New York, New York.....

What a lovely place. I guess lovely isn't the best word. More like crazy exciting. This city never sleeps. Probably because all their rooms are so small they have a hard time sleeping. This is our hotel room off to the right. We stayed at the Roosevelt right on Madison and 45th. Best location ever. The lobby was gorgeous and very spacious. New Yorkers like to use every inch of space so they can cram as many people in one hotel as possible. This picture shows the entire room. I was standing against the back wall to take this picture. The bathroom is behind the bed. It would have been perfect for 2, but we had 3 in our party. We ended up sleeping sideways on the bed shoulder to shoulder with our legs hanging off. I wish I'd gotten a picture of what we looked like. The second night my mom put a pillow on the nightstand so her legs could stretch out. Horrible sleeping conditions, but WELL worth it!
I rolled into town Thursday night and we stayed in Jersey at the home where Kate has been a nanny for the past few months. Friday morning we took the train into Manhattan and then dragged our suitcases over 11 blocks and down 4. Sounds close, but when you are shoulder to shoulder with everyone in your vicinity, and you're dragging a suitcase, it seems like an eternity. We found where our hotel was and checked in. They had to hold our luggage because our room wasn't quite ready yet. It was then 1 o'clock and the morning bowl of cheerios had worn off. We decided to be super touristy and eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. Food was okay, nothing exceptional, but the atmosphere was fun. There isn't a picture of all 3 of us together because as we first got into the restaurant my mom said, "how many movies have you seen where you ask someone to take a picture with your camera, hand it to them, and then they take off with it". We were all too freaked out to hand over our only method of documentation to a complete stranger. Thanks Mom.

We decided the best place to see that day would be Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Time to navigate the subways. Kate had been on one before but was following friends and didn't need to pay attention. We stood in front of the map for quite awhile, and then asked a few people. Turns out it wasn't as hard as we imagined. This same subway (the red line #1) would actually be the one to take us to all our destinations over the weekend.

Ellis Island was great. We got on the boat to take us there at 3:30 so we didn't have much time. We were told we could either get off at the Statue of Liberty, or Ellis Island, but not both. We opted to take pictures of Lady Liberty (as Kennedy calls her) from the boat, and then tour Ellis Island. Good Decision. My mom is teaching her next unit on Ellis Island to her 6th graders so she was excited to get actual pictures of the place. It was really neat inside to see where they herded all the immigrants before they were allowed into the good ol' U S of A. It was humbling to be on my side as a tourist and not as someone having to go through a major ordeal just to live in a free country.

We got back onto the subway and decided shopping needed to be next on our destination list. We hit a few stores, bought a few things, and then it happened. I found my true love. H & M. I've always heard about this store but never stepped inside one before. My life is forever changed. We spent a really long time there, spent way too much money, and then headed back to our hotel. Because of frequent stops at various street vendors throughout the afternoon we opted to skip dinner. We decided the next day to hit Canal street for cheap shopping, Chinatown, Little Italy, and maybe Ground Zero. I woke up early (due to our sleeping arrangement) and after I was ready to go the other 2 were still cozy under the covers. I headed out to find us some breakfast. Right on Madison out the front door of our hotel it looked like Canal Street had come to us. They had the entire road blocked off from 49th down to 42nd with nothing but street vendors selling everything and anything. I walked the length of the street and when I hit 42nd I ran into an amazing sight. It was some kind of mini-race, maybe a 5k or something, with every country represented. Italy ran by with their flag, then France, then the USA, and so forth. I only watched for 5 minutes, but it was actually breathtaking. Turns out it was in honor of the Olympic Trials going on around Central Park that same morning. I found a Starbucks for bagels and hot chocolate and headed back to rally the troops. We ended up spending at least 3 hours with the street vendors, and made 3 trips back to our room with bags of stuff. What a perfect morning. Since Canal Street came to us, we decided to just scan through it and make China Town and Little Italy our actual destination. Subway time. Only the subway that would take us to every destination was under construction. A little panic sets in, but we eventually find our way. We ate at a quaint little restaurant right in the heart of Little Italy, and by then were ready to head back to our hotel to get ready for Lion King. We talked to some other crazy tourists and decided it was safe to let them take our picture together. Safely back at our hotel we were exhausted. We decided to take a little rest until our Broadway experience. We hung out for about an hour and then decided we should see Times Square at night. The billboards are unbelievably large. Everything was so bright. I knew it was dark outside, but hard to believe because the streets were so bright. People were everywhere and it was really fun to just stand and see how many people you can possibly cram onto one city sidewalk. Unbelievable. I have to say that I never felt afraid for my life. I always thought that I'd be scared walking down the streets way past my bedtime, but I felt pretty safe.

