It has been perhaps the busiest 3 weeks in past memory and I am so excited to be winding down school and heading out on Mexican cruise next Monday! I need some R and R and am looking forward to some fun in the sun!
It's been a while since my trip to New York, but I have to share some highlights with my adoring public, right? Here's the rundown with a few pics...Joe and I celebrated anniversary #2 in NYC the 18th-23rd of November. That Sunday we did the typical things....walked the city, ate hotdogs in the park, marvelled at the big piano in FAO Shwartz.
Monday was our actual anniversary. We spent the day freezing our butts off at the statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and walked from the pier all the way up through Ground Zero, the Financial District, SoHo and into Grenich Village. It was quite a trek! Finally we jumped on the subway and headed back the hotel. For dinner, my folks sent us to Tavern on the Green and we finished the day at the Empire State Bldg. It was such a fantastic day!
Tuesday was spend at the Natural History Museum (of NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM fame) and then went up to Harlem to eat Soul Food and visit the Apollo. (Joe said even HE was surprised at how many black people there were around. :) The museum was really incredible and there are more things I could say about it than I would ever have room to write. If you ever get to go, you should...it's like the zoo, but all the animals are always out. They also had a great display on the Gola tribe from Liberia, my father-in-law's tribe!
Tuesday night we saw "Young Frankenstein" with Megan Mullally, Roger Bart, Sutton Foster and Andrea Martin. It was great fun! Especially since we were sitting next to a fellow FWISD teacher. (what are the odds?)Wednesday we went shopping on Canal Street and Soho. We met our family friend for lunch a cuban restaurant and took the NBC studio tour, where we got to see where they film Conan and SNL. We tried to get out the balloon inflations for the parade, but we were too late. No biggie tho...we were eating with one of Joe's clients at Hard Rock Times Square and had our meal comped. (She knows the manager. It was pretty awesome! We had a GREAT time!)
Ah, and Thursday...the big event...the MACYS PARADE!!! It was SO much fun!!!! I can't begin to tell you how awesome it was! It's my single favorite thing I have ever done in my life! No exaggeration! We had to be at MACYs at 545 am to get into costume. We were clothed, made-up, and bused over to Central Park by 7. Then we just wait and watch. We were close enough to touch most of the GIANT balloon. (Doras foot is bigger than my car.) We saw celebrities (Hairspray cast, the new Meneudo, Dolly Parton, Mayor Bloomberg, Ashley Tisdale, Neo, etc.) But the best part was actulally walking down Broadway those 3 miles. When you hear, "Cowboy clowns, JOIN THE PARADE!!!" on the speakers, it was just mayhem the whole way! Laughing, cheering, little faces pressed against windows as high up as you could look. We passed over 3 million viewers. It was incredible! Kids hug you, people beg to take a picture with you...so fun!
After the parade, we met another of Joe's friends for lunch and cheesecake and then took a well deserved nap. For Thanksgiving dinner, we ate with our family friend, Reagan, and his friends. We felt very out of place, but very cool at the same time. :) We were with 27 strangers in a Manhattan apartment for about 3 hours. Everyone was very "new york" and we were more impressed with each person we met....the Disney cruise execs, the director of the parade, the founder of Camp Broadway.... It was an amazing experience that I wish I could have EVERY SINGLE THANKSGIVING!Friday we walked the streets and enjoyed our last moments before flying to Austin to meet my family at my grandparents. It was just the best trip and such a blessing to share with my best friend- Joe. I love having such amazing memories with my sweet husband.
There is so much more to tell and so many more pics, but I'll spare you. This has been a LONG post, so I'll shut up, but look for a post abotu Mel's weddign soon...it was so great to see some of you!
