New York

My mom and I went to NYC last week and had a blast! I loved it more than I thought I would. The highlight of the trip was that we met Cameron Diaz - okay, really my mom met her, I was too chicken to talk to her. We were walking through Greenwich Village and my mom spotted her and approached her. Cameron was SUPER nice, asked how our vacation was so far, told us to enjoy ourselves, then headed off to her restaurant. We had our cameras with us, but didn't want to bug her for a picture. I regret it now, but I always feel so bad for celebrities that they are always getting hounded everywhere they go. I also regret being a chicken and not talking to her. I clammed up when we met Will I Am from the Black Eyed Peas a few years ago too. Chicken!

Anyways, the first day we were there we bought tickets for a two day bus tour that allowed us to hop on and off as we pleased. This helped us see all of the major sites in both downtown and uptown NYC and we also took a tour of Brooklyn. We learned some interesting facts about NYC, the architecture, etc from the tour guides. One of the first places we visited was the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We totally lucked out and didn't have to wait in any lines, just cruised through security and boarded the ferry. We were able to get tickets to go inside the pedestal and I am so happy we did - we were able to see life sized replicas of her face, torch and feet and learn a little more about the history and rebuild. You can also look up through the glass ceiling and the spiral staircase that leads to the crown (which re-opens July 4). We also visited the Metropolitan Museum, saw South Pacific, walked around most of Central Park, ate at both Magnolia's and Crumbs Bakeries, bought a knock-off purse from shady people down a side street and much, much more. I loved Times Square and all the hustle and bustle and I loved figuring out the subway and buses to get us around. I am surprised how much I loved the public transportation and now I wish we had it here.

I was torn between going up the Empire State Build. or the Top of the Rockefeller, but after reading many reviews we decided to go of the top of the Rock. Glad we did! - we were able to see the ESB to the south and Central Park to the North. They had 3 observation decks to look from - two with plexiglass walls and the top one was just an open balcony. It was so beautiful!

Lincoln and Hazel missed me pretty badly and they were happy that I was home. Here they are with their Liberty suckers - I couldn't have brought home a better present for them. I had a wonderful time but I am glad to be home with my family. Thanks for going with me mom!