Mini Vacay

We had grandiose plans to take a trip to TX this summer, but then I got a job and Rick didn't and I had to have surgery. Not able to pull off a big trip, we decided to take a mini trip to NYC the same week as my 40th birthday. We got the best of both worlds - a few days away and celebrating a milestone birthday in the Big Apple! 

We left on Wednesday and stopped on the way in Philadelphia. We had lunch at Pat's getting their famous cheese steaks and fries.

After lunch we went to see Tthe Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

Then it was back on the road again, heading into New Jersey to our hotel. They were predicting thunderstorms for NYC for the evening, so we opted to stay at the hotel, swim and order in some take-out Chinese.

The following day - my 40th birthday - we got up early, enjoyed free breakfast and got ready to head to NYC. 



Last time we were in NYC it was a 3+ hours wait to get tickets to ride the ferry to The Statue of Liberty, so we decided to go to Liberty Park, NJ and catch the ferry there. We didn't even have to wait 30 minutes and we were heading to Ellis Island!



Rick and I have great-grandparents that traveled to Ellis Island and were processed at the immigration center. We weren't real sure of their names, but found several that may have been matches. My sister, Janie said my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Kocher was actually signed in as Elizabeth Koch. We located her name.



Cool picture NYC from Ellis Island 

Once we were done touring Ellis Island we headed to the ferry to go see The Statue of Liberty. We got to talk to a few park rangers and learn some interesting facts about Lady Liberty.

After we saw The Statue of Liberty we headed back to Liberty Park, so we could ride into NYC for lunch and a little shopping. When we got back to port there was a neat memorial for 9/11 and a view of the new WTC across the harbor.

Driving in the city always makes me nervous and this trip was no exception! The cab drivers are ruthless and had us surrounded at one point!

I really wanted NY style pizza for my birthday, so we found a local place and had the yummiest pizza I've ever had in NYC =)

After lunch we went across the street to Dylan's Candy Store. It was a three story building with all of the confections you could imagine! 

Our time was running out on the parking garage, so Rick decided to get the car and the kiddos and I walked on to the Disney Store. We walked 7-8 blocks to find out that it had closed down and we had walked too far passed FAO Schwartz to go back there. So, Rick picked us up in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral. He took a couple pictures of Trump Tower while he was walking back to the garage.

  

Rick knows how much I loathe the tunnels in and out of the city, so he took a different route. We went over the George Washington Bridge and it was so nice!

It was nice to get back to the hotel. Rick and the kiddos went swimming and I took a nap. We went to a local diner for my birthday dinner and then got cupcakes from ShopRite.

On Friday, we opted not to head back into NYC and headed home. We had such a nice, relaxing trip and are looking forward to going back soon. We are hoping to go after Thanksgiving to see the city decorated for the holidays and maybe ice skate at Rockefeller Center.