NYC

For my birthday LeGrand gave me a trip to NYC.  I was sure happy when September finally rolled around so I could redeem it :)  He and I left the kids with Jen and headed for 5 days away.

I hadn't been feeling that great and we had a red-eye out of SLC so when we got to our gate at the airport I took nyquil and was groggy and so tired.  We finally got on the plain and I was OUT.  Part-way into the flight I woke after subconsciously remembering I had left my phone plugged in at the docking port at the airport, ugh!  It was like that moment out of home alone where she realizes she left her kid home...panic, but nothing you can do about it.  LeGrand has a dumb phone so it wasn't going to be much help for us.  No phone meant not internet and no camera --how pathetic that so much of our lives is run by that little device.  Luckily we had brought a computer and were able to use it at the hotel to find a place we could go purchase a cheap phone to get us through the weekend.  It made for an interesting trip having to rely on google map print outs, and landmarks to get where we wanted to go, ha ha.  Thank heavens most places had free WiFi so we could log on with our cheap phone.  We hadn't paid for a plan because we mainly wanted the thing for the camera...we could use it whenever there was free wifi so that did help!  The picture above is the first we took with the phone, I was exhausted, upset, frustrated and not feeling that thrilled about the situation but LeGrand made us take a photo, ha ha!

After that start to the trip we were hungry!  We ran into this little pizza joint and it reminded us of 'Dos Bros Tacos' off of one of our favorite movies, Turbo.  In the end the pizza was just okay, which is a shame in NYC but it was still fun to show the kids what we found :)

 We arrived the morning of September 11th.  That afternoon we made our way to ground zero - I have so many memories of that day in 2001.  It was a cool experience to be there on the day they were commemorating.  There were flowers laying by the names all around the reflective fountain/pool and the museum was open only to families who had lost loved ones.  It's neat to see how ground zero has been transformed!

 There's just something so exciting and nostalgic to me about a NYC subway...I love me a packed subway!

 We made our way to our favorite little dumpling house in China town, the line was out the door and the dumplings were fresh as ever, yum-o!

 That evening we got to see Hamilton on broadway and it was INCREDIBLE!  

 Followed by a 'night out' in time square --always so many interesting characters to see :) 

 The next day we headed to lower Manhattan for a glimpse at the statue of Liberty...and found Liberty street on the way :)

 And off to have the BEST. PASTRAMI. EVER at Katz deli --I've never been to this place where there aren't lines out the door and a room packed full of people!

 The part of the trip I was really excited about was getting to visit Gale and the kids in NJ.  NJ and the Weinbergs hold such a special place in my heart and it's been quite some time since I have seen them.  It was SO GREAT to visit.  We stayed with Gale at her new place in Oakland.  She headed to work so we went for yummy food at the diner, a fantastic east coast pedicure and a trip down memory land through Franklin Lakes along with a stop to see Lauren at her work.

That evening the kids came to visit--they look the same just 18 years older ;) 

I'm so glad we got to stay for a couple of nights and catch up on life.  I'll forever be grateful they took me into their home and let me have an amazing year of growth and experiences I never would've had another way!

 Back to the city...driving into the city is one of my favorite things.  I love seeing the skyline from the bridge!

 We happened upon this fun street market!

 Had some delicious burgers at the Shake Shack!

Love the sights and sounds of the city!

 Hit Rockefeller plaza

 And yummy banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery

 And delicious Pho at a little place we found!

 Love the city and what that little part of the East Coast means to me.  So glad we were able to visti and have some time away!  Eternally grateful for Jen and the fantastic friend she is, always so willing to watch the kids and spoil them rotten while we are gone!