New York City with my Sisters, May 2010

Time for a Sisters Trip so off we went to New York City!

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010. We arrived at Newark Airport at 5:15pm. Carol and I flew together and Ruth met us there. Our flights were about the same time so once we landed and headed to baggage we called Ruth, and she came over from her terminal. We went outside to beautiful, sunny warm weather in the 70s. A nice change from Seattle and Minneapolis weather. We took a taxi, during rush hour, through the Lincoln Tunnel and arrived at our hotel in Times Square about 7:00 pm. Our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn was in a great location on 8th Avenue between 48th and 49th. We faced 8th Avenue, which was much quieter than facing 7th Avenue and the heart of everything in Times Square. We had dinner reservations for 7:30 so we checked in, freshened up a little and walked over to the Eatery which is on 53rd. The food was good, large portions and attractive with great reviews. After dinner we walked along 53rd to 7th Avenue then south on 7th to see all the lights and buildings in Times Square. Last week was the attempted bombing on 7th and 45th so there was a lot of police presence. Although I had been to NYC twice before, it was still awesome to see all the lights and magnificent buildings. Neither Ruth nor Carol had been and they were impressed. Until you have seen it you just don’t know what to expect. After walking as far as 45th street we headed back up to our hotel for the night.

Thursday, May 6th, 2010 We got up and headed over to the Hop On – Hop Off tour bus and scheduled the All Loops Tour which gave us 4 routes, including Uptown, Downtown, Brooklyn and NYC at Night tour. We had 48 hrs to use our tickets so we got on the Uptown bus and road up through Central Park West, past the Dakota where John Lennon was shot, and past St John’s Cathedral, then up through Harlem then down Central Park East. We got off the tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met). We all wanted to see the museum so we went in for a few hours. One thing we learned was that all the public museums have a “recommended” entry fee however you can pay whatever you want, or nothing at all. We paid $10 each rather than $20 because we didn’t plan to stay long. After the museum we walked into Central Park. The weather was still beautiful as we walked by the Belvedere Castle, the Bow Bridge, and back around to the Bethesda Terrace Fountain, which was being renovated. We left Central Park and took a taxi over to Serendipity for lunch. Since it was 2pm we had beat the lunch crowd so we didn’t have to wait at all. It is a fun, eclectic restaurant with great desserts, including Frozen Hot Chocolate, one of Oprah’s favorite things. Lunch was good and the Frozen Hot Chocolate lived up to its reputation. After we left Serendipity we walked back to 5th Avenue and stopped at Trump Tower which is beautiful inside, and Radio City Music Hall, then on to Rockefeller Center. We stopped at the plaza and saw all the flags around the area where there is ice skating in the winter and outdoor restaurants in the summer. We walked back through Times Square and to our hotel to rest for awhile before going out again. That evening we had reservations to see Jersey Boys at the August Wilson Theatre. Carol made arrangements through a friend to have a backstage tour beforehand so we arrived at the stage door entrance as planned at 7pm. Our tour was interesting with our guide showing us how the sets are changed so quickly, where the actors get ready and just how all the choreography works so well together. After our tour we found our seats on the balcony level. The theatre is small enough that any seat was probably good. The show told the story of Frankie Valle and was a lot of fun with familiar music from the 50s and 60s. After the show we stopped at Thalia for dinner, which was close to our hotel. The food and drinks were good.


