Okay! Okay! I love this place!

After resting our weary bodies it was time to go exploring again.  This little spiderweb of a city was drawing us in once more.  And what better place to start than Central Park.  I love this park and it’s people and it’s energy!

We even saw “something” being filmed.  This guy was gracious enough to give me a good photo op between shots.  No idea what this was for!

Cudos to Alexa!  She knew just how to create a great action shot.  Run flat out at the pigeons!

Flat Iron Building-Just plain cool!

Miracle… David perusing a book, in a bookstore with 18 miles of books!  Thanks Strand!

So Manhattan has this place called Rice to Riches, all rice pudding and all heavenly!

Especially when you add buttery graham cracker crumbs!  YUM!

Rice pudding sure made us happy!

Grand Central Station takes my breath away!

So do really cool Irish Pubs!

and Pints of Guinness.

Ok, it’s that time of year.  I think I’ll try one of these too!

 Subway people love to play peek-a-boo!

Even David joined in on the fun!

Good morning!  Who needs animal crackers when you’re in New York?  How about some Taxi Treats instead? 

I think this little guy is hoping his human brings him out some Taxi Treats from Sensuous Bean!

The poor persons way to see the Statue of Liberty!  Free!

Thanks Isamu Noguchi for your Big Red Cube teetering in the Financial District!

We had fun!

And thank you Miss Alexa for stumbling on this little gem!  Cafe Lalo!  I think it is so funny that we had no idea it was a location shoot for You’ve Got Mail!  The Warm Apple Crumb Pie a la mode was devine! 

Goodbye for now Alexa and NYC!  You can count on many more visits from us in the very near future!

Onward!!

OK, time to get serious!  Enough of the pretty valleys and meadows and farmland!  Our trip is about to get interesting!

A little nail biting begins…..

Ugggh!  This tunnel goes UNDER the Hudson River!

To get here…

We must go here! 

OOPS!  I think we missed a toll!

Now…we were not sure what to do about getting gas for the truck.  We were told that it would cost $6.00/gallon if the rental company had to top the tank off when we returned it.  Welllllll, since I have my handy, dandy new Droid, I was able to track down several gas stations on Manhattan!  Really??  Gas stations on Manhattan?  Yep!  And I have the pictures to prove it!  See how much money we saved?

So we did it!  We managed to make our way into Manhattan, gas up and head to the little lady’s new digs.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!

After 2 or 3 laps around Alexa’s block, we finally were able to park the truck.  Let me tell you, I swear people were going around us in their cars, garbage trucks, and school busses with only a “frog’s hair” width between us.  Yeah!! That close!

David was so happy I was here to photograph the whole experience!

Alexa cheesing it up for the photographer!





This pictue makes my legs hurt!



David counted and Alexa confirmed that there are 73 steps one must climb to reach the top floor, which by the way happens to be the floor our dear one lives on (see the two tippy-top windows?).  Who needs the stairmaster or the eliptical machine when you have this little gem of a studio apartment?  Add a few boxes and you have a total workout! 

When we were finally done, we took the truck back (David got a shower at the rental place-tee-hee-hee!), grabbed dinner in Hell’s Kitchen at a great little Italian restauant called 44 Southwest and went home to grab some sleep and attempt to recover our tired bodies. 

Another beautiful New York day awaits our curious, exploring minds!  Yippee!

A Moving Adventure For All

It all started with a big yellow truck, some furniture and loads of DVD’s.  Alexa and the Upper West Side…Here we come!

It’s kind of scary thinking about driving into the Big Apple with a 12 foot moving van and having to navigate traffic and crazy taxi drivers, but that we did and what an exciting, beautiful adventure!

If it weren’t for Alexa’s move to NY (and a little man-handling on my part about which route to take), we may never have seen the beautiful countryside of the Shenandoah Valley.  This valley stretching through Virginia and West Virginia offered miles and miles of meadows, farmland, and pastures filled with cows and horses and goats.  To the East of the valley were the Blue Ridge Mountains and to the West, the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians.  To the North, the Potamac River and to the South, the James River.  To top it all off, the leaves on the trees were in their full fall glory and the sun was just starting to rise! 

Good morning Shenandoah!

What beautiful country we saw on our way to the big city!  These pictures did no justice to what we actually saw with our own eyes!  This little stretch of Interstate 81 is a must for anyone seeking scenic perfection!

Postcards From Heaven

I love getting postcards!  Don’t you?  These little treasures let us know we are being thought of.  Special care is taken when the sender picks out just the right card and writes their sentiments with us in mind.  They wish to share their experiences with us because they wish we were there with them! 
I love that!! 
And I love you! 
You know who you are!

Made us giggle but apparently a certain member of the family has already received this little notation on one of his past mailings!  Maybe next time I will get the same!  🙂

Hurray for Fall!

I love this time of year in the South because we get to plant flowers!!  Pansies in fact!  Their pretty little faces perk up chilly days and though they may bow their heads when it gets really cold, they perk right back up as the sun shines down on them, even through snow (if we get it)!

So today I planted some of these hardy little bundles of color.  I carefully prepared the soil, gently removed the plants from their packaging and tucked them into their bed!  Now while the rest of the plant world is taking a snooze, my Pansies will stay awake and brighten even the grayest of days!  Yeah for Pansies!

I also added a few necessary touches to spook up the place…



Happy Fall!

Miscellaneous Tidbits of New York City Memory

Okay… So I guess it’s time for me to close out the blogging of my second trip to NYC.  It is hard to do because I enjoyed my extended weekend with Alexa so much that I seemed to have lingered and spread out my blog almost 2 weeks.  The following are bits and pieces of the trip that got left out of the procession of the trip but were too fun to not mention.

