The Trip to New York That Was

Can I get a big ol' WOOT WOOT? We finally made in on our trip! Yippee! I talked my mom into coming up and watching the kids. What we didn't know is that Landen was going to start throwing up an hour before she got there and Kaydance was going to start while we were at the airport. Sheesh. If it was even close to being an option to stay home, I would have. It was really hard to leave my sick kids. My mom was a trooper though and didn't utter one word of complaint. Thank you, Thank you!
We once again took the red-eye. Our flight left at 11:55 and the idea was to sleep on the plane. Ha! I didn't really sleep much. It didn't really matter because once we hit the ground, we did it running and didn't look back. (Okay, I might have gotten a little drowsy on the subway. And any other time we stopped for more than 5 minutes.) We started out by taking the subway (my first!) to our hotel and dropping off our luggage. They were nice enough to let us eat at the continental breakfast. Then we headed downtown to Battery Park and Wall Street. I wasn't prepared for how darn muggy it would be there. It caught me off guard, and I may have mentioned it to my husband too many times. He accused me of complaining. I promise I wasn't, but I did feel very sticky the whole time we were there.

 

We found this statue which commemorates where George Washington was signed in as the first president of the United States. It always takes me a while to get into the photography/tourist groove. If you can't tell, I was feeling very awkward in this picture.

This is a picture coming up Wall Street to Trinity Church. It is a really gothic looking building stuck right in the middle of all these sky scrapers.

 

Then you walk around it and come upon a graveyard of all things. We found Alexander Hamilton's grave here.

It was really hard to get a picture of this guy. He was being overrun by Asian tourists. If I would have gotten a shot from the back, you might have seen them all laughing hysterically and pointing at/touching/kissing/kicking the poor bronze bull's balls. Not joking.

Our very first selfie of the trip. I had to explain to my husband what exactly a 'selfie' was. In that moment I didn't feel quite so old, but wondered where my hubby has been for the last, oh, decade.

 

Finally! The one thing I was super duper excited to see! Lady Liberty herself. Unfortunately, because of Hurricane Sandy, they had the entire island closed down. But, we still went on a ferry ride that went right by it.

While I was waiting for my amazing hubster to procure us some ticket to the ferry, I saw the Staten Island Ferry. Which is cool just because I had heard of it before.

 

Damon, on the ferry, saving the back right corner for us so that we could get a good shot of the Statue of Liberty.

 

When we passed this, we thought it was Ellis Island. We were wrong. I still don't know what this is, so if someone does and wants to enlighten me...

This is Ellis Island. 

Who is this handsome man with the Manhattan skyline in the background. Yep, it's my Damon.

 

After being towered over by all those skyscrapers all morning, I was surprised at how small the Statue of Liberty is. She fits in the palm of my hand!

Really, she did seem small compared to all the buildings I had been around. Still very awe inspiring though.

Agh! This picture makes it look like a had a boob job or something. I assure you I have not. Good lighting maybe? *snicker*

 

I have to say that I am VERY impressed with my new camera. It took some wonderfully fantastic shots for us. Love yard sale finds! $300 for a $1500 camera? Yes, please. 

"His erection still stands!" Name the movie! Anyone? I don't post enough anymore, and don't think anyone still reads my blatherings. I'll give you $20 if you can guess the right movie. The Brooklyn Bridge. Someday, when we have more time, we would like to actually take the Brooklyn Bridge over into Brooklyn.

There is that handsome guy again. Not him! Damon you crazies. ;) (This guy was seriously annoying though. Kept moving around and getting in my shots. Darn photo bomber.)

Now my camera is just showing off. Great zoom.

I had to do a double take at this building. It is, apparently, supposed to look like this. It's really crazy. I wish we would've had time to get a little closer. And what would it be like to live there or work there? I wonder what it looks like on the inside. I will probably never know, but will always wonder when I see this picture.

 

After we got off the ferry, we headed over to ground zero, which was an emotional experience for me. That day will always be the first day that I ever remember really being afraid and uncertain of what the future would hold. We didn't want to wait in line to go in and see the actual monument. Seriously, it was as long as the line for the Finding Nemo ride at Disney that one summer we went for a family reunion. (At least 2 hours.) But, we didn't have to go through 4 security checkpoints to ride the Nemo ride. I do wish I had taken more pictures of our wanderings through this area.

 

This is a picture of another graveyard that is just across the street from ground zero. The inside was dedicated to all the volunteers, patriotism, and brotherhood that we all experienced in the days after 9/11. I felt really foolish that this still makes me tear up, so we really didn't spend too much time in there. I am so glad we wandered around there though.

 

 

After we got off the ferry, we headed back to our hotel, which incidentally, was just off of Times Square. We took a little refresher nap, and I more than happily washed my face and reapplied makeup. I felt so much better after that.

The Empire State Building also had a long line to get to the top, so we opted for the "Top of the Rock" or rather, the Rockefeller Center. Where we had a view of Central Park.

And the Empire State Building.

 

 

We put all our pictures on our computer as our screen saver and lots of times I will glance these photos out of the corner of my eye and have to remind myself that I was the photographer. Some of them just turned out that good. Or maybe it's because they are of a place I am used to seeing in pictures, and I have to remind myself that I was there taking those photos.

 

 

Hello, macro setting. These are the tiles from the "Top of the Rock". I thought they were pretty and therefor picture worthy. Also, my camera wanted to show off again.

 

Like you can't tell, but this is Radio City Music Hall.

 

After the Top of the Rock, we wandered down to Central Park. Can I just say how annoying the people selling bike rides, horse carriage rides, and ferry rides are? They are. Extremely. They have their eyes out for obvious tourists like us who were toting around their cameras proudly. And we had to tell every single one of them no. I digress though. This shot is of us (duh) posing in front of an amusement park that is in the middle of Central park. We thought the kids would get a kick out of it. So, we took another selfie.

 

This man works hard for his money.

Wandering through Central Park was so fun. I could have spent all day there and not felt ripped off at all. This is 'artist row' where people come to sell their wares. There was art, crafts, dancers, and performers galore. Loved it!

Damon really wanted to find Bethesda Fountain which was in "One Fine Day". (I am sure other movies too, but this is the one he remembers.) My man loves his romantic comedies. I love him for it.

 

"Bethesda Fountain"

It's a little strange to have this gothic/baroque stairway and bridge in the middle of a park, but it was beautiful nonetheless. 

Another picture for the kids. Rocks to climb on. Now we will have to take them back someday.

 

Our New York Sunset.

 

The busy-ness of Times Square. This was an eye opener for me on how much crowds can really get to me. I was a big ball of frustration/anxiety. It was cool to see and be a part of, but being exhausted and having this be the end of our day? Whew. I needed a darn break. So, we headed over to the movies. I know, I know. We were in New York and went to the movies. I just couldn't make myself pay for the Broadway shows. Maybe next time.

 

We spent Sunday doing some shopping and just wandering around Manhattan. Nothing really worth taking a picture of. The time for us to head to the airport came all too soon. We had an ultra fabulous time. I do have to say that spending that weekend in a big, muggy city made me appreciate my wide open spaces and fresh air very much. Even if my 'fresh air' is sometimes tainted by the smell of mink.