N.Y.C. Day 2

Good morning, New York!

I woke up from a great night's sleep on an air mattress [that I had all to myself] to this awesome view of the city.  Have I mentioned that I love this city?  

Taxi ride to brunch!

We met up with the Texas gang at a delightful restaurant called Sarabeth's.  We were at Sarabeth's Central Park South location and I really loved the atmosphere.  And the food.

Mona & Mom at Sarabeth's

Lemon & Ricotta Pancakes

I'm definitely taking Kyle there when we visit someday.  We then spent our morning meandering around Central Park before heading down to the Financial District.

Sisters in Central Park

Trying on hats!  Mom actually bought hers. :)

9/11 Memorial

9/11 Memorial

The 9/11 Memorial looks really awesome.  I love that they have recognized everyone whose life was lost, and that they are making it into an open park.  Besides the amazing waterfalls, something that I really appreciated was the Survivor Tree.  I didn't get a picture of it because there was a crowd of people around it, but the story was really touching.

Ten House.  All gave some, some gave all.

The new Tower 1 of the World Trade Center.

After the 9/11 Memorial, we headed East to the South Street Seaport.  Due to our lack of planning, we took a boat tour which passed by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  If you're interested in actually visiting those sites [something my family had already done before], you need to take the ferry from Battery Park.  More info can be found here.  We were all too hungry to think clearly about which boat tour we wanted to take, so we stopped for a late lunch at one of the outdoor restaurants at the Seaport.

I took one for the team and sat in the only spot at our table
in the sun.  Luckily, we had mom's awesome hat!

Amber & Kinley, our resident cutie.

After eating lunch, we finally picked out the boat tour we wanted to take.  I can't remember, but it might have been the last one of the day.  We scored seats on the top deck and had an awesome view!

Sisters on a boat!

Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty

I really enjoyed doing the boat tour instead of visiting the sites since 1) I had already been to both of them and 2) I was pooped from all the sightseeing we had been doing.  That night we had dinner in Times Square at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.  There was a really long wait time so we ventured out into Times Square.  We ended up spending some time in Toys"R"Us.

Amber had too much fun.

When we got back to Bubba Gump, we arrived well ahead of when they said a table would be ready for us.  But apparently they were going faster than expected and had already passed over us!  Luckily, they were nice and let us in without having to wait much longer.  The food was yummy and the view was awesome, but it was so cold.  Apparently the entire building runs on one thermostat, or something to that effect, so they couldn't adjust the temperature.  Lame.

Our entertainment for the evening was someone getting handcuffed right outside the police station that's in Times Square.  NYPD came flying through in cars, for backup I guess (since the police station was right there), right as we were crossing the street.  Nothing like a rush of adrenaline right before chowing down.  We got to watch from overhead while we waited for our food, and eventually the guy was released.  We still wonder what kind of crazy stunt he must have pulled to have NYPD all over him in Times Square.

Amber and I had to leave dinner early since she had homework that was due.  All in all, it was another wonderful day in my favorite city.