The City That Never Sleeps

Wow! The past few days have just whizzed by! We spent them exploring some of New York City's most popular sites and thankfully, we got to see mostly everything we wanted to see. Since, there's quite a bit to cover, I am going to separate this post into days in order to make it easier to write, as well as read! Here we go...

Day 1:


We started off our time in NYC by going to the top of the Empire State Building. It took about an hour to buy our tickets, go through security, etc. but it was well worth it!








The view was absolutely spectacular! The weather was beautiful and we could see for miles in all directions! I discovered that you don't realize how high up you are until you're actually up there!


We later took the subway to see Ground Zero and Wall Street. (Dad might post a photo album after we get home; we just took too many photos to post here!) We then walked down to the Brooklyn Bridge and got a family picture.





That night, we walked around Times Square and explored some of its stores. The billboards/TV screens were absolutely ginormous and the square looked incredible at night! It was also astounding to see how many people were there!

Day 2:


The next day, we rented bikes and rode around Central Park for a few hours. The park was really beautiful and I can see why New Yorker's use it as an escape from the bustle of the city!


Mom- the navigator! :)





I was also surprised at Central Park's vast size. Even after three hours, we probably only saw a fourth of what the park had to offer!

We made a few more stops later that day as well, including Gray's Papaya, Carnegie Hall, and Rockefeller Center. (Again, pictures will come later!)

Day 3:


We got up early the next morning because we had tickets to go up into the Statue of Liberty's pedestal (the gray part right underneath her feet)! We drove to Liberty State Park and took an 8:30 ferry to get over to the island.


Our tickets included admission into the pedestal's museum. Here is me with a replication of the statue's face. It's huge!


A picture from inside the statue. The spiral staircase you see leads up to the Lady Liberty's crown (tickets to go up there sell out months in advance and only 30 people per day are admitted!)


The pedestal viewing platform was right underneath the statue. It was quite a unique view!


One of Dad's great postcard-worthy shots! I was so glad we were finally able to see this amazing statue in real life!


Our Statue of Liberty tickets also included admission to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. It was fascinating to learn about what immigrants had to go through to enter the U.S. in the early 20th century.


The "Great Hall"- where immigrants waited to be checked by doctors (who made sure no one entering had any contagious diseases).

What a great city! We all unanimously decided that none of us would want to live there but we were all glad to visit for a couple of days! Tomorrow, we will visit Philadelphia and see a few sites before heading to Washington D.C. Woohoo!


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Location:New York, NY

A Bit More Boston and the Atlantic Ocean

We finished up our time in Boston by making two quick stops to Harvard University and the Boston Commons/Public Gardens.





Here's Mom with the statue of John Harvard (actually, this it's more commonly known as "The Statue of Three Lies" - search it on Google to find out why!) Anyways, the university campus was very beautiful and we snapped a few pictures before heading to the other side of town.





The Boston Commons/Public Gardens are sort of like Boston's version of Central Park. The Commons had a lot of space to run around and throw frisbees while the Gardens had benches, walking trails, fountains, statues, and flowers. We had a great time walking around both and taking in the scenery.





The famous Swan Boats were unfortunately closed due to the nearby filming of a movie. Maybe next time...





Mom, Megan, Patrick, and I with the "Make Way for Ducklings" statue(s). These ducks are from the children's book of the same name. (Interestingly enough, the story is considered the "official children's book of Boston!")




Later, we headed out of Boston and toward the coast for a visit to the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory. We took a fun (and free!) little tour of the factory and even got a tasty free sample at the end!





The next day, we drove to Newport, Rhode Island to get a closer look at the Atlantic Ocean (as Patrick is demonstrating above).





We also had the chance to visit Danbury, Connecticut, the birthplace of the composer Charles Ives. We saw his birthplace and even found his gravesite! Dad, who is quite the classical music aficionado, immensely enjoyed this little side trip.

We are now staying in a hotel outside New York City and will spend the next three days sight-seeing in the city. We are all very excited and will visit places such as Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Met. Keep us in you prayers as we continue our travels and I will update you once again in a few days!


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Location:Boston, MA; Cape Cod, MA; Newport, RI; Danbury, CT

"Beantown"

We're officially in Massachusetts! Our flight to Boston was uneventful and we arrived safely at 5:15 AM.


Even though we managed to catch a few hours of sleep on the airplane, we were still tired!

We then picked up our rental car and took a Duck Tour of the city. (The vehicle could drive on land, convert to a boat, and float in the water!) It was a great way to get introduced to Boston's sights!


Our tour guide was extremely entertaining and gave out lots of really neat "fun facts."


We passed by many places, including the The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge...


...and even the bar from the TV show "Cheers!"

Later we toured the USS Constitution (nicknamed "Old Ironsides"), the world's oldest commissioned warship.


The next day, we walked the Freedom Trail, which stretches 2.5 miles and highlights many sites from the Revolutionary War era (such as Paul Revere's house and the Bunker Hill monument). We also saw...


...this statue of Benjamin Franklin in front of the Old City Hall (it also used to be the first public school in America) as well as...


the Old North Church, where the two lanterns warned colonists that "the Regulars were coming" (not the "British" because the colonists still considered themselves citizens of Britain - we learned this on the Duck Tour!)


We all loved these quaint little streets! I wouldn't mind living in one of those apartments!

Both days, the weather was absolutely beautiful! The temperature was in the low 60s and it rained quite a bit on Day 2. We are enjoying this weather while we can as it will begin to get hotter and humid the father South we travel.

Tomorrow, we will visit Cape Cod and work our way to New York City. I will be sure to post an update in the next few days! This has been a great trip so far and we're all looking forward to what else is in store for us!


Megan, Patrick and I with the Democratic Donkey!


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Location:Boston, MA

Our Itinerary

Well, today's the day! After months of planning we are finally leaving for the East Coast! We will be gone for about four weeks and are excited to experience many new things together as a family. Here's a rough itinerary of our trip:


June 21 – depart Long Beach at 9 p.m.
June 22 – arrive Boston 5:19 a.m. (Duck Tour, Boston Gardens, Harvard?)
June 23 – Freedom Trail, Boston Harbor
June 24 – USS Constitution, Plymouth, Cape Cod
June 25 – Ten mile ocean drive through Rhode Island, Connecticut
June 26 – Lower Manhattan (Empire St. Bldg., Times Square, Ground Zero)
June 27 – Upper Manhattan (Central Park, Met. Museum, Guggenheim)
June 28 – Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island tour 8 a.m.
June 29 – Philadelphia
June 30 – Fort McHenry (Baltimore)
July 1 – Capitol tour 11:20 a.m., Supreme Court tour 1:45 p.m.
July 2 – Kennedy Center tour 9:30 a.m.
July 3 – National Cathedral
July 4 – National Mall concert
July 5 – Washington Monument tour 9:30 a.m., pick up RV at 1:00
July 6 – Monticello, University of Virginia
July 7 – Gettysburg, Harper’s Ferry
July 8 – Hershey, Shartlesville, Lancaster County
July 9 – Pittsburgh area
July 10 – Niagara Falls
July 11 – Syracuse (Erie Canal)
July 12 – Corning, Cooperstown (baseball hall of fame), or Seneca Falls
July 13 – Lake George, NY
July 14 – Ben & Jerry’s factory, Stowe VT (Trapp family lodge)
July 15 – Possibly New Hampshire
July 16 – Tanglewood, Stockbridge (Norman Rockwell museum)
July 17 – Old Sturbridge Village
July 18 – Return RV in Salem, depart 6:17 p.m. and arrive Long Beach 9:35 p.m.

What an exciting trip this will be! Please pray for our safety, health, and that we would just have an amazing time together! I (Kevin) will try to update this blog once every few days to keep you updated on what we have seen and done. See you when we get back in July!


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