One of the Christmas presents James gave me was a trip to New York. We went on the trip this past weekend and it was AMAZING! I had so much fun. Before I get into all the fun stuff we did I first need to thank the people who made it possible.
Stacy and Pierce Thiot, my amazing cousins, took care of our kids the whole weekend. They were wonderful with the kids. Everyday when we would talk to the kids they would tell us how much fun they were having. I don't think they even missed us, they were too busy having a blast. Knowing the kids were in good hands made it so much more fun for me too. So THANK YOU Stacy and Pierce! You were awesome!
The other people I need to thank are Luke Dean (my honorary brother), his wife Angela, and their three cute girls. They live in New Jersey and let us stay with them while we were in NY. They gave us so many good pointers and we loved staying with them. I slept great, they fed us yummy food, and it was so fun to visit with them and see their darling kids. Thank you so much!
The first night we were there, we went to Liberty State Park to see the Statue of Liberty from the Jersey side. It was a pretty site. One of the things I was looking forward to most on this trip was taking some fun pictures. So I was extreemly disapointed when both of my batteries ran out of juice after only about 20 minutes of use at Liberty State Park. I think one of them has gone bad and wouldn't hold the charge. I don't know what happened to the other one. So we headed into the city to experience the crazy traffic and see if we could buy another battery.
We saw Ground Zero and then drove to Times Square. We found a Camera store that was open and I went in to buy a battery and car charger. I found what I needed but did not like the price! I said something to the guy behind the counter about the price and he said, "I will give you a better price, because of your pretty blue eyes." That reminded me of my time in Israel and Egypt. So I decided to see if I could barter with him on the price. The list price for the two items was over $200, but he said he would give them to me for $140. I told him I would buy them for $120 then we settled for $129. It was super fun to barter again. Buying things is so much more fun when you can haggle over the price a little!
I was just so happy to have my camera functioning again. So we took a couple of pictures in Times Square from the car and then headed out to Luke's house. We took one of the tunnels out of the city and then drove over an overpass that had an amazing view of the city. James asked if I wanted to stop for a picture. Of course I did, but we couldn't stop on the freeway. So we took the next exit and happened upon a fantastic spot to take a panorama shot of the skyline.
It was really late by this time and I was tired from all the travel, so we headed to Luke and Angela's house. It was after midnight when we got there, but Luke was there to greet us and help us get settled in. I slept so well that night. It was great to not have any kids to worry about. The next morning Luke and Angela made us a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, juice...it was delicious. Then we headed into the city to see the sites.
The first place we stopped was Central Park...probably because we found a great parking spot right next to the park. James managed to parallel park in a space that was about 2 feet longer than our car. It was amazing to see. After he squeezed into the spot and we started getting our things together a doorman came out and told us we would get towed if we left our car there. So we drove another block and found a great spot. The signs were confusing so we double checked with a police officer before leaving our car.
Central Park was beautiful, even though it is the middle of winter. I loved all the bridges. Luckily for us there were no people near this bridge. So I set my camera on the mini-tripod I brought and took these pictures.
After Central Park we went to FAO Schwartz. I wanted to take a pic of us on the big piano, but someone had rented the piano room for their 1 year old's birthday party. They had it roped off and only let party guests in. We thought about borrowing a child so we could get in, but decided against it. When we left FAO the temps had dropped and the wind had picked up. Light snow was falling but the wind was making it go sideways. We got onboard one of the Gray Line Bus tours and rode through the city for a while. When we got hungry we got off and took a taxi to the Carnegie Deli. They are famous for their HUGE sandwiches. Ours was at least 6 inches tall and packed with so much meat. The picture doesn't do it justice because I don't have anything in there to give a size reference. We didn't even come close to finishing our sandwiches.
The cheesecake was so delicious. It was also huge. But we did manage to eat all of the cheesecake!
We rode the bus tour for the rest of the afternoon and enjoyed learning about the city. We wanted to eat dinner at Serendipidy. So we rode the bus to the closest drop off point and then walked for about 12 blocks through the city to get to the restaurant. When we got there, the wait was 2-3 hours. So we put our name on the list and went back out to explore. We rode over the East River on a tram.
