Justin traveled quite a bit the first few months in 2012. When he was told they needed him in New York, I decided that I was going with him!! I sent out an email to a couple friends and asked if they would be able to help with my kids so I could go. I have the best friends! This was very last minute. I think I found out and sent the email on Thursday, had it all worked out with them and we left on Monday. It was great because Justin's work was already paying for his hotel and flight and they give him a food budget per day that he almost never can use the full amount. He had enough points saved up from all his traveling to get me an airplane ticket so the only cost was spending money and we decided we wanted to see a Broadway show. We got in late afternoon. A black car service was waiting for us at the hotel. That is a nice perk too! We checked in and took off for a walk to see what was around our hotel. Justin had been to New York once before and his hotel then was a couple blocks from the one we stayed at this time so he wanted to make sure he knew where to catch the Subway for work the next morning and I really wanted to go for a run in Central Park the next morning so wanted to check that out as well. We were at a Hilton just about two blocks from Central Park. I believe it was on 5th Avenue. This is right down where lots of shopping is on Madison and 5th and pretty much every other block. It is also right down near Rockefeller Square. We really enjoyed our walk but boy was it HOT and HUMID!
It was a little surreal to be there. We first went down to where the ice rink is during the winter. Last time Justin was there, it was winter so he got to see it then. Now, it was a patio for a restaurant. I loved all the American flags. Of course, we had to go check out the GE Building. We love 30 Rock so it was fun to see the streets that are filmed on the TV series.
Out next stop was Crumbs. A friend of mine from New York had told me I had to get a cupcake from there. It was yummy. I wish I had brought my camera so I could have gotten some clear pictures. I was trying to pack light and figured I could use the camera on my phone. It just doesn't give you as good of pictures!
We walked all the way all the way down to Time Square. It was crazy how many people were there and all the buildings in one little spot. The Taxi and black car service drivers are crazy!! I can't believe I didn't see somebody get in a wreck or get ran over. Pedestrians just walk across the street whenever they want and when the light is green, the Taxi's lay on their horn about a block ahead and hit the gas and go through. Pedestrians better be paying attention!
There were lots of street performers all wanting to get their pictures taken with you.....for a good chunk of money of course. Here is Edward scissor hands. We decided a picture of this kid with him was just as good as a picture of Justin with him:)
For dinner, we walked until we found John's Pizzeria. Melody had told us we had to stop there to eat. It is one of her families favorite placed. I had to get a picture to send to her to show her we found it. It was really good.
We also walked by St. Patrick's Cathedral but it is under renovation and there was constructions tunnels everywhere. I did not get a picture of it. It is just cool to see so many places that are in movies and TV series.
We walked a little bit into Central Park just so I could look at the map and see where the loop was to run and get a feel for where I would be in the morning. I wish Justin had more time to spend not working so we could have rented bikes and taken a ride around the park.
There were bikes and runners all over so I felt like I would be just fine running in the middle of the big city.
The next morning, Justin got up and went to work and I slept in a little and then got up and headed over to Central Park. It was a beautiful morning but I knew it would be getting hot very fast and it felt very humid. I didn't want to start too late. There is a six-mile loop that goes around the park so my plan was to run that.
I realized quickly that it would be a slower 6 because I would have to stop and enjoy the beauty and get some pictures. It is unbelievable that this is right smack in the middle of the city. There were more parks, swimming pools and baseball fields in that six miles then all of Rita Ranch and Vail!
I took the wrong road at the beginning and it took me out to another main road coming in so I had to turn back and start the loop over. Oh well. It was a beautiful morning. Might be longer then 6.
Okay, so I took a couple wrong turns and some other paths sight seeing so 6 turned into 8.
I saw a cute Oma taking a picture so I asked her to take one of me so I could actually be in one of the pictures. I thought she looked safe enough not to run off with my phone;) She did get me, unfortunately, she did not get the view behind me I had hoped.
This bridge above is in so many movies and shows. I really wanted to run across it but the path was closed for some construction. This is as close as I could get. After I was done, I sat on a bench under the canopy of trees. It was just so beautiful. I loved my morning. My pictures definitely don't do it justice.
After I got back to the hotel, I went and ate breakfast. Thank goodness Justin gets his travel perks. Since he is a certain status, he got us free breakfast vouchers. Otherwise, it was $30 for breakfast! Family vacations would be WAY too expensive in New York. I showered and got ready to head out shopping. I needed a new dress. For sure I could find one here, right? Across the street from our hotel, there were a couple big cranes with screens in the air and everything just looked different from the night before. I quickly learned that they were shooting a move. It was very interesting to watch! Everything in this picture is part of a set, the cars, the people walking. They would film a little and then have everything/everyone go back and film it again. Very cool to watch. I didn't know what movie or who was in it. I was on a mission for a dress so I refocused and started shopping. Well, not even with all the shops on every street could I find a dress. I seriously walked and shopped for probably 16 blocks. I ended my shopping at Macy's. It was a very cool building. I walked in and asked where women's apparel was. The lady told me the 2nd and 4th floors. Right then I knew I was in trouble. I get overwhelmed at Dillards in our mall which is only one floor! Thank goodness Ben and Jerry's was also found on the 2nd floor INSIDE of Macy's. I got myself some ice cream and called the day a success...ha. My legs were really feeling the run and walk. I guess I should have figured out the Subway but it was fun seeing so much on foot.
When I got back to the block before my hotel, the movie crews were out even more. As I was waiting for the light to change to walk across the cross walk back to my hotel, I looked and Ben Stiller was coming right towards me! It is crazy to think that the people in NY see things like this all the time. He was even shorter and skinnier in person then in the movies.
His big body guard told everyone to clear out and then they took him back across the street to shoot that scene again. The cross walk was not blocked off or anything so it was funny to watch him walk towards people and see their faces as they realized they were sharing the cross walk with Ben Stiller.
My plan was to take a little rest and then head out to see Grande Central Station before getting back to the hotel to meet Justin when he got off of work. However, I was so tired I decided I didn't want to walk as far as Grande Central was. I was also sad that I didn't look at my map when I was at Macy's to realize that I was only two blocks away from the Empire State Building! I would have loved to have seen that but not going back 16 blocks for it. Instead, I decided to stay close to the hotel and walk back over the Rockefeller Center and go to the top of the Rock. The view was spectacular. Again, wish I had a "real" camera!
I loved this view because I could see just where I had ran that morning.
Justin got back to the hotel just as I was looking out from the top of the Rock. I hurried back and we headed out for dinner. I had some referrals from friends but Justin wanted to just walk around and find something. He wanted steak. We found a little Steakhouse close to our hotel. I have to say I wondered if our meat was "legit". The restaurant seemed to be run by a Russian family and it felt very Godfather-ish:) It was called Empire Steak House. It was really good though. Justin had a steak and I had chicken parmesan. We did go over budget on this meal so I had to pay for mine but we expected that when we picked a steakhouse and it was really nice to spend the evening at a little fancier restaurant with Justin. After dinner, we walked over to the Omni Berkshire Hotel which is where Justin stayed the time before. He wanted me to see it and the difference from our hotel to that one. The Hilton is HUGE. The main lobby feels so big and busy. It was nice though. The Omni is small and more quaint. I think I would have liked it better.
The next morning, Justin headed off to work again, poor Justin. I had made an appointment to do a session at the temple. It looked like it was not too far on the map so I decided to walk. It was a little farther then I thought. It is crazy because one minute I am amongst tall buildings and then kind of a residential apartment area and then round a corner and bam, the angle Moroni. This is the view as I rounded the corner.
This is the view out front of the temple from the middle of a very busy intersection. It was a really wide intersection with probably five streets all crossing. It was amazing how you walked from the busy street with screeches and horns from the taxis to the quiet of the temple.
The building is shared with something else. It looked like maybe apartments. As you walk in, there is the recommend desk and that is pretty much all. You then take the elevator up to the clothing floor. I think it had five floors or so. I got there just as a senior missionary couple arrived to take a van full of Chinese-speaking missionaries serving in New Jersey through. The wife was really sweet. I think she could tell I was a little lost and nervous. She took me along and showed me where the clothes were and told me what floor to go to next. I couldn't help but think of my mom working in the temple in El Salvador. It was very different going in the elevator to the different floors. The endowment room was full of the missionaries and me and maybe two other people. I loved being there. I really wished Justin had been able to go with me! After the session, I walked back and just hung out at the hotel until Justin got home. I was feeling a little worn out from the day before and didn't feel like walking too much more since Justin was coming home early and we had a booked evening ahead of us.
I should have asked someone to take a picture of the both of us since we do not have a single one for the whole trip. We decided we really wanted to go down to the World Trade Center Memorial and Justin really wanted to see Wall Street. Justin got us to the Subway and we took it way down to the last stop. It was kind of fun riding on the Subway but I was glad Justin was there. I am a small town girl at heart.
Unfortunately, the memorial was closed to the public for an event for the first responders of the 911 attack so we didn't get to see that. This is the Freedom Tower that they are building where the towers went down. It is quite the site to see. As we looked around, it is just unimaginable to think of how scary that day was. The buildings are all so close. It is a miracle there was not more damage and more deaths.
The streets by the stock exchange area are called The Canyons. Taking one look up the street, you can see why. The streets are so narrow and the building are so tall. It really does look like canyons. I wish the pictures could even come close to the real feel of it.
This is a famous bull statue down by the stock exchange. At one time, Justin really wanted to be a stock broker so this area was really fun for him to see. I didn't know anything about the bull but it is a cool statue.
After we were done walking around, we took the Subway back up to the Broadway area. We ate at a wing place and then walked over to the theater where we had tickets to see Mary Poppins.
The theater was really cool. It was old and a lot smaller then I expected. It was packed. The seats were very narrow and close to each other. I felt a little squished so poor Justin felt really squished. There was a bigger guy sitting next to him and both of them took up a little more then their seat so I traded at intermission and Justin was a little more comfortable. This is a picture of the intricate woodwork and painting on the walls of the theater. Unfortunately, my camera didn't really get it.
This is the screen that lifted up as the play started. It was really good. We both enjoyed it.
After it was over, we walked back to our hotel. It was late and we were tired. It was a great couple of days. Justin said it was hard to have me there because I got to go and do all the fun stuff while he worked but I am sure glad that I went. I know it was more of a vacation for me but we both enjoyed the time we had together walking around and seeing new things. The kids were happy to have us back but had a good time at their friends' houses. I am very thankful them for allowing me to have this time with Justin.
