NYC 2008

We packed up the van and left our house about 9pm Thursday evening.
The kids were sleeping by 10 pm.
At 3am we made our way to Pennsylvania and stopped for gas and bathroom break.
I woke up around 6ish to this beautiful sunrise. I was so amazed by the beauty of Pennsylvania and New Jersey Mountains. I brought a book and Sudoku puzzle book with me for the car ride but never even opened them. The scenery was breathtaking.
Brian and Austin bunked together this night and I couldn't stop laughing when I woke up that morning and found them sleeping the same way.

NYC Misc.

This is my favorite sign in Times Square
Madi sightseeing on the top deck of the bus.

Brian and the kids waiting at our bus stop to take us into the city. The bus stop was a 2 minute walk from our hotel and brought us all the way to Manhattan just two blocks from Times Square.
Madison thought it was very cool that a street had her name in the city.

Statue of Liberty

It was strange to be standing there on Liberty Island looking up at the Statue of Liberty that we've seen so many times in photos or tv etc.

We're waiting to catch our ferry. See her in the background?
Not exactly what you want to see see when you're visiting Liberty Island. 15 police officers and their bomb sniffing dogs came running in while we were eating our lunch on the Island. They actually were on our ferry on the way back to Manhattan so we found out that a man had barricaded himself in the mens restroom. Not something to take lightly.
View of the city in the background.

Ground Zero

We talked to the kids about 9-11 before leaving for vacation because we knew we wanted to visit the site of Ground Zero. Austin was 4 years old at the time and said he remembered me crying and holding him and Madison in the backyard looking up in the sky for planes. I was shocked that he remembered that from so long ago. Madison has no memory of it at all.
The Freedom Tower is under construction so you can't see very much. It is scheduled to be completed by 2012.
It's strange to be walking around the city with building after building and then you turn a corner and it's just a couple blocks of empty space.
NYC kids made a ceramic tile to represent every person killed in the WTC that day. They are displayed on a fence that surrounds a church in Manhattan.
This is a sphere that was located in the plaza of WTC Towers for 30 years. It was obviously very damaged after that day but they managed to retrieve it and have it on display near Battery Park.

NYC Misc. Pics

If you watch the David Letterman show then you know who this guy is... Rupert Jee. I wrote down the address to his Hello Deli before we left on vacation hoping to stop there for a sandwich because I figured that would be the most "famous" person we'd meet.
If you watch The Today Show on NBC then you may have saw us in the background either Saturday or Monday morning. It was fun to watch them taping segments and be in the background waving. Brian, Madison and myself were on TV Saturday morning, and Brian and Austin were on TV Monday morning.
We bought a 48 hour pass for Double Decker bus rides that allowed us to hop on and off as much as we wanted to for 48 hours. It worked out perfect that we had that as our transportation for 2 of the days we were in the city, plus we learned a lot of history and fun facts from the tour guides. It seemed like Madison fell asleep everytime we were on the bus for more than 20 minutes. The kids liked sitting on the top deck, but sometimes it was so hot we opted for the air condition of the lower deck.
Interesting how they park vehicles in Manhattan.
We decided not to go up in the The Empire State Building since we've already been there done that with the Sears Tower many times.

Central Park

Central Park was not at all what we expected.
Beautiful trails, ponds, fountains, playgrounds and even a zoo. We even stopped to watch a street show that two guys were putting on.
We forgot we were in the middle of NYC when we were deep into the trails until we came to this bridge and saw the buildings in the background.
Everything was just beautiful.

Yankee Stadium

Yankee fans for a day!
The main reason for our trip to NYC was to watch the Yankees play in Yankee Stadium before it is gone.
Despite the fact that it was 91 degrees outside and we were in the direct sun, it was tons of fun for us all. The Yankees won 14-9. There were several homeruns and one grand slam.
The New Yankee Stadium is almost done.
It was exciting driving up to the Famous Yankee Stadium.
Brian and the kids with our tickets.
We got there early to look around... but before we knew it the bleachers were packed.

Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls

Clifton Hill is about 3 blocks full of entertainment in Niagara Falls. Everything from arcades, bowling alleys and 3D movies to fun restaurants museums and rides. We chose to visit Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, Wax museum and Thrill Ride.That was my first time in a Wax Museum and it was kind of creepy when some of the people looked so real. I felt like some of them were going to start talking to me.
Here I was chatting with my friend Oprah.
The kids and Jack Sparrow.
SCARY!!!!
The three... I mean the 4 stooges!

Niagara Falls

When we arrived in Niagara Falls, Ontario it was midnight their time. Everyone was walking back to their hotels from the Falls because they had just turned off the lights that illuminate the falls when it's dark. So we checked into our hotel and were all asleep within 30 minutes. The kids were excited that we were in a different country. We explained to them the next morning about the 7 Wonders of the World and that ONE of the Wonders was in that town we were staying in. We told them to be on the lookout as we walked through the town to see if they can figure out what the Wonder would be. They kept pointing to stuff asking, "is that it?" Then we starting getting a breeze of moisture so I knew we were getting close. When we came to the top of the hill and you can see the Falls in the distance, the kids were amazed and knew they had found it. I was impressed that Austin instantly asked if that was Niagara Falls.

Last leg of the trip

The last stop on our vacation was in Ohio to visit my sister and her family. Even though it was just an overnight visit we had a great time. The kids played and swam in the pool. We all enjoyed Sheila's cooking and just hanging out. Isn't their dog, Molly, so cute?