The Grinch

Apologies for the title, but Amy brought it on herself by not providing one for her guest post. And now the Grinch herself speaks:

I'm not usually one for touristy activities in New York, but every year I've lived here, I've managed to do the Christmas walking tour of Manhattan. This walk traditionally begins in Herald Square at the Macy's flagship store, and heads north past all of the other big department stores, ending up at Rockefeller Center and Saks Fifth Avenue. Last year, I did this walk with Scott and we ended our evening thawing out over a nice dinner. I know this post takes us even further off course from boat talk, but I thought it'd be nice to share some seasonal cheer from land with Scott.

Mid- to late- December is also the end of the fall semester, filled with grading exams and papers, dealing with students who have finally realized that they are failing my course, and rushing to file grades before I catch a plane to Illinois for the holiday, leaving little time or energy for holiday preparations. Not surprisingly, I tend to be a little cranky around this time, and have on a few occasions actually been referred to as "the Grinch." The Manhattan Christmas walk helps get me into the holiday spirit and ready to drink cocoa, sing carols, and be pleasant to others.

This year, I caught up with my friend Allison who was visiting NY for the weekend. Unfortunately, she did most of the walk during the day before I met up with her after work, and so I caught up with her at the end. We met up at a Thai restaurant in Times Square and then went to Rockefeller Center and Saks. Many thanks to Allison, who as a native New Yorker, is usually loathe to do things like this, and even more repulsed to be seen with someone taking pictures like a tourist. This is why I made her stand in front of the M&M store in Times Square.


And then, she got me back by making me stand in front of the tree at Rockefeller Center.


We did stop short of ice skating at Rockefeller Center, but did take lots of pictures of it and the other decorations.



We ended our walk watching the light show on the facade of Saks 5th Avenue, and taking some pictures of the windows and St. Patrick's Cathedral next door.




Happy holidays to all!