Friday, May 7th. We left our hotel about 8:00 and walked over to Rockefeller Center hoping to go to the Top of the Rock, and also arrange a studio tour. Once we got our tickets we had to wait in line to see which studio tour we would be taking. They had nothing available until 5pm! We had other plans so we knew that wouldn’t work, so we exchanged the tickets for one for me on Sunday and Ruth and Carol decided they would rather go to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) while I was at the studio tour. So we went to the Top of the Rock to see the view and take pictures, and then walked over to where they were still filming the Today Show. People usually line up as early as 5am for the 7am start, but by 9 or so they start leaving, especially if there is not a special guest. We found a place to stand close to the front row as Al Roker, Matt Lauer and Natalie Morales were doing their stints. Ruth actually shook hands with Al and I shook hands with Natalie. Later we found out that I was on the live broadcast, but the other shots we were in were edited out. We left the area and walked back over to 8th street and got on the Hop On- Hop Off Downtown loop. It really is a fun way to learn a little about the city, take a break from walking and see some things you may otherwise not see. It took us past the Flat Iron district, Soho, Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Ground Zero and Wall Street. We got off at South Street Seaport where we transferred to the Brooklyn loop tour. Once we were over the Manhattan Bridge we stopped at Brooklyn Bridge Park so we all could take pictures of lower Manhattan. We got back on and continued our tour through Brooklyn. We stopped at a Pizzaria and everyone got out and got a piece of pizza, then back on the bus for the rest of the tour. At the last stop we got off the bus and walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. What an awesome sight! The walk was fun, the weather was nice and it felt good to walk the bridge. On the Manhattan side we walked through Wall Street area, and over to Lupa for dinner. Lupa is one of 5 restaurants in Manhattan owned by Mario Batali who was raised in the Seattle area and has his own show on the Food Network. It was an excellent choice and we all enjoyed our meal. After dinner we took a taxi back to our hotel. By then it was 10:30 and we had a very busy, yet fulfilling day.


Saturday May 8th, 2010 We got up early and rode the subway to the Ace Hotel. We had read about the little coffee shop next to the hotel that served Stumptown Coffee and it suggested sitting and drinking it in the lobby of the Ace Hotel. The hotel is beautiful with rich, dark décor with the feel of a wonderful, old library. After our coffee we got back on the subway and took it to the end which was the Port Authority pier where the Stanton Island Ferry departs. We walked over to Battery Park and got in line to go to the Statue of Liberty / Ellis Island. It started to rain and the wind was blowing but it was warm. We had brought umbrellas and jackets with hoods just in case so we were ready. We rode the ferry over and walked around the Park taking pictures. The museum had at least an hour wait so we decided that we wanted to spend more time at Ellis Island so we got back in line to take the next ferry. Ellis Island was incredible, to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors as they came to this country, and to see what they went through to be here. We didn’t stay and do any research since you can do it online, however we were able to watch one of the films and go through all the rooms. It was incredible. After we left Ellis Island we rode the subway up to Union Square and had lunch at the Republic, a Vietnamese restaurant. It was a small restaurant with unusual décor, but the food was great. Ruth and Carol both had Vietnamese sandwiches and salads, and I had a bowl of soup, similar to pho. After lunch we took the subway up to Grand Central Station. We didn’t stay long but I wanted Ruth and Carol to see Grand Central. By then we were tired of walking so we decided to take the subway shuttle back to Times Square then walked to our hotel to rest before dinner. Once we were in Times Square we heard that the Stanton Island Ferry had rammed the dock and several people were injured. We had been there in the morning about 9:30 when we were going over to Liberty and Ellis Island, but we hadn’t seen or heard any commotion. That evening we took a taxi down to the Chelsea area and went to the Red Cat for dinner. We had reservations but we were a little early so we went next door to the Drunken Horse for wine and cheese first. Dinner was wonderful – After dinner we went back to our hotel by 9pm. I think it was catching up to us!

Sunday morning we got packed and took our bags down to the bell hop, then walked over to Rockefeller Center. We stopped and had a bagel and coffee at one of the shops along the way. Ruth and Carol left me at Rockefeller Center and went up to the MOMA and I went to NBC to go on a studio tour. They showed us where the nightly news is filmed, Jimmy Fallon’s studio and where Saturday Night Live is filmed. I enjoyed the tour and Ruth and Carol said that the Museum was interesting. We met up afterward and took a taxi over to Grand Central Station again and had lunch at Zocala. Ruth tried their Cuban sandwich and said it was very good, I had a bowl of Tortilla Soup and Carol had a salad which also looked good. The food was plentiful and good. Afterward we rode the subway back to Times Square for our final time before heading to the airport. As we were walking through Times Square we saw the Naked Cowboy… what would a trip to NYC be without running into the Naked Cowboy! We walked back to our hotel for our ride to the airport. It was sad to leave- I love NY! Once again – my mantra, I will be back!

To see more pictures from this trip, click below.