I liked it because the view was really pretty, and by this time I had figured out how to take good night pictures with my camera. We walked around the city looking for a scarf to buy for me. We went in Bloomingdales just for fun and noticed that the very regular looking scarfs cost anywhere from $125 - $375. Then we found a street vendor selling them for $5 and decided that was more in our price range.
We went back to Serendipidy and enjoyed a delicious dinner. We ended our meal with their famous mint iced hot chocolate.
We spent some more time in Times Square, which is beautiful at night. You can't see all the garbage everywhere as easily at night. During the day it is pretty disgusting. There is so much garbage all over the city.
After we had our fill of downtown we headed back to Luke's house. I wanted to stop by the spot we had found the other day so we could take some more pictures of the skyline. I just couldn't get enough of that place.
The next morning we found the Manhattan Temple. It is a very unique temple surrounded by huge skyscrapers on all sides.
We also rode the ferry out to Statten Island. I really enjoyed the ferry ride. We got to see the front of the Statue of Liberty. It was freezing cold, but thankfully the ferry was enclosed so we could be warm inside except for when we went out to take pics.
After seeing the Statue of Liberty we started our drive to Washington D.C. We stopped in Philadelphia on the way and ate dinner there. It was a pretty city. I was kind of tired by this time so I didn't take so many pictures there. I started getting a sore throat when we got to NYC and it progressed into full blown larangitis by the time we left NYC. Luckily I was able to get some antibiotics and they helped a lot.
This is a picture of downtown Philadelphia. The building in the middle of the road is City Hall. After driving through Phily and seeing Independance Hall and some of the other sites there we headed to D.C. The next morning we went to the D.C. Temple and then headed toward the National Capitol.
We went to some of the Smithsonian Museums. I liked the Air and Space one a lot.
We saw the Washington Monument and the Capitol.
Here is another tripod shot of the two of us that I particularly liked.
We also went to Mount Vernon, which is the home of George and Martha Washington. I had never been there, so I enjoyed seeing a new place.
It was such a fun vacation. I loved spending so much uninterrupted time with James. Thanks again Stacy and Pierce for making our trip possible!
Stacy and Pierce Thiot, my amazing cousins, took care of our kids the whole weekend. They were wonderful with the kids. Everyday when we would talk to the kids they would tell us how much fun they were having. I don't think they even missed us, they were too busy having a blast. Knowing the kids were in good hands made it so much more fun for me too. So THANK YOU Stacy and Pierce! You were awesome!
The other people I need to thank are Luke Dean (my honorary brother), his wife Angela, and their three cute girls. They live in New Jersey and let us stay with them while we were in NY. They gave us so many good pointers and we loved staying with them. I slept great, they fed us yummy food, and it was so fun to visit with them and see their darling kids. Thank you so much!
The first night we were there, we went to Liberty State Park to see the Statue of Liberty from the Jersey side. It was a pretty site. One of the things I was looking forward to most on this trip was taking some fun pictures. So I was extreemly disapointed when both of my batteries ran out of juice after only about 20 minutes of use at Liberty State Park. I think one of them has gone bad and wouldn't hold the charge. I don't know what happened to the other one. So we headed into the city to experience the crazy traffic and see if we could buy another battery.
We saw Ground Zero and then drove to Times Square. We found a Camera store that was open and I went in to buy a battery and car charger. I found what I needed but did not like the price! I said something to the guy behind the counter about the price and he said, "I will give you a better price, because of your pretty blue eyes." That reminded me of my time in Israel and Egypt. So I decided to see if I could barter with him on the price. The list price for the two items was over $200, but he said he would give them to me for $140. I told him I would buy them for $120 then we settled for $129. It was super fun to barter again. Buying things is so much more fun when you can haggle over the price a little!
