New York

We made it back in one (or should I say two?) piece(s). Wow! What a busy place! I knew that already from visiting there before, but I was reminded again on this last visit. We had a great time and as usual, the time flew by at warp speed.

The first two days were blissfully beautiful in the weather department. We made it to our hotel from the airport in a shuttle van. Thankfully, our hotel was the second stop. After getting semi-settled in our room, we took in the scenes around us. We were right smack in the middle of Times Square. Our first meal there was a stromboli. After finishing, we just walked around taking pictures and looking at the sights (And there were some sights too! After all, it is New York). Noel was soaking it all in as best as one can in a sensory-overloaded area. That night, we went to see Mary Poppins. What a show!! It was absolutely wonderful and we were on the 5th row center!!! When we came out of the show, the streets were even busier. We made our way back to the hotel and slept the night away.

Wednesday was Empire State Building day. We walked all the way from Broadway and 47th Street to 5th Avenue and 35th Street, a distance of about 3/4 mile. We didn't mind (Besides, Noel didn't want to use the subway!) because we were able to see more of the city. We went right inside the ESB and made our way through all the security. The place has changed a lot since I was there my senior year in high school. They are still in the middle of a "re-building" of the ESB. We also opted for a virtual ride that was discounted for the day. It was OK for the $12 we each spent, but definitely not worth the normal $35 per ticket. After that was finished, we were elevated up to the 86th floor and walked out onto the Observation Deck. The wind wasn't too strong and we had a nice, but slightly hazy, view of the surrounding area. After returning to earth, we ate a quick lunch and made our way to our next Broadway play, The Little Mermaid. Noel was very excited and had already learned the new songs written for the play. It was very good as well. When we left the theater, we went to the Disney Store on 5th Avenue and 55th Street. While we were inside, a light rain started falling and we had to walk all the way back to the hotel in the rain! It wasn't too bad, however and we then ate a quick supper before seeing the next play, The Lion King. What another good show! This time was my third time seeing it and I never get tired of seeing it.

The next two days were drastically different weather-wise. Thursday was mostly cloudy and very windy! We started our bus tour and sat on the top deck with the cool wind whipping everywhere. We took the Downtown Loop and saw all the famous buildings and other sites. At 1:30, we took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We took several pictures there and walked around the island and inside the Monument. After returning to Battery Park, we got back on the bus and saw more sites before departing at the Waldorf-Astoria and walking back to our hotel. We ate at Roxy's Deli (very expensive!) and then went to our last play--an encore performance of The Little Mermaid. Even better the second time around!

Friday was more of the same weather except even more cloudy and windier. This time, I was finally able to take the Uptown Tour! We saw the many famous residences including Michael Douglas, Tom Hanks, and the late Paul Newman. We also went to Harlem and saw the famed Cotton Club and Apollo Theater. We were going to get off at Central Park, but we were too cold and decided to ride the bus the short distance back to the starting point. From there, we went to a Thai restaurant on Restaurant Row and had a good, cheap lunch. After that it was time to walk around for a few more last minutes and then head back to the hotel to await our shuttle. Since they scheduled us four hours before our plane left, we had to wait in the airport for 2 hours. But we made it back just fine and will always have good memories of our time together in the Big Apple.

Until next time, have a blessed day!