New York City Trip

About one month ago I was able to visit New York City for the very first time. I had never been farther east than Colorado prior to this trip except for Japan but that is very far east (I kind of skipped everything in between) so I was very excited. It was also very last minute. Greg was going on a business trip to New York and about 4 days before we decided I should go too. It was the perfect time to go though because it was Spring and everything was in bloom and so beautiful and warm!

We left early Monday morning and I was on a separate flight to Denver where we would meet up and get our connecting flight together to New York City. I have flown my entire life but never by myself. I was pretty nervous but everything went great and I felt very proud of myself.

As we came into New York I saw the Statue of Liberty from the plane and I got so excited. To actually see the Statue of Liberty in person and realize that and all that it stands for is such an incredible experience. But more on that later. :)

We landed in NYC!

Once we landed at Laguardia we took a cab to our hotel. This was my first experience with New York drivers and I was amazed at how crazy everyone drives. People cut others off, they get inches away while going 40 mph; it is insane that they don't get into more accidents. It is the perfect example of organized chaos. The drivers are fearless and though they drive so chaotically, you have this innate trust in them. Interesting. All I can say is that I will never ever drive in New York City voluntarily.

We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. It was built in the 20's and has been restored to how it was in the 20's. It is magnificent. Everything was marble and it was exquisite. But by the time we got there I was so exhausted from traveling that I did not want to be there. I hated that first day. It was too crowded, too loud and too claustrophobic. I just slept and watched TV until Greg got back from his business dinner. It was a rough first day. I did however sleep on the most comfortable pillow ever and we actually called the hotel later, found out the brand, and bought two. One of the best purchases ever.

The second day started off rough. I was supposed to go meet with Greg's coworkers but that fell through so I ended up waiting around the hotel until 5 pm but after that it was fantastic. We hit the town!

We went to Grand Central Station to take the Subway to Central Park. Grand Central Station is incredible. We walked through this scary small tunnel and all the sudden it opens up into this immense room with cathedral ceilings designed with constellations. I just wanted to stare at the ceiling it was so beautiful. It is also amazing how many people are there from all over. I loved it!

On the stairs at Grand Central Station.

 We made it to the subway, which reminded me A LOT of Japan and even saw some rats on the tracks while waiting for the train. Nasty. Some New York pizza was on the menu so we stopped by a place Greg's coworkers referred, Little Italy's pizza. It was soooo good! You picked your slice and they put it back in the oven to heat it up. When you get it the super thin crust has the perfect crisp to it and it is hot and melty. Delicious!

It was literally as big as my face.

 After pizza we walked up to the LDS Temple in Manhattan. It was a beautiful. What amazed me the most was the difference in the noise level. Outside on the street and even in the hotel, etc. you can always here sirens, firetrucks, honking, people, everything; it is so noisy. As soon as you walk inside the doors to the temple though it is dead silent. It is so quiet and peaceful inside you forget that New York City is outside. This was one of my favorite parts.

Next we moved on to Central Park, which happens to be another favorite of mine. Central Park is immense. It is 843 acres, 6 miles long, and .5 miles wide. So yeah. We only saw the lower left corner. It is amazing everything you can do there. I could have spent 3 entire days there and that still wouldn't have been long enough for me. There is so much to see there; we even got to see a drunk man throwing up. Yay New York! ;)

Me!

My most attractive husband.

Me standing on some glacier rocks!

Looking into the city from Central Park.

Greg and me in Central Park

After Central Park Greg and I went to the Empire State Building. It was good we went the second day we were there instead of the first because the first day we got there, Monday, was the same day as the Boston Marathon bombing. It happened about 2 hours before we landed in New York. Because of that they had anti-terrorist/bomb patrol people around all of the major landmarks and high tourist areas of New York.

Anyways, Greg had been to the Empire State building several times before but always during the day. It was nighttime when we went and Greg was worried it wouldn't be as fun. However, because we went at night there was hardly any line so that was fantastic. The lobby is beautiful. Everything is ornate and marble and makes you think of Elf.

Not the best picture but you get an idea of how pretty it is

And the view from the 86th floor was incredible because everything was lit up. Greg said he actually liked it better at nighttime. It was breathtaking and super windy but awesome. While we were on the observation desk there was this cute older English couple that asked us to take their picture. The flash was turned off and we spent about 5 minutes trying to help them figure it out before we finally did. They were so appreciative and sweet and were able to get a picture after all. :) It was really fun.

