Our Anniversary Trip to NYC.

Photo 1. We Got on the road early Thursday morning, drove to Freeport and went to a L.L.Bean factory outlet then to Jamieson Tavern a romantic little tavern/cafe for our anniversary lunch and ate outside on their patio under a tree. We then drove threw New Hampshire to Boston, Mass. and spent the night there.

2. Friday morning we drove threw Rhode Island and Connecticut to NYC, stopped at a visitors terminal and got directions to a "Park and Ride", we missed the exit and got lost in North Arlington, New Jersey trying to circle back around to find the 16 w exit. That was fine we drove around and seen some really nice graffiti :o0! It was a long day of driving so we thought we would get a hotel and find a nice restaurant and get lots of rest for the following day.

3. LOL....Hummmmm well here is about where we found ourselves when we TRIED to take the "path of least resistance" but got pushed by beeping, merging traffic........you should have seen the look on Shanes face!!!!! All I could do was stay COMPLETELY SILENT and not say a word.....Yup there we were facing one of NY's busiest streets...Broadway, right in front of Times Square in Manhattan!!!! Lady the ladybug was totally enjoying the ride.

4. Times Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, New York City at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The Times Square area consists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan.

5. We stopped at a red light on Broadway and I rolled my window down and asked a guy in the van beside us where to go to find the New Jersey turnpike and he said turn right on 36th street and look for the signs to Holland tunnel and it would take us there....I was sheepishly taking pictures (unbenounced to hubby who was intensely concentrating)but still trying to find the sign that led us off this crazy street. I'm sooooo glad we didn't have to drive threw here at night...! At about this point Shane and I could have used a little proverbial wine for our stomachs....!

6. Our Starting point in the City. There were many people walking by saying hello to the FDNY employees who were on duty.

7. A block away from the WTC G-Zero site was this cross that was standing upright in the rubble after the towers fell. It will be placed back on the grounds where the new structure is currently being built. Many of the people who lost loved ones went to this cross to mourn and pray.

8. Wall of thousands of names. Unfathomable to understand that so many were lost in an unthinkable tragedy.

9. 10. Even walking on that same soil and pavement made your heart swell for the city. We went across the street to St. Pauls Chapel where all the memorabilia from the days following is put on display for all to fully comprehend the love and compassion that poured out from all the nation and other parts of the world. One thing that impacted me was the letters and pictures sent from children around North America thanking the firefighters and emergency response for being brave.

11. 12. 13.This was a sphere that was recovered from the lobby of the WTC now displayed in Battery Park. This was a statue at one of the piers in Battery Park. It was raining, we were soaked to the gills so we decided not to go on the Stanton Island ferry. It turns out that you can't go up in the statue anymore since 9/11. Although the Stanton Island Ferry gets you close enough for pictures with the added benefit of being free and quicker than going directly to Ellis Island but with it raining we wouldn't have had the full effect of walking around the grounds.

14.I have to tell you that this was my third coffee that I had from a Tims in the New England States and EVERY one of them TASTED THE EXACT SAME!!! They were totally consistent and very tasty....I hate to say it but they make a better coffee than any of the three Tims we have in our hometown, and to boot they had PUMPKIN SPICE shots to add to it! It was sensational! Lady is resting from the long ride from NY to New Hampshire. She is like Travelocity's "Roaming Gnome" !!

All in all we had a GREAT time. There are many more pictures but this slide show would only allow me to post 14...I have some really fun ones on my video camera but haven't figured out how to download them onto my PC yet. I have some from the subway which was a HUGE part of the experience of being in NYC.
We are pleased that we decided to go there and hope to go back again one day when we have more than 4 days. Did I mention that I packed for fall and it was 38 degrees Celsius?!!!
We stopped in Bangor, Maine on the way home to do a bit of Christmas shopping, and I tried out a sleep number bed which I totally fell in love with. I was very surprised to hear that they really are not that much more expensive than a regular bed.
Good times, great memories.