My Vacation from A to Z -- (R)

Yep.... we skipped "Q". LOL!

R is for Rental Car

Miranda and I realllllly wanted an SUV for our rental car, just for fun. But, we went the economical route and opted for a sedan that got great gas mileage!! It was a Mitsubishi Galant. 

R is for River

This is the Delaware River at sunrise. It separates Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

R is for Row Homes

This is the street where David's mom grew up. The houses are EXACTLY alike!! The are one long row of homes!! In order to get to the back of the house, you either have to go thru the house or walk (or drive) around the whole block and then up the alley to get to there!!

Parking on the street is a MUST in a neighborhood like this!

This is the home that David's mom grew up in. I was there only once, right after David and I met.

R is for Radio City Music Hall

This is where the famous "Rockettes" do thier Christmas performance in NYC.

My Vacation A to Z --- (L)

Yes. We skipped "K". I didn't really have anything for it!

L is for LIBERTY BELL

Well, we didn't get to go and see it this time because of the VERY long line of people waiting to see it! We have seen it before, so we opted out. Plus it was VERY hot and we were VERY tired!!

See the long line?

L is for LIBRARY

While we were in NYC, I really wanted to see the New York City Public Library which was used in the movie... "The Day After Tomorrow". I just wanted to at least walk into the lobby of it and see that grand staircase that Jake Gyllenhaal and his classmates RAN UP to escape the rush of water, taking over the city! It was really neat being inside the building! I also got a great photo of the scene in the movie, when the wall of water is coming down the street towards the Library.

Just imagine.... a HUGE wall of water coming towards you, as you tried to make it to safety inside the library!!

There's the stairs that they ran up!! So pretty!! Miranda and I "pretended" to run up them! Haha!

It was the 100th birthday of the Library.

L is for LIGHTHOUSE

While we were on the Staten Island Ferry, we spotted this lighthouse. I looked it up later and found out that it is "The National Lighthouse & Museum". Miranda and I thought it was SO pretty! I would love to see inside of it someday.

A "zoomed in" look! So pretty!

L is for LATE SHOW

We saw where David Letterman does his Late Show.



My Vacation A to Z ---- (G & H)

G is for GROUND ZERO

We visited the site of the 9/11 attack, now known as "Ground Zero". There isn't much to see right now. Only construction. Next month, on September 11th, it will be the 10th anniversary of that horrible attack on our country and the day that so many people lost their innocent lives. There is a memorial being built at the sight, but it isn't complete. All that we could see were construction fences. The "feeling" of the area was a somber one, even with all of the noise around us.

More buildings are being built to replace the ones that were destroyed.

Fence around the construction area.

This building is part of the 9/11 Memorial. So are the trees just beyond the fence.

A beautiful memorial wall.

A poster of all the firefighters that lost their lives on that horrible day.

Artwork in a window near the 9/11 site.

A slight "peek" beyond the fence.

G is for GENO'S

While we were in Philadelphia, we were anxious to have an authentic Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich! There are two places that claim that they have the original sandwich. Pat's Steaks and Geno's. These two places are across the street from one another, believe it or not!! David's family has always chosen Pat's Steaks as their favorite, but here's a look at Geno's across the street!!

This is the view that we had of Geno's as we stood in line for a Pat's Steak!

H is for HOTEL

During our vacation, the only time that we stayed in a hotel was when we stayed in NYC. We knew that we wanted to stay in the Times Square District because it is central to just about EVERYTHING! We waited until the day before we were to arrive in NYC to book our hotel through Priceline. We were "hoping" to get a room for $200 or under... but.... we quickly learned that this would be impossible! I won't tell you how much we paid, but it was WORTH IT to pay the extra!! We ended up with a 4 star, right IN Times Square!!! It was awesome! We stayed at The Renaissance Hotel.

Here, we are driving... well... DAVID is driving... and looking for our hotel. That's it. Up ahead, on the right. The black building, with red. Times Square is just down the street, to the right!

These are the HUGE billboards that were right across the street from our hotel!

We are standing in the middle of Times Square. Those tall buildboards are attached to our hotel!! THAT's how close we were to Times Square!

This was our view from our hotel window, looking to the left.... up 7th Street. Check out all of those taxi's!!!

This was our view to the right. Times Square is just out of the picture, to the right!!!!

Remember those HUGE billboards across from our hotel??? Well.... They ended up being right outside our window!!!! Miranda and I had a fun idea and took this photo!!! LOL!!! That's Daniel Radcliff (aka: Harry Potter)! He's now starring in a Broadway show! 

