Time to Head Home

What a great vacation! We checked out of the Murray Hill Inn to share another breakfast at the McDonald's at Lexington and 28th. We stumbled onto the subway with all our suitcases to go North a couple stops so Sara and the kids could join the rest of the family for Sunday morning service at Jenn's church. After smooches and hugs I had to head to JFK Airport to catch a flight to Austin. Sara and the kids made their way to LaGuardia after lunch and were able to get the last seats on an earlier flight to Chicago. We've been so blessed with getting on flights... thank you Lord. And thank you for a fun and memorable time away with family and friends in New York City!

Tourists in NYC, Day 2

Today we were able to sleep in, a ready blessing that everyone in the family took advantage of. Despite the city noises easily slipping through our windows, we all took a leisurely start to the day. Sara actually stepped out a bit earlier so she could meet Jenn for breakfast near our hotel. The kids and I slummed around until 10:00am or so.


We started a walking tour that took us uptown to the more serious shopping areas of Park Avenue. I stopped by a CompUSA to pick up an AC/DC adapter since my laptop's power brick started going on the fritz. We then visited Rockefeller Center, stopping next door by Radio City Music Hall to eat our packed lunches in a welcome patch of sun. We then headed south toward the sea of people in Times Square. I had to pick Christa up to see how thick the mass of humanity was. We eventually made it down another 10 blocks to Macy's to check out the Christmas windows.



Whew! That's some serious walking! But we're not done! We start heading those same 10 blocks back north so we can get to the theater in time to see the 2:00pm showing of Beauty and the Beast. Before we reached the theater the kids were exposed to even more people in the Times Square area (and the "Naked Cowboy", who plays a guitar while only wearing underwear. Sigh.)

Our $50 tickets were good enough to get us about 6 rows from the back in the nose bleed section. Yet we all enjoyed the show, which had the surprise of Donny Osmond playing the self-absorbed Gaston.


We all had dinner at Pam's Real Thai Food, one of Jenn's favorites. After many laughs and plenty of food, we shared hugs and headed for the hotel.

This last full day in New York was quite a treat, filled with enough sights and sounds to remember a long time (and enough people to want me to visit Montana real soon!).

Tourists in NYC, Day 1

Hey, this may be vacation but we have some places to go and things to do! Up and at 'em! We were up bright and early today so we could get down to the Statue of Liberty in time to, well, see the Statue of Liberty! Online tickets weren't available for the ferry ride so we were thinking it might be tough to get a ride to the island. But no! Our McDonald's breakfast inspired subway sprint to Battery Park by 8:10am got us there just in time! The often maligned long lines for security weren't as bad as I had expected. Without too much waiting we were able to board the short ride to Liberty Island.


A National Park ranger gave an interesting tour outside the statue, where we learned about how Lady Liberty has changed over the years. We were all pretty fascinated by the story about her torch and how it at one time looked way too much like the moon to migrating birds. So much so that it was the first "bird zapper" (aluding to the bug zappers that lure bugs to a light that zaps 'em). He told of one day in which well over a thousand birds died because they flew "toward the moon" until they landed beak first. Ouch. A later design changed just enough to stop the carnage but created a new problem: the torch leaked like a giant colander. Recent renovations brought the torch much closer to the original design, which has no light at all in the torch.

Around 10:45am we headed inside the monument where Ranger Denise gave us one of the most engaging, energetic park ranger performances we've ever seen. After a couple hundred stairs we made it to the top of the pedestal area which provided some very nice views of Manhattan and the surrounding areas. Trips up to the Lady's crown are no longer allowed but there was a windowed off area inside the pedestal that allows visitors to peak into the structure inside the statue, which was cool.

We took a quick stop at Ellis Island on the way back to the city. Our dogs were tired and stomaches were growling so we stopped off at an Italian place that provided piles of pasta for a reasonable price. Full and rested we headed out to see Ground Zero. With all the fencing around the pit, it was difficult to truly get a sense of what it looked like on 9/11, but the pictures around the memorial area brought somber memories of a dark day for our country.

We took some chill out time back at the hotel then dined on some wonderful Thanksgiving left-overs at Jenn's.

We left a bit early so our Sara, me, and the kids could meet Jenn's friend Dan Brown. He's a great guy--Jenn deserves someone as wonderful as him if God so wills someday. Another full day in NYC, with anticipation of more touristy business ahead of us tomorrow!

"Director's Cut" of Australia trip!

We recently recorded a narrated slide show of the Australia trip. If you can play .wmv files, you can hear a 6 minute or so overview of the trip in pictures. Click here to download and watch it! Feel free to leave any comments.

A Rainy (But Fun!) Macy's Parade

We flew to NYC yesterday afternoon to spend Thanksgiving with niece Jennifer Adam and her family and friends. We were thankful to all get on the flight from Chicago! Though our room in the Murray Hill Inn is cozy, we all snoozed quite well last night, even despite the sounds of a busy New York City street just beyond our window.

The alarm went off at 4:30am this morning. Our goal: meet everyone at the 23rd and Broadway subway station at 5:20am to get to the parade route early enough to get a great location. Within minutes of walking to the subway we were introduced to today's weather forecast: rain!

Here's a picture of Ben styling next to some subway art!

Two legs on the subway and we were at 73rd and Central Park. Thankfully there was a covered area that allowed us to hang out without getting drenched during the 3 hour wait until the parade start. Despite the cold and rain, everyone had great attitudes and were ready for things to fire up at 9:00am.

It was a lot of fun to see the big balloons, bands, floats, and clowns that make up the 80th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Thanks to a couple Starbucks stops to warm up and dry off, along with the fun of hanging out with family and friends, it all added up to a great experience.

We were pretty rainsoaked on the subway trip back toward the hotel. We stopped for some tasty if over-priced clam chowder and french bread that helped a somewhat melting down Christa recover. We're now warming up at the hotel, taking hot baths and getting ready to take Thanksgiving afternoon naps.

Tonight we're off to Jenn's and Martha's apartment to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with the whole crew, including friends and family. What a great Thanksgiving Day...

So much to be thankful for today, Lord. We do thank you.