Top of the Rock

Since its the tallest building in New York City, you'd think that a sky scraper addict like myself would have hopped off the airplane and rushed to the top of the Empire State Building. That wasn't the case for this trip, we had heard from our New York insiders (my buddy Mike in this case) that the best bird's eye view of the city is atop the Rockefeller Center. Boy were they right! We spent an entire evening on top of the Rock, watching the sun set, darkness fall, and the cold set in. Zoe was good. They have the ledge closed off with clear plexiglass, so she felt like a bonafide gargoyle up there, and tried to live up to the title by spitting as often as possible. Enjoy the video up there, which includes the view of Central Park, the Empire State Building, and the Chrysler Building hidden behind the big nasty eyesore building.

The Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 buildings, the tallest of which is the 70-floor GE building (pictured). This is the one we hiked to the top of. Since its so skinny you can get a good 360 degree view of the city without having to do all that pesky walking. I'm glad we were able to have such a great view of the Empire State Building...how I love that building. Did you know that the little nub between the spire and the rest of the building was originally built as a landing dock for derigibles? Due to wind, there was never a successful landing, and it wasn't until 1952 that a spire was placed on the nub. Isn't it beautiful how the sun hits the building. If I were a giant ape I would definitely climb that sucker.