parade of the elephants

There are a lot of experiences a person could have in New York City that are uniquely "New York." Things that you are not going to experience anywhere else. I am in no way a New York elitist, but I have to admit that some things are 'only in New York'. Because there are so many people from different backgrounds and interests, you can find almost anything in the city. Almost anything you want to do or be - you can do it here. The flip-side to that is that anything you don't want to be or do is also here, which could make a person feel pretty out of place.
Well, on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning I had one of those 'only in New York' experiences. When the Ringling Brothers Circus comes to town, they come in the night before, around midnight. Apparently they come by train, but once they get close, they walk the elephants through the Queens-Midtown tunnel! They pop out of the tunnel on 34th street and walk through Manhattan, past Macy's and many other stores and buildings, until they get to their stopping point at Madison Square Garden. Well, this is such a random thing and I LOVE random things, so I was out there at midnight on Tuesday to see these beasts come into the city. They were a little late and didn't get there until closer to 1am. Maybe there was a hold up in the tunnel? Traffic jam? Who knows.
I wasn't sure if it would be lame or what, but what happened once the animals arrived was crazy! Most people on the crowded sidewalks started running! The elephants were moving much faster than I expected and people ran to keep up with them. With the energy level of the crowd so high, I couldn't just stand there. So I started running too! I was laughing out loud, trying to snap pictures, and running at the same time. It was so surreal! 1:00 in the morning, chasing elephants down the streets of Manhattan. Who would have thought???

Between my running, poor lighting, and fast moving elephants, I didn't get very good pictures. The best I came home with is this shot where I stopped at the corner by Macy's. What a bizarre, memorable night.