We left the kids with their godparents on Friday morning, and took the train from DC up to NYC. It was quiet and relaxing, we did some talking, but mostly, it was nice to just close our eyes and take a nap. When we arrived in NYC, we hit the ground running.
Our first stop was right out of the entrance to Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. We had lunch at Lucy's with C.C., a dear friend of ours from Indy's USAFA days and my time at Vandenberg in California.
After a sweet couple of hours of reminiscing, we walked a couple of blocks and headed up the Empire State Building. Since I can remember, I have loved the movie, "An Affair to Remember," with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. I was so thrilled to make it up to the top where she had been looking and he had been waiting for her.
Indy really enjoys the Art Deco style, so he was excited to see and walk through so much awesome architecture and decortion.
A view from the 80th floor.
I really enjoyed all of the marble and colors on the wall and in the art work.
All through the Empire State Building is the history of the building and how they've modernized it throughout the years.
In Indy's Top 10 movies list is King Kong. So he was excited to see and read more about that.
More sky line views. I am so glad we went up on Friday, because Saturday was just rain and more rain and fog.
On the 86th floor, walking around the enclosure and feeling like we were on the Eiffel Tower in Paris again!
The New York City skyline and bridges.
Looking up, you see where the dirigibles should have been moored for passengers. Can you imagine that?
A memorial to those who have fought to defend our freedom.
We enjoyed walking through the gift shop and taking pictures of things to bring back and show the kids. We knew they would get a chuckle out of this t-shirt.
Sissi needs no more stuffed animals, but Indy was tempted to get her stuffed King Kongs!
And the requisite coffee mug.
I loved this wall art, like stained glass and Art Deco all rolled into one...I was certainly tempted!
Then, we went and checked into our hotel around the corner and got dressed for our dinner back at the Empire State Building. This was the art that greeted us as we entered. Awesome painting!
I highly recommend the State Grill and Bar. They offer a combination ticket where you pay to go to the top of the Empire State Building and then you get a 3 course meal in the restaurant afterward. I did some research at surrounding restaurants for price comparisons, and it was a steal! Indy had a Caesar Salad, a very large burger and fries, and three kinds of sorbet for dessert. I had crab cakes for my appetizer, linguine with Gorgonzola cheese, bacon, and asparagus for my main dish, and the dessert was a chocolate hazelnut cake. Included in the price was also fountain drinks and tea.
Dessert!
Following dinner, we were on the move up Broadway. It was a great walk after such a large dinner.
We got to pass the famous Macy's department store.
There are so many amazing buildings and architecture styles to see throughout the city.
42nd and Broadway!
It was nice to see that the Armed Forces Recruiting Station was still there, in Times Square, though it looks to be under some construction.
The Broadhurst Theatre is showing Anastasia, and that is the show that I chose for us to see.
It was incredible! In every way. So much better than either of the movies. We were super impressed with the historical content, the costumes, the music, and they had ballet mixed in for a portion of the show that was really original. All of the new songs really fit and told so much more of the back story.
The screen during intermission.
The curtain call.
After the show. Not many people see me in my glasses, but for things that are far away, I need them to be able to see. Otherwise, it's just a blur.
Walking back to the hotel, down Broadway, we had some excellent views of the Empire State Building lit up for the night.
Empire State Building and Macy's.
Saturday morning started bright and early...though not so bright, due to the rain. We took the subway (R) from 34th down to Whitehall St. and walked to Battery Park. This was our first view of the Statue of Liberty, in the distance you can see her on the left of the street light.
We took a boat out to see the Statue.
Yes, my take away from the weekend was an Anastasia t-shirt.
Indy got to see a really cool motorcycle.
As we were leaving the Statue of Liberty, we could see the fog rolling in. This was when we were so thankful that we had seen the Empire State Building and taken pictures of the NYC sky line the previous day, when the sun was shining and it was lovely.
As we were departing the Statue of Liberty, people on board the boat started singing patriotic songs. Indy joined in as I took pictures.
A visit to Ellis Island was the next stop on our tour.
As we walked in, I realized there was no way we could do it all, but we spent about 90 minutes reading and looking through the exhibits about Immigration. Maybe next time we can do some research on our ancestry and families.
Samples of baggage and trunks people brought with them.
The hall where people stood to be checked over and cleared to enter the United States.
On our way back to Uptown, we had some musical entertainment on the subway.
We met with our friend Greg and got to have lunch on 32nd at a Korean BBQ place. It was wonderful food and a great time to catch up on all of his and our travels.
This was an amazing trip! The last time we were in NYC with friends was January of 2001 and the weather was also overcast and cold and so we took in a Broadway show (Annie Get Your Gun) but didn't do the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. I was so thrilled that this time, 16+ years later, we were able to do some of those things and there are so many more I'd like to do in the future, especially with the children. We are so thankful to Tony and Yvette for keeping the kids, and we needed some time together, but we missed them, and they would have loved it....next time we'll be taking them with us!
