New York City

RJ and I went on vacation a couple weeks ago to NYC. We were gone five nights and had a wonderful time. It was hard to leave the boys, but we enjoyed our time in the big city! We had some friends who were getting married in Long Island, so we made a trip out of it and celebrated it as our 8 year anniversary (which was actually yesterday)! It was very reminiscant as we honeymooned in NYC as well. Damian and Jessica and a few of our other friends were either in the wedding or attending it as well. So, we all flew out together and were able to spend some time out there as a group, too. We were busy every second...here's a rundown of what we did and just a handful of my favorite pics. RJ took a bunch (and by a bunch I mean 1251) of awesome pictures and we'll put them on Shutterfly when he is done editing them. I'll send that info we he's done it.

Thursday
Damian and Jessica picked us up at 5:30 AM. Our flight was early, so we had to go at the crack of dawn. When we arrived in NY, we (there were 7 of us total) took a limo into the city (we flew into Long Island). That was a fun ride! After checking in to our hotel, Damian, Jessica, RJ, and I hit the city. We ate at a little restaurant down the street from our hotel called Georgio's. Then we walked and viewed the sights all afternoon and evening...we didn't stop until 11PM. We saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is beautiful, the flagship Apple Store (which I'm sure the boys thought was equally as beautiful! : ), H&M (a clothing store), Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center (which we went to the top of...they call it "The Top of the Rock"), Times Square, and then we had dessert at the ESPN Zone in Times Square before collapsing in a cab back to the hotel. Our whole bodies hurt...this was a very long, but fun day. We saw and did a lot in the little amount of time that we had this day.


St. Patrick's Cathedral



Damian and Jessica in Rockefeller Plaza



From The Top of the Rock


Times Square at Night


Friday
We took the subway to Yankee Stadium and toured the new stadium. The subway ride to the stadium is an interesting one...goes through the Bronx and you get to see a whole different world there. The stadium was very pretty...the tour included visiting a museum inside the stadium, as well the memorial park area, the dugout, and the locker room. We were sad that the Yankees weren't playing while we were there, but this way, we got to see behind the scenes, which was neat. After the tour, we rode the subway to Grand Central Station...that was pretty. It is definitely a lot nicer that most of the other subway stations! We ate lunch at a little cafe outside of Grand Central Station and then walked to the New York Public Library. We looked around inside there...it was really pretty. Damian and Jessica had to go the the island because they were in the wedding, so the festivities got started this night. RJ and I stayed in the city as long as we could, though. After they left, RJ and I went back out...we walked through Columbus Circle, which is very close to the hotel we were in. Then we walked into Central Park and spent most of the evening strolling through the park. It is huge and beautiful. We walked all the way to the Guggenheim so that RJ could take some pictures of the building. Then we took a cab back toward our hotel and ate dinner at a swanky place called Whym...it was very yummy.

In the Dugout at Yankee Stadium


Somewhere in Central Park


The Guggenheim


Yummy Dessert at Whym


Saturday
After eating breakfast at our hotel, we hopped on the subway to go see the Bodies Exhibit. It was in an area of NY called the Seaport...our concierge told us what exit to take to end up in the right spot, but of course, it was not labeled the same as what she told us. So, we ended up in Brooklyn!!! We knew we had been on the subway way too long, so we got off and went above to use RJ's GPS on his phone (it wouldn't work down below on the subway)...sure enough we were in the heart of Brooklyn...it didn't take us long to go right back down and get back on in the opposite direction. This time, we got off at the right place and went to the Bodies Exhibit. I didn't think I ever wanted to see this, but I knew RJ did, so I went for him. It was actually pretty interesting...and I just made myself look at the exhibits as just that and not real bodies! After that we walked around the Seaport area...it had a different feel...water was in sight with tons of boats docked and lots going back and forth, the streets were cobblestone with lots of fun shops around...kinda like being at the beach. We took one of those Duck tours where you start out on the land and then it drives into the water. It drove around the downtown area and then into the Hudson River. This was a fun view that we hadn't seen before. After that tour, we took the subway back to Manhattan to get freshened up for our show that night. RJ had gotten us tickets to Wicked for my anniversary gift (as if the trip wasn't enough!). We changed for the show, ate a quick bite at an Irish Pub in Times Square and then went to the show. We both really enjoyed it and thought it was a very interesting story about different perspectives...the writing was brilliant. We headed back to our hotel afterwards and enjoyed a drink and piece of cheesecake before crashing.

Seaport Area


View from the Hudson River


Sunday
We met one of my old friends, Jason, at a restaurant called Vynl for breakfast. It was good food and even better company. It was great to catch up with him and see where the last ten years had taken us all. After that, we went back to the hotel to get our things and then headed to Penn Station. We took the train to Long Island. The train ride was about an hour and fifteen minutes...it was another fun way to travel and see parts of the state we hadn't seen before. Once there, we checked into our hotel, rested a bit, and then got ready for the wedding. The wedding was at a venue in Long Island that was just beautiful. The guests mingled and enjoyed drinks and music in a courtyard area before the ceremony. The ceremony was outdoors as well, which is totally do-able in July in New York! : ) It was very pleasant. After the ceremony, we went into the cocktail room and enjoyed tons of food (this was not dinner, though) and drinks. Then we moved into the dining room (about an hour later) where we were served a four-course meal. The whole thing was fabulous...quite an experience!

The "Cocktail Hour" Room


The Dining Room


The Bride and Groom, Jenna and Chris


Jessica and Damian


Me, Allison, and Jessica


Just a pretty shot that RJ took...


Monday
We woke up and went straight to the train station. Unfortunately, we just missed the train and had to wait for an hour for the next one. We caught it back to Manhattan and checked back into the hotel we were at originally. We spent the day with Damian and Jessica again...took a double-decker bus tour around the downtown area. We went up the Empire State Building, walked through Greenwich Village and Soho, viewed Ground Zero and the rest of downtown from the bus. We got off the bus in Times Square and went to see our last show...Avenue Q. It is a puppet show and I didn't really know what to expect. But, it was really good...hysterically funny the entire time! We stopped for one more cheesecake experience at a diner near the theater. Then we walked through Times Square a little more before heading back to the hotel.

The Empire State Building


Us at the top


Washington Park


Tuesday
We packed up and got a Suburban to take us and all our stuff back to the airport to head home. I had a wonderful time on the trip...thoroughly enjoyed every second, but I was also ready to see my boys. We made it home around 7PM. It seemed as though both of them had grown and changed in the short amount of time that we were gone. They had a blast with Grammy and Grampy while we were gone...thank you Mom and Gene for keeping them for us!!!

It was an awesome vacation and a great way to celebrate our eight years of marriage...can't believe it's been that long...I love you babe! Can't wait till the next time we get to do this again! : )