everything worked out

perfectly in NYC. I'll explain. I was so excited I forgot my notes on what I wanted to see and where it was. Our train got into Grand Central Terminal around 7am. We bought a tourist map of Manhattan and the subway routes. After walking for a bit, we stopped for croissants and coffee so we could take a minute to read over the map. We decided to head to Rockefeller Center first. (After reading reviews, I decided against the Empire State Building and for Top of the Rock instead.) We headed up 5th Ave. and stumbled upon St. Patrick's Cathedral. Yes, I'd wanted to go but it just worked out to be on our path.We then headed over to Rockefeller Center and bought the Rock Pass which would get us to the Top of the Rock observation deck, a tour of NBC studios and a tour of Radio City Music Hall. Our first stop was the observation deck. Even though clouds were approaching, we had great views.One side offered a view of the Empire State Building while the other side offered a view of Central Park.

We finished with the sights up at the top and headed down for the studio tour. Boring. It was so boring and such a waste of time, we passed on Radio City Music Hall. We were in no hurry because it was raining by this time. (Remember how I said everything worked out perfectly? I needed to mail Eric's Six Flags season pass to him and we just happen to come across a post office in the building.) We wanted to find the right street, check out the severity of the rain and scope out the next sight. Somehow, we ended up at the subway. So we decided it was time to ride down to see the Brooklyn Bridge. Once on the subway, we weren't sure where to get off and swap trains.

See that girl over there reading? I, you know...being from Texas and all, asked her for directions. I think I scared her. She was really nice, told us which train to take next, got off at our stop and pointed out the direction to go. As soon as we got up to the street, we stopped for an umberella...even though the rain was just about finished. Then it was on to the Brooklyn Bridge.

After several attempts to get our picture together, we gave up and took one of each other. Once we got to the halfway point, we tried again to get a shot with the city behind us. A man came up and offered to help, so we let him. (If you look to the far left, you can see the Statue of Liberty.)

Once we walked across the bridge and back, we stopped at a deli for lunch. After our sandwiches and cheesecake, we headed over to the Staten Island Ferry. On the way we stopped in the NYPD museum. There were some pretty neat things in there. There were a lot of items they picked up from the debris from the World Trade Centers with tv screens of what was going on that day. I didn't stick around for too long. It was too real. I did get a picture of one of Al Capone's hats and machine guns. (I love that kind of stuff...not organized crime...historical artifacts.)

(I got a couple of pictures of Cosme but I'm not posting them because I'm sure he wouldn't want me to.) I decided we wouldn't go to the actual Statue of Liberty but instead take the Staten Island Ferry past it. It was a nice ride once I got my pictures. (With no help from the lady who tried to squeeze me out of the way.)
Once back to the ferry terminal, we took the subway to Times Square. We stopped for t-shirts and headed back to Grand Central Terminal. It was such a fun day. It doesn't seem like we did too much but our day was full. We were so sore and tired. We didn't even make it out for dinner, we had to get room service. I'm not complaining because it was pretty good. I wasn't feeling very well that evening. After a couple of Motrin, a pot (no, not a cup...a pot) of hot tea and a good night's sleep, I was better. The next morning we headed out of New Haven and went on a road trip to Providence. I'll save that for the next post.

today i'll post

some pictures from New Haven. We had a great time on our trip. We spent the first two nights in New Haven. We went walking through the area to find dinner.

We found this place called Basta. The food was wonderful. They had a lot of vegetarian dishes and went on about their organic ingredients. Cosme had a chicken dish and I had this steak with gorgonzola and red peppers. MMM... It was so good I HAD to get a picture of it (so I can try to copy).

All the buildings in that area are so pretty. I didn't get many pictures. I actually didn't take many pictures all week. It's just one of those things where you have to see it in person to enjoy it. We walked around a lot but wanted to get to bed early to catch the train to New York early the next morning. Here's a view from our hotel room.

strat really

missed Eric.

have you seen

Eric lately? He's probably doing this.
Sipping on a Diet Coke while speed-texting on his Blackberry. This was one night at the Mucky Duck.

welcome to my

cathouse. Seriously people. A year ago I would never have considered a cat. I've always hated cats. So what happened? Your guess is as good as mine.

Strat is the indoor cat. He's not demanding. He likes to be scratched occasionally and prefers to be left alone. I learned he also likes to sneak into the dryer when I accidentally leave the door open.

Oh, he also likes to take naps.

Lucille is the outdoor cat. I almost sent her packing when I found her "mess" in the flower bed. I decided to give her another shot and put a litter box in the garage for her. So far, so good. I caught her trying to earn her keep.

Since the heat and mosquitos have been pretty bad, I've been letting Lucille in. Oh, let's face it. She's been inside for about a week now. (She WILL go back out once everything lets up.) Anyway, she's not like Strat. She's very affectionate. If we sit, she jumps up in our laps and "makes biscuits" as Lauren calls it. Here's a shot I got of Lucille yesterday. Yeah, I wouldn't exactly call this an action shot.