A brief (well not so much) summary of the The first month of our summer break

Bryant's younger sister, Stephanie, came to stay with us for about 5 weeks. We had our first opportunity to play the New York City tour guide! After 5 weeks, we still did get everything done, but I think we may have made a dent in the city list. During this time, Bryant and I had birthdays and we celebrated our 4th year anniversary! It's been a busy month...or so.

We went to visit Ellis Island, something we had yet to do because you have to pay to take the ferry over and back. Have I ever said how much I love being on the water. I'm not the best swimmer, so maybe that's why in the water isn't always my favorite, but I love being on boats...especially on the ocean!


Knowing that there would be a line like this for us to wait in, we packed some sandwiches and sunscreen to go stand in line for about 1.5 hours. Which actually wasn't that bad. Luckily we were on a Tuesday morning. We went back to this spot, on a Saturday, and you don't want to be in line then. For all you tourists, never visit the Statue on a weekend! It's crazy! But there's an ocean breeze to keep you cool and street musicians to keep you sane.


That's the main building of Ellis Island. I learned a lot about this place. I found that there was a lot I didn't know, other than this is where people came before they were allowed to enter American soil. I wish we still had something like this, but alas, it's unpractical and uneconomical. But a fabulous place to visit. I would recommend it for everyone who comes.
We didn't stop at the Statue of Liberty, however, because after waiting several hours in line for security to board the boat, you would then have to wait another 2 hours to get to the base of the statue. So we were content to just float by it and take our tourist pictures from the Ferry. After 9/11, you aren't allowed to go up in her, but you can go the top of the pedestal, which for us wasn't worth the wait.

This is the giant room where immigrants would line up and wait for hours to be check in and sign the registry books that we have come to rely so much upon for our genealogy. I also learned why there were so many name misspellings. That room has the worst acoustics in the world, and fill it with about 5,000 people all talking and screaming, in different languages, it's close to impossible to hear clearly. Also noted, those are 48 star flags hanging there because this was in operation before Hawaii and Alaska were states.


I put Stephanie right to work. Actually we had some record heat days that we just couldn't' go out for. Since we have to walk everywhere, the heat and rain is something you have to watch out for. So one of the days we hit 100 degrees, we painted by bathroom. I liked the color and found it on the mistakes shelf at Home Depot. That's a treasure trove, that shelf is! The paint cost me $1.50...


We have this really ugly brown tile in our bathroom and Stephanie didn't like that the grout was also brown. She decided to scrub it white. It worked for the most part. It always disturbing when you scrub and realize how much mold and ick you have all over your floors. The grout was just stained. I scrubbed it again after she left, and I am now the owner of white grout! It looks so much better. However, I think I'm paranoid now when it gets dirty. That will pass, I'm sure.
One of Bryant and I's favorite burger places is in the most random spot you've ever seen. You have to walk through this really nice hotel to get to it. Doormen... marble...gold...it's all there. But in the back corner, hidden by a curtain is "The Burger Joint"! Nobody seems to know how it got there. There's several theories, like it wouldn't move so the hotel built around it...But it's a cash only joint with concrete walls that have celebrity signatures all over them. So much fun! We love the atmosphere and the burgers are delicious.

There's always a line to get in and you have to hover for tables, but it's worth it, I promise. This sign was posted next to the entrance. It made us laugh. You get all kinds of creative signage in the city...including 'Sopranos'" death threats!

My burger and fries, courtesy of Stephanie's artistic camera

I love the Disney Store! It's three stories of dress up fun! That's my best Pirate face...anyone trembling in their boots?

If you aren't scared by mine, maybe Stephanie can scare you away! (I know these captions are just getting cheesier and cheesier!)

You can create your own Disney character Potato Head! Guess who mine is! But there are pirates, Mary Poppins, Ariel, The Incredibles, etc...so much fun!

FAO Shwarz is another favorite place to look around. They have cool things like life-size lego Harry Potter characters...and Star Wars...and a mini NYC skyline...you can't help but take a picture
So most of you have seen the movie, "Big", with Tom Hanks. Does that piano look familiar? You can play all over it and then they give concerts! I love toy stores, I don't think I'll ever grow out of being a kid in many ways. It was fun.

Our first venture to Coney Island. I loved it, once again, the child coming out in me. I couldn't help it, I bought a funnel cake! We walked around the board walk and the beach. What a fun place to come! Unfortunately we missed the hot dog eating contest by one day! That's just bad luck...maybe next year.

I just thought this picture was gorgeous with he Ferris wheel and sunset...it's classic.

Our two family photographers.

So, this building has been officially voted the ugliest building in NYC! Which I found really funny since this is what all the skyscrapers look like in every other city I've been to, but when compared with the ornate and architectural marvels the city has to offer, I can see why it was the worst. It is also right on the Brooklyn Bridge, which destroys the skyline and on the other side of it, there is a giant Verizon logo...that made New Yorkers mad! No other building has anything like that. So, for your viewing pleasure, the ugliest building in Manhattan!

