March 2, 2003 - I was in an out of sleep all night and morning because I was still not used to my environment and the floor wasn't especially comfortable but it wasn't bad either. When Scott told me it was 10 til noon I was quite surprised. I quickly put together my days plan and showered to get things started right. All of the stuff I brought fit neatly in the bag that I traveled with which was good. On my own I made my way to the Subway Station and rode the subway into downtown New York. There was a good amount of rain coming down. When I got off the subway at 51st Street on the green line it was raining even harder and I was running out of time to get back to the airport. Instead of my planned trip to St. Patricks Cathedral I ended up at some Jewish (but non-Kosher, as it was posted when I walked in) restaurant near the subway station. Back in the subway there was such a long delay before the appropriate train showed up but it was ok. There was a flute player somewhere that I couldn't see that played amazingly lyrically, with great intonation and technique. The things that I saw in the subway system this weekend really support everything I've ever heard about the NYC subway. I didn't think I was going to make it to the airport on time. The train showed up just before I decided to go upstairs and take a cab and I was on my way to the 125th Street stop to transfer to the M60 bus to ride to the airport. Everything went smoothly. The plane ride back was on time to Chicago, but in Chicago there was a delay of about 25 minutes which was quite annoying. I wanted to get home and it was just adding to the time I would be away. Josh Stromberg picked me up at the airport and we drove to where Gordon Benson left my car. It was so nice to be back in my car after a long weekend of public transportation.