I had landed at JFK and navigated my way to an Air Train. Other travelers filed into the small automated cars and took their own places along the perimeter. Out of the windows the airport's industrial scape stretched out as far as one can see. As we approached Jamaica station the hangars were replaced by lush greenery.
Having exited with my luggage in tow, I headed for an elevator and found myself in a typical New York City subway station. The atmosphere was sweltering, the smell of ozone was mixed with sweat and the grime and dirt of the track. I found the Manhattan side and in minutes boarded an E train.
After about 30 minutes spent looking at the faces of those around me and reading the names of the passing stations I had arrived at Times Square. The whole of the trip was spent underground, so I found it a shock to emerge almost directly from an airplane flight from California in the middle of the torrent of people and the flashing marquees. I walked over to the aggreed meeting intersection and leaned my luggage and my own sweaty bulk against a wall of some cafe, only to gaze up and try to soak up every detail around me.
It was overwhelming.
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