For my birthday last month I got the best present ever! A trip to Connecticut to visit with my best friend Jeannie and her family. This is a picture of me and two of her little boys, Jacob and Peter.
Jeannie knows how well I deal with cake (see it, gorge on it!) so we had strawberry shortcake for my birthday instead. She knows I've been trying to lose weight and that I attend Weight Watchers and she was so helpful and supportive of my efforts to eat well and stay active on the trip. Who could ask for a better friend?
I had such a great time on the trip... my birthday was a Sunday and I had a two hour nap that afternoon! It was so relaxing and restful not to have to worry about the kids (I don't think I helped Jeannie at all! We have agreed that for the next trip we need to meet each other somewhere so neither one of us has to worry about kids!)
On Wednesday, Jeannie's husband Matt took the day off to stay home with the boys and we enjoyed a day in New York together. It was so much fun and a day I'll never forget! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! This picture is of me waiting in the New Haven train station to catch the train to New York.
Jeannie and I on the ferry headed to the Statue of Liberty. It was VERY cold! I felt like we were in Europe, there were so many different languages being spoken around us. It was a really cool experience!
After we got off the ferry from the Statue of Liberty this guy conned us out of five bucks. I stood up next to him to have Jeannie take a picture and he grabbed me and put the scarf on my head and the sunglasses on me and started putting my arms in all these positions. Then after Jeannie was done taking the pictures, he turned over the torch prop he had and it said, "Five dollars, please." What?!?!? I couldn't really refuse without making a scene. Geez, the guy is probably getting rich off of this scam!
Here's me still getting fleeced by "Mr. Statue of Trickery Man." (Course, I should say Jeannie was fleeced, cause she's the one who handed over the five dollars!)
The Statue of Liberty was beautiful. I can imagine it must have been a welcome sight to all those immigrants who finally arrived at Ellis Island after such a long and arduous trip across the Atlantic.
She was definitely smaller than I imagined though. On TV somehow she seems twice as big as she really is. If she wasn't up on a pedestal, she wouldn't really be that big at all.
Me on the ferry, New York in the background.
Jeannie on the ferry.
Times Square was really cool! I felt like I was on TV or something. It was fun to visit, but I don't know how people actually live there--so much noise and traffic and people everywhere!
Ground Zero. This was really cool to see. Jeannie and I reminisced about what we were doing on 9/11. I remember my parents talking about big events and saying, "I'll never forget what I was doing that day." But I never thought I'd have one of those memories. I was actually just finishing a TaeBo DVD and turned on the Today Show to stretch out and there it was, the Twin Towers on fire and as I watched, the second plane hit the other tower. It was kind of surreal to stand there and imagine all the people and all the smoke and how terrifying it must have been. I also remember that Ben was at the Provo Airport. He was training for his Private Pilot's License. That day changed everything for us, because the airline industry basically tanked, leaving Ben's chosen career field a bust. He started looking at other options, and that led us eventually to the Air Force. So, 9/11 definitely affected our lives to a huge extent.
Jeannie and I headed home on the evening train. We were so exhausted by that time, just trying to take a picture was totally hilarious! Our makeup was gone, our hair was flat, and we couldn't stop laughing!
We finally managed to take an okay picture. That day in New York was amazing! We saw the Statue of Liberty, we went to Wall Street, Ground Zero, Times Square, we saw "The Phantom of the Opera" (that's a whole other story in itself! We went to several different box offices trying to get last minute seats, but they were all either sold out or too expensive or we just plain couldn't decide! We finally made one last trip back to Phantom and the only seats left were "standing room only" but they were only $26.50! So, we snatched them up and stood in the row behind the seats to watch the musical. I joked during the show that we were like the peasants, standing in the back while the aristocrats enjoyed their luxurious seats. It was hilarious! I remember wanting to sit down, but thinking about the $130 that each person had paid and being happy to stand in the back!)
We also saw Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, and Grand Central Station. We wanted to see the Empire State Building, but it was kind of rainy and the top was in the clouds. That's fine though, we saved something for next time! It was a fabulous trip! I loved seeing Jeannie's beautiful house and getting to experience New England. Next time I just have to go in the fall so I can see the trees change color. Thanks, Jeannie, for an awesome trip! I love you!
6 comments:
Wow! You fit all that in a day! I'm impressed. Sounds like a fun trip. Happy birthday!
I had so much fun with you here!! I was laughing through much of your post just remembering the train ride (there and back!) and our "peasant" tickets to Phantom! What a great friend you are. We are on a three year roll of visiting each other, we've got to keep it up. . . so, where are we going next year? =)
What a fun vacation! You were able to see and do so much! I suppose with no kids holdin' you up, you were able to get around much easier. ;)
You guys are darling...still.
Wow! That trip sounds like a total drag! J/K! I'm just trying to make myself feel better, but I really am glad you had so much fun. Next year you should do D.C. It's amazing in Autumn.
How fun. looks like you had a great time! What an awesome experience.
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