NEW YORK, NEW YORK!

Earlier this month, my wife and I went to visit my brother and his wife at their apartment in New Jersey. We got to spend 3 full days with them and visiting New York City. This is the first time that I had been to either place. New York City has been in the top 2 places in the U.S. that I wanted to visit in my life. So needless to say, I was excited to visit the Big Apple. It was awesome.

While we were there it just so happened (wink, wink) that the subscribers to Conservative radio host and CNN Headline TV host Glenn Beck's website were having a National Insider Convention. Basically it is a gathering of Glenn's fans just to meet each other and spend time together. There are several of these Insider Conventions held across the country. About 2 years ago several Insiders wanted to have a national meeting. Glenn was invited to attend. Long story short, New York City was the only place that Glenn's schedule allowed him to attend. The first National Insider Convention was held last year. This year was the second and I was able to attend. Beck and his staff organized several events and Glenn was there for each one. Maybe it's just me, but Glenn genuinely seemed like a real person. He was very down to earth and very polite.

I have posted several pictures of a couple of the events. (I am the tall fat dufus with the loud shirt and goofy beard.) The first set were taken before and after a private screening (for the Insiders) of the taping of Glenn's TV show. Before the taping he described a little of what to expect and what he does. Afterward he came back to talk a little longer and even answered a few questions from us. The second set were taken the next day during a Meet & Greet session. Glenn and his staff answered questions for about 90 minutes. Then he met (albeit briefly) with each and every Insider. Posing for pictures and giving autographs. I was really impressed with the intimacy of the whole thing. Plus, he seemed genuinely thankful for those of us that are willing to pay a little extra every month to subscribe to his site. That or he was really laying it on thick. :D

The New York City photos (all 554 of them) are ones that the wife and I took on our trip around Manhattan, Ellis Island and Liberty Island. There is a lot of boring stuff in there. Believe it or not, I weeded out a lot of the really boring stuff. (I started with about 600+ pics)

Some of my favorites are from our trip to the World Trade Center site, FDNY Ten House & the memorial wall, St. Paul's Chapel (next to WTC where many of FDNY & NYPD took refuge during rescue & recovery operations) Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty. There is also a short visit (near the end) to the infamous FDNY Hook & Ladder #8. The last few pictures are of the Deutsche Bank Building. Sadly two of New York's Bravest died in that building fighting a fire on the upper floors. Those pictures were taken a couple of days after that fatal fire. God bless the FDNY and their fallen brothers.

Sorry for being so long winded. I hope you all enjoy the pics. If nothing else, maybe they'll help cure that insomnia that has been nagging you for the last several years. :)