I was just so happy to have my camera functioning again. So we took a couple of pictures in Times Square from the car and then headed out to Luke's house. We took one of the tunnels out of the city and then drove over an overpass that had an amazing view of the city. James asked if I wanted to stop for a picture. Of course I did, but we couldn't stop on the freeway. So we took the next exit and happened upon a fantastic spot to take a panorama shot of the skyline. It was really late by this time and I was tired from all the travel, so we headed to Luke and Angela's house. It was after midnight when we got there, but Luke was there to greet us and help us get settled in. I slept so well that night. It was great to not have any kids to worry about. The next morning Luke and Angela made us a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, juice...it was delicious. Then we headed into the city to see the sites.
The first place we stopped was Central Park...probably because we found a great parking spot right next to the park. James managed to parallel park in a space that was about 2 feet longer than our car. It was amazing to see. After he squeezed into the spot and we started getting our things together a doorman came out and told us we would get towed if we left our car there. So we drove another block and found a great spot. The signs were confusing so we double checked with a police officer before leaving our car.
Central Park was beautiful, even though it is the middle of winter. I loved all the bridges. Luckily for us there were no people near this bridge. So I set my camera on the mini-tripod I brought and took these pictures.
After Central Park we went to FAO Schwartz. I wanted to take a pic of us on the big piano, but someone had rented the piano room for their 1 year old's birthday party. They had it roped off and only let party guests in. We thought about borrowing a child so we could get in, but decided against it. When we left FAO the temps had dropped and the wind had picked up. Light snow was falling but the wind was making it go sideways. We got onboard one of the Gray Line Bus tours and rode through the city for a while. When we got hungry we got off and took a taxi to the Carnegie Deli. They are famous for their HUGE sandwiches. Ours was at least 6 inches tall and packed with so much meat. The picture doesn't do it justice because I don't have anything in there to give a size reference. We didn't even come close to finishing our sandwiches.
The cheesecake was so delicious. It was also huge. But we did manage to eat all of the cheesecake!
We rode the bus tour for the rest of the afternoon and enjoyed learning about the city. We wanted to eat dinner at Serendipidy. So we rode the bus to the closest drop off point and then walked for about 12 blocks through the city to get to the restaurant. When we got there, the wait was 2-3 hours. So we put our name on the list and went back out to explore. We rode over the East River on a tram.
I liked it because the view was really pretty, and by this time I had figured out how to take good night pictures with my camera. We walked around the city looking for a scarf to buy for me. We went in Bloomingdales just for fun and noticed that the very regular looking scarfs cost anywhere from $125 - $375. Then we found a street vendor selling them for $5 and decided that was more in our price range.
We went back to Serendipidy and enjoyed a delicious dinner. We ended our meal with their famous mint iced hot chocolate.
We spent some more time in Times Square, which is beautiful at night. You can't see all the garbage everywhere as easily at night. During the day it is pretty disgusting. There is so much garbage all over the city.
After we had our fill of downtown we headed back to Luke's house. I wanted to stop by the spot we had found the other day so we could take some more pictures of the skyline. I just couldn't get enough of that place.
The next morning we found the Manhattan Temple. It is a very unique temple surrounded by huge skyscrapers on all sides.
We also rode the ferry out to Statten Island. I really enjoyed the ferry ride. We got to see the front of the Statue of Liberty. It was freezing cold, but thankfully the ferry was enclosed so we could be warm inside except for when we went out to take pics.
After seeing the Statue of Liberty we started our drive to Washington D.C. We stopped in Philadelphia on the way and ate dinner there. It was a pretty city. I was kind of tired by this time so I didn't take so many pictures there. I started getting a sore throat when we got to NYC and it progressed into full blown larangitis by the time we left NYC. Luckily I was able to get some antibiotics and they helped a lot.
This is a picture of downtown Philadelphia. The building in the middle of the road is City Hall. After driving through Phily and seeing Independance Hall and some of the other sites there we headed to D.C. The next morning we went to the D.C. Temple and then headed toward the National Capitol.
We went to some of the Smithsonian Museums. I liked the Air and Space one a lot.
We saw the Washington Monument and the Capitol.
Here is another tripod shot of the two of us that I particularly liked.
We also went to Mount Vernon, which is the home of George and Martha Washington. I had never been there, so I enjoyed seeing a new place.
It was such a fun vacation. I loved spending so much uninterrupted time with James. Thanks again Stacy and Pierce for making our trip possible!