No explanation needed.

A beautiful specimen of Great Dane hanging out with his daddy in Brooklyn.

For David

Can you say “Home Alone”?  A family favorite!

Zombies entering the Apple Store

Ralph Lauren’s daughter’s candy store called Dylan’s.  I wonder how many kids actually heeded the sign!

Candy dresses of course!

Dylan’s candy store sells cupcakes too!

Cool light fixtures at Dylan’s in their upstairs party room

Central Park view of the Jackie Onassis Reservoir

My only rat siting of the trip!

People in NYC love their dogs!

What a great place in Central Park to watch your kids play baseball!

Strawberry Fields

Ironwork at the Dakota

The Dakota where John Lennon was shot

Trader Joes!  Your cart rides up it’s own elevator to meet you at the next floor!   Too cool!

The majestic Empire State Building in the morning

This concludes the blogging of my second NYC trip.  However,  Alexa will be spending at least the next year in this marvel of a city, so there is certain to be more adventures to come.  There is so much I haven’t seen and I can’t wait to see what my seasoned tour guide has in store for us next!

The Grand Finale

After cleaning up, Alexa and I headed back out so I could get one last look at the city.  We took the subway to Times Square and oogled at all the lights.  I can only imagine what it must be like on New Year’s Eve!

We then went looking for a place to eat and ventured on Macy’s Department Store.  Such a pretty store and just looking at it made me think of Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street!

We walked again through Bryant Park and enjoyed watching elderly men playing chess and young men playing ping pong.  The park takes on a sort of ethereal glow at dark and attracts just as many people at night as it does during the day.  I later get to see this beautiful, glowing green space from far above!



We went to Dempsey’s where Alexa had Shepherds Pie and I had fish and chips.  We didn’t get much conversation in because a whole slew of loud Kentucky fans and alumni were there donning their team colors and watching their football team…LOSE.  Oh well!  They had a great time and Alexa and I enjoyed our last large meal in NYC together at a really cool place!

By the time we left Dempsey’s, it was 11:00 pm.  We headed straight to the Empire State Building to the 86th floor to get a bird’s eye view of the city.  What a treat! With all her twinkling lights, her tall lighted buildings, and her avenues aglow, the city wrapped us up in her beauty. 

The bit of green space in these pictures is Bryant Park

Thank you once again Alexa, for your graciousness and hospitality during my visit.  I really wonder if even a seasoned New Yorker would have been able to pull off giving someone a tour of the city as well as you!

I love you!

Leading up to la piece de resistance!

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, completed in 1883. 

Alexa and I decided that it would be a great idea to make our way back into Manhattan by foot across this old span of beauty.  To be honest, we were putting our lives in danger because bicyclists in New York take their bike lane very seriously.  At one point during the trip we got yelled at to “STAY OUT OF THE BIKE LANE!!” 

But the walk over the bridge was worth the risk and we enjoyed the view of Manhattan and the Manhattan Bridge close by.  I must tell you again.  I had a smile on my face the entire three days.  As a matter of fact, I am still smiling as I recall my great time!

On our way home to freshen up, we stopped in Soho. 

I didn’t get to spend near enough time hear! Next time!

Back to the studio to clean up!  Then one more jaunt to into the city and the grandest of all sights!



Saturday with the Roellgens

What a beautiful day to get family together and enjoy!

We spent the afternoon with Nana, Adrienne, Enno, Audrey, Emma, and Lucca.  We loaded 11 people on our little skiff and went Geocaching.  Thanks to the Roellgens, we learned about this fun new way to have a treasure hunt using GPS.  People all over the world participate and after this weekend a few more have decided to join as well!



The Brooklyn Experience

We arrived in Brooklyn by subway and wandered for a while knowing that we would soon be rewarding ourselves with the famous Grimaldi’s Pizza.  

 From Brooklyn Bridge Park, we took in the awe provoking sight across the East River called Manhattan and marveled at the expanse of skyscrapers across the landscape.  For me, this was the second best view of Manhattan.  Brooklyn Bridge Park was spectacular with lots of green space, walking paths, playgrounds, and gardens.  When park construction is finished, visitors will be able to walk from pier to pier along the river.



With time to spare, we once again wandered.  This time through Brooklyn Heights.  Tree lined streets housed Brownstones, schools, dry cleaners and shops.  Families bustled around running errands, grabbing Starbucks, or just enjoying their Saturday morning.  I fell in love!

 

 Next stop…Wait for it…

GRIMALDI’S PIZZARIA!

Now, you don’t just waltz up to Grimaldi’s and expect to get a seat, order, and stuff your face. 

NOOOOO!

If you’re lucky, you only wait and hour and a half, standing in line, outside, in the heat and with great company (two Ya-Ya’s from Maryland).

We were one of the lucky ones!



Search and find…Where’s Alexa?  You may need to zoom!

At last we arrive!  We order ice cold Olde Brooklyn cream sodas and root beer and dive into the menu.  

All of the pizzas come with crushed tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella.  You then choose from a number of toppings.  We kept our large pizza simple and added sausage.  Great choice!  So good in fact that there was only one piece left when we were finished.  Alexa and I were ashamed to say we weren’t even stuffed!

Our 50 something Maryland friends were seated beside us at lunch and were our entertainment.  The Ya-Ya’s leave their husbands at home when they visit NYC because they complain too much.  These ladies did their lunch up right!  They split a bottle of wine, antipasti, AND a whole pizza!  

Oh yeah!  I almost forgot!   Come to find out, the one Ya-Ya was from a town about 10 minutes away from my home town in Ohio!  Must I say it again?  What a small world!

 Next adventure… a stroll across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, leaving the wonderful borough of Brooklyn behind and reentering Manhattan.