New York here we Come!

Grand Central Station

In March we decided to take a trip back east with some friends. I have always wanted to go and see New York and D.C. There is so much history there. Tyler went to New York with a friend right before we got married and he had always wanted to take me back there. So we loaded up and headed to NYC for Memorial Weekend. My awesome sister-in-law, Savanna kept my kids for half the time and then my awesome in-laws kept them for the rest of the time. We were gone six days, so it was quite a trip. We walked a ton and I was really tired by the end of the day but it was great and I am sure glad we went!

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

A bum in Battery Park

The first morning we were in New York we decided to take a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was overcast and kind of cold on the ferry. It was so cool to see these sites and to see New York city from the water. We took a citizenship test on Ellis Island and some of us (I will not name any names) failed the test, so they would have had to go back to whatever foreign country they came from. It was neat to think about how many immigrants came to the U.S. through Ellis Island and how the Statue of Liberty was a symbol of the freedom that was awaiting them. I had meant to talk to Grandparents and find out if we had any ancestors that came through Ellis Island but I didn't.

Ground Zero

We were kind of disappointed when we went to see Ground Zero. They had it all under construction because they are building a huge memorial there, so we weren't able to actually see where the World Trade Centers stood. This was the only picture I took and it was at a place where the fireman and service men were honored. And I have to say that this was a place that really hit home to me. I watched on TV as those planes flew into the buildings, but just being there, made it all the more real. I almost was teary-eyed when I saw the pictures of all the service men who had lost their lives trying to save others. We just kept saying, "could you imagine what it would have been like if you were here on 9/11..."

Time Square

We visited Time Square a couple of times during our trip. We saw it was during the day and one time when it was dark and everything was lit up. It is certainly crowded and will give you a sensory overload. We watched a couple of street entertainers and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. Things in New York are so expensive, so we just walked around in the shops and looked around. We watched this guy paint an amazing picture just using cans of spray paint and I was really impressed. We all had headaches when we were done.

Wicked!!

Well, we couldn't go to New York without going to a broadway play. KC and Tyler opted out on the broadway and I think they went to Nike Town and hung out at the hotel instead. Oh well, their loss. Wicked was AMAZING!!! I can't believe how great these broadway plays are. I loved the story of this broadway which took place in Oz before Dorothy came there. It is the story of the Good and Bad Witches in the Wizard of Oz. We were so tired because this was our first day there and the time change killed us, and I definately would have fallen asleep if the play hadn't been as good as it was.

Empire State Building

The black building is Madison Square Garden

See that huge green area in the towards the back of the picture? That is Central Park

You can see the Statue of Liberty towards the back of this picture too. She is on an island.

All I can say is New York is HUGE! One funny thing...we decided to skip the long lines to the elevators and walk up like six flights of stairs so we could get to the top and we did the same thing going down. We were beginning to head down and this lady stops me when she sees I am going to go down the stairs and she insists, very strongly that I cannot go down the stairs, that I should take the elevator. I tried to tell her that I had just walked up these stairs but she kept on and on. I just turned around and walked away as she was still talking. She really felt strongly about pregnant women walking down six flights of stairs. We averaged walking about ten miles a day on this vacation, so I think I could handle some stairs.