This is just happiness right here. Because the all-star game was going on here in the city. MLB did a parade of Statue of Liberties. The first one we found, by chance, was the Royals! So here's our little touch of home in the big city. You aren't forgotten...You are still my favorite team, even though you're the worst team...we still love our Royals!

Stephanie and her Canal Street purse.

Steph and I camped out in Central Park for a few hours to get tickets to see Shakespeare in the Park. It was a happy and pleasant wait. We were on a beautiful path, with great scenery and most importantly, in the shade! We brought books and crosswords and had a fabulous wait. I'd do it again anytime! The play was 'Hamlet' and very well done, I might add. I had never seen a production so well done. But I won't bore you with the details. Sam Waterston (from Law and Order) was in it and some other faces you'd recognize. Encore!

If you watch Project Runway, then you'll know what these are. If not, then go watch it. It's fierce! These are the pieces they made from items at the Hershey store. They cut apart pillows, wrapped candy, all kinds of merchandise. It looked awesome. They were on parade at Dylan's Candy bar. Another tourism must see.

The classic Seredipity shot on my birthday! That's right the big 25! And I got my frozen hot chocolate. mmmmmmm!

Bryant got my flowers! Can I brag more! For my birthday, he tracked down some Calla Lillies for me. They're my favorite flower, by the way. Aren't they gorgeous. I love New York and that there are flower markets everywhere! But I love my husband more for getting them for me. He's wonderful!

Another New York stop is the imagine mosaic on the West side of Central Park, pretty much directly across from the place John Lennon was killed. It's a cool thing to see and get all kinds of characters there. It attracts the strangest people, all worshiping their God of Lennon. Some will just sit there and cry. Others bring their guitars and sing. I've seen some bring their poetry and read their dedications to him and then leave it by the mosaic. You get homeless, Vietnam Vets, etc. There's always some sort of alcohol and pot and it's always decorated with some sort of fresh flowers.

This guy's my favorite. He's been there every time I've gone, in the same spot. He always has a pile of rose petals, his dog and a stereo playing Lennon's songs. I over heard him say that he comes here everyday and just sits. I suppose I should be mad that he's bumming off my tax money to sit here, but gotta admire his dedication! He's always there!

Bryant's birthday. He had school that morning, and his birthday actually comes before mine, so insert picture above...but I made him birthday waffles!

It seems like there is always something to camp out for in the city. Stephanie and I went about 5 hours early to wait for the Met in the Park in Brooklyn. We once again, brought our blanket and books, packed a dinner and went to wait for the free opera in the park. The Metropolitan Opera sponsors a free conert every year. It was wonderful. I wasn't a big opera fan until I heard teh Met. It's beautiful. They performed a series of Arias and Duets. And like true opera fashion, there were 5 curtain calls, complete with a new song or two each time! I loved it!

Bryant and I waiting for it to start. I believe there were around 60,000 people there that night. I was crowded and noisy. But the serious opera fans made sure that everything quieted down when it started. Next to us, we had a bunch of gay men smoking cigaretts, and drinking bottles of wine. We counted about 20 bottles empty at the end. And to top it all off, they brought out the joints halfway through. One guys wanted it so badly that he was trying to smoke the end of one that was shorter than the width of your finger. So he couldn't even hold it, but was trying to smoke it off his knee. Great entertainment!

They had big screen on both sides of the stage so we could see the performers.

Bryant and Stephanie laying back during intermission

Here's a shot I attmepted to get all the people. You can see how many, but you can see how tight everyone was packed in. It was so much fun. I'll be out there again next year!

I got to see Bernadette Peters! She was doing a performance and book signing at Barnes and Noble. I love her! She was fabulous and wonderful. And i got a book signed by her!

She sang a song at the end of her book reading and came intot he audience. I loved it!

Bryant and I at another one of our camping out opportunities. We spent 6 hours waiting for fireworks to start, but we found the most amazing place! Over in Queens, there are these piers that jet out into the East River, right where the fireworks were going to happen. We had a great view and the best backdrop for it! The New York skyline...We even bought lawn chairs for this momentous Fourth of July.

My New York City tan as it's called. You don't get a flip flop tan the normal way. Your feet get so dirty on the bottoms and where the strap touches that you have a reverse tan. Then, while you're sitting in the park and getting some sun, your feet won't tan there because there's always dirt. Lovely though huh? But apparantly it's a real phenomenon here! so I'm showing mine off.

The people packed onto our pier for the fireworks. Not nearly as many as the park events we go to, but enough to make it hard to get out if you need to use the restroom...What fun! It does seem like we spend a lot of time waiting in line for things, but I've gotten a lot of reading done, so it's not a total waste.

Before the fireworks started, the FDNY brought around their fireboats and shot out big water streams Some of the streams were dyed red and blue for a little added patriotism. It was a fun touch.

This was our backdrop for the firework show! Awesome huh? I think it was one of the best firework shows I've ever seen. It's was beautiful. I believe it was supposed to be the largest in the nation, setting off over 55,000 fireworks! They had some I'd never seen before. Gorgeous! So if any of you are planning a summer trip to the city, the fourth is a must!

This is just a start, I know on catching you all up on what's going on, but I'll have more to come, I promise.