New York, NY

Ben and I took a leap and went to New York City last week. We were in the city for about 3 days total and we packed as much into those three days as our feet could handle. Our college friend Jason, hosted us in his studio apartment. We had a terrific time! We missed our boys, but I don't think they missed us. They had a great time with grandma and grandpa - thanks mom and dad!

The photos are in just about the exact order I took them. This reminds me of slide shows. Remember those? I LOVE slide shows, always have. The old fashioned kind, with actual slides, a screen and projector. Just pretend this is a slide show.

Here we go...

We landed at LaGuardia at noon, hopped on a bus, then got on a train and then walked to Jason's office in the Empire State Building. We left our bags in his office and then set out to find some lunch. We grabbed some pizza and ate it in Bryant Park.


Times Square - the city has blocked off some of the streets and put out lawn chairs so people can sit, relax, enjoy, etc. It's an interesting idea that they're trying to copy from Europe, but I'm not sure how well it translates in this case.


The Hershey store in Times Square.




Jason, our friend who graciously let us sleep in his bed and overtake his apartment for 3 nights, is brilliant, funny and always on the go. This is what his bag looks like - it's a true snapshot of what Jason's brain must look like. It makes me smile. There is a little something of everything in this bag and something is always lost.


Grand Central Station chandelier


The United Nations was a fascinating place.


Amen.


The Brooklyn Bridge on a drizzly afternoon.


Ben read every piece of information about the bridge he could find. I didn't read anything and took pictures. That, in so many ways, explains how we each function.


Looking out from the Statue of Liberty at the boats transporting people to and from the island.


Again looking down from the Statue, the dots you can see are people.


There she is. I was surprised, or maybe naive is a better word, about how big she really is and about how thick the security is around her.


We just couldn't resist snapping this photo.


Coney Island was beautifully interesting, lots to see, the only true sunshine we experienced while in New York and a nice break from concrete and tall buildings.


The Wonder Wheel, I convinced Ben to take me on it. :-)




This clown made me laugh. There were lots of these clowns (none of them real) around, but this sad-faced clown was funny to me. So much of Coney Island is in a bit of disrepair and somehow, I think this clown knows it.


Looking down at the kid rides from the Wonder Wheel.


Ben and Chase (Jason's dog) waiting for Jason.


This yarn shop was just down the street from Jason's aparment and the display was just fascinating to me. The shop was closed each time we walked by, so I finally just settled on a picture of the display from outside. It's NYC - do you see the Empire State Building witih Godzilla hanging off the side? The guy in the middle is Mayor Michael Bloomberg, several other distinguishable buildings and then the ocean at the bottom! Way back when I was a 4-H kid, I knew how to crochette and a part of me is still fascinated at what is possible with yarn and needles/hooks.


The Union Square Farmer's Market was quite possibly the best part of the trip. It was an amazing amount of freshness in the middle of Manhattan. I'd never seen so many root vegetables available at one time.


Or, so many strawberries, fresh, not packaged in plastic. I bought a pint (for $4.00) for breakfast.


Ben had a cinnamon roll.




Beautiful flowers, of all kinds, were available.


Chelsea Market was also a visual highlight for me. We THINK the Food Network studios are in the upper part of this building, but could never quite figure it out. But, on the first floor are a bunch of little boutiques in this very industrial space. These lights made my heart go pitter-patter. Ben and Jason made fun of me photographing lights, but they were such a nice contrast to the rest of the building, I just couldn't resist.


This is a bench in Chelsea Market, love it.


One of the boutiques in Chelsea Market was a Tea Salon. I loved their chairs (although very hard to see in this photo). This was the first of MANY attempts to get a photo of Jason and Ben. Sometimes, Ben is such a terd. :-)


I'm not a tea drinker, but this Tea Salon was pure eye candy to me.


Another attempt...not too bad.


This is Jason's street.


Just past Ben's left shoulder is the door to Jason's apartment building. 4 steps down to the front door, through two locked doors and Jason's apartment was the first door on the left.


One photo of myself. Can you see me? :-)


The office, bedroom, dining room and living room of the apartment. It was tight for three people, but it was wonderful to get to spend time with Jason and to get a feel for what REAL NYC life is.


I pretty much turned around to photograph the kitchen and the front door is just out of this picture to the right. There is a small bathroom in the aparment as well, but I didn't bother to take a picture of it.


Chase and Jason - it was really sweet to see how excited Chase got when Jason was around.


The Donut Pub, the coffee/donut shop that Jason goes to daily.




Besides using our own feet for transportation, we took the subway. Ben is skilled at figuring out maps and public transit systems, thankgoodness! I just followed him around, which really allowed me to simply enjoy everything.






One evening we went to dinner with Ben's brother Andy and his girlfriend Hannah. Somehow, I failed to photograph any of that, which is truly a bummer. We had a wonderful time with them - it was great to meet Hannah!

Another evening, Ben, Jason and I met up with Jason's sister Jess and her boyfriend Javier for dinner. Then we ventured in Javier convertible to Central Park for a free concert that ended before we got through the gates. But, Javier took us for a ride through the city and then for some to-die-for icecream. It was a lovely evening.

We had a great time, and there are so many things we didn't see that we'll simply have to go back sometime. Thanks Jason for hosting us!