Time Flies and Furries Swarm

July 19, 2014

Jason and I woke up earlier than normal for a Saturday morning, but who wouldn't when in NYC for only a weekend! There was so much to do and see. Mom and Dad asked Jason to make a to-do list for us while in NYC. We had all been to NYC before, but this was Jason's first time. They were extremely kind and let Jason pick what we were to do while there. Jason had a top 10 list for NYC.

Number one: Bagels. Jason wanted, above all else, to have a real New York bagel (pronounced Bah-gel, if you're Britta Perry). We met Mom and Dad in their hotel room and decided to walk the streets of NY until we found a bagel. Lucky for us, the doorman was the same guy that helped us check in the previous night. We knew within seconds of meeting him that he was trustworthy. How you might ask? Well, I'll tell you... Jason was wearing a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry t-shirt when meeting this guy. Upon seeing Jason's shirt, the doorman said, "I'll see your wand and raise you a sonic screwdriver!" See... told you he was trustworthy.

We asked him where we could find a good breakfast and some real NY bagels. He wasn't sure about the bagels but he did tell us about a bakery. Just a block or two from the hotel was Amy's Bread, which was reportedly delicious. We decided to trust our Dr. Who and Harry Potter loving friend and headed toward Amy's. Here is a picture of the inside... beautiful!

I ordered a delicious coconut muffin, Jason got a cinnamon Challah, Mom a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich, and Dad a pumpernickel loaf. The doorman was right--it was delicious!

After breakfast we made our way to Time Square, where Mom learned the word "Furry." Well... not exactly. She asked what it meant. I told her I would tell her when she's old enough. Let me show you what I mean by Furry...

There must have been over 20 people in Disney, Sesame Street, and Super Hero costumes. Each "furry" offered to take a picture with you, and once the picture was taken they would demand a tip. Mom, being a true southern bell with extreme hospitality and politeness, smiled and laughed at each character. This immediately caused a swarm of furries to attack. Great picture and story. Side note: Jason is now asking what the plural of furry would be called. A ___ of furries? An orgy of furries?

Mom finished taking these awesome pictures while an Elmo tried to flatter me into taking a picture with him. . . he failed. I don't like unexpected kisses on my hand from a giant, furry animal... this makes me want to run, not stop for a picture. No furries for me, thank you very much! After escaping the creepy Elmo and other massive cartoon characters, we made our way to a small, red table to figure out our next step.

We went to Time Square in the hopes of finding the Big Red Bus stop. The Big Red Bus is a tour bus that takes you all over NYC.... this is Number four on Jason's to-do list. I'll get to 2 and 3 on the list later. After some searching, we finally spotted the Big Red Bus Stop... right behind the mass of furries we had just escaped. Luckily, we made it through with no hassle and were able to buy tickets. We soon were headed on the uptown loop, which would take us to Central Park and the Met. Here are some pictures of our trip on the bus:

 Not sure what the picture is on the bottom... some beautiful church. They told me what it was as we passed, but I can't remember now. This was the only clear picture I could get while driving.

We saw where John Lennon was shot, Strawberry Fields, Harlem, and a zillion other things. One thing I remember that was strange was a particular building... it was a massive structure filled with circular rooms and outer walls. Apparently the original owner of the building had a loved one with cancer... they built the house as a circular structure because they believed cancer was caused by a germ that grew in corners. Very strange.

Once reaching Central Park (number five on Jason's to-do list), we got off the bus in order to complete Number three on Jason's to-do list.  Although it seems I have forgotten about number 2, I haven't. That had to come later.

Number three: The Met!
As we walked up the stairs to the Met, we saw this:

Originally they were singing the song from the lion king called "In the Jungle." I was trying to record that one, but they finished right as I pulled my phone out. They were pretty good.

Once in the Met, Mom and Dad decided to go look at one part of the Met and Jason and I went to another. We weren't able to spend a great deal of time at the Met because we wanted to see Jamie once he finished rehearsal. It was still amazing. I think it would take a full two days to see the whole thing. Here is what we saw:

First, the inside of the Met:

Next the Egyptian Section.... this is where Jason and I went first:

 Little man in hidden room :^)

 Jason laughed really hard at the fact that they were all taking pictures of him taking a picture while he took a picture of them taking a picture :^) Confused yet?

Next the Greek and Roman Section:

 Hahaha... look at that guy standing next to the naked women statue. He looks really awkward!

