New York City

Evan had a business trip in New York City.  So Evan's sister flew up from Albuquerque and watched the three kids while I headed off to the "Big Apple" with him.  The conference was held at the Marriott Marquis in Time Square.  This means his employer paid for us to stay at that hotel.  The hotel was not necessarily all that fancy, but the location was great.

Evan at our window on the 40th floor.

Night 1: Exploring Time Square at 1:00 am in the morning

New York City Skyline

Day 2: Evan's conference hadn't started yet, so we went exploring.  We took a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  

The ferry fee also included a guided tour.  So we learned lots about the Statue....Like did you know it took 20 years for the cooper on the statue to turn green? Also the thickness is only as thick as two pennies.  Maybe my favorite fact (that I felt like I should have known) was that the statue (and pedestal) was built on top of a fort that was used in the war of 1812 but saw no action

Looking at the Freedom Tower.

See... the base is an old fort.

Ellis Island was my favorite.

I loved that the integrity of the building was preserved.

The main room where you would wait to see an immigration person... felt a lot like a DMV.

Then we walked up to the World Trade Center Memorial.

Yankees VS. Red Sox game.  It rained almost the whole game. [Editors Note: I wouldn't really call it rain but more a constant off and on drizzle.]

A drunk guy in the third inning took our picture (the lady next to us is one of Evan's co-workers, Theresa)

As soon as I walked into the stadium I smelt garlic fries and wanted some SO bad.  I thought Evan and I could eat a bucket together.  It made me so sick and we only finished about half of the 8 piece chicken strips and 1 pound of fries. [Editor's Note: Those who know me know I don't like fries, I ate maybe 5].

Not a drunk guy taking our picture...

Then there was a home run while our picture was being taken...Notice Evan watching the ball go over the fence. (and the Yankees won)

The Next day Evan was in conference.  I slept in!  I figured out the subway system and went to the temple.  It was so nice to not have to leave my kids for 6 hours and find a sitter for that long.  Also I thought it was funny when I could hear a few sirens while I was inside!  That day it rained ALL DAY LONG.  I walked around central park, went to Tiffany and Co, Trump Tour, Rockefeller Center, and Sax Fifth Ave.  It was a ton of walking and trying to avoid people's umbrellas!

That night we saw Phantom of the Opera.  I think this was Evan's favorite thing.  The theater was awesome and perfect for the show.  The actors were excellent and props and costumes were more than expected. [Editor's Note: I grew up listening to this cd (musical note movie) and even sang "Music of the Night" for an ensemble audition. The performance a few times had me holding my breath. It was my favorite activity on the trip.]

The next day I mastered the subway.  I had Wafels and Dinges for breakfast at the suggestion of a friend.  I had a wafel with peanut butter, bananas, and bacon oh and syrup.  Awesome.  Then I went to the Empire State building.  I was going to go to the top, but once I waited in line and saw the price and knew I have to wait in another line...it lost the nostalgia. I'm convinced Meg Ryan didn't have to wait in so many lines to meet Tom Hanks.

Then I walked to Macy's!  I was very excited about that one.  I didn't buy anything there, but I did buy Evan a shirt at Express and me a new sweater there too.

Then a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  It was cold, but at least it wasn't rainy.

Some nice boys from Argentina took my picture and more Wafels and Dinges at the end of the bridge.

That night we saw Chicago.  Much better than the movie!

The day we flew home, Evan didn't have conference so we raced out to check off a few more things off the bucket list.  We went to the Plaza Hotel and had breakfast.  The whole time we were there I kept thinking of TVs and movies that take place in NYC.  The Plaza is where Kevin from Home Alone 2 stays, hence Evan's face.

We strolled Central Park for longer than expected.  That park is huge.

And a pose from one of my favorites, Gossip Girl, on the steps of the MET.  Then we took a different Subway to Levain bakery (another suggestion of a friend).  When I saw the long line out the door I thought, "Ok I guess these cookies ARE good".  They were AWESOME!