Trains! No planes or automobiles, though.

So today, for the first time, I took Amtrak:

The SUNYLA conference is this week, and since I'm both on the Council (ex officio? I don't remember; I'm just the web manager) and presenting, I'm here.

FIT is only a few blocks from Penn Station, and I got the dorm room set up as soon as I got in:

I'm guessing the dorms are meant to give the students a taste of what they can hope to be lucky enough to have in their first NYC apartment after they graduate?  There's a tiny little kitchen:

The closest grocery is a Whole Foods, which does not sell diet Coke.  They did have the Sarsparilla I like:

But more importantly, the trip netted me a garbage bag, which the room was lacking:

The conference committee put goodie bags on everyone's doorknob:

Mostly vendor stuff:

(The toothbrushes are from the dental insurance company the union uses.)

I met up with my brother and his wife for supper, and we ate at Lasagna Ristorante, at the corner of 20th & 8th.  Not surprisingly, their lasagna is quite good.  Afterwards, we took a walk over a couple blocks, and then up along the High Line.  Lots of interesting landscaping.

 I don't know what the smokestack? is for, but it was interesting.

We walked all the way up to the Intrepid at 43rd, and then back along 42nd Street to 7th Avenue so I could take the subway back down to FIT, and they could take it home.  (They're quite a ways up from where I'm staying.)