Washington DC & NYC, October 2006

Ever since I was able to go to NYC with my friend Carol in June 05 I have wanted to go back. I fell in love with NYC and wanted Doug to experience it with me. We had decided that we would start taking 2 vacations a year if we were able so I was looking into options for going to NYC. We had some timeshare points to use, and I had vacation time at work. Before I got too far into the dreaming/planning stage Doug found out about an annual conference that was going to be in NYC. This particular business conference is one that he goes to every fall. I immediately started planning our trip and we decided that we would fly into DC first, spend several days there, and then take a bus up to NYC. Once in NYC Doug would attend his conference during the day for a few days and we would have the evenings, and a full day and night before and after his conference to site see. We booked a Hampton Inn in Largo, which is outside of DC, but on the metro subway system. We were able to get four nights with Hilton points using the “stretcher” program. Basically, we used about the equivalent of one rooms points if we were to stay downtown. Our room was great, and it was easy to get to the subway and take a 20 minute ride to downtown DC. We arrived at Washington Dulles airport on Tuesday Oct 3rd. We took a Taxi to our hotel and got settled in. Since it was late evening we decided not to go downtown so instead the hotel had a shuttle and offered to take us to a local restaurant. We selected Cracker Barrel which I had been to in GA. They have a great variety and we were both hungry and tired so it was a good place to eat. On Wednesday morning we got up early and headed to the subway to go downtown. We were downtown in about 20 minutes and headed over to the Mall, which includes the Lincoln Memorial on one end, the WW2 Veteran’s Memorial, and the Washington Monument on the other, with the reflecting pond in the middle. We visited the Viet Nam Memorial too, which is in the same area as the others. We had requested and received tickets through our senator to several buildings so we visited the National Archive Building and the US Treasury Building. It was fascinating to see how they make our money… too bad they weren’t giving out samples! We also walked over by the White House and took a few pictures through the fence. We visited the Holocaust Museum which was very moving. It included rooms made up to have you feel as if you were there during that awful time. Aftre visiting the museum we got a bite to eat downtown, then headed back to our hotel. We had a full day and we both were ready to rest. Thursday morning we got up early and headed downtown again, this time to the White House for a scheduled tour. We enjoyed the tour so much. We were able to see several rooms including the ballroom, the blue room, and the main dining room. For security reasons we were unable to bring cameras, or even my purse or backpack. Once we left there we visited the gift store and museum and were able to see much more than we could see on our tour. Since we did not have any of our things with us we headed back to the hotel to pick them up. Once we got back downtown we took the metro to Arlington Cemetery. We were able to see the Kennedy gravesite, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We planned to be there to witness the changing of the guard ceremony. After leaving there we got on the metro and rode to Alexandria to meet up with some friends living there. We had a great visit and enjoyed some Thai food. We left there and went back to our hotel later that evening. On Friday morning we headed back downtown and went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. They had recently closed the American History Museum for renovation which was frustrating because we both wanted to see that museum. We also went into the Air and Space museum and walked around the Smithsonian grounds and saw the Castle which is the Information Center for the Smithsonian. We walked around town and saw the Ford Theatre where Lincoln was killed and the house across the street where he was taken after he was shot. There is so much history in DC that you can’t possibly take it all in our short stay. Saturday morning we got up and went to the bus station to take our bus to NYC. It was a 4 hour, rainy ride into NY, however once we got there the weather started clear up. We got into town around 1pm and headed to our hotel, the Sheraton in Times Square. Once we got settled we headed to Times Square and then over to Rockefeller Center. where there were ice skaters in the plaza. We bought tickets on the Hop-On Hop-Off tour double-decker bus and headed north. There is just so much to see in NY, and we had such a short time! It is an amazing town with so many skyscrapers, and amazing architecture. We stopped at