It's been about six years since PJ and I were able to take a trip together without kids and when PJ found out that his company had a woodworking symposium out in Hartford, CT, and that he could take me a long to help, we just couldn't pass it by. In return for working, PJ's boss covered nearly all of our expenses and made it possible for us to have an amazing vacation together.Our vacation started in Boston, MA. I know this is going to sound dumb, but about a year ago I saw an American Idol episode where they were holding auditions in Boston and I couldn't get over how beautiful that city was. After watching that, it left me longing to visit there someday. In addition I have always loved learning about history and I couldn't wait to see one of the oldest cities in America and visit some of the historical sites.
Our time in Boston was very rushed, and we jammed packed every single minute, but we absolutely loved it. We started out trip by quickly dropping our luggage off at the Chandler Inn and then we rushed off to Fenway Park to watch a Red Sox game. Being part of the atmosphere at Fenway was amazing. The crowd's unity and pride for there town was like no other. Listening to the fans sing Sweet Caroline will be a moment I will never forget. At the game we were able to see a home run over the "Green Monstah" and we also were able to take a picture with the 2008 World Series trophy. The Red Sox won that night and you could hear fans enthusiasm late into the night.
After a late night, we got up early, packed our bags, and left them at the front desk while PJ and I headed out to visit the historical Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites. We started the trail at the Boston Commons and here are a few pictures of what we found...
This is the Granary Burial Site. This was our favorite site on the trail. Some of the headstones in there are from the 1600's! It was a very reverent place where three of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were buried. In addition Samuel Adams was buried here and had the victims of the Boston Massacre laid to rest in his family tomb.
This is a memorial built next to John Hancock's tomb.
PJ in front of Paul Revere's Tomb
This is where Benjamin Franklin's parents were buried.
Benjamin Franklin Statue at the Boston Latin School. This is America's oldest public school. Four of the signers of the Declaration of Independence attended school here including, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Robert Paine and John Hancock.
Old Corner Bookstore. I loved the architecture of this building. It was also later used as a printing shop.
The Old State House. In this building many of the basic concepts concerning American government were first voiced. The top of the building once had a lion and unicorn, used to symbolize royal authority, that were torn down and burned after the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston from this balcony in 1776.
This is the site of the Boston Massacre. The balcony above overlooks this site. It was here that five people were killed when tensions were high between the Bostonians and the Redcoats. It looks a little different now than it did then.
Faneuil Hall. It was here that Americans first protested against the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act.
This is the most famous weathervane in Boston. Tradition has it that the golden grasshopper weathervane was used during the War of 1812 to spot spies. Anyone who did not know the answer to the question What is on top of Faneuil Hall? was a possible suspect.
Remember the TV show Cheers? We were surprised to turn the corner by Faneuil Hall and see this famous sign.
After we walked most of the Freedom Trail we had just enough time to take a little boat tour of the Boston Harbor.
This is the beautiful city that we saw from the boat.
I loved being able to spend so much time with my sweetheart!
The U.S.S. Cassin Young
Old Ironsides also known as the USS Constitution. She had the reputation to out-run and out-gun anything she encountered. During the War 1812 cannonballs fired at the USS Constitution merely bounced off as if she were made of iron, thus the name.
The Garden: Home to the Boston Celtics. While we were visiting, the Lakers and the Celtics were competing for the National Championship. Everywhere we looked you could see T-shirts that said Beat LA. The subways were no different. The was several different times when people would randomly start cheering for the Celtics like you were at a pep rally. It made our whole experience memorable. We were so impressed with the pride and unity of the city.
Overall we absolutely LOVED Boston. I would go back in a heartbeat. The people were kind to us and the history alone was amazing. Oh yes, and their famous Boston Creme Pies really our the best. We made sure to stop by Mike's Pastry on our way out.
After spending less than 24 hours in Boston, PJ and I rented a car and drove to Connecticut. We couldn't believe how green the landscape was and how thick the trees were. It made me realize how much of a desert Utah really is. When we arrived in Connecticut we first stopped by the convention center and set up for the show.
For the next three days, PJ and I worked side by side helping wood turners find tools to beautify the turnings. The days were long and a little challenging because I wanted have perfect knowledge in the products that Treeline was selling so that I could better assist people. But overall I really did enjoy my time serving customers, even if it was mostly spent being a cashier.
Seeing PJ work however, made me appreciate him more. He is so good with people. He sincerely cares about their needs and listens to their concerns. I came away from the
show loving him more and grateful for the opportunity to learn more about what he does. Hopefully I was a little helpful too.
NEW YORK
After we finished working at the Woodturner Symposium, we drove over to New York City late
Sunday afternoon. As we approached the city you could visibly see the stress on PJ's face. It really became apparent as drove smack in the middle of this...
We couldn't believe that the GPS took us right through the middle of Times Square. In fact our GPS only worked half of the time due to the tall buildings. I think we quickly learned first hand what Buddy the Elf meant when he said, "watch out for the yellow ones. They don't stop."
