New York

(Caution: Long Post)
Anth and I went to New York on October 11-20. I've been meaning to post but just haven't. It was a fabulous trip, filled with high adventure and plenty of near death experiences! (Would you expect anything less?!)

Day One: Nonstop flight to JFK. We were excited for the whole "nonstop" part but it was actually the worst flight either of us have ever been on. There was turbulence to rival any plane crash movie, including screaming people holding on for dear life. But as you can see in the picture below, we made it to JFK with said plane intact.


Yes, our main reason for going to New York was to see my parents in Palmyra but Michelle lives in New Jersey and Arlo lives outside the city so we spent some of our time with them.

Part of Day One was used in traveling by airtrain, subway, and train to Trenton, NJ to meet Michelle. We made it safely and were so glad our traveling was finished for the day!


Day Two: Church in Shamong with the Bruderer's. Lovely afternoon walk. Delicious dinner. When I have previously been in New Jersey I wasn't too impressed; Shamong, NJ is beautiful! We were there the perfect time of year, with all the fall leaves changing and falling! (I don't have any pictures of Day Two, sorry. Ok, I do but Anth won't let me post it. It has to do with him styling my hair and me styling his. Hehe.)

Day Three: Drive about 45 min to Atlantic City. I really didn't know too much about it except that it's supposed to be a Las Vegas on the East Coast. That and Sara Anne reminded me the movie "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" took place there (how could I have forgotten that!?). We walked the board walk, ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe (Adri had to cover her ears most of the time and kept repeating "I knew we shouldn't have come here" because of all the noise and scary animals), played on the beach, and shopped at the outlets. Atlantic City is a great place and better than Vegas for those that don't gamble.





Day Four: New York City. Michelle is an experienced New York driver! She did a fabulous job of driving us in. It was planned that the whole Bruderer family was going to come into the city to see the sights, etc. but instead Super Steve took the day off to spend it with his kids while Michelle came into the city with us. We had a blast. One of the best parts is that we got to see Sara Anne! She was on her way back to Denmark and had couple hours to hang out with us before her flight.
We parked the car and met her at Arlo's work, 51st and Lexington. Grabbed a bagel and headed to Central Park. I could have stayed there all day. The leaves were perfect, it was beautiful!!


(Notice that we're standing oldest to youngest and blue, purple, then red. Pretty fun!)

Next we headed over to the Rockefeller Center. We had a pretty clear view of the city and felt pretty high up. We had a fun time asking the guards to take pictures of us and just enjoyed the view.





Next we picked up Sara Anne's luggage from Arlo (such a good holder of luggage:), took a short subway ride and ended up at the Brooklyn Bridge. Sara Anne only made it about 1/4 of the way over before she headed to catch her plane. (We loved seeing you Sara Anne, even if it was for just a few hours, and can't wait to see you in May!!) It was a neat expereice walking across the bridge. Michelle said it was one of her favorite things to do in the city and I agree. The Bridge was once the tallest in the city. We had a fabulous view of the city and the Hudson. After we crossed we ate pizza at the famous Grimaldi's Pizza, which was delicious, and yummy ice cream, which also is the worlds best but I can't remember the name.




After the Bridge we headed over to Canal Street or perhaps better known as China Town. Michelle , Anth and I all bargained for stellar deals and came away happy. Michelle-purses for her girls, Anth-Cologne, and Me-a purse.

We then dropped Michelle off at the car, said goodbye and headed for Time Square. As we were about to come up from the subway to Time Square I asked Anth if he was ready. He said "Is there something I shoud be prepared for?" It was like being with a kid at Disneyland or on Christmas morning. His eyes got big and round and he kept saying, "Holy cow, wow, holy cow, wow." It was so much fun!!! We were going to see Wicked but Anth wasn't feeling well and he's just getting over mono so we thought it best to call it a night. We boarded a train to Poughkeepsie, Arlo and Kara's house. We arrived safe and happy to be with the Weston's.

Day Five: We got to sleep-in a little, which was much needed and then headed over to FDR's Hudson Valley Mansion. It was amazing and both Anth and I fell in love with the fall acreage and views of the river. At the mansion there is a memorial from the Berlin Wall. The part of the wall the figures are cut from is part of a memorial for Winston Churchill.




After the mansion we picked up Tyler early from school and went to an apple orchard to pick and eat apples. Ella loved the pears and Tyler loved the wagons. We had a fun time finding our way through a corn maze and posing for pictures.






That night Anth taught Tyer how to arm wrestle. Bad idea. Tyler totally schooled Anth. It was great!



Day Six: We toured the Vanderbilt Mansion. Incredible. It is the smallest of their homes. Used just for entertaining a group of 18 people. But has 50+ rooms. I totally understand, it gets crowded. Again the grounds were amazing! Anth kept asking me if we could buy a couple hundred acres. I said yes. Ella loved all the gardens and it was fun taking pictures of her and Kara.





Because we didn't get enough tour at the mansion we went and toured The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. I absolutly loved it! It made me want to go to culinary school and it brought back all kinds of memories from college. We ate the most delicious meal at the Apple Bakery and Cafe. I had their squash soup and fries. Then we got about 4-5 desserts and all had a small taste of each. It was perfect! They didn't allow pictures so none were taken.

We loved being with Arlo and Kara! Anth would live in Poughkeepsie in a sec. Thanks for the great food and fun talking! Your kids are so adorable. Good luck with selling your house and finding a new one! We'll definitely be back!

Day Seven: We got up early and borrowed Arlo and Kara's car to drive to Palmyra. (Thanks so much Arlo and Kara!!!) It was a beautiful drive and after about 4 hours we arrived in Palmyra. Dad and Mom showed up a few minutes later and we headed to the Smith Farm. Next it was the Sacred Grove and the Grandin Print Shop. These sites were everything we expected and more and of course having our own personal tour guides wasn't too bad either. Thanks Dad and Mom for some behind the scene tours.



Day Eight: After we visited the Whitmer Farm we drove through the countryside to a slate canyon, Watkins Glen Canyon. It was beautiful. We hiked up the trail taking pictures, getting wet, and getting slate souvenirs (thanks Dad). After the canyon we ate at a yummy Thai restaurant. We got back to their apt. in time to layer up and head to the grave yard. The Historic Society in Palmyra does a grave yard tour every October where volunteers dress as famous people from Palmyra, who are buried there (Winston Chruchill's mother and grandmother were from Palmyra). It was very entertaining.




Day Nine: We went to church, hiked the Hill Cumorah, went to a baptism and ate a delicious flank steak and creme brule dinner! We also drove 4 hours back to Arlo and Kara's in preparation to head home the next day.

Thanks Dad and Mom!! We loved being with you and enjoyed seeing your life now. Hopefully we'll be able to visit again.

Day Ten: Up really early to make the 4:45am train, to make the subway and airtrain to the airport by 8:30. We did it! The flight home wasn't as bad as the one there. It was a busy but great trip. Thanks Bruderer, Weston and Weston families for letting us come visit!!!

I told you it was going to be long.