Trump Tower, Radio City Music Hall and then went north to Central Park and then back to Times Square. Sunday we took the tour bus south and went to Ground Zero and spent quite a bit of time there. I had been here 16 months ago and it had changed quite a bit since then. There were huge plaques along the fence with all the history, and pictures of that awful day in history when our nation was attacked. We walked down to Battery Park where there is a memorial of a sculpture that had for years been on the plaza of the World Trade Center and was damaged during the attacks on 9/11. It was a moving experience. In the late afternoon Doug had to go to a reception for his conference so we headed back to Times Square. After the reception one of his clients was taking a group of us out to dinner. They had chartered a bus for everyone, however it didn’t show up. After some scrambling they got several limos to pick us up and take us to dinner. We headed to the Upper East Side and went to Il Vagabondo, a great Italian restaurant with a rich history. There is a bocce ball court in the restaurant. After a wonderful dinner we took the limos back to our hotel, and from there all who wanted were treated to a late night tour of NY. We once again headed south and actually visited Ground Zero again, and then went across the Brooklyn Bridge and parked across from lower Manhattan at a little park. It was a perfect place to see the lights of the city at night. On Monday I was on my own as Doug was at his conference all day. I wanted to make the best of it so I was up early with my list of places I wanted to go. I wanted to see all I could see in the least amount of time so I was back on the Hop On – Hop Off heading for Uptown. We first went to Uptown Westand among our stops were Lincoln Center, Central Park, and St John Cathedral. I got off at St John’s and went into the cathedral. I then walked up to the Strawberry Fields Memorial which was in memory of John Lennon. The Dakota Apartments where he lived (and was shot) are right across the street on the West Side of Central Park. I got back on the bus and we headed to Harlem and back down the East side of Central Park past the museums and then along 5th Avenue where I got off to check out some of the stores. I stopped at Serendipity for lunch which was really good. I bought the frozen hot chocolate but had to take it with me. After lunch I headed back to the tour bus and went on the Brooklyn Tour which stopped at the South Street Terminal in lower Manhattan, then headed over the Brooklyn Bridge. I didn't get off the bus but it was fun and interesting to hear the history of some of Brooklyn’s historic sites. In the late afternoon I headed back to midtown and Times Square to meet up with Doug for dinner. On Tuesday I was once again on my own and headed town to lower midtown. I checked out the Macy’s which is huge and takes up a full city block and is several stories high. I went down to Canal Street which basically like a flea market however they are selling all kinds of knock off and counterfeit designer watches, bags, etc. I purchased a small medallion with the Tiffany NY icon for $5. I stopped and had lunch in Little Italy then headed over to Chelsea Market which is a collection of shops, restaurants, etc in the old National Biscuit Company Complex. The Food Network is filmed there. In the late afternoon I headed back to meet up with Doug. We had checked out of our hotel that morning because we were moving over to the Waldorf Astoria for our last night in NYC. Doug’s conference was over and so we planned to use some of our Hilton points at the Waldorf. What a beautiful hotel. Unfortunately our pictures did not turn out and do not show the beauty of the hotel. Our intention was to get up early and go over to where they film the Today show but all the walking and late nights must have caught up with me. Or maybe it was the incredibly comfortable bed. Anyway, Doug woke me up at 10:00 so we could start getting ready to check out. Once we got our luggage downstairs we had time to walk for awhile before our airport shuttle showed up. We walked up to the restaurant Soup Kitchen International where the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi was filmed. After a quick bite to eat we started heading back to get our airport shuttle. We started hearing all kinds of sirens and saw lots of fire trucks. After we got on our shuttle we found out that a small plane had run into an apartment building just north of where we were. Later we found out the Yankees pitcher Cory Litle was killed in the accident. It was scary on the ride to the airport when we were only getting bits and pieces of what had happened. We loved our time in NYC and will plan to go back. I think I say that everywhere we go! Hurry up retirement- work is getting in the way of my entertainment!

