I LOVE NYC

A while back Tess and I decided we were going to go on a trip to New York City!  Well, mainly I decided and Tessa hesitantly followed…but she followed, and that's what's important!  So, in December we had enough money from scrimping and saving and slaving away at the plasma center and we announced our big trip!  Dad didn't think we were serious. Mom was a little nervous.  Our brothers wondered why in the heck we would want to go to New York City of all places.  Our sisters were excited for us, slightly worried, and a lot jealous.  We opened the invitation up to all, but we didn't have any sure takers.  Taffy was kind enough to lend us her services as an awesome travel agent and she found us some cheap plane tickets and a hotel for a great price at a great location!  Through all the planning she caught the bug and decided to come along for the first couple of days.  We're so glad she did!  So, here's the rundown of our trip :)

Wednesday April 23rd: 

We left Cokeville around 7:15 to meet Taffy in Evanston and we headed down to the airport for our 11:59 pm flight.  The flight got cancelled, we had to rebook for a 5 am flight and we slept (or didn't sleep) in the airport.  

Thursday April 24th:

Because of some complications at the ticket counter we were running a little late, so we ran to the gate, but despite our efforts, we barely missed our flight… And yes, this candid photo is one of pure devastation.  

But, things always seem to work out and they rebooked us with a direct flight to JFK leaving at 8:30.  Thank you, sweet ticket lady!

When we got there we checked into our hotel, Hotel Carter.  This little gem of a hotel was half a block from Times Square.  The location couldn't have been better!  It was a little dumpy, but the price and location made it totally worth it!  And let's be honest, all we did in there was sleep and shower, so we didn't need anything too fancy.

Then, that night we just walked around Times Square and tried to get a little bit more familiar with our surroundings.   

Friday April 25th:

We picked up our New York Passes (a must have if you plan on doing touristy things in NYC) and headed off!  The first thing on our list was biking in Central Park.  It was amazing!  We laughed and talked and just had a ball!

Next, the Empire State Building.  We did the audio tour and learned so much about NYC.  I seriously felt like I was in the movies way up there!

Then we did the New York Skyride.  Seriously people, don't waste your time.  It's supposed to be a simulation of hang gliding over the city, but it was really horrible.  I had to close my eyes halfway through because I was so motion sick.  It took me about an hour to recover.  

That evening we went on a twilight river tour around the south end of Manhattan.  It was so much fun! The views were surreal!  

Saturday April 26th:

Our morning started out with a beautiful run in Central Park.  We really loved that place. 

Then we cleaned up and headed to Discovery Times Square where the Body Worlds exhibit was on display.  It made me a little queasy, but it was still pretty interesting.  Taffy and Tessa loved it and took their time in there exploring every detail of the human body while I chilled outside.

Then they humored me and we went to a couple museums.  First stop was the Museum of Natural History.  Then we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I loved it!  I got to see the original of one of my favorite paintings, Washington Crossing the Delaware.

We also got to see some really cool Egyptian stuff that dated back to about 2000 BC.  

Next was my long awaited trip to the Brooklyn Bridge.  I finally got to walk it, in the rain no less, and it was everything I always dreamed of :)

That night we went out to eat at a place called Stardust Diner.  It was so fun!  They entertain you while you eat some good ol' fashioned diner food.  We loved every second of it!

After dinner we headed to Madam Tussaud's Wax museum where we snapped some shots with our favorite celebrities.  It was more fun than any of us expected!

The last stop of the night was Cold Stone where we ended up enjoying ice cream 4 times throughout the week :)

Sunday April 27th:

First thing in the morning we took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  The Spirit was so strong at both places and I learned so much about how important the birth of our country was, and how important immigration was from the audio tours. 

Brooklyn from the ferry

 The Registry room at Ellis Island

When we got back we went to the 9/11 Memorial.  This was the site in NYC I was most excited to see.  The attack on the Twin Towers changed my life, and I loved learning about the details of the events that occurred that day.  So many people volunteered and helped out in a time of crisis.  Americans came together to help out in a time of terror and even though I was just a young 3rd grader, that was the first time I remember feeling proud to be an American.  Going to the memorial and the tribute museum have just made me prouder.  I love America.  

We walked around the financial district a little more and then went to a Jewish Heritage Museum that was very interesting as well.  

Then we headed uptown and saw the temple and went to the Art Students League of New York where my great grandma Minerva Teichert attended art school.  We were pretty pumped about being there.  

Monday April 28th:

Taffy headed back to Wyoming really early.  We LOVED having her with us!  I'm so glad we have such a great relationship with her even though we're so far apart in age.  We had so much fun together!  After she left, it was just the two of us in the big city!  A little intimidating, but we did pretty darn good, if I do say so myself :)

Our morning started with a beautiful run along the East River.  Isn't Tess a babe?!

Then we went and walked around Little Italy, Chinatown, and Soho and did a little shopping.

Later in the day we headed up to the Bronx and Yankees Stadium. We couldn't go inside, but it was still really cool to see it! 

We got off the subway at Rockefeller Plaza and had fun walking around there for a bit.  

We did some more shopping and just walked around Times Square and enjoyed being in the big city.  

Tuesday April 29th:

First thing in the morning we made a quick stop by Madison Square Garden.

Then we headed to the High Line.  We LOVED this!  They restored a section of the old high line railroad system that ran in Manhattan and turned it into a garden/walkway.  The views were great, the gardens were beautiful, and we just loved it.  I snapped this gorgeous pic of Tess while we were there.  

Then we headed up to the Temple.  The city is so busy and crazy, and you walk through the doors and it is so calm and peaceful.  It was so refreshing.  We performed baptisms for the dead and it was such a great experience.  The Church is true people. 

That night was the big finale: WICKED!!  We were so excited, and it definitely did not disappoint!  Those people are so talented and the story line was great!  We left speechless.  We've been talking about it and singing to the soundtrack ever since.  

Wednesday April 30th:

This was our last day and we had to check out of our hotel at 11:00, so we decided to just take a good run in Central Park.  Well, it was pouring rain!  We did it anyways and loved every second!  We were soaked to the bone.  

Then we came back to our hotel to shower and clean up, but there was no water that morning at our hotel because of a fire hydrant that was gushing water out in the street…  So, we cleaned up as best we could, checked out of our hotel, hauled our luggage to the bus stop in the rain, and said our last goodbyes to the city.  

We sure loved you New York City!  Don't worry, I'll be back :)

(If you made it to the end of this, you're a champ!  But seriously, sorry it was SO long!)