Me, my mom, my sister, my aunt & my cousin all decided we wanted to do a girl's trip. We've talked about doing something like this for a few years, just have never done it. Well, we decided it was time, so we planned it and we went! To New York City!!! We went for 5 days/nights and it was SO much fun!! Here is a breakdown of the days and activities that we got to do!
SATURDAY:
My mom, Jenna and I got up in the morning and went to the Statue of Liberty! We had purchased tickets before hand which was helpful because then we didn't have to stand in the forever long line! :) We had so much fun doing this! The Statue of Liberty is always an amazing sight, and I think being older than I was last time I saw it (12 years ago), it meant a lot more to me now. To think about all the people that came here from other countries and to know that as soon as they saw "Lady Liberty" they felt the freedom and knew they wanted to belong to this country. Such an amazing feeling! We of course got many pics of the statue and of the NY skyline from Liberty Island.
We even got to go up to the top of the Pedestal that the statue stands on. That was really cool! There is a museum inside that tells the story of the Statue of Liberty, how it was built, gifted to the US, etc. and the stories of people about it all. It was cool to read about. They had a bunch of "life size" replica pieces of the statue as well - here is Jenna standing next to Lady Liberty's foot! Crazy huge!!
Here is a view from inside the pedestal - the statue is hollow, so you can see all the way up into it! Not good pictures, but you get the idea!
While on the balcony of the pedestal this is the view - we were so close it was crazy!
The three of us bought these purple sparkly bracelets that say "Statue of Liberty" for a buck just for fun to wear all week together. We're silly, I know! :)
We took the ferry from the Statue over to Ellis Island - this is where all the immigrants used to have to come through in order to enter the United States and become citizens. This was a really cool thing to see as well. They have a HUGE museum full of all sorts of stories and things that tell what life was like for all these people. You could really feel the spirit of it all! We have ancestors that came through there and so it was cool to see what it would have been like for them.
After we were done there, it was back on the Subway {which we took a lot this trip} to meet up with my Aunt Laura Dayley and cousin Amanda Dayley for some yummy lunch!
After lunch we walked a bit around Times Square (so huge and busy!) We even took a little trip into the Toys R Us store there on the corner. Hugest toy store I've ever been in! 4 massive floors full of every toy you could ever think of and more and even a Ferris Wheel right in the front doors that went up through all the levels!
After exploring there for a bit, we went on over to none other than the Empire State Building! This was WAY cool! We had bought Fast Passes all the way to the top {seriously the only way to do this!}It took us past the lines of everyone - first on the elevators and everything! We probably skipped hours worth of long lines! Made us feel very important! :) And of course the view from the top is amazing! We first stopped at the Observation Deck on the 89th floor {think: "Sleepless in Seattle" or "An Affair To Remember"!}
Then we took a little trip up the elevator again.....to the 109th (?) floor!!! So high!!! Most people don't come up to this floor. You have to take an elevator that is man operated. One of the only ones left in the city - or anywhere for that matter! The guy operating it was hilarious though - made us feel like we were on the Tower of Terror!:) The top floor is a tiny little circle and very hard to walk around, but the view was incredible!
Central Park right smack in the middle of such a big and busy city:
After the Empire State Building we were done for the day. I had flown through the night Friday night to get there so I had been going all day on only about an hour and a half of sleep and I was exhausted! So we went back to our hotel - The Grand Hyatt {right next to Grand Central Terminal}- ordered some room service for dinner because we were too tired to walk anywhere else, and crashed for the night. I think I fell asleep at about 8:30! So early for me! :)
SUNDAY:
Sunday morning was great! It was easy to wake up after 10 1/2 hours of sleep! I felt very rested! We got up and went to church first thing (9am meeting). It was cool because the ward meets in the same building as the NYC Temple! It was cool to be able to see that. Crazy to see a temple with the Angel Moroni sticking up between all these hugely tall buildings!
After church we went back to the hotel and changed clothes. Then we met up with my cousin Isaac (who lives in NYC) and did some more sightseeing. We got some pictures of us in Grand Central Terminal. Which, by the way, I found out is the true name if it. I always called it Grand Central Station (so does about every tourist), but it is actually "Terminal" not "Station". Grand Central Station is the name of the Post Office! :) Anyway! Enough about that! It was fun to walk through there about every day on our way to different places knowing how many movies and things were/are filmed there! Cool to see!
Isaac took us to the Southside Sea Port where we had lunch. It reminded us a lot of the pier in San Francisco. Sorta something different than you expect in New York! We got a picture off the pier with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.
Which brings us to our next activity.......we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge! All the way across, then all the way back! It was a long walk (probably over a couple miles all together) and a lot of it uphill (made my shins hurt!) but it was so fun and cool to see! Made me want to come home and watch "Newsies" because there is a scene in ti with the Brooklyn Bridge and it made me think of that!
This is just extra - it is the view out of our hotel room window. The Chrysler Building!
After the Bridge we went and relaxed at the hotel for a bit and then decided to walk around, get some dinner, and then go to the Rockefeller Center. Here we are in front of Saks 5th Avenue! - it was already closed so we didn't walk in until another day. :)
And good 'ol Radio City Music Hall!
