{ New York, NY }

I know, I know...it's been a blog while, but we're back! It was my first trip to NY; J's second and an official R&R trip for both of us, although there was definitely little to no R&R! There are simply no words to describe every experience and sensory stimulus that is NY-people, smells, conversations, emotions, scenes...my photos don't do any of it justice. But here are a few things I learned while I was there:
~ Walk / Don't Walk lights...these are only 'suggestions'
~ Taxi drivers will run you down; stopping is optional
~ I felt much safer than I thought I would
~ The NY homeless are actually funny and honest people; just ask me about their signs!
~ Street vendors don't help people who fall in front of their stands...therefore this is not a good place for my mom or mother in law to visit :)
~ Obviously the Surgeon General's Warnings have not made it as far as NY...EVERYONE smokes!
~ No matter how hard you try, you WILL spend more than $40 per meal...Rachel Ray's $40 a Day is strictly rumor!
~ Subway maps are a MUST if you don't want to end up where my type isn't welcome
~ The restaurant and food choices are FABULOUS!
~ The parks are beautiful...it truely is people-watching paradise!
~ I think we heard languages from every country and continent; a melting pot is right!
~ You just think you have seen strange people until you visit NY - totally surreal!
~ Churches do anything they can to survive, including housing TV/movie actors during filming AND hiring professional singers and musicians to increase attendance. Very different from the south
~ And finally, when/if you Visit NY and you go to Ground Zero, please be respectful! I guess some people WERE raised in a barn!



My blog template is being a bit funky on the spacing and alignment, so I am listing what the pictures are here...until I can figure it out! Grrr! Times Square; Church circa 1880 now converted into a John's Pizzaria...SUPERB pizza BTW; Central Park x3; Madison Square Park x2; Can't remember the name Park; One view from the top of the Empire State Building; Teddy Roosevelt, American Museum of Natural History...in desperate need of a pidgeon poop power wash :); Rockafeller Center; Radio City Music Hall; Waiting for the Staten Island Ferry; Drug Dog 'at work'; The Lady in Green...in the flesh; Financial District; Episcopal Church in the Financial District - It's amazing how these beautiful and ancient churches are just sandwiched in between the huge skyscrapers!; And finally...beautiful Japanese Peace Chains at St. John's Church across from Ground Zero...and the center for prayers and memorials after 9/11