Back from the Big Apple!

I

love NY

Ok, this is going to be a long post. Jesse out did himself when he sent myself to New York with 2 of my sisters, niece and my lovely Mom for 5 days. I'm not going to bore you too much with all the details, but I'll just give you the highlights of the sightseeing...which is actually A LOT!
Day 1: I should probably mention that the night before we left I didn't get a wink of sleep. I arrived to my moms house around midnight and we were going to have to get up around 3:30 to get ready and leave for the airport by 4:30; our flight left at 6 am. We were all just too excited to sleep. Same on the plane...couldn't sleep. Needless to say our energy level was just about ready to collapse. This is the apartment Jesse rented for us. It was so newly renovated that they were seriously sweeping up from the construction dust. It was so clean and comfortable. We saved hundreds as compared to staying in a hotel. I found this place on http://www.homeaway.com/ and it was located on 30th & 5th.

Here is the view from outside of our apartment. Just a few blocks from the Empire State building. I can never get over how tall the buildings are. This picture cracks me up, because we were all wearing a shade of green except for my mom and so our shirts are completely blended in with the background. Plus, Jeanine was trying to tell the camera lady "wait!" and she just quickly took the picture. Ha ha!
After flying in and settling into our apartment, we set out on the town. We mainly just sat at Harold Square while watching the people and cars go by. I could never get tired of watching people. Just enjoying a pretzel and taking in the hustle & bustle of the city.








Day 2: Up and out by 8 am, ready to shop! I think we walked the most on this day. We walked and walked up and down Broadway and 5th Ave. Down to ground zero and then took the subway back to Union Square.












We found what looked like a safe alley and there were some neat backdrops so we stopped to do some silly poses. Just needed a good laugh to get the endorphins running because around this time we were just about to drop like flies. We found this store called "Joyce Leslie" and we found some good deals there and that's the place where I did my Micheal Jackson impersonation. (inside joke between my mom & June)

I had to take my family to this restaurant called "The Bald Man" chocolate factory. The exact name of the restaurant slips my mind. I went to this place 3 years ago with my sister n law Connie and it was sooo delicious. The food lived up to its ability to make me smile. We just couldn't stop laughing (must have been all of the chocolate we were consuming). We walked home home exhausted and really sleep deprived; hit the hay.
Day 3: 4:40 rang the alarm. It's funny when you know you have an exciting day ahead of you, it makes it easier to roll out of bed although, when our feet hit the floor they were screaming! :) Our legs were so sore!! Normally, there's no way I'd get out of bed at that hour. We woke up this early because Miley Cyrus was performing a free concert in Central Park for the CBS Friday concert series they have every summer. The subway was quiet except for a few questionable people. It looked like it did in the movie "Ghost" when Patrick Swayze is learning how to move things as a ghost. I thought any minute a piece of trash is going to fly in my face. When we got to the park the line was very long, but surprisingly we were able to get up close to the stage. Bret Michaels was also there singing the duet "Every rose has its thorn" with Miley. It was interesting to watch them in between sound checks and commercial breaks. They seemed very nice and would crack jokes at each other. They were both very good performers. I caught a glimpse of Emeril, but sadly didn't get to taste any of his food. :(
We activated our New York City Pass (best bang for your buck if you're site seeing) and started at Madame Tuso's. We all screamed when we turned the corner and saw "Edward" so of course I had to get my picture with him. We also had a good time acting for the camera with The Hulk.
To me my mom looks like she just slammed her hand in the door! ha ha! If I had it to do all over again I would of acted like I were fainting. The screaming just isn't original. :)
We hopped on the bus tour to take a load off our feet and loved our tour guide who really knew the city well. We toured through Harlem and Upper side of Manhattan. Amongst all of the heathens in Times Square I was surprised when we came across the LDS Missionaries. These poor boys were probably very hot in their suits, but they were cheerful and upbeat. The highlight of this trip for me would have to be going to see the Phantom of the Opera and the Statue of Liberty. We lucked out on the tickets. We were able to sit in a box seat looking down onto the stage. Let me just say that The Phantom of the Opera is AMAZING!! The singers just brought tears to my eyes; so powerful!!! AND, the sets were also incredible. My favorite part was the beginning of the show after the auction. The chandelier which was sitting on the stage covered with a dusty grey cloth was sparked to life and lifted above the audience. That's when I knew "this is gonna be gooood!" The main characters nailed their performances. Their voices sounded just like the recordings you hear if not better. It's amazing that as many times as they perform this show (I think twice a day) that they perform it as if it's their first. My sisters, June, Janet and I used to listen to the music as kids and so seeing the show was just a dream come true for me. I hope it never leaves Broadway. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but at the end of the show I noticed others snapping some so I got my quick shot.

The Statue of Liberty meant so much to me to visit. I've been doing some reading on our country and how it was formed (thanks to Glenn Beck) and just walking the grounds of it was very humbling.Here's just a random shot of the city near Fox studios. The buildings just seem to go on forever. With our NYC Pass we were able to take a tour of NBC Studios. That was very cool. We weren't allowed to take pictures for obvious reasons, but we looked at the studios for NBC Sports, Conan O'Brian, and Dr. Oz, but the most exciting for me was the SNL studio. Even though I'll probably never see a show I can at least say that I sat in one of the seats. Too bad SNL isn't as funny as it was in the 80's & 90's.
We took our pictures with the character pose and I can't remember what show this was, but Jeanine picked this out and I totally think that Jeanine needs to go for this hairstyle. You look good Jeanine!! For some reason the lady made June's head WAY to big for her character. We had a good laugh. I've left so much out, but those were some things I wanted to share. I love you Jesse for allowing me to take this time away from my responsibilities and spend some Q time with my mom and sisters. Bella who has always loved her daddy now just adores him and is a complete daddy's girl. Claire was probably the one who missed me the most. :) Karen, thank you so much for watching the kids while jesse was sick and at work. You're an amazing and wonderful mother -n- law. :) As much fun as NYC was and always is I'd have to quote from the title of the song: "New York is not my home."