We walked all around the Rockefeller Center - saw the ice skating rink, and where they film the Today show, etc. Then we went up to what is called the "Top of the Rock". It's the top of the Rockefeller Center. It had a awesome view!!! We went after dark so we got a good view of the city at night! The Empire State Building all lit up is way neat!
After we were done there, we headed "home" for the night to our hotel.
MONDAY:
Monday morning we got to take a Movie/Television Bus Tour! It was so much fun! It was 3 hours long of driving around on a bus through the entire city and they point out places and tell you where different movies and TV shows are filmed. I loved it! We got pictures of just a couple of the sites we saw - there were TONS. Here is the Arch at Washington Park. It is used in many movies, but a few are "I Am Legend", "When Harry Met Sally", August Rush" just to name a few.
{Ignore the "spots" in these pictures - it was raining on us all day on Monday}
This is Peter Parker's apartment in "Spiderman"
The courthouse steps are used in TONS of things as well. "Law and Order" film here almost constantly!
the front steps and house/street of "The Cosby Show!"
And I think my favorite spot to see - the outside shot of the apartment/coffee shop in "Friends"! One of my favorite TV shows ever!
After our tour, we went and did some shopping! We spent most of our time in Macy's - the biggest store in the world! Way cool! I think it was 9 floors high with gargantuan floors! The escalators were cool too - really old wooden ones! We also walked through Saks, Bloomingdale's, American Girl Doll Store (Jenna's favorite - she even got a new doll!), and a few other places. Then it was to Ellen's Stardust for dinner where the waiters and waitresses all take turns singing songs! Broadway, popular, etc. It was so fun! My Uncle Kurtis (who was there on a Business trip) joined us for dinner. Then we walked to Times Square and he talked us into going to see Phantom of the Opera there on Broadway! It wasn't in our plans, but how could we turn away a show?!
The show was fabulous! I love the music in it! It was a good end to our fun day!
TUESDAY:
Tuesday morning we went down to Canal Street to do some souvenir shopping (China Town in NY). After a bit there, we met up with my cousin Isaac for a some more sightseeing and a "private tour" of Central Park! But first we had to stop and take a bathroom break at none other than....The Plaza Hotel! :) It was SO nice!
We also took a gander through F.A.O. Schwartz - the famous toy store! And the funnest part there...dancing on the huge piano --- the one Tom Hanks danced on in the movie "Big"! It was a blast!!!
Then came our tour of Central Park. So AMAZING! It's so crazy to be right in the middle of a huge, busy, and noisy city but be in the quietness of this gorgeous park! LOVED it!!! I hope some day I can go back sometime not in the winter when everything is green and in bloom. I'm sure it's beautiful! We got a bunch of pics of us all around different spots in the park. Here we are on some huge rocks with the city in the background.
Ice Skating in Central Park:
And the fountain that they dance and sing around in the movie "Enchanted"
"That's How They Know..." {that our mothers are goofballs! And lots of fun!}:)
This is where in the movie "One Fine Day" they stop and splash in the rain puddles - but since the ground wasn't wet, we just pretended. lol :)
Statue of Alice in Wonderland:
And Hans Christian Anderson:
And we had to get some pictures with the duck!
Then as we were walking back to the other side of the park, we came across an area fenced off with a bunch of people standing around. We asked what was going on and we found out that they were filming a movie....with Tom Hanks! So we of course embarrassed Isaac by becoming "tourists" and "crazy fans" as we stood on benches with our cameras, zooming in trying to get pictures of our beloved "Thomas Hanks" (that one's for you Aunt La!) :) He was quite far away so the pictures aren't great, but you can definitely tell it's him there!!!
Well, after getting all of our starstruck-ness out of us, we continued on with our walk around the park! Here is the bridge that the Prince in "Enchanted" jumps off of onto the bikers:
After Central Park, we took a walk over to see the studio my cousin Isaac is working at. On the way we passed by the Late Show with David Letterman!
And we had to stop into the sandwich shop next to it that David Letterman always has people go into on his show. The owner was right there in front working, and so we said "Hey! Your famous!" He just laughed at us. He gets that all the time. :) But we did get our picture with him! heehee!
My awesome cousin Isaac in the lobby of the studio he is doing a show at! {Love you Isaac! Thanks for a fun time in NY! Loved seeing you!}
After our sightseeing we went back to the hotel to rest a bit and freshen up/change clothes for the play that night! We went out to dinner at a place called Scarlotto's that Isaac had recommended. So yummy!
Then it was off to see the Broadway musical "Wicked"!!! It was SO amazing!!! I had never seen it before and I absolutely loved every minute of it!!! Such an incredible way to end our fun trip together!!!
After the play it was back to our hotel to rest up and chat the night away on our final night there!
WEDNESDAY:
This was our final day in NYC. And how did we spend it? Sleeping in, packing up, and hanging out in our room because it was cold and raining/snowing outside! :) We did go for a walk at one point for some lunch and into the H&M store (popular store there that we hadn't been into yet). Then it was off to the airport in the afternoon to catch our flights home! We all had the same flight from NY to Denver where then we split up and they all flew home to UT together while I, by my lonesome self, flew home to AZ. It was such a fabulous trip!
{Thanks mom and Aunt Laura for planning it all and making us actually do it! And thanks to my wonderful husband for taking care of the kids and our house for me for 5 whole days/nights! You're amazing!}
