Manhattan Marathon Part 2 of 3

Picking up on Day 2 with the "See it all tour" of Manhattan:

We met our guide, "J" and hopped on a small bus that held about 20 of us. He was great and kept up a running commentary about the sights we were driving by. There were at least a dozen spots that we hopped off and got more information from him as he accompanied us. Some of the stop off and drive by points of interest were:
the Dakota Building where John Lennon was shot and where his widow still lives
Central Park /Strawberry fields
Rockefeller Center
Wall Street and World Financial Center
Trinity Church
Flatiron Building
Times Square
South Street Seaport
5th Avenue
NBC Today Show
9/11 Memorial
Trinity Church
St. Patrick's
Woolworth Building
Shopping Mile
Broadway
Lego Store
Central Park Zoo
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
Greenwich
Chelsea
Highline Park
Little Italy and Chinatown
SoHo and NoHo, Tribeca, West Side of the park, etc.

GREAT way to see NYC if you only have a few days. Click on most of the pictures below for an enlarged view.

Wall Street: Actual part of the original 'wall' of Wall Street, built for protection by the Dutch in New Amsterdam.

George Washington in front of the Federal Building on Wall Street.

NYSE on Wall Street.

Trinity Church as seen from Wall Street and the NYSE.

9/11 Memorial reflecting pool. See all the trees in the background? Over 400 planted in memory of the first responders who died.

Just a shot of our tour guide, "J" with his umbrella (he held it above his head while walking in front of us so we would not 'lose' him!)  and the group on Wall Street.

From our boat ride on the Zephyr: view of Manhattan from the Hudson

The beautiful Statue of Liberty

The Brooklyn Bridge!

Another shot of the lower Manhattan skyline.

We ended the day about 8 pm! So in 7.5 hours we saw quite a bit!! We headed back to Jersey and enjoyed a quiet dinner in our little neighborhood. Here's the view as we got off the ferry:

Manhattan Marathon on Father's Day weekend/ Part 1 of 3

Tamera, Dad and I visited NYC June 12-16. I picked this weekend partly because it was Father's Day weekend and wanted to spend time with my great Dad! For not knowing a THING about NYC, I was amazed at how well the place we picked to stay, tours we took and transportation worked out.

I'm calling this post Manhattan Marathon because according to my pedometer we WALKED at least 26 miles in 3 days! Wahoooooo. NOT part of the  original plan, but still worth mentioning!

DAY 1: Rain and the pizza tour

We got up fairly early to a downpour on Friday am. Armed with umbrellas and rain jackets we made our way via ferry from our Jersey City condo to lower Manhattan World Financial Center. Tamera was our navigator as we headed up Broadway, ducking into a coffee shop for coffee, hot chocolate and muffins to get out of the rain for a bit. After walking about a mile up Broadway to Spring Street, we determined where our 'Pizza Tour' would begin at 11, then took another 'sit and rest' break at the Whole Foods store around the corner.

The 'Pizza Tour'

After the tour was over (3 pizza tastings and many steps later!) we headed back down West Broadway to the ferry. We explored a small memorial dedicated to the Irish immigrants who came to America due to the potato famine.

The rain had cleared up, but another storm was coming in... We rested for a bit, then went out to dinner near the condo. We discovered that this little Jersey City neighborhood was a great spot to return to after all the sights and noises of NYC! Quiet, clean mixed business and residential apartments with small bistros and bars scattered over a few streets. Great service and food to end the day on. I loved the view of the World Trade Center building #1 from the streets on Jersey side.

The day ended with a firework display about 10 pm that we could see from our condo window!

Day 2  NYC 'see it all tour' with Onboard Tours

This morning we went to a little breakfast place down the street called Sam I AM. 

Fortified with breakfast, we took the ferry back over and this time we caught a cab up to Central Park. This is definitely the 'heart and lungs' of the city. 

I'll post more about the tour we took in the next post!

Oakwood Cemetery

This week I am reflecting on the things that Mom gave me.  I realize this blog has been a part of grieving for me...to express my feelings on paper.
This is the week between her death and her burial one year ago. This last weekend we gathered as a family and extended family at the Oakwood Cemetery. The purpose was to see the work that Dad had done on the family plot and also to see the monument that had been set in place for Mom (and eventually Dad!). It was a sweet time as Dad also shared some genealogy information for direct descendants of Celeste Smith Rowley (my maternal great grandmother).
But back to the things that Mom gave me:

1. an example of patience     Mom had 3 children by the time she was 21 years old and then #4 at age 30. I always marveled at her extreme patience with us. I have very few memories of her ever being angry or irritated with us. She was not perfect, but patience was truly part of her character.
2. an example of embracing change  My private joke about Mom was that her middle initial (C for Celeste) really meant C for CHANGE. She loved change and she was never afraid of it...whether it was a move to the other side of the ocean or having a major change in a carefully planned 'event'. She was very, very flexible. I want to be like this.
3. her deep love for all of her family   She not only was an example here for me, but I believe that she actually deposited this in me over and over again.
4. desire for natural beauty  I'm not quite sure how to word this, but Mom was not one to get into lots of make up and clothes. I know she did love to 'shop' and she bought quite a few clothes...yes, quite a few! BUT she never seemed to make that her emphasis when she got ready for the day. She had beautiful soft brown curly hair and expressive eyebrows and a sweet dimple. She used Nivea lotion and I still have a 'flash flood' of memories when I smell that cream. She wanted to look pretty, but she also wanted to BE comfortable. As a result, she really was both. This is how I want to be!
5. her quiet trust in Jesus    When I was little, Mom would sing and hum as she worked around the house...I took that for granted as a kid, but now I know that was a contented heart that Mom had. I really don't have a knack for knowing lyrics or a singing voice, but the songs I DO know without thinking about it are the Jesus medleys she would sing as she went about her day. In later years as she shared with me about what she was praying for and hoping for...she again taught me by example to turn people, situations and desires over to Jesus. Thanks, Mom! This is a song that you would not have known, but the heart of it would be so familiar to you. 

Some photos from last weekend: