July 29 to August 4 2019
Monday we had dinner at Olive Garden with Sam and Terry to thank them for letting us live with them for the summer. They have been so good to us.
Tuesday we drove down to my parents house. I spent most the day making cupcakes for the Roberts because their son, Adam, was coming home from his mission in the Philippines the next day.
Wednesday we had breakfast with Wendy and gave her the cupcakes for later that day. Then she drove us to the airport.
There was a little drama to start our trip. We went to catch our flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to the JFK Airport in New York. There was a big lightening storm in NY so our flight was delayed from 1:27 to 3:00 PM. Not too big of a deal, we can wait another hour and a half. 3:00 came and we boarded the plane! I was so excited to go. We have our seat belts on, the flight attendants are seated for take-off. . .Then the pilot gets on the intercom and says we need to get everyone off the plane. The storm is still bad in NY and we won't be leaving until 6:00 PM. Another three hours!
Time passed and we finally got to leave at 7:00 PM. 5 1/2 hours behind schedule. We were supposed to get to NY by 8:00 PM but did not get there until 1:00 AM. We looked up the closest hotel to the airport and it had sky high prices for one night so we buckled down and stayed in the airport until 5:30 AM when we started making our way into the city.
We got to our Airbnb around 7:00 AM. We went straight to our room and instantly fell asleep for 3 hours. Then we showered, got ready, and hit the city! That first day we explored lower Manhattan because it was the closest subway stop from where we were staying in Jersey City. We exited the subway station to be greeted by the 2 9/11 memorials. They are beautiful fountains that are both an acre in size. A beautiful first view of the city.
We saw wall street and the stock exchange. We went by Trinity Church but it was under construction so we did not get very close or get to go in. We walked by the Charging Bull sculpture but it was surrounded by so many people that we did not try to get a picture. We walked around Battery Park looking for water when we decided to go on the Staten Island Ferry to get some pictures of the Statue of Liberty.
We got beautiful pictures of the city as well as the Statue of Liberty. We walked around Staten Island for a while. They have a lighthouse we wanted to see but the walk on the beach did not go that far and we did not want to get lost. We caught the next ferry back to Manhattan after our little walk.
Back in Manhattan we spent the rest of the day wandering the financial district. We walked around the seaport on the east side that faces Brooklyn. We saw the bridge, looked through some summer market booths, walked around beautiful board walks, looked at some older ships, and envied some pricey restaurants close by.
We walked around the city and got some pictures of their cool buildings before heading back to Jersey City for the night. Once back, we walked to the pier and got some pictures of Lower Manhattan during sunset to end the night. Great first day and only a couple of blisters! In total, we walked 12.42 miles that first day.
Day 2:
The next day we ventured to tackle Central Park. Or maybe a different day...The National Museum of Natural History just happens to be right next to the park. That may have distracted Paul a little bit because we spent our whole day after that. We go there around 11:00 AM and did not leave until 5:00 PM. He insisted that we see each and every exhibit they had. They had North American mammals, sea animals (the blue whale is a must see!), a space exhibit with a big bang video (that Paul loved), South American Tribes, Asian people, Asian animals, African Tribes, and African animals. We ended big with their dinosaur exhibit.
After that we went to the top of the park and got a picture with Tom's Restaurant, which appears frequently in the sitcom, Seinfeld, which Paul grew up with and we both love the show. On the way back to the subway we stumbled across the Church of St. John the Divine. Unfortunately, it was closed when we got there but I promised Paul we would come back because he was just smitten with it.
At the end of this long day, our feet were aching and we wanted called it a night. After that we meandered our way back to Jersey City. We walked exactly 11 miles that day.
Day 3:
This day we spent in Midtown. We went to the Rockefeller Center to take a look at the city from their observation deck. We were able to get a great view of the Empire State Building and Central Park as well as peak out at the Chrysler building and the World Trade Center. Beautiful view and the elevator to the observation deck is like a ride at Disneyland! After that we walked around and explored the area. We went into the Lego Store, Paul's personal heaven, and walked by St. Peter's Cathedral on our way to lunch.
Because we spent so much time having lunch we rushed to Time Square to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. It was so good! I love the movie and Paul surprised me yet again with these Broadway tickets. I was so thrilled! Definitely a highlight of the trip.
After the show we went out to see Times Square properly. It wasn't my favorite because it was so crowded, I was claustrophobic. Paul was having a good time so we walked down the street then cut over to 5th Ave and enjoyed the summer market going on there. The last thing we saw was the NY Public Library. It was closed but Paul really wanted to see it, so we'll have to come back to see it for real. We limped home after another long day of walking. In total, we walked 10.81 miles.
Day 4:
All the walking was getting to us so we decided to sleep in. After our much needed late start we went straight to see Columbia University on the North Side of Central Park. We walked around the campus. We tried to get into all their libraries but they were holding events so we had to appreciate them from the outside only.
After Columbia, we walked down the street a couple blocks to see the Church of St. John the Divine for real this time. We were able to go inside to view the stained glass and beautiful structure of the church. It is the largest Church in the world and the sixth largest Cathedral. In the main stained glass window, there is a depiction of Jesus Christ that is life size. It is stunning.
After our tour of the Church, we walked another couple blocks to get to Central Park. It is a huge park so we took the subway halfway down to save our feet. We saw both ponds, the great lawn, bow bridge, the fancy fountain, and other gems in the park. We walked a total of 9.46 miles this day.
Tuesday we drove down to my parents house. I spent most the day making cupcakes for the Roberts because their son, Adam, was coming home from his mission in the Philippines the next day.
Wednesday we had breakfast with Wendy and gave her the cupcakes for later that day. Then she drove us to the airport.
There was a little drama to start our trip. We went to catch our flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to the JFK Airport in New York. There was a big lightening storm in NY so our flight was delayed from 1:27 to 3:00 PM. Not too big of a deal, we can wait another hour and a half. 3:00 came and we boarded the plane! I was so excited to go. We have our seat belts on, the flight attendants are seated for take-off. . .Then the pilot gets on the intercom and says we need to get everyone off the plane. The storm is still bad in NY and we won't be leaving until 6:00 PM. Another three hours!
Time passed and we finally got to leave at 7:00 PM. 5 1/2 hours behind schedule. We were supposed to get to NY by 8:00 PM but did not get there until 1:00 AM. We looked up the closest hotel to the airport and it had sky high prices for one night so we buckled down and stayed in the airport until 5:30 AM when we started making our way into the city.
We got to our Airbnb around 7:00 AM. We went straight to our room and instantly fell asleep for 3 hours. Then we showered, got ready, and hit the city! That first day we explored lower Manhattan because it was the closest subway stop from where we were staying in Jersey City. We exited the subway station to be greeted by the 2 9/11 memorials. They are beautiful fountains that are both an acre in size. A beautiful first view of the city.
We saw wall street and the stock exchange. We went by Trinity Church but it was under construction so we did not get very close or get to go in. We walked by the Charging Bull sculpture but it was surrounded by so many people that we did not try to get a picture. We walked around Battery Park looking for water when we decided to go on the Staten Island Ferry to get some pictures of the Statue of Liberty.
We got beautiful pictures of the city as well as the Statue of Liberty. We walked around Staten Island for a while. They have a lighthouse we wanted to see but the walk on the beach did not go that far and we did not want to get lost. We caught the next ferry back to Manhattan after our little walk.
Back in Manhattan we spent the rest of the day wandering the financial district. We walked around the seaport on the east side that faces Brooklyn. We saw the bridge, looked through some summer market booths, walked around beautiful board walks, looked at some older ships, and envied some pricey restaurants close by.
We walked around the city and got some pictures of their cool buildings before heading back to Jersey City for the night. Once back, we walked to the pier and got some pictures of Lower Manhattan during sunset to end the night. Great first day and only a couple of blisters! In total, we walked 12.42 miles that first day.
Day 2:
The next day we ventured to tackle Central Park. Or maybe a different day...The National Museum of Natural History just happens to be right next to the park. That may have distracted Paul a little bit because we spent our whole day after that. We go there around 11:00 AM and did not leave until 5:00 PM. He insisted that we see each and every exhibit they had. They had North American mammals, sea animals (the blue whale is a must see!), a space exhibit with a big bang video (that Paul loved), South American Tribes, Asian people, Asian animals, African Tribes, and African animals. We ended big with their dinosaur exhibit.
After that we went to the top of the park and got a picture with Tom's Restaurant, which appears frequently in the sitcom, Seinfeld, which Paul grew up with and we both love the show. On the way back to the subway we stumbled across the Church of St. John the Divine. Unfortunately, it was closed when we got there but I promised Paul we would come back because he was just smitten with it.
At the end of this long day, our feet were aching and we wanted called it a night. After that we meandered our way back to Jersey City. We walked exactly 11 miles that day.
Day 3:
This day we spent in Midtown. We went to the Rockefeller Center to take a look at the city from their observation deck. We were able to get a great view of the Empire State Building and Central Park as well as peak out at the Chrysler building and the World Trade Center. Beautiful view and the elevator to the observation deck is like a ride at Disneyland! After that we walked around and explored the area. We went into the Lego Store, Paul's personal heaven, and walked by St. Peter's Cathedral on our way to lunch.
Because we spent so much time having lunch we rushed to Time Square to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. It was so good! I love the movie and Paul surprised me yet again with these Broadway tickets. I was so thrilled! Definitely a highlight of the trip.
After the show we went out to see Times Square properly. It wasn't my favorite because it was so crowded, I was claustrophobic. Paul was having a good time so we walked down the street then cut over to 5th Ave and enjoyed the summer market going on there. The last thing we saw was the NY Public Library. It was closed but Paul really wanted to see it, so we'll have to come back to see it for real. We limped home after another long day of walking. In total, we walked 10.81 miles.
Day 4:
All the walking was getting to us so we decided to sleep in. After our much needed late start we went straight to see Columbia University on the North Side of Central Park. We walked around the campus. We tried to get into all their libraries but they were holding events so we had to appreciate them from the outside only.
After Columbia, we walked down the street a couple blocks to see the Church of St. John the Divine for real this time. We were able to go inside to view the stained glass and beautiful structure of the church. It is the largest Church in the world and the sixth largest Cathedral. In the main stained glass window, there is a depiction of Jesus Christ that is life size. It is stunning.
After our tour of the Church, we walked another couple blocks to get to Central Park. It is a huge park so we took the subway halfway down to save our feet. We saw both ponds, the great lawn, bow bridge, the fancy fountain, and other gems in the park. We walked a total of 9.46 miles this day.
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