New York, New York

Trent and I got up and arrived in New York by 9am after driving from Allentown, PA. Brooke and Todd made us an offer we couldn't refuse, so we left the kids with them and took a day date together to see the Big Apple. (Never found the big, red thing, though. Anyone seen it before?)
At 9am, you wait in a line at a visitors center for the World Trade Center towers to get tickets to the memorials they have built. Then you walk several blocks to wait in another long line to get into the Memorial.

It was nicely done, but I'm not sure we'd ever go again. Nice that they put the names of those who died in the building collapse all along the edge of the pools.

After the WTC memorial, we had an early lunch (I'm pregnant, so food can't be that far apart) at Grimaldis. If you've never been, make the time if you're ever in New York (or Las Vegas).

Then we went to the Museum of Natural History.
And I liked this quote:
MANHOOD
A Mans usefulness depends upon his living up to his ideals insofar as he can. It is hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. All daring and courage all iron endurance of misfortune make for a finer nobler type of manhood. Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and and the duty of life. -Theodore Roosevelt

They must have turned the animatronics off that day. Sad.

Looks like a dog that's about to be pierced by a long pole by one guy while held by ropes held by 2 other guys. Mean.

Some killed dogs while others killed whales. Kinda unfair I'd think.

Not sure this type of storytelling is so prehistoric...I've passed several books at the library that still use mainly pictures to tell their story...and it's not just in the children's section, either.

I think this was a replica of the first civilization-Ur. With a Ziggurat in the background. Tight quarters.

To know what the masks below are supposed to mean, read the last few lines from the picture above. Kinda crazy.

Don't tell me that you didn't know Firecrackers were to scare demons off and paper money was used to pay them off. Well, if you didn't, that's how they used to do things (or still do?) in China.

If you want to know your fortune, all you have to do is look around for a few sticks lying around. Or maybe they have to be 'special sticks'?

Do you want to know what this turquoise chair and veiled, red dressed person is all about? Take a guess. Then read below to see if you were right.

Trent and I were looking all over for this guy and finally found him tucked away in a far off section. He had a line of people wanting to take pictures next to him. After Night at the Museum, they should have put him in a more prominent spot. 

This thing was kinda cool-placed on the chief's pole near his house and would protect all his valuables. Doesn't it look fierce? Intimidating? I wouldn't go in that guy's house...look who'll come after you.

I really wanted to get this authentic Mexican chocolate for my Dad since he served in Mexico, but decided against it since it probably wouldn't last during the shipment.

This is the fall of Richmond during the Civil War. Confederacy used Richmond as their capital and when the Union took nearby city, the Confederacy burned alot of their warehouses and bridges so that the Union wouldn't be able to use them. But it went unchecked and spread through alot of the city before the Northern troops put it out.

When I saw these ice molds, I went giddy. Trent saw no reason to buy them. Didn't want me to. But after thinking of all the cold drinks I could enjoy with an Easter Island head looking up at me, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands.

Intimidating even behind glass.

Real stuff from a burial site.

Having served in South America and traveled to Central America (Guatemala) when I was pregnant with Brenden, we loved this section.

Too bad they don't make them in Trent's size. He could use that in Ohio.

Baby version. Too bad it wasn't for sale. Kent would have been so cozy.

Central Park. Nothing too exciting. Maybe we should have done the bike tour? 

The MET. Metropolitan Museum. My favorite stop of the day. Besides dinner. Wish we spent more time here than Museum of Natural History.

Then we headed out for Grand Central Station.

 Trying to picture what it was like when trains were a main use for transportation.

We had dinner at Tommy Bahama's restaurant above their clothing store. Link here. My steak salad was very flavorful. Trent had cod I think. He tried a new fish he never had before.

My photo is blurry, so here's one from their site:

I had a picture of the below statue hanging at my cubicle when I used to work for my Dad's company, so I was immediately drawn to the statue. Just crazy to think that those guys used to work that high up on the skyscrapers without much, if any, safety equipment. Things are done alot differently these days.

We wanted to hit Times Square at night so we could see the lights. Funny enough, our first and almost only store we went into was the Disney store. Had to pick a little something out for Brenden and Kyleigh. (Brooke and Todd weren't left out...however, their gift wasn't something from the Disney store).

Times Square sure brings out the characters in people.

Not my idea of a great night out on the town-sweating inside some costume.

One of our options for B: (As an adult, Toys are still fun to look at-just for a different reason).

A HUGE section of princess garb of all different colors and styles. Kyleigh would have thrown her hands up, tilted her head and gone bug-eyed if she saw this.

After we made our choice, we decided we had seen enough of New York and headed home. Exhausted (even Trent said he was tired! Which takes alot for that energy-driven guy) but happy for the time together and experience.