Landing Pattern

I just flew from Pittsburgh to LaGuardia this evening, and the plane's landing pattern was the one where you slide up Manhattan from south to north and then start a 270-degree turn over the George Washington Bridge. Fortunately I was in a window seat on the right side of the plane, so I got to watch the cityscape go by. It's one of the great views of New York, especially at night. The place looks positively delicate, and the lights are beautiful. Even the housing projects look beautiful.

The Freedom Tower looks better from that vantage point than the ones on the ground that I've tried so far. The Empire State and Chrysler Buildings are still the class of the skyline by a wide margin.

On a more prosaic level of city appreciation, the MTA started running an express bus between LaGuardia and the Roosevelt Avenue subway stop in Jackson Heights earlier this year, and it's basically the best bus line ever. A straight-up boon for you and any flight attendants in your life.

Thanksgiving night at Chris & Jeana's was a fine occasion, par for the course, and I rode with Mom & Dad & Mike & Cameron to Pittsburgh for a highly relaxed couple of days (board games, pizza & movie night, etc.) and brunch with the grandparents this morning. Snow on the ground in both Rochester and Pittsburgh, the first real snow of the year from my perspective. Not a bad vault into December by any stretch.