Tiffany and I had a wonderful time in New York City taking in the sites, eating great food, and even catching a show.  We ended up seeing “In The Heights” which is one of the most amazing musicals I have ever seen.  This musical was created by Lin-Manuel Miranda while he was attending Wesleyan University.  It has made its transition from a college production to and off-broadway run, then finally a Tony Award-Winning musical.  Oh yeah, Lin-Manuel also stars in the musical as the main character Usnavi.  You HAVE to see this musical, it is a breath of fresh air!

In line for a matinee.  Wet and cold in NYC.

Almost show time!

Apple Store on 5th Ave

It’s along way to the top of the Apple!

At FAO Schwartz. having a great time, but missing our kiddies.  Big is one my favorite movies, the giant piano never gets old!

Tiff and I can never seem to escape Barbie!

The wait was too long for hot chocolate, but we made our way down to Serendipity to check it out

We had a unique opportunity to view World Trade Center Building 7 owned by Larry Silverstein.  WTC7 is the most advanced and secure building in the world.   What an amazing experience to be able to be able to walk through a building that had been completely destroyed during 9/11.  The views from the 52nd floor are breathtaking and yet somber, as you remember all those who lost their lives on September 11th.  

Entrance to WTC7

A view of the Empire State Building from the top floor

Taking a picture from the top floor, 52.

The new Saks 5th Avenue headquarters

The top floor hasn’t been leased yet.  It’s only 80/sqft. which seems very reasonable for those views!

Looking down into the WTC site.  It’s busy with construction.

Statue of Liberty!

Renderings of The Freedom Tower and other building that are to be included in the new WTC site

Here is the base of The Freedom Tower expected to be completed sometime in 2012

I had been planning for months to take my wife to NYC for her birthday since she had never been.  We had the opportunity to fly Virgin America from LAX to JFK.  All I can say is that if you haven’t flown VA before, you really need to try it out.  I felt more like I was going to a club rather than cross-country on an airplane.  Everything is so well branded from check-in to inflight services.  Take a look at their safety video.  It give you a feeling of the approach to flying.

They also offer a state of the art entertainment system called “Red”.  It allows you to watch Dish Network programming as well as order food and drinks from your seat.  When you’re hungry, you simply select what you’d like to eat, swipe your credit card, and they bring it to your seat.  Here are some pics from the flight:

The seat back entertainment system, “Red”

Take off from LAX