New York from my cell phone

I got a new phone and a new plan just before I left for New York. I love my new phone! For one thing, it's purple, and although that's probably the biggest reason, I also love it because I have unlimited calls to David, it takes great pictures, and...it's purple! Did I already say that? I must really love that it's purple.

I wasn't planning on using my phone as much as I did, but since calls to David were free, well, I called him a lot! And then I started taking pictures of where I was and sending them to the kids as sort of a travel itinerary. (Disclaimer: the following are not all of my cell phone pictures, I only uploaded the ones that weren't repeated by one of my sister's cameras)

New York Cheesecake. David makes a killer cheesecake, but I have to admit, I ate some of the best cheesecake I've ever tasted in my life on this vacation. It was rich, and creamy, aged just right, the flavors blending perfectly together. Our favorite place to get cheesecake is called the Magnolia Bakery. I strongly recommend it.

Fireworks over the Hudson River. Both of my sisters took many, many pictures of the fireworks, but I like how this picture turned out. We waited in the middle of 42nd street, literally sitting in the middle of the street, with thousands of other people, for about 2 1/2 hours. Were the fireworks worth it? Yes! We were blocked by the buildings, but there were fireworks all up and down the river. In this picture you can see just a little of what the buildings blocked. The best part? Having my kids watch the show on tv and try to see me in the crowd.

What would a trip to New York be without going to FAO Schwarz? Well, I'll tell you. A trip not made by a mother or auntie. My brother Seth did "Big" the summer of '08 at Hale, and the kids loved the idea of the big piano. It was here that all the parents left their older kids to play while they went shopping. In other words, I didn't get to play it!

Remember "Night at the Museum"? They actually sell copies of that movie in the Museum of Natural History. Josh wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up, and so this picture of me with the Tyrannosaurus Rex was just for him. This museum is huge, and we didn't allow ourselves enough time to see the whole thing. I guess I'll have to go back. Darn it!

We did allow ourselves enough time in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Once again, I strongly recommend visiting here if you ever go to New York. The admission is free, although a donation is suggested, and the lines are incredibly long, but once inside, it's just amazing. My sisters took lots of pictures, but this is the one I sent to Sarah. Degas is her favorite artist, I think it has something to do with his subject matter *grin*, and she was very jealous.

Our last full day in New York we went to see the Statue of Liberty. Once again, my sisters took tons of pictures, and truthfully, I did, too, but for the sake of the length of this blog, I'll just have to post them another day. Ellis Island was amazing, and we all wished that we had started here instead of at the Statue Museum. Imagine selling everything, quitting your job, leaving all friends, and coming to America. Your first stop is Ellis Island. For most of the immigrants this story has a good ending: they got to come to America. But for a small percentage, for one reason or another, they were sent back. I suppose the good news is that the US paid their way back...to no job, and no house, with all the rest of their family in the US...wow.

That's a quick overview, and not a very good one of my trip this summer. The good news (or the bad news, depending on how it's looked at) is that I have lots more pictures and lots more words all about my trip. It's a city that full of things to see and things to say...like..."tell all the gang at 42nd street that I will soon be there!"