We quickly understood where the stereotype came from about how "friendly" New Yorkers are. After barely surviving driving through Times Square we could not wait to get rid of our car. We finally found the rental car place and drove in to try to find where we should park. As we began to turn a corner we started getting yelled at by the garage attendant to stop the car. We did and tried hard to not let him see our laughter. He yelled at us for not seeing a sign (which we still never saw). He inspected the car while we gathered our belongings. After he looked the car over he went and sat down on his chair without a word and just stared at us. After a couple of minutes of very awkward silence PJ asked him what he wanted us to do with the car. He mater-of-factly said just leave the car right there and he will take care of it. We laughed again and walked away knowing that we were no longer in Boston.
This is what Time Square looked like at night. The streets were constantly packed with people. It reminded me of when PJ and I visited Hong Kong.
We were so happy to be in New York but you can see in our eyes how tired we were. We couldn't wait to find some food and relax in our hotel. PJ quickly learned that a happy wife is a fed wife.
There was always random things happening in times square. Once they were filming a yoga video right in the center and on another occasion we found this handsome young man posing in his red birthday suit. Is that a speedo or reddie tighties.
So many people advised us to look for unique restaurants instead of the well known restaurants, but after wondering the streets of NY, we just didn't care and made our way back for an amazing dinner at Bubba Gumps. Eating at Bubba Gumps in kind of a tradition when PJ and I go on vacation. So far we have eaten at: Maui, Oahu, Miami, Long Beach, and recently New York.
On Monday Morning we got up and took a ferry to see the Stautue of Liberty. It was amazing to see it in person and somehow made me feel very American.
Everyone asked us if it is really as big as it looks on TV. If you look close in this picture you can see several people surrounding it.
PJ and I with the Manhattan skyline behind us.
Ellis Island. Visiting here was one of our favorite places on our trip. We took a 45 minute tour and learned some amazing facts like only the 3rd class people and had to stop at Ellis Island for paperwork and health checks. The 1st and 2nd class were briefly examined on the boat and sent straight to Manhattan. Another interesting fact we learned was that 1 out of every 5 Americans can track their ancestors back to Ellis Island.
Looking at Manhattan from Ellis Island.
On Ellis Island there is a monument that lists families and individuals who had to stop at Ellis Island in order to come to America. We found this list of Cutler names. One day I hope to spend some time to see if any of those names our ancestors of mine.
We also found several Rowley names.
After visiting our visit at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, PJ and I took the subway to Canal Street in China Town. PJ was in heaven! It brought back so many memories of his mission in Hong Kong. We were able to eat several foods that he has not had since Hong Kong and he was able to speak Cantonese at nearly every store we stopped at. The store employees were fun to watch when they heard PJ speak and understand their language. I also loved China Town because of the shopping. I left there with a new purse, sunglasses, sword for Mckay, Backpack for Madi, and $2 I LOVE NY t-shirts. What a deal!
After our visit to China Town we headed back to Times Square and down Broadway to the David Letterman Studio. A couple months before our trip to New York, PJ and I applied for tickets to The Late Night Show. Two days before we left, PJ received a phone call from the studio saying that we could watch the live show as long as he could answer a random trivia question about the show. Here's what he asked: "Dave has a friend named Rupert who owns a nearby store, what kind of business does he own?" PJ wasn't quite sure so while he stalled, he quickly googled it and answered the question correctly. We were so excited!
Being a part of the live audience was amazing experience. We were told to laugh and clap at everything-even if it wasn't funny. (Basically we were suppose to give a courtesy laugh as needed.) We were a little disappointed when we found out the guests for the show were Jay-Z and Eminem, but it was still hilarious because Dave acted like he was scared to death of Eminem the whole time.
After the Show we went to Toys R Us in Times Square to see if we could find something fun to bring home to the kids. This toy store was amazing! They had a life-size dinosaur, Barbie House, Transformers, Spider-man, Superman and many others located throughout the store. They also had Lego models of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State building that Mckay would have loved.
The Star Wars Display
The Next Day we woke up early and visited Ground Zero. On the other side of the fence is the location were the two twin towers fell on September 11th. They are currently rebuilding and making a memorial plaza.
Across the street from Ground Zero is St. Paul's Chapel. It was here that the Policemen, Firefighters, and other rescue workers would find refuge and a place to rest between shifts.
Bell of Hope. This bell was a gift from England that came from the same foundry as the Liberty Bell. The bell is rung every September 11th, and was also rung after trains were bombed in Madrid, and after the London subway and bus attacks. It symbolizes hope over tragedy.
Inside St. Pauls Chapel. During September 11th and the months that followed, family members and friends who had lost loved ones would leave missing pictures, letters, gifts, and memorials for those who were victims of terrorism. Letters of support were also sent there to support the firefighters and other rescue workers.
Badges left behind from those who aided in the rescue work and clean up of 9/11.
George Washingtons Pew. He prayed here after is inauguration as the first president of the United States.
Firefighter coat and boots. If you look at the pews you can see the scuff marks left behind from the rescue workers. They would sleep and rest on the pews and as a result they were severely marked up. In remembrance of 9/11, they decided not to refinish the pews.
