New Yoooooork!

Ahhhh, New York. What can I say about New York? The people are rude, the fast-pace is overwhelming, it's filthy, it smells awful, everywhere you turn everyone is yelling - and not even in English so you're not really sure if they're yelling AT you, or just BY you - the humidity and cold is awful, and most importantly...it's pretty damn awesome.

OK, ok so it wasn't that bad. It was actually quite nice once I overcame the culture shock - and the excruciating cold that freezes right down into your soul. After an incredibly overwhelming entrance to the Big Apple (I'll just say this - Penn Station at 5:00 traffic is NOT somewhere you wan to be if you have severe personal space issues and/or hygiene issues) we stayed with one of Adrian's friends from College. We ordered a pizza and got settled in long enough for me to catch my breath and absorb everything that I had just witnessed before we headed out to the concert that Adrian had pre-purchased for us.

I was a little irritated at first because I was exhausted from a day of traveling. Once it was confirmed that James and Shanagh would be there, I was over the MOON excited to get there!  The subway ride there was terrifying, and in that moment I vowed never to again enter the subway after dark. We ventured deep into the heart of Brooklyn (which I'm happy to be alive to tell you about) and finally reached the concert - which I, again, I am glad to be alive through. We had a great time with James and Shanagh, and I am SO excited for them to visit us in SLC!

The next day we spent exploring a little before we met up with his mom Carol, and her friend Michelle. We walked around Time Square before our Broadway show started. They bought us tickets to see Newsies which I was ECSTATIC to see! None out of the three of them had ever seen the movie, so they had no idea what they were in for! We were all pleasantly surprised at how wonderful the show was. The singing and choreography were enough to make my little nerd heart just about explode with excitement and pride. After the show we walked around before we found somewhere to eat.  After our tummies were full we walked around some more to see Times Square, Rockafeller Center, the skating rink, and even the huge Christmas tree that was surrounded by scaffolding as they prepared to adorn it with the hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights.

After a long day of adventuring we headed back to another one of Adrian's friends' houses to spend the night. Thankfully this night was a lot more low-key, quiet, and we actually got to bed at a reasonable hour (only after eating more delicious NY food). We wanted to be rested for our next day of adventuring.

The next day was Sunday, and we started our day with every intention to see every single tourist-y, typical New York sight. We dropped off our bags and walked around the city for a while while I admired the buildings and architecture. The Cathedrals, Mosques and Synagogues were completely BREATHTAKING (but that could just be more of the nerd in me talking). After a quick stroll through Central Park, we had enough of the 12 degree weather and that cold wind that blew off from the ocean and froze us down to our guts.  We settled in a little cafe for lunch and drinks while we thawed out, and decided that the rest of the sight-seeing would have to wait for next time. We retrieved our bags and went to Grand Central Station to board our train. (MORE beautiful building nerdgasms!)

We rode the train for an hour before reaching a small town where Carol and Michelle picked us up and took us to Michelle's house for dinner and to stay the night. We had a lovely and much-needed quiet night in, sitting around the fire talking while sipping wine in our sweats. The next morning we had the long drive to get to Oriskany, so we wanted to be well rested.

I wish I would have gotten more photos of the city, but to be honest I was so busy taking it all in that I forgot to even pull my phone out. Here are the few photos that I do have. Enjoy!

NEWSIES WAS INCREDIBLE!

Ever been one of the only white kids at a Hip-Hop concert in Brooklyn? Cause we have....

Adrian, me, Shanagh and James...I miss these kids too damn much!

Here is the tree, covered in scaffolding

30 Rock, baby!

Broadway

IHis beard was so large and in charge while we were in NY. He swore it was to keep his face warm, but he has since cut both his hair and his beard, so he is so much more aerodynamic.