Friday, July 2, 2010

New York....New York

Last year when we started talking about summer vacation 2010, Lauren's request to her Poppa was a trip to New York.

Well, today, was the day...the one she has been talking about for a long time.

Our day started at about 5:30...but there was no problem getting them up, dressed, out the door, and

New York Trip 2010 004

to breakfast by 6:45.  They may not be too awake yet, but after muffins, cheese, and some good ole Orange Juice, they came to life.

We were ready to

New York Trip 2010 005

load the bus by 7:15.

These two

New York Trip 2010 006

quickly chose their seats and were now anxious to get on the road.

Lauren was then off to take pictures of

New York Trip 2010 009

Dad and J who were also excited about the adventure for the day.

Our guide

New York Trip 2010 008

Keaton gave us a run down of the trip agenda and we were off.  It took us a little over an hour to get from the KOA through New Jersey, through the Lincoln Tunnel and into the city.

It was here that she

New York Trip 2010 015

got her first glimpse of the New York City skyline.

We traveled into the city, working our way past

New York Trip 2010 027

the construction at Ground Zero where the new

New York Trip 2010 025

One World Tower will stand in place of the Twin Towers.

We continued on to

New York Trip 2010 034

Battery Park, unloaded from

New York Trip 2010 033

our bus, boarded our

New York Trip 2010 041

ferry, and headed out to

New York Trip 2010 044

Liberty Island.

This is what Lauren has been waiting for all year long...and to say she was excited

New York Trip 2010 068

would be an understatement!

We all

New York Trip 2010 065

stopped for a picture with Miss Liberty before it was time to meet

New York Trip 2010 082

Keaton with his yellow umbrella.

Then is was back on the ferry.  We had a short stop at

New York Trip 2010 073

Ellis Island before docking back at Battery Park.  Before leaving the area, we saw this

New York Trip 2010 085

world globe that was moved from the site of the Twin Towers.  It was left in the same condition that it was found.

Back on the bus, we headed to South Street Seaport.  We then went on a short walking trip down Wall Street to see

New York Trip 2010 097

The New York Stock Exchange.

After lunch at the

New York Trip 2010 111

All American Deli, we traveled to the

New York Trip 2010 160

Empire State Building.

Up 80 floors on one elevator and then up a different elevator for 6 more stories, we reached the Observation Deck where we saw

New York Trip 2010 165

New York from

New York Trip 2010 170

every direction.

We sawNew York Trip 2010 167

The Statue of Liberty from far away and we located

New York Trip 2010 175

Central Park far below.

After a quick

New York Trip 2010 180

rest, we headed back down those 86 floors.  We boarded our bus one more time and were off to none other than

New York Trip 2010 206

Time Square.

Here, we all enjoyed a real

New York Trip 2010 207

New York hot dog from one of the local street vendors.

Zachary

New York Trip 2010 210

was finishing his while

New York Trip 2010 209

the girls were doing a little purse shopping.

We watched ourselves on

New York Trip 2010 214

the big screen at Forever 21, and saw where

New York Trip 2010 226

my favorite morning show, Good Morning America, is produced.

Too soon, our time was up and it was time to

New York Trip 2010 227

get back to the bus to start our trip back to Newburgh.

Thank goodness we had a good driver who made her way through the Friday afternoon

New York Trip 2010 233

rush hour while we

New York Trip 2010 238

took a little rest after our busy day in the city.

A couple of other things we saw that made our day special was

New York Trip 2010 117

this fire truck,

New York Trip 2010 196

The American Girl Doll Store, and

New York Trip 2010 194

the beautiful St. Paul's Cathedral.

What a great adventure and a dream come true for this

New York Trip 2010 113

little girl!

THANKS POPPA!

4 comments:

  1. Awesome pictures!!! I want to know from Mark if the hotdog was as good as the ones at Costco or Sam's??

    Deb & Rod

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a dream maker for Lauren, We have always enjoyed our visit's to THE CITY, note I say visit's because I have a son that lives there and that is for him. I prefer the country life. Your pictures are as always great and informative. We got the same tour as you did for free and didn't have to ride that MCI Coach. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful pictures! It's been a long time since we were in NY. What a great trip.

    ReplyDelete
  4. By the time I finished reading your post I had a lump in my throat. What an incredible gift to Lauren and one she will remember all her life. She certainly has special grandparents.

    Mike & Gerri (happytrails)
    http://freedom2roll.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete