New York City - Day 4

4 am alarm. Snooze. 5:30. Oh no! We were supposed to be leaving for The Today Show by now. Arrived at Rockefeller Plaza at 6:30 and found a pretty good spot 3 rows back.


Cold, rainy, windy. Waited for 2 hours. Decided our fingers were more important than fame. (I just watched the DVR'd show, and we walked away minutes before they lowered the screen behind Matt Lauer!)
The Christmas tree was lit, but we forgot to take pictures. Seriously, after all those attempts to see it.
Breakfast. Shopping. Cindy and I spotted the Flatiron building. Check.


Doorman hailed a cab for us. Special request - big one, like a van, maybe. A car! It has a large trunk, he says. Cindy has a larger bag. Cindy's bag rode shotgun while the 4 of us squeezed into the back seat.


Did you know cabbies can smoke in the car? Yuck!
Plane delayed 1 hour. More like 2 by the time we left the ground. 4 hour flight home. Something about jet streams and head winds. The view for half the flight was clouds. You might have thought we were in the Arctic if you didn't know better.


Home safely. Exhausted.
Did I mention? I ♥ NYC!

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New York City - Day 3

Managed to get out of bed. Tired feet. Breakfast and then a slap of cold air in the face as we headed out. Cold and misty all day. Another subway ride.


Chelsea Market. Big let down. Not quite the giant market it was described as on the Internet. But quaint shops and reconnected with an "old" friend.


Cocktails and lunch with Kelly at Maritime Hotel. Recommend! Kelly walked us to the subway station and pointed us in the right direction before she disappeared onto her own train. Apparently, New Yorkers call them trains not subways. Rode the train to the 9/11 Memorial. Stood in line longer than we spent inside the memorial. It was beautiful and very moving.


Shopping at Century 21. Overwhelming! Never thought I would say that. Look at the time! We flew down broadway through the financial district to catch the Staten Island Ferry.


The cloud cover made it dark and foggy early so the pictures of Lady Liberty are not great.


Front of the ferry. Cold wind in the face. Manhattan skyline after dark. Only 4 crazies attempted it.


Next stop, Brooklyn Bridge. How do you get there? Walk, of course. In the cold, misty rain. Buildings damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Flooded. Constant hum of pumps and generators.


A little lost. A lot tired and cold. Sheila's hair was soaking wet. Original plan - cross the bridge, eat at Grimaldi's. New plan - take a picture, turn back, and find pizza somewhere else.


Back to the dilemma of finding the correct train to get us back to the hotel. Success! We rode 2 trains and only paid 1 fare. Not too bad. Notice I said train. Becoming a native. Found brick oven pizzas. Waldey's. Look it up if you're in the area.


Souvenir shopping and milkshakes. Last chance look at the Rockefeller tree and to stake out our spot for the Today Show. Scratch that. Tired and cold. Poster supply shopping. Must make a poster that will get us on TV. Look for us.


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New York City -Day 2

Santa Con in town.


Figured out the subway system. The Ansonia from ABC's 666 Park Ave. Not on Park Ave.


Unexpected walk to the West End. Riverside Park and Hudson River. Squirrels, dogs, and a cat on a leash.


Central Park. Strawberry Fields and Sheep Meadow. More Santas. Afrobats flipping for cash. Better than paying for a comedy show.

Meandering down paths and dodging 5k participants and cyclists.


Passed on ice skating. We just thought it was the longest line in town. We hadn't seen FAO Schwartz yet. 5th Ave window shopping.


Fake snow at Versace.


New York Public Library. No books?!?!


Grand Central Station. Beautiful. Wish you were there.


The miracle on 34th St...multiple Santas.


40 blocks later, time for a break. Change of clothes. Back out for another 40 or so blocks. 1D World for Hannah. Who does she love? You have to love all of them, she says.


Ready for dinner. Reservations? We should have made reservations? Found a great place a block off Times Square. Emmett's. Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Another long line, but a great show.

Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza at midnight. Guess when they turn the lights off. 11:35! We got great pictures of a very large, unlit tree.


20 blocks back to the hotel. Found the real library and the books.


Kicked off boots. Giggled deliriously. Exhausted, again.


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New York City -Day 1

Screaming kid on a cramped flight. Kid got a great view of the planes from Cindy's lap.


Classic crazy cab ride. Shelley rode shotgun.


Surprisingly roomy hotel with a fire escape and a view of the Empire State Building.


Oh, and the windows don't lock. Wedged a random key in the window lock. Great lunch at Speedy's upstairs. Delicious. Walking. Walking. More walking. Cupcakes at Crumb's.


Caroling with an elf in Times Square.


Can you believe Billy Ray Cyrus is starring in Chicago.


More walking. Free Fridays at MoMA. Eye opening experience for little Miss Hannah. Lots of giggles.


Warhol, Pollock, a wall with a supposed bullet hole. We couldn't find the hole. Top of the Rock. New Puerto Rican friend. Cindy's kindred spirit. Amazing clear views of the nighttime skyline. Lots of pics of the Empire State Building.


Build your own burgers at The Counter. Street music.

One more peek at the Empire State Building from our fire escape.


Plans for tomorrow. Early bedtime. Exhausted!

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