Thursday, November 12, 2009

New York trip

On the 28th of October, I had the awesome opportunity to go to New York for a girl's trip with Gary's mom, sisters, aunt and cousins. We had so much fun and got a lot done. I have been there a few times before so I attempted to be the tour guide. We hit the major sites...Central Park, Empire State building, Canal Street for some shopping, Ground Zero, the business district, Battery park and Statue of Liberty. We also got to do a session in the New York City temple. The session was in Spanish and we had to use head sets to interpret but it was AMAZING and I loved being inside the temple. The noise and traffic outside the temple just fades away.

And of course you can't go to New York without eating some fabulous food. We had some delicious breakfast at Sarabeth's, New York's famous pizza, and ice cream at Serendipity's. We tried an Italian restaurant that was suggested by the bus driver of a city tour Gary's mom and aunt went on. It was a major hit and the pumpkin ravioli I had was INCREDIBLE!!!

New York wouldn't be New York without seeing Broadway shows. I have seen many of the big ones that are out right now so I saw Mary Poppins, In the Heights, and Bye Bye Birdie. I was pretty disappointed in Mary Poppins. It is now my least favorite show I have ever seen on Broadway. I saw Bye Bye Birdie strictly to see John Stamos (Uncle Jesse on Full House) but it also wasn't that great. I doubt it will be open for long. I did really like In the Heights though. I didn't know anything about it before I went but so glad I saw it. It had some awesome voices and well worth the money. Despite not loving the majority of the shows I saw, we all had a pretty good time and made some great memories. I loved getting to get to know Gary's family better because we don't get to see them often.

And if you are ever in the mood for an interesting experience in New York, try pushing a wheelchair around the city that is so crowded and not very wheelchair accessible. Aunt Kathy was a trooper, despite almost being launched from her wheelchair hundreds of times going off and on curbs!!! I'm sure we would all agree, if you are going to take a wheelchair to New York, make sure you don't rent one that only costs $25 for the whole week. You will get what you paid for...! I love my trips to New York but usually can't wait to get home. I don't love crowds and walking constantly in cigarette smoke about puts me over the edge! We decided we are going to continue these "girl" trips every year and try some place new. I can't wait!!!

The show I liked the best

The ice skating rink in the middle of Central Park. The weather was so nice!

Central Park in the fall


More Central Park. The New York Marathon was ran through here that Sunday.

The crew at Sarabeth's. This was after a red-eye flight and getting in at 6:30am. I purposely didn't include myself in this picture

MMMM! My lemon-ricotta pancakes