To see more pictures from this trip, click below

New York City, June 2005

My good friend Carol H had been fighting cancer for 4 years, but continually remained positive. All the doctors were telling her that without chemo or radiation she would eventually lose her battle with this dreadful disease, but of course there were no guarantees that they would actually help either. Carol was determined to fight her battle without either chemo or radiation. In May Carol was able to schedule an appointment with an oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She also was able to schedule a flight through Angel Flights, and a room at the Miracle House which houses patients and their caregivers while in town for appointments and/or treatment. Carol’s husband was unable to leave his job to go with her so she asked me if I would like to go. It was such an honor for her to ask me to go with her. She needed someone with her to attend appointments, but she also wanted us to take in as many sites as we could while we were there. Angel Flight services scheduled us on a Jet Blue flight and we left on a Sunday 6/5 in the afternoon and got to NY late Sunday night. We headed straight to the Miracle House and got checked in. The Miracle House is an apartment building so we had one room in a 2 bedroom apartment. The other room was reserved for another person who was not there when we arrived. The other thing that we found out right away was that we happened to get a room that had been refurbished and decorated as a gift to the Miracle House from Oprah. It was beautiful and comfortable. On Monday morning we had breakfast across the street at a little café that provided breakfast and dinner every day to the Miracle House patrons. It was poignant to meet with other people that we knew were there for appointments/treatment or with friends or loved ones who were. Many stories to share. It was hard to believe that Carol was going through anything because she looked and felt healthy, and most people that talked with us did not realize how sick she really was. After breakfast we were off to the first of two appointments that Carol had. This appointment was at a clinic in the Upper East Side. We took the subway and got there quickly. Her appointment was quick and was in preparation for her appointment the next day with the oncologist. When we left the doctor’s office we went to get a bite to eat, then we headed down to do some site seeing. There was so much to see! We had purchased a City Pass which included an entrance to the Guggenheim Museum which is up on the east side of Central Park. It is a small museum, but has a lot of character and unique architecture. We left the museum and walked through Central Park and found a castle. We then made our way to Rockefeller Center then we walked along 5th Avenue, stopping at Trump Tower and Radio City Music Hall. On Tuesday we got up early again and made our way to her appointment with the oncologist which was at the hospital. Sloan-Kettering is a big hospital up on the Upper East Side of NYC. We took the local bus and got there in plenty of time for Carol’s appointment. She wanted me to come in with her which was difficult. When the doctor met with us she encouraged Carol to reconsider the chemo or radiation and was not able to offer any other options for her. It was hard to realize that this positive, loving friend was probably not going to be able to survive unless she was willing to reconsider. Carol remained positive however and she thanked the doctor for her time and said she would give it more thought. After several hours at the hospital we were starving so we stopped near there and got a bite to eat. Then we made our way back to midtown and went to Bryant Park and other sites around midtown. Later in the evening we went to the top of the Empire State Building and saw the lights of the city. We used the audio headphones and walked all around the observation deck as we listened to a description of each stop. Afterward we walked back and stopped in Time Square which was so amazing with all the tall billboards/signage. On Wednesday morning we left right after breakfast and road the subway down to lower Manhattan. There we visited Ground Zero and the little church across the street that played such a part in ministering to all the rescue workers. We walked down to Wall Street, and over to Battery Park to ride over to Liberty Island to visit the Statue of Liberty. The boat stops at Ellis Island on the way back from Liberty Island but we chose not to get off the boat at that time. The weather was hot and we both had walked so much in the last 2 days. We had a harbor cruise scheduled that evening so we wanted to get back to the Miracle House to freshen up before our cruise. The Harbor Cruise took us south around Liberty Island then up and under the Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridge. Our guide pointed out sites along the way including the United Nations Building with its unique architecture. On Thursday morning it was time to leave so our airport shuttle picked us up early at the apartment to head for JFK. Once we got checked in we found that our flight was delayed due to a storm in DC where we were changing flights. All flights there were grounded. Since there are several flights out each day we were told to wait for the next one which was a couple more hours. That one was canceled too, so we waited some more. Finally around 4pm they told us we would not be flying out today. They didn’t offer anything so we quickly called the Miracle House to see if there were any rooms still available. They were able to get us in so we headed back during rush hour traffic.We were finally back around 6pm, just in time for the last call for the dinner across the street. After getting settled back in again and eating dinner, we headed over to Times Square for one last look. A lot of time wasted today, but fun to be able to stay one more night. Up Friday morning to try again – this time successfully. Under other circumstances I would say this trip was ideal. It gave me a taste of NYC and I am determined to take Doug sometime in the future. Additional note: My friend Carol lost her battle on March 17th the following year. She never did have chemo or radiation, but she enjoyed every day to the end and always remained positive believing that God was in control. I miss her!

To see more pictures from this trip, click below: