July 13, 2018

 We all slept in and it felt marvelous.  Evan and I walked to Dunkin Donuts and got breakfast for everyone.  Then Evan, Max and I took an uber into New York City.  Ben and Ian were exhausted and wanted to stay back at the airbnb.   Our driver dropped us off at Columbus Circle. 

Columbus Circle under construction

 We decided to walk around Central Park for a while.  Trina had told me about a bakery called Levain and I really wanted to go there, so I mapped it on my phone and we walked there.  It was so small.  We could barely fit inside.  I got a chocolate cookie, a chocolate chip cookie and piece of lemon cake.  After the bakery, we walked back to the park.  We passed the Museum of Natural History and the MET but no one wanted to go in. 

 We spotted a racoon in the park!  It was so cool.  And fast.

 The closer we got to the fountain, the busier it was.  We walked down to the fountain and saw dudes on rollerblades holding pythons.

 After using the restrooms we headed up the stairs and watched some street performers for a while.  They were pretty good but when they asked us for money, we left.  Max then googled "best pizza in NYC" and the name Angelos came up so we went there.  I loved it but Evan said he prefers Mellow Mushroom.  We were tired so I got us an Uber.  It was the Uber ride from HELL.  The guy picked us up then tried to talk us into using the ferry to get back to New Jersey. There was a major wreck in one of the tunnels so he told us he would take the Washington Bridge.  I have never been to NYC so I had no idea what that meant - well, it meant going way out of the way.  Instead of taking 20 minutes to get back to our airbnb, it took about 2 hours.  When I got the bill it was $110!!  Of course I didn't tell Ian but I contacted Uber and fought it because not once did the driver tell me it would be so much - usually it was around $45. Uber agreed and only charged what I was originally quoted.  When we got back we just chilled the rest of the night and got ready to leave the next day.  I wish we would've seen more in NYC but we were just too worn out. 

July 12, 2018

NYC

The day started off with us walking to the Dunken Donuts which was right by our airbnb.  After breakfast we ubered over to the 911 Memorial.  It was an extremely emotional experience.  

 There are two big concrete filled holes where the twin towers were.  The names of those who died are inscribed all around each hole. 

 Ian didn't want to pay to go in the museum so we didn't. I cannot imagine the devastation and heartbreak of that day.  I am glad we got to see the monument. 

We then walked down to Battery Park - where we would catch the ferry to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. 

Cool statue in the park

 Boarding the ferry was hot and miserable with tons of security but once we got on it was cool - except for the couple making out next to us.  We finally had to move. 

Manhattan skyline

 I was so happy none of us got sea sick!  Seeing the Statue of Liberty was awesome!  She is huge!

 We weren't able to get tickets to the top but we walked up to the base of the statue and went to the mini museum. 

We learned that the torch has been changed 3 times.  It was emotional reading about some of the stories of the immigrants.  We then got some frozen lemonades and got back on the ferry  -we could have gotten off at Ellis Island but no one but me wanted to.  I had heard the museum there was awesome but I couldn't talk anyone into it.

We stayed on the ferry and it took us back to Battery Park.  We then got some hotdogs and walked to the Brooklyn Bridge.  

Lots of cool buildings in NYC

 We walked past the bull on Wall Street - that was cool.  Too bad I didn't get a picture.  At this point everyone was super tired and annoyed but we walked on.  We finally made it to the bridge.  We ended up just walking half way - I wish we would've walked to Brooklyn but everyone was tired and grumpy. 

 Then we started walking back towards Manhattan.  We passed a Target and went inside to get food and use the restrooms.  We kept walking (everyone was hungry again) and found a Shake Shack. Man those burgers hit the spot!  So good!  We walked along the Hudson River - it was a gorgeous day.  There were boats and jet skies on the river and people playing basketball in the park.  We kept trying to get an uber but they were super expensive.  Ian wanted us to walk further into the city but I didn't want to.  We got in a fight and I walked back to the river and sat on some benches.  Finally Ian and the boys found me and Ian got us an uber.  Well, he got us a smaller one (on accident) so Evan had to sit on the floor.  It was kind of a nightmare but we all were too tired to care. 

When we got back we went to the grocery store - our airbnb was in a Cuban neighborhood so there weren't many familiar foods.  We did get some EL Fudge cookies and those were delightful.

Cool Monastery by our airbnb

 We finally went to bed  - we were all exhausted.