Day #4

Well...last but not least we went to Central Park. We ended up walking around the entire place! It took forever and we were spent. I don't think that my legs have ever walked that much. It was a busy park too! We thought that maybe it was because it was a holiday.

Maybe this is why New York does not have an obesity problem. This is part of Central Park where walkers, runners, bikers, and roller bladders are free to roam. I wish I would have been prepared to run! It would have been a blast. It was really busy.

This is another squirrelly picture of me standing by one of the lakes in Central Park.

Has anyone seen Enchanted? This is the bridge! That's such a good movie.

We took a break half way. The grass was soft! Nothing like Nevada grass - if you still have some that is real.

Em and Jay laying down in Central Park.

Day #3 in NYC

I know I'm totally behind (and it's getting boring for everyone else) but I want to make sure I journal this! Some day when I'm old I might forget all of these fun moments. Before we left for New York we hunted around to find some tickets to the Yankee's game. We didn't want to pay through the nose but we didn't want to be way up top. So we found some - right in the middle. Our seats were pretty dang good for being last minute. The game was Sunday at 1 p.m. and they played the Seattle Mariners. The score was 6-5 Yankees. Jake and I are far from Yankee fans but we were for a day! It was really exciting to be in the stadium that Babe Ruth played in before they tear it down. I could only imagine the atmosphere back then. The new stadium is looking mighty nice though. 

This is a view from our seats - but the players didn't look this small in real life. My camera must be zoomed out in or something. There wasn't an empty seat in the house!

This is closer to the actual size they appeared to be from our seats. And this was the first pitch of the game. The Seattle player swung, hit the ball right in front of home plate, and was out. All in a matter of 5 seconds. 

Me, Jake, and Ray. Ray was able to come down from Connecticut to hang out for the day! Jake was so excited!

So have you seen the commercial where in the baseball huddle they are talking about what kind of gift to get someone and not talking about baseball at all? This is what I thought of! One of the best moments at the game was when the entire stadium did the wave without the help of the commentator guy. It started in a little corner and after about 5 tries it made it around the entire stadium. Then it didn't stop until the Yankees got on base! It was pretty funny!

After the game we went to Time Square and Rockefeller Center again with Ray. This is the "guy shake"!? Boys are crazy. 

Buddies that could hang out forever. We walked Ray to Grand Central Station to "see him off"!

This is on e of the entrances to Grand Central Station. This place is amazing!

This is the inside...kinda crazy to think of a grungy subway/train system having a beautiful station. 

Limbardi's Pizza, Rockefeller Center, and the Brooklyn Bridge

Limbardi's Pizza is the very 1st pizza place in the United States. Very small restaurant but very busy. Pizza on the east coast is extremely different from the west coast. I think east coast pizza is an acquired taste. We ordered a small pizza and a calzone. The calzone was pretty good - not the worst I've ever eaten. The pizza was different. I'm not used to thin and crispy crust. Or better yet I'm not used to cutting my pizza with a knife where the cheese follows your knife and your fork stays with the bread!! It was different. Some like it - some don't. 

This picture is for Alex and Mandy. Look at the wine Lombardi's carries for being a small little joint! I was amazed!

Memorial Day flags in Rockefeller Center. 

Saturday was the official 125 birthday of the Brooklyn Bridge. Our bus tour guide said that there were going to be fireworks. There wasn't just a crazy light show on the bridge. It was still pretty neat.

Way blurry but I did walk the Brooklyn Bridge!

And so did Jake! - A crazy twisted Criminal Justice side note - someone could easily jump off this bridge to commit suicide and/or dispose of a body! There was only these side beams that lead over the cars and then a straight plummet to the water. We wondered how many people have done it. 

A night shot looking back toward Manhattan. 

More Pictures of day #2

World Trade Center Construction. I wasn't too impressed. Maybe I should reword that. I didn't feel the "oohhh" special moment that everyone says they feel. Maybe because we were on the back side of the memorial. Either way, right now it's still just a hole. 

Jake's love of the stock market grows further to the American Stock exchange!

They say that they don't clean the floor of the stock market until the day before - like Sunday night for Monday. They have it blocked off so you can't go up to the door but it would be pretty cool to see. Because everything is going digital or stocks are being bought and sold online the offices above the main floor are being renovated and rented out. So there is hope - you may rent a space above the main trading floor. Jake would never come home!