One awesome view

Cold but happy

It was super windy up there.

My awesome husband.

View of the Chrysler Building; amazing all lit up.

Us at the top.

Looking up from the 86th floor.

Next was dinner. We went back to the hotel to change and then went to Maggie's Place, a really nice Irish family-owned pub. It was a fantastic dinner. I have never had chicken that was so moist. It was incredible.

Greg's steak dinner.

My chicken dinner. Yum!

Now on to Times Square! We were only a few blocks away so we walked over to Times Square. We got there around 10 or 11 pm but because of all the billboards, lights, people, cars, etc. it seriously seemed like it was closer to noon not closer to midnight. Personally I couldn't believe how much it reminded me of downtown Tokyo. It made me homesick for Japan.

Middle of Times Square.

Looking up

 Most if not all of the stores in Times Square close at 2 am which is crazy. There is still so much going on even at midnight!

A candy only store. I had to show my nieces this. They loved it!

Another view

 The Hershey's store was really fun. As soon you as walk in the doors you just smell chocolate. I have never been in a store that has smelled better. My mom would love this place. Everything there was chocolate. Yum!

A 5 lb. chocolate bar!!!!

Oh Hershey's! How delicious you are!

The Hershey's Store in Times Square.

We finally left Times Square after midnight and everything there was still going strong!


On our last day in New York, Greg had one last meeting with one of the top guys and I got to go and meet him and Greg's other coworkers as well. It was actually very fascinating and fun to go with Greg to it. After the meeting we took the subway to go see the Freedom Tower and Battery Park. However, we weren't sure which train to take and it was obvious we were tourists so a nice old man with a thick Brooklyn accent helped us out. He told us what trains to take and when we were waiting on the wrong side he came back over and helped us out. It just goes to show there are nice helpful people wherever you go.

We made it to where the two towers used to stand but we couldn't see where because they had high fences up all around. The reason for that was they had started searching in the rubble again. We would have gone to see the memorial but it was packed; there were lots of high school students there on a field trip and we didn't have much time. We were able to see St. Paul's Church which is incredible. It is so old that you can't read some of the headstones. It was so beautiful. We also walked by Trinity Church which is also very beautiful and so ornate.

St. Paul's Church across from the Freedom Tower.

So old you can't read the names.

After looking at the churches and the Freedom Tower we walked down to Battery Park which gave us a great view of the Freedom Tower, which they are still working on. It is an awesome looking building.

Looking at the Freedom Tower from Battery Park.

Another view of the Freedom Tower.

In the middle of Battery Park is the new home of the Sphere. The Sphere is a sculpture that used to stand in the plaza between the two towers. It was recovered from the area after the attack with only dents and holes amazingly. Again, they were doing construction so we couldn't get up close but it was amazing to see something from the 9/11 attack.

The Sphere, originally by the Twin Towers, now moved to Battery Park.

We walked over to the pier where we could see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. There were unmarked helicopters circling the entire time due to the Boston Marathon bombing. They also weren't doing actual tours because of the damage from the hurricane but just seeing it from the pier was amazing. To be able to see these two places in person was incredible. Knowing that people gave up so much to come to this country and that when they saw the Statue of Liberty it gave them hope for a better life; to have that knowledge made seeing it a very moving spiritual experience.

On the left is the Statue of Liberty and on the right is Ellis Island.

Greg was really excited to see if there was the guy that plays a calypso at Battery Park and what do you know, he was there. He had the big Jamaican hat, dreads, and he was playing Beethoven's Ode to Joy. It was sweet. Then we saw a man dressed up as the Statue of Liberty taking pictures with people. Getting both in the same shot was difficult but worth it. People are awesome.

On the left is the Statue of Liberty ;) and on the far right is the calypso playing man.

It was now time to leave. We got to the airport at 3:30 only to find out that our flight to Denver had been delayed from 5 pm to 8:30 pm. So we waited around LaGuardia until we finally got to board at 8:45 and took off at 9:15 pm. We got to Denver at 11:30 and luckily our flight from there to Salt Lake had been delayed as well or we would have missed that and been forced to stay the night at the airport. It was 19 degrees F in Denver by the way. We went from a beautiful 70 degree weather in New York to that. It was cold. Anyways, we boarded at 1:30 and finally, after 6 hours of delays due to weather, got home at 4 am. It was a fantastic trip and I am so glad that I went. I hope to go again but it was also great to be home in my own bed. :)

We finally landed!