The Tuacahn theater was pretty cool. I loved being out in the night sky with an amazing natural backdrop. We had excellent seats for a good price, 4th row on the left side by the orchestra. The singing was really good. Now if I could only get “Tomorrow” and “Easy Street” out of my brain!

The show went until 11pm and then they did some fireworks for the 24th of July celebration so it was a late night and we were more than happy not to have our kids with us. Tracie and John were awesome enough to take all 3 of our kids for the night! And report is that they were really good – they were excited to go to Chicken Wings House and not any signs of the normal Mamas Boys! Thanks again Lewis’s. Cali even did well. We probably missed them more than they missed us, especially when I couldn’t sleep in cause I needed to pump. Too much info? I’ll stop there.

This morning we hiked Kanarraville Falls! WOW! That was a fun hike. I enjoy hiking but I LOVED Hiking in water! In the river and zig zagging from one side to the other.

It’s a pretty small and very shallow river so it wasn’t dangerous – just fun! Another one that I’m glad the kids weren’t there needing to be held and carried over the stream. Why haven’t I done that hike before?

Another fun anniversary! what will the next 6 years bring??

Wednesday Night Red Eye Flight - I forgot that I was pregnant so that was not comfortable and I forgot to choose a window seat so I had nothing to lean on. New York City TAXI RIDE – that was fun – lots of horn honking and swerving. NY City Sights Tour Bus – Ben bought the ticket the night before so as soon as I could get myself out of bed I jumped on the bus for the uptown tour. Tour guide was obsessed with places that Jerry Seinfeld had lived. I did see where Babe Ruth had supposedly lived, General Grants Tomb and lots of other historical buildings.

   

Gyro= $4.00 – My first street food – lamb or chicken? they were both good.  Metro Card Purchase –  a tourist must – $25 for 7 day Metro pass. You could ride as much as you wanted and it didn’t matter if you went the wrong way cause you could just hop on another train to get back. China Town – I couldn’t enjoy it becasue it was TOO FISHY – ugghh. I did get my appetite back when we spotted the Gelato ( very brazil like icecream 😉 ) Little Italy – lots of yummy restaurants but we weren’t hungry yet. Lots of clothes that my brother -in-law Udine would have wanted. And we stopped to watch a soccer game – the game was on a field in the middle of all of the buildings and chaos. 

 

Ground Zero –  Totally under construction and fenced off as they rebuild – we saw a few memorials and could only imagine the Towers standing tall in the empty space.

 

The Manhattan Temple – great way to spend a Friday morning. I walked right by it the first time. The inside is beautiful. Definitely felt like a sanctuary from the big world right outside the doors.

 

Juniors – Famous for their CheeseCake. This was right Outside of our hotel. It was too rich even for me to finish in one sitting – that is saying a lot. TKTS= Cheap(er) Broadway Tickets – This was also relocated to our hotel so I stood in line and got Mary Poppins Tickets for $60 instead of $160. Ipanema, Brazillian Restaurant –  WOw, closest thing to real brasil just like on the mission food that Ben or I have had since the missions. yummy. Mary Poppins – First Broadway Show! I loved it. We all know the story but the music and dance were amazing.

 

Times Square – we stayed at the Marriot Marquis so we were right at Times Square. What are all those people doing? Walking and walking and walking. What if you said YES to every street vendor that asked you to buy his stuff? you’d have lots of paintings, sun glasses, and purses. How do they change the ginormous billboards without me noticing? WOW.

   

City Sights Down Town Tour – a good way to spend a saturday morning when your husband has to work. Lots more NY history and random facts. And you could tell it was the weekend cause it was even more crowded than the first 2 days.

 

Central Park – noone told me that I was supposed to wear my swim suit to the park! I came up to an open field and found a lawn full of bathing beauties and boys that thought they were at a beach! What a weird sight BUT when you think it through, that is the one place to catch some sun.

 

I strapped on my roller blades and strolled through the park for over an hour – Beautiful. Here are some of the pictures that you take when you are sight seeing by yourself.

    

Lady Liberty – this was maybe our one disappointment because we didn’t plan ahead and so we were unable to get out to Ellis Island or Liberty Island and really get a good look at the statue. Battery park was still beautiful and you couldn’t help but feel patriotic in those surroundings.

 

Our Favorite Spot – Joel recommended that we check out the park under the Brooklyn Bridge so we did and it ended up being one of our favorite spots. We layed near the Manhattan Bridge and looked out at the Brooklyn Bridge and the City in the distance. Open Air and just relaxing after 3 days of on the go.

     

Johns Pizzeria – came highly recommended from my friend Katie and Ben and I would both pass on the recommendation. Great pizza, Price, and Atmosphere!

 

The Empire State Building – what’s the big deal about this place? Lines were like Disney Land. It took 2 hours to get up and back down. 19$ per person. But there we were with all of the rest of the tourists doing this touristy thing that made it on our list of to do’s! To everyone who loves this building – it was a great view and we were glad that we did it. 

     

Noone mourns the WICKED! – we finished off our vacation with the best show on Broadway (most would think) The Gershwin Theatre was Huge and Packed, not an empty seat in the house. And Wicked lived up to all of our expectations. Ben and I are both converted! 

 

Brooklyn Diner near Carnegie Hall – yummy. the best onion rings I have ever had. My burger was delicious. Ben’s Chicken Soup was very Good! We found this one on our own and were very impressed with the food and service and supposedly lots of famous people have eaten there! 😎

Now we sit and wonder when and if we’ll ever make it back. Thanks again to EVERYONE that made my vacation possible. I LOVED IT and it’s good to be home.