December 1990 - First Trip to New York City

24 December 2011 01:21 PM CST

In December, 1990 my mom and dad surprised me one morning with a trip to New York City. My dad travelled to and from New York quite regularly on business and on this special occasion, I was going to join him. They woke me up and said, “Adam, we’ve got one early Christmas present for you.” To my complete shock the present was a plane ticket. My parents had already packed a suitcase for me and had scheduled my absence from school. I remember this because in the video of them surprising me I worriedly asked “what about school?” Go figure.

As many of you know, I’ve got a bit of an obsession with New York. It’s fun looking back at these pictures because each evokes many memories from different stages of my life. Here I am at age 11, first introduced to the metropolis that is New York, traveling to many places that would reappear later in my life. I posted an entire album over on Flickr and on Facebook. Here’s a look at a few that resonate with me.

Here I am in front of the Plaza Hotel. Years later, Laura and I would run through the halls of the Plaza just for fun … Oh, and in this picture you can see a Mark III Toyota Supra … I’ve still got my Mark IV :)

1990 12 Thede - Adam Thede Trip to New York City - 00A Adam Thede in Front of the Plaza Hotel

Here I am in front of Carnegie Hall. In 1996 I would sing at Carnegie Hall with the Cherry Creek High School Meistersingers …

1990 12 Thede - Adam Thede Trip to New York City - 01 Adam Thede at Carnegie Hall

One of my father’s favorite Christmas traditions is to go and see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. He took me in 1990 and I’ve been many times since …

1990 12 Thede - Adam Thede Trip to New York City - 05 Adam Thede at Radio City Music Hall

I really like this picture … it’s a picture of Long Island City. I think it’s cool because Laura and I shared our first apartment together in Astoria (basically Long Island City) …

1990 12 Thede - Adam Thede Trip to New York City - 11 The United Nations Building and a View of Long Island

Here’s the view from the Grand Hyatt near Grand Central Station. This is another hotel that Laura and I would later spend time running through the halls just for fun …

1990 12 Thede - Adam Thede Trip to New York City - 16 The View from the Grand Hyatt

Adam and Lady Liberty … I remember spending time at the Lehman Brothers building near the World Trade Center staring out the window at the Statue of Liberty …

1990 12 Thede - Adam Thede Trip to New York City - 17 Adam Thede and the Statue of Liberty

I’ll never forget this view of lower Manhattan …

1990 12 Thede - Adam Thede Trip to New York City - 20 View of Lower Manhattan

This barely needs an introduction … I guess this early introduction would later guide my career path …

1990 12 Thede - Adam Thede Trip to New York City - 21 Adam Thede at the New York Stock Exchange

Another view I’ll never forget …

1990 12 Thede - Adam Thede Trip to New York City - 22 View from the World Trade Center (WTC)

  Family History
  photography New York 1990s vacation