flying into new york tonight on a tiny little plane from vermont:

as we were descending towards our landing, i look on the window of the plane, and it looks like we're right above manhattan.  the view out the window is gorgeous: skyscrapers all lit up at night, bright lights that mark the road, all seemingly SO CLOSE - maybe we were 3,000 feet up at most?  (my only measure is that the new world trade center memorial building is going to be 1,776 feet tall, and we didn't seem too much above that.)  it's breathtakingly beautiful, new york city at night from the air.  i am talking to the city through the airplane window like a loony person.

as we get further south i realize i should be confused, since laguardia airport is now north of us.  i realize later that we must have been asked by air traffic control to circle for a couple minute to buy time - i can't imagine any other reason we would have taken this route.

then manhattan is dark - huge buildings on the south end of the island are totally black - the power outages that remain because of the storm.  poignant at night.

then we're over brooklyn and queens and i can still see the city (those people on the right side of the plane MISSED OUT), though it's further away at that point.  then we swoop into our landing.

i made you a pretty picture (i am basically a professional artist) to show our path - it was SO COOL to be able to figure out where we were as we were doing it - i felt like i was a real new yorker.