Another visitor

It was a weekend of firsts for my friend Michelle, who made her first plane ride, her first train ride and her first trip to New York City. Seriously, this girl has never flown before, and yet she managed to navigate herself through one of the busiest airports in the world -- JFK -- to the Airtrain, and then through Jamaica station to the Long Island Rail Road. I was definitely impressed when she showed up at the local station without making a single "I'm lost" or panicked phone call. With all of the visitors I've had lately, I'm becoming a New York City tour guide. And I won't lie, some of the regular tourists spots are getting old. But mixed in with the typical stop in Times Square and Central Park, Michelle and I tried out a couple new sites. Instead of the Empire State Building, we went to the "Top of the Rock," the catchy name for the observation deck on top of Rockefeller Center. Granted, it's not quite as tall as Empire and the movie hype isn't there, but I actually liked it better. The line was shorter, the displays were newer and the view at the very top was unobstructed by glass or steel bars. We also took a look at the UN Building, which is really cool. Abbey and Adam met us for lunch at Burritoville, a really great Mexican chain restaurant that completely beats Chipotle any day. I've never seen a restaurant with so many vegetarian options -- soy sour cream, tempeh, and the option of whole wheat tortillas. Abbey left to babysit and Adam hung out with us for the rest of the night while we met up with friends for lots of bar hopping. Michelle's trip was over in no time. I drove her back to JFK early Sunday morning and then continued on to Jersey for an afternoon of Apples to Apples with Abbey, Adam, Mason, Fink and Sarah. With her first-flight jitters out of the way, I hope Michelle will come back soon. Now who's next?