View of NYC skyline from Queens, NY as the sun was going down.

This past weekend I visited New York for the third time this year, which might be a record for me since leaving the state during 2002. However, each visit this year has been rather quick, with this trip lasting from just Friday to Monday. The timing of the trip was primarily to attend a wedding, but also coincided with the Greek Orthodox Easter, allowing me to spend time with family for the holiday. It all made for a full weekend.

The wedding was the highlight of the weekend. The reception was at Water’s Edge in Long Island City, Queens, NY. The place had a pretty sweet view of Manhattan, as you can see in the picture above and below. There were a few friends from my college days there, one of which was a house mate during my junior and senior year. Another college friend was someone I played the occasional game of basketball and tennis with… we were both quite competitive back in the day. I also made a point to meet some new people at the wedding, seemingly befriending a large contingent from the bride and grooms summer trips to Fire Island.

View of the NYC skyline as the sun hides behind the buildings.

There wasn’t a whole lot to Easter Sunday. We visited extended family in Queens to celebrate the holiday. There were two lambs roasted outside with many sides to munch on. I personally find the whole process of roasting the lambs disgusting. As a result, I tend to stay away from eating any part of the lamb, something that some family members find offensive, for lack of a better word. I’ll never really understand why some people get offended by what others prefer to eat or no eat. It’s just food. Anyway, it was nice to see some family members that I don’t get to see very often.

This was also my first experience flying Virgin America, which I will say has been a mostly positive experience. The check-in process was smooth, although I’ll never be a fan of charging fee’s for checked baggage, which added $50 to the total cost of the flight. The seats are relatively comfortable with adequate height and width to support my height and frame. The free Dish Network service is also a nice bonus, but thecost for in-flight is a bit over the top at $10 for just an hour of service. That’s a bit much and, as a result, I didn’t cough up the money for internet service. After arriving at JFK early for my flight Monday I was treated to stand-by on an earlier flight. They even gave me a heads up to request seating to “comfortably accommodate my height” when requesting seats at the gate. That resulted in an exit row window seat for the return flight. That made this experience that much better flying with Virgin America.

View from the flight as we flew over NYC on the flight from Los Angeles.

The trip was yet another example that sometimes it’s not necessarily where you live, but the company that you keep wherever you live. As much as living in NYC doesn’t appeal to me much anymore, I always seem to have a really good time with long-time friends.

One side note regarding the trip. I decided to leave town without my work computer in tow. I can’t remember the last time this happened, but it was probably more than 10 years ago. The only carry-on for the trip was my iPad and Bose headphones. Surprisingly, the world didn’t end with my computer back home.