On the Road Again

We are heading back home from New Jersey. It's been a crazy whirlwind over the past few days. We arrived on Friday and got checked into our room before heading off to Scott's Aunt and Uncle's house to hang out for the evening. We got the grand tour of their house and played around in the basement on the pinball machine while waiting on Mary to get ready. We then headed off to Atlantic City to see the lights and do a little gambling. There is this awesome buffet that we ate at too which had everything you could imagine. They say Atlantic City is the next best thing to Las Vegas...if this is true, then I can't wait to visit Vegas. It was so awesome!! There is a lot of shopping villas and eaterys and bands and of course lots and lots of casinos, even Trump Tower. Very exciting!

Saturday morning we woke up early and met Pat and Mary again and headed over, by train, to the U.S.S Battleship. It was the main battleship used in all the wars. We also met up with Mary's son Dennis and his new wife Jenn. It was fun getting to hang out with people our own age again. We took the grand tour of the ship (headsets and all) and then finished off by hanging out in the gift shop while Scott, his dad, and Pat all took a ride in the simulator. After boarding the train again (while listening to Brad Paisley since he was in concert there) we headed back to Dennis and Jen's new house. They just got finished totally restoring it. It is way awesome. It's so much fun to see what other people have done to remodel their home. They live just a few miles from Base so we got to check into the base and drive through it. That was an experience in itself. Later, the boys all went back to the base and got to see where Dennis works on planes each day. I stayed back with Jen to make dessert for supper. We then headed back to Pat and Mary's for a delicious supper and a "friendly" round of boardgames. Around 1:00 am we decided it was probably time to head back to the hotel to get some sleep before heading back to the big IN.

This morning we woke up, packed, and headed off to a small diner off the edge of New Egypt (where we stayed) to meet up with the family one last time. It was good getting to spend a few more hours with them. Did I mention we stopped off at a bird farm first to see where people go to hunt for game? It's owned by Mary's other son, Gary. So, now we're buckled in and heading back down the highway west back home. It's about a twelve hour trip, so I've got lots of spare time on my hands.

New York: Day Four

Today was a good day. We left early to get over to the city so that we could take a tour of the Empire State Building. It was awesome! I got some really great pictures that I can't wait to upload. That seemed to take forever. We had to wait in line...hurry to the next stop (scanning our stuff, etc...it reminded me of the airport) and then hurry up and wait some more. In total going both directions we stood in line about two hours total. Which according to one of the guides this was a good day. He said most of the time people stand in line 2-3 hours each way. Afterwards we met up with our landlord, Norris, so that he could take us on a tour of all the "non-tourist" attractions. It was a really good time. We started at this old restored mansion that now serves as his private art club. It was beautiful. We then headed across the street to their private park. You literally have to have a key to get in and get out. Mostly there were a lot of nannies their with their children. It's not a park like you think. There isn't any equipment or anything, just gardens and park benches. Very nice, and surprisingly, quiet. We talked awhile and then headed a few blocks over to a newly restored hotel. It was modern and very, very ritsy. We sat and drank tea and then took a tour of the lobby (there were people playing billiards). It was insane. The bartender was irish. He was neat to listen to. Norris told us that it probably costs around $600 or more per night to stay there. Maybe someday when I'm rich...ha! After that we headed on what I like to call our parade of restaurants. :) He said the only way to eat in NY is to have a course at different stops. We had "appetizers" at a chinese dumpling joint. The food was amazing. Norris taught us to eat with chopsticks. We then proceeded to East village and stopped at a few shops along the way. There was a place called sock man where they only sell socks (of EVERY kind might I add). Next stop, Gourmet hotdogs. They had every kind of hotdog topping you could imagine. I ate a hotdog wrapped in bacon folded in between cheese and an overeasy egg. There was an underground bar that you could go to if your name was on a list and you entered through a phonebooth. Too bad our name wasn't on the list so we didn't get to check that out :( We walked a few more blocks to our final course...dessert! It was an upscale place called "Chickalicious." I must admit I felt a little out of place...but it was so worth it. We ate a three course dessert that was even served with wine that matched the type of dessert you chose. We all started with a strawberry gilatto topped with a frozen cream. Then I got an almond dessert of some sort that was drizzled with peach sorbet. Finally, a tray full of sampler chocolates, marshmellows, and cookies. Woah! We bid Norris farewell (he had a plane to catch) and headed to the subway. We finished our night off on Broadway at the CBS store which turned out to be closed. So we did some touristy shopping to purchase some New York memorabilia shirts. Finally, we headed back to the subway and took our final ride just before catching our last cab in the big apple! What an adventure it has been :0 I must say I'd love to come back again...maybe for a weekend to catch a show. But, you definately need a guide, it makes things so much easier! Next stop...New Jersey.