Next we went to the center of the Met to find the Italian Renaissance Section, but instead we found Mom and Dad at the top of this staircase (shown below). They had just visited the Van Gogh Section. We really wanted to see that, but by this point we were super super hungry. We all decided to go to the cafe inside the Met. I didn't take pictures of it because it was just a normal cafe with food. Jason got a burger and fries. Mom and I got pasta. Dad went to the grill, I think... can't exactly remember what he got but I remember it looked delicious.

 

After eating lunch, we found the Italian Renaissance section. Here are pictures:

 Jason took a picture of this painting specifically because these women look like men. I have to agree.

 

These were one of my favorites (top pictures)

Jason and I then stumbled across the American Art section:

 Then two more pictures from the Italian Renaissance section:
These were done on wood...

After the Met, we went to Time Square to try and meet Jamie. These are pictures of us while we wait:

Not long after taking the pictures above, Jamie texted us to let us know his rehearsal was going a little long. We all decided to move onto the next item on Jason's to-do list while we waited for Jamie to join us. Next stop... find the Big Bus in Time Square and head to Trinity Church (number 7 on Jason's to-do list). After getting off at the Big Red Buss Stop for the 9/11 memorial, we made our way to a nearby park while Mom and Dad went to a Starbucks across the street.

Jason and I sat on a bench in the park and watched some children play near the fountain. Suddenly we heard a loud thud was heard followed by a loud cry. We turned to find a very adorable little girl crying on the ground as her friends stared at her, obviously unaware of what to say or do to help. It was sad and adorable all at once.

When Mom and Dad returned, we wandered around a few blocks trying to find Trinity Church. After using Mom's cell phone map we realized we were walking in the exact opposite direction we needed to go. We soon returned to our original starting point--the park--and found the church right down the street. Sadly, the church was closed and we weren't able to go in and see the church yard. Here are pictures from the outside:

 Right outside this gate Jason was able to get a memento for our collection :^) Super excited!

 While at Trinity Church we got a text from Jamie saying that he and his friend Jacob would meet us there. While waiting, we decided to grab something quick to eat to hold us over for dinner. Here is Jason getting his very first hot dog from a NY cart:

 Jamie and Mom also bought candied nuts from a vendor too. Delicious! After eating and meeting up with Jacob and Jamie, we headed toward the 9/11 memorial and Freedom Tower. Jacob is currently living in NY and was able to navigate around the city better than any of us. Lucky for us, we were able to follow him around and avoided getting lost. My favorite thing about following Jacob around NY was that he had on these bright orange pants... super easy to find him in a crowd.... perfect tour guide! Here are pictures:

Look at that cute family I don't know!

These pictures don't do it justice. This place was huge and beautiful!

After seeing the tower and memorial, Jacob helped Mom, Jason, and I get on the subway to go back to our hotel. The three of us were going to a play while Jacob, Dad, and Jamie decided to take the tour bus for the evening. Here is a picture of Jason experiencing his first subway experience. . .

We made our way back safely and quickly got ready for the play. Soon we started down the street to see The Cripple of Inishmaan. We were super excited because it was said to be really good and have Daniel Radcliffe in it. Sadly, I turned the wrong direction down 49th street and we were unable to find the theater. We started to panic because we were quickly running out of time. Mom, being very smart, decided to call Jamie, since he had seen the play a few nights earlier. As we began to turn around on 49th street, we heard Mom say "Where do we go, Jamie? We're on 49th... You're where?!"Mom looked at us in shock and began to walk toward the corner of the street where a Big Red Bus drove past. We looked up and saw Dad, Jacob, and Jamie... all three were pointing down 49th street and yelled "Go that way!" We laughed so hard! It was like a movie!

We ran as fast as we could. The theater would shut us out if we weren't there on time and there was only two minutes left. We ran to the front just in time! They let us in. We found our seats and waited.

Here are pictures of us before it started:

 

The play was amazing and really funny! After the play we went back to the hotel and met back up with Jamie, Dad, and Jacob. We were all super hungry. We thought of a few places but settled on Juniors. We had to go through Time Square on Saturday night to get there.... it was crazy! It was super packed and tons of people stopping every 2 seconds to take selfies. Plus, there was construction so the walkway was smaller than usual. It was ridiculous, but Juniors was worth it. We had a blast! The food was good and the company amazing. Here are pictures:

My sandwich! Mmmm :^)

 Jason's sandwich! Mmmm again!

It looks like Jamie is floating!!

Jason says, Jacob looks like a rapper in the picture below :^) I agree!

After dinner we went back to the hotel and quickly collapsed into a deep sleep. Probably one of the busiest days of my life, but so much fun!!