New York City

So wonderful to see our family again! After being apart for over a month everyone was really missing each other. The kids were especially excited about seeing their cousins. For 4 days we drove about an hour one way from our campground to their hotel and then took the bus into the city together. We took a double decker bus tour that allowed us to see the majority of the city and get off when we wanted to see something more up close. We also took a cruise on the Hudson River where we got great pictures of the skyline and passed right by the Statue of Liberty.

Of course the kids would probably say that their favorite time was riding the ferris wheel in Toys R Us or playing the giant piano in FAO Schwartz. Blake was a little shy about playing on the piano, but finally got into it. Then of course he didn't want to stop. He went again with Carley in the next group. The adults just enjoyed being inside with AC since it was in the 90s again!

We couldn't tell you about our time in NYC without mentioning our visit to ground zero. What a humbling and sobering place. Even though we all watched the coverage on television and saw pictures in the newspaper it is still amazing to see the place in person. They are currently building a memorial there, so there is lots of construction on the actual site. We went across the street to St. Paul's church. This is where many of the rescue and recovery workers went after working on the pile for hours and hours. They would be fed here and could sleep on cots. Now there is a little museum there around the edges of the sanctuary. They have included pictures of victims, notes and memorabilia sent from people all over the country. It was really a neat place to visit, but that seams like the wrong way to say it. It made us remember how we felt and where we were the day the towers fell. May America never forget...