This is some historic church. I think it's where something was signed (I want to say the Declaration of Independence but that's not it...) either way it stuck out like a soar thumb among all of the other structures in the area. 

I thought this was pretty cool. A bit patriotic. It's off of Wall Street. I think it's another entrance to the Stock Exchange. We didn't go look we turned and went up the opposite street. 

Day #2

This post is from Jake because he has a lot of fun memories with our day #2!

In the late 80s or early 90s my parents took our family to NYC for a vacation. We went to a Met's game and of course we visited the Statue of Liberty. I remember standing in the long line waiting to get on the ferry and while on the ferry looking back and seeing the NY skyline with World Trade Centers. Back then there were no security check points and screeners. No cops or National Guards men with m-16s. All that were present were park rangers, millions of people and seagulls. I remember standing in the long line waiting to get inside the statue and climb the billion stairs to the top. I remember my younger brother crying while we were standing on the spiral staircase inside the statue. I remember looking out the windows located in the crown of Miss Liberty and my father pointing at the many boats while my mother was telling us the history of the Statue of Liberty.

 

This past Saturday, Emily and I went and it was a different experience. Security check points, National Guards men with m-16s, NY cops and Park Rangers wandering all over the park. The NY skyline without the Trade Centers and hardly any boats in the water. The line was fairly small and we had a guided tour inside the pedestal of the monument. Instead of climbing the billion stairs to the top it was only 156 steps to the base of the monument where were get to look up the skirt through a glass window. There was a posted sign stating the park does not intend to open the spiral staircase that leads to the top, to public again. I stood there silently thanking my parents for allowing us at such a young age to visit the statue and see the skyline from the crown. 

Looking back at Manhattan.

The Statue of Liberty - I know some pretty good random facts now!

The sad sign of closure. 

This is the original torch - it was removed and replaced with one that is covered in a fine sheet of gold.

Looking up Lady Liberty's Dress! Believe it or not but the inside steel braces is a miniature Eiffel Tower. Yes, it's designed by the builder of the tower in France.

It was extremely windy up there!

More pictures...are you bored yet?

The entrance to Columbia University. Everyone can dream right? That's Jake's reflection from the window on the side.

On the good 'ol tour bus!

UUMMM chocolate!

Get your tickets now! They're coming back!!

Just starting out at Time Square.

Jake in front of a Rush Limbaugh TV show sign in Time Square. He's a big Rush fan.

Our hotel is one block away from the Chrystler Building.

Our sad attempt to have a family picture! We look squirrelly and tired!

NYC Day 1

This is Jake waiting to get on the airplane and scamming the net!

Today was the "adjustment" day. Adjusting from a 4 1/2 hour flight of sitting and little to no sleep. Adjusting from sitting in traffic waiting to get to our hotel and having to listen to people who did get sleep, talk. Adjusting to fast moving crowds, over priced EVERYTHING, and a truly multicultural city! But it was well worth it! Today we started out walking around getting familiar with the streets and people. We bought the Hop On Hop Off bus tour tickets for 48 hours. Our tour guide got pretty annoying but on the flip side he knew his stuff. We went around Central Park, through Harlem, passed Columbia University, through Time Square, passed a bunch of famous people's apartments, and passed a ton of museums. We took some pictures but since you can't trust anyone to take your picture and return the camera, they are singles of Jake or just me. Tomorrow we'll set off to the Statue of Liberty, China Town, Lombardi's Pizza (1st pizza shop in the U.S.A.), another tour bus ride, and the Subway! I'm so excited to ride the subway, I can't contain myself. There a million things that I'm loving about New York, surprisingly I love the humidity. My skin has never felt this soft. We came at a good time too, it's only in the mid 70's. Not even cold enough to wear a jacket. So here's what we've taken so far. Oh, and I had to pay $10 to use the internet PER DAY! RIP OFF! So, I'll post more pictures later!

We're staying at the Grand Hyatt New York, this is our bed.

This is a crappy picture of the lobby. The lobby is amazing and you really can't get a good angle of everything.

This is a huge high rise that is under construction on the corner of 47th and Broadway. It reminded me of home - and no I don't miss work!

What Mormon goes out of town, passes the temple, and doesn't take a picture? 

I think this was a church. It had so much detail and it's really old that I was in aw!