The hecticly relaxing vacation...

We know its been a whole week since we got back from New York, but we are just now getting a moment (together) to fill you in all the goodness of the trip. Here is a brief recap of what we did...

We had a great flight to NY on Thursday and an even better bus ride to our hotel. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan (right next to Grand Central Station - right in the middle of everything) and Megan's parents (who flew in from Chicago) stayed there too. They arrived a few hours after we did so we had a chance to orient ourselves a little bit as well as go pick up subway passes for everyone. That evening the four of us took the bus down to the Circle Line Tour dock and enjoyed an evening harbor cruise (half-way) around the island. It lasted two hours and when the sun finally went down the views were excellent.

Friday morning we awoke from our slumber (we slept sooooooo good in our posh hotel!!!!) and navigated our way on the subway up to Central Park and went to the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The best words to sum up this day are overwhelming and soreness. The History museum wasn't all that great for people over the age of 12 so we didn't stay long. The Met (after we walked through the park to get there - we won't mention the hot dogs we ate or the unexpected wrong turn) on the other hand was awesome. We spent about 6 1/2 hours there but we could have been there for a week. It was fun to get Bill's (Megan's step-Dad - who is an Art professor) perspective and instruction on all the stuff we saw there. To top off the day we took the concierege's advice and had sushi at a nearby restaurant. It was yummy! But that wasn't the end of the evening. We spotted a nice pub on the walk back to the hotel and jumped in for a beer and some dessert.

Saturday morning, we took our pain medications and slathered up with Aspercreme and headed out to the Guggenheim Museum and the Modern Museum of Art. The Guggenheim was great from architectural stand point but the galleries were kind of lame. We would have been out of there in about 30 minutes if it had not been for a terrential downpour of rain. So after another 45 minutes in the cafe we headed to MoMA. Little did we know it was family day at the MoMA, but that didn't stop us from having a great time looking around and learning lots from Bill. You could tell he really enjoyed being at these museums and his joy was contagious. After all that we made our way to the sea of humanity called Times Square and oogled over all the lights, enjoyed a funnel cake, and eventually, ate at Planet Hollywood (where we were entertained by the worst DJ in New York, ever!).

Sunday we rested. The two of us took a walk down fifth avenue - all the way to the coolest Apple store ever. It was fun to see all the fancy stores (which weren't open yet) and landmarks such as Trump Tower. On our walk back to the hotel we found a really excellent breakfast place which was even better because it was clean and you could eat for under five bucks. Anyway, in the afternoon the four of us went to the Empire State Building and then had lunch at Heartland Brewery where we enjoyed an interesting, yet good, fried Pu-Pu platter. (It's not as bad as it sounds). We then headed back to the hotel (after Megan had a brief stop at the Loft store and held herself (or Dan) back from buying anything) and got ready for our Broadway show that night - Mamma Mia! Before the show we had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant. The show itself was fun and entertaining and we had great seats. Dan even won a CD! After the show we found an Irish Pub open and had ourselves another nightcap.

Monday was Megan's favorite day. We went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. This was Megan's second time in NYC and last time Ellis Island was her favorite stop. Even upon her second visit, it was still just as moving - even if the crowds and lines weren't. Dan really enjoyed it but was growing weary of all the other tourists and found it hard to enjoy as much as he wanted to. We were unable to look up Megan's grandma's info although she did come through Ellis Island in 1947. Perhaps we'll have better luck online. After the tours we hopped off the subway for a little bit and walked around Ground Zero. Later that evening we enjoyed some Chinese food for dinner and then headed off to the Gotham City Comedy Club for an all-star show that night. It was fun, although vulgar at times. Welcome to New York, I guess.

On Tuesday we had a last breakfast together with Megan's parents and then went our separate ways on busses to head back home. We made it Charlotte with no problems or delays and were welcomed back to reality...