We stopped in the M&M store to get a little treat to help us hold out for dinner until after the play. 9 bucks a pound. They sure know how to stick it to the tourists. Finally time for the play. I've been wanting to see Lion King on Broadway for 10 years. I remember the week it opened Rosie O'Donnell had them perform the first number on her daytime show. I was hooked and couldn't wait to one day see the rest. Just seeing the billboard was exciting. The theater was a fun experience. Sadly, the only shows I've ever seen have been put on by high schools or colleges. This was amazing. We were actually in the very back row, but could still see and hear perfectly. I can't even describe the special effects of this production without tainting the beauty. Definitely a must see. Show ended at 11:30 and we ate McDonald's for dinner. It was the only place that didn't have an hour wait, and we were starving. Back to the hotel to semi-sleep. The next day we had to check out, so we had to get a move on. We stored our luggage with the bell-hop once again and headed on the subway to Central Park. 1st stop: Museum of Natural History. This was a pretty cool place. My mom & I expected it to look exactly like "Night at the Museum" and kept comparing the exhibits to what the movie portrayed. Yes, we need something tangible to learn.

After the museum we walked around the park. It happened to be the day of the New York Marathon which I think is the shebang of all marathons. I couldn't believe the hoards of people. The runners were near the end and still running in packs, there were that many of them. It was fun to witness. Then we found the outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art but didn't actually go inside. Pictures on the stairs would have to do.

Before we even left for New York, my friend Natalie let me in on a little secret. Serendipity. A quaint little restaurant in the upper east side that creates the most spectacular frozen hot chocolate. We were told it was a ways from Central Park and motorized transportation would be best. We opted for our feet to get us there instead. It took us over 2 hours. The walk was fun

though because we were able to see the cute little dwellings where actual people resided. We imagined the Huxtables, Meg Ryan, Friends, and every other TV show/movie character imaginable living inside. We also passed all the stores with titles we've only heard in magazines--Vera Wang, Dolce & Gabana, and various others. Since we didn't have 3 grand to drop on a purse we didn't frequent these shops. When we finally found Serendipity we were told it would be a 1 1/2 hour wait. We signed our names up, then headed a few blocks to an H&M to bide our time. More money spent, then back to the restaurant where we were immediately taken up to our seats. I can taste this delicious drink just viewing the picture. For those of you never having tasted it, just imagine the wonder.

We so wanted to see more, but it was getting dark due to the time change, so decided to head back to the familiar territory of Times Square. We got on a subway planning to stop at 49th to see Rockefeller Center on the way back to our hotel. I honestly don't know how we survived these subway adventures. When we got out of the subway and back onto the street we were amazed and surprised at where 49th actually was. It was on the other side of the M&M store we had been to the previous evening. Unexpected. We should not have been that surprised. I'm glad we are still alive and not stuck on the subway system today. We saw the famous ice skating rink, then headed back to our hotel to claim our luggage.

We debated on a taxi, but didn't want to spend the money. After all the food we ate over the course of 3 days we decided we could walk. Over 11 blocks, up 3 and we were back where it all had begun the 1st day we arrived---Penn Station. We were taking a train back to Jersey where my cousin Shelly would dine us and give us luxury treatment in her home before she chauffeured us back to the airport the next morning.

This trip was fun for a variety of reasons. 1-no kids. Just adult women being crazy in a city.

2-time with 2 girls I can't get enough of. We are all 3 so much alike it's scary. My mom opened her make-up bag the 1st morning and not only are our bags identical, they contain the same brand and type of moisturizer, mascara, deodorant, and soap. We haven't lived together in 15 years. Kate's were also the same. Funny. At times we were laughing so hard we almost literally peed our pants. We all ordered the exact same thing at restaurants. We all decided we don't enjoy sleeping the wrong way in a bed. 3-I found that we small town girls can get by in the big city without getting lost even if the subway is under construction. 4-H&M. That says it all. and 5-Nothing but good times. I could go on and on about this trip (not like I already haven't). Thanks Mom & Kate for letting me join you on this adventure. I can't wait until the next one. Lyndsey, I hope you can make it next time. Let's just be sure and get 2 beds.