All Aboard: Grand Central Station, NYC

No matter the day or hour, people can be seen flocking in droves to New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. It’s hard to imagine the doors formally opened to the public in 1913. As the first “stairless” station, gradual sloping ramps accommodate even the tiniest toddler at its mother’s hem to the elder traveler with a cane. The main concourse is flanked by gigantic glass window panes and classical architecture. Stop for a moment and look up at the gilded arched ceiling. Notice the astronomical phenomenon made up of 2500 stars. And that’s not all. With 60 retail shops and 35 eateries, this impressive landmark is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that is considered the world’s most visited tourist attraction. 

Fly Through the Holidays Without These Items

Fly Through the Holidays Without These Items! If you are traveling by air during the holidays, take heed. As super-cute and fashionable as rhinestone studded jeans appear, airport security checkpoints hate them. There’s just too much metallic sparkle and embellishment that play havoc with the scanners. With four metal prongs on each bead, you can certainly understand what I mean. Then there’s the knee-high boots that are worn with the butter-soft leggings or flattering skinny jeans. Most boots have decorative buckled straps to dress it up. These too, alert security which can slow things down a bit. But probably the most surprising red flag of all, is the body lotion. Especially if you slather it on your hands before walking out the door on the way to the airport. I did that two hours before arriving at the terminal. As I passed through security, the guard pulled me aside. He instructed me to open my hands, with palms up. The TSA screener proceeded to run an alcohol swab over them. The meter reading went absolutely crazy! At this point the agent sternly accompanied me to another station as he put in a request for a female security officer. When she arrived, she gave me a light pat-down. My purse and carry-on bag were swabbed inside and out while the search for EXPLOSIVES continued. Apparently glycerin, an active ingredient in beauty products, is an explosive agent used to build bombs. It triggers a false positive which will cause delays at security checkpoints until it is cleared. Long story short, leave the moisturizer at home….at least on the day you are flying the friendly skies.