Something You Do Once and Then Never Do Again: Times Square NYE

With two of our favorite friends from Oklahoma in tow, Scott and I celebrated our last New Year's Eve in NYC the most classic way possible:  Times Square Ball Drop!

First of all, I need to confess that in this case, I use the term "Times Square" lightly.  Normally, Times Square would be considered the range of 42nd St. to 47th St., and we were standing waaaaaay up on the 57th St. block.  But our entire goal was to be able to witness the ball dropping into 2013 with our own two eyes, and that we did!

See?  That light blue streak of light in the middle...was the 20-story building which the ball was on.

The picture above was really the best I could get.  The rest of them all looked like this:

Which is actually kind of cool looking, but not if I'm trying to document my view on New Year's Eve.

Here are my quickest tips for surviving such an adventure:
1.  Wear a ton of layers.  I wore 5 tops, tights, jeans, wool socks, my biggest winter coat, a hat that covered my ears, and a giant scarf.  I wasn't sorry.  The good news is that the millions of people packed into each tiny block also really help block the wind.

2.  Go with people that you don't mind having a long conversation with just standing somewhere for several hours.  Also with people that you don't mind standing uncomfortably close to.  (Love you, Blake and Julie!)

3.  Go the bathroom before you get there and then just hold it at all costs.  If you leave, first of all, there is no way the cops are letting you back in the barricades and, second of all, you would never find your people again anyway.

4.  If all you want to do is see the ball drop, it's not necessary to go crazy early.  We went at 9:30 PM and could see just fine for what we wanted to see.  Also, there are fireworks in Times Square AND Central Park, so if even if you're closer to the park, you still get a good show!

We went, we stood, we saw, we left.  Welcome, 2013!