New York: Day Three

Woah! What a crazy day. We started out around noon to head out on our tour that we booked last night. We headed uptown through all of the parts of the city. We saw everything from China Town, to Little Italy, to all of Broadway and so on. It was pretty cool. We took a bus that was open on the top...the seating was on the top. We had a tour guide that told us all about the main attractions. We learned where Kennedy stayed. Where Marilyn Monroe was for most of her career. Where George Washington gave his famous speech and ate dinner before heading off to war. We saw ground Zero and we saw that buildings that remain around. There were several monuments and cemetaries of fallen soldiers. We got to see the morgue where all 2,000 plus people were taken from the twin towers collapsing. We saw all the main government buildings. We even saw Trump Towers and all the ground he's trying to overtake. Of course, we saw the empire state building, we'll be taking a tour of that tomorrow. And don't forget all the shopping places in between (target, toys r us, gap, old navy, tommy hilfiger, victoria's secret, and even K-mart). It's crazy!! We finally arrived at our yacht that we took around the harbor on a mini cruise to see the statue of liberty. She was breath taking. I believe that was my favorite part of the day. My favorite part of the evening, however, was of course seeing the broadway show, Legally Blonde. It was amazing! Everything I've ever dreamed of, and more. We found this awesome half price joint that sold us our tickets for cheap (compared to regular priced tickets ;) and it was worth every penny. Things were all hunky dorey of course until we got to the subway. Why is it when you're waiting at midnight for the train it gets scarier and scarier. I've decided I hate the subway. It's confusing, it's scary, and it's awkward. It took forever to get to our street. Then of course we had to taxi again to our hotel. We had a crazy cab driver that kept telling us about how much he hates O'Bama and how even if he wins he's going to be assasinated. How all the democrat speeces were lies and how he thinks McCain's got it in the bag so why is everyone even wasting their breath? I couldn't believe it. I'm not stating whether I'm democrat or republican....I'm just saying it's nutso to bring up three things in a situation where you aren't familiar with people. If you want to turn people off immediately, here's how.....just mention politics, money, or religion. Take your pick :)

Day Two: New York

Today we arrived at our hotel. It was about a six hour trip from where we stayed last night. It's definately a culture shock here. We had to bus into the city (over the bridge) and then take a subway to get the rest of the way in. When we got onto the subway we got into some trouble with one of the african american passengers. He wasn't too happy that my father in-law looked at him. He started cussing him out and telling him that he was just like all the other rich white people and not to mention "spicks." I was shocked. Of course my father in-law didn't say anything back. When we got off the subway we talked about how he should make sure not to look at anyone but us. It was quite the experience. Then we proceeded to walk down broadway street and begin some site-seeing. There were tons of people EVERYWHERE!! Scott didn't enjoy it so much because he doesn't like crowded areas. We did make it around to the cheap tickets booth eventually and looked up some shows that we would potentially like to see tomorrow. There are lots of great ones playing right now that I'm dying to see, however, it only looks like we are going to have time to see one. I'm so excited. It's what I've been dreaming about since I was little. I can't believe it's finally going to come true! After walking around for a few hours we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe to eat. It was really cool. Three levels worth of rock and roll hall of fame. They took our picture in front of some guitar pieces and of course wanted us to spend 14.00 to purchase one. We didn't. The food was good and surpisingly so was our waitress :) There was some awesome memorabilia surrounding us. The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Elton John to name a few. There outfits were so cool...and small ;0 I think the thing I was surprised by the most was that everyone fits in here. It doens't matter what you're wearing. EVERYONE has their own sense of style. I thought for sure we'd really stick out. But, the New York fashion kind of blends in with the overwhelming tourist population. Looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings. It should be interesting.

Day One: New York Trip

On our way to New York. Stopping in New Stanton, PA for the night. Not much exciting happening here yet.....more to come

Start Spreadin the News...

I'm not leaving today. However, we are at one week and counting for departure for New York!! I'm so excited. We are going out for three days to visit the city and visit our landlord. We're planning to see a Broadway show. Any suggestions? We have put in for Wicked, but are waiting to hear back as to whether or not we can get them. Also, we'll be taking a harbor cruise and eating some great New York food!

Happy 1st Birthday JAKE!!

Technically my cousin Jake's first birthday was yesterday, but we celebrated today. It was a funfilled day full of presents (he didn't get the concept as most one year olds don't) cake eating, and, best of all, hanging with friends and family. Immdiately following the party we had a little cookout (corn on the cob included) and, of course, cornhole. It was a great time had by all.