If you look closely at the picture on the right you can see what the memorial will look like. They are going to use the existing foundations as a memorial with water flowing into into it from the sides and surround it by trees.
Memories from 9/11
Visiting Ground Zero, brought a flood of memories from that tragic day. Even though we are obviously not from New York, I don't think there is an American that was not touched in some way or another. For me it forever changed the way I feel about this country. I've always had a great love for this land, but after that day I have tried not to take it for granted. Things like singing the national anthem, saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and seeing soldiers serve selflessly are certainly more meaningful.
The morning of September 11th started out to be a good one. I had been married for exactly 1 month and 1 day. I was happy and love with my high school sweetheart. I was also very excited because I was in the middle of my student teaching at Mapleton Elementary. I couldn't wait to see my cute bunch of 2nd graders. On the way to school I heard about the first plane crashing into one of the World Trade Towers. I couldn't believe it! At that point I thought that it must have been some crazy accident. A few minutes later I arrived at school and we turned the TV on in the teacher's lounge to see if there was any more news about the crash. It was there that I watch live as the second plane crashed into the other Twin Tower. Now we knew it was no accident and my heart hurt. That pain grew through the day as we tried to tactfully explain to 2nd graders how such a horrible thing could happen in the land of the brave. I really didn't think it could be any worse, but then we heard about the Pentagon, and the heroic passengers that took over the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, and then we watched with the rest of America as the towers fell.
Witnessing the attack on America was like watching a horror movie, but it was real. It was such a sad and solemn day in America history, but there were a few positive things that I can remember too. When you turned on the radio, you would here songs like I'm proud to be an American. When you went on a drive you would see the streets lined with Old Glory flapping beautifully in the wind. Homes, windows and businesses would proudly display red, white and blue. For the first and only time in my entire life I felt like our country was completely united. It was touching and made me feel proud to be an American. After seeing Ground Zero and touring the museum we again felt proud to be Americans.
After our visit to Ground Zero, we went shopping to the most amazing clothing store. It's called H&M. The clothing there is off the charts cute, but the prices are similar to Old Navy. I seriously was on cloud nine. (PJ felt like he was in seventh $%*# while he waited almost 2 hours for me to shop in one store) If you ever have a chance of visiting a city with a H&M in it, it's definitely worth the stop. On the way out we saw the famous Macy's building and a little down the road we saw the Empire State Building. We did not go to the top, but it was fun just looking at it.
After our eventful day, it honestly just got better. We went back to the Roosevelt Hotel (which by the way was an amazing place to stay) and rested and changed for our big date that night. For dinner that night we started walking around the streets by Broadway to see if we could find a nice place to eat before our show. We ran into this little Italian restaurant called Maria Pia. The atmosphere was amazing. We shared a fantastic dinner over candlelight. PJ still to this day is craving the food we had that night.
After dinner we walked down the street to the Gershwin Theater to see what I've been dreaming about for months. To say I was a little excited to see Wicked was an understatement. I had properly prepped myself by listening to the CD, reading the lyrics, and reading a little about the storyline for months, but I had know idea I would like it so much.
The set of Wicked. The whole night was truly magical. The scenery, set, actors, and music was absolutely fabulous, but I fell in love with the storyline. It will forever change the way I looked at the Wizard of Oz.
Even PJ enjoyed Wicked which is saying a lot for a guy who really just doesn't like musicals (at all). That night ended up being one of the my favorite nights in my life.
The morning we would be flying home PJ and I rented some bikes and rode around Central Park. We had a couple of guys meet us outside the subway and offer to rent us some bikes. We almost said yes until we found out it was their own person bike (or recently stolen bikes). Yikes. We found this little shop just outside the park and had a very pleasant experience. There was no way we would have had time to tour the whole park in the little amount of time, but the bikes were perfect.
It was amazing to feel like we are in the mountains but when we looked up we saw the skyscrapers. It took a solid hour to bike the perimeter of the park. I would do this again in a heartbeat.
We took this the morning we left. We were having a lot of fun but we certainly missed our kids. Our hotel was right along Madison Ave. We looked hard for a Mckay Blvd but to no avail.
Finally a sandwich PJ couldn't eat by himself. We had a friend recommend we try the Carnegie Deli for lunch. We waited in line for about 20 minutes and was greeted with the customary New Yorker kindness when it was finally our turn. We were asked what we wanted but their menu was terrible. I have never felt so foreign in an English deli. We asked for a ham sandwich but I didn't realize we would be getting half a pig. Look at the meat on that thing! The whole sandwich was over 6 inches thick. The meat alone was about 3". Luckily we decided to share this beast but the food was wonderful.
In Summary I remembered just how handsome my husband is. I never got tired of him even for a minute. Between being in the heart of American history, cruising around on boats, eating some wonderful food, reliving part of PJ's mission memories, attending an amazing Broadway show, seeing David Letterman entertain a crowd, and soaking in so many sights and sounds of a lifetime, this turned out to be a trip I will never forget.