H is for HOME ALONE

"Home Alone, Lost in New York" is one of our favorite family movies! It was on our minds a lot while we were in NYC. As we were walking... the many miles that we walked!!.... we spotted this picture and note, randomly taped to a water meter box!! Too funny!!

My Vacation A to Z --- (B)

B is for BAGS

I should have taken a picture, but we were LOADED DOWN!! Well.... the girls and I were, at least! David only had his one small carry-on bag and he was PROUD of it!! LOL!! My girls and I each had a carry-on bag AND a personal bag! We also "checked" Miranda's BIG suitcase that we used to put our bulky items like shoes, hair dryer, straighner, make up, etc. I learned quickly that the next time I fly... I am purchasing a small carry-on bag that ROLLS!!!

B is for BOARDWALK

In Atlantic City, we of course walked on the boardwalk. We didn't walk too far because it was SO HOT!! We did eat pizza there and walked in a few souvenier shops, too.

My family loves to keep walking while I stop to take pictures! LOL

B is for BOATS

When we were in Philadelphia, we visited the marina where David and his family kept their boat when he was a kid. We were shocked to see how much it had grown!! The last time we were there, there were hardly any boats. The marina is on the Delaware River.

David's brother lives on a lake and this is his boat dock. You can't really tell, but his boat is parked there.

B is for BOYFRIEND

David's mom has a male "friend" that she won't say is her boyfriend, but we all know the real truth! LOL!! We were so excited to get to meet him for the first time! He is SO SWEET!!

B is for BAD EDDIE

Hahaa! You're probably wondering why this is on my list! Well..... there is a story...

While we were visiting with David's mom, she mentioned that she was waiting for "Bad Eddie" to come and mow her lawn... (the little bit of lawn that she has!). We laughed when she said this and asked her... "Why is he called 'Bad Eddie'?" She said that he grew up in the neighborhood and when he was little, he had thrown a rock thru one of her windows right after they had moved into the house! (We're talking over 50 years ago!) And that she has been calling him "Bad Eddie" ever since!! He now has a lawn care business and she hired him to take care of her lawn. We couldn't help but laugh! While we were there, "Bad Eddie" showed up to do his job and we couldn't wait to get a peek at him thru the window!! It was funny!

B is for BRIDGES

We crossed over LOTS of bridges and I thought I took more pictures of than I did of different ones that we saw, but it turns out that I didn't take as many as I thought I did! Philadelphia has a beautiful BLUE bridge that I just love! I missed my opportunity to get a photo of it.

To the right here, is the Brooklyn Bridge. We found it by accident as we were trying to get to the Staten Island Ferry! (Hint: Don't bother following your GPS in NYC! (Or any big city!) It's worthless!!)

This is the Manhattan Bridge.

More of the Brooklyn Bridge. I was kinda' glad that we made that wrong turn, because I kinda' wanted to see this famous bridge!

We had to drive down this road and turn around. This is on the way back towards the ferry area. This was also about the point that David said... "I feel like I am in a video game!" (referring to driving in NYC!) He did REALLY WELL, tho!

B is for BAPTIST

On Sunday, while we were still in Philadelphia, we went to church with David's mom. David grew up going to a Methodist church. Within the past couple of years, that church had to close it's doors due to financial reasons and David's mom had to find another church. She ended up visiting a Baptist church and eventually joined it. We enjoyed our visit at her church, very much! Everyone was so friendly!

B is for BALTIMORE

We had to pass thru Baltimore to get from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. And then again, to get to NYC from Virginia.

B is for BEN FRANKLIN

There is a LOT of Ben Franklin history in Philadelphia. We visited "Franklin Court". Here, you can see the site where his house once stood. It features a steel-framed outline of Franklin's home, a museum with a print shop, a working post office where you can send letters hand-stamped with with Franklin's original postmark and more.

This is a walkway where Ben Franklin passed thru on a daily basis.

B is for BATTERY PARK

This is in Lower Manhattan and where you go to ride the ferry. I didn't take many pictures here. We were too busy trying to figure out where we were going!!

B is for BLOOMINGDALES

I know that this famous department store has been in many movies, but the one that comes to mind the most for me is the movie "Splash" with Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah.

B is for BAGELS

This was our Friday morning breakfast! David's brother had told us that NYC bagels were yummy, and they were!! A huge bagel filled with cream cheese!!! YUM!!

B is for BRYANT PARK

This is where the "Concert in the Park" was going to be the next morning for Good Morning America. We weren't interested in the singer, so we didn't bother to attend the concert... but, this is where it was to be.