over the (I’m assuming) “only in New York” restaurant.
Thanks for the awesome posts. I am able to live vicariously through you.
Wow Times Square has certainly changed since I lived in NYC (mid-90′s). I would have loved to have gone shopping at midnight!
Trish´s last [type] ..The Things We Do For Love
How fun! Wow–Times Square is packed.
Asianmommy´s last [type] ..Inception
Bubba Gumps in Time Square has these pomegranate cocktails that are so good they’re dangerous.
New York is the first place I saw DJs in the clothing store too.
Not sure if that’s cool or extremely annoying now that we have them in Montréal too.
Jennifer June´s last [type] ..Love me- A quest for friendship on the Metro
We actually almost ate there. Paige loves that movie and wanted to eat there (even though she doesn’t like seafood). Alas, the lines were too long there as well.
So many people. I used to like that. Now I’m more of an island person, although I don’t live on one, but I sometimes fantasize that I do.
Nurit -1 Family. Friendly. Food.´s last [type] ..Half-a-Banana Man An assay- Part 1
I am still on the fence of whether or not I am an